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Chapter Text

Lan SiZhui didn’t know where he was. All he knew was that he had been following behind the other disciples when a thick wisp of shadow slammed out of the brush beside him, wrapping itself around him before dropping him in a barren waste. The dirt beneath his feet immediately crumbled, tripping him as he was thrown out of the shadow’s reach. His hands shot out on instinct and he could feel something sharp scratch his hands.

So many thoughts flooded his mind before he could even consider checking the cuts. Where was he? Why was he here? What had taken him here? Why was everything so... dead?

In his state of confusion, he almost missed the crunching of footsteps approaching him.

“Are you lost, child? Or did you plan to run into this old beast?” A rough voice sounded from in front of him. Taking a sharp breath, Lan SiZhui slowly lifted his head to whoever had appeared. He almost wished he hadn’t.

The only way he could describe the being in front of him was… monstrous. He wanted to slap himself for that. HanGuang-Jun always taught him to look beyond appearances, but with his mind scattered as it is, he could only watch as the creature lowered it’s head to his level. The bright ruby’s peeking from behind the dark feathers ran a shiver down his spine, and the way the beak seemed to be permanently curved into a smile did not help his current fear. Pushing its head closer to his own, the creature stared deep into what Lan SiZhui was his soul. It’s head tilted at an unnatural degree.

“What is your name, child?” Well, this could go one of two ways. Either this creature is genuinely interested in a random disciples name, or it wanted his name for some other, nefarious reason. Lan SiZhui was stuck. HanGuang-Jun’s teachings would have him offer his name, but every bone in Lan SiZhui’s body was screaming against that. Giving into his father’s teachings, he took a deep breath of the stale air.

“This disciple is called Lan Yuan, courtesy SiZhui.” Sending a quick prayer, he waited for the creature's reply with bated breath. He watched as the creature’s eyes narrowed, it’s head pushing closer before he could just barely feel the brush of void-like feathers. A moment passed. Lan SiZhui dug his fingers further into the sharp dirt, wide eyes tracking the creatures every move. Before the dirt could do more damage, the creature chuffed, his bangs blowing off his sweaty forehead.

“I never expected a Lan to find their way here, much less a child,” The creature muttered. Lan SiZhui released his grip on the ground, wincing as some of the sharp points fell off his hands. Standing, he watched as the creature followed with its head, keeping the same distance no matter how much he stumbled back. He only stopped retreating when the rough bark of a tree blocked his path, leaving him cornered by the giant creature. As the creature drew closer, Lan SiZhui darted under it, reaching out in an attempt to grab his sword. Before he could get more than a few steps away, he was yanked back by the collar of his robes.

A yelp forces its way from his throat as the creature lifts him off the ground. It takes him a moment to realize that the ground is now a distant view, the harsh winds coming from the creature's wings taking them even higher. He could only hope that this creature stayed far away from the sharp points.

As they continued flying, Lan SiZhui noticed a dark cloud in the distance, and realized that that must be where the creature is taking him. Hopefully it wasn’t poisonous. Tensing as the cloud grew closer, he held his breath during the initial pass, closing his eyes as the temperature dropped significantly. After a moment, he finally released the breath and opened his eyes, noticing that the once barren waste was now a small, run down town. There were no signs of life as they descended towards the center.

The creature released Lan SiZhui a few feet off the ground, and it landed a few moments after him, keeping its wings from knocking the boy off his already unsteady feet. Lan SiZhui watched as the creature ambled over to the entrance of a cave. It ducked under the mouth of the cave, disappearing in the darkness inside.

Taking a moment to gather his bearings, Lan SiZhui straightened his back, making his way over to the opening. Entering the cave, the disciple felt the pressure grow stronger, his golden core pushing back against… whatever covered the inside of the cave. The force of it had him stumbling back, managing to grab the nearby rock to keep himself upright and conscious. A tapping noise started from deeper within, and before Lan SiZhui could think much of it, he felt something sharp grab the back of his robes. Once again, he found himself being carried by the creature.

The crow took him back to the center of the ruins, dropping him from its beak. It shoved its face into his, the same dark aura from the cave now radiating off of the crow.

“Do you have a death wish, child?! That cave is no place for a disciple, much less one from Gusu. I can almost guarantee that somewhere on that wall of rules is written ‘One is not permitted to enter mysterious caves after being taken by a demonic beast’. I swear-“

“You know of our rules?” Lan SiZhui interrupted before he could stop himself. He made a quick note to apologize later, but he found he was too curious to think much of it. The creature, in response, leaned away from him, as if realizing the slip up. It shook its head, clicking its beak a few times before standing to its full height.

“It does not matter,” Lan SiZhui would say otherwise. “Those rules and those sects mean nothing to me now.”

“Were you once a Lan disciple?” Lan SiZhui pressed. The creature seemed to be the talkative type, but after knowing Lan JingYi for so long, Lan SiZhui has learned that not everyone is like Hanguang-Jun.

The creature seemed to recoil at the question. It’s eyes narrowed into thin slits as it’s feathers ruffled, stepping back towards the cave.

“Me, be a part of the sect that, above all others, despises my existence? No. That was only a silly dream…” The creature mumbled, just loud enough that Lan SiZhui could hear. The disciple was once again left in the middle of this run down town. He had no idea where he was, and no clue as to what this creature wanted with him.

Brushing off his now stained robes, he readjusted his headband and took a look at his surroundings.

Nearest him was a small, overgrown plot of soil, with that looked to be dried lotus seeds strewn about. Whatever roots had tried to sprout from these seeds obviously did not last long. There was also a larger section that looked like it had been in the middle of being plowed, before whatever happened here… happened.

Lan SiZhui moved away from the ruined farmland, moving closer to the surrounding huts. Most had collapsed in on themselves, but there was one resting on a small incline that still seemed livable. He stepped inside the dusty building, coughing as the humid air filled his lungs. Covering the lower half of his face with his sleeve, he continued deeper. Something seemed oddly familiar about this place.

The boy stepped into a side room, finding a small bed fit neatly in the middle with ruined toys surrounding it. Lan SiZhui found himself filled with sorrow as he thought of what this child’s last moments were like. He sent up a quick prayer for the child’s soul, hoping that they were far away from any danger, whether it be in the afterlife or somewhere on this plane.

A warm feeling replaced his sorrow, but it was quickly turned cold as a low grunting came from outside the house, just outside the window by his head. Turning slowly, Lan SiZhui found himself staring into the dark eyes of another beast, the decaying wooden bars covering the window the only thing keeping him separated from it. The beast tilted its head, revealing the beginnings of large antlers sprouting from above it’s ears.

Just as the previous one did, this creature's eyes narrowed as it took in the human, it’s ears flat against the side of it’s head.

After a moment, the creature’s ears perked up, it’s eyes going as wide as they could. Lan SiZhui could hear the brush of some fur from behind the beast, sounding almost like a dog’s tail. It stepped away from the window, nodding its head towards the houses’ entrance, before returning it’s gaze to the disciple.

Schooling his features, Lan SiZhui took shaking steps out of the room, keeping his distance from the wall to avoid any surprises. He arrived at the main area of the building, spotting the antlers of the beast as it waited by where Lan SiZhui was dropped off by the other creature. The two locked eyes as the disciple slowly stepped through the threshold.

He froze once again at the top of the incline leading to the beast. The beast tilted its head upon noticing his stop, taking a slow step toward the teen. Standing his ground, he looked for any signs of aggression, but found none. It took no time at all for the two to be face to face, the deer-like beast leaning down just enough to look Lan SiZhui in the eyes.

…

They stood like that for a moment, the only noise coming from Lan SiZhui’s shaky breath and the creature's steady huffing.

Feeling confident that the other would not attack, Lan SiZhui raised his hand to the creature's snout, resting it on the coarse fur just above the nose. A heavy breath blew his hair, and in a moment of childish glee, a small laugh forced itself out of his throat. The creature huffed another breath in response, pushing its nose against the disciples hand. The thumping sound reached Lan SiZhui’s ears again. This time, however, he could see the tuft of fur that made up the creatures tail shift side to side.

Lan SiZhui moved his hand across the fur, taking in the way the dark brown, almost black, color shifts as he pushed it aside.

Stuck in their own moment, both failed to notice the crow emerge from the cave. A loud caw snaps them out of it. Lan SiZhui and the creature tense, backing away from each other and looking towards the crow.

“I see you two have gotten acquainted,” the crow noted as it strode over to the pair. “However, I doubt you will see each other for much longer.” The deer stomped one of its feet, grunting and earning a glare from the other beast.

“We can’t keep him. Who knows what the clans will do if they figure out where he ended up.” Once again, the crows words were met with the deers nonverbal disagreement. Lan SiZhui found himself stuck between the two as they switched to a fully silent argument.

Eventually, after the beasts seemed to reach some sort of stalemate in their ‘conversation’, Lan SiZhui was hauled up by the crow, too quick for the disciple or the deer to react, and found himself once again hanging in the air by the scruff of his clothes. His breath stopped at the sudden gain in height. The pounding of his heart could just barely block out the rush of wind as they pushed past the dark cloud, and soon they were approaching the ground.

Tossed none too gently onto the ground, Lan SiZhui caught himself against a tree. The creature flew up to rest on a branch, although the distance didn’t lessen the threatening aura it produced.

“This is as far as I can take you, kid.” It lifted its head to look past the disciple, “That shiny border just down there will take you out of the Burial Mounds, and, if nothing else today goes wrong, won’t let you come back in. Just stick to the path you’re on now, and you should make it to the nearest town.” The crow ruffled its feathers, picking a few debris out of its wings. Spreading out its wings, the creature took off from the dead tree without another word.

Lan SiZhui turned to face the barrier. Somehow, he doubted that this would be as easy as the crow claimed.

Chapter Text

As he suspected, leaving was not as easy as he was told.

The barrier hadn’t let him through.

In fact, the barrier had instead thrown him back into a nearby tree. He currently laid slumped against said tree, his back and shoulders aching from the impact. Taking back the breath slam had stolen from him, Lan SiZhui tried to sit up, but a sharp pain in his ribs forced him to lay still.

Grunting past the pain, Lan SiZhui tried directing some qi towards the damage, but found that the flow had been blocked by something. Prodding at the blockage, the disciple flinched at the backlash of… whatever that was. Groaning in frustration, Lan SiZhui thought of what to do next. The crow was, by now, surely back at the ruined town, and Lan SiZhui had no idea where the other beast was.

Resting against the decaying tree, Lan SiZhui examined the dark, shimmering barrier that denied him exit. It seemed the rumored barrier of the Burial Mounds worked both ways. No one can get in, and any who do can’t leave.

As he rummaged through his memories of rumors of the Burial Mounds, Lan SiZhui came to a realization. Those beasts… surely they can’t be…

There was no other explanation. There were too many rumors of the feared Beasts of the Mounds. Those two creatures, they had to be the feared Yiling Patriarch, Wei WuXian, and his vicious Ghost General, Wen Ning. But… they didn’t seem anything like the stories and rumors claim. Neither caused him any harm, and although the Yiling Patriarch could have handled the disciple with more care, he didn’t seem to wish any true pain on the teen. The fear that filled his heart dispersed a second later as he tried to connect the two creatures to the rumors surrounding them, failing greatly.

The Ghost General’s true character really threw him for a loop. Every rumor has mentioned how the Ghost General had no compassion, and was simply a puppet for the Yiling Patriarch. The deer showed none of those traits. Instead, he seemed much more compassionate than most people Lan SiZhui has met, and the Yiling Patriarch didn’t seem to have any real power over the General during their interactions. In fact, the Ghost General seemed to have no issues arguing against who almost the entire world considers to have complete control over him.

Another odd thing was their forms. Everyone seemed to agree, albeit reluctantly, that Wei WuXian was one of the most handsome cultivators of his time, but Lan SiZhui found it hard to believe that a crow beast would even be considered for the ranking. He wondered what happened to change the two into the creatures they are now, and if it had anything to do with the barrier preventing him from leaving.

A twig breaking snapped him out of his thoughts, and looking up he saw the deer sneaking around near the barrier, gazing out at the surrounding area. He looked like he was looking for something, and in the process of standing to alert the deer to his presence, Lan SiZhui forgot about his current state. His hiss of pain seemed to work just fine in the end.

Finally noticing the disciple, the deer trotted over to him. As it approached, Lan SiZhui could hear a low, questioning whine come from the beast. He patted his ribs to show where the damage was, and let out another grunt when the pain increased.

“Ah, it appears the barrier is not as easy to get through as I was led to believe.” He groaned. A distressed whine sounded from the deer- from Wen Ning. Lan SiZhui reached a hand up, wincing as the movement shifted his ribs, and rested it on Wen Nings snout. He gives the deer a shaky smile.

“I’ll be fine. Honestly, the only thing truly bothering me is whatever the barrier seemed to push into me. That seems to be what’s keeping me from dealing with the pain.” He frowned down at the offending ribs. His attention was brought back to Wen Ning by the deer flinching back from his hand, and sharp whine rushing out. The disciple sat still as Wen Ning moved his side next to him, lightly nudging his arm onto his back.

Taking the hint, Lan SiZhui forced his way through the pain and sat hunched on the deer's back. He took deep breaths to hold off any approaching nausea from the move. Wen Ning began a hurried pace back to where they came, and Lan SiZhui could feel how he tried to keep his movements steady to prevent jostling the injured disciple.

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By the time they reached the decrepit town, the sun had taken its last light past the horizon, increasing the already prominent shadows covering the land.
Wen Ning let out a long, echoing groan, shaking the disciple from his unsteady rest.

An answering caw sounded from above them, and the weakened disciple turned his head up just in time to watch as the crow, now known to him as Wei WuXian, landed in front of them. His feathers ruffled when he noticed what Wen Ning had on his back, but before he could make any attempt to argue, the deer stepped forward, forcing Lan SiZhui closer to Wei WuXian.

A pause filled the air as Wei WuXian examined the teenager. When a minute had passed, the crow let out a sudden cry, and brought his head closer.

"What happened?! There’s no way this kid can have this much resentful energy in him and still be conscious!" Lan SiZhui winced at the loud noises coming from beside him, but he did his best to prop himself up on Wen Ning’s back. Taking a few breaths, Lan SiZhui began to explain the event leading him back up the mounds.

“...” Wei WuXian stares at him as he listens, the crow features preventing any hints as to how the story affects him. Just as the silence crossed over to extremely uncomfortable, Wei WuXian released what seemed to be a crow’s equivalent of a sigh.

“Sometimes I really wish your sister was still here…” He mumbled, drawing a low whine from Wen Ning. Shaking his head, Wei WuXian stepped back.

“Let's just… get the kid somewhere he can rest.” He was answered by a huff from Wen Ning. “... that’s true. I’m sure you can find somewhere, A-Ning. For now though, I have to try and figure what exactly happened between the border and the kid.” And with that, Wei WuXian flew through the dark smoke covering the entrance of his cave.

Wen Ning continued the trek further into the ruins, approaching what Lan SiZhui recognized as the house where he first met the deer. As they reached the front door, a problem revealed itself. There was no way that Wen Ning would be able to help Lan SiZhui inside. The first part of this issue was his antlers, the many branching points preventing him from even attempting to pass the doorway. The second was even if he could squeeze those through, there’s no way the house wouldn’t collapse as the beastly body put further strain on the already rotted supports.

Sensing the frustration building in the deer, Lan SiZhui glanced around from his tense position at the other buildings. Finding a smaller house with a large hole in the side, Lan SiZhui nudged Wen Ning.

“There’s a-'' He takes a sharp breath before continuing. “-building over there, with a hole that-” Another pause. “-that looks large enough for you to fit.” He finished, steeling himself against the waves of pain. Wen Ning made his way over to the damaged building, stepping halfway through the hole to get Lan SiZhui closer to the, although broken, still sleepable straw bed.

Lan SiZhui slid off Wen Ning’s back, stumbling over debris towards the mattress. As he lowered himself onto it, he cleared as much dust and bits of the house as he could before collapsing. Wen Ning lowered his head and gave a light huff and nudge to the disciples forehead. In response, Lan SiZhui lifted his hand to give a short stroke to the deer's head, a small smile making its way onto his face.

“Thank you… for helping me.” He mumbled, letting the exhaustion from the day take over.

Chapter Text

Lan SiZhui slowly woke to the sound of deep snores, and the faint smell of rot. His body ached everytime he moved, but he pushed past it to check his surroundings.

The source of the snoring turned out to be one of the demonic beasts he met the previous day, Wen Ning. The deer covers the entrance to the house, his giant body keeping the inside a slightly warmer temperature than the breeze flowing in from outside. Lan SiZhui stumbled up to his feet, leaning on the creaking wall for support. He shuffled over to the opening, stepping around the large body in his way.

The stale air flooded his lungs once again as he stepped into the clouded light. Looking around, Lan SiZhui found it difficult to decipher what time of day it was, with the resentful clouds covering the vast majority of the sky. His internal clock was thrown off as well, the events of yesterday throwing him off in a way he never thought he’d have to worry about.

As he tried to walk without any support from the walls of the house, he found himself stumbling towards the ground, catching himself centimeters from hitting the ground face first.

The rustle of feathers drew his attention to the side. He found the approaching shadow of a large bird, and quickly remembered his other companion. The arrival of Wei WuXian seemed to alert Wen Ning, and both creatures approached the kneeling disciple.

Wen Ning wedged his snout under Lan SiZhui, careful of his antlers, and helped him stand. Finding his footing, he brought his hands up into as respectful of a bow as he could manage with his healing injuries, leaning more of his side onto Wen Ning in the process.

“This one appreciates the help Master Wei and Master Wen gave yesterday, and apologizes for any difficulties this one’s arrival has brought.” There was silence as Lan SiZhui took deep breaths. When Wen Ning shifted slightly after a few moments, drawing the disciple to look up from his lowered state. Both creatures were watching him with tilted heads. He avoided meeting their eyes under the pressure of the increasingly tense silence.

Suddenly, a loud, raspy cawing echoed through the air, startling both Lan SiZhui and Wen Ning.Wei WuXian shook his head as he finished with the noise, which Lan SiZhui figured to be laughter, and his eyes softened as he looked back at the disciple.

“You know who we are, and yet you’re still a polite kid. I suppose that makes our current situation more bearable.” Lan SiZhui was almost hesitant to ask what was on his mind.

“What’s our current situation?” His question was joined by an inquisitive noise from Wen Ning. The crow paused as he looked between Lan SiZhui and Wen Ning, an uncertain look taking over his eyes as he settled them back on Lan SiZhui.

“Well… kid, it seems like you’ve been infected with the same curse we have, although to a lesser degree. I doubt you’ll be turning into a beast like us, but you’re going to be stuck here until the Burial Mounds either decides to let us go, or we can get a way to make it.”

The next few moments were filled with a tense silence, interrupted only by Wen Ning stomping his front leg and flicking his ears rapidly. Once he fully processed what was said, Lan SiZhui felt like the ground had been tugged from beneath him. Despite the urge to collapse, both from the shock and his still throbbing injuries, he composed himself with a deep breath, focusing on keeping himself present. There would be no use freaking out when ways out of this were still available.

