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Chapter Text

“Are you there, Hanguang-jun?” A voice called from outside the Jingshi. 

 
“Yes,” Lan Wangji says as he walks to the door and opens it, revealing Lan Jingyi and Lan Sizhui.

 
“Good day, Hanguang-jun!” They both smiled and bowed to him.

 
It's been three months since the events at Guanyin Temple. Everything was peaceful, but also heart-breaking, during these three months. After learning of the crimes committed by Jin Guangyao, Lan Xichen went into seclusion, as did Jiang Wanyin. Nie Huiasang, still the famous Head-Shaker, remains the way he is, and was unsuitable for the role of 'The Chief Cultivator’.

Jin Ling was conflicted about discovering the truth. Years of believing that his parents' deaths were the fault of Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning makes him want to cry and scream. Was all of his hatred for those two worth it? Were the framed ones to blame for the hatred he feels? For this question, he does not know the answer. With his complicated feelings and the fact that he is still young, he was not suited to be The Chief Cultivator, so Lan Wangji had no choice but to take on this role.

“What's the problem?” Lan Wangji coolly asked. 

“Senior Wei is at the library, waiting for you. He said he wants you to see the new talisman he made,” Lan Jingyi beams as well as Sizhui, and Lan Wangji can't help but smile. His heart warmed by the sight of these two young cultivators who admired his love.

“I'll go,” he says as he returns to the Jingshi to retrieve Bichen. Sizhui and Jingyi bowed to him once more and excused themselves.

When Lan Wangji walks into the Library, he sees a slew of papers on the floor. When Wei Wuxian felt his presence, he grinned.

“Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan! Come sit next to me and see this!” Lan Wangji's heart skipped a beat. Even now, he's still affected by his love's blinding smile. He then sits beside him as Wei Wuxian hands him the talisman he made. 

“What does this do?” He inquires, intrigued. Wei Wuxian enjoyed making new talismans in his spare time, and teaching young cultivators how to hunt. Lan Qiren was opposed to this because he believes Wei Wuxian is unfit for the role, and will teach them demonic cultivation, but Lan Wangji spoke a few words with him and in the end, Lan Qiren could only grumble and walk away.

“This is probably the most difficult talisman I've ever made, and it also requires an array. This took me weeks to study and perfect this, and now it's here! I still need to test it though to see how many items I get. You see, this is what I call a Time Travel Talisman.” He said and Lan Wangji was torn between feeling awe and uneasiness at what he said. 

“Aiya, before you say anything, this talisman does not transport people back in time,” Lan Wangji sighs, relieved for some reason. Then Wei Wuxian goes on. “Well, maybe it does,” Lan Wangji frowned once again, causing Wei Wuxian to laugh and kiss him in the cheeks. “BUT! A person can only travel back in time to retrieve tools. For instance, if I want to retrieve Baxia because I want it, I can simply use this talisman and paint an array to do so. However, for the time being, this talisman can only be used for three minutes. If you go over, you'll be dragged out immediately. Any desire to change the past will also be extracted from the array. Sounds cool, right?” He smiled and Lan Wangji huffs. 

Despite the fact that this talisman could endanger anyone if used incorrectly, he must admit that it is quite useful. But, on the other hand, why would cultivators want to go back in time to retrieve tools when there are advanced tools in this time?

“Wei Ying.”

“Yes?” He says, his eyes shining brightly as if expecting praise, which Lan Wangji would undoubtedly give.

Lan Wangji smiles, “Excellent work.” He praises and Wei Wuxian's cheeks tinted pink as he smiles again.

“Wei Ying.”

“Yes?”

Lan Wangji stares at him, his eyes gave away a hint of amusement. “Do not attempt to retrieve Baxia.”

“Hehe, I won't, Lan Zhan,” he says, closing the gap and kissing Lan Wangji's cheeks once more before standing up.

“It’s almost noon. I will clean up first.” 

“Let me help.” 

“Alright.” 

Wei Wuxian went to the Jingshi first after cleaning up the mess, while Lan Wangji went to the kitchen to get their food. As he made his way to the Jingshi, he noticed a couple of Lan disciples hiding near a tree. He noticed their lips moving and them whispering to each other, as if they were afraid someone would hear them. Wei Wuxian could only giggle and decided to approach them closer in order to scare them. Sizhui and Jingyi were among the Lan disciples who were listening intently to what he assumed was ‘gossip’.

“Are you sure about that?” A Lan disciple asked and the other shakes his head. 

“I’m not sure. The town folks keep talking about it.” 

“You think Jin Guangyao left corpses there before he died?” Another one inquired, hands fidgeting in nervousness and worry. Wei Wuxian heard Jin Guangyao’s name so he pauses for a moment to listen. 

‘How could these kids gossip about a dead person?’

Wei Wuxian sympathizes with Jin Guangyao; after all, they did had a cruel death, and even after death, their names were scorned and tarnished by people and cultivators. They never failed to spread false stories to distort the truth and leave people unsure of what to believe. Nonetheless, he refuses to forgive him and Su She for everything they've done. He leans carefully against the tree, trying not to be noticed, and listen to the gossip.

“It's possible, he did use the Stygian Tiger Amulet,” the other nods while the others considers the thought.

“No, I don't think that's possible. You say it's a rumor, correct? The town folks could be wrong,” Jingyi says, turning to Sizhui, who appears to agree with him.

“Perhaps, but how else would the corpses rise in the Burial Mounds then? Only the Stygian Tiger Amulet can control corpses,” the other Lan argued. Wei Wuxian stills when Burial Mounds and corpses are mentioned.

“The Stygian Tiger Amulet can only control corpses within a certain range,” Sizhui responded, and Jingyi nods, but the other Lan shakes his head.

“Did you happen to forget? Yunping City and Yiling are only a distance away.”

Because of this, the entire group fell silent. Wei Wuxian furrowed his brow. There's something missing. The supposed ‘rumor’ makes no sense at all. 

“Although Yunping City and Yiling are close, there's no way the amulet's power or control stretched that far. The Burial Mounds are a bit far from Yiling's markets, so the Stygian Tiger Amulet is not responsible for the corpses rising,” Sizhui countered, and Wei Wuxian agreed. His little radish is really smart.

“Also, it had been three months since Jin Guangyao had used the amulet. In addition, the amulet had been destroyed,” Jingyi adds.

“Do you think another demonic cultivator is recreating the amulet?” The other Lan shakily inquires, and Sizhui and Jingyi both cringed. They were reminded of Xue Yang, a cruel and evil bastard who pretended to be Xiao Xingchen and admired their Senior Wei. (Well, they couldn't say Xue Yang truly admired him; after all, he had intentions.)

“Don't even think about it. Only Xue Yang and Senior Wei are capable of recreating such a powerful weapon. And who in the cultivation world is skilled enough to recreate that?” Jingyi grins and crosses his arms. He will not deny Xue Yang's intelligence, despite the fact that he was an evil bastard. But he still killed pretty A-Qing so he will curse him until he dies.

The Lans smiled, “Only Senior Wei can do that.” 

The praise and admiration may have caused Wei Wuxian's heart to flutter.

“Well, yes, he's smart, even if he's a little annoying.”

Wei Wuxian had enough listening even though he wants to snort at what Jingyi said. Him and Jin Ling are really alike that he can’t help but shake his head. He slowly walks up to them and put a hand on Jingyi’s shoulder, leaning close until his face is close to his ears. 

“Did you know that gossip is forbidden in Cloud Recesses?”

“Ahhhh!” Jingyi screamed, scrambling close to Sizhui's side. When Wei Wuxian and Sizhui's gazes met, he tensed a bit. He's the Head Disciple of Gusu Lan for a reason, and he's here gossiping with the other Lan Disciplines. Worse, Wei Wuxian's eyes are full of amusement and mischief that he wants to run away just to avoid getting teased. However, being caught by their Senior Wei is preferable to being caught by Hanguang-jun.

“S-Senior Wei!” They all bowed, terrified and taken aback by his sudden appearance.

“Aiya, don't be too surprised! I was having a good time listening to your gossip!”

“Y-You!” Jingyi points at Wei Wuxian, his breath and heart racing despite the fact that he isn't supposed to be this shocked. “W-When did you get here?!” He spluttered, and Wei Wuxian shrugs.

“I've been here the whole time.”

“We didn't see you!” They all simultaneously half-screamed at him.

“I was hiding behind this tree the whole time,” he smirked, leaning his shoulder against the tree.

“We didn't notice your presence!”

His smirk faltered and he sighed fondly. “Did you forget what I taught you? Always be aware of your surroundings, whether you're hunting or not. When you're all distracted, an enemy or a corpse could attack you at any time.” The Lan disciples duck their heads, ashamed to be caught gossiping and for not minding their surroundings. Wei Wuxian softly lectures them and the disciples listen carefully. The disciples couldn't even get annoyed or angry at him because his lectures were extremely useful and they all adore him.

“Sorry, Senior Wei,” they bowed, “We will remember your words in the future,” Wei Wuxian nods and tapped each of their shoulders.

“That's good. Now go before Lan Zhan sees you all,” he said, winking at the Lan disciplines before turning his back on them and heading to the Jingshi. As they all stared at the Senior's back, the juniors' eyes gleamed. This is also one of the reasons why they all adore Senior Wei; he allows them to escape their punishments. As a result, they all ran away and returned to their respective rooms.

When Wei Wuxian opens the door to the Jingshi, Lan Wangji is already there. He approaches the table and takes a seat next to him. “Where have you gone?” Lan Wangji inquired, placing the bowls of food on the table and setting aside the tray.

“I just spoke with the juniors. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting,” Wei Wuxian sighs and rests his head on his lover's shoulder. “Lan Zhan, I need to talk to you about something after we eat.”

“Alright. Let's eat.”

Wei Wuxian immediately discussed what he had heard from the juniors after they had finished eating. Lan Wangji's brow furrowed as he listened, and similar to Wei Wuxian's thoughts, there's something missing, or rather, an information from the rumor because everything in it didn't make sense. Wei Wuxian paused for a moment to allow Lan Wangji to collect his thoughts.

