Archive of Our Own ^beta

Wei Wuxian

Contrary to popular belief, Wei Wuxian wasn't dense.

Prior to being tossed into the cave with the Tortoise of Slaughter, he knew exactly what he wanted from his life.

He wanted to support Jiang Cheng and Lotus Pier, to eat Shijie's soup at least once a week, and to spend as much time as he could with Lan Zhan. If someone had then asked him why he wanted to spend so much time with Lan Zhan, especially when spending time with Lan Zhan ran counter to his other goals, Wei Wuxian suspected he would have dramatically cried about how someone must take on the responsibility of peeking underneath the flawless façade of the Second Jade of Lan until said person gave up on getting the truth and ran away.

The problem that Wei Wuxian was currently facing, however, was that he was now post the Tortoise of Slaughter. And Wei Wuxian, despite being delirious out of his mind with fever, remembers very clearly asking Lan Zhan the name of what was obviously a love song, and Lan Zhan responding with Wangxian.

Wangxian. Well. It certainly shaded the whole "MianMian" conversation in a new light.

Lan Wangji

Contrary to popular belief, Lan Wangji wasn't actually that terrible at socializing.

He has lost count of the amount of times he has sat in companionable silence with Jin Zixuan, the two of them gamely sipping their tea while Brother and Jin Guangshan spoke of Inter Sect issues. This was something that, despite the lack of actual words exchanged, Lan Wangji considered to be one of his more admirable social adventures.

Jin Zixuan was a bit of an ass, after all.

He was also more than capable of holding a conversation with Nie Mingjue, not to mention that he and Nie Huaisang exchanged letters more frequently than he'd care to admit.

That last part was a lie.

What Lan Wangji really doesn't want to admit is that their weekly correspondence began when Nie Huaisang caught Lan Wangji hiding from Sect Leader Ouyang in the back halls of Lotus Pier. To this day Lan Wangji maintains that he was simply freshening up, something that Nie Huasiang gamely goes along with every time he mentions it in his letters.

(Nie Huaisang also gamely went along with the fact that Lan Wangji was not about to engage in a life of rule breaking just because his only friend was.)

The point, Lan Wangji thinks, is that he is actually halfway decent at socializing. Maybe, on a good day, when he has finished his weekly letter to Nie Huasiang that resolutely does not include complaining about having tea with Jin Zixuan, he could even claim to be good at it.

All of which means he has no excuse whatsoever for what he did in the cave with the Tortoise of Slaughter. It was just - well, he was just sitting there, staring down at Wei Ying's face that was somehow still attractive, even with the fever sweats! Which was really just unfair. Who could blame him for being lured in by this and lowering his defenses?

Certainly not Brother. Brother who had invited Wei Ying and the others to deal with the Waterbourne Abyss because it "seemed like you wanted to invite them".

Brother, who was still missing. Who the mere thought of sent a sharp pang of pain through Lan Wangji's chest. When Uncle had told him of Father's death, Lan Wangji had felt a momentary sense of sadness. By comparison, upon his return, when he realized that Brother was not among the disciples rebuilding their home, Lan Wangji felt a sickening lurch in his stomach.

Even now, weeks later, his stomach has not settled.

When he asked Uncle if they had heard anything, Uncle had only shook his head, and Lan Wangji had felt the floor drop from under him. Brother had been a constant in Lan Wangji's life for as long as he could remember, and the idea of him gone now was unfathomable.

If Brother were here he would've given Lan Wangji one of his gentle smiles when Lan Wangji told him what he had done. He would have made the doubting and vicious voices that are telling him it was foolish of him to admit his feelings so openly to be quiet.

"How romantic A-Zhan!" Brother would have said, a small teasing smile tugging at his lips. "I'm sure young Master Wei appreciated the song very much. Once he recovers I'm sure he'll send you a letter."

But Brother wasn't here, and Wei Ying had not written anything.

Wei Wuxian

Wei Wuxian doesn't remember much from the trip back to Lotus Pier.

He remembers the sounds of disciples moving about and Jiang Cheng's voice a constant buzz in his ears. He remembers feeling Shijie's hand on his forehead, how cold it had felt. Something was very wrong with Shijie, for her to be that cold. He remembers them rushing him to the medical wing, the dizziness from being handed from Jiang Cheng to the doctor.

Everything else goes fuzzy after that, and when he finally wakes it's to the blurry image of Shijie asleep by his bed.

"A-Xian! You're awake!" Shijie's face is still crumpled in sleep, even if her eyes are open and wide. "Don't move, let me go get the doctor!"

Wei Wuxian tries to nod, really, he does, but his head still feels so heavy, and he thinks at best he drops his chin in response. It matters little, since by the time he lifts his head again Shijie has returned with the doctor and, to his shock, Jiang Cheng.

"Jiang Cheng what are you doing here?" Wei Wuxian blurts out. The other's face goes tight at his words, and Wei Wuxian feels a pang of regret. "Aiyo, I didn't mean it like that! It's just - aren't you busy?"

"Idiot." Jiang Cheng's face somehow goes tighter, and he purses his lips before gritting out "I'm never too busy for my brother."

A soft cough interrupts the moment.

"Sect Heir Jiang, Mistress Jiang, Master Wei. May I interrupt?" The doctor, Jiang Min, gently takes Wei Wuxian's wrist in his hand.

"Young Master Wei is quite fortunate to have such a strong Core. I suspect he will be up and running about our piers by tomorrow morning." Jiang Min pats Wei Wuxian's hand before dropping it on the sheet. "Just try and take it easy for the rest of the day and you'll be fine."

Jiang Min smiles at the three of them as he bows in farewell, and Wei Wuxian is reminded of the countless times the doctor had patched him up in the past.

"Oh, A-Xian I'm so glad you are all right. I was so worried when A-Cheng revealed what happened!" Shijie covers Wei Wuxian's hand with her own. "Don't worry, once you're better I already promised A-Cheng I'll make soup for all of us."

The warmth of Shijie's hand over his is comforting, and the promise of soup is a balm to his soul that Wei Wuxian didn't even realize he needed. He feels his eyes grow heavy, and he hears the soothing sounds of a song in his ears lulling him to sleep. It's beautiful, but sad, speaking of love that is as eternal and unmoving as it was unrequited.

Wei Wuxian shot up from the bed.

"A-Xian! What's wrong?" Shijie's eyes were wide again, and Jiang Cheng had already sprung up from his seat. "Does - does something hurt? I can get Jiang Min again!"

"No, no, no Jiang Min! Just - a piece of paper! And something to write with!" Wei Wuxian can feel his heart speeding up, and he swears it's saying Lan Zhan Lan Zhan Lan Zhan.

"A piece of paper? Wei Wuxian what are you on about?" Despite Jiang Cheng's harsh tone, Wei Wuxian spots his brother already moving towards the desk.

"I have to thank Lan Zhan! He was so kind, taking care of me during the throes of my fever!" Wei Wuxian dramatically throws himself back against his pillow, draping his arm over his forehead.

"Oh Shijie, if only you could have witnessed it! But, perhaps it's best you didn't see it! There is no one in the world like my Lan Zhan, and I would hate for my Shijie to be always disappointed!" Wei Wuxian knows he's being shameless, but he finds he cares even less now than he did before.

He likes, no, he loves Lan Zhan and in turns out Lan Zhan feels the same way! Why wouldn't he want to show that off?

"Your Lan Zhan?" Jiang Cheng's face is now definitely purple, and Wei Wuxian feels a pang of hurt go through his chest. Before the feeling can settle, however, Jiang Cheng drops the paper and ink stone on his lap. "Thank the heavens you two figured it out. I thought A-Jie and I were going to have to watch you dramatically pine away for years to come. Years Wei Wuxian!"

"What? You and Shijie? Have you two been talking about me?" Wei Wuxian squawks, flailing his arms about and grabbing Jiang Cheng in a poor man's version of a headlock.

"Of course we've been talking about you! That's what siblings do!" Jiang Cheng squawks back, his ears now a flaming red. "A-Jie! Help me!"

"A-Xian, A-Cheng." Shijie laughs, her eyes crinkling in the corners the way they only do when she's really laughing, free and unburdened from the "womanly" behaviors that Madam Yu places on her. "This is what siblings do. We wish for you to be happy and it certainly seems as though Young Master Lan has been making you happy for quite a long time. Even if Xian Xian was a little dense and didn't realize why."

"Shijie! It's not like that! I didn't even think he - he was always so - it wasn't until -" Wei Wuxian flails about on the bed dramatically "He wrote a song for me! A love song! And he obviously thinks I don't love him back so I need to write to him now!"

"Well obviously he didn't think you loved him back, what with your behavior with MianMian." Jiang Cheng frees himself from Wei Wuxian's hold, and he tilts his nose up waspishly. "I keep telling you, flirt with everything that moves and when the time comes for you to mean your words the person won't know."

"Oh, like you're so much better? Keeping it all in until you find 'the one'? The One better love you lots Jiang Cheng cause you are going to be so bad at flirting!" Wei Wuxian retorts, crossing his arms and pouting. "What an unfilial shidi you are! Shijie help me!"

"A-Cheng….it's not kind of us to make fun of A-Xian this way." Shijie reaches out and squeezes both of their hands. "Perhaps we can make it up to A-Xian by helping him write his letter?"

"Ah, Shijie you are too kind!" Wei Wuxian peeks one eye out from beneath his arm. A distinct cough comes from his left, and Wei Wuxian laughs before letting his arm drop. "You too Jiang Cheng, you're the kindest shidi around!"

"Well that's obviously a lie." Jiang Cheng says tightly. Before Wei Wuxian can leap up to respond, Jiang Cheng rearranges the blank piece of paper on Wei Wuxian's lap. "Now go on and write your letter to Lan Wangji. I'll drop it off with the courier before Mother and Father are finished with their conversation."

Lan Wangji

Wei Ying's letter comes a month after Lan Wangji has been back at the Cloud Recesses.

It is a rainy day, and Lan Wangji has spent the morning rewriting the last chapter of one of their burned texts. It is work that should have distracted him from his thoughts, but Lan Wangji finds that instead he recalls the text too well; he requires little thought to place pen to paper and so his thoughts are free to wander.

And wander they do. Lan Wangji knows that Uncle has been keeping his return quiet so that Qishan Wen does not think to return. Logically, he knows this means that Brother will not know to return, will not know if it is safe. But he cannot stop the fear that bubbles in his chest as each day passes by without word or sighting. How do they truly know that Brother made it to safety? There were so many Wen soldiers that swarmed the Cloud Recesses, so many dead Lan disciples that were unrecognizable among the burned buildings. Could one of them have been Brother?