Looking back at Wei WuXian, he found that the crow had moved closer, his head tilted and leaning in as if trying to get a better look at his face. When he noticed Lan SiZhui straightening out, Wei WuXian stepped back, giving the teenager room to breathe. The disciple took a second to gather his thoughts before speaking again.

“Have you found any way out of here yet? Or a place to start looking?” He asked. His question was answered before Wei WuXian spoke, the awkward set of his wings and adjusting of his stance clear enough.

“We would’ve been far away from here a long time ago if that was the case. Thirteen years and we’ve made no progress on our escape.” Lan SiZhui nodded, expecting this response. His eyes unfocused as he found himself lost in his thoughts.

The two beasts shared a strained look over Lan SiZhui’s head. Wen Ning broke the silence with a light huff, blowing Lan SiZhui’s bangs back to get his attention. The disciple snapped back to reality with wide eyes, glancing between the two creatures.

Wen Ning, upon gaining Lan SiZhui’s attention, nudges his forehead with his snout, drawing a light laugh out of the teen. Lan SiZhui brought his hands up to playfully push the deer away. Wen Ning snorted, shaking his head and straightening out as Lan SiZhui goes back to leaning on his shoulder.

Looking back at Wei WuXian, Lan SiZhui noticed a tinder gleam in his eyes as he watched the duo interact. When their eyes met, the crow tilted his head, his eyes narrowing as he examined the Lan disciple, before shaking his head and stepping back. He took a breath and looked around, eyes widening as they landed on something.

Lan SiZhui was about to follow his gaze, but was distracted when his stomach announced it’s presence. Wei WuXian snapped his gaze back towards Lan SiZhui at the noise. He chuckled when he noticed the teens face and ears slowly growing more pink.

“I was going to ask if you are hungry, but I guess I had no need.” He gestured his head towards where he was looking before. Lan SiZhui followed and saw a small, weaved basket sitting near what looks to be a turned over garden. Approaching the basket with Wen Ning, Lan SiZhui found that it contained roughly a week's worth of rice, enough to get his stomach rumbling again.

“We have a few more with various amounts of grain in them, but if we’re planning on getting you out of here without starving, we’re going to need to ration them out. Just be glad the two of us don’t need to eat this, or there wouldn’t be anything for you to ration.” Lan SiZhui nodded, looking around at the surrounding area. He could spot a few of the other baskets from where he was. Going over how he would approach this new dilemma, he turned back to Wei WuXian.

“You don’t need to eat?” The crow shook his head.

“Ah ah, I never said that. I said we don’t need to eat this,” he motioned with a wing at the basket. “We live mainly off of the endless resentful energy in this place, although I have caught A-Ning here grazing the dead grass like a- well, not normal deer, but as one would expect a demonic deer to.” Wen Ning stomped, a grunt verbally confirming his protest.

“What? It’s true! Last night I caught you out by the old entrance gate snacking away on the weeds and dehydrated plants, and don’t think I haven’t caught your mournful looks at the fresh grass outside the barrier! I swear, when we get out of here, we’ll need to keep you on a tight leash, lest the entire world experience a shortage of greenery.” Lan SiZhui caught the roll of his eyes as Wei WuXian finished his accusations, and watched as the insulted Wen Ning butt his head against the crows head, mindful of both his antlers and the disciple relying on him. He was met with an offended squawk from Wei WuXian, and the two continued to exchange noises, words, and physical arguments.

Lan SiZhui laughed, leaning further into the deer and allowing himself this one moment to feel calm.

Chapter Text

The return of the last junior night hunting group was a time Lan WangJi felt would never leave his mind. The sight of Lan JingYi, his son's best friend, entering his home with a distressed look on his face as he struggled to speak, was burned into his memories. He can remember how that energy transferred to him when his brother arrived, saying what Lan JingYi could not.

His son… His A-Yuan… Wei Ying’s A-Yuan… He couldn’t believe his ears when he learned how Lan SiZhui just… disappeared during the last hunt. He struggled to understand how one day, he was bidding his son good luck on a night hunt, and the next he was receiving news no parent wants to hear. He couldn’t let A-Yuan… He couldn’t lose him until he reunited his son with Wei Ying.

Now was not the time to go back to that moment, however. Lan WangJi could not let himself fall deeper into grief when he was supervising the remaining disciples on his search.

He was approaching their current hunt, a supposed resentful spirit causing havoc at a manor, after seeing the distress signal light up the sky. He could only hope that Lan JingYi and the other more experienced disciples were keeping each other out of harm's way. Lan WangJi would not be able to handle another disciple of his going missing or getting injured.

As he entered the main area of the manor, he could feel the energy radiating off of the spirit the juniors were fighting, a strong force that would make any inexperienced cultivator stumble. However, a different thread of resentful energy weaved it’s way into the mess, somehow both softer and yet more dangerous than the one in front of him. Lan WangJi saved that information in his head for after he dealt with the current threat.

Lan WangJi observed for a moment as the juniors dodged the possessed woman’s twisted arm. He spotted Lan JingYi leading the offensive charge, and for a moment Lan WangJi could picture Lan SiZhui beside his friend. Lan JingYi was one who shared in Lan WangJi’s despair over the missing disciple. Lan WangJi knew that it was particularly hard for the teen, having been with Lan SiZhui the night he disappeared. He wished he could offer Lan JingYi some comfort, or ease his mind in any way, although he knew that he could never be the support he needed. He simply didn’t have the experience to do so. Hopefully his son returned before his friend could break further.

The image was shattered when a particularly vicious attack threw the disciples across the yard. He readied his guqin, giving one sharp note to stop the next attack. As he descended in front of the juniors, Lan WangJi felt the previously subtle resentful energy grow, combined with the energy radiating from his current opponent. The shift threw him off, delaying him in his next steps.

Shaking his head and clearing it from any distractions, he strummed a quick set of notes to fully stop their attacker.

“Hanguang-Jun!” He heard the disciples behind him shout, JingYi’s voice sounding closest. Glancing to the side, Lan WangJi found the junior standing just behind him, sword ready to help if need be. Lan WangJi’s tense mind calmed at the image.

Turning back towards the now motionless corpse, Lan WangJi reached down to pick up the sword laying off to the side. Taking the spirit out of the sword was no challenge for the Second Jade of Lan, and Lan JingYi approached, holding out an empty spirit pouch. Lan WangJi nodded his thanks as he secured the spirit inside. Noticing the still strong resentful energy, he sent the juniors back to their rooms so he could investigate.

Wandering through the leftover carnage of the manor, Lan WangJi followed the trail of energy to a small shed behind the main area. The pressure of resentful energy grew, and was quickly joined by the iron stench of blood.

A wooden bar blocked the door from opening, although Lan WangJi could spot the many weak spots chipped into it. Sliding the wood free, Lan WangJi slowly pushed the doors open.

The energy in the room was suffocating, and Lan WangJi struggled to see past it. Unable to find his way through the mess, he stepped back into the open air, some of the resentful energy following him out.

Retrieving his guqin, he strummed a similar set of notes to what he played before, although with more energy pushed in. The cloud of resentment dispersed as slowly as a dense cloud would. Soon, Lan WangJi cleared just enough to see inside the room, and as soon as he locked onto the floor, he dismissed his guqin and rushed inside.

A figure dressed in black, tattered robes lay motionless on the floor. For a moment, Lan WangJi let himself hope. Let himself hope that maybe his soulmate wasn’t stuck in a living hell. Wasn’t some cursed beast trapped for others to gawk at.

Stopping a meter from the person, Lan WangJi examined the surrounding mess. The most jarring image was the large, red markings covering the floor and surrounding the figure. Lan WangJi tried to decipher the writings, although the hurried strokes and pools of blood prevented him from seeing a majority of them.

The next issue was the source of the blood. Whoever this damaged soul was lost a lot of blood in the process of this ritual. Lan WangJi drew his qiankun bag from his sleeve, producing a roll of bandage. He’d have to be quick to prevent the already deadly puddle of blood from growing even more fatal, making a note to clean the wounds when he has left the manor.

Pushing back the hole-ridden sleeve, Lan WangJi examined the person’s bloodied arm. He was glad to be desensitized to most gore. If he wasn’t, the sight of the mangled arm would drive him away from helping in favor of returning his last meal to the world.

Noting the amount of wounds and severity of each, Lan WangJi took care to make the bandage tight enough to stop the heavy flow. By the time he finished, the bandages had already begun to bleed through, although it gave him enough time to get this person better help.

Lan WangJi examined the shabby clothing barely covering the person's shivering form. His brows furrowed as he noticed a piece of scrap paper stuck under their side. He pulled it free and glanced over the scrawl occupying the page. The illegible font didn’t give Lan WangJi many clues to the author, but the small doodle resting in the bottom left sucked the breath from his lungs. It looked like a rushed sketch of… him. Forcing his eyes away to a similarly drawn image on the other side of the page, he found a small child smiling back.

There’s only one person Lan WangJi could think of with the courage to draw his image, and the child could only be the one he’s los-… the one he’s raised. His brain shuffles through this new information, and he’s wondering just how this person came about this page. Looking around, he notices similar notes scattered around, seemingly thrown about in what looks like a fit of rage. He couldn’t imagine the one before him causing all of this damage.

Speaking of damage, Lan WangJi turns towards the bloody array surrounding the two of them. It’s obvious that the array has some dark origin, although the notes littered around him suggest it must come from Wei Ying’s mind, sometime during his stay in the Burial Mounds. Although he didn’t know much about the meaning or purpose of the array, Lan WangJi had to admit that no matter what, the rough characters and broken red lines would not allow for any success. Perhaps that explained the hurried scratch marks further destroying the shaky lines. A realization spreading into drowsy anger.

A particularly rough shudder from the person brought him back to the biggest issue at hand. Stuffing the note in his sleeve, he grabs a few more closest to him before slipping his arms under the unconscious man.

Standing, Lan WangJi takes one more quick glance around the shed. Finding only broken furniture, the now meaningless array, and shredded, bloodied clothing scattered around the place, Lan WangJi takes the first step back into fresh air.

Chapter Text

“A-Yuan… my sweet A-Yuan…” A voice whispered. “We’re going to play one more game, okay?” A child whined weakly, drawing quick shushing from the voice. “I know, I know, it’s not play time yet. Just this once, though, okay? Humor your old man.”

The invisible space he was in seemed to shrink, although he could make out the sight of black and red peaking through the void.

“We’re going to play a little waiting game, okay? Your gege is going to find some more players, and he’ll be right back so we can get started. Just wait here, and don’t listen to anyone other than gege, alright? That’s the most important rule. Don’t leave for anyone except me.” His hair was ruffled before a roar echoed in the distance. He still couldn’t fully process the scene, and he could feel his eyes growing heavy as the air grew almost unbearably hot. Distress filled his body as the only color he could see, red, was swallowed by the surrounding darkness.

-----------------------------------

Lan SiZhui woke with a start, the dream- or, considering the fact he was overcome with sweat and breathing past a block in his throat, the nightmare- already fading from his memory. The only thing he could keep a strong grip on was the bright red color that seemed to represent whoever was speaking. A name sat on the tip of his tongue, although when he tried to shout it, it followed the rest of his dream away.

He instinctively reached out for Wen Ning’s fur, as he had the few other times a nightmare forced him awake during these past two weeks. However, this time, the space near him was empty, although still warm. The vacancy shocked his still tired brain like a splash of cold water.

Standing from his makeshift bed, Lan SiZhui stumbled towards the door, tugging on his outer robes to fight off the night chill. The Burial Mounds looked more like it’s namesake at night, with the fog impairing his sight even more than in the day. Each house looked like it could hold any number of beasts inside, and a shiver ran up his spine at the thought.

He turns to go back to sleep, although a house across the Mounds catches his eyes. The want for sleep disappears as an odd tugging sensation lures him closer. He recognizes the house as the first one he entered upon arriving. The same one where he first met Wen Ning, and the least destroyed home in the area.

Remembering the odd familiarity of the houses’ interior, Lan SiZhui ventured forward. As he entered through the rotting doorway, he felt the tugging grow stronger, and followed it to the children’s bedroom he found earlier. He stepped over fallen beams into the small room, his mind drawing him deeper with each step closer.

The toys scattered around the room caught his eye again. He bent down to pick up the closest one- a scorched wooden sword. The sword reminded him of one of the first toys his father bought for him after his seclusion had finally ended. It had been a quiet day, with Lan SiZhui watching his father still struggle to get out of bed. Despite the pain, he took Lan SiZhui down to Caiyi Town and purchased as many sweets and toys as he could. Among the toys Lan SiZhui carried by the end of the day, he swung around a dull wooden sword, and held two paper animals. He forced his father to carry the paper bunny, seeing how it lit up his flat look.

Smiling at the memory, Lan SiZhui clutched the sword close to his chest, disregarding the way the ash stained his already ruined robes. Looking around, he sifted through bits of fabric, wood, and straw making up other toys in various states of ruin. Only the sword and half of a paper butterfly seemed to survive the worst of the fires. Lan SiZhui collected the butterfly, and stood to move further into the room.

He noticed some remnants of paper pinned to what’s left of the wall, the edges burned and clinging by a thread. Avoiding the worst of the damage, Lan SiZhui reached out to the most notable piece. Examining the contents on it, he could make out a child's drawing, a large stick figure holding the hand of a smaller one. He could barely make out more than the basic idea of the drawing, although along one of the edges, Lan SiZhui noticed the smaller figure's other arm reaching up for something. A peak of charcoal shines through the burnt paper, although he can’t make out more than a few lines. He assumes a third figure was drawn onto the page. As he tries to see if anything else on the paper survived, his head begins to tense, a migraine pushing its way to the surface.

The picture fell from his hands as the migraine took hold. He found his way over to the dusty bed in the center of the room, laying down with the two toys still pressed tightly to his chest with one hand, the other pushing against his head in a vain attempt to ward off the headache.

In his fight, he felt the previous need to sleep come back, an escape from the sudden pain in his head. Relaxing as much as he could, Lan SiZhui clutched the toys in his hand as tightly as a sleeping boy could.

-----------------------------------

Wei WuXian couldn’t believe it.

In the time it took to do his nightly hunting with Wen Ning, clearing the Burial Mounds of the excessive amount of resentful energy it held, they managed to lose the kid.

Usually, losing a kid wouldn’t be an issue for the beast. However, this wasn’t a usual circumstance, and Wei WuXian couldn’t lose his one hold on his memories of La- of the outside world.

Wen Ning seemed to be taking it even worse, although Wei WuXian couldn’t figure out why. He knew his friend had already grown attached to the kid, but this was a bit much. It wasn’t like he was related to him or anything. The deer was frantically upturning the little shed the kid had taken residence in, as well as Wen Ning on most nights they weren’t hunting.

It was obvious the kid wasn’t there, although Wei WuXian couldn’t think of anywhere else the kid could be.

Wen Ning suddenly perked up, his ears twitching as he looked out towards the courtyard. Before he could question his friend, Wen Ning trotted past him, approaching his old house he shared with his sister and… and his cousin.

Wen Ning moved to a window on the side of the house. When Wei WuXian approached cautiously, he heard the deer exhale softly, his dark eyes brightening at whatever he saw inside. Trying to peek over his head, Wei WuXian could only make out the burned window frame, and the shadows cast inside by the moon. He shook his wings to try and urge his friend over.

“Are you going to let me see, or am I just supposed to search for that kid by myself, huh?!” He exclaimed. He was quickly met by a vicious side glare, but was finally granted access to look inside.

It took him a moment to recognize what captured Wen Ning’s attention, although once he caught sight of it it was hard to ignore. The bright white robes of the Lan disciple were hard to miss amongst the dust and ash of the room's interior. A flash of a memory shot through his mind, throwing him back to a time where, although things weren’t easy, he had a larger family than he could have ever dreamed of. The room changed to how it was years before, and the figure on the bed was one he wished didn’t live only in his memories.

He was tossed back to the present by a particularly cold chill, and it was obvious the kid could feel it through the holes in the wall and window.

Turning to go back to the shed, he found Wen Ning had beat him to it, holding the worn blanket the kid has been using during his stay. Taking it from his friend, Wei WuXian made his way towards the entrance of the house. Although it was a tight squeeze, he managed to get far enough in to toss the blanket on the sleeping form on the bed.

He almost missed the two toys gripped tightly in the kids hands, although he noticed them as they caught on the blankets woolen fabric. He chuckled at the childish sight, and was determined to use this as new teasing material. It was obvious just how easy it was to tease the young disciple. Perhaps it was a shared clan trait.

Chapter Text

Lan SiZhui woke to the dawning sun and a warmth he didn’t remember falling asleep to. Opening his eyes, he took a moment to regain his bearings. He recalled making his way to this room, and the feeling of drowsiness that overtook him when he arrived, but he didn’t remember bringing his blanket with him.

Shifting, Lan SiZhui winced as a dull pain spread through his side. Pulling the blanket back, he found the wooden sword he found last night resting underneath him, the blunt edge trapped between the bed and his body. He pushed himself up so he was sitting, and gathered the items scattered around the bed.

As he leaned down, he felt his headband slip from his head, landing softly in the pile of toys. He stared for a moment, raising his hand up to his now bare forehead.

Somehow, this one moment made him remember just what kind of situation he was in.

Trapped, separated from his friends and family. Unsure of when he’ll ever be able to see them again. Stuck with two beasts who, although have been taking care of him, have almost no other choice if they’re all to get out of this.

Worst of all, Lan SiZhui remembers the last thing his father said to him when the night hunt group left. A simple good luck for a smooth hunt and safe return. If he never finds a way out of the Burial Mounds, he may never see or talk to his father ever again. Imagining what that would do not only to himself, but to his father made it even worse. He didn’t want to be the reason his dad went back into seclusion, didn’t want him going through what he did all those years ago. His only hope was that JingYi was helping everyone through this, without unnecessary strain on himself.

Before his mind could push itself further into a dark state, a light tapping sound from the window of the room. Turning, he saw half of Wen Ning’s face trying to stick through the broken frame. He let out a low whine when he made eye contact with Lan SiZhui, but couldn’t move closer like he wanted to.

Lan SiZhui smiled softly at the beast. He stood and moved towards the front of the house, listening to the hurried trot as Wen Ning rushed to meet him. As he approached the entrance, he realized he was still holding the two toys in his hands, as well as his unraveled headband. Before he could find somewhere to set them down or put the headband back on, the large head of a deer was shoved as far as it could into the doorway. The creaking of the frame took precedent over the small toys held to his chest.

Wen Ning whined again, although this time it was cut short when his eyes landed on the teen. He first tilted his head- as much as his antlers would allow- when he noticed the missing strip of cloth that usually covered Lan SiZhui’s forehead, but his eyes widened when he saw the toys.

The deer tried to wiggle his head further in, honing in on the objects clutched in Lan SiZhui’s hands. Noticing his intention, the teen held out his hands, allowing Wen Ning full access to study them. He nudged the butterfly and sword around in Lan SiZhui’s hands, sniffing them in the process. Wen Ning also examined the headband, and although usually Lan SiZhui wouldn’t let any form of life outside of his family back in the Cloud Recesses touch the cloth, he felt no urge to draw it away from the deer.