“When and where did you hear about this?” He inquires, his face solemn. Since Wei Wuxian is not a snitch and is a good senior, he decides to lie.

“Remember when I was with the juniors near Yunping City a few days ago? I heard some town people talking about it, and I'm not sure if the rumour is true.” However, this was true. He and the juniors really did go to Yunping City for a night hunt, but they did not come across any civilians talking the said rumor. He assumed the rumor arose days after they left. Lan Wangji's gaze drops to his lap for a second before returning to his eyes. 

“You want to go to the Burial Mounds,” he says flatly, not as a question.

“Yes,” he says, looking out the window. He gets goosebumps thinking about returning to Yiling and the Burial Mounds. He really doesn't want to go back there and bring both old and new nightmares with him back to Gusu. Lan Wangji becomes aware of this and places his hand on top of Wei Wuxian's.

“You don't have to go there alone; I'll accompany you,” he says softly, and Wei Wuxian returns his gaze back to his lover's eyes. He wishes he could bring him, but realizes he can't.

“Lan Zhan, you're the Chief Cultivator. You have duties. You're more needed here than I am.”

“No, I'll accompany you. Uncle can handle the sect for a day without me.”

“Lan Zhan, don't be a stubborn man and listen to—” A knock interrupted their conversation. Lan Wangji gets to his feet and looks out the door to see who has come to see them. When he opens the door, he sees Sizhui and Lan Wangji's expression softened.

“Is there a problem, A-Yuan?” He inquires, and Sizhui fishes something from inside his robes. Wei Wuxian decided to stand up and join Lan Wangji in order to see what Sizhui had brought them.

A white envelope with a wax seal of a red rose.

“Someone left a note at the entrance to Cloud Recesses, it's addressed to both Hanguang-jun and Senior Wei,” Sizhui says, flipping the envelope. The names Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were written in calligraphy in a clean and beautiful manner. It also had a pleasant smell.

“Is someone specifically requesting assistance from both of us?” Wei Wuxian inquired, raising a bow. 

“Senior Wei, Hanguang-jun, you are not the only one with a note,” Sizhui pulls out another white envelope similar to theirs. “Everyone in the sect got something like this.”

Wei Wuxian frowned, “This is suspicious.” He is certain that someone is causing trouble, beginning with the rumors from Yiling. Lan Wangji responded with a small 'Mn.'

“All right, let's read this aloud.”

When Sizhui and Lan Wangji open the envelope, they find an empty paper with no writings or spells. As a result, the three frowned. This did not sit well with them, especially Lan Wangji. Was someone playing with them? Was someone spying on them? What is going on?

Wei Wuxian noticed a subtle shift in emotion in his lover's face. His hand reached out and tightly gripped Lan Wangji's arms, jolting him out of his reverie. As they were about to throw the letter, the empty paper shines brightly, blinding the three. This happened not only to the Gusu Lan Sect, but also to other Sects. Every cultivator who received a letter began to wobble dizzily.

“L-Lan Zhan..”

“Wei…Ying…”

“A-A-Yuan…”

And everything went dark. 

All cultivators opened their eyes as they regained consciousness, and sat up slowly from the cold floor. Lan Xichen was the first to recover from dizziness.

“What am I doing here? Where are we?” He remembered a disciple leaving a note on his room's door and leaving. He didn't want to get it. He didn't want to stand up to get it. It felt like it took a lot of energy to move, but he decides to get it, thinking it might be from his brother or anyone who wishes him well, but when he opened it, he was suddenly surrounded by a blinding light, got dizzy, and blacked out. And now he found himself in an unknown temple with a swarm of cultivators.

“Wait, where the fuck am I?” Jiang Wanyin cursed, clutching his head.

Lan Xichen sighs, “Sect Leader Jiang, don't curse.” 

Startled by his presence, Jiang Wanyin stares at him in disbelief and exclaims, “What the fuck are you doing here?! You were in seclusion!”

Amused, Lan Xichen smiles, “I could say the same thing to you, Sect Leader Jiang.” 

“Arghhh! Get away from me, young mistress!” Jingyi yells, trying to stand up and pushing Jin Ling away.

But he was also pushed by Jing Ling. “No! You get away from me! And stop calling me young Mistress!”

“Then don't act like one!" Jinyi retorts. “And don't push me!”

“Guys,” Ouyang Zizhen sighs, while Sizhui closes his eyes and sighs tiredly.

“Quiet!” Lan Qiren yells, glaring at Jingyi and Jin Ling, forcing them to shut their mouths. Lan Wangji extends his hand to help Wei Wuxian in standing. The other cultivators then begin to whisper loudly when they saw them, but one foolish yet brave cultivator decided to walk towards Wei Wuxian and point accusingly at him. The juniors and Lan Wangji blocked Wei Wuxian from the man.

“You! You trapped us all in here!" The man scowled and one disciple holds him back, fearful that his master will be killed here right away. The cold and dangerous glare from Lan Wangji gives them the impression of 'get close and you'll lose your arm later.' The man unconsciously steps back, shuddering under the Chief Cultivator's glare. He realizes he does not want to end up like Jin Guangyao.

Wei Wuxian smirks, “How can you say that? I've been brought here as well,” he said mischievously, but the cultivators could see in his eyes that he was not amused by his accusation. Sizhui then steps in.

“Do not accuse others without proof,” Sizhui warns the cultivator sternly. Even Jiang Wanyin and Jin Ling were glaring at the cultivator. Many were becoming uneasy. Lan Qiren didn't even chastise Sizhui for the way he spoke. Despite his dislike for Wei Wuxian and his cultivation, he adheres to his sect's rules.

“Now, now, everyone, calm down—” Their heads immediately snapped to Nie Huaisang's direction. He shuddered at the sudden attention and decided to cover his face with his fan and close his mouth. Why had even he bothered? No one will listen to him!

Wei Wuxian sighs, “All right, don't block me; I can handle myself,” he pushes them all aside in order to get closer to the cultivator who accused him. Lan Wangji and the juniors stayed close by his side, ready to strike if this unknown cultivator attacks. “How come you think I brought you all here? Not even I have the power to gather almost all cultivators in one place,” he says, tilting his head to the side. He wants to laugh, feeling upset and disgust at the same time. The cultivation world really expects the worst of him. 

“Y-You cultivate resentful energy, who knows what power—”

Lan Wangji's expression immediately darkens. “Do not jump to an unfolded conclusion,” he chastises, gripping the hilt of Bichen. Even after three months of his lover's name being cleared, the cultivation world still refuses to accept him and his cultivation. They have no right to judge him! If only they knew, if only they knew how much pain, struggle, and sacrifice his lover went through. They have no right, they—... Wei Wuxian places his hand on top of his and Lan Wangji slowly relaxes his grip. He turns to face Wei Wuxian, who shakes his head.

“Enough. You've all gotten letters, right?” Wei Wuxian inquires, and they all reluctantly nod. “Good, both me and Hanguang-jun got one, so obviously you can't blame me. Even I have no idea why I end up here.”

Sizhui nods at them, confirming what his Xian-gege said. 

“You really think we would believe—”

“Oh, shut up!” Jingyi yells, and they all flinched. This Lan is without a doubt the most un-lan Lan. Lan Xichen's lips quirk up, while Qiren wanted to scold him, but then again, what's the point? The kid's a rebel, similar to Wei Wuxian, that he gives up and sighs in frustration. “Sizhui confirmed it for you! You think he lies?!” He scowled, and Ouyang Zizhen tries to stopped him, placing his hand in his shoulders.

“Master Wei,” said a voice. All of them turn around to see Wen Ning hiding in a pillar.

“Uncle Ning?!”

“Wen Ning?” 

The corpse steps out of the pillar with a shy nod, and half of the cultivators sheathe their swords and point them at the Ghost General.

“W-What’s the Ghost General doing in here?!”

“Did he get a letter as well?”

“That's impossible! Why would anyone give him a letter?! He's a fucking dangerous fierce corpse!”

“That does not matter, he and Yiling Patriarch are here, they trapped us here!”

Gritting his teeth, Wei Wuxian exclaimed, “I told you I am not responsible for this!” For a split second, his eyes flashed red, his patience and control slipping through his fingers. God, he's so tired of hearing nonsense from these annoying cultivators; he's really tired of people not believing him; he doesn't want to get angry because it worsens his temper; he wants to go home. They all took a step back, except for those who trusted Wei Wuxian would not harm them. Wei Wuxian rarely gets angry like this, and the juniors were nervous and excited. The Yiling Patriarch was rumored before to be a cruel cultivator, bringing chaos and blood in his hands. They badly want to see it now.

Lan Xichen decided to take a step up and handle this matter himself. “Put your swords down and let's find a way out.” He joins Lan Wangji.

“Brother,” Lan Wangji greeted politely.

“Wangji, are you well?” He smiles, but not entirely. 

“Yes.” Such a brief response, but it held thousands of emotion. Lan Xichen can sense and see his brother's happiness just by having Wei Wuxian by his side. He is glad to see his little brother like this. Lan Xichen then turns his gaze to Wei Wuxian.

“Wei Wuxian.”

“Zewu-jun, it's nice to see you again.” Wei Wuxian bows and offers a smile. Lan Xichen returns his bow.

“You, as well.” Then he looks around the temple. The temple appears to have been constructed recently. Not only that, but there is a massive statue in the temple's center. It looked like the dancing goddess from Dafan Mountain, but at the same time it is not. Wei Wuxian then approached Wen Ning to inquire about something.

“Were you brought here first?”

Wen Ning nods, “When I opened a letter from a lady, I blacked out and was brought here. I-I attempted to leave, but it appears that there is a barrier preventing me from doing so.” He says and puts a hand on the door, then there’s a ripple effect. Now they can see a golden barrier surrounding the temple. For a moment, no one moved, but Zidian sparked, causing all cultivators to look at Jiang Wanyin, terrified of what he’s gonna do.