"Master Lan, a letter has arrived for you." A young disciple carrying a stack of letters approaches the pavilion that Lan Wangji is under, his head already bowed down in deference.

This is another thing that tugs at something ugly in Lan Wangji's chest. Everyone in the Cloud Recesses is suddenly looking at him. Yes, they turn to Uncle and the remaining Elders for current decisions, but Lan Wangji is no fool. He notices how they are all looking at him. Expectantly. As if they all know that soon Gusu Lan will have to face yet another heartbreak, and that Lan Wangji will wear a new guan on his head.

It makes that ugly feeling in his chest twist and twist until it seems like it's filled his entire body. It makes Lan Wangji's chest hurt, and it makes him want to yell for the first time since he was 10 years old and Uncle tried to tell him he couldn't share a room with Brother anymore.

Brother will come back, he wants to tell them. Brother will come back and make all of this make sense. Together, there is no challenge that Brother and he have been unable to face, be it their mother's death or their father's blatant disinterest in them.

"Master Lan? Your letter?" The disciple repeats himself, and it shakes Lan Wangji from his thoughts. "It is from Lotus Pier."

"Hm. Thank you." Joy suddenly flows through Lan Wangji's body, and briefly he wonders if he is at risk for qi deviation.

He manages to keep his face blank as he takes the letter in his hands, and he even manages a polite, if not borderline curt, dismissal of the young man. But the second he is alone he rips it open, his hands shaking as he flattens the folded paper. A red ribbon falls out of the letter, and Lan Wangji immediately clutches it in his hand.

Lan Zhan. My Lan Zhan.

Wait. Am I allowed to call you that? You wrote me a love song...at least, I think you did? Aiyo Lan Zhan I've barely started this letter and it's already so terrible! Your Uncle would make me copy the Rules I am sure.

I'm getting off topic. But maybe that's one of the things you love about me? The way I ramble on about all sorts of things? Ah this getting so embarrassing I don't think my heart can take it - and you're not even here!

Okay. Time to be serious. I know things are crazy right now, and the words 'courtship' and 'meetings between clans' are things that have to take a backseat to what is occurring around us. The Wens. But I want you to know Lan Zhan, that I love you. I think I always have, in some shape or form. I know I always wanted your attention, to be allowed to see the parts of you that you hide from others.

When this is all over, I want to do all this right, to ask Sect Leader Lan to court you properly. I want to be able to have you wrap your forehead ribbon around my wrist and know that it's going to be the two of us, always. I think you'd look lovely in red.

Would you wear a red version of your forehead ribbon? How does that work, once I get yours? I suppose you must have multiple versions, but still!

Anyways, until you can give me your ribbon, I want you to have mine.

I also want to say that Zewu Jun will be all right, but I know that isn't necessarily true, and that you hate lies.

So instead I'll just end this letter by saying that the one thing I do know to be true; that Zewu Jun is doing everything in his power to get back to you.

"How can you state an opinion as fact?" you say?

Ah my Lan Zhan, you forget; I too am an older brother.

Write back to me soon, lest I start to think I imagined everything in the Cave!

Oh! And there's no need to worry about MianMian - I promise!

Love

Wei Ying

Happiness flows through Lan Wangji like a river current, and just like a strong undertow, he feels it pulling him under. He's just...feeling so much at once. A happiness that seems so potent that it will burst out of his skin. It isn't just that Wei Ying loves him, though heavens knows that that fact is a huge part of it. Rather, it is that Wei Ying knows him so well. Wei Ying is right, one of the things Lan Wangji loves the most about him is the way Wei Ying fills the silence with all sorts of conversation. The way his mind works, going from one conversation to another with a rabbit quick mind.

And the way he knew about Brother. About how Lan Wangji would hate the empty platitudes but still desperately want some sort of comfort.

Lan Wangji pushes his manuscript aside in favor of a blank piece of paper, his mind already racing to come up with what to say back to Wei Ying.

Do not focus on the frivolous. Focus on the necessities.

Uncle's voice in his head, stern and unyielding.

Oh A-Zhan, what truly are life's necessities? I believe that happiness and love are part of that. I know that you have brought both into my life, and through it have made it all the better.

Brother's voice, soft and sweet. Lan Wangji can almost feel Brother's hand in his hair, fingers gently combing through knots and tangles.

Lan Wangji pauses for a moment, hearing both voices in his head. Uncle, loud and brash. Brother, quiet and soft.

He picks up the brush and begins to write.

Wei Wuxian

Lan Zhan responds right away.

Wei Wuxian isn't sure what he was expecting when he sent his letter. He knew what he had hoped for, but he also knew that Lan Zhan was busy rebuilding the Cloud Recesses. It seemed selfish to hope for an immediate answer.

It isn't too hard to find a place to hide out and read it. Lately Lotus Pier has been a flurry of activity, although none of it involves him. It certainly seems stressful, if the lines of tension in Jiang Cheng's shoulders are anything to go by, but he is not privy to the details.

As Madame Yu would say, if Lotus Pier needed him, they would call for him.

So Wei Wuxian only feels a little bad when he sneaks off to a dock on the far western side of Lotus Pier. It's secluded and overgrown, and he thinks that once upon a time it was part of the in-law suites that currently sit abandoned. For a moment Wei Wuxian feels sad, thinking of the rooms, abandoned except for the occasional cleaning. Then he feels the crisp parchment in his robes brush against his chest, and his thoughts move on.

Wei Wuxian settles in on the far edge of the dock, his feet dangling over the side. The pier is quiet and secluded, and Wei Wuxian is reminded of why he loves it here. It is a place that seems wholly his; somewhere he can practice his music or read his books without the fear of Madame Yu coming upon him.

A rustle of leaves startles Wei Wuxian out of his thoughts, and he pulls Lan Zhan's letter out of his robes.

Opening the letter is embarrassingly hard, his nervous fingers failing to catch the seal on the first few attempts. Finally, he manages to open it, flattening it against the pier to smooth out any creases.

Wei Wuxian feels butterflies in his stomach as he takes in Lan Zhan's handwriting. It is as neat and precise as one would expect from a member of Gusu Lan, but Wei Wuxian knows Lan Zhan like he knows no other, and he can see it in his handwriting. The slight tilt of the letters, as if Lan Zhan was so excited that he was rushing to put thoughts to paper. The way the letters at certain points are just slightly thicker, as if Lan Zhan had to pause and catch his breath because of butterflies in his stomach.

Wei Ying,

I am yours.

I think, despite what younger me would say, I always have been.

You crashed into my life like a whirlwind, and made it all the better. You understand that my silence doesn't always mean disinterest - though I cannot lie, when it comes to Jin Zixuan, it often does.

I wish the world was not as it is for many reasons; Brother is missing, and you are far away for the foreseeable future. It is like you said, our official courtship shall have to wait. There are far more pressing matters, including those that we are not yet aware of, that loom before us.

I feel selfish admitting this, but the immediate future is filled with so many things, and so few of them good, that I find myself longing for our summer classes in Cloud Recesses.

Despite all this, I am happy that I sang for you, that you asked me if my song had a name, and that I was finally brave enough to whisper it to you.

How are your siblings? I confess I haven't heard much about them in the weeks since I've been back at the Cloud Recesses, but that is mainly because Nie Huaisang only wishes to write to me about the various teas that Nie Mingjue had waiting at home for him.

I suspect he worries about what the upcoming conflicts will do to Nie Mingjue's core.

It...frightens me as well, and not in the way I imagine most would assume. I know it is selfish of me, but I find myself frightened not because of the conflict looming ahead, but because Jue-xiong has always been a consistently strong presence in my life.

I suppose I also worry about how all this is affecting Nie Huaisang. You and I both know how effectively he hides his feelings behind expressions of frivolity and sass, and if one didn't look closely one would think he did not care much either way.

But that is not true.

It is different from you and Jiang Cheng, than Brother and I. While Brother has always been my center, I do have Uncle. Despite his harsh exterior, I have always known that he cares for me. And you, you have Mistress Jiang.

The Nies are truly alone in this world, except for each other.

And now the Wens threaten to take that as well.

As for the forehead ribbon, yes I have extras, and yes I would wear a red one on our wedding day. It is the only day that we wear a different colored ribbon, and although it is dictated by tradition, I still like the idea that we would be matching. As if it is something uniquely special for us.

I suppose, in a way, it is. At least, I like to think so.

I must wrap this letter up, for I see Uncle heading this way. I find it freeing to be able to write to you, Wei Ying. I know that you will not judge me - or at the very least, you will only do so in jest. It has been a while since I felt safe enough to share my innermost thoughts.

Write back when you are able.

Love,

Lan Zhan

The butterflies that had previously inhabited his stomach flutter back up, and Wei Wuxian swears he can feel them all the way up his throat. He clutches the letter to his chest like the maidens in Nie Huisiang's books, and he feels the rapid thumping of his heart through the parchment.

His Lan Zhan. His.

The way that Lan Zhan has so casually bared his soul to him. The sheer amount of trust that is in each word that he writes. It is almost enough to make Wei Wuxian run straight to Gusu.

But alas, he cannot. His duty to Yunmeng Jiang, to his family, keeps him here in this time of turmoil. It is one of the things Lan Zhan loves about him though - he practically said it in the first paragraph!

Well, maybe not explicitly. But Wei Wuxian likes to think that he is one of the few people fluent in Lan Wangji, and he can read between the lines of his letter.

Though apparently, he is not the only one who is exchanging letters with his Lan Zhan! Who would've guessed that Nie Huaisang would be writing to Lan Zhan on a regular basis? Certainly not him.

But even this lack of knowledge about Lan Zhan makes him giddy. They know so much about one another, and yet there is still so much more to learn. Lan Zhan's letter had already revealed so much; from the way 'Jue-xiong' slipped in amongst the more formal 'Nie Mingjue', and the way he so casually reveals the amount of trust he has in Wei Wuxian.

The sudden rustling of the overgrown bushes again startles Wei Wuxian out of his thoughts. Madame Yu comes bursting into view, and Wei Wuxian is so shocked by her appearance that he almost drops Lan Zhan's letter.

"You! Where have you been?!" There is a wild look in Madame Yu's eyes, adrenaline mixed with an emotion that before now, Wei Wuxian had never seen on her face; fear.

"I...I…" Wei Wuxian stumbles over his words as he scrambles to stand, shoving Lan Zhan's letter into his robes. "What is going on?"