“SiZhui!” A loud caw flew through the air from the center of the outside courtyard, disrupting the moment. The mentioned teen and Wen Ning moved away from the house and turned towards it. Wei WuXian landed roughly in an open patch of land, tripping over something in his left claw. He looked around with excited eyes, squawking when he found where the other two were watching.

“SiZhui! I’ve got you something!” He stumbled over to the duo.

Once he reached them, he lifted a large claw up and out towards Lan SiZhui. Placing the two toys on some nearby rubble, he hesitated before gently folding his headband and placing it near the other objects.

Before he could turn back, he jumped when Wei WuXian gasped, lowering his foot and leaning closer to the teen.

“... You’re not wearing your headband? I never thought I’d see the day a Lan willingly kept it off…” He lightly pecked at Lan SiZhui’s bare forehead, pushing his bangs aside and stepping back once he successfully messed up the teen’s hair. Wen Ning huffed a laugh when Lan SiZhui turned to him with a questioning look, although quickly snapped back towards his friend when Wei WuXian next spoke.

“Hmm… without that band, you look like another kid I… used to know…” The silence following was tense and filled with unspoken emotions. Before the other two could respond, Wei WuXian shook his head, ruffled his feathers, and held out his claw again.

“Anyways! Back to what I called you out here for! I went out scouting for a bit, and found this near the border.” Lan SiZhui held out his hands to receive the gift. He almost dropped said gift when it was dropped into his hands, not expecting the sudden weight. Looking at the object after securing it, he was surprised to see his missing sword. Truthfully, he had almost forgotten the feel of a sword in his hands.

“I… Thank you, Master Wei.” He raised his sword in front of him, bowing low to the crow. His bow was, however, interrupted by Wei WuXian, his beak pushing Lan SiZhui back upright.

“There’s no need for that! You Lans and your silly rules on respect.” Lan SiZhui felt his face warm at the teasing, intensifying when Wei WuXian cooed at his flush.

“Aiya, SiZhui, where were you when A-Yuan wanted a big brother? A cute kid like you would’ve been a perfect match for him.” Lan SiZhui stopped, his brow furrowing as he processed the question. Who was this A-Yuan? And who was he to the infamous YiLing Patriarch?

Before Lan SiZhui could respond, Wen Ning rushed forward, using the top of his head and his antlers to push Wei WuXian away from the main area, towards the cave still sealed with resentful energy.

Left standing in front of the house, Lan SiZhui gathers all of the items he set down. Heading back inside, he begins to clean up the ruined room he slept in last night.

-----------------------------------

Wen Ning had had enough.

He refused to believe that Master Wei was this dense.

Although, considering Master Wei’s previous failure in noticing Master Lan’s advances, Wen Ning couldn’t say he was all that surprised.

Still. This was about A-Yuan. His last living relative, and the closest to a son Master Wei ever had. Wen Ning would not allow another moment to pass without Master Wei knowing he was interacting with Wen Yuan. Or, Lan Yuan, as it seems to be now.

Wen Ning never doubted that Lan WangJi would take in little A-Yuan, if he got him before the other clans did, but it was still odd to see his cousin under a different name.

He had time to mull that over later. Now, he has to knock some sense into a certain demonic cultivator.

As soon as he had herded his beastly friend deep into the Demon-Slaughtering Cave, he gave one final shove with his antlers, forcing himself between Master Wei and the exit. The crow squawked as he regained his footing, shaking his wings and head.

“What was that for?! I was just trying to make the kid feel better! Why’d you feel the need to manhandle me away?!” He shouted, only stopping when Wen Ning let his ears drop back, his fur raising slightly. The deer stomped his hooves at his friend, communicating through the link the two seemed to share.

Master Wei, I’ve never once doubted your intelligence. Not even when you thought you could still fire a bullseye after drinking a full jar of Uncle Four’s wine.

The crow went to protest, but was interrupted as Wen Ning continued his rant.

Now, however, I genuinely think that whatever spell we were put under took whatever intellect you had left.

Wei WuXian stumbled slightly at the unexpected blow to his pride.

If I have to go one more day with you not noticing the completely obvious information sitting right in front of you, I may lose what’s left of mine as well.

“...What are you talking about?” Wen Ning exhaled, his previously confrontational image now softening to his normal stance.

Master Wei, do you remember Lan SiZhui’s birth name?

Wei WuXian froze. Wen Ning watched warily, fearing the lack of any visible reaction and its implications on his friend's current state. He could, however, see the information processing in his head. He could only hope it was processed correctly.

Before he could say anything to coax any reaction out, Wei WuXian darted out of the cave.

Wen Ning could only hope that A-Yuan was prepared to face the now definitely doting crow charging his way.

Chapter Text

A soft melody drifted through the air, trying to convince the waking Mo XuanYu to continue his rest.

He would’ve followed it’s instructions, but there was one glaring fact that forced him to shoot up on the impossibly soft surface beneath him.

That fact was, of course: Mo XuanYu should not be able to hear these notes. Rather, his soul should never have been able to experience… anything, ever again. Not after he painstakingly copied the ritual that would’ve resulted in his soul being shattered and lost forever.

Needless to say, he was more than a little confused, concerned, and, admittedly, disappointed, that his plan failed.

A sharp note dragged him from his thoughts as the song came to an end. Slowly turning to face the source, Mo XuanYu was at first blinded by the bright lights and light surroundings, the blues and whites reflecting the already unbearable light.

Once his vision adjusted and focused on the biggest shape in the room, his breath caught in his throat.

Not once in his life did he even think of meeting either Jade of Lan. However, after meeting Zewu-Jun in passing during his time at Koi Tower, he really shouldn’t be too surprised that he’d end up crossing paths with the elusive Hanguang-Jun. What is the most surprising is the fact that Mo XuanYu has somehow found himself in the Second Jade’s bedroom, resting on his bed, and is being treated to the Jade’s guqin playing.

He takes a moment to pinch himself, not sure if this is just a very nice dream-before-death, or a very real, very confusing scene. The pain suggested it was the latter. Which brought up the issue of Mo XuanYu staring at a very real Hanguang-Jun. His face brightened with a hot flush, although the cultivator across from him didn’t seem to notice or care.

Instead, Hanguang-Jun rose from his seat, dismissing his guqin and approaching Mo XuanYu. He took a seat on the edge, facing his “guest” and reaching into his sleeve, pulling out some crumpled, red-stained sheets of paper. The younger man tensed when the cultivator revealed the contents. His small stash of Yiling Patriarch arrays and inventions. Small ones he didn’t think Jin GuangYao or Xue Yang would notice went missing. Plus the many copies he made trying to perfect the sacrificial ritual before attempting it.

His mind raced trying to figure out what Hanguang-Jun would do with these now that he had both the works, and a demonic cultivator under his roof. He was startled when the man began to speak.

“... How did you get these?” Hanguang-Jun started, his eyes narrow, observing Mo XuanYu’s reactions. “What was the array you used?” His eyes burned as Mo XuanYu tried to come up with a less incriminating reason than the truth.

All Mo XuanYu could do was stare at the man across from him as his brain struggled to catch up.

“I-” His words caught in his throat as a painful scratching began. Coughing seemed to make it worse. He desperately tried clawing at his throat.

Before he could panic even more over this situation, and over the steadily increasing taste of blood in his mouth, a gentle hand took one of his own away from his throat, pressing a cup into it. Holding in his next rough inhale, as well as the cough trying to force its way out, he downed the entire cup in one swallow. The cool water felt nice, although it didn't do much for the intense itch. As he looked up to try and find more, he startled when the cup slowly became heavier. Looking back in front of him, he remembered where he was, and who he was with.

Hanguang-Jun sat back when the cup was properly full, and looked at him expectantly when Mo XuanYu tried clearing his throat.

Mo XuanYu raised the cup slightly in thanks before once again quickly drinking it’s contents.

This silent routine continued for a few more minutes, and soon Mo XuanYu could comfortably breathe deeply and speak in short sentences.

“I…” He steadied his breathing to prevent a coughing fit as he spoke. “I don’t know the exact name of the array. I just… copied it from memory and never memorized the name.”

“Where did you find this to memorize it?” Hanguang-Jun’s eyes narrowed. “You are part of the Jin sect, are you not?” Mo XuanYu flinched at the harsh tone.

“I was. I had been living with my aunt and cousin for a few weeks before I,” He motions vaguely towards Hanguang-Jun’s sleeves. The man hums in response.

“And did you find these during your stay in Koi Tower?” Mo XuanYu hesitated as he debated how to answer, although that seemed to be enough of an answer to Hanguang-Jun.

The cultivator stood, a determined look on his face as he put away the pitcher and cups.

When he finished, Hanguang-Jun opened a small chest near the bed. He pulled out a set of white robes, and set them on the bed. Mo XuanYu eyed them, wondering what he was meant to do with them. Hanguang-Jun motioned towards his current attire, and Mo XuanYu was startled to see he was already in a similar outfit. The sleeves were growing pink, however, and Mo XuanYu lifted one to see the majority of his arm wrapped in bandages, the white fabric turned almost maroon.

“Brother is arriving soon.” Mo XuanYu looked up at Hanguang-Jun, confused as to why he’s saying this. Hanguang-Jun moved towards the main area of his home.

“I wish to bring this to him quickly. You will be coming as well.” His tone left no room for argument. “I will return with fresh wraps for your arm. Stay here.” With that, he finally left.

Mo XuanYu could hear him shuffling around further in the house, allegedly looking for bandages. He didn’t know how much he believed that. He knows how these cultivators work. Only helping you so long as you prove useful to them.

This time, he wouldn’t wait around to be kicked out of this clan. He’d find his way out before then.

Set in his task, Mo XuanYu stood, stumbling slightly before catching himself on a wall. He listened to see if Hanguang-Jun heard any of that, but was relieved to hear him still gathering things.

Moving towards the nearest window, Mo XuanYu slowly slid the screen back.

He had one foot on the frame when a cough startled him. He fell back and hissed when the fall pulled at his wounds. The light was blocked when a figure moved to stand over him. Without opening his eyes, Mo XuanYu could tell who it was.

When the pain died down enough to be bearable again, he opened his eyes and locked onto Hanguang-Jun standing over him, the new bandages and a small bowl in his hands.

His eyebrow is slightly arched, although Mo XuanYu could be imagining it. The man is already hard to read, and Mo XuanYu doesn't have the brain space to learn Hanguang-Jun’s facial queues.

After a few moments of just laying on the ground, he pushed himself up, wincing everytime a cut is strained. By the time he managed to make his way back to bed, he hesitated to meet Hanguang-Jun’s eyes when he joined him. The man didn’t point out the flimsy attempt to escape, instead laying out his materials and placing the bowl gently on a side table he brought with him.

Hanguang-Jun holds out a hand towards Mo XuanYu’s clenched ones. Glancing up at him, Mo XuanYu slowly reaches out with his right arm. Once it’s within reach, Hanguang-Jun rests his hand under Mo XuanYu’s wrist, reaching for the cloth sitting in the bowl. Looking over, MMo XuanYu notices the bowl is filled with fresh water, and there are several small cloths resting on the side.

He flinches when Hanguang-Jun begins unwrapping the ruined bandage.

Hanguang-Jun is quick and efficient, the changing taking barely any time at all. In that time, Mo XuanYu gradually relaxes around the other.

By the time Mo XuanYu is in fresh bandages and robes, a disciple stopped by to announce the arrival of Zewu-Jun. The reminder of why Hanguang-Jun is keeping him nearby forces its way back to the front of his mind, as well as just how wrong this discussion can go, counting in Zewu-Jun’s relationship with the Jin Sect Leader, the main culprit in this investigation.

It’s too late, however, to turn back now. Mo XuanYu has already followed Hanguang-Jun to the front gates, and watches as Zewu-Jun crosses the barrier into the Cloud Recesses.
Ice rushes through his veins as he notices the only person in the group not wearing some form of white and blue.

Lianfang-Zun.

...

Mo XuanYu broke away from Hanguang-Jun’s side and hurried towards the Jingshi as fast as he could, desperately trying to run from the scene, hoping that Jin GuangYao did not see him.

It seemed, however, that luck did not favor him, not now, not ever. He heard steady footsteps easily catching up behind him as he tried fleeing through a small alley between two buildings.

Once again, fate laughed at him as the alley ended quickly into a dead end. He clawed at the wall, trying to find some way to scale up it, or even just a few loose pieces to pry out for defense.

The footsteps stopped at the entrance, but he ignored it. A voice cutting through his desperate breaths finally forced him to cease, if only because of the terror the voice brought to him.

“A-Yu?” He could hear the fake concern lacing the nickname. “I heard what happened, and how you were found. I only wished to speak with you and see how you're faring.” Mo XuanYu shook his head to try and fight off the words. He wouldn’t let this monster control him again. Wouldn’t let him twist his feelings, turn his fragile mind against him once again.

A soft sigh, and he could feel the air shift. He wished he would’ve just stayed with Hanguang-Jun. At least with him, Jin GuangYao would have no way to harm him, outside of subtle threats and ‘rumors’. Instead, he’s stuck against a wall, a terrifyingly large amount of resentful energy lurking towards him, choking him and irritating his still open wounds.

“I was sad to see such a… knowledgeable disciple throw away his talents on the off chance he could get revenge, but I guess not everyone can handle it.” Mo XuanYu scowled in response, turning to face the threat.

Before he could see the Jin sect leader in all of his ‘glory’, a hand gripped the back of his head and shoved it against the wall. The rough texture tore at his face as he struggled, but a strong knee pushed further onto his back.

He tried to shout, hoping that someone was close enough to hear, but a slender hand forced his mouth shut, his teeth clacking painfully and just barely missing his tongue.

“Now, now, dear brother. What would someone think if they found an injured lunatic shouting at and cornering a sect leader in a dead end? Surely you wouldn’t want a repeat of last time? There’s no need to be kicked out of another sect because of your… urges.” Mo XuanYu tried kicking out, but the knee on his back pushed further, crushing him against the wall and forcing him to give up his struggle.

“There we are. I truly don’t understand why you must make everything more difficult than it has to be. I just want to know what you told Hanguang-Jun. I’ll decide what to do with you on a later date, depending on what you’ve let slip.” The hand over his mouth slid down to hold just under his hand, forcing his head back at an awkward angle. He gasped through the pain, and tried his hardest to shake his head.

“I didn’t-” The hand tightened its grip on his neck, anticipating his response. “... I haven’t had the time… to tell him anything,” He manages, leaving out the fact that Hanguang-Jun didn’t need him to speak to understand who’s involved, and waits anxiously for his half-brother's reaction. Jin Guangyao sighs, his grip loosening enough to not strain Mo XuanYu’s throat anymore.

“I see… I suppose that’s the best outcome for the mess you’ve made.” He removes his hand completely from Mo XuanYu’s throat, giving him enough time to take some desperate breaths. When Mo XuanYu thinks the knee will release him next, he’s instead pushed face-first back into the wall.

“Make sure it stays that way, and you might just live to see the Jin Sect truly prosper.” And with that, everything holding him up lets off, leaving him to drop to the ground and nurse his new and old wounds, physical and mental.

“Stay out of this mess, Mo XuanYu. I’d hate to hurt Er-Ge more by taking his true brother from him.” His final threat for the moment hangs in the air, choking Mo XuanYu alongside his sore throat. He refuses to turn, even when he hears Jin GuangYao walk away.

Maybe with this opportunity, Mo XuanYu can safely leave the area unnoticed.

Maybe he can spare at least one person from incurring Jin GuangYao’s wrath.

Chapter Text

Lan WangJi should’ve known better than to let Mo XuanYu run off on his own, especially after he just let loose the truth of his half brother and current Jin sect leader. Said man had gone after Mo XuanYu with the excuse of checking in on his ‘damaged’ sibling. Lan WangJi could see right through him. His brother could not.

Regardless of his urge to go find Mo XuanYu before Jin GuangYao could, he knew doing so would raise suspicion in both his brother and the other sect leader. As such he was left to walk with his brother towards the Library Pavillion. Apparently, his sworn brother had taken an interest in the building and the books within. Another thing that didn’t sit right with Lan WangJi.

“I hope A-Yao can find Young Master Mo. I’d hate for him to get lost in distress.” Lan XiChen sighed, shaking his head.

“A-Yao mentioned how one of his half siblings had snapped during his stay at Koi Tower and had to be removed for everyone's safety, but I didn’t think it was this bad.” Lan WangJi’s brow twitched at his brother's words, the only sign he let slip that he was bothered. Luckily, it slipped right past his brother, like many things. He chose his response carefully.

“Mn.” His brother nodded along, as though Lan WangJi had said a full sentence in that one syllable.

“Yes well, I’m sure time spent here will help heal whatever damage lies in his mind.” He smiles at Lan WangJi.

“I’ll leave him in your hands for now.” Lan WangJi made no response. He already knew Mo XuanYu’s journey would need his aid. He just needed to figure out how. Getting him away from his family would be the best first step.

Soon they arrived at the Library Pavilion, stopping outside the door. Lan WangJi debated bringing up the new information provided by Mo XuanYu, but he found no need to decide. Not when he could see the main subject of said information walking towards them. His brother noticed the man as well. Before he could call out to him, Lan WangJi stepped forward.

“Where is Mo XuanYu?” He questioned, trying to keep his voice calm. The Sect Leaders face gave no indication of offensense or other negative reaction to the deman, just a fake smile he’s been holding since he arrived. The new scuff marks on his robes further rose Lan WangJi’s suspicion.

“Ah, he ran off after I found him between some buildings. I’ll have to apologize to those in the buildings, my brother did get a little loud before taking off.” He sighed and shook his head.

“I’ll assume he’s making his way back to the Jingshi, being the only place he should know in Gusu.” Lan WangJi bites back his reaction to that comment. Instead he nodded and bowed to both sect leaders.

“I will go make sure he arrives safely.” His brother smiled as he bowed back, his sworn brothers’ smile as shady as the man himself.

Lan WangJi turned from the duo, setting off on what could be a next to impossible quest.

He first retraced his steps back to the entrance, hoping to find some help in the place he lost his ward. When he reached the front gate, he turned and followed, to the best of his ability, Mo XuanYu’s crazed path between the various buildings and foliage residing in Gusu.

After checking every dead end alley he could find, he finally stumbled upon the one containing Mo XuanYu. The man lay curled up against the end wall of the alley, his shaking the only sign he was still conscious.

Lan WangJi approached cautiously, unsure what state Jin GuangYao had left the man in. He purposefully makes his footsteps more audible in hopes of giving Mo XuanYu the chance to take charge of the upcoming interaction.

He managed to get within feet of Mo XuanYu before the man showed any reaction to his presence. Mo XuanYu simply lifted his head from his knees to look at Lan WangJi.

Lan WangJi stopped after a few more steps, meeting Mo XuanYu’s seemingly distant gaze. He caught the faintest hint of wariness in his eyes, further confirming what his curled posture already did. Clearly Jin GuangYao was not above hurting family to get what he wanted.