“Jiang Cheng, no!” Wei Wuxian warns, but he ignored him. Instead, he charges forward as Zidian extends. Zidian is a powerful spiritual tool, powerful to even kill a cultivator and destroy a barrier. He whipped the barrier several times, but it had no effect on the barrier. This only resulted to multiple ripple effect, and before Jiang Wanyin could retreat, the barrier pushed him away, slamming him into a pillar.

“Jiang Cheng!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed.

“Jiujiu!”

Wei Wuxian and Jin Ling rushed over to his side. Jin Ling's hands began shaking, he wanted to punch his uncle for his reckless behavior. What if the barrier had done more than just push him away? He's already lost his other uncle, he can't afford to lose another. Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, smacked Jiang Wanyin’s shoulder, his brow furrowed in concern.

“Idiot! Don’t just attack if you don’t know what the barrier can do!” 

Jiang Wanyin scowled and gets up. “No one acted so I did it myself! I am not even that hurt! Now get away from me!” He removes Wei Wuxian’s arm that was supporting him at his back and Jin Ling’s hand that was gripping his arm. Wei Wuxian sighed, feeling dejected and hurt, and Jiang Wanyin felt guilty but did nothing than ignore him.

Lan Xichen observes the barrier, “This barrier is made from spiritual energy. More importantly, this barrier is twice stronger than the majority of our barriers. This can only be done by a cultivator with a high level of cultivation.” He said and the juniors grinned smugly at the cultivator who accused their Senior Wei. The cultivator scowled and turned away from them. Nie Huaisang takes a step forward, his fan covering half of his face as he observes the barrier as well. 

“Xichen-ge, you say this barrier is done by a high-level cultivator, correct?” When Nie Huaisang turns to face him, Lan Xichen flinches. He's still uncomfortable around him after the events at Guanyin Temple and after he tricked him into drawing his sword to Jin Guangyao. The sad thing was that he couldn't even be angry at Nie Huaisang because he was his sworn brother's brother. If he did end up directing all of his rage and sadness at Nie Huaisang, he can picture Nie Mingjue frowning at him in disappointment, and he does not want that.

“Yes,” he responded.

“Then the person who gave us letters and transported us here is the same person,” Nie Huaisang concludes. To the side, Wei Wuxian nods in agreement. He had been paying attention to both of them. The crowd then considers this, but who is this high-level cultivator who brought them all here, and what is their goal?

“Do you believe Nie Huaisang did this? You know, contacting that cultivator to do this?” Wei Wuxian whispers into Lan Wangji's ears, but Lan Wangji does not respond. In any case, he didn't expect his lover to respond. Lan Wangji was uncertain, and it's against the rules to make assumptions. Then, they all shuddered as a surge of spiritual energy engulfed the temple, like fire burning them and the temple. Wei Wuxian wobbled, and Lan Wangji caught him around the waist, preventing him from falling. Mo Xuanyu's golden core is still weak within him, and right now, this burst of spiritual energy is overwhelming him. 

Then, in front of the statue, a person appeared. A lady dressed in white robes that appear to be mourning robes. Her hair is white as snow, and she is glowing in this not-so-dark temple. All cultivators fell silent and stared at this unknown lady. They recognize her as the source of the burst of spiritual energy. The lady then turns her head slightly, revealing half of her face.

Lan Xichen politely asked, “Could you please tell us who you are and what we are doing here, Miss....?”

The lady completes her turn. They can now see her entire face, which displayed a cold and stern expression similar to Lan Wangji's. The lady does not respond to Lan Xichen, but instead, her gaze was directed to Wei Wuxian.

“You created a Time-Travel Talisman,” she declares softly, and the cultivators looked at Wei Wuxian incredulously. Master of the Six Arts, Grandmaster of demonic cultivation, a brilliant inventor, and now he's researching time travel? What could this person possibly not do? (Not to be a sacrificial idiot.) 

Lan Wangji and the juniors did not hide their admiration and pride for Wei Wuxian. Lan Qiren wanted to say, 'Do not be too proud,' but he didn't say anything and let them be. Wei Wuxian was about to ask how she knew but she interrupted him.

“May I see the Time-Travel talisman?” She inquired.

“Why?” He squints his eyes a little, suspicious all of a sudden, and the lady huffs, which could've been a laugh.

“I'm just curious. I'm not going to do anything.”

Wei Wuxian looks at her for a moment. Despite the fact that this lady is powerful, he sensed no malice or resentment from her. She is as serene as his lover. He then pulls out the talisman from his sleeves and hands it to her. She tilts her head to inspect the the talisman, turning and tilting it in the process. Suddenly, he felt as if he was showing his mother his drawing in order to receive praise or something. It was quite embarrassing. He waited for criticism, but it never came. The talisman, on the other hand, hovers in front of her and shines brightly.

Wei Wuxian was startled, “Wait a minute!”

“I made some adjustments, nothing's going to happen.”

Wei Wuxian gaped, “What do you mean you made adjustments?!”

It was a Time-Travel Talisman, and tinkering with it could have effects or even consequences, but this lady appears to know what she's doing.

“Retrieving tools from the past? What if we change it just for today?”

The talisman shines brightly as it floats to her side. In an instant, a massive array materialized. An array of unidentified writings. This piqued Wei Wuxian's interest. The cultivators began murmuring, sensing a huge amount of spiritual energy in the array. Moments later, two people emerged from the array. When Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin recognized the two people, they froze. It was a man in golden robes with a vermillion mark on his forehead and a woman in purple robes with kind eyes and sweet smile.

“S-Shijie..?”

“J-Jin Zixuan..?” 

All of the juniors turned to Jin Ling in shock and concern. Jin Ling remained still, his breath caught in his throat as he stared at the two people he only saw in portraits.

“A-Xian, A-Cheng,” she calls, smiling and spreading her arms. Lan Wangji lets go of Wei Wuxian's waist as he and Jiang Wanyin rushed towards her. They both hugged her tightly, tears streaming down their cheeks as they sobbed loudly. The cultivators had never seen Sect Leader Jiang and the Yiling Patriarch cry so hard, it was weird. Some of them had their jaws dropped, while others emphasized them so as not to disturb them.

“I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, S-Shijie! It was all my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my fault!” Wei Wuxian continued sobbing loudly, apologizing and blaming himself. Lan Wangji and the juniors' hearts ached for Wei Wuxian that they like crying too.

Wei Wuxian, so kind, caring, and forgiving. Just what had happened in the past for him to cry so hard like this? 

Jin Ling is well aware that tears are welling up in his eyes. Jingyi, Sizhui, and Ouyang Zizhen stayed close to him to offer a bit of comfort, which irritated but also pleased Jin Ling. Meanwhile Jiang Wanyin wished to silence his shixiong. Stop him from apologizing because he knew, he knew, from the beginning that his sister's death was not his fault, that everything was not his fault, but as a prideful person, Jiang Cheng sobbed and said nothing.

“It wasn't your fault at all, A-Xian. In fact, it was mine. I'm sorry,” she says quietly into both of her brothers' ears and caressed their heads gently.

“No, it was—”

“A-Xian,” Jiang Yanli scolds sternly, forcing Wei Wuxian to shut up. Jiang Yanli broke the hug after a minute of crying and hugging just to look at her brothers. “You've both grown up so well,” she caressed both of their cheeks, and her brothers leaned into her hand, but then her gaze was drawn to Wei Wuxian, and her smile faded.

“Why is your appearance different, A-Xian?” She asks, worry evident in her voice. Jiang Cheng avoided her gaze while Wei Wuxian scratched his nape. 

“It’s a long story Shijie.” Avoiding the topic, Wei Wuxian sniffs and turns to Jin Zixuan. He attempts to open his mouth to apologize to him as well, but then he shakes his head. 

“Don’t. Like A-Li said, it was not your fault.” Wei Wuxian had no choice but to look down. He was responsible for their deaths, he killed these two, leaving A-Ling orphaned and bullied by others for not having his parents by his side; where did he get the audacity to be this close to these two? It hurt a lot. He still wanted to hug his Shijie but didn't. He's disgusted with himself.

Jiang Wanyin calls out, “A-Ling, come here.” Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan's eyes widened. Jin Ling was gently pushed forward by the juniors, who smiled encouragingly at him. Regaining his composure, he walk towards Jiang Wanyin’s side and Jiang Yanli begins to cry. Jin Zixuan, on the other hand, was still staring at his son in disbelief. He couldn't believe his son is in front of him right now. His son that looks so much like him, but got Yanli's kind eyes. His son was now a strong and grown up man.

 Jin Zixuan smiled and said, “A-Ling, come and hug us.”

Jin Ling did not hesitate and hug both of his parents. Wei Wuxian steps back, shame eating him. Lan Wangji comes to his side and slid his arm to his lover’s waist, comforting him. Wei Wuxian leans in his lover's shoulders, still feeling tears forming in his eyes. 

“Lan Zhan, I took this away from him.” His voice cracked. Lan Wangji’s hand in his waist tightened as he shakes his head. He looks down and planted a kiss on Wei Wuxian’s forehead. 

“It was not your fault, Wei Ying.” 

Then another group of people emerged from the array. It was The Sect Leader Nie, Nie Mingjue, The Jiang Matriarch and Patriarch, Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian, The Lan Sect Leader, Qingheng-jun and his wife, Madam Lan, The Wen Clan's Doctor, Wen Qing, and finally, The Jin Sect Matriarch, Madam Jin. 

All of the cultivators in the room were in a frenzy. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Why are those who died in the past are here with them? Why are they alive, and why don't they resemble The Ghost General?

All of the families of those who emerged from the array rushed up to them, crying and hugging them tightly. Witnessing this, Wei Wuxian wanted to weep and hide somewhere where no one could find him. Most of these people died because of him, it was all his fault. Why is he here in the first place? To make him feel even more guilty and sorry than he already is? 