"What is going on? What is going on?!" Madame Yu's whispered voice reaches a pitch that previously Wei Wuxian had thought was only available to particularly discerning opera singers.

"I...yes, what is going on? I haven't been gone that long!" Wei Wuxian braces himself for the crackling of Zidian, for the smell of ozone before the snap of thunder and pain.

But there's nothing.

No purple light illuminating Madame Yu's angry face before she brings the spiritual tool down on him. In fact, there's no spiritual tool at all.

A sick feeling lurches up Wei Wuxian's throat, and for one mortifying moment he thinks he might throw up. He peers at Madame Yu's hand in hopes that Zidian will be hidden amongst her robes, but he finds nothing.

No Zidian.

A thought rises to the front of Wei Wuxian's mind like a tidal wave.

Something is very, very wrong.

Jiang Cheng

A-Jie is crying.

The rain is cold, and Jiang Cheng thinks he has just seen his father for the last time.

Zidian sits dormant, the cold metal pressing against the back of his hand.

Mother is dead. Father too, for Zidian wouldn't have listened to his command, no, his plea, to free them if not.

And Wei Wuxian is missing.

Probably dead as well. But maybe not. His brother is resourceful, and Mother did say she was going to find him and send him their way.

But he never appeared.

Wei Wuxian is fine. He has to be.

You know that isn't true.

He's dead.

Don't be stupid. Always so stupid Jiang Cheng!

No. No. He wouldn't believe that. Not yet.

Jiang Cheng shakes himself free from his thoughts, and he bends down to scoop A-Jie up in his arms. She's shaking, and her hands cling to him so tightly he thinks he might bruise.

He thinks he's clinging to her even tighter.

Jiang Cheng buries his face in her hair and takes a few deep breaths to try and calm down his racing heart. His skin suddenly feels like it's on fire, despite the freezing rain that is pelting them.

It feels like his heart is going to beat out of his chest. It's going so fast, too fast.

He thinks he might pass out if he doesn't get it under control. He has to get it under control.

A shudder passes through Jiang Cheng, and when he looks down A-Jie is trembling in his arms. He realizes that it is not just grief that is causing her to shake. His beloved sister has always been frail health wise, and he can see the blue tinge of her lips. A-Jie needs him now. The thought steadies him, and he feels his heartbeat slowly going back to some semblance of normal.

"Okay, it's going to be okay. I've got you" Jiang Cheng stumbles to his feet, and he cradles her in his arms. "All right A-Jie, let's go."

Jiang Cheng doesn't know where exactly they've ended up, but he does know enough about the geography of Yunmeng to have a rough idea. They seem far enough away from Lotus Pier that there shouldn't be any Wens running about, but just to be safe he sticks to the wooded areas away from the roads.

The rain slowly begins to stop, and by the time the first rays of sun begin to rise Jiang Cheng is feeling a little more settled. He has a plan.

At first, the plan had been anger. Anger and vengeance. The desire to go back to Lotus Pier, lack of sword be damned, had threatened to consume him. The Wens had killed their parents, and most likely, their brother as well! Jiang Cheng had seen the fires of Lotus Pier in the distance, had seen the red dots of the Wens swarming his childhood home in the distance as he cried.

The anger had felt overwhelming, and in his darkest moments Jiang Cheng wondered if they had just prolonged the inevitable by running. Was it not more honorable to die in combat?

Then his arms started to hurt.

It had been hours since he had started walking, and despite not being very large, dead weight was still dead weight. And A-Jie, sick with fever, was very much dead weight.

At that moment, Jiang Cheng felt clarity. Perhaps it would have been best for him to die in combat if Wei Wuxian had survived. If he had been able to know that Wei Wuxian would care for A-Jie. But Wei Wuxian wasn't with them, and he was all A-Jie had. So a new plan formed.

A-Jie. A-Jie is the plan.

He repeats this to himself as he hikes through the woods, his arms aching. He tells himself that any kind of vengeance can wait. It has to wait. He won't leave A-Jie alone.

Jiang Cheng can feel the unnatural heat from A-Jie's skin on his, and although he is no doctor, he knows a fever is never a sign of anything good.

He had wanted to try and keep her awake by talking, but he feared that their voices would alert any potential Wens to their presence. And so A-Jie floated in and out of consciousness, and Jiang Cheng felt like a failure once more.

Wei Wuxian would have done better, of this Jiang Cheng was certain.

A stab of pain raced through Jiang Cheng at the thought of his brother, and his eyes welled up with tears. His thoughts began to crowd his head again, pushing up against his skull and threatening to pull him under.

What would he give for Wei Wuxian to be there with them? What price would be too high?

Everything. Nothing.

"A-Cheng?" A-Jie's voice is weak, but it still breaks Jiang Cheng out of his thoughts. "Where….where are we?"

"Edge of Yunmeng, a bit north of the river." Jiang Cheng shifts A-Jie closer to him, allowing her to nestle her head into his neck. "We're about to enter the province between Yunmeng and Shandong. There's a small trading town nearby."

"Lanling Jin? Oh how I wish..." A-Jie murmurs, and oh does Jiang Cheng not like the shudder that goes through her body. "Oh A-Cheng….I do not wish to be a bother but...I am so cold."

Jiang Cheng knows that it is the chill from the fever, that there is nothing that he can do except push forward. He sees the lights of the small town up ahead, and for a split second he hesitates. What if the Wens are waiting?

He feels A-Jie shudder again, and he realizes that he doesn't have much of a choice.

Lan Xichen

Lan Xichen is restless.

He hasn't left the cottage in over a week, and with Meng Yao gone, things have been a bit too quiet for Lan Xichen's taste. It is in the quiet that he can hear the screams of those lost, that he can smell the smoke and burned flesh.

It is in the quiet that he can hear Uncle's voice, cracking and thick, as he shoves Lan Xichen into the woods. He remembers running, his steps seeming loud, too loud. He remembers being convinced that the Wens would find him, that they would drag him back to the Cloud Recesses.

He remembers almost wishing that would happen.

Was it truly better to be here, hidden away with all these books?

Away from his people, from Uncle, from A-Zhan?

A-Zhan. A pain laces through his chest before settling like a weight. The rumors out of Gusu have been minimal, even for someone who would be in the markets to hear them.

In the beginning, he would ask Meng Yao every day about what he had heard in the markets. Lan Xichen was not too proud to admit that the entire time the other was gone he was just waiting for his return, waiting to hear if he would come with any news. The day that Meng Yao told him of Wen Clan's summons, that all Sect Heir's were to report to an indoctrination camp and surrender their swords, Lan Xichen had to excuse himself.

The thought of his beloved brother, in the hands of the Wens, made Lan Xichen sick. He remembers his hands shaking, his vision going spotty and grey. A-Zhan, at the mercy of the monsters who had burned their home, who had broken his leg, was too much for Lan Xichen to bear.

But bear it he did. If he couldn't be with A-Zhan and his people physically, then he would hear every bit of information that made its way to this village. He started offering to go to the market, assuring Meng Yao that he would keep his hood up and his ribbon hidden. He was still terrible at any kind of bartering, but the vendors seemed to take it in stride, and were more than happy to chatter on about any kind of gossip they had heard.

But even this wasn't a real solution. He couldn't go to the market often, lest people began to want to know more about him. Most of the time any information he could gather about the Cultivation World's current standing was still reliant on what Meng Yao would tell him.

A rustle of the wind shakes Lan Xichen from his thoughts, and he looks out over the woods. The dawn light is beginning to peek through the leaves, and it is covering the grass in pink and yellow light. Lan Xichen is so transfixed by the colors that he almost misses the sudden appearance of Jiang Wanyin and Jiang Yanli.

Almost.

Lan Xichen is startled by their appearance, and for a brief moment he thinks it's the Wens. He thinks that finally, after all these months, it's over. They found him. He thinks about struggling, about trying to run away. He thinks about how tired of hiding he is. And then he thinks about A-Zhan.

What would you give to see him again? What would you do?

Anything.

He scrambles to his feet, ready to fight, when he finally takes in the appearance of his would-be attackers. It becomes immediately clear that they are not Wens, and that one of them is very, very sick.

The man, who looks so familiar that it is driving Lan Xichen crazy, is cradling a young woman in his arms. They are both soaked to the bone, their purple robes muddied and ripped.

"Please, you have to help me. I'll….I'll do anything." Jiang Wanyin's voice is so familiar that it sends Lan Xichen into a tailspin, and he almost can't believe his ears.

"I...I" He stumbles over his words like a child. "Jiang Wanyin is that you?"

"What? No, no no!" The other man's eyes go wide, and he lurches backwards, clutching the woman - his sister- closer to his chest. "Wait...Sect Leader Lan?"

"Yes, yes. It's me." Relief hits Lan Xichen like a particularly strong gust of wind, and he feels like he might need to sit down.

"Oh thank the heavens. Please, you have to help me." Jiang Wanyin sounds so unlike himself that any relief Lan Xichen had previously felt evaporates. "A-Jie….she's not well. She's burning up and I don't - I can't -"

"It's all right." Lan Xichen smiles in what he hopes is a comforting manner. "Come in, I can assist.

He reaches forward slowly, as to not scare Jiang Wanyin, and gently places his hand on the other's shoulder. Jiang Wanyin is so tense, Lan Xichen can feel it practically down to his core itself. He leads Jiang Wanyin back into the cottage, gesturing for him to place Jiang Yanli on the table. Jiang Wanyin heistates, his grey eyes narrowed. It would be so easy to mistake the emotions within those eyes as aggression, Lan Xichen thinks, but it would also be so wrong. Jiang Wanyin is scared, and he wants to trust Lan Xichen, of which Lan Xichen is certain. He just doesn't know how.

"It's okay, place her down. She's going to have the sweats for a bit, so it'll be best for her to be somewhere without any cloth. Once we get her in dry clothes, she'll be okay." Lan Xichen offers Jiang Wanyin another smile before going and rooting around in the cabinets.

It becomes immediately obvious that he is going to need to go to the market. Whatever duties Meng Yao has been performing for the other major sects, he has not been one for combat. Therefore, their pantry is mainly stocked with food items and while Lan Xichen is a decent healer, he suspects Lan An herself couldn't save someone with just thyme.

"I'm going to have to go to the market." Lan Xichen makes sure to hold Jiang Wanyin's gaze, tries his best to infuse his words and facial features with gentleness. "Stay with your sister, and let me get you some clean clothes to change into. A bath will have to wait until after, I'm afraid"

"A-JIe...A-Jie first." Jiang Wanyin murmurs, breaking their eye contact to look down at the table. There is a slight dusting of red across his cheeks, and for a moment Lan Xichen fears that he too has caught a fever.