Although, if Lan WangJi’s suspicions were correct, this isn’t a surprising fact.

Focusing on the present, Lan WangJi scanned Mo XuanYu for any obvious injuries. He could only spot a few scrapes and bruises on his cheeks and forehead, the biggest one residing on the cheek previously resting on the wall. Lan WangJi could make a fair guess as to how that bruise occurred.

“Are you hurt elsewhere?” He questioned, hoping to get any response, as well as confirmation as to how badly his half brother had hurt him. Hopefully it wouldn’t be enough to keep Mo XuanYu out of helping Lan WangJi. That would put quite the roadblock in his quest to reunite with his soulmate and son.

Instead of answering, Mo XuanYu struggled to his feet. He managed to stay upright, surprisingly, albeit with the help of the surrounding walls. Besides needing help from the wall, his legs seemed to be faring well compared to his face.

As Mo XuanYu tried to stumble past him towards the open trail, Lan WangJi grabbed his arm to halt him. The man stopped, lightly pulling on the grip with a face that showed he knew he couldn’t get out of this.

“What did he say to you?” Mo XuanYu scoffed.

“What? Why do you think he said anything? Do you think I can’t handle a few sharp words?”

“No.” Mo XuanYu nodded, struggling to pull his arm free.

“Glad you understand. Now can you please let me go on my way? I don’t understand why you are so persistent-“

“I think you can’t handle threats that you could fix by running.” Lan WangJi interrupted. Mo XuanYu stood stunned, his back to the cultivator as he tried to figure out what to say to get out of this.

“… yes, well, isn’t it better for me to fix it? Rather than it result in something I could have prevented just by leaving?”

“No. Not when I am closer to closure than I have been in 13 years. Not when you running could hinder the search for my child.” Mo XuanYu flinched, turning with wide eyes to finally face Lan WangJi.

“… your child?” Lan WangJi nodded.

“Missing for just over a fortnight. Resentful energy during a night hunt vanished him.” Lan WangJi watched as Mo XuanYu processed the information, his eyes darting around with his thoughts. He waited patiently for the smaller man to finish.

“Were they near anywhere particularly infested with resentment?” He seemed to already know the answer.

“Mn… Burial Mounds.”

Mo XuanYu was lost in his thinking again, but the chill in the afternoon air was beginning to sharpen enough that his small core would soon not be able to protect him from it, if it was even doing that now. Lan WangJi noticed the shivers beginning. He used his grip to guide Mo XuanYu towards the Jingshi, the other hardly noticing, busy with his thoughts.

-----------------------------------

As they entered the Jingshi, Lan WangJi released Mo XuanYu to grab a spare robe, hoping to chase off any remaining chill from the weaker man's core.

By the time Mo XuanYu had sorted his thoughts fully, Lan WangJi had situated himself at a low table, a tea set laid out before him, two cups filled with fresh tea set on the table.

Mo XuanYu himself had been led towards his seat, standing before it as he came back to the present. He took his seat before Lan WangJi, taking a sip of the tea before clearing his throat.

“... I believe the first place to look would be the Burial Mounds. It is possible that that energy came from the Yiling Patriarch, if he still resides there.” Lan WangJi nodded along, already having planned to take a trip to Yiling ever since his son went missing. He tried immediately after A-Yuan disappeared, but his uncle had shut it down without a second thought, stating that letting Lan WangJi near ‘that foul place’, filled with desperation and worry to find his son safe, would just lead to disaster.

Lan WangJi wouldn’t deny that the elders were most likely not worried about Lan SiZhui. They knew of his past, and refused to look past his past to see his incredible progress and leadership amongst the juniors. If they strongly protested large searches for his son enough, there wasn’t much that his brother and uncle could do to help him.

He had long since acknowledged that his wish to reunite with the two most important people to him would only be fulfilled by himself. Perhaps now the disgraced Jin sect disciple as well.

“It would probably be best to leave soon, before my-” He stopped himself. “-before Sect Leader Jin can expose our plan to your brother. Or to anyone else who would seek to stop us, or possibly even use this as an excuse to escalate the situation and cause another war with the Patriarch.”

“Mn.” Lan WangJi agreed. He wouldn’t put it past the world to use his son's kidnapping as an excuse to cause more harm to his soulmate.

Decided on their plan, Lan WangJi stood from his seat and made his way towards a small chest in the corner. He unsealed the talismans on the back of the chest, allowing him to open the lid and reach inside. A single bag rested inside, full of any supplies he thought he would need if he ever ran to Yiling, including coins and other valuables that would be needed to support the Wens, his soulmate, and himself. He originally made this bag while he could still visit Wei Ying, in the hopes that his love would accept his visits fully enough to comfortably move to the Burial Mound settlement.

Lan WangJi set the bag on the table, pulling another empty bag from it. As Mo XuanYu examined the contents of the first bag, Lan WangJi filled the second one with clothes and various medicine to last their trip. He hoped he wouldn’t need to use much money outside of food and inns, so he could still have enough for when he finds his family.

Returning to the table, he picked the first bag from the table and set them by Bichen on her stand.

“We will leave after nine, to avoid any groups.” Mo XuanYu agreed with a nod. He opened his mouth to respond, but a crash and shout outside the door startled both of them.
Lan WangJi grabbed and unsheathed Bichen, making his way slowly towards the door. He could hear whoever it was outside scramble to stand, and took advantage of their unsteadiness to throw open the door.

The last person he expected to see sneaking around his home was sprawled out on his front step.

Lan JingYi.

The boy quickly returned to his feet when he made eye contact with Lan WangJi, his cheeks red with embarrassment.

“H-Hanguang-Jun! Haha, funny seeing you here!” Lan WangJi continued to only stare at him, unamused with the boy's attempt at humor. Lan JingYi realized this, and quickly switched to a more somber mood and dropped into a low bow.

“I… I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, I swear! I just…” He paused for a long moment, only continuing after Lan WangJi finally moved, guiding Bichen back to her sheath.

“It doesn’t matter!” If Lan WangJi was less in control of his reactions, he would’ve jumped just as Mo XuanYu did at the outburst.

“I heard your plan! And I want in! I want to find SiZhui and make sure he’s safe, and bring him back so he can continue showing the elders that they’re wrong!” He took a deep breath, his face still red, both from his emotions and the chill in the air. He met Lan WangJi’s eyes once more, and the older cultivator could see a line of tears gathering in his eyes.

“I just want my friend to come back home.” He finished.

Lan WangJi studied the boy for a moment, allowing Lan JingYi enough time to recover from his emotions and realize he just yelled at HanGuang-Jun. He bowed again, his mind rushing with shame.

“Apologizes, HanGuang-Jun. I did not mean to let my emotions get the best of me. I’ll accept any punishment you deem fit to give me.” Inside, he was cringing at the thought of copying the rules or doing headstands for hours again.

“Hm.” Lan WangJi nodded, stepping back from the disciple.

“You will carry the bags. Care for the rooms and camps we stay in.” He concluded, turning back to walk inside the Jingshi.

Lan JingYi rose from his bow, confused as to what Lan WangJi meant. Turning to close the doors, Lan WangJi met his eyes one more time.

“We leave after everyone else has gone to bed. Pack what is necessary and leave anything else.” He waited for the disciple to catch one, bowing one more time.

“I will be back then!” He hesitated for a moment, before adding, “Thank you, HanGuang-Jun!” With that, he hurried back to his own room, intent on packing quickly and making sure he was on time to return.

Closing the doors, Lan WangJi sighed softly and returned to his seat at the table. He drank the rest of his cup of tea as he settled down from that encounter. Setting his cup down, he met Mo XuanYu’s questioning eyes.

“It appears we will need to account for one more person on the trip.”

Chapter Text

Lan SiZhui could not pinpoint the exact reason he was currently tightly wrapped in feathers and strong wings, but he did know that whatever reason it was transformed the previously politely enthusiastic Wei WuXian into an overly cuddly Wei WuXian.

When the crow first shot out of his cave towards an unsuspecting Lan SiZhui, his only warning was the loud ruffling and frantic cawing of the beast, before the disciple was grabbed from behind by a familiar beak.

Instead of speech, Wei WuXian seemed to be overwhelmed with high pitched calls, pressing the disciple as close as he could to his chest.

After several moments of this, with Lan SiZhui catching glimpses through the feathers of Wen Ning standing off to the side, Wei WuXian finally reigned in some of his emotions, enough to speak clearly.

“My A-Yuan… my sweet, sweet child… I missed you so much, A-Yuan…” He mumbled, shuffling Lan SiZhui’s hair with his beak. Lan SiZhui was confused by the familiar way of speech. The crow had never called him anything but his courtesy name, but was suddenly feeling close enough to jump straight to this.

“Ah… Senior Wei?” The feathers muffled his words, although it seemed to get the crow to loosen his grip a bit. Just enough to look down at the disciple in his wings. Wei WuXian’s eyes, although not as expressive as a humans, still seemed to turn soft as he stared at Lan SiZhui.

Instead of explaining his sudden closeness, Wei WuXian combed through Lan SiZhui’s hair with his beak, pulling it from the neat tie it was in. Not knowing what else to do, Lan SiZhui tried to make his hair as neat as possible, while also still battling with Wei WuXian’s insistent grooming.

The awkwardness was broken by a low whine from Wen Ning. The sound caused Wei WuXian to freeze, before tousling Lan SiZhui’s hair one last time with a deep sigh and stepping back.

“... Yes, I suppose so.” Another whine.

“Well how exactly should I explain it?!” A groan in response.

“Why don’t you explain it since you know so much?!” Wei WuXian folds his wings in front of him, mimicking what would be an arm cross on a human. The silence that followed was awkward enough to make Lan SiZhui shift on his feet.

“... Fair enough. Sorry A-Ning.” The crow ruffled his feathers, releasing some tension in the air. He lowered his head to stare at Lan SiZhui again, his eyes squinting slightly. He released a breath after a few moments of silence, prompted by a light huff from Wen Ning.

“There’s really no simple way to say this, SiZhui, but we’re pretty sure that, well, you used to be a Wen, and lived here with us for a while as a toddler?” The sentence trailed off into a question the further he continued to talk.

Lan SiZhui held his gaze, letting the rushed information filter through his head.

There was no way that this was true. He couldn’t even begin to piece together how he could ever forget an entire family, or this place he supposedly spent time in. He shook his head in disbelief.

“But… I’ve been raised as a Lan for as long as I can remember. Hanguang-Jun has been my acting father figure, and I’ve never heard of being anywhere else beforehand-” Suddenly, he remembered one important fact from his childhood. His fever…

“I guess… there were the years before my fever,” He mumbled, holding his chin as he tried to pull anything from his fever locked memories. “I just… I can’t remember anything!” He cried, the lack of memory finally catching up to him after all these years.

His distress brought both Wei WuXian and Wen Ning closer, the latter pushing his head into Lan SiZhui’s chest, while the former wrapped a trembling wing around his back. Lan SiZhui pushed his hands through the coarse fur on Wen Ning’s head.

“I guess it would make sense, especially with how cautious everyone was about mentioning the war around me. I just… I wish I could remember you,” He quickly wiped away some forming tears from his eyes. Both beasts let out sympathetic noises, pressing closer to the teen.

After some time standing between them, Lan SiZhui is thrown off balance when Wen Ning butts Wei WuXian with his antlers, groaning as he does so.

“I get it, I get it! You know you don’t have to shove me every time you want me to translate, right?!” The crow complained, earning a snort from his companion, and another light tap.

“Okay, okay. What this big oaf- Hey!” Lan SiZhui snorted when Wen Ning shoved a particularly sharp tine into Wei WuXian’s side, ruffling his fur against the teens chest as he did so. Wei WuXian fluffed out his feathers as he shouted, pushing a wing against his friend's head.

“If you want me to explain, you have to let me talk! No more interruptions!” Wen Ning moved his focus back to Lan SiZhui, giving Wei WuXian clearance to keep talking without being poked.

“Great. As I was so graciously trying to translate, A-Ning said ‘it’s not the worst thing that you don’t remember us, so long as we can give you new memories to make up for it’.” Lan SiZhui nodded, wiping the last of his frustrated tears from his eyes. He gently ran his hands through Wen Nings fur, and gave both beasts a soft smile.

“I would like that very much.”

—---

After the trio had managed to pry themselves from their standing pile, Wen Ning invited his cousin to walk the border with him. Neither he nor Wei WuXian had sensed any activity from the barrier that day, so he thought it would be a nice way to bond with his long lost relative, even if he wouldn’t be able to communicate easily.

Wei WuXian kept above them as they walked, scouting the sky above the trees. He occasionally swooped down if Wen Ning needed him to translate.

Overall, the walk was fairly peaceful, giving the trio time to reacquaint themselves after the recent revelation.

That is, until Wen Ning lost sight of his cousin while talking with Wei WuXian during a break.

Their frantic calling was answered right away.

“I’m over here! I think I found something.” A-Yuan’s voice called from the direction of the barrier. Wen Ning and Wei WuXian exchanged a quick glance to each other, before rushing towards him.

As they neared towards the barrier and caught sight of the teen, Wen Ning realized what he found, and bolted forward. He managed to pull his cousin back just before he could touch the papers strewn about the ground and tree.

Wei WuXian caught up shortly after, landing roughly and almost falling into the same papers, if not for Wen Ning dropping A-Yuan and quickly grabbing and swinging his friend by his wing. He grunted at them both, pushing A-Yuan further away. Wei WuXian, after picking himself up from being tossed around, finally seemed to catch onto what A-Yuan had found. His tail flicked and his feathers rose as he quickly checked over the mess.

A-Yuan awkwardly stood by Wen Ning, looking confused and a little scared by their reactions.

“What… what are those?” He questioned, peaking around both of them to stare at the pile haphazardly stuck both inside and outside of the barrier.

Neither of the beasts answered him for a long while, Wei WuXian staring at the cluster, and Wen Ning watching him. Finally, still carrying his tension, Wei WuXian turned his head to look at the ground by A-Yuan’s feet.

“These are what’s keeping us trapped here. Keeping us both safe and prisoners.” He kicked at the talismen, making sure to not actually touch them by accident.

“We assume someone at the raid ran here to place these, and are acting as the anchor on the outside now. My best guess was its purpose was to keep us in the Burial Mounds during the raid, what with some of the Wens, and myself, being pulled back into the area if we got too far.” A-Yuan seemed to take that in, and Wen Ning could guess at what his next question was.

“How did I get out, then?” Wei WuXian nodded, lifting a wing as if to point and losing some of his tension.

“That is the question, isn’t it?” His eyes gained a bit of light as his attention was brought to a mystery instead of their tragedy.

“I’m assuming it was because you were actively moved away by someone else, and I managed to find a spot just at the edge of what must have been the range of these talismans, so you wouldn’t be pulled back into the fray, and I would be able to actually put you somewhere without us both being returned. Whoever found you must’ve been enough to trick the talismans into thinking you were free to leave, even though technically you had been outside the barrier for so long.” He paused here, his eyes losing some light as he remembered that night.

“I thought I had left you to your death in that stump, with the barrier preventing us from reaching you. I am so, so glad someone good found you and took care of you. I’m assuming it was a Lan, although I can’t think of any person at the siege that would care for a Wen, even if they were a child.” Lan SiZhui shook his head.

“Father- I mean Hanguang-Jun found me. I stayed with him throughout my fever, but I was taken into Zewu-Jun’s care for three years after I recovered. Whenever I asked why I couldn’t stay with Hanguang-Jun, I was only told he was in seclusion to make up for his mistakes, and to heal from his punishment for said mistakes.” Wen Ning felt his jaw drop a bit at the information, however looking over at Wei WuXian revealed just how much more the information affected him.

“Lan Zhan? Lan Zhan saved you?” Wei WuXian took a moment, then started nodding.

“He always did have a soft spot for you, even if he couldn’t stand me.” Wen Ning couldn’t believe his friend still believed that. He rammed an antler into Wei WuXian, grunted in annoyance as he did so.

“Yeouch! Wen Ning! What was that for?! I didn’t say anything wrong!” He complained. He quickly dodged another stab from Wen Ning, but couldn’t escape the sharp wheeze reaching his ears.

“Okay! Okay, I get it! You think Lan Zhan doesn’t hate me! Fine! That doesn’t change the truth!”

“I don’t think he hates you.” A-Yuan interrupted.

“Ah? How so, A-Yuan?” Wen Ning and Wei WuXian turned to A-Yuan curiously.

“He never liked the other juniors gossiping about you, especially when they repeated what our teachers said. He always told me not to believe rumors, although it felt more personal than him just repeating our rules.” A-Yuan nodded.

“I can’t convince myself that he hated you in any way. Hopefully when we get out of here, that can be proved to you,” He concluded, making the hope sound more like a promise.

“Hmm… that’s if we get out.” Always so cynical. Wen Ning grunted softly to stop his downward spiral. He gave A-Yuan an appreciative nod. A silence gathered around them, interrupted by A-Yuan clearing his throat.

“If I had managed to escape, how come I was suddenly brought back now?” Wei WuXian hummed in response, pondering the question.

“How close did your group get to this place on your trip?” A-Yuan thought about it, estimating in his head where they had landed in the forest.

“I think we were near the base. We couldn’t see the barrier from there,” He responded. Both beasts paused to think. Wen Ning thought of an answer, grunting it to Wei WuXian to translate. His friend clicked his beak in agreement.

“That makes sense!” He turned to A-Yuan after ruffling between Wen Ning’s antlers quickly. He dodged a weak swipe from said antlers, jumping closer to A-Yuan in the process.

“A-Ning had a good theory! Since these talismans are being fed both by someone outside the barrier, and we assume also the thick energy within it, perhaps over the years it was able to gain enough power to extend its reach to the whole mountain. That would explain how it managed to grab you when you were still so far from the source,” he concluded. A-Yuan nodded along.

“That makes sense.” Wen Ning watched as more questions popped into his head.

“Wait, if you know what these do and how they gain power, can’t you find a way to break them here?” Wen Ning shook his head, Wei WuXian doing the same with more of a disappointed air around him.

“We’re too worried about the possible backlash if we try.” He led A-Yuan over to the cluster, Wen Ning following closely behind to keep watch. When they reached the edge of the safe area, Wei WuXian guided A-Yuan to look at a particular set of characters on the papers.

“These have safeguards put in place to prevent tampering. Only those who wrote them can safely interact with them.” He sighed mournfully.

“I only wish something would go right for us.” A quick glance to his side where A-Yuan stood.
“Although, getting to see you healthy and grown is a nice change of luck, even if you are stuck here now too.” A-Yuan chuckled.

“It’s nice to finally meet the ones who raised me first, and get the chance to possibly recover my lost years.” Wen Ning moved over to his cousin, pushing him away from the talismans before carefully rubbing his head against A-Yuans. Wei WuXian joined them quickly, his wings wrapping around them.

The moment continued for a while, interrupted only by a sharp gasp outside the barrier.

…

“A-Yuan?”

Chapter Text

Lan WangJi had always known A-Yuan’s friend was a good cultivator. Maybe not the best in his studies, but he could hold his own on night hunts.