Lan Wangji's hand slipped from his waist. He looks up to see his lover staring at his parents. From his point of view, his lover looks like a child gazing innocently at a toy he desires. From the side, he can see Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren's reaction were the same as Lan Wangji's.

“Go,” Wei Wuxian says with an encouraging smile. The three Lans proceeds to Qingheng-jun and Madam Lan. Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen were quickly embraced by their mother, while Qingheng-jun smiled. Lan Wangji, who disliked physical touch, melted into the hug as tears streamed down his cheeks. He did not weep like Wei Wuxian, but it was still heart-breaking. The Lan juniors are taken aback when they see the Twin Jades' parents. Madam Lan was said to be beautiful, and Qingheng-jun was said to be very attractive, and they can now confirm this. 

Seeing his lover with his parents, Wei Wuxian's heart skipped a beat. They looked contented and happy, especially his husband. He decides to give the family some space and turns to Wen Qing, who was conversing with Wen Ning and Sizhui while smiling softly. The three then turned to look at him, and Wei Wuxian felt like crying again.

Wen Qing smiles, “You won't even greet me, Wei Wuxian?”

Wei Wuxian immediately rushes up to her and tightly embraces her.

“I’m sorry, I'm so sorry,” He sobs, burying his face in her shoulders.

“Don't be. I'm glad you're happy now,” she said, breaking the hug and glances at Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian notices this and lets out a light laugh, “He's too good for me Qing-jie, I don't deserve him.”

She raises her brow, annoyed at Wei Wuxian's self-deprecation. “Did I not make myself clear?”

“Well, yes...”

“A-Xian,” another voice called out. Wei Wuxian turns his attention to Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan. Jiang Fengmian smiled, while Yu Ziyuan scoffed and averted her gaze. “Come here.” The Jiang Patriarch said.

He didn't want to stand next to them yet, but he didn't have a choice. He also misses them and wishes to speak with them. He walks towards them, nervousness creeping in. He bowed his head and cupped his hands in front of them.

“Jiang-zongzhu, Yu-furen,” he greets politely. 

“A-Xian, you have a different appearance. What happened?” Jiang Fengmian asked with a frown. 

“I'm not surprised at all. You died and took someone else's body? Are you that low, Wei Wuxian?!” Yu Ziyuan seethes. If she had Zidian right now, he knows he'd be whipped until he cannot stand. This isn't even his fault; he was forced in this body against his will.

Yu Ziyuan despises him, even before and after death, and even after being resurrected. That's to be expected; he causes trouble wherever he goes. 

“San-niang, you—”

“That's not exactly what happened, Mother,” Jiang Wanyin says flatly. Wei Wuxian turns to his brother with a sharp glare, warning him not to say anything.

“Jiang Cheng—”

Irritated, he exclaims, “Shut up!” 

“Calm down, Mother. A-Xian will explain everything to us,” Yanli reassures, clutching Wei Wuxian's hand. Yu Ziyuan scoffed again.

“He better!” She said venomously.

“There are only two people left,” said the lady in white. Unbeknownst to the cultivators, she fires a glare at Yu Ziyuan, likely enough to intimidate a ferocious man and woman. Then two people emerged from the array, and that’s when all of the cultivators’ jaws dropped. They know these two people even if they were rogue cultivators. 

“C-Cangse Sanren..?” 

“W-Wei Changze..?”

Wei Wuxian froze. Other than that memory of his mother riding a donkey while he was on his father's shoulder, and the two of them laughing at something his mother said, he had no other memories of his parents. That was all he could recall.

“Where are we?” That was the first thing Cangse Sanren said. She and Wei Changze looked around and noticed a swarm of cultivators staring at them as if they'd grown another head. 

Wei Changze frowned and inquired, “Why are we here?” 

His wife shrugs, crossing her arms and said, “I don't know.” Looking around, they both then noticed Lan Qiren and Jiang Fengmian. Cangse Sanren's eyes twinkled with delight.

“Lan Qiren, Lan Qiren! You're still growing your beard?” She strides to his direction enthusiastically and winked at him. Lan Qiren felt all his hair stand. He badly wants to get out of here, away from her. Like right now.

“Stay away from me.” He hissed and she laughs. 

“Don’t be like that, we’re friends!”

The juniors were mortified. She and their Senior Wei were so alike! 

He grits his teeth and says, “We. Are. Not.” 

The juniors suppressed their laughter, fearful of being chastised by Lan Qiren again. This feels like Wei Wuxian and Hanguang-jun all over again. 

Wei Changze smiled and gave a quick bow to his friend and his wife. He greets, “Jiang-zongzhu, Yu-furen.” 

The Jiang Matriarch and Patriarch, still in disbelief, returns the bow. Yu Ziyuan glances at Cangse Sanren for a second. This woman, the woman Jiang Fengmian was infatuated with before, is in front of her now, alive and smiling as if she had not experienced any hardships and death. Yu Ziyuan's heart is brimming with rage and jealousy. She wants her out of her, away from his husband. But before anyone else could see how her expression darkened, she schooled her face. Maybe she can request to the lady in white to remove her here later.

Wei Changze and Cangse Sanren smiles seeing Jiang Yanli and Jiang Wanyin.

“Are these your children, Fengmian? They’ve grown up so well.” Yanli and Jiang Wanyin politely bows. Jiang Wanyin fixed his gaze on his shixiong's parents. Just like what Wei Wuxian felt when he saw his parents again, he felt guilty and ashamed. How will he explain to them that he led the siege at the Burial Mounds? How will he explain the fact that their son gave up his golden core for him and was forced to practice resentful energy? How will he explain to them that he blamed their son for everything, despite the fact that he was not to blame? Above all, how will he explain that he tried to kill their son? How? How?

Wei Wuxian still didn't say anything, his gaze fixed on his parents. When Cangse Sanren's gaze fell on him, he felt tears well up in his eyes.

“Who is he?” She inquires of Fengmian. The Jiangs' gaze turned to Wei Wuxian. “Are you A-Cheng’s friend?” Wei Changze asked, a warm smile formed on his lips which brings warmth to Wei Wuxian’s heart. He felt dizzy, his heart is pounding so loud that anyone could hear it. That was it; he couldn't take it any longer, it's all too much. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he choked a sob. Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze's eyes widened in horror. Did they do something? Did they scare him? What did they do?

“A-Are you alright? We’re—” Wei Changze had barely finished his apology when he was tackled into a hug by Wei Wuxian. He and Cangse Sanren exchanged puzzled looks as they tried to figure out what was going on.

“A-A-Ying..” Wei Wuxian murmurs. Wei Changze and Cangse Sanren froze. How did this person know what their son's name was? Unless…

“A-Are you our A-Ying?” Cangse Sanren's voice trembled. Her and Wei Changze's hearts were racing so fast. Their bodies were shaking. The hope they had long buried resurfaced. The last thing they remembered before passing away was leaving their son in an inn to go on a night hunt, but the one hugging them right now is their son, alive and well. Wei Wuxian's lips form a small smile as he nods and responds with a small 'Mn.'

Wei Changze and Cangse Sanren cried, happiness and relief washed over them as they tightly hugged their son. Lan Wangji and the juniors were happy and delighted for him. Jin Ling felt happy for him too, though concealed it with a scowl akin to Jiang Wanyin's. To be reunited with his parents, Wei Wuxian’s couldn’t ask for more. 

“Enough of this! Just what are you playing at, Wei Wuxian?!” Another unknown cultivator yelled angrily, causing Wei Changze and Cangse Sanren to glare at her for interfering with their reunion. “And you!” She points to the lady in white who has been silently watching them. “Who are you?! Are you Wei Wuxian’s companion?!” She yells loudly.

It was really brave of her to yell at a High-level Cultivator.

An elderly man then decides to join, “Clearly, they are! They've trapped us here in order to kill us all!”

And the yelling continued.

While the two unknown cultivators were at it, they couldn't help but notice Cangse Sanren's face contorted in horror. She should’ve look at the lady in white with that expression, but no. Instead, her gaze was pointed at the unknown cultivators, as if she was terrified for them. Why was she reacting like this? They all thought.

“What do you and Wei Wuxian want from us, huh?” shouted the unknown cultivator. “Answer us! Did you bring us here to kill us all?”

Cangse Sanren paled even more as the unknown cultivators drew their sword and pointed it at the lady in white.

The lady in white sighs, “This is why I despise interacting with cultivators.” Her gaze falls on Cangse Sanren. Cangse Sanren quickly let go of his son and walked over to her. The cultivators carefully watched her approach the lady. She then comes to a halt in front of her and drops on her knees.

“Cangse!”

“Mother!”

All of the cultivators just don’t know what’s going on anymore. They will just have to wait for someone to explain what the fuck is going on. Cangse Sanren bows until her forehead touched the cold floor. Pale blue eyes stared down at her. When Cangse Sanren rises and looks up, the lady in white’s lips quirk up a little. 

“Grandmaster,” She whispers, but she was heard by all the cultivators. 

Grandmaster, she said. Cangse Sanren’s grandmaster is the immortal. Immortal… There’s only one immortal in the cultivation world. Their eyes widened in horror. 

Baoshan Sanren..

“No way!”

“Oh my god..” 

“Is this for real?” 

Murmurs filled the entire temple. The cultivators, especially Jiang Wanyin stared incredulously at her. Before, Wei Wuxian had lied to him about going up to the mountain in Yiling to seek the immortal's help in recovering his core. After knowing the truth, he refused to believe the immortal's existence. He didn't care if she was real or not. He will never meet the Grandmaster of his shixiong's mother. And yet she is right in front of them now, beautiful and untouchable. Powerful and dangerous.

“Stand up.” She commands and Cangse Sanren rises to her feet. The immortal's gaze then is drawn to the swarm of cultivators who were both awed and intimidated by her.