"Of course. But you must take care of yourself as well. It would be terrible if I ended up with two patients instead of one." Lan Xichen feels a strange feeling in his stomach, a slight fluttering of nervousness that he hasn't felt since the first time he sat before the elders as Sect Leader.

"Oh. I..I suppose you're right." Jiang Wanyin's gaze darts up to meet Lan Xichen own, before immediately returning to the table.

"All right then!" Lan Xichen says, feeling oddly lighter than he has since he first arrived in this village. "You can place yours and Mistress Jiang's current clothes outside to dry when you are done, and then when I return we can figure out what to do with them."

"A-Jie's - A-Jie's what now?" Jiang Wanyin jolts back, and he immediately makes eye contact, eyes narrowed and back tense. "Are you out of your mind?"

Lan Xichen laughs, reaching around the table to place his hand on Jiang Wanyin's

"There is the Jiang Wanyin I remember from the Cloud Recesses!" Feeling an odd mix of bold and nervous, Lan Xichen squeezes Jiang Wanyin's hand. "Your sister will need to be changed out of her wet clothing and into a dry robe, and I'd imagine you'll want to do that while I am away."

"I - I - yes, yes you are right. Forgive me for my outburst Sect Leader Lan." Jiang Wanyin's eyes go wide, and the dusting of red from before flames across his cheekbones. "I should not be so untrusting."

"Please, Jiang Wanyin, call me Lan Huan." a soft laugh escapes Lan Xichen's mouth at the sight of Jiang Wanyin's wide eyes, and he feels a twist of satisfaction in his stomach when the other nods. "After all, it appears we are to be housemates for quite some time yes?"

"JIang Cheng then. If you are to be Lan Huan, then to you, I am Jiang Cheng." Jiang Wanyin refuses to make eye contact, studiously watching the patterns his fingers draw on the table.

"All right then. Let me go get the clothes for the two of you." Lan Xichen steps into the small room that has become his bedroom, and after a moment of indecisiveness, grabs the first two sets of robes he finds. He slips back into the kitchen, and for a moment, finds himself struck.

In the pale morning light Jiang Cheng looks almost glow of the light casts his face in shades of pink, and his sharp cheekbones make him look like some kind of fever dream. But then, at the same time, he also looks so very real. His hands flutter restlessly over the table, over Jiang Yanli. He fidgets, picks at his robes and the knots in his hair. The mundane things that remind Lan Xichen that this is very much real, that he isn't just dreaming about this.

Lan Xichen had never much cared for fantasy stories, nor had he paid much attention to the various women he had encountered in his life. Those who lived in the Cloud Recesses were strong, indomitable, brilliant beyond comparison. Those he had met while night hunting had been equally impressive, if not a bit more flamboyant.

As for the men he had encountered? Well, Lan Xichen had never had much time to think about them at all. Of course there had been the occasional flirtation in his youth; he remembered a particularly charming study partner he had during his summer classes, or the Nie Head Disciple that he had watched spar with Nie Mingjue only to sneak away, cheeks aflame.

But no. There had never been time for anything beyond that. Beyond the fantasies and thoughts of his own mind.

"Jiang Cheng." Lan Xichen breathes out the name like it is something reverent, and with a start, he realizes it is. He shakes his head to clear his thoughts. "I'm off to the market, I'll be back before the hour is up. Here is your change of clothes."

"Thank you." Jiang Cheng says quietly, and he screws his eyes up in what looks to be an attempt at courage? Lan Xichen is still working on being fluent in Jiang Cheng's mannerisms and is therefore shocked when Jiang Cheng flings himself at Lan Xichen.

Lan Xichen is so startled that he almost stumbles backwards. Luckily, a lifetime of raising A-Zhan has prepared him for responding to unexpected and unannounced expressions of affection, so instead of wrenching backwards, he wraps Jiang Cheng in a hug.

The hug is quick, and Jiang Wanyin immediately pulls back and puts distance between them. His checks are a flaming red, and Lan Xichen can't help but smile at the sight.

"You….you don't need to help A-Jie and I." Jiang Cheng starts, his gaze resolutely back on the table. He cuts himself off with a grimace, and shakes his head before continuing. "What I mean to say is just that. Well. We only really knew each other from the times in the Cloud Recesses, and well, I know I haven't explicitly explained what happened to A-Jie and I, but you're not stupid, it's obvious we are on the run from something. And it's obvious that you yourself are in hiding. So, what I am trying to say is….thank you."

"You are very welcome…Jiang Cheng." Lan Xichen smiles at the other before shaking his head slightly. "Now I really must be going, I'll be back within the hour, just as I said!"

The path to the market is small and overgrown, and in Lan Xichen's less charitable moments, he would compare it's untended and isolated state to his own situation. Separated from the rest of the paths that cross the village, unused except for Meng Yao's and his own footsteps.

Today, however, his thoughts turn to the ones he had left behind. This in itself isn't unusual, most of his waking hours are spent worrying about his brother, his uncle, his sect. But today his thoughts are happy, memories of those who he loved and of happier times.

There are few people that Lan Xichen can really say he is close to. A-Jue, of course, was his sworn brother in all but name. And where there is A-Jue, there is A-Sang. Little A-Sang, as spoiled as the day is long. Sometimes Lan Xichen would try and ask, gently, why it was that A-Jue did not feel the need to push A-Sang just a little. Why, instead of buying him that painting set did he not try and find some other weapon that A-Sang would be good at?

A-Jue would always just smile at him, that little uptick of his moustache, and say -

"Ah Xichen. It is hard to explain. But I suppose, if I had to try, I would simply say that when one has gone through hardship, and they have someone they truly love, they wish for them to be fat and happy. To not know the struggles that they themselves have gone through. If the hardest thing A-Sang experiences is me making him do saber formations poorly, then I will die happy. Not that I will let him know that."

The Nies were different than he and A-Zhan, but even that, Lan Xichen understood. He and A-Zhan both were dismissed by their father. It brought them impossibly close, yes, but it also left them bereft of anger. It was just….how it was. Father wouldn't care for him or for A-Zhan, so Lan Xichen would simply do it in his stead.

A-Jue on the other hand….A-Jue had felt a father's love as keenly as he felt a father's dismissal. A-Jue had confided in Lan Xichen once, when they were still students, that the anger he felt at his father was not truly for trusting Wen Rouhan, but rather for the callous way he had treated Nie Huaisang. If his father would not care for Nie Huaisang the way a father should, Nie Mingjue had told him, then Nie Mingjue would raise him himself.

All of this lined up with one of the more persistent rumors that had made its way to their small town.

They said that Qishan Wen had wanted to have the message regarding the indoctrination camps delivered to the four clans simultaneously, so that no one Clan could consider hiding their Sect Heir and lying. But something had happened, they say, and Sect Leader Nie had known what the Qishan Wen Delegate was there for.

They say that tension within the Sword Hall was so thick that even a dulled needle could have pierced it. The Delegate, they say, was particularly foolish. In an attempt to appease Sect Leader Nie, the delegate had suggested that perhaps this was a good thing. Sect Heir Nie was such a disappointment in his current state, surely the great Sect Leader Nie would be grateful for Qishan Wen stepping in and teaching him some manners.

In response, Nie Mingjue flung the Wen Emissary out of the Sword Hall.

They say the Wen Emissary broke his arm in the fall, but that Sect Leader Nie was not there to see it.

They say that he was already gone, chasing after a shadow that had fled the hall moments before.

Lan Xichen is, just as most people would assume, very good at social niceties.

This….does not explain what happens next.

The market is a bustling place in the early morning, and today is no exception. Lan Xichen is not exactly familiar with the ins and outs of it, and had he not had prior experience, he imagines the sheer number of vendors setting up would be enough to send him into a tailspin.

Luckily, Meng Yao had fallen and cut himself rather spectacularly early on in their cohabitation, and since his golden core was not as developed as most, he had needed some serious medical attention. Lan Xichen had immediately offered to go into town to buy the needed medical supplies, and although that trip had been an unmitigated disaster in other ways, it did mean that he knew exactly where the local healer was set up.

It was there that Lan Xichen, waiting for his order, heard the rumors about Gusu Lan for the first time.

Initially, the conversations that Lan Xichen heard were the usual social banalities that filled most market two women in front of him were chattering away about which of the local farmers were single, whether or not the rice crop was as good as it was when their fathers tended the fields, that sort of thing. But then, one of the woman leaned in and whispered, her hands fluttering with excitement -

"I heard that the Lan Sect Heir has returned to the Cloud Recesses!"

In that moment, Lan Xichen feels the world drop out from under him. The realization hits him, quite suddenly, that if Jiang Cheng is in his house, then something must have happened at the indoctrination camp. Fear crawls up his throat for a moment, fear that A-Zhan is dead or injured. It is quickly followed by shame, how could he have not thought of A-Zhan the second he saw Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli?

He knows what his Uncle would say, what A-Zhan himself would say. That his desire to help the helpless first, without any thought to how they could help him, made him a good man.

But what kind of brother did that make him?

"They say that Gusu Lan has been keeping it quiet, but that he has been back for at least a month!" The giggling voice of the first woman shakes Lan Xichen from his thoughts, and before he can think otherwise, he interrupts them.

"Excuse me madames, but did you just say that the Gusu Lan Sect Heir is back at the Cloud Recesses?" Words are spilling from his mouth so quickly that Lan Xichen worries that the next ones will reveal himself. "Is...is this new news?"

"Oh! Aren't you just the sweetest thing?" The woman who has just shattered Lan Xichen's world giggles again, and he feels anger crawling up his throat. "But you must be new here, the news regarding Gusu Lan has been all anyone has been able to talk about since, oh, well, since the merchants came in two weeks ago! The only reason A-Zhou didn't know is because she's been out tending to the rice crop!"

"Two...two weeks ago?" Lan Xichen feels his throat closing up, feels a kind of incandescent rage building up in his chest. "Surely Madam, you must be mistaken?"

A sympathetic look crosses the woman's face, and she sighs, shaking her head slightly.

"My dear, I heard it from one of the merchants myself. And I'd imagine if the news just reached us, that it has been commonplace in the larger cities for quite some time."

"I...that...what?" Lan Xichen feels the words getting stuck in his throat, and suddenly he feels his heart pounding against his chest, anger, betrayal and guilt mixing together to form a dangerous concoction.