Now that the disciple completely held his attention, no longer overshadowed by his son, Lan WangJi noticed just how well the junior could perform.

They had been on the road for seven days now, rarely flying so they could keep a low profile if they happened across any other cultivators. It would not help to get caught, especially with their odd group. A respected cultivator followed by one of his disciples and an accused lunatic. Rumors would definitely grow from there, and soon his brother and Sect Leader Jin would be led right to them.

Lan WangJi watched as Lan JingYi cleaned up their camp, making sure Mo XuanYu was comfortable and that their area was ready for rest. It was entertaining seeing Mo XuanYu fluster under the attention of the energetic junior. Lan WangJi wasn’t spared from the juniors attention either, although it was toned down due to Lan JingYi’s respect for his senior.

After their nightly routine of Lan JingYi fussing and making sure the camp is perfect, Lan WangJi took up his position just outside the ring of light from their small fire, prepared to meditate and keep watch over the night.

Said night seemed to be yet another uneventful one, however the constant sound of shuffling kept drawing Lan WangJi from his meditative state. He opened his eyes and immediately spotted the source of the noise. Mo XuanYu was tossing and turning in his bedroll, obviously fighting against whatever insomnia had claimed him tonight.

After a while of watching, Mo XuanYu finally seemed to calm down, and Lan WangJi closed his eyes. The quiet didn’t last long, however.

Opening his eyes again, Lan WangJi watched as Mo XuanYu tossed his thin cover off, scoffing and sitting up. The cultivator watched as a shiver ran down Mo XuanYu’s back, and he quickly turned to see Lan WangJi staring at him. He seemed to grow a bit tense as they held eye contact for a prolonged time.

Eventually, Mo XuanYu stood up, a determined look on his face, grabbed his discarded blanket and wrapped it around his shoulders. He shuffled over the uneven ground towards Lan WangJi. Reaching his destination, he sat stiffly next to the cultivator. A one-sided awkward silence hung over them. Lan WangJi was about to go back to meditating when the other man forcefully cleared his throat. He was obviously searching for something to clear this silence, and Lan WangJi waited to see what he would come up with.

“Do you…” Mo XuanYu finally started. “Do you want to talk about your son?” Whatever Lan WangJi had thought he’d bring up, he should be less surprised it was the topic of their mission. He contemplated his answer, as well as how he could narrow his day's long speech about A-Yuan so as to not bore his companion.

“I’ve raised him since he was a toddler.” He started, pausing to consider his next words.

“It was an… unexpected union. Originally, he was just the last remaining proof of my… soulmate. After the days we spent recovering together, my grief parted, and I could see him as my child. To love and care for.” He stopped again, not used to speaking for so long, but finding himself unable to shorten any of his love. Mo XuanYu watched attentively even in these breaks.

“I was unable to raise him for three years after he recovered.”

“Why?” Mo XuanYu questioned, unable to believe Lan WangJi would keep away from his child for so long. Said cultivator took a breath to calm his frustration at the memory.

“I was forced into seclusion to… reflect on my wrongdoings. The elders did not consider A-Yuan as my child, and refused to let him visit me.” His knuckles were turning white as he gripped his robes. Mo XuanYu took notice of the change in his emotions.

“What about when you were allowed out?” He could only hope this change in subject was a positive one and didn’t lead to any unexpected pain. Lan WangJi hummed in response, his knuckles loosening on the fabric.

“I was surprised that he still recognized me. Brother explained he lost all of his memories from before, and I was worried he wouldn’t remember even the short time we had in recovery. I think brother knew I was worried about this. He explained that he would tell A-Yuan stories about his a-die, and so I didn’t have to worry about A-Yuan being hesitant to accept me as his guardian.” Mo XuanYu seemed to brighten slightly at this, finally some positive peeking through this dark time. He glanced over at Lan JingYi, still asleep on top of his bedroll and snoring softly.

“Is your son anything like his friend? I find it hard to believe someone as…” He paused to search for the right word. “... stoic as you would be able to raise a kid similar to JingYi.” He chuckled, imagining the jade-like HanGuang-Jun being surrounded by two troublemakers, one of his own making. Mo XuanYu was startled when he turned back to the man next to him, a small upward tilt on the man's otherwise statuesque features.

“No. Neither is he completely like me. I would compare him more to brother.”

“That makes sense. Although it would’ve been a little entertaining to hear how he ran you up the walls.”

“Where are we, anyways? Hopefully somewhere close to the Burial Mounds.” Mo XuanYu continued. Lan WangJi nodded.

“Mm. We should be just outside YiLing’s borders, near the base of the Burial Mounds.” No further questions followed, and Lan WangJi did not push for more conversation.

The two sat in silence, enjoying the peace that came with the night air. Lan WangJi waited to see if his companion would ask any other questions, but a quick glance told him there wouldn’t be any more conversation. Mo XuanYu was slumped forward, his cover drawn tight around himself as he drifted to sleep.

Lan WangJi hesitated on what to do. He knew sleeping for too long in that position would lead to neck and back pain, but he was not too certain as to what Mo XuanYu’s reaction would be if he suddenly woke up during the move. In the end, Lan WangJi decided to move quickly, and settled Mo XuanYu back onto his bedroll.

Having finished that task, Lan WangJi made his way back to his previous spot on the outskirts, reentering a meditative state to pass the time.

—

The pleasant night was interrupted by a loud roar just beyond the foliage. Lan WangJi quickly jumped to his feet, and was joined by Lan JingYi without hesitation, who had woken up as soon as the roar began. Mo XuanYu was slower to wake, although with a second roar, he froze where he lay, only moving when Lan JingYi pulled him behind Lan WangJi and himself.

The trio watched as a large, demonic looking wolf stalks just within sight beyond the trees. The resentment pouring off of it made Lan JingYi and Mo XuanYu stumble back, both not used to this level of entity.

Coming to a decision, Lan WangJi moves his free arm in front of Lan JingYi, preventing him from rushing forward.

“Take Mo XuanYu and run. Now,” he ordered, keeping his eyes trained on the beast. He could feel Lan JingYi preparing to argue back, but Lan WangJi was not willing to lose another junior, nor the one man who may be able to help him.

Risking a glance back at the duo, he repeated his demand.

“Now.” He held eye contact with the junior until he reluctantly nodded, then moved to send a quick look towards Mo XuanYu. The man was obviously frightened, but Lan WangJi could see a slight hesitancy in his eyes when they made eye contact. He nodded to both of them, a reassurance and a dismissal, before turning back to find the beast stood still, staring right back at them.

Lan WangJi held Bichen unwaveringly in front of him, keeping his eyes on the beast's every move as he heard Lan JingYi drag Mo XuanYu away. Hopefully they could find somewhere safe to wait, although Lan WangJi knows that if he spent too long dealing with this, they’d both find their ways back here.

Having lost two of its potential prey, the creature decided to not take chances with the last one. It lunged at Lan WangJi, just missing him as he dodged behind it.

He kept his distance, trying to keep its attention for the time being until he was certain the two were far enough away. He could only hope this creature came alone.

—

Mo XuanYu stumbled as he was quickly led through the forest by a frantic Lan JingYi. One of the juniors hands was clasped tightly in his own, while the other held his sword at his side, prepared for anything that followed them to attack.

His paranoia paid off when their path was cut off by a large group of fierce corpses. Lan JingYi quickly flung Mo XuanYu into the nearby shrubs, drawing all of the attention to himself. Mo XuanYu struggled to sit upright, his bones creaking from the fall. He watched anxiously as the corpses advanced on the junior, but he could do little without potentially ruining Lan JingYi’s plans, whatever those may be.

Lan JingYi was obviously caught off-guard by a particularly angry corpse rushing through the hoard towards him. Mo XuanYu shot up from his hiding spot in the bush, searching for a way to help, no longer caring of ruining any plans, but was stopped by a shout from the junior.

“Senior Mo, run! Before they notice you too!” Lan JingYi shouted as he wrestled with the corpse. His feet were desperately fighting to keep himself upright against the onslaught.

Mo XuanYu debated his options. He could stay and try to help, although that’d probably end in both of them dying. Running felt like a terrible option, his guilt trying to override his survival instinct and the juniors' plea, but it was the only one that could guarantee the possibility that they both survive. Coming to his decision, he took one last look at the hoard surrounding Lan JingYi, before turning to run in the opposite direction.

He froze as he turned just in time for a corpse's claw to run right across his torso. The shock covered most of the initial pain, and it took a few seconds for his nerves to start working. The pain couldn’t exactly compare to what he did to himself not too long ago, but mixed with the fear of the smaller group of corpses focused on him, rather than the junior, makes it seem so much worse.

As the pain finally registered in his mind, the shallow cuts aching from the blunt edges of the claws, a scream forced its way out of his throat as he fell back onto the ground. The scream caught the attention of his companion, and Lan JingYi finally overpowered the corpse enough to rush through the hoard towards Mo XuanYu.

“Senior Mo!” The junior shouted as he pushed back some of the corpses advancing on the injured man.

“Go! Now! I’ll keep them off you! Find somewhere to hide! HanGuang-Jun should be here soon!” Lan JingYi continued, cutting away at some of the closest attackers.

Finally, an opening was made wide enough for the injured Mo XuanYu to stumble away. He awkwardly dodged the few corpses still around him, and a quick shout from Lan JingYi alerted him to the fact that some outliers had broken away to follow him.

Mo XuanYu ran uphill, hoping to lose the crowd behind him among the sharp points along the way. The sounds of Lan JingYi’s fighting soon faded to nothing, replaced by his pained panting and the sound of corpses chasing him.

The air became heavy as he continued, the light fading to a dim gray as he weaved through rapidly decaying trees.

Mo XuanYu ran as fast as he could with the throbbing cuts. His legs burned with the effort of climbing the pointed hills. He could tell this area was not the safest place to be, although compared to the fierce corpses chasing him, it was the preferable option.

He wished he hadn’t been forced to leave that junior. He wished Lan WangJi hadn’t sent them away to handle that beast alone. He wished he wasn’t here.

His wishes would have to wait, however, as a particularly fast corpse finally caught up to him, tearing through his outermost robe in an attempt to grab him. He shrieked, and the sound echoed throughout the surrounding hills, pulling more of the corpses' attention towards him. Taking the chance to run while the one that ripped his clothes gathered itself for another lunge, he managed to force his battered body up a taller rockface.

The distance between himself and the corpses gave him more time to run. The ones closest to him had already begun to try their luck climbing after him.

Running for what felt like hours through the sharp points, struggling to get a breath in through the thick haze of fog, Mo XuanYu finally started to question just where his running had landed him. His surroundings look completely different compared to where the night had started. A shiver ran down his spine as he thought about the implications. Just how lost is he? Where did that Lan junior end up? Hopefully far away from here. He’d hate for that kid to get overrun like he was, even if said kid had a much better chance of surviving.

Mo XuanYu tried to remember where Lan WangJi had said they were when they started to set up camp. Somewhere just outside of YiLing? Still far enough away to avoid any corpses. At least, that’s what they thought.

His thoughts were interrupted when he tripped over a particularly gnarled root, face planting into the coarse and rotted ground. He gasped as some fallen branches poked at his wounds. The burning got worse in his core, only just now noticeable now that his escape had been forcefully stopped.

Over his wheezing, he could hear a small commotion up ahead, as well as some muffled speaking. He struggled to push himself up, his arms struggling to hold just his upper body up.

Hoping that the voices could belong to other cultivators, he used the trees to support his weight as he limped towards them. Finally stumbling upon a small clearing, Mo XuanYu had a good look at the source of the voices. To say he was shocked would be an understatement.

A teenager stood between two monstrous beasts. His heart beat quickly as he tried to figure out how he could help the kid get out of this situation. Before he could make this difficult decision, the bird-like creature opened its mouth, and he was prepared to see the end of the kid's life right then and there. Instead, the beast began to speak. He could still just barely hear it, the voice muffled, although he couldn’t figure out why.

Staying hidden behind a tree, Mo XuanYu looked closer at the kid, trying to see any reason why he’d be willingly speaking with the beasts. The only noticeable feature was the cloud pattern along his robes, just barely noticeable through the dirt covering the hems and sleeves. His shock grew as he realized what this could mean.

Moving around the tree into the clearing, still heavily relying on said tree for support, he struggled to clear his throat enough to speak. He hoped his voice would still carry through whatever was muffling the beast's own voice.

“A-Yuan?” His throat itched, but he grew hopeful when the three turned to him, the young boy's eyes showing some confusion but recognition towards the name. The itching didn’t stop, and he scrambled to get a better purchase on the tree, leaning forward with the force of the coughing. The trees, although rotted, proved to be helpful, up until the one he was currently leaning on had another hidden, exposed root right beneath his feet.

The difference between this fall and his previous one was the intense resentful energy that forced itself into his body halfway through his meeting with the earth. The energy worsened his cough, and he struggled to get any sort of air into his lungs.

He could hear footsteps rush towards him, mixed with various whines that Mo XuanYu could only assume came from the beasts. The energy rushed his core, damaging the already small amount he had and causing intense pressure around it.

Something sharp poked at his side, and a hand wrapped around his wrist. With the second contact, he could feel something warm worm its way into the mess of his core, stabilizing the chaos as best it could.

Within just a few minutes, Mo XuanYu could feel the pressure ease off, allowing his gasping to calm just enough so he can catch up on the air he missed. Rolling onto his back, he looked up at the three shadows blocking the dim light above him. He focused on the smallest and human one.

“You…” He struggled against his sore throat. “You are… A-Yuan, aren’t you?”

Before he could hear the response, if there even was one, Mo XuanYu finally gave into the exhaustion he had felt all day.

Chapter Text

For the second time, Mo XuanYu awoke despite the forces working against him at the times he blacked out. However, this time he felt infinitely better than he could ever remember feeling. The constant swirl of residual resentful energy around his core seemed at ease, no longer squeezing his core in a constant, painful pressure. Instead, it lurked just around his core. He could still feel it hovering, but it never strayed any closer to a painful presence.

Curiously, he could feel a warm barrier blocking the energy from getting too out of control. Something he had only felt in the few times HanGuang-Jun helped him control any particularly bad bouts of resentment.

Mo XuanYu opened his eyes, squinting against the bright light shining in them. As his eyes adjusted, he caught a glimpse of… something that may have once been white out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head towards it, he noticed the source of the barrier around his core. He recognized the kid, but couldn’t gather his thoughts enough to put a name to the face. The kid seemed to notice him staring, and smiled softly at Mo XuanYu as he continued to pass energy through his meridians.

“It’s good you’re awake. We were worried the resentful energy from the barrier would be too much for you to survive, but I’m glad we were wrong.” Mo XuanYu nodded dumbly as he looked around the room. The area had signs of intense burning and decay. The holes in the roof and windows gave him a clearer view of the outside world. From what he could see, he doubted any part of this place was spared from whatever seemed to happen to it. The kid seemed to sense what he was thinking of.

“I know this isn’t the most appealing place to rest-” Mo XuanYu would disagree, this was much better than the claustrophobic shed. “-but it’s truly the best remaining structure in the Burial Mounds.” He looked apologetic as he refocused on clearing the remaining resentful energy. Mo XuanYu continued to bask in the comfort said clearing brought, until he caught the end of the kids sentence. He shot up in the makeshift bed, barely registering the startled sound from the boy and the pain in his chest.

“The Burial Mounds?!” He choked out, fighting against the now attacking resentment. The kid frantically reached for his wrist again, quickly resuming the cleansing and trying to use the wrist to guide Mo XuanYu back onto his back.

“Please don’t do that! I haven’t finished clearing all of the resentment,” He pleaded.

“Aiya, A-Yuan, what’s with all this ruckus?” Mo XuanYu flinched at the new voice, searching around for the other person. However, he instead found a large, beady eye staring through one of the holes in a nearby window frame. He froze. The kid didn’t seem to have the same reaction, sighing with his whole body as he stayed focused on his task. As if there wasn’t a giant monster standing right outside their shelter.

“Senior Wei, don’t you think you could’ve given a heads up before peaking in here?”

“What? Like giant, monstrous crows aren’t commonplace in everyday life?” No, no they are not, Mo XuanYu frantically thought as he continued staring at that single eye. The kid shook his head, another sigh breaking through as he finally stood up. The comfort running through his meridians left as the kid released his wrist, and Mo XuanYu braced for whatever onslaught the resentful energy had planned for him. However, it seemed like the kid kept his promise, and Mo XuanYu couldn’t feel a single trace of resentful energy all through his body. In his distraction, he missed the beast outside moving to a larger opening, now sticking its entire head through the gap.

Mo XuanYu felt panic rush through him as the kid walked over to it. He tried to get up to protect him, but was too late when the beast- which he could now see resembled that of a crow, something he felt he already knew in the back of his mind- stretched its head further, pushing its sharp beak into the kids head. Mo XuanYu squeezed his eyes shut, expecting some kind of chaos from the attack, but instead heard… giggling?

Opening his eyes, slowly just in case he misheard, he was shocked to see the beast running its beak through the kids hair, its ultimate goal seemingly to just mess with it.

“Senior Wei,” The kid whined through his laughter. Mo XuanYu could only watch in awe as the kid pushed the giant crow’s- ‘Senior Wei’, apparently- head away, and was even more surprised when the beast let him. The kid looked back at Mo XuanYu, a bright smile still on his face, but puffed his cheeks into a pout as he turned back to the beast.

“You’re scaring the young master-” Mo XuanYu let out a small scoff at the title. He’d never been a young master, not even as a Jin disciple, and especially not in his hometown. The sound attracted the attention of the two in front of him again, the kid with a confused look poking through his less prominent pout, and the crow with a blank stare that reignited Mo XuanYu’s nerves.

“Ah… ah, um,” He stumbled, trying to push his thoughts out of his mouth so he could explain himself. Swallowing down the lump in his throat, he quickly lifted his arms in as perfect of a bow as he could get, lowering his head to almost touch his legs spread out in front of him. Without the direct eye contact and encased in his own arms, Mo XuanYu felt more confident in his speaking.

“This… this one does not deserve or own the title of ‘young master’. This one is just a,” Mo XuanYu tried to think of the best word to describe his place, both in the world and in his own experiences. “Just a mere servant.” He waited for the eventual insults, the outrage at their help being put to waste for a servant. Even if the kid looked kind, and spoke softly, and even if the beast, at least in this short time Mo XuanYu had seen it, had never harmed a hair on his or the kids heads, he wouldn’t be fooled again. If his own family could hide behind these masks, why couldn’t the ones living in this gloomy place.
His arms began to tire as the silence continued on. He refused to lower them, the added insult would be too much piled on top of this one. The soft sound of footsteps broke the silence, heading in his direction. Mo XuanYu braced as the kid grew closer. Surely the only reason the beast wasn’t joining him was because of the size of the room.

The footsteps stopped, and Mo XuanYu caught the barest glimpse of off-white from under his arms, quickly shutting his eyes in response. Fabric rustled, the sound somehow both louder and yet still muffled by his beating heart. Two hands gripped lightly around his arms, and he flinched. In his experience, this soft grip would soon turn harsh, and he had no energy to resist.