Jin Zixuan and Madam Jin were the first to bow to the immortal to pay respect, and they were quickly followed by everyone else. The unknown cultivators who pointed their sword at the immortal, however, were hesitant to bow their heads. The juniors, on the other hand, had their jaws dropped. They felt giddy all of a sudden. This is the first time they have seen the immortal in person. One of the juniors' favourite stories was about her attaining immortality, but there were also rumours claiming that the existence of the immortal was not real and was only used to humour young children.

“I did not have any contact with anyone outside this mountain, but over the years, I've kept track of everything that's going on in the cultivation world. Through a crystal ball, I saw war, bloodshed, betrayal, pain, and sacrifices,” Her eyes went to Wei Wuxian. “You, son of Cangse Sanren, had suffered the most throughout these years, yet no one saw or appreciated the sacrifices you made. I respect you for that, Wei Wuxian.” She gaves him a smile and Wei Wuxian could only look down. She was wrong. There was nothing to respect anything about him. He did not try hard enough to keep the people he cared for safe in the past, they still died because of him. 

“I sent you all a letter as an invitation to enter my mountain, for now.” She says and turns her back on them. The cultivators suddenly looks around, feeling anxious. So they were now at the Immortal's legendary Celestial Mountain, the stories were true after all. Their hearts pounded loudly. They really need the get out of here, but the problem is, what can they do to get out of here? They were teleported here against their will, and only the Immortal can undo the barrier. What could the immortal want from them to even go as far as to do this and bringing the dead in the past to the present time? 

“Grandmaster, what are we really doing here?” Cangse Sanren asked.

Baoshan Sanren hand shines brightly and in front of them, a huge screen appeared. “What exactly are you all doing here? To witness what the cultivation world did to a benevolent man. To uncover the mistreatment and corruption by those in positions of power that led to the young man's tragic end without his story being heard.” Her venomous tone sends shivers down their spines. They suspect that the person she's referring to is Wei Wuxian, and Wei Wuxian is aware of this too, but the question is, why is the Immortal doing this? What benefit will he or she gain in the end? What will they gain from watching Wei Wuxian's disgusting and painful memories?

In the corner of Wei Wuxian’s eye, he can see his lover’s expression contorted into worry. 

Wei Wuxian sighs tiredly, “There's no need to do this.” He genuinely appreciated the immortal's efforts, but what the cultivation world thinks of him will not and never will change, and besides, he can’t let the immortal expose his pain and struggles in front of everyone; he won't need their pity.

“I want to see,” Jin Ling says, startling Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin. “I want to see what happened before my parents died.”

“No way! You can’t witness that! And behave yourself or I’ll break your legs!” 

“Jiujiu, I just wanna know what happened, please.” He pleads. Jin Ling had long forgiven Wei Wuxian. He is now aware that he is not to blame for his parents' deaths, and yet Wei Wuxian was there in their final moments. He wants to see everything even if it will hurt him. Jin Zixuan, Wei Wuxian, and the Jiang siblings exchange glances. Yanli then places her hand on his son's shoulders. 

“A-Ling, are you capable of handling everything? Everything that had happened before had been cruel and bloody; it could be overwhelming and terrifying for you and the rest of the disciples.” She caresses his son's cheeks, her face worried, but Jin Ling reluctantly shakes his head.

Hiding his fear, he scoffed and crossed his arms and said, “Nothing I can’t handle.” The Jiang Patriarch huffs in amusement. He sees a lot of Jiang Cheng in his grandson. Yu Ziyuan's lingers more to Jin Ling's back, pleased with how his grandson grown up to be a strong boy even though he looks like a brat.

“You sure about that brat? Last time when we were at Yi city, you and Jingyi almost peed in your pants when A-Qing entered the house.” Wei Wuxian wiggles his eyebrows and smirks, trying to ease the tension forming inside of him. The cheeks of Jingyi and Jin Ling flush brightly.

“There was no need to bring it up! And I wasn't afraid; I was just...startled.” He hid his embarrassment behind a forced scowl. Lan Xichen and Jin Zixuan nearly laughed.

“Yeah? You and Jin Ling literally hugged each other to dea—”

“Are you really going to embarrass us in front of so many people, Wei Wuxian?!” Wei Wuxian laughed as Jin Ling glared at him. At the very least, he's no longer sad. Jin Ling had been watching him silently and for some reason, he hated seeing his sad expression. He was accustomed to seeing him smile and laugh all the time. He was born to smile, so he should continue to smile!

“No, no, I’ll stop!”

“Immortal, are you really going so far as to prove Wei Wuxian's innocence to us? Ha! That is not going to work! His reputation is already blacker than night!” A brave soul roared again. As half of the cultivators sent him a death stare, the immortal sighed once more. If the immortal snaps at them, it will be his fault they die here.

“In case you forgot, his name has already been cleared. More importantly, don't broach the subject of reputation if you don't have one.” A harsh and sharp voice responded to the unknown cultivator. At the back of the crowd was Luo Qingyang, or Mianmian, dressed in dark robes and a sword in her hand. The cultivators who have known Luo Qingyang smiled, especially Jin Zixuan. He is relieved to see his bestfriend again and Mianmian reciprocates the feeling. 

When Wei Wuxian saw her, he grins and waved, pleased by her presence. Though Wei Wuxian has his back to Lan Wangji, he smirks inwardly, knowing Lan Wangji might be feeling jealous, again. His lover is really prone to jealousy, he can’t help but coo. His lover is very adorable even if Jiang Cheng does not think so.

“Mianmian!” He calls.

The corners of her lips twitched as she walks forward. She cupped her hands and bowed. “Hello, Wei Wuxian, Jin Zixuan, and Madam Jin.” She greets. 

“It's great to see you again,” Zixuan says as she and Madam Jin approach her.

“Yes, I feel the same.”

“Why aren't you wearing our sect's robes, Luo Qingyang?” Madam Jin wonders. She had a sneaking suspicion she had defected from their sect.

“I left a long time ago.” And of course her suspicion was right. “If Madam Jin agrees, I'll explain why later." She bows once more.

Madam Jin nodded, waving her off. “Alright.”

The unknown cultivator clenches his teeth in anger and embarrassment and was about to say more when he was cut off by Baoshan Sanren. 

“There's nothing to prove. You will pass judgment based on what you see and inform me of your thoughts. Furthermore,” Baoshan Sanren turns to face them all again, and they trembled in fear when her eyes flashed gold. “I'll let you all see why I despise the cultivation world.” She turns to face the screen and raised her hand, infusing spiritual energy into it. “Shall we begin?”

Once again, the massive screen shines brightly. Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze were on the screen, with little A-Ying in his mother's lap.

“A-Ying, you must remember what others do for you, not what you do to others. Only when people don't carry so much in their hearts will they feel truly free.” Cangse Sanren smiles and wipes the food on the corner of Wei Wuxian’s lips. 

Jiang Fengmian and Lan Qiren jolted. The immortal purposefully chose this as the first scene for them to see. This was one of the phrases they remembered from Cangse Sanren, and it had been imprinted in their minds ever since she and Changze were killed in a night hunt. Lan Wangji recalls Wei Wuxian mentioning this as well.

“Yes, mother,” Wei Wuxian replied, his gaze drawn to the food on the table. He clearly desires another bite of the meat. Wei Changze noticed this and grabbed a spoon to feed him.

“You've been eating since earlier; are you still hungry, A-Ying?” With his son's big smile and crinkled eyes, Wei Changze looks fondly at him as he eats.

“No! Want more, I’m hungry!” And Wei Wuxian uses his only weapon so his parents would give in, he pouts. Changze and Cangse Sanren chuckled.

“Alright, you can eat more.” 

Lan Wangji approached Wei Wuxian's side, but not before bowing to his parents. Wei Wuxian is aware that his lover is now beside him, but he did not take his gaze away from the screen. He has no recollection of this; only his mother's words have stayed with him. He wondered if the memories he had forgotten would also be revealed.

Cangse and Changze leaned on each other, their heads bowed. This was also the day they left their A-Ying in an inn to go on a night hunt. Cangse Sanren reluctantly takes his son's hand and grips it tightly. Wei Wuxian turns to face her, a sad smile on his face.

Yu Ziyuan frowned seeing the whole interaction on the screen. She already expected Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze would lavishly love and spoil Wei Wuxian. She was enraged after Jiang Fengmian brought the child over to Lotus Pier and fought with him all night. She remembered how small, pale, thin, and filthy Wei Wuxian was in Jiang Fengmian's arms. She recalled how Wei Wuxian had been forced to listen to their argument as Jiang Fengmian refused to let him go. In his husband's arms, he trembled and cried silently. Jiang Fengmian literally begged at her to let Wei Wuxian stay in their home.

She eventually gave in in the end. She didn't have a choice because Jiang Fengmian was too stubborn, and she also thought of Wei Changze. She was acquainted with him while he was at Lotus Pier. She also recalled that as Wei Wuxian grew older, Jiang Fengmian's focus shifted to him rather than his real son, Jiang Wanyin. He lavished praise on Wei Wuxian while expressing his disappointment and disapproval to Jiang Wanyin. As a result, a rumor arose about Wei Wuxian being an illegitimate child of Jiang Fengmian to Cangse Sanren. She felt betrayed and angry. Since that rumour spread, she has been fighting with Jiang Fengmian on a regular basis, expressing her rage at his failure to acknowledge their son. Jiang Fengmian was also angry at her that he began yelling at her as well. That night, the Jiang siblings and Wei Wuxian cried silently. That night, Jiang Wanyin blamed Wei Wuxian for their parents' constant fighting and Yanli chastised him. Wei Wuxian just took all the blame and ran away.

Then, one day, Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian fought for the same reason again. Wei Wuxian is well aware of the rumors; he is the reason this family is in such mess. Despite the fact that he should be grateful to the Jiangs for providing him with shelter, food, and warm clothing, he felt suffocated staying in such a toxic household. He desperately wanted to leave, but he had nowhere to go. He was also the Jiang Sect's head disciple so he really did not have any choice but to stay.

