Work Text:
Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu were acquainted as children, with Wen Kexing staying at Four Seasons Manor with his parents after his father was injured.
Wen Kexing – originally named Zhen Yan – always felt he were different. He felt like a boy, but everyone said he was a girl. He liked Zhou Zishu, a lot, looking up to him with boyish innocence and wonder. But Wen Kexing’s parents, along with Qin Huaizhang, arranged for them to be married when they were older. Wen Kexing could not bear to be married as a woman, to be seen as a woman in a traditional relationship with a man, no matter how he felt about him. Zhou Zishu was proud and did not want to be arranged to marry anyone. As a boy he already felt that his life’s purpose had no room for love and marriage. Both children were embarrassed by and resistant to this arrangement.
When Wen Kexing went back with his parents to the Healer Valley, tragedy struck. By manipulation and a cruel twist of fate, Wen Kexing’s parents were killed, and he was pulled into Ghost Valley. His life was spared, but he became the Chief’s mere plaything. With no way out, he put on a strong front, gaining respect over time. He endured abuses from the chief and others with a stone face, asking to be hit again rather than begging for mercy. He changed his name to Wen Kexing – Wen being the original surname of his father (who was adopted), and Kexing meaning “traveling guest.” It evoked the character from his given name, Yan, without sounding the same. This satisfied Wen Kexing. His name was also the product of his voracious reading habit, referenced from multiple poems. It made him feel satisfied and in control of his own life. Control was something he had very little of in the Ghost Valley, and confidently standing his ground and claiming his own name and boyhood was one of few ways to gain more of it.
By the time Wen Kexing killed the Ghost Valley Chief and took over, no one dared to call him a woman. A member of Ghost Valley, the so-called Beauty Ghost, had knowledge of disguises from Qin Huaizhang. She knew various methods to drastically change one’s appearance, and could even appear as a man. Wen Kexing used these skills that she taught him to appear as he desired. He sought Healer Valley knowledge and texts, now difficult to find, to make medications that could change his voice and appearance more permanently. By the time he had a chance meeting with Zhou Xu, a wandering man with a peculiar outlook on life, he could fully blend in with men. Finally, he was only seen by the world as Wen Kexing, but now his world was rocked again.
He quickly realized who “Zhou Xu” was, his heart swelling. Now he only desired to pursue him and get revenge on the Five Lakes Alliance, Ghost Valley, and everyone responsible for his childhood torn apart. But how could he tell Zhou Zishu his true identity? There were many things he felt he must keep hidden, and he made many mistakes – but in the end, nothing could keep Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu apart. Both fought against fate, but fate brought them full circle, into each other’s arms.