Once again, this new chance at life surprised him. Instead of tightening his grip, the kid guided his arms down gently with a surprising amount of strength. Despite this barrier being lowered, Mo XuanYu kept his head down and eyes closed. Now shame began to fill where fear previously sheltered. Of course this kid wouldn’t hurt him. He’s A-Yuan. And that’s important because…!

“Oh!” He frantically grabbed at the kids wrists, meeting his eyes finally. “You’re A-Yuan!”

A-Yuan’s expression morphed into a more confused smile, nodding his head slowly.

“Yes… Although I am more well known as Lan SiZhui, but Yuan is my birth name. This one apologizes if he should know you, as well.” Mo XuanYu shook his head, a grin working its way onto his face. He found A-Yuan! Now he remembered. He passed out after some resentful energy attacked him when he found A-Yuan.

“You wouldn’t know this lowly one, but I’ve definitely heard of you! I was helping HanGuang-Jun search for you!” A-Yuan, or rather, Lan SiZhui, brightened at the name of his guardian.

“Father’s with you?” Mo XuanYu nodded, but soon remembered the reason why he was able to find Lan SiZhui. He grimaced.

“Well, he was… we were attacked by a beast closer to the town, and had to split up. JingYi was with me for a bit, but then we were overrun by fierce corpses and he told me to run.”

“JingYi too?” Lan SiZhui’s eyes widened, softening as he got over the surprise.

“I suppose I should’ve expected him to force his way into this. But, you said you were separated?” His eyebrows drew together in worry. Mo XuanYu nodded, face darkening as shame once again rose in his mind.

“It’s really my fault… my weak core couldn’t do anything to help so I had to flee instead.” Mo XuanYu averted his eyes to the floor. Surely now Lan SiZhui would feel some resentment towards him for failing to protect his friend and father.

A loud caw startled Mo XuanYu enough to shake any thought from his mind, self-deprecating or not. Lan SiZhui had the same reaction, although not to the same extreme. They both turned to look at the crow, its head still stuck through the opening in the wall.

“Aiya! You youngsters these days and only seeing the negatives of things!” The shock in his system turned to confusion as the crow spoke. Mo XuanYu couldn’t think of a single good thing the past events have brought. Giving what Mo XuanYu guessed would’ve been a sigh from a human, the crow shifted its weight and looked between the two humans in front of it.

“Look at where you are! You found A-Yuan! Wasn’t that the whole reason you were out traveling?”

He’s right!

Mo XuanYu was shocked that this creature had an actual example of something good that came from this, but he was more shocked that he had forgotten so quickly. But… in the grand scheme of things… wasn’t this a worse outcome? He had no idea where HanGuang-Jun or Lan JingYi were, or if they even found each other again. Or, worse yet, survived their own encounters.

“I think something we should be worried about is the amount of resentful energy that was in your body when you fell in here.” The crow took a more stern tone now, despite its higher pitched voice.

“I have a sneaking suspicion that not all of that energy came just from the barrier, either.” There was no question in its voice. Mo XuanYu knew he wouldn’t be able to avoid this question, not with Lan SiZhui now staring at him expectantly. He nodded, gulping as he tried to find the easiest way to explain where he got the excess energy from.

“I had… um… been working with my half-bro-” He paused, grimacing. “With Sect Leader Jin, on some, uh, experiments of his.” The air in the room seemed to grow dense at the mention of Jin GuangYao. Mo XuanYu looked around and noticed some resentful energy flowing from the direction of the crow.

“And what results, exactly, did these experiments hope to achieve?” The crow asked, its tone more neutral than before.

“I, uh, I don’t know, exactly.” He flinched when the energy grew worse, exposing some hidden remaining resentful energy in his own body.

“Brot- Sect Leader Jin never deigned it important enough to inform this one of the reasoning, and I… I wasn’t smart enough to ask questions.” The silence grew worse as no one spoke. Mo XuanYu could see Lan SiZhui shift on his feet awkwardly as he kept an eye on the crow.

Finally, the crow exhaled sharply, the energy pulling itself back into the beast's body.

“Well, that doesn’t explain all of it, just a piece. What experiment caused that amount of resentment to make itself home in your body? It was already almost enough to kill you, although I guess the great HanGuang-Jun was helping you with that.”

“Senior Wei.” Lan SiZhui’s voice held a warning in it, probably in response to the crows tone when mentioning his father.

“What?” The crow squawked. “I can be a little upset, can’t I? Why does Lan Zhan care so much about helping demonic cultivators now? Even if what you said earlier is true, why didn’t he do this for me?” The crow demanded. Tension flooded back into the room, this time between the other two occupants. Mo XuanYu gathered his courage to break this tension. It was too uncomfortable to bear after seeing how close these two seemed to be. Clearing his throat, he gathered his wits and began talking.

“Um, basically, I was given some… uh notes from a, I guess he’s my friend?” The two turned towards him, the tension pausing in the air in anticipation. Mo XuanYu blushed at the intensity, and quickly continued on.

“Anyways, the notes were, um, an array. For um, summoning a spirit. Into a, um, into someone’s body. I wanted to get revenge on… on Sect Leader Jin for spreading rumors about me and ruining my reputation.” If I even had any in the first place, he thinks. Lan SiZhui moves closer to him, settling a warm hand on his shoulder.

“And who were you trying to summon?” Mo XuanYu flinched, the question both expected and yet unexpected. He wanted to lie, but he couldn’t think of any reason that would benefit him.

“Um… I wanted- Rather, my friend recommended trying to summon, um, the YiLing Patriarch…” He whispered the name, trying to avoid saying it too loudly. The silence continued, and he laughed awkwardly.

“Of course, it didn’t work, or else I wouldn’t be here, after all.” More silence. Looking at the others, Mo XuanYu saw Lan SiZhui staring intensely at the crow, with said crow shaking. Before Mo XuanYu could grow too worried over that, the crow suddenly opened its beak and let out a piercing cry. Mo XuanYu quickly covered his ears, and saw Lan SiZhui do the same from the corner of his eye.

When the shrieking finally stopped, the crow continued to huff. Mo XuanYu could’ve sworn he saw tears leaking from its eyes.

“I, I’m sorry. This is just too good.” Mo XuanYu felt confused, then a little offended that this beast was laughing at his pain. It seemed to notice this, and Mo XuanYu could hear something hitting the wall.

“No no no, I’m not laughing at what you did kid. Well, I guess I sort of am. But not in the way you think! It’s just,” It snorted again. “Well, it’s just that the reason for it not working is so obvious.” Mo XuanYu froze as it said this, his mind scrambling to find whatever obvious way this crow seemed to be thinking of. After a while of him trying, Lan SiZhui finally took pity on him. His hand found it’s way back on Mo XuanYu’s shoulder, drawing his attention. The kid was smiling awkwardly at him, and nodded over towards the still huffing beast.

“It’s just, well, that is the YiLing Patriarch. He’s been trapped here since the last raid on the Burial Mounds, and somehow turned into a giant crow. It’s the same with my Ning-ge.” The kid explained. Mo XuanYu felt he hadn’t heard any of that explanation correctly. He couldn’t have. Stiffly, he pointed up at the crow.

“That, that is the YiLing Patriarch?” He squeaked, drawing another bout of laughter from the crow, although luckily not as ear-piercing this time. Lan SiZhui nodded, a pitying smile on his face, so similar to that of Zewu-Jun.

Mo XuanYu was going to need a lot of time to process this information. There was no way he found both the missing A-Yuan and the mysterious, supposedly dead YiLing Patriarch.

He only hoped HanGuang-Jun or Lan JingYi would find him before he lost more of his mind with all of these shocks.

Chapter Text

This can’t be happening.

There’s no way.

Maybe it’s a dream?

No, the pain is definitely real.

Lan JingYi, leaning against a rotting tree, gasping for breath against the many cuts and bruises throbbing on his skin, could feel his soul leave his body slowly as his thoughts continued racing. Hours of searching and he still couldn’t find any trace of Mo XuanYu. Hours of forcing his mind to stop thinking about the absolute worst case scenario.

HanGuang-Jun was still… somewhere, nearby. Within range to find Mo XuanYu, even against whatever is keeping Lan JingYi from finding him first.

A rustle in the trees startled the boy, who raised his sword with shaking arms and an equally shaking core. He struggled to stand as his eyes darted around the dark surroundings. A pulse of resentment slammed into his back, sending Lan JingYi flying against a nearby tree and cracking its bark upon impact. His previous small cuts from the fierce corpses flared up with the force, pulling further apart and aching along with his now guaranteed concussion. Sliding down the bark, Lan JingYi tried to catch his breath as he slid face first onto the dry and dusty soil.

Lan JingYi slowly reached out for his sword, grazing the tips of his fingers against the hilt before a boot kicked it away, hitting his fingers in the process. The added pain felt numb compared to his original pains, but he still cried out in shock as the boot came back to pin and crush his hand.

He struggled to turn his head against the pain in the hopes of getting some glimpse of his attacker. Surely a fierce corpse wouldn’t be this intelligent as to mess with its prey. He almost preferred the usual attacks to this drawn out one. His breath caught when he finally landed eyes on the attacker.

A dark, admittedly horrifying mask stared back at him, and, accompanied by the sharp blade that rested just above the back of his neck, left the junior shaking and biting back the fear that tried to push its way through his eyes and voice, fixing what he hoped was a convincing glare. He didn’t want this person to have the satisfaction of knowing they scared him.

The person audibly scoffed at his reaction. Their sword raised higher, aimed for his neck as their other foot moved to push painfully against his back. His hand and back throbbed from the pressure, his glare faltering at the image of his imminent death. He closed his eyes firmly when the figure began to move their sword back towards him.

A loud blast followed quickly after he shut his eyes, and, surprisingly, Lan JingYi could still think enough to register this. He doubted anyone who’s been beheaded, no matter how recently, would be able to have this level of awareness. Plus he could also still feel the rush of air from whatever had just happened, so he was still connected to his body.

Opening his eyes, Lan JingYi first noticed that he was still laying face first on the same dry dirt he remembered last, although his attacker was no longer pinning him to it. In fact, his attacker was nowhere near him anymore. Unable to move his head comfortably, Lan JingYi strained his eyes to search for the threat.

Another rush of air and noise led his eyes to the attacker, as well as whatever stopped the man from killing him.

A cloud of blue and white covered the area, flowing robes rushing after its wearer as they chased after their opponent. Through his blurry vision, he noticed the long ribbon around their head.

He felt like he should know this person…

…

HANGUANG-JUN!

Lan JingYi cheered, his body relaxing a fraction as he finally put a name to his savior. With that relaxation came another wave of pain. And with that pain, darkness.

—

The next Lan JingYi awoke, his head was resting on a soft yet sturdy surface, the rest of his body wrapped securely around what he could only describe as stone. Opening his eyes, he was flooded with a sea of white, the shadows jumping as whatever he held onto bounced up and down. It almost felt like someone was running.

Lifting his head was a chore, nothing compared to the training he faces as a Lan, but still difficult. When he could finally see beyond the field of white, his eyes struggled to adjust to the dark surroundings. Was it already night? Had it been night when he was last awake?

He could hardly remember. He groaned at the confusion.

The rush of air and bumping of the object holding him slowed in response.

“You are awake?” Startled, Lan JingYi tried to find where the voice was from. With a bit more struggling, his eyes finally adjusted enough for him to see what he’s been resting against…

Oh. It’s HanGuang-Jun. Lan WangJi. Second Jade of Lan…

Someone who should never have to stoop so low as to dirty his own robes carrying a disciple…

Someone who is doing exactly that…

Finally piecing together exactly what’s been happening since he woke up, he shot up as far as he could from HanGuang-Jun’s shoulders.

“HanGuang-Jun!” He screeched. The hands around his legs tightened, a warning for both his noise and movement. Lan JingYi winced as his panic upset many sore spots around his body. However, the adrenaline coursing through his body because of this new situation overrode all the pain.

“HanGuang-Jun! This one apologizes for the trouble! Please, I can walk on my own now, so please allow this one to take the burden-”

“Not a burden.” HanGuang-Jun interrupted. They came to a stop next to a small boulder, HanGuang-Jun setting him down on a flat and stable part of the rock. Lan JingYi felt the wounds around his body pull with the movement, hissing as it flared at a rough adjustment. The older man started checking the bandages that Lan JingYi had just noticed wrapped around his arms and back, humming when he apparently found nothing wrong. Lan JingYi could argue that he definitely wasn’t supposed to be feeling this much pain in those areas, but he would never argue against his mentor- his idol.

“As you say, HanGuang-Jun.” He mumbles, still disagreeing with the previous statement. The senior seemed to understand his doubts, giving him a stone cold look that somehow radiated a bit of sympathy.

“It was not your fault.”

“Huh?” Lan JingYi shot a surprised look at HanGuang-Jun. Not his fault? Almost everything that went wrong was because of his inability to keep up and protect Mo XuanYu, their one chance at getting Lan SiZhui back. If he was devastated by that, he could only imagine how HanGuang-Jun was taking this.

“Those were not natural beasts. Nor were they average corpses.” HanGuang-Jun continued. Lan JingYi raised a brow, confused as to where HanGuang-Jun was going with this. Luckily, the man continued without much pause.

“Someone made that beast and the corpses specifically to target anyone getting too close to something. In this case, the Bur-”

“The Burial Mounds!” Lan JingYi burst out. He immediately slouched when he noticed the sharp look from HanGuang-Jun at the outburst.

Surprisingly, he wasn’t assigned a punishment for the rule break, and he could only pray gratefully to whatever allowed him to be spared.

“Mn. We are going to the nearby town to rest. Then, we will search for who set this up.”

“And maybe they’ll know where SiZhui and Young Master Mo went?” Lan JingYi hoped this would work.

“Yes.” HanGuang-Jun agreed, apparently hoping just the same.

“Let us continue.” He offered a hand to help Lan JingYi up. Lan JingYi swore to never wash this hand. He’d have bragging rights for months- if the younger disciples believed him, that is.

With some mild struggling, Lan JingYi managed to find a comfortable stride, following HanGuang-Jun to whatever town rested at the foot of this demonic mountain.

Chapter Text

It hadn’t even been a full day since Mo XuanYu stumbled his way into the Burial Mounds, and found the missing Lan he had been tasked with finding in the first place. Of course, nothing went according to their plan, but when did it ever where Mo XuanYu was concerned.

He still couldn’t wrap his head around this entire situation. HanGuang-Juns son, the one praised for having the best traits of both Twin Jades of Lan, somehow ended up here, in the Burial Mounds, with the cultivation world's top two enemies, the YiLing Patriarch and his Ghost General. Or rather, Wei WuXian and Wen Ning. Mo XuanYu couldn’t connect those powerful, evil titles to the two. They were nothing like he, or the rest of the world, assumed.

This was further proven by the fact that after the disaster of a meeting he had with them, they had instantly given him his own place to rest, and introduced him to the inner workings of the place. Although, he wasn’t allowed to leave his resting place until Lan SiZhui deemed him clear of enough resentful energy that they wouldn’t have to worry about him too much. The Lan had already demonstrated just how serious he was about this the few times Mo XuanYu tried to move himself out of his designated area.

Mo XuanYu wouldn’t mind being trapped here if this was what his company was like.

…

Now, however, Mo XuanYu could only hope that the place he was in was just a nightmare.

Everything was pitch black except for the bright red puddles slowly oozing their way towards him. The thick, familiar liquid seemed to come from nowhere, but deep down in his heart, he knew the origin.

His new friends and companions. Pictures of their bodies bruised and mangled. The constant stream of accusations in their voices echoing around him.

YOU’RE FAULT, they cried.

He tried to fight against it, but the images only grew worse, and soon the blood reached his knees as he collapsed onto the ground. His clothes were the same ruined, bloody mess he wore when HanGuang-Jun found him.

… Maybe this isn’t a dream.

Maybe he really did fail so spectacularly at his ritual that he messed everything up. Killed everyone in his crazed state. And now he faced his consequences.

That’s right…

Why would the righteous HanGuang-Jun ever spare a glance at the resident lunatic of Mo? Why would he ever be lucky enough to meet the infamous YiLing Patriarch? Or help HanGuang-Jun reunite with his perfect son?

None of that was real.

This was.

It had to be.

It felt too real.

It was real…

It was happening.

It was-

“WAKE UP”

Mo XuanYu shot up in surprise, the screech instantly drawing him out of the frightening situation. His lungs refused any air he tried to take in, and his panic only made it worse. He was starting to feel lightheaded again.

A sharp poke to the top of his head startled him again. Cautiously turning around, he could just barely make out the large form of the Yiling Patri- no. The large form of Wei WuXian. The crow's head was shoving through what used to be a smaller crack in the wall of the building. Wei WuXian must have broken it further to reach and peck him.

Before Mo XuanYu could even attempt to protest at the peck, Wei WuXian charged ahead.

“I hope I didn’t catch you almost relenting to the resentful energy still trapped within you. If I did, I may just have to tell A-Yuan and let him deal with you.”

Mo XuanYu immediately shook his head. He just got Lan SiZhui to lay off watching him like a hawk. If the Lan caught wind of this, he’d never let Mo XuanYu out of his sight until HanGuang-Jun could take over again. Maybe not even then. Having one Lan watching his every move at a time is already too much. Two would be impossible. Three even worse if Lan JingYi joined the fray.

Another peck brought him out of that line of thinking.

“I was only joking, kid. No need to get panicky again.” Mo XuanYu could’ve sworn he heard a ‘please’ at the end of that sentence, but he wasn’t sure and wasn’t about to bring it up to clarify.

Silence held its place between them, awkward on both ends. The YiLing Patriarch and one of the many bastard sons of the late Sect Leader Jin at a standstill.
Mo XuanYu almost preferred the nightmare to this tense air.

Finally, Wei WuXian shifted his head out of the hole, resting just outside and twisting so he could peek in with one eye.

“Do you… want to talk about it?” He asked stiffly. Mo XuanYu couldn’t tell if it was just because of how awkward they both were acting or if he just really didn’t want to hear about it. He prayed it was the former, but with his experience, he placed his bets on the latter.

After some debating in his head, thankfully with no rushing from the crow, he decided to trust the former option. Surely if Wei WuXian truly didn’t want to hear he wouldn’t have asked. Or even woke Mo XuanYu up, maybe sending Wen Ning or Lan SiZhui in his place.

Taking a deep breath, he began explaining the nightmare he was still recovering from.

…

“Hmm… well that would definitely explain all the thrashing you did in your sleep.” Mo XuanYu sighed in relief when the crow didn’t ask for any clarification on the nightmare. He didn’t think he could explain it all again without resuming the previous panic he had when he was still sleeping.

That panic started to come back, however, when the crow continued.

“I think you just need to realize you haven’t done anything wrong- Nonono let me finish first kid,” Mo XuanYu pouted as his attempt to argue was shot down.

“You've been dealt a lousy hand since birth, so of course, you’ve developed resentment towards your life. I probably wouldn’t blame you for your choices if you managed to actually summon me. Although I wouldn’t enjoy being forced to reside in what would basically be your corpse.” His eye narrowed at that, and Mo XuanYu felt shame rise past the panic. He never cared to think how Wei WuXian would feel about his sacrificial summoning ritual.