Yu Ziyuan recalled passing by at the training ground when Wei Wuxian punched one of the disciples in the face and exclaimed, 

"My parents are real people!" 

She punished him with Zidian after that. Yu Ziyuan sigh and focuses on the screen once more.

A new scene appeared on the screen. Snow falling from the sky, making the surroundings all white. Then, the cultivators noticed a little boy dressed in light blue robes with a cloud pattern ribbon on its forehead, holding a rattle drum and playing with it in the unfamiliar streets around them.

“That’s you, my little A-Zhan.” Madam Lan mumbles and turns to Lan Wangji with a smile. The corner of his lips quirk up a bit. It really was good to see and feel his mother this close again. 

“Hanguang-jun, look how cute you are.” Nie Huaisang turns to Lan Wangji. He can’t help but compare little Wangji and the grown up Wanji, and damn, Lan Wangji really grown up to be a very fine man. Wei-xiong is indeed very lucky. Lan Wangji ignored his comment while the juniors fussed over little Hanguang-jun.

“That’s the Chief Cultivator before?” 

“He’s so small.” 

“And very very cute!”

Two girl cultivators commented silently, afraid that Lan Wangji will hear them.

“Hanguang-jun is so little!”

“And so adorable!” 

The disciples commented. Qingheng-jun and Madam Lan chuckled, Lan Xichen looks amused, and Lan Qiren? If he did not remember the rules, he would’ve coo seeing his nephew too. 

“See Lan Zhan? I told you, you are very adorable.” Wei Wuxian booped his lover’s nose. Lan Wangji just shakes his head, but Wei Wuxian could see the redness of his ears. He decides not to comment on that. 

In another scene, two straw dolls were carefully placed on a pile of snow in the back of an alley. “A-Die, A-Niang,” a child's voice whispered so softly. Tiny hands appeared as the child holds another straw doll and placing it between the two straw dolls. “And... A-Ying!” the small child concluded and smiled.

Many people recognized him as soon as they saw his face, causing some cultivators to gasp in disbelief. 

“S-Senior Wei?” The juniors were in such shock that they couldn't speak. This had the greatest impact on Sizhui, Jin Ling, Jingyi, and Ouyang Zizhen. Senior Wei — their cheerful and mischievous senior, lived on the streets before? 

Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze were horrified. They grabbed their son and hugged him tightly as if their lives depended on it. “W-We’re so sorry, A-Ying…. W-We’re so sorry for leaving you..” The voice of Cangse Sanren trembled. Her heart feels like it's about to burst at any moment. It really hurts her to see his son like this, that their son went through something as horrible as this, that they couldn't be by his side as he grew up. He could've grown up in a warm home with food. Wei Changze was even worse; tears were welling up in the corners of his eyes. He chose not to speak, not trusting his voice enough at the moment.

Jiang Wanyin and Jiang Yanli looked at their brother and wanted to hug him as well, but they did not want to disrupt the family moment. Wei Wuxian was terrified the first day he stayed at Lotus Pier, especially after seeing Jiang Wanyin's puppies. As a result, the Jiang Patriarch sent the puppies away. Jiang Wanyin was furious at Wei Wuxian and upset with his father for that. Other than the puppies, Wei Wuxian feared Yu Ziyuan's rage. For this reason, he tried not to anger her, or cross paths with her, and yet she gets angry and punishes him in many ways Wei Wuxian couldn't understand. The Jiang siblings were powerless to protect their brother from their mother's punishments. They could only provide solace. They even have to drag their brother to the healer’s room to recuperate. 

Jiang Fengmian felt sad. It took him years to track down Wei Wuxian, and the first thing he sees when he found him was that he was surrounded by wolves.

Lan Wangji's heart broke into a million pieces seeing his love in this state. So pale, thin, and filthy, but right there was his smile. A smile that could solve all problems, a smile that could light up the entire world, even the darkest corners on earth. He wished he could had done something, but it was in the past and he couldn't change it. He looks at his Wei Ying. He is smiling as he is embraced by his parents, but there’s tears his cheeks. He could see how safe Wei Wuxian is in his parents' arms.

The Cultivators were at a loss for words. They could have sworn Wei Wuxian was born from the Jiang Sect, and then Wei Changze decided to secede to the Jiang Sect in order to travel around the world with Cangse Sanren. They had anticipated something, but not this. The cultivators who despised Wei Wuxian, however, did not care all about this and chose to remain silent. 

Despite the fact that his smile was blinding, it faded gradually. He'd been living on the streets for a while, thriving and surviving in the hopes that his parents would return, bringing new food or toys for him. He hoped, he believed, he never gave up.

Over the years of living on the streets, his memories of his parents began to blur and fade, and he found himself sobbing quietly in a dark alley in a bustling city. Frustrated and angry at himself for not remembering the face of his Mother and Father. 

Some of the cultivators pitied Wei Wuxian, while Jin Ling glanced at him. He is all too familiar with his frustration and anger. He understands the feeling that he wants to cry. Seeing how broken Wei Wuxian was as a child, and yet still managed to smile like that, it hurts—it's agonizing. Jin Ling promised to himself not treat his uncle harshly anymore. He will work hard to please him and maybe spoil him with whatever he desires. 

Then, little A-Ying hears the sound of a rattle drum, and he glanced up in surprise. Little A-Zhan felt someone was staring at him, so he paused and glanced over. For a few seconds, the pair exchanged surprised glances. They stared at each other as if both hearts were already aware of what the future held for them.

Oh..

Oh.. 

Wei Wuxian remembered being given a toy before, but as he grew older, he forgot the child's face. The only thing he remembered was that the child was so kind as to offer his toy for him and he was really pretty. This lovely and kind child turned out to be Lan Wangji, his husband. His heart melted, and he felt happy and giddy. His eyes shone brightly as he turned to his lover, whose expression is as surprised as the two children on the screen. God, he loves this man so much.

“T-That was you?” Wei Wuxian inquired, his voice slightly shaky, and Lan Wangji reluctantly nods. 

“I was with Uncle and Brother that time. I don’t remember what we were doing at Yiling.” Lan Wangji responds. Though he had not obtained the Wei Wuxian's name before when he was a child, he remembered his baby face quite well. 

“God, you both were really destined for each other!” Nie Huaisang squeals, earning a light smack in the head from Nie Mingjue.

“Don’t tease them.” He warns fondly. 

“B-But look at them Da-ge! They met at such a young age! It's destiny!” Nie Huaisang argues and Madam Jin nods at him.

"I quite agree, don’t you think so, Zixuan?" She smirks and looks at his son, who has turned away from her, his cheeks pink. Jiang Yanli giggled at this while Jiang Wanyin wanted to barf.

"What is your relationship with him, A-Zhan?" Qingheng-jun inquires, despite the fact that he may already know his son's response. 

“Oh, I am his—“

“Husband.” Lan Wangji concludes, his ears burning. Wei Wuxian could hear his mother and father's soft chuckles, which made his cheeks burn. “We are husbands,” Lan Wangji says as he grabs his hand, intertwines it, and raises it for all to see. The cultivators were not surprised; only those who did not know were taken aback. Some were secretly disgusted with their relationship.

“Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan!” In embarrassment, Wei Wuxian covers his face with his other hand. Madam Lan and Qingheng-jun both smile at him. 

“We are glad to meet you, Wei Wuxian.” 

“Thank you, Madam Lan, Qingheng-jun,” he says, bowing. Lan Wangji turned to face Wei Wuxian's parents and bowed as well. His eyes already conveying the words ‘I will take care and love your son, Wei Wuxian, until I lose my breath.’ And Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze immediately approves of him. 

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian's parents exchanged smiles and nods. They were also acquainted in the past as they attended Cloud Recesses classes, so it is simple for them to plan another wedding for the two soon. Cangse Sanren sends another wink to Lan Qiren, who immediately shoots her with a glare. Lan Xichen covers his lips with his sleeve as he laughs.

Then, a split second later, Wei Wuxian gave the lovely child a blinding smile. Lan Wangji, enamoured with his smile, approaches Wei Wuxian and stands directly in front of him. Then, without thinking, he extended the drum to him. Wei Wuxian looked surprised at the child and at the drum. Then, with the same warm smile on his face, he slowly reached out and took it.

While others were fussing over the two lovers, Wen Qing, Wen Ning, and Sizhui frowned when they noticed a dog bite on little A-Ying's arms as he reached for the rattle drum. When Jiang Wanyin saw this, he also cursed silently. Even though he is still upset, it was really a wise decision to send his puppies away.

“So what about this? Are we supposed to pity Wei Wuxian now?” Another unidentified cultivator, annoyed at what he sees on the screen. Lan Wangji glared at him, gripping the hilt of Bichen tightly. 

“I don’t need anyone’s pity.” Wei Wuxian says flatly and places his hand on top of his lover’s hand. 

“Zewu-jun, the silencing spell might come in handy right now,” Jin Zixuan says to Lan Xichen. He's been silent since he arrived, observing the interactions, but he can't stand how some of these stupid cultivators try to provoke the Immortal and Wei Wuxian. What was the point of provoking them?

Jiang Wanyin concurs, saying, “Damn right.”

Lan Wangji, Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi, and Lan Xichen took note of Jin Zixuan’s words.

The screen flashed once more. Snow fell from the sky in Yiling. The bustling city was illuminated by golden streetlights. People were going from stall to stall looking and buying foods and other things. Some were out and about in Yiling with their friends and family.

“Fireworks are going off! Move out of the way, those from below!” A man yelled, and the temple was filled with the sounds of firecrackers.

The explosion confused and startled the cultivators. They were also perplexed by what they were seeing on the screen right now.

“What’s happening?”

“What is the immortal showing us?” 

The cultivator whispers.

“Happy New Year!” Someone in the crowd shouts happily.

“Wishing everyone happiness and prosperity!”

“Best wishes! May all things go well for everyone!”

"Happy New Year!” 

The excited shouts continued. People were walking here and there, shouts echoed in the streets, and the flashing lights of the firecrackers combined with the streetlights were overwhelming.