Lan Xichen is saved by having to come up with a response by the medicine woman's assistant, who arrives with his order. He stammers out some sort of goodbye to the women before running off into the crowd. He can hear Uncle's voice in his head, one does not run without purpose Xichen, but he ignores it.

He races back through the market, up the path to the cottage. Lan Xichen feels like his entire world has been turned upside down, and he is cursing his foolishness. A-Jue always said he was so trusting and kind, and just a little bit naive. He would say it kindly, with a small smile, and the words never stung, but now, with them on loop in his own head, they are sharp and cutting. Lan Xichen tries to tell himself that they are just rumors, that until he speaks to Jiang Cheng himself, that he should disregard them.

No gossip in the Cloud Recesses. Uncle's voice, usually comforting, is now mocking as it reverberates through his mind.

Lan Xichen bursts through the door of the cottage, and when Jiang Wanyin jumps in response, he doesn't even feel guilty.

"Jiang Cheng - I -" Lan Xichen stammers, and embarrassingly enough, he feels his knees give out and his eyes start to water. "Is it - A-Zhan, is he all right?"

Lan Xichen hears a rustle of cloth, and despite him looking resolutely down at his hands, Lan Xichen can feel the heat from Jiang Cheng that implies that he has sat down on the floor next to him. Jiang Cheng takes a deep breath, as if needing to steel himself, and Lan Xichen feels the world plummet from under him.

Lan Xichen isn't sure what he wants Jiang Cheng to say; if he confirms that A-Zhan too has escaped from the Wens, then that means that Lan Xichen has been sharing his home with, at the very least, a well practiced liar. But if the woman from the market is wrong, then that means something far worse; that A-Zhan is dead or imprisoned and oh, how could Lan Xichen ever live with himself if that was the case?

Meng Yao being a liar would be a devastating mark against his judgement, Lan Xichen knows this. But it would also mean that A-Zhan was home, safe with Uncle and others of the Cloud Recesses.

"I assumed you knew." Jiang Cheng's words are halting, and in a different situation Lan Xichen thinks he might find it endearing. "Lan Wangji is at the Cloud Recesses. He hurt his leg, but I'd imagine it's healed by now."

"Oh. Oh, thank the heavens. I -" Lan Xichen suddenly feels a gut wrenching sob rip out of his mouth, and before he can try to smother the next one it is already out of his mouth.

He smacks a hand over his mouth, but it does no good. Ugly, gasping sobs are still escaping from his mouth, and they just seem to be getting worse. The relief that floods through Lan Xichen's body is overwhelming in its intensity, and inexplicably, it just makes him sob harder.

Lan Xichen knows, logically, that he needs to pull himself together. Lady Jiang needs his help, and although they need to wait for her to sweat out the fever, he will need to prepare the hydration concoction so that she doesn't deplete her body's water reserves in the process. Despite knowing all this, he still can't seem to make himself stop sobbing and get off the floor.

"Oh. Oh no. I...please don't cry Lan Huan." Jiang Cheng's voice sounds far away, like a whisper in the wind. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to - oh please don't cry!"

Lan Xichen feels an sudden infusion of warmth all along his side, and it takes him an embarrassingly long time to realize that Jiang Wanyin is hugging him. In the split second between realizing what was happening and remembering common courtesy, Lan Xichen flings himself at the other, burying his face in Jiang Cheng's neck as he continues to sob.

"I - I just….I can't -'' Broken sentences fall from Lan Xichen's lips, and he clings to the other. He feels Jiang Cheng's hand in his hair, the awkward motions of someone inexperienced in giving such comfort.

"It's okay. Don't worry about speaking." Jiang Cheng's voice is tight, but even in this state Lan Xichen can tell that he is trying to comfort him.

Minutes pass them by, and as his sobs slow down the only remaining sound in the cottage is Lan Xichen's ragged breathing. Eventually, Lan Xichen pulls his face from Jiang Cheng's neck, and he feels a prickle of shame in his chest.

"Forgive me. I should not have fallen apart like that. Especially with your sister needing -" A hand covers his mouth, interrupting his words.

A fission of delighted shock races up Lan Xichen's spine. No one has ever behaved like this with him before. They are all so proper, so respectful. Even A-Jue, as close as they are, would never have dreamed of covering Lan Xichen's mouth with his hand.

"It's fine. A-Jie is fine. We can tend to her now together and she'll be fine." Jiang Cheng's words are short, clipped even. Another person would mistake them for harsh. "I didn't realize you didn't know about your brother. I would have told you immediately if I had. I apologize for the assumption. "

"You have nothing to apologize for." Lan Xichen closes his eyes for a moment, a feeling of betrayal and despair rising in his chest. Meng Yao. "You are correct to assume that I should know. It certainly appears to be common knowledge."

"Well. I." Jiang Cheng is obviously flustered, and he darts his gaze to the floor. "Let's just agree that we both are not at fault and go tend to A-Jie. And then once she's better we can talk about getting you home. Sounds good?"

Lan Xichen wipes at his face with his sleeves as he nods, and a feeling of lightness spreads through his body. He knows that it won't be that simple, that there is the question of Meng Yao and how much he really knew, how much he was keeping from him. But, in this moment, seated on the floor next to Jiang Cheng, Lan Xichen feels as if everything will be okay.

Wei Wuxian

The river is cold.

Wei Wuxian feels the chill all the way in his bones, along with a bone deep exhaustion that is threatening to pull him under. He has been swimming for the past hour, ducking underneath lotus plants and various debris whenever he so much as saw a flicker of a moment. Wei Wuxian wasn't sure where exactly he was headed, beyond Madame Yu's relatively vague instruction of "north".

"Get under the dock, now!" Madame Yu's voice is sharp, and she shoves him into the water. It's oddly comforting, how this has stayed the same despite the situation. "The Wens are here, and they intend to burn Lotus Pier to the ground. A-Cheng and Yanli are on a boat headed north towards Lanling Jin. You must survive and join them. Stick to the far side shore and you will pass unnoticed. Do you understand me?"

Wei Wuxian nods, and before he can open his mouth to ask what was happening, he hears the clanging of footsteps. He darts underneath the dock, and he breathes out a sigh of relief when he hears the familiar voices of Madame Yu's attendants. The brief moment of relief is quickly overshadowed by gut wrenching fear when hears the sounds of soldiers behind them, hears the clang of metal and the sickening squelch of blood.

He doesn't know who is dead, if it is the Wens or Madame Yu and her attendants or neither. He waits under the dock, the adrenaline coursing through his veins, until he hears someone dragging the bodies away. There is silence as the minutes pass, and then, when Wei Wuxian is as sure as he can be that he is alone, he takes a deep breath and dives beneath the water.

The fires of Lotus Pier are still visible from the far side of the river, and Wei Wuxian can see the Wen boats lining the piers. Anger fills him, and he clenches his fists as he swims amongst the reeds. He considers getting out and walking along the river's edge, but then he remembers that Jiang Cheng and Shijie are also out there, and that the Wens have more than likely sent troops after them. The most efficient way to look for them would be to comb the areas near the river beds, which means that the woods are more than likely crawling with soldiers. Even with his sword, Wei Wuxian would be hard pressed to defeat a large contingent of Wen soldiers. Without it, his only hope would be as a distraction.

He sighs, resigned to swimming however far he needs to go.

Then he hears the rustle of bushes.

"Master Wei? Is..is that you?" A jolt of adrenaline shoots through Wei Wuxian, and he pushes off the river bank, desperately trying to swim faster.

"No, no, wait! I - I want to help!" A splash as the person speaking enters the water after him, and for a second Wei Wuxian wants to trust them. He hesitates, staring at the man flopping around in the water, and for a moment, he considers going back to shore.

But then he remembers that his home is on fire and his parental figures are dead and he wants to see Lan Zhan's face again. He can't see Lan Zhan again if he lets this red robed figure reach him, so he valiantly tries to swim away.

He's tired, however, and the moment of hesitation has allowed the man to catch him quickly, despite his terrible swimming skills. The other man grabs onto his arm, and Wei Wuxian lashes out, all sharp elbows and fear, and the two of them sink beneath the water. The water is cool and soothing, and Wei Wuxian feels his body relaxing against his will. He lashes out again, digging his elbow into the other's stomach, and as the red robed man reels away, Wei Wuxian thinks that he may be able to escape.

And then someone grabs him by the back of his robes.

In their fight, Wei Wuxian and the other man had drifted back to the shallow waters of the river's edge. Wei Wuxian realizes this as he, as well as the other man, are dragged to the bank of the river by an irate Wen. And as Wei Wuxian wipes the water from his eyes he realizes that the second Wen as a woman, and after a few more moments, he recognizes her further.

"Wen Qing?" Wei Wuxian looks up at the woman, and for a moment his traitorous heart is filled with hope.

"Yes it's me. You! What do you think you are doing?" Wen Qing drops the two of them on the muddy bank like a bag of stones, and it takes Wei Wuxian a few seconds to realize she isn't speaking to him.

"A-Jie - I - I am helping him." The other man coughs up some water, but once he does he stares defiantly up at Wen Qing. "I can't - I won't - I have to do something!"

With a start, Wei Wuxian realizes that the other person is Wen Ning. Kind, sweet and timid Wen Ning. Wen Ning, who, despite the overwhelming nature of his family and their ambition, is wanting to help him.

"A-Ning, we can't" Wen Qing sighs, covering her eyes with her hand. She takes a deep, uneven breath, and if Wei Wuxian was a braver man he would dare to say that a tear is running down her cheeks. "Please. Let's just go back. We can say we never saw him."

"That's not enough!" Wen Ning's voice is filled with ferocity, and Wei Wuxian is shocked by the intensity of it. "A-Jie, please. I know that you are doing this to protect me, to protect our family. But I can't stand by anymore and do nothing."

"A-Ning…." Wen Qing drops to her knees next to her brother, and she holds his hands tightly between her own. She squeezes her eyes shut, but a few tears escape regardless.

A few moments pass in silence, and Wei Wuxian debates trying to take this moment to escape. But he is tired, and the only direction that he has is "north". Deep down he knows that he won't make it long swimming in the river. This opportunity here, with Wen Ning and Wen Qing, is his best hope of seeing his siblings again, of seeing Lan Zhan again.

So he waits.

A shuddering breath escapes from Wen Qing's mouth, and when Wei Wuxian glances over at the siblings he sees a steely look of determination on her face.

"Okay. We're doing this." The shock on Wen Ning's face is more than likely a mirror of his own, of this Wei Wuxian is certain.

Wen Qing seems to pay it no mind however, as she briskly rises to her feet, pulling her brother up behind her.