“But look at where you are now! You found A-Yuan, and I’m sure Lan Zhan and that other Lan kid aren’t too far behind. Maybe they’re figuring out how to get us out! Or they’re climbing the mountain right this second, looking for you and A-Yuan.” He paused to let Mo XuanYu take in all the information.

Mo XuanYu, in his own right, just couldn’t quite believe all of this just yet. And Wei WuXian seemed to realize it.

“Just think about it kid. And if I catch you giving into whatever nightmares the resentful energy decides to give you to control you, I’m sending A-Yuan over instead. No more awkwardly heartfelt conversations, just bed rest and constant, stubborn supervision.” With that final warning, the crow stood up, quickly taking off into the night sky to do whatever demonic beasts do when they aren’t sleeping.

Mo XuanYu stayed up for the rest of the night, the threat of more nightmares keeping him from resting his head until he was sure it was safe.

Instead, he watched the sunrise through the cracks in the walls, wondering how long it would be until everything worsened all over again.

Chapter Text

The sun set on yet another unsuccessful hunt. HanGuang-Jun had just returned from his venture into the sea of dead or dying trees, meeting with Lan JingYi as the youth arrived at the inn, exhausted from all the questioning and investigating he had done in the town. No one seemed to know anything- or want to say anything to the Lan disciple.

There was also no sign of the masked man who had previously attacked Lan JingYi and left his hand bruised and sore. The paranoia that came from this was easily brushed aside in favor of focusing on the search for Mo XuanYu. However, the feeling was just as easily brought back by any number of things that usually would have never set him off before. HanGuang-Jun seemed to notice these random episodes when they’d reconvene at the end of the day, and would walk the junior through longer, more focused meditation to drive his thoughts away from whatever had set him off that day.

It had been almost three days now since they lost Mo XuanYu in the maze of death and resentful energy, and Lan JingYi was beginning to grow more and more frustrated. Not only had he lost his best friend in this area, he just lost the main hope for finding his friend.

Lan JingYi paced anxiously in a corner of their room. HanGuang-Jun rested silently at a table across the room, eyes closed and barely touching the tea set out in front of him. Lan JingYi’s own cup was already cold, and had not been touched since it was poured. As much as he hated wasting the tea HanGuang-Jun paid for, he was more upset by the lack of progress.

“JingYi.” Said disciple jumped out of his pacing at the call of his name, hesitantly turning to face his senior. HanGuang-Jun still sat with his eyes closed, although there was the slightest furrow in his brow.

Oh no.

Has he annoyed HanGuang-Jun?

He must have. Even though HanGuang-Jun is probably feeling the same anxiety as he is, the Twin Jade is not letting it show. Unlike Lan JingYi.

Lan JingYi hurried into a deep bow, his nerves alight with embarrassment instead of worry and fear. How could he let his emotions slip so much? In the presence of the sect leader's brother?

“Apologies, HanGuang-Jun. This one just,” He hesitated, not wanting to admit just how frightened he was at the prospect of losing two people who were within arms reach of him as they disappeared. HanGuang-Jun let the silence hold for a moment longer, before moving their stale tea to the side.

“Sit.” Lan JingYi hurried to sit across from HanGuang-Jun, almost hitting his already hurt hand on the table in his rush. His legs twitched beneath his arms as he waited for HanGuang-Jun to speak. The rustle of his robes filled the room with just barely audible noise. The sound obviously reached HanGuang-Jun, if the deepened furrow in his brow and his narrow eyes boring a hole into Lan JingYi was anything to go by.

The junior lowered his head in a bow again, forcing his legs still by pressing his arms down hard on them. He could still feel the muscles shaking, but the noise from his robes was muffled almost completely. Lan JingYi cursed his anxious habits for bothering his senior. Maybe if he had learned more control over his emotions, he wouldn’t have lost Mo XuanYu, or even Lan SiZhui… Maybe HanGuang-Jun wouldn’t be so distraught over his son's disappearance…

“JingYi.” HanGuang-Jun’s voice startled him once again. “We haven’t lost. There is much land to cover, and the forces within it seek to stop us. You are not at fault for facing creatures stronger than your current level.” The stoic voice, lacking any emotion to most other cultivators and common people, was one of the kindest things Lan JingYi had heard. Just the words themselves conveyed the support HanGuang-Jun was offering.

His vision blurred as his head whipped back up to meet HanGuang-Jun’s gaze. The narrow eyes had not changed, although the furrow was gone from his brow and the tint in his eyes just a shade brighter. Lan JingYi hurriedly wiped at the tears falling, a quiet sob breaking free from his throat in the process. He tasted salt as he began to speak.

“HanGuang-”

The window furthest from them slammed inwards, skidding across the floor when it flew from its frame. Both Lan’s were immediately on their feet and facing the new opening, swords drawn, pointing the tips at the intruder.

Lan JingYi only caught a glimpse of the man, the same one who attacked him in the forest, before a blur of black rushed towards him. He could barely lift his sword in defense before the man's path was blocked by Bichen. The man stumbled back from the force of the clash, narrowly missing the next swing as HanGuang-Jun forced Bichen forward.

The advancing Twin Jade must have intimidated the man, as he jumped back through the broken window frame. HanGuang-Jun gave chase, followed quickly by Lan JingYi as the boy still fought with the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

The two kept up with their attacker, HanGuang-Jun keeping his disciple close behind him to dodge any sudden attacks or traps the man places ahead of them. Lan JingYi watches in awe as the Jade bats away any of the man’s plans, feeling a sense of uselessness rise in his gut before remembering what HanGuang-Jun had just told him.

Soon, they follow the man into a narrow alley, and immediately both Lan’s sense another presence just around the corner. HanGuang-Jun slows their pace as they watch the masked man turn the corner, before launching a powerful attack just around the building's corner with Bichen. The shockwave knocks the masked man back in front of them, and Lan JingYi follows behind HanGuang-Jun as they approach.

They get within reaching distance of the man before a loud sigh startles them. Keeping the man at swordpoint, they both hastily find the source of the sound. Another man in dark robes leaning on the wall opposite the one targeted by Bichen watches them with crazed eyes. His smile matches, although the slight downward tilt suggests a more put upon expression as well.

“You know, I really did just need the boy. Ah, Su She, Su She… What am I to do with your incompetence?” The man sighs again, although the name he mentioned drives a cold stake into both of the Lans chests. Su She? Su She??? The Moling Su Clan leader?? Previously of the Lans?? That’s who has been attacking them?

Lan JingYi almost couldn’t believe it, although after considering how much resentment the man held for HanGuang-Jun especially, he was starting to agree with this turn. Su She seemed to also catch the name slip, completely ignoring the two swords pointed at him in favor of launching himself at this new man.

“Xue Yang!” He growled, knocking his mask off in his haste as he tripped over the street. Again, another shock to the Lan’s. Su She and Xue Yang? Working together- well, previously working together it seemed?

Lan JingYi watches tensely as Su She chases after Xue Yang, following with his sword as the latter dodges with quick steps. Lan JingYi watches as Xue Yang’s steps lead him closer to the junior, who takes his chance to launch an attack of his own. Xue Yang obviously wasn’t expecting the dual attack, struggling to push two swords away. Su She takes this moment to strike his sword out towards Lan JingYi, who deftly dodges. A flash of light knocks the sword from Su She’s hands. Bichen glides gracefully through the air as it blocks another attack from Xue Yang, before finding its way back into HanGuang-Jun’s hand.

Lan JingYi moves to strike again, followed by another assist from HanGuang-Jun. Xue Yang, better prepared for this attack, manages to get a dirty shot in at Lan JingYi’s leg, who cries out and struggles to push away from his sword. The madman takes the clear opportunity to strike while Su She tries to keep HanGuang-Jun occupied.

The junior can only watch in seemingly slow motion as the jagged sword arcs down towards him, his own sword knocked away by the first strike, landing uselessly on the ground as the second strike rushes towards him.

A flash, and Xue Yang is disarmed. Literally, disarmed. Lan JingYi watches in muted horror as Xue Yang's sword and lower arm hit the ground between them, bright red blood spattering on the ground and across the edge of Lan JingYi’s robes.

Xue Yang screams, but not in pain. Lan JingYi can tell it’s from deep rooted irritation, at what the junior couldn’t even begin to guess, but he settles on it being from failing to kill him.

Su She barely has time to process his ally-turned-enemy’s severed limb before he is met head on by the force of HanGuang-Jun and Bichen.

Lan JingYi continues to watch how Xue Yang stumbles around, blood dripping down to the ground beneath his feet. The junior feels no threat when Xue Yang grabs his sword with his remaining hand, limply swinging it in Lan JingYi’s direction. He stumbles closer, still holding the sword up to the Lan, whether intending to take him down as well or to encourage retaliation is unknown, but Lan JingYi decides to indulge the latter option.

Lan JingYi meets Xue Yang’s sword, barely having to push to throw the other man off. Deciding not to drag this on any longer, uncomfortable with the idea of playing with a dying man, Lan JingYi drives his sword into Xue Yang’s chest. There’s a final, deep gasp of air from Xue Yang, before he slumps. Lan JingYi hurries to pull his sword free, letting Xue Yang fall to the ground in a puddle of his own blood.

The disciple thinks he catches a glimpse of a wrapper peeking from Xue Yang's robes, but he is caught off guard by a frantic Su She. The traitor jabs his sword numerous times at Lan JingYi, his eyes wide with panic as he tries to catch the junior.

HanGuang-Jun follows closely behind him, cutting the panic short with a well practiced swing at the other man's neck. Bichen dislodges easily, leaving the former Lan to struggle for air as he too collapses to the ground.

The two surviving Lans stand over the bodies, Lan JingYi gasping and HanGuang-Jun staring down at the two criminals.

After a moment of consideration, HanGuang-Jun turned to his junior, his eyes roving over Lan JingYi to check for any obvious injuries.

“You are uninjured?” He asks, eyes meeting Lan JingYi’s as he waits for an answer.

“Y-yes, HanGuang-Jun.” Lan JingYi responds between gasps, clutching at his chest as he swoops to retrieve his sword and sheathing it at his hip again. HanGuang-Jun hums in acknowledgment.

“Good. We need to meet with Jiang WanYin.” He states, offering no more explanation. Not that Lan JingYi needed any. He only hoped that they wouldn’t be attacked so suddenly again on the way.

Chapter Text

Lan JingYi drags his feet behind HanGuang-Jun, the two having landed early when they spotted some of their fellow Lan cultivators scouting nearby. The youth, still worn out from their last fight, struggles to hold back his usual remarks. The trek may be tiring and annoying, but the enormity of their current task outweighs how he’s currently feeling.

Despite this restraint, he can’t hold back the sigh of relief when the entrance gate to Lotus Pier emerges as they approach the shore. A quick look around confirms there are no intrusive onlookers, and the two hop on their swords to reach the entrance. Two figures meet them at the gate, seemingly anticipating their arrival.

“HanGuang-Jun,” Sandu Shengshou greets as Lan JingYi and HanGuang-Jun touch down on the pier. “So interesting to see you and your disciple here after the… interesting announcement sent out by your brother and Sect Leader Jin.” The sect leader sneers. Behind him cowers Sect Leader Nie, hiding behind his fan as he watches. Lan JingYi could understand his cowering, however, when faced with the two forces that are HanGuang-Jun and Sandu ShengShou. Despite the tension, it doesn't seem to stop him from speaking up.

“Where is Mo XuanYu? I thought he was supposed to be with you?” The Head-Shaker asks, looking around to try and catch sight of the missing man. Lan JingYi flinches at the question, looking up at HanGuang-Jun for guidance.

“Missing,” is all HanGuang-Jun answers, still exchanging glares with Sandu Shengshou. Sect Leader Nie’s jaw drops at the information, and if the situation wasn’t so dire, Lan JingYi would find it funny.

“... Missing…?” Sect Leader Nie repeats, disbelief coloring his voice as he slumps against Sandu Shengshou, who shoves him off and steps away while he stumbles. This motion seems to set the usually timid leader off, as he darts forward, grabs ahold of HanGuang-Jun’s robes, and yanks him around.

“What do you mean ‘missing’?! He can’t be! Where did he go!?” He shouts, his eyes almost crazed as he trails off. Lan JingYi tentatively steps forward, reaching out but not yet grabbing the Sect Leader’s arms.

“Sect Leader Nie-” He flinches when the mentioned man turns his head quickly and locks his eyes on him. Taking a deep breath, he continues.

“He- Young Master Mo, was coming with us to try and get Lan SiZhui back, but we lost him when we were attacked near the base of the Burial Mounds.” Lan JingYi explains, muttering a bit when he admitted how and where Mo XuanYu was lost.

Sandu Shengshou pulls the shorter man back by his shoulder, dislodging his hands from HanGuang-Jun’s robes. He looks down at Sect Leader Nie, his brows creased.

“Why do you care so much about this?” He questions, voicing the exact thing that’s been echoing in Lan JingYi’s mind.

However, they aren’t granted an answer. A frenzied messenger rushes towards them, panting as he recovers from his seemingly long journey. When he could finally breathe normally, he bowed quickly.

“Honored Sect Leaders,” Lan JingYi scoffs as he and HanGuang-Jun are excluded from the message. “Your presence is urgently required at the Burial Mounds.” With that, he rushes off again. Lan JingYi assumes that he’s running back to the Burial Mounds, based on the request.

The three older men share confused looks, although the younger cultivator can spot the relief on Sect Leader Nie’s face and the angry confusion on Sandu Shengshou’s. HanGuang-Jun quickly resets his stoic mask as he begins to draw his sword. Lan JingYi follows, taking off behind his elder as Sandu Shengshou sputters behind them. The other two follow as well, however, once the original confusion clears.

Lan JingYi feels a pit grow in his stomach as they travel, concerned at what’s happening and what the outcome will be.

---

As their small group lands a good distance from the already agitated gathering of cultivators from every clan, they can already hear a commotion. Sandu Shengshou adds to the noise when he notices some of his own cultivators gathered, and Lan JingYi also feels some confusion at the sight. He can’t remember the Sect Leader sending any messages ahead to the members of his clan.

They have little time for questions, however, when a few of the cultivators on the outskirts notice them, alerting the rest to their presence.

One particularly brave Jin cultivator marches forward and tries to yank Lan JingYi away, stopped only by HanGuang-Jun’s sword thrusting out and keeping him a distance away.

The standoff is only broken when Zewu-Jun approaches, a frowning LianFang-Zun following closely behind. HanGuang-Jun meets his brother's eyes, but still refuses to lower his sword.

“A-Zhan, please, lower your sword.” The older pleads, subtly nudging the offending cultivator away. The younger slowly lowers Bichen, instead shifting to use his body to block Lan JingYi from any other snatching attempts. As he’s hidden away, Lan JingYi notices Sect Leader Nie muttering to himself, but he again brushes off the man's weird behavior.

Zewu-Jun, despite Bichen still displayed, approaches HanGuang-Jun, keeping his own hands away from Shuoyue. The Sect Leader reached out slowly, placing a hand gently on HanGuang-Jun’s sword arm, a small smile on his face.

“There’s no need for any of that, A-Zhan.”

“Then why are we here?” The irritated voice of Sandu Shengshou interrupted. Zewu-Jun was about to answer, but a loud crash interrupted whatever explanation he had. A rush of air shoots past their small group and pushes Zewu-Jun into HanGuang-Jun, whatever caused the commotion clashing with LianFang-Zun’s now drawn sword.

A dark fierce corpse slams its hands, one after the other, down onto Hensheng, the deep cuts caused by the blade going ignored as the corpse continued to attack.

Numerous outbursts of concern and panic shoot out from the gathered crowd as the corpse overpowers and shoves the Jin sect leader away harshly. Zewu-Jun flies forward with his sword pointed straight for the corpse in retaliation, but he is stopped by the corpses’ block and subsequent grip on his neck.

However, instead of crushing his neck in an instant as expected, the corpse loosens its grip just enough to still overpower Zewu-Jun, but not enough to cause any lasting damage. The moment is frozen as the crowd awaits the final death of the Venerated Trio, but it never comes. Instead, the corpse drops Zewu-Jun before rushing off into the dense fog. Zewu-Jun kneels as all of the gathered Lans, including Lan JingYi and HanGuang-Jun, rush to check on him. When the gathered cultivators reach Zewu-Jun, they’re met with his wide eyes and panicked look. HanGuang-Jun rushes through the crowd of elders, kneeling at his brother's side. Lan JingYi stands back, wanting to help but knowing he had no way to.

“Xiongzhang, are you okay?” HanGuang-Jun brushed Zewu-Jun’s hair back to check his neck, hissing at the bruises already forming. Zewu-Jun muttered something, too quiet for anyone to hear at first.

“... Da-ge…” A confused murmur floated through the gathered crowd. HanGuang-Jun leaned closer, his brows twisted as he continued to listen.

“... Da-ge… that was… how?” A gasp sounded as some of the cultivators finally caught on, everyone beginning to look around to try and spot where the corpse- where the former Nie Sect Leader ran to.

In their search, many begin to notice what happened to Sect Leader Jin. Despite everyone’s belief that he was killed after the nasty throw, he was alive and stumbling up to stand just outside of the view of the majority of the crowd.

However, his survival is not what caused the yelling that soon overtook the impressionable cultivators. Rather, it was where he was standing, that caused such an uproar.

Sect Leader Jin, first and current holder of the Chief Cultivator title, was standing, relatively unharmed yet surrounded with resentful energy, within the barrier blocking the others from entering the Burial Mounds.

“How… how are you in there?” Shouts one Jiang cultivator, his face matching the angry yet confused expression of everyone else.

It seems to take a moment for Sect Leader Jin to notice where he is, his eyes immediately widening then shooting back to look out at the gathered crowd. Lan JingYi can see his brain turning, trying to find some way to twist this situation. The planning quickly fails when more cultivators start shouting, various claims and insults beginning to grow as the events hit the entire crowd.

“First the former Sect Leader Nie’s corpse attacks, then his target ends up being able to cross the cursed barrier?!”

“That bastard! I always knew he was nothing good ever since he was born to that prostitute!”

“His rise to power was so suspicious!”

“How do we get to him now?”

The final question seems to break the outrage. If Sect Leader Jin, the newly branded traitor, is able to survive crossing the barrier that would at best severely injure any other cultivator, how could they stop him? The thought seems to spark something in the traitor, the smoke-like energy around him gathering and becoming more dense in his hands. Lan JingYi is just barely able to dodge out of the way of a whip of resentful energy going straight for his core.

The attack draws everyone's attention towards the now solemn faced cultivator.

“It appears I’ve been outed. No matter.” The smoke condenses into more whips and projectiles, prepped and ready to fire out of the barrier into the crowd.

“I can start anew. This will all be that bastard Wei WuXian’s fault, so make sure to curse him as you die.”

With that, the one sided onslaught begins.