This made the cultivators dizzy, especially Lan Qiren. There was far too much going on in a single scene. How much more will there be in the next one?

The screen then shifted, focusing their attention on a child kneeling in the dirt in a dark street alley, trembling and clutching his stomach in hunger. He looks up and sees a swarm of people from afar. He then squints his eyes a bit, the bright lights blinding his sight. 

When they saw Wei Wuxian, some of the cultivators began to move away from the screen. He looked quite decent in the second scene, despite being filthy, but he looks far worse in this one. He had fresh dog bite scars on his thin and bony legs.

Wei Wuxian tightened his grip on his robes. He remembered all of it, and it still haunts him. When Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze stayed close to him, Wei Wuxian sighs in relief, The parents gripped their son's hand tightly in comfort. 

“Hot steam buns!” Yelled a shopkeeper. “Freshly prepared steam buns! Steam Buns! Hot and fresh steam buns! Ay! Have a look! Freshly made steam buns! Steam buns!” When the shopkeeper sees Wei Wuxian aimlessly walking around, the shopkeeper smiles.

Jiang Yanli and Wen Qing exchanged worried looks. Wei Wuxian had just emerged from the dark alley, cold, weak, and hungry. They wished they could simply enter the screen and offer him food. Lan Wangji made it a point to spoil him more when this finishes. Jiang Wanyin, however, decided he would treat Wei Wuxian better.

“Hey, young man!” The shopkeeper calls out to Wei Wuxian and waves him closer to the shop. "Say, would you like a hot steam bun?" The shopkeeper asks softly and Wei Wuxian really wants to, but he reluctantly shakes his head.

“You brat! You need food! Look at you! So pale and thin!” Wen Qing yells, and Wei Wuxian runs behind his Father's back.

“Look, I was a little embarrassed to accept okay? I don't even have anything to give back to him!” Wei Wuxian retorts. Jiang Wanyin gives him a stern look. Wei Wuxian really made a rule in his head that every offer, or gift requires a pay back.

“Listen to the doctor, Wei Wuxian,” he chastised, but with no heat. Wei Wuxian looks at his brother and gave him a teasing smile.

“Aw, Chengcheng cares about me.” He raises his palm to cover his lips. 

“Shut up! And who are you calling Chengcheng, huh?!” 

“Chengcheng!”

“Shut up, Wei Wuxian!”

Jiang Yanli couldn't help but giggle as she leaned into her husband's frame. A lot of things happened that caused his brothers' bond to fray, but at the end of the day, they will always be brothers. Jin Zixuan puts his hand around Yanli's waist, drawing her closer to him.

“They're noisy.” Zixuan whispered to her. 

Yanli nods her head. “Yes, they're like this all the time.”

“It’s fine. I’m not hungry,” the boy responded, but his stomach grumbled. “Well, that’s-” He tried to come up with an excuse, to say something, yet he could not think of anything. He was caught lying.

“You’re not hungry?” The man asked again and laughs. “I can hear your stomach growling from here! Here, this bun will be given to you as a gift. What kind of filling do you want?” He smiles fondly at Wei Wuxian.

“R-Really?” The boy's eyes glowed with hope. He was about to say something when he sees someone, a woman, who seems to be the shopkeeper’s wife, that came out of nowhere. 

“Hey!” The shopkeeper's wife interrupts. “Do you believe our family is so well-off that we can do this? Xiao Bao is starting school next year, and we haven't saved enough money yet!” The wife chastised and Wei Wuxian looks down in embarrassment. He should not have hoped to be given food for free. But he was so hungry that he just wants to give in and accept it. 

Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze really regretted leaving that inn to go on a night hunt. They should not have accepted that request for assistance knowing there were cultivators nearby. They could have been exploring the world and watched their son grow into a fine young man.

Yu Ziyuan watched the scene, silently scowling as she remembered the first week Wei Wuxian stayed at their home. She starved him for a day as the mere presence of him in her home irritated her. Wei Wuxian didn't even complain or ask for food from anyone in the house. He just stayed in his room, and of course Yanli noticed his brother was not present at the dining hall, so she brought him soup, and he was overjoyed. Tch, he really troubles Yanli to cook for him. 

The disciples on the side begin to congregate and whisper something that the cultivators do not understand.

“I will definitely buy Senior Wei Emperor's Smile as many as he wants,” Jingyi declared, crossing his arms.

“Do you have enough money for that?” Sizhui asked, raising his brow.

“Of course, Young Mistress and I will split the bill.”

Jin Ling’s brow twitched. “Who says we'll split the bill? You were the one who suggested buying him Emperor's Smile as many as he wanted. Take responsibility for that.”

“You're so cruel, you don't want to buy Senior Wei Emperor's Smile?” he asked, fluttering his eyelashes, and Jin Ling nearly vomits. He did promise to himself to spoil Wei Wuxian, and Wei Wuxian loves Emperor smile. If he and Jingyi had to split the bill, he could. 

“Fine,” Jin Ling sighs. “But I'll still get him something too.”

“Same here, but I'm at a loss for what to give to Senior Wei,” Ouyang Zizhen casts a glance at Sizhui. “Do you have any recommendations, Sizhui?” 

“As of now, none, but I'll come up with something. Let's finish this conversation when we get out of here,” he says, to which everyone nods.

Nie Mingjue shakes his head as he heard the disciples. He, like Jin Zixuan, has remained silent on the sides. Nie Mingjue glances at Lan Xichen for a moment before averting his gaze. For now, he will stay silent until he needs to say something.

The shopkeeper's wife notices Wei Wuxian and turns to face him. “Where did this little beggar come?” She looks at Wei Wuxian once more before her face contorts in disgust. “Aiya, so filthy! Shoo! Don't get in the way of our work!” 

“Oh, I'm sorry,” the child said quietly, bowing to the couple before fleeing.

“No!" exclaimed Jiang Yanli and Cangse Sanren. Lan Wangji decided that he will look for a steam bun shop and buy both the shop and the food for his lover.

“Hey, hey! Kid, wait!” The shopkeeper calls him again and run towards him. “Wait!”

“Huh?” Wei Wuxian looked back. The shopkeeper comes to a halt in front of him and kneels. He smiled as he handed him a bun. 

“Here is a bun. I promised to give you one. Go ahead, eat it.”

“Wait, what are you doing?!” Exclaimed his wife.

“Thank you; it is fine. I'm not really that hungry,” the boy said again, brightly smiling. He returns the bun to the shopkeeper's hand and bows before fleeing.

Staring at the boy’s back, the shopkeeper stands and sighed, “Aiya, it's New Years. The child is well-behaved; he isn't bothering anyone for food. What's the harm in giving away a bun?” He says as he returns to the stall.

Wei Wuxian gave the man in the screen a wide smile. Even if he was like that, that man was nice, sweet, and willing to give him a steam bun. He wondered if that man is still alive, probably older now, or maybe even dead. 

Jiang Fengmian recalled Wei Wuxian refusing the things he gave to him, but as a stubborn man too, he did not accept the gifts being brought back to him, so Wei Wuxian was forced to accept all of it.

“I can't walk any longer,” the child sighed, leaning against the wall to keep himself from falling to the cold ground. He was trembling all over and is beginning to feel dizzy. He hadn't eaten in days and he was really starving.

“If I were there, I would’ve given him food,” A female cultivator comments, earning multiple nods from other female cultivators. 

“You’d really waste your money to buy a food for a beggar like him?” A cultivator huffs. The obvious mocking tone made the female cultivators glare at him. 

“Women should only focus on buying courting gifts for their significant other,” says another cultivator, who scrutinizes the female cultivators from head to toe. They shivered and backed away, but one female cultivator remained in her place. She fixed her gaze on the man, her aura cold and strict.

“I'd rather buy food for a poor child as many as he wants than buying courting gifts for a narrow-minded man like you,” a couple of female cultivators smirked at the two men, some of whom burst out laughing. The two cultivator's face flushed with rage and scoffed.

Then Wei Wuxian heard voices of two people approaching. “I'm too full to eat any more of this,” a lady said, holding a steam bun that looked hot and delicious.

“If you can't, don't force yourself to eat it anymore! We don't want to make that child in your belly uncomfortable,” her husband laughed, then turned to look at Wei Wuxian. He was staring at the steam bun that they were holding. “Hey, little beggar! Come, come!” The man calls him over.

“Come over here, little boy,” the lady said as she smiled and waved at the child. “You can have this bun.” 

“Thank you very much!” The boy smiled brightly and ate the hot steam bun right away. As the child eats, the couple smiled at him. The child looked so innocent, kind, and warm that the couple believed his smile could dispel all evil and troubles from the world. Despite his situation, he managed to smile, so blinding that they hadn't seen such a smile in anyone's lips.

“How does he keep smiling like that?” Nie Mingjue says, looking over at Wei Wuxian.

“Wei-Xiong was born with a smile on his face.” Nie Huaisang observes Wei Wuxian. Then he shifts his focus to the cultivator who piqued his attention—A cultivator who is laughing silently at Little A-Ying. He despises cultivators like him. Should he plan another assassination for people like him?

The couple then walked off, leaving Wei Wuxian in the middle of the street, happily whispering to each other, “I wonder if the one in my belly will be as handsome as that boy,” she says softly.

“Good looking or not, it’s still our child, right?” The man says, smiling. “As long as they can grow up safely, it's fine. What more can we ask for as parents?”

Wei Wuxian paused in his eating when he heard that. He looks at the couple's back, shoulders slumped. ‘Father.... 'Mother....' he thought sadly. 

“Don't worry, we'll never leave you again,” Wei Changze reassured his son.

“Please,” Wei Wuxian says, leaning into his father and smiling. He could feel warmth all over his body. He wished to have this moment forever.

Cangse Sanren then winks at his son, “Then we can plan another wedding for you and Second Young Master Lan.” Lan Wangji, Madam Lan, and Qingheng-jun, who were in the vicinity of the Wei Family, hears her. Lan Wangji's ears turned pink as he watched his and Wei Wuxian’s parents nod at each other.

“Should we plan another wedding when we get out of here?" Madam Lan looks at Cangse Sanren.

“We should,” she says, smirking as she notices her son's pink cheeks.

“Mother, there was never a wedding celebration,” Lan Wangji says, earning furrowed brows from their parents.

“There was not?” Qingheng-jun looks at Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren. They shook their heads, confirming Lan Wangji’s words. 

“We did three bows already, but there was no celebration; we……eloped,” Wei Wuxian fumbles with his sleeves. Why is he suddenly embarrassed? He was the one ‘shameless’ one, he should have said it with pride.

“Huh, that's not so bad; why are you embarrassed?” Cangse Sanren pats his son on the back. 

“Well that’s—” He didn’t get to finish his words when they heard a scream from the screen. A huge dog came out from the dark alley.

“No,” Jiang Wanyin and Jiang Yanli whispers, recalling their brother's fear. Lan Wangji and the disciples quickly turned their heads to Wei Wuxian, who hugged his parents even tighter, shaking in fear despite the fact that the dogs were only on the screen.

The dog growled, saliva dripping from its mouth corners. The dogs' pitch-black fur made them stand out even more against the snow.

Wei Wuxian steps back, trembling. "Stay away," Wei Wuxian said, shaking his head. “Stay away!” He yelled, and the dogs pounced. 

And all of a sudden, the disciples realized, 'His fear of dogs made so much sense.' They became increasingly concerned about their Senior. Their hearts racing as they turned to face him.

“No!” screamed a swarm of cultivators, terrified for Wei Wuxian. Jiang Wanyin and Jin Ling clenched their fists as they stared at the screen. Jin Ling has come to a decision to send Fairy away when Wei Wuxian is in his vicinity. 

“Zewu-jun, you should prohibit dogs from entering Cloud Recesses,” Jin Zixuan suggests to Lan Xichen.

“Don't worry, Father. That rule is already on the Wall of Discipline,” Jin Ling says, his gaze fixed on the dog on the screen, and Jin Zixuan then places his hand on his son's shoulders.

“That’s good then.” 

“Help!” He screamed, and the dog bit his other leg. “Help! Go away! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! I’ll give you the bun. Stop!” He kept screaming, begging for help, but there were no signs of people around him.

“L-Lan Zhan!” He screamed as he heard another growl. Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze let go of their son to allow him to reach for his husband. Lan Wangji then cradled Wei Wuxian's head in his chest and tightly hugged him.

“Wei Ying, I am here,” he says quietly, and then repeats it multiple times. Sizhui, Wen Qing, and Wen Ning felt sad - their hearts broke for him, wishing they could also offer comfort and help to little A-Ying.

“Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan..” 

“Mn. I am here, don't worry.”

Jiang Wanyin should not be envious, but he is. Before, Wei Wuxian calls for him, he was the person who protected Wei Wuxian from dogs, and he was the person Wei Wuxian sought when he needed comfort, but he was replaced by Lan Wangji so easily. This should not matter because they were now husbands, they comfort each other; Wei Wuxian could still seek his help and comfort, but they were still awkward with each other. Perhaps in the future he will be able to comfort and protect him as well.

Blood dripped down from where its teeth had sunk into his legs, pooling the ground dark red. Wei Wuxian thrashed and screamed as the dog bit so hard. The leg that had been bitten by the dog had turned violet red. The dog so much bigger than Wei Wuxian that the dog easily flings him around, asserting its dominance.

Then Wei Wuxian was slammed into the ground, crying out in agony. The dog let go of his leg and bit his arm hard. It appears to have bitten and broken his bone as well. Suddenly, he could picture himself dying at any moment if no help arrives. 

“It's so amusing that the Yiling Patriarch is afraid of dogs; I can understand beasts, but this?” The body of the unknown cultivator shook as he laughed. He tried to cover his mouth with his hand to muffle the sound, but he couldn't. He couldn't stop laughing.

“Right?! How unfortunate the dog didn’t finish him of!” Another cultivator joined, mocking Wei Wuxian. Under the dangerous stare from Baoshan Sanren, he was forced to shut up.

“Agreed. Maybe I'll get a dog soon and train it well,” says another cultivator with a smirk.

“We can buy a much larger one. No, a spiritual dog would be preferable to a common dog.” Another cultivator joins too and snickers at Wei Wuxian. 

Those who cared about Wei Wuxian shot everyone who mocked him with cold, and murderous glares. This sight is enough to make the disciples pee in their pants. Their glares said it all: ‘No one is allowed to make fun of Wei Wuxian.’

Then, Zidian sparked.

'Oh no, Sect Leader Jiang is furious!' The disciples shivered. They all turn to look at Lan Wangji, and if Sect Leader Jiang was enraged, their Hanguang-jun was far worse. It was a miracle their Hanguang-jun did not draw Bichen and cut their arms

Lan Wangji calls out, "Sizhui, Jingyi."

“Yes Hanguang-jun?” They said simultaneously. They were terrified, but they realized what Hanguang-jun wanted from them.

“Remember their faces,” he orders coldly, and the two disciples nod firmly before turning to face the cultivators 

'Don't tell us Hanguang-jun is going to go after them soon?!' Some disciples shivered at the prospect of their Chief Cultivator going on a killing spree.

Jingyi stuck out his tongue and waved goodbye to the cultivator, as if he knew he'd die soon in Hanguang-jun's sword.

“Children,” Cangse Sanren calls, and the disciples turn to look at her.

“I'll reward anyone who can remember all of the cultivators who mocked my son. Expect that I will give you anything you want.” With a smile that looks like she will kill you if you don't agree to her words, the disciples nod vigorously, slightly intimidated but determined. Seeing Cangse Sanren’s smile, some cultivators shuddered. 

'You too?! Hanguang-jun is more than enough!'

Then, the disciples' gazes were drawn to the crowd. With watchful eyes observing them, those who mocked Wei Wuxian were forced to shut their mouths…for now.

Then someone appeared. “Da Huang! Da Huang!” The dog’s owner calls, and Wei Wuxian could finally breathe again, relieved that help had arrived.

“Oh, thank God,” Jiang Yanli said, trembling. Jin Ling tightens his grip on his mother's hand.

Jin Zixuan glances at Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian had been his classmate in the past. They were never friends or enemies, but they did fight once at the Cloud Recesses, which was his fault bad-mouthing Yanli. He completely regretted being such a jerk in the past.

In terms of cultivation, they were either equal or Wei Wuxian was far superior. Looking back, it never really occurred to him that Wei Wuxian would be afraid of dogs, though fear of bugs he could understand. Seeing his classmate like this, he felt like doing something too. And maybe he will soon. 

“Help me!” Wei Wuxian screamed.

Another cultivator snorted unconsciously in delight, and Jingyi overheard. He quickly turns around, not allowing the disciple to see his face, but Jingyi has already seen his face and stuck a tongue out at him.

“Let go!” the man shouted, and finally, finally, the owner was able to get his dog off Wei Wuxian. He lies on the ground, trembling, lying on his own blood. Seeing this, the man’s face contorts in disgust. Wei Wuxian's cheeks well up with tears as he reaches out to the man for help, but...

The man paid him no attention and did not even extend his hand to help him.

“Aiya, really,” sighed the dog owner. “Go back now, Da-Huang! I look away for a second, and you go and cause trouble for me! It's a good thing it's just a small beggar. What would you expect me to do if you bit someone's child and their parents came over to cause a scene?” He yanked the dog away. The man cast a final glance at Wei Wuxian before departing. 

“Why are you leaving him?! Help him!” Wen Qing was becoming frustrated and helpless. As a doctor, the sight of an injured person itched her hands. She wanted her hands to work, to treat little A-Ying, but all she could do was watch the man abandon him in the cold snow. All she could do was lash out at him.

“Jie, please calm down.” Wen Ning consoles his sister. He, too, shares her sister's sentiments.

Jin Ling mumbles, “I hope that man is dead,” but Yanli hears him.

“A-Ling, do not speak like that.” Yanli reprimands. 

“Sorry A-Niang.” 

Jingyi leans over Sizhui and whispers, “You know, I kinda agree with Young Mistress.” Ouyang Zizhen lightly punches Jingyi's arm to silence him.

Wei Wuxian trembled on a blood-splattered patch of snow. Wei Wuxian sniffed as he wiped his tears, and sat up slowly, hissing and wincing in pain. Then he shifted his gaze to his side.

“Oh, the steam bun!” He crawls over to get it and takes another bite. Rather than being upset about what happened, he concentrates on his food, savouring its taste. 

A new smile forming on his face, he says, “It’s good!” Tears fall again down his cheeks.

Another brave soul was about to open his mouth and speak up when he felt his soul leave his body as a swarm of eyes glared at him, daring him to speak up. Baoshan Sanren's lips quirk slightly and she shifts her gaze to the screen.

“Oh, A-Ying,” Cangse Sanren murmurs. Wei Changze embraced his wife as she sobbed once more. Even as Lan Wangji cradled his lover, Wei Wuxian couldn't stop shaking, but Lan Wangji kept whispering to him, assuring him that everything will be alright and nothing bad will happen to him.

Lan Qiren suddenly had a thought. What if he found Wei Wuxian first? What if his nephew dragged Wei Wuxian to the Yiling inn where they stayed? What if Wei Wuxian ended up in the Cloud Recesses? Lan Qiren imagined a little child running through the Cloud Recesses pathways, his rowdiness bringing laughter around, his smiles brightening the Sect's cold ambiance, his creative mind amusing and impressing others, and his shamelessness and bravery in breaking rules, angering the elders, he could feel the amount of headaches just imagining it.

He casts a glance at Wei Wuxian. He has hated him for a long time because he does not follow and breaks rules, and he is reminded of Cangse Sanren every time he looks at him. When he changed cultivation, his hatred for him grew even stronger. But, he had been proven innocent three months ago when