"You're taking A-Ning with you." Wen Qing faces Wei Wuxian, her eyes narrow. "You need our help, and that is my condition for it."

"I...yeah, okay." Wei Wuxian nods his head rapidly. "But - how are the three of us going to get out of here? And I have to find Shijie and Jiang Cheng and -"

"No." Wen Qing cuts Wei Wuxian off with a shake of her head, and for a moment there is only silence between them. "It's not going to be the three of us. I'm staying. And you two are certainly not going rampaging across the Yunmeng countryside."

"A-Jie -"

"What do you mean -"

"Stop! Stop. Listen to me." Wen Qing's voice is firm, and she stares at the two of them with a hardened gaze. "We haven't found your siblings by now, which means they more than likely have already escaped into the woods. They will have a higher chance of reaching a town and staying hidden if you don't go leading the entire Wen army to them."

"But - I need to find them, you can't expect me to just abandon them!" Wei Wuxian snaps back. "You wouldn't abandon Wen Ning!"

"No. No I would not. But I am letting him go off without me, despite my fears, because I know that he will be safer alone than he will be if I am with him." Wen Qing raises an eyebrow, and Wei Wuxian feels himself deflating at her words. "Besides, the only hope the two of you have of escaping is to go the opposite direction that our soldiers are going; east, towards the Cloud Recesses."

"I…" Wei Wuxian trails off, feeling conflicted. The idea of seeing Lan Zhan, especially now, is so appealing. The desire to just curl up next to Lan Zhan, to be held by him, is suddenly so fierce and overwhelming that he thinks he might pass out from the sheer want of it.

"Go to the Cloud Recesses." Wen Qing's voice is firm, a steadying hand at a rudder lost to the currents. "If your brother is half as clever as I think he is, that's where he will head as well."

"A-Jie - are - are you sure?" Wen Ning stumbles up, grabbing at his sister's arm. "You...they will punish you, they will know that you helped me."

"No, they won't." Wen Qing's voice is noticeably gentler when she addresses her brother, and she takes a moment to wrap her hand around his elbow. "They won't. Because I'm going to tell them that we got separated, and that all I could find of you are signs of a struggle near the southern docks."

"A-Jie…" Wen Ning trails off. "I - I - Thank you. I know that this isn't what you wanted to do. Thank -"

"Thank yous are never necessary between us. You know this." Wen Qing smiles at him, and she squeezes the hand holding her arm. "Now, Wei Wuxian. Here is the story you will stick to, no matter what. Do you understand?"

Startled at being spoken to directly, Wei Wuxian nods his head furiously.

"I am going to tell the others that it appears my brother has been kidnapped near the Southern Pier. You will support this story when you get to Cloud Recesses. As far as anyone besides us three are concerned, you have forcefully kidnapped my brother in hopes of gaining information regarding Qishan Wen's plans." Wen Qing pauses for a moment, and she appears to consider something. "Actually, you know what. You may tell one other - Lan Wangji. You two certainly seemed close enough, and I'd imagine it'll be better to have the Sect Heir of a clan actually still standing on our side."

Wen Qing's words hit Wei Wuxian like Zidian when wielded by Madame Yu.

Of a clan actually still standing.

Until this moment, Wei Wuxian hadn't even considered the reality of Yunmeng Jiang.

Their disciples, slaughtered. Their leader, a teenager lost to the woods. Their home burned beyond recognition. Qishan Wen had taken advantage of an opportunity, and shown the cultivation world exactly what they were capable of.

For the first time in his life, Wei Wuxian felt hatred, potent and suffocating, burning through his veins.

"That - that's a great idea A-Jie." Wen Ning's voice breaks through Wei Wuxian's thoughts. "And it'll work out perfectly because they won't even bother trying to get me back! Or even trying to figure out where I went!"

"A-Ning…." Wen Qing shakes her head, a fond smile tugging at her mouth. "No, no they won't. But that is only because they are foolish, and don't realize how much you truly are worth."

"I don't mind." Wen Ning shrugs, a bashful expression on his face. "I don't want to be considered valuable to people like them anyways."

"Oh A-Ning…" Wen Qing sighs, pulling him into a tight hug. "Okay, off you two go, quickly now. It'll be best for Wei Wuxian to fly you both on your sword A-Ning. Only fly barely above the trees, and make sure to go slowly Wei Wuxian! No unnecessary dramatics, do you hear me?"

"Ah, Wen Qing! You don't need to worry!" Wei Wuxian clambers to his feet, shooting her the widest, most charming grin he can muster. "Master Wen and I shall arrive at the Cloud Recesses whole and completely content. I will only do one backflip! And only once we reach Caiyi Town!"

A sense of hope has suddenly infused his entire body, causing tingling sensations to radiate down his arms. He has the irrational desire to scream into the air, to just release this sudden tension that feels like it's too much for his body. He is going to see Lan Zhan again, and so much sooner than he had previously thought! Things may be terrible in every other aspect of his life, but at least there is this. Lan Zhan.

"What are you waiting for? Go!" Wen Qing sighs, rolling her eyes. "I have to go make it look like you actually abducted my brother, so hurry up and get on the sword."

It takes a little bit of coordination to get the two of them on Wen Ning's sword. It is obvious that poor Wen Ning has rarely, if ever, ridden his sword any sort of real distance, which means that it falls on Wei Wuxian to arrange them in the best manner for flying. Luckily, he had taken Nie Huiasang flying over the lake back during their summer classes, so he had a vague idea of how it should work.

Of course, he had only been going a short distance with Nie Huiasang, and it had ended with Wei Wuxian dropping him into the lake.

He could only hope that this time it would go a little better.

Lan Wangji

It is still dark out when Lan Wangji is woken by a frantic disciple. There appears to be someone approaching in the winds, riding a sword. They already sent someone to wake Uncle, but they wanted to wake Lan Wangji as well.

He scrambles out of his bed, forgoing any of his outer robe layers. His head is telling him patience, to not make assumptions. His heart, however, is beating one word and one word only.

Brother.

The early morning chill clings to his sleep robes as he hurries down the steps. Lan Wangji imagines he must be quite the sight; his hair loose behind him and clad only in a single layer. He is mollified when he sees Uncle in a similar state of undress, his knuckles white around his sword. Most of the remaining disciples are gathered around as well, their nervousness papitable in the night air.

Lan Wangji sees the person on the sword approaching, and to his disappointment, it is immediately obvious that it is not Brother. Brother had always flown with a sort of enviable precision, no matter how tired or burdened he was. Brother had also carried Lan Wangji on his sword up until the day he was able to mount Bichen, and so he was uniquely qualified to identify Shoyue, no matter the distance. So he could immediately tell that this person was not Brother.

However, with a confusing mix of fear and elation, Lan Wangji recognized the stranger as the next best thing; Wei Ying.

Despite the distance that was still between them, there was an instinctual feeling that tugged at Lan Wangji's stomach that told him that he was right. That this was Wei Ying.

But he was not alone.

Clinging to his back like a monkey was another stranger, this one in the same bright red robes that haunted Lan Wangji's dreams. A small gasp went through the group as they began their descent, and Lan Wangji could hear Uncle's sharp intake of breath. The once excited atmosphere was now tense, as the disciples shifted from one foot to another.

As Wei Ying got closer to the ground, the sword he was on began to wobble dangerously, and before he could properly land, the two of them fell the remaining few feet.

"Lan Zhan!" Wei Ying's voice is rough, like he has been crying or screaming or both, and before Lan Wangji can think otherwise, he has run down the steps. "Oh Lan Zhan - I - I"

Wei Ying scrambles to his feet, only to throw himself into Lan Wangji's arms the moment they are faced with one another. Wei Ying's embrace is tight, his arms winding around Lan Wangji's neck. Instinctively, he embraces Wei Ying back, wrapping his arms around the other's waist and burying his face in Wei Ying's hair.

With a start, Lan Wangji pulls his face back. Wei Ying's hair is very wet. And tangled. He takes a good look at the other man, and a now familiar feeling of dread begins to swell within him. Something, he realizes, has gone very wrong.

"Um, hello there Master Lan!" A small voice from behind Wei Ying startles Lan Wangji from his thoughts, and he recognizes the other sword rider as Wen Ning. "I - I have been kidnapped! By Master Wei!"

"You have been kidnapped. By Master Wei." A deadpan voice reverberates down from the hilltop, and when Lan Wangji swings Wei Ying around it is to face the amused face of his uncle.

"Yes! Yes I have! He - he snuck up on me near the Southern pier when I was searching for him along with Shijie - but I - I was alone at the time and I -" Wen Ning begins to ramble, his face turning bright red.

"That is quite enough young Master Wen." As Uncle looks down at the three of them, it is obvious to Lan Wangji that he does not believe for a second that Wei Ying has kidnapped this young man. "If you are to be a prisoner of Master Wei, then you are to be a prisoner of Gusu Lan. Discreetly, of course. Shall I interest you in some tea?"

"I - I - yes?" Wen Ning looks at Wei Ying for a moment before nodding his head vigorously. "Thank you Master Lan I - I don't - I mean you don't have to -"

"Why of course I do." Uncle uncharacteristically interrupts poor Wen Ning's rambling, although Lan Wangji supposes interrupting might be allowed in the rules if said interrupting was to help someone finish a thought process. "After all, it would appear that my nephew and Young Master Wei have become quite close. Something that Wangji has failed to inform me of."

Shame floods through Lan Wangji's body, and he clutches Wei Ying closer to his chest. He didn't deliberately not tell Uncle! He just….wanted to tell Brother first. Brother should be the first to know. Beyond being Sect Leader, he was...Brother. That title, to Lan Wangji, meant more than any of the others.

He sighs, feeling just a bit overwhelmed, and decides to rebury his face in Wei Ying's hair.

"Ah Lan Zhan!" Wei Ying giggles, turning his head to nose at Lan Wangji's neck. "Don't leave me to face your Uncle alone! Look, he's already mad!"

"I am not mad. Nor am I surprised." Lan Qiren's voice carries a slight tinge of amusement, so small that Lan Wangji suspects that only Brother and himself can pick up on it. "Though I must ask the two of you to try and compose yourselves. Since I imagine Master Wei has something to share with us?"

Lan Wangji feels Wei Ying stiffen up in his arms, and instinctively he tightens his hold. He wishes to protect Wei Ying from whatever troubles he has, no matter how irrational that thought may be. Uncle clearly sees the determined crease on his forehead, however, and in response raises his eyebrows. The look of stoic disappointment that appears is enough for Lan Wangji to loosen his grip on Wei Ying, allowing him to step forward and bow to Uncle.

"Yes, yes there is GrandMaster. And this disciple must apologize. Bringing Wen Ning was admittedly not my best idea, nor was arriving at the Cloud Recesses in the first place." Wei Ying appears uncharacteristic shamefaced, and he scrubs his foot along the stone.

Wen Ning, meanwhile, is attempting to make himself as small as possible. He is clearly still conflicted about the turn of events, and his eyes dart from Wei Ying, to Uncle and then back to Lan Wangji.

"Hmph. Perhaps you acted rashly, Master Wei." Uncle pauses to look down at Wei Ying, and then to Lan Wangji's shock a rueful smile tugs at his Uncle's mouth. "But that does not mean you acted incorrectly."

"Come, and tell me of what has occurred." Uncle turns on his heels to head back up the mountain, and the three of them follow.

Wei Wuxian

The pale light of the early morning sun floods the pagoda that the four of them sit under. Lan Zhan is a warm weight against his side, and Wei Wuxian leans into him as he sips his tea. Lan Qiren is silent as he takes in their story, and Wei Wuxian feels himself growing more and more guilty by the second.

They should never have come here, regardless of what Wen Qing said. They have endangered all of Gusu Lan! What if the Wens find out and they come and burn everything again? Wei Wuxian's stomach tightens as he brings his tea cup to his mouth.

The tea is a stringent smelling one that Wei Wuxian remembers from his summer studies. All of Gusu seems to go crazy for it, and before tonight Wei Wuxian wouldn't have been able to say why. Now, however, he finds the smell comforting. It reminds him of a simpler time, when things were steady and the biggest worries that faced him were whether or not Lan Zhan would entertain his rambling thoughts when they were in the library. It eases the ache in his stomach, if only for a moment.

"Well. Masters Wei and Wen." Lan Qiren sighs, swirling his tea within his cup. "This is an unfortunate turn of events, though it is not entirely unforeseen."

"This one apologizes to the Grand Master, we should not have come here." Wei Wuxian scrambles to fill the silence, and he ignores the way Lan Zhan stiffens against his side. He feels Lan Zhan grab his hand with his own, tightly lacing their fingers together as if to reassure him that Wei Wuxian was not about to leap onto Wen Ning's sword this instant and fly off.

What a silly, endearing man. Heavens, Wei Wuxian loves him.

"Wipe that love sick look off your face. And remove those inane thoughts from your head while you are at it." Lan Qiren purses his lips as he stares at Wei Wuxian over the rim of his cup. "Did I say that you had made a mistake?"

"N - No. No you did not." Wen Ning jumped in to try and save Wei Wuxian, his tea cup clutched tightly between his hands. "I - I just think that Master Wei feels as if we have put the entirety of the Cloud Recesses in danger, and for what? A disciple that is not of your clan, and a - a -a member of a clan that has committed unspeakable atrocities onto Gusu Lan."

"Hm. I would argue, young Master Wen, that your logic is faulty." Lan Qiren fixes his gaze on Wen Ning, his one eyebrow raised. "Master Wei is to be Wangji's betrothed, which means that he will be a member of Gusu Lan. And a member of Gusu Lan is always a member, no matter where they reside."

"Well, y - yes, I suppose that is correct." Wen Ning studies the bottom of his tea cup with an arrow like precision, and he gnaws on his bottom lip for a few seconds before visibly bracing himself. "But what of me, Grandmaster? There is no excuse for harboring me, unless you go along with Master Wei's lie."

"Well, I suppose in that case it is a good thing that Sect Leader Nie and myself have been in communication regarding our next steps with Qishan Wen." Lan Qiren reaches over and taps Wen Ning's shoulder firmly, much the way a teacher would. "Now stop slouching child, you are a young Master, not a heathen."

"Uncle…" Lan Zhan's voice is soft, deferential, and it is such a stark contrast to the iron tight grip that he has on Wei Wuxian's hand that it almost makes him laugh. "What exactly are Gusu Lan and Qinghe Nie going to do?"

"That, Wangji, is a discussion for us to have another time." Lan Qiren places his cup back on the table, and he fixes his shrewd gaze on the two of them. "Sect Leader Nie will be arriving in the coming weeks, and we will speak more. Perhaps...perhaps Xichen will have rejoined us, at that time."

A ripple of grief seems to pass over the table, and Lan Zhan presses even further into Wei Wuxian side. The moment seems to last forever, and right when Wei Wuxian feels like he can't take it anymore, that he has to say something, Lan Qiren beats him to it.

"These are thoughts for another time. Wangji, I shall take the long way back to my room." Lan Qiren tilts his nose up waspishly, and for a moment Wei Wuxian swears he sees a hint of amusement in his eyes. " Master Wen, you shall stay with me for now."

Wen Ning, eager to please even in the best of circumstances, leaps to his feet to follow Lan Qiren out. And then it is just him and Lan Zhan. Despite the tiredness that edges at all of his thoughts, despite the horrifying events of the evening, Wei Wuxian finds a fission of excitement racing through his body.

Lan Zhan. His Lan Zhan. He's here, right in front of him.

At some point during their tea Lan Zhan had pulled his hair into a loose bun, but already, several strands of hair had begun to fall out. Wei Wuxian was struck with the urge to twist it around his fingers. And then, he realized he could.

He twists his fingers in Lan Zhan's hair, giving the strands a few small tugs, and he watches as a rosy blush spreads down his neck, disappearing underneath his robes. He is suddenly struck with another urge, one that sends heat racing straight down to his stomach. He wants, more than anything he has ever wanted before, to follow that blush down, to lick and touch Lan Zhan until he finds where the blush ends.

"Lan Zhan…." Wei Wuxian's voice comes out cracked and hoarse, and he finds him leaning in, looking at the golden flecks in Lan Zhan's eyes, the pale pink of his lips. "I..I...I want to kiss you. Is that okay?"

"Wei Ying. Yes." Lan Zhan's voice, always so composed, is rough and raw.

Wei Wuxian leans in further, their noses now touching, and brings his hands up to Lan Zhan's checks. When their lips finally touch, it is soft and clumsy. Lan Zhan lets out a little sigh, as if he has been waiting for this for so long, and now that it's here, that it's happening, he's just so relieved.

And then Wei Wuxian opens his mouth. He's curious to see if this is as good as Nie Huiasang's books make it seem. He traces the seam of Lan Zhan's lips, and when Lan Zhan's mouth opens, when his tongue touches Wei Wuxian's own, he feels the fire in his stomach turn into an inferno. He pulls Lan Zhan closer to him, pressing their chests together so he can hear their hearts beating. Lan Zhan's tongue twists around his own, giving a few experimental swipes, before he pulls Wei Wuxian's tongue into his mouth and sucks.

Wei Wuxian thinks Lan Zhan and his tongue are going to kill him. He thinks he is going to die, here, seated at this table with Lan Zhan clambering into his lap, all the while sucking on his tongue like it's tanghulu. He winds his arms around Lan Zhan's waist, pulls him so close that he can feel every inch of Lan Zhan's skin against his own. Wei Wuxian thinks that he wants to live in this moment forever.

And then, to Wei Wuxian's eternal motification, he lets out a massive yawn. It happens when Lan Zhan pulls away for air, and Wei Wuxian is so distracted by the sight of him, his lips spit soaked and bright, that he forgets to even try and hold the yawn in.

"Wei Ying. Bed." Lan Zhan, to Wei Wuxian's regret, immediately gets off his lap before bending down to scoop Wei Wuxian up into his arms. "I shall carry you back to my quarters."

"Lan Zhan!" He squeals, burying his bright red face in Lan Zhan's chest. "You don't need to - you can't ever tell anyone about this - it's so embarrassing!"

"Hm. But Wei Ying seems to like being carried." Lan Zhan looks down at him, amusement rippling across his face as he deliberately misunderstands Wei Wuxian. "Unless you would like to walk?"

"I...I didn't say that!" Wei Wuxian looks up at Lan Zhan and gives him his best pout. "If it is my Lan Zhan, then of course I wish for him to carry me!"

Lan Zhan bends down to press a light kiss against Wei Wuxian's forehead, and he can feel the soft exhale of the breath that means Lan Zhan is laughing.

A thought crosses Wei Wuxian's mind, so quickly that he can't even begin to moderate it.

I wish I could just...stay, right here. Right now. Forever.

Lan Xichen

Lady Jiang's fever breaks long after the watery colors of the early morning have bled away. She has been murmuring in her sleep for the past few days, calling for Wei Wuxian and her parents. She tosses and turns on the table, her borrowed robes already soaked through with sweat. Lan Xichen continues to feed her the medicine, and Jiang Wanyin holds her hand tightly, murmuring words of comfort underneath his breath.

It is….oddly relaxing, for Lan Xichen. This kind of fever, brought on by exposure to the cold and wet, is something that he is intimately familiar with. It is something that he knows how to fix.

A-Zhan had been so much smaller than Lady Jiang, and Lan Xichen himself was barely out of childhood. He vividly remembers gathering A-Zhan in his arms, pulling him away from the steps of their Mother's home. He remembers feeling the shivers that ran through A-Zhan's little body even as Lan Xichen could feel A-Zhan's burning skin on his own. The healers had wanted to keep A-Zhan in the healing pavilion, but Lan Xichen had refused. Uncle had tried to talk him down, to explain that it would be best if A-Zhan stayed with actual adults, but Lan Xichen wouldn't hear of it.

"I can take care of him! Healer Lan can show me what to do, and she can come check on him in the morning!" Lan Xichen glared at his Uncle, his eyes blazing. "Mother just died, you - you can't take him away from me too!"

"Xichen, please. You are no longer a child, you must try and behave -" Uncle's voice is gentle, caring even, and in any other situation Xichen would have reconsidered his stance. But not this one.

"No! He comes with me!" Lan Xichen resists the urge to stomp his foot. "If I am no longer a child than I can care for him!"

"Gege….where are you?" A-Zhan's voice, small and scared, interrupts their fight.

"A-Zhan! I'm here. I'm here A-Zhan." Nolonger bothering with his Uncle, Lan Xichen rushes to A-Zhan's side, reaching out to grab his brother's hands with his own. "It's going to be okay, gege is here."

"You're...pretty good at this." Jiang Cheng's voice breaks through Lan Xichen's thoughts. "I - I mean, I know that you've studied healing, but this is a thing that most cultivators wouldn't have to deal with so...I guess I didn't think you would have had any real world practice. But you have."

"A-Zhan had a pretty bad fever brought on by similar situations." Lan Xichen smiles, feeling charmed by the younger man's awkwardness. "So, yes, you're correct. I'm uniquely qualified, practically speaking, to be able to do this."

"Oh. That's….he's lucky to have an older sibling like yourself." Jiang Cheng picks at the hem of his robes, studiously avoiding any eye contact. "Wei Wuxian and I...we're not like that. Not, not to say that we aren't close, or that I don't know that he would do anything for me, but...we're not the caregiver type."

"Hmm. Well, A-Zhan and I have always had this kind of relationship. Not to say that we are the norm and you are not. A-Jue and A-Sang are certainly much more codependent than A-Zhan and myself." Lan Xichen lets out a small laugh. "Although, I wouldn't say that the Nie brothers are an example of the norm either."

"Definitely not!" Jiang Cheng snorts rather inelegantly, but to Lan Xichen's delight he appears to be paying it no mind. "I love my brother, but I would kill him if I spent as much time with him as those two spend with each other! And they are so different….how do they not want to murder each other?"

Lan Xichen's giggles burst out, and he claps his hand over his mouth to try and stifle them. It doesn't work, however, and he finds himself doubled over on the table, muffling his laughter in his robes. There is a brief moment where Jiang Cheng is silent, and Lan Xichen worries he has offended him. But then a raucous laughter joins his own, and when Lan Xichen raises his head he sees the other man's cheeks are red and his eyes are watering.

"Oh, I have no idea." Lan Xichen wipes at his eyes as he attempts to regain his composure. "I think they enjoy bickering? While still being codependent? I think it's a Nie thing."

Lan Xichen doesn't think he has said anything particularly funny, but Jiang Cheng obviously disagrees, bursting into laughter once again. The pure joy that is radiating from the other man makes Lan Xichen smile, and he feels his ears heating up.

A rustling noise at the door immediately quiets them, and Jiang Cheng's grip on his sister's hand grows tighter.

"Xichen, I'm back a bit early, I didn't think it would be -" Meng Yao comes through the door while fighting with his cloak, so it takes a few moments to notice that there are two more people in the cottage than when he left. "Sect Leader Jiang. I did not expect to find you here."

"I - what?" Jiang Cheng's eyes narrow, and it's distressingly fascinating how Lan Xichen can see the soft pieces of the other man recede, making way for the brashness people have come to expect from him. "The others know of what occurred in Lotus Pier?"

"Sect Leader Jin just found out an hour or so ago. He had me bring a message to Sect Leader Nie, as well as one to you, Xichen." Meng Yao's eyes darted around, landing on the still sleeping Jiang Yanli. "Sect Leader Jin has also just been informed that your brother has just returned to the Cloud Recesses. They are convening a conference between the three sects in the upcoming weeks to discuss the Wen's aggression. Lanling Jin has not decided if they are attending."

A snort escapes Jiang Cheng's nose, and to Lan Xichen's delight, he can clearly read the mix of emotions that crosses the other man's face. Mortification first, remorse second, contemplativeness third. And then, finally, determination. Jiang Cheng - no, this is not Jiang Cheng, this is Sect Leader Jiang, has decided that he will not be cowed in his opinion of this situation, of this stranger and his well meaning lies.

To Lan Xichen's mortification, a frisson of electricity dashes down his spine. He finds this part of Jiang Cheng just as attractive as the other, softer parts that he has seen in the past few days.

Meng Yao is obviously taken aback by Jiang Cheng's brashness. Meng Yao is delicate, deliberate, and everything he does is always so well thought out. Of course he would dislike Jiang Cheng's temperament, the way his emotions and thoughts seem to live so blatantly on his face, like an open book.

This is wrong, Lan Xichen knows. In these few days together he has begun to piece together Jiang Cheng, and he finds every awkward, temperamental, and soft part of him fascinating. He knows that he should let Meng Yao know about this, that he should share this information with him.

But he can't. This is his secret to have, the one thing that is purely his, and Lan Xichen finds himself coveting it with jealousy.

"If what you say is true, then it is time for me to return to the Cloud Recesses." Lan Xichen picks his words carefully as he breaks the silence, and buries any hurt he feels deep below the surface. "Perhaps...perhaps Jiang Wanyin and Jiang Yanli would like to join me?"

Jiang Cheng jerks back in surprise, and Lan Xichen watches as disbelief, happiness, and then, confliction, flickers across his face. He opens his mouth to offer what Lan Xichen is almost certain is a polite denial, an insistence on going to Lanling before returning to Yunmeng to rally what remains of his Sect. It is the logical and efficient thing to do.

And yet, for the first time in a long while, Lan Xichen finds he doesn't care much about the logical, most efficient way, to do things.

Jiang Cheng is obviously trying to formulate a response, and Lan Xichen can see the warring thoughts flickering across his face. Impulsivity flares through Lan Xichen, and he interrupts Jiang Cheng's thoughts by reaching over and placing a hand over the other's mouth.

Meng Yao's eyes go wide, and an audible gasp escapes from his mouth. Jiang Cheng's eyes are also wide, and the rosy red from before is high on his checks.

Lan Xichen is sure that right now Uncle is feeling a cold breeze across his shoulders, that sixth sense that parents seem to have about children doing things unsupervised that they would deem inappropriate.

Lan Xichen finds that he doesn't care.

"If you would allow me to expand on my offer." He smiles, lowering his hand back to his lap. "Lady Jiang will need someplace safe to recover, as she is still quite weak. The Cloud Recesses, regardless of the state it was left in by the Wens, is the best place for this. And you, Jiang Wanyin, will need your sword back before we can return to Yunmeng. If you return with me and attend this meeting, we can begin to put plans in place to allow all of that to be possible."

"Jiang Cheng." The blush on the other man's face turns somehow ever darker, and it is obvious that he did not intend to speak those words out loud. But then he braces himself, and keeps talking. "Call me Jiang Cheng. It feels right for you to do so. Regardless of who is present."

"All right then. Jiang Cheng. What do you think of my offer?" Lan Xichen tilts his head to the side, a small smile ever present.

"I must interrupt - forgive me, Lan Xichen." Meng Yao steps forward, his hands already out as if placating a skittish animal. "Sect Leader Jin and his wife are willing to offer you and your sister sanctuary in Lanling. I would suggest that Sect Leader Jiang take them up on this offer, lest he make any rash decisions. After all, the close relationship between Madame Jin and Madame Yu is not to be underestimated."

"I think….That I am capable of making any decisions that I deem fit. And that I am in agreement with Xichen." Jiang Cheng nods, and his gaze turns steely, as if he is seeing something beyond those in front of him. "If Lanling Jin is not fully committed to dealing with Wens, then there is no place for my sister and I at their side."

A warm feeling fills Lan Xichen, and despite his best efforts, he can't will it away. The reasons that Jiang Cheng just laid out are logical, and they are perfectly valid ones for why he would choose to come with Lan Xichen. But he can't help but feel an instinctive sort of satisfaction that Jiang Cheng feels safe with him, that he wants to go with him, over the offer of opulence and safety of the Jins.

"Ah, very well." Meng Yao, to his credit, does not appear fazed by Jiang Cheng's decision. If anything, he seems contemplative. "If that is Sect Leader Jiang's decision, then this humble master shall begin to make preparations for the three of you's departure. Travel by horse is best, and to be frank, the only real option. It has truly been an honor to share this home with you, Sect Leader Lan."

Meng Yao's brusque words feel like a bucket of ice water has been poured on Lan Xichen's head. He knew that returning to the Cloud Recesses would be returning to being Sect Leader Lan, and for most of his days in this cottage he had longed for it. But now, faced with the reality of what said return means, he finds himself just a little overwhelmed.

A warm hand covers his own, and when he looks up, Jiang Cheng's gaze meets his own. He is silent, and his mouth is turned down slightly, but Lan Xichen can read his facial expression almost as clearly as he can read A-Zhan's.

Whatever is coming our way, I'm here. We're here.

It should frighten him, how quickly he has picked up on Jiang Cheng's facial expressions, but it doesn't. He finds that it is comforting, to have met someone who seems to know him so well. Whatever comes next on their return to the Cloud Recesses, Lan Xichen knows that in Jiang Cheng, he has met a kindred soul. Someone who, despite his brash exterior, is an honorable man wanting to make things better.

Jiang Cheng reminds him of Nie Mingjue and A-Zhan. Just like them, Jiang Cheng will be entering his life, filling up a place that he didn't know was empty.

Lan Xichen resolutely ignores the thoughts that come rising to the front of his mind when he thinks about just what place in his life Jiang Cheng could fill. Thoughts about Jiang Cheng's sharp cheekbones, or the way Lan Xichen's spare robe has fallen off Jiang Cheng shoulder, revealing a delightfully biteable collarbone, come hurtling to the forefront of his mind.

With a slight shake of his head, Lan Xichen shoos those thoughts away. There will be time for these thoughts, these desires, when the Wen are dealt with. When Jiang Cheng's people are safe and Sect Leader Jiang once again resides in Yunmeng. For now, they must focus on the present, on returning to the Cloud Recesses and meeting with Qinghe Nie.

"I shall have to begin preparations immediately, so I do hope that Sect Leaders Lan and Jiang will forgive my abrupt departure." Meng Yao, now so formal and unlike the man that Lan Xichen has come to know, bows before beginning to gather things up around the cottage.

In the sudden silence, Lan Xichen takes a deep breath, closing his eyes and turning his thoughts inward. He hears Meng Yao leave the cottage, the door closing behind him quietly. He feels the rustle of air as Jiang Cheng gets up to check on his sister, the flutter of cloth as the other man moves about.

Images of the Cloud Recesses, of how it was and how he hopes it will be, appear before him. Then, just as quickly as they appear they are gone, replaced by images of A-Zhan. A-Zhan, whole and unharmed. Then appears Uncle, his stern face breaking into a small smile, so small that one usually thinks they have imagined it. And finally, Jiang Cheng appears. Clad in purple, with Zidian on his wrist. Standing there, looking down at Lan Xichen with his hands on his hips and a fond look on his face.

"Well. Is Sect Leader Lan going to stay here forever? Or will he finally decide that the outside world is more appealing than his thoughts?"

These thoughts are pleasant, but scattered and unhelpful, and with a deep exhale Lan Xichen forces them to disappear into the breeze.

As he inhales, he refocuses once more. The trials and tribulations that lie ahead appear before his eyelids like the stars forming constellations, and with meditative precision, he begins to connect the dots.