Chapter Text

Recently, Mo XuanYu’s hosts have been acting… irritable, to say the least. Constantly scratching at their skin, pulling their fur and feathers, and snapping more with each other and their human companions. Lan SiZhui didn’t seem to understand what was happening, and that fact scared Mo XuanYu more than the few times Wei WuXian has snapped at him already.

He’s started distancing himself from the beasts and leaving the calming to the Lan. His methods only seemed to settle them for a bit, but it was long enough to allow them some clarity to investigate this change. So far, almost no leads have been discovered to explain their mood swings and agitated behavior.

The biggest change has been in Wen Ning’s speech. Slowly, his grunts and whines have turned to more human sounds. If Mo XuanYu hadn’t seen him each time, he would’ve thought the former Ghost General had returned to his human form.

This development startled everyone, but especially the two beasts. All these years, and only now is Wen Ning showing any progress in changing his curse. Along with the sudden appearances of Lan SiZhui and Mo XuanYu, this can’t be just a coincidence.

With just a bit of encouragement and guidance, Lan SiZhui was able to get his uncle to mutter a few audible words.

“A-Yuan… cousin…”

The celebration caused by just those two words distracted them for a while, although it was short lived. Wei WuXian and Wen Ning stopped mid celebrating, heads angled towards upwards.

“What’s wrong?” Lan SiZhui asks, getting no response.

Turning his own eyes to follow the beasts’, Mo XuanYu notices the movement of the resentful energy in the air. Usually, the smoky energy only glides through the peaks and along the ground towards the base of the mountain. Instead, they all watch as it gathers into a thick cloud, hovering closer to one section of the barrier.

Mo XuanYu glanced nervously from the cloud to the beasts, noticing the subtle twitching under their fur and feathers.

“That’s… that’s not normal, right?” Again, this question goes unanswered.

The silence soon gets overwhelming as he and Lan SiZhui wait for any response, but they aren’t waiting much longer.

The first sign of movement was the slow opening of Wei WuXian’s wings, followed quickly by a sharp burst of wind as he took off.

Before he could even process everything, a strong hand pulled him by his collar and up onto Wen Ning’s back. The air passed wildly through his hair and robes as he sat behind Lan SiZhui, making it a bit difficult to hold on as the deer ran.

It took only a moment for him to process that they were heading straight at the gathering cloud, assumedly following where Wei WuXian went.

Chapter Text

Lan JingYi can hardly breathe.

His sword is long abandoned just beside his crumpled body, and he struggles to lift his head enough to see the chaos around him.

Many other collapsed bodies surround him on the coarse dirt, the only ones left standing being the Sect Leaders and the other masters.

He can’t tell how long this attack has gone on for, all he knows is that one second they were all trying to break down the barrier whilst dodging Jin GuangYao’s attacks, then the next they were all forced to the ground and buried under a heavy, pressing force. Those left standing continued trying to break through, but Lan JingYi could tell that they were also beginning to falter.

As if also noticing his advantage, Jin GuangYao begins gathering more of the resentful energy around him, more than he’s been using. Lan JingYi feels his heart stop as he realizes that this attack will be it. The final move before they’re all wiped out and left to rot on this dark mountain.

A second of hope filled his heart when he noticed that this attack seemed to drain the energy from the barrier as well, but that hope shattered when he realized that their strongest cultivators were already collapsing to their knees, barely able to lift their swords.

Lan JingYi closes his eyes and wonders if this is the cost of him losing two people who trusted him. Giving up, he feels the weight of everything, both physical and mental, begin to crush him.

…

A low caw startles him out of his depressive thoughts. His eyes flew open, trying to catch sight of whatever creature made that noise.

For what feels like years, there is only the sound of struggling and the gust of wind brought on by the resentful energy around them. Jin GuangYao pauses in his attack, although not for long as he cautiously begins his onslaught again. The energy around him is so dense Lan JingYi fears that he may not have the chance to see what made that noise.

He really should stop assuming things.

Following another shrill caw, a sharp set of talons burst through the dark cloud of energy, disrupting the oppressive attacks, in turn shattering the barrier, and grabbing hold of Jin GuangYao. The cultivators previously being attacked could only watch as a giant crow flies deep into the burial mounds, taking the Jin Sect Leader with him. A deer beast and two younger cultivators stand on the other side of the ruined barrier, staring after the crow.

Silence, just for a moment. Then screams. All of the resentful energy around them screams out as a large burst of it climbs to the sky from where the first beast and Jin GuangYao disappeared to. The deer joins in, collapsing as the energy swarms it and seems to pull at its very being. The two younger men crowd it, their faces scrunched in worry and fear. A final harmony of screams echoes, then the energy seems to implode on itself, leaving behind a rotting landscape and the body of another young man. Rather, the corpse of a young man. That moves. And allows the other young men to hug him?

Wait.

He knows them.

Quickly, now that he has feeling in his limbs again and isn’t being shoved down to the ground, Lan JingYi bolts over to the duo, tackling them into a hug and catching the corpse in the process. Normally, touching a corpse would freak him out, but he’s so overwhelmed by the excitement and relief at seeing Lan SiZhui and Mo XuanYu again to really care.

He cries into their shoulders, feeling the two hold him back, Lan SiZhui more confident while Mo XuanYu brings his arms up hesitantly.

Their reunion doesn’t last long. He feels something rush past him, looking up just in time to see HanGuang-Jun rush into the now open Burial Mounds. Lan JingYi can barely guess the reason why he’s rushing in before the three in his arms quickly follow. He tries following, but his legs struggle to keep his weight up anymore as they recover, the adrenaline running out as the pain hits his body fully.

A few of his fellow Lans drag themselves over to help him, and he spots a blur of purple running up the mountain.

—

Everything hurts.

In a way he hadn’t truly experienced in…

Who knows.

Maybe this was his punishment…

He laughed at that. As if he hadn’t been punished enough.

…

Had he? Could anything truly bring justice for the things he’s done?

Maybe not.

His blurred vision catches sight of something bright running towards him.

Oh? He never thought he’d see such bright and pleasant colors again. Not after…

The bright object- objects?- stop when it covers his entire view.

That’s nice. He was getting a bit tired of staring at the grayscale of this land.

Something warm cradles his cheek, lifting his head so he’s facing what he assumes is the sky. Not as blue as he remembers in his past.

The warmth, maybe a hand, wipes at his face. It’s comforting in a way he hasn’t felt in so many years.

He wishes he could stay here forever.

“... can, Wei Ying, just stay with me,” a voice pleads. He almost recognizes it. The soft bass, paired with the gentle caressing. His mind brings forth the image of Lan WangJi, but no matter how hard he wishes that’s who this was, he knows it’s not.
Why would the glorious HanGuang-Jun be here? Holding him? Pleading for him to stay? Surely no one wants that anymore. Maybe A-Ning and A-Yuan… but they were family.

He flinches as he thinks of his brother. Deep in his heart he hopes Jiang Cheng will miss him, mourn him. But he wouldn’t blame his brother for cursing his name after all he’s done to thei- his family.

The hands on his face bring him out of his thoughts again, pulling him close to the person's chest.
This close, he can almost make out their face.

Ah.
Maybe his mind is already fading.

Lan Zhan.

He’s dyingresting in Lan Zhan’s lap. Lan Zhan is holding his face against his chest.

Lan Zhan is…

Crying? No, that can’t be right.

The Lan Zhan he knows doesn’t cry. He can barely crack a smile!

Although… it is nice to know that Lan Zhan cares, or at least is saddened, enough about him to cry as he cries.He sees his Twin Jade’s mouth moving, but his ears are failing. If he focuses he can hear the man's heart beat in his chest.

Another hand grabs at his face, turning him to face away from Lan Zhan’s chest. He didn’t know Lan Zhan had three hands. That’s weird.

Focusing his eyes on another bright person, he already knows who he’d see if he could clear his vision enough.

A-Yuan. His child. His little boy. All grown into a cultivator.

His fingers twitch with the need to reach his son, but he can’t feel anything enough to move.

His smart son, so, so smart, catches his attempt. He feels warmth wrap around his hand and bring it up to his son's face. He manages a small smile through the pain as he feels, or has a phantom sense of, his son's warm skin. He also catches the wetness flooding down A-Yuan’s face.

He can’t do anything to fix that.

He can’t fix anything.

Hopefully he killed that golden bastard. Maybe he fixed one thing.

His focus on his child and his thoughts almost make him miss the dark figure standing just behind A-Yuan. He feels Lan Zhan’s hands around him tighten, but A-Yuan turns to the figure, and soon a third person is kneeling beside him.

His eyes catch the blurry black lines crossing the figure's pale skin, and he knows its A-Ning.

He turns his numb smile to his friend, unable to do anything else as he feels his body grow heavier by the second.

His vision is almost completely gone when he spots one more new color entering his limited field of view.
Purple.

Now he knows he’s really hallucinating.

It can’t be Jiang Cheng.

After all he’s done to the Jiang's, why would his brother come find him? Maybe he wants to see him die once and for all.

It takes a while, or maybe his brain is slowing down too much, but eventually the purple blob of his brother joins the others on the ground.
His son, his perfect son, slowly passes his limp hand to Jiang Cheng's shaking ones. His heart breaks as he feels the trembling. Again, he’s hurting his family. Hurting his brother, his son, his friend, his…

…

…

His thoughts slow.

His eyes roll back, and his body goes completely limp. His family's hands keep him up, but he can’t process anything other than the slowing of his heart.

His lungs ached as his breaths slowed, finally stopping.

He stayed there, falling back into the darkness with the lingering feeling of his family around him.

The smile never fell, despite it all.

Chapter Text

It’s been months since the confrontation with Jin GuangYao, and the world is still healing. A tense peace had been agreed upon for the time being, granting Wen Ning and Mo XuanYu immunity from any consequences for their existence and their practices, respectively.

A funeral was held for Wei WuXian, as well as for all of the Wen’s who he tried to protect. Not everyone attended, leading to a smaller affair to remember the man and his wards whose lives were taken so unfairly. Lan WangJi could remember the anger yet relief at the small attendance. The anger for those who still would not acknowledge Wei WuXian’s sacrifices, and the relief that he did not have to put on another mask to cover his grief. Not when the only ones who would see shared the same feeling.

He’d felt a mix of both, however, when he noticed Jiang Cheng arriving. The man had done little to protect his brother's reputation during his ‘death’, but Lan WangJi could not hold it against him now. Although he would not call them friends now, or even close, he knew the man still cared for Wei WuXian deeply, and he could not deny the other the chance to mourn.

A-Yuan, their child, left shortly after with his uncle. He felt some hesitance to let his son go, but he knew Wen Ning would not let anything happen to the boy. A-Yuan’s time spent in the Burial Mounds was proof enough of that, only further helped by the corpse’s protection of Wei WuXian all these years.

Mo XuanYu had not attended, Lan WangJi had not expected him too, but he’s seen little of the man since the final confrontation. He’s settled into a small house just on the outskirts of CaiYi Town, set up with the help of the Lans. It’s a similar story with his brother, too. Despite attempts at convincing the other, his brother entered seclusion shortly after everything came to light. His heart had been shattered, his mind confused after so many years of betrayal laid out in front of the whole world. He can only hope his brother heals enough to rejoin them.

Now, he stands before the humble memorial in the heart of the Burial Mounds, the very place his Wei Ying, his A-Yuan, and their family had resided for just long enough to leave their mark. Their graves placed in the places they loved the most during this time, as Wen Ning directed.

Lan WangJi walks deeper in, entering the cave that his love called home for so long. Little pieces of him remain, diary pages scattered across the floor and rock tables, torn clothing littered on the floor. His stone bed untouched. His diagrams and theories out in the open. No care for who saw them.

The center of the room, cleared except for the coffin in the middle. A bigger memorial surrounds this coffin, trinkets, flowers, and written notes placed against the supports. Lan WangJi approaches with a tightness to his chest. Maybe this time…

…

Empty… Just as before.

His breath holds as he stares into the broken, empty wood. It’s been weeks now.

His loves body stolen in the night. No alarms triggered, no sign of anything other than the body missing.

He can only fathom what they are doing to him. Any number of demonic cultivators would pay a fortune to have their hands on the body of the YiLing Patriarch.

He’s tried day and night to find any trace of where they could have taken the body, helped by his son, Lan JingYi, and Wen Ning, but they’ve grown no closer since the first night. If they could avoid and disarm the numerous hidden alarm talismans located in and around the room and coffin, they’re definitely smart enough to avoid leaving an obvious trail. Or… any trail, as it seems at this point.

The other sects have done little to help after the first few weeks, and he wonders if what they're offering now could even be consider as help at all. He can’t let it demotivate him, no matter how much others are telling him it’s useless. He can’t let Wei Ying’s body be used for evil or displayed in some grotesque fashion for others viewing pleasure. A shiver runs down his spine, and he shakes his head to rid his mind of the thoughts.

This search is the only time he sees much of Mo XuanYu. The younger man offers his advice on where demonic cultivators may be residing, specifically ones who would have a strong urge to commit this crime. They’ve all led to dead ends, just groups of demonic cultivators who had never stepped foot into the Burial Mounds before. Lan WangJi could see the toll the continuous failures had on the man, his skin paling to a shade closer to when Lan WangJi had first found him and his health declining so fast everyone panicked at the sight of fresh blood each time the man was seen outside his home.

With all of this decline, Mo XuanYu had practically been forced to rest at home. Lan WangJi almost wanted to argue during the first few days, but he worked past his grieving anger and recognized the harm it would cause both the man and their search to force him to keep working. Lan JingYi and A-Yuan had attempted to bring the man food and help around his home, but after being rejected each time, they reluctantly gave up.

Standing here now, he could see the talismans that were burned through during the robbery, Mo XuanYu’s handwriting combining with A-Yuan’s. Looking like they should have done their job, but the ink never activated to sound the alarm.

Footsteps entering the cave jolted him from his thoughts. He did not have to turn to know the steps as his sons. It seems he had missed the boy returning from another trip with Wen Ning.

“Father…” A-Yuan starts, hints of concern and disappointment slipping into his tone. Lan WangJi shakes his head. He can see out of the corner of his eye as A-Yuan stops beside him, his own gaze also drawn to the empty coffin.

“There’s still no sign of his body, nor any of the person who took him,” he admits. No matter how many times he hears or must speak those words, his heart still breaks a little each time. He can see how much it affects his son as well.

Bringing an arm up, he pulls his son into his side by the shoulder. His younger self would never imagine being this close to another person, no matter their relationship, but he’s found he’s unable to deny himself this closeness, especially in this time of heartache. He can feel a hand clench in the back of his robes, and he squeezes A-Yuan close to him before releasing him.

A beat of silence passes between them before A-Yuan continues.

“We… We do have another lead. It doesn’t seem any better than our previous ones, but we’d like you to come with just in case.” His son can perhaps sense his automatic refusal, his day already planned to be a day of mourning. “I know, father, but… I think it’d do you some good just to get out, too. The town near the tip is holding a small festival while we’ll be there, and… it’s been so long since we did anything just for us.” His heart clenches at the pleading tone. He knows the words are true, and he can’t bring himself to deny this request.

He hums his acquiescence, and he can see his son light up.

“Great!” A-Yuan clears his throat. “I mean, good. Uncle Ning is waiting back home, he volunteered to help JingYi with some work while I’m here.” Lan WangJi nods, struggling to tear his eyes away from the coffin.

A gentle hand takes his own, pulling him towards the entrance. He follows, the struggle leaving him at the touch. The fresh air outside the cave breezes past them as they exit, brushing sweat from his brow that he didn’t even know was forming. With a breath and one last look at the buildings around them, they step onto their swords and make their way home.

—

Landing just outside the gates, Lan WangJi enters with A-Yuan. They’re greeted briefly by the guards and wandering Lans, each knowing the grief that still settles heavily in the father and son.

They quickly find Lan JingYi and Wen Ning, the two tending to some of the rabbits in the pen. Lan WangJi can see the weight resting on their shoulders, only slightly lessened by the balls of fur jumping around them and resting in their laps. A-Yuan moves ahead, joining the two and bringing their attention to Lan WangJi. He can’t bring himself to follow them in. His short mourning at the memorial makes him reluctant to interact with the animals that remind him so much of Wei Ying.

He instead moves back towards his own home, entering quietly to grab the few items he’ll need for the trip. Most is already packed, always ready to go at a moment's notice. He looks around the room, small pieces of Wei Ying hidden throughout it. His hand goes to rub at the red ribbon tied tightly around his wrist, a permanent reminder of his lost love, a physical piece of him that he can keep at all times.

Hoisting his bag over his shoulder, he leaves the house. A commotion draws him from his path back to the rabbit pen and instead towards the front gates.

As he nears, he nearly drops his bag in his rush forward. Multiple guards are supporting Mo XuanYu as he struggles to move further in. Lan WangJi meets A-Yuan as the other rushes forward, the two approaching the collapsing man together.

Mo XuanYu’s eyes light up at the sight of them, and he stumbles out of the guards support and into the two of them. A-Yuan takes over supporting the man, although he hesitates at the crazed look in the man's eyes.

“HanGuang-Jun! SiZhui! You-” He nearly falls over coughing, the violent sound ripping through his throat. “You need to come with me! In my house, I-” Another fit nearly kills the man.

“Senior Mo, please, you need to calm down.” A-Yuan tries to help the other man down to rest for a moment, but Mo XuanYu struggles and stays standing.

“No! You have to come! Wen Ning’s already gone down there, but I need you two as well! Please!” He begs, and a quick look over his head with A-Yuan leads to them following. His son continues to help support the weaker man, and Lan WangJi follows just behind. He meets A-Yuan’s eyes a few times when his son glances over his shoulder, concern evident in his gaze. Lan WangJi can’t hide that he’s feeling the same way. The man looks like he’s dying, and all this time hidden away just to beg them to go to his house now? His mind struggles to find a reason for this urgency besides the man possibly dying.

It takes a while for them to make it to Mo XuanYu’s home, the man stumbling despite the support. His front door is wide open, but the windows and other side doors remain boarded up. Mo XuanYu breaks from A-Yuan’s hold, stumbling into the darkness within his home. A-Yuan gasps and Lan WangJi can’t help but shiver as they walk in, an intense wave of resentful energy greeting them.

They find Wen Ning standing in a doorway, presumably the entrance to Mo XuanYu’s bedroom. The corpse turns slowly at their approach, his eyes almost refusing to leave whatever he sees within the room. When he does manage to break his gaze away, his wide eyes send a chill down Lan WangJi’s spine.

He pushes A-Yuan behind him before rushing forward, hand pulling out his sword as he approaches the doorway.

“HanGuang-Jun, wait-” He ignores Wen Ning’s protest and pushes his way past the man. His eyes meet what held Wen Ning’s gaze and cause so much urgency in Mo XuanYu.

…

He freezes, sword falling to the ground as his heart beats loudly in his ears. It…

He steps forward, limbs shaking.

A figure stands by the small bed, bits of wood and dried blood covering his body.

The figure turns, and Lan WangJi’s breath catches in his throat.

A beaming smile grows across from him. Familiar. Missed. So full of love it hurts to see again.

A moment passes, then…

“Lan Zhan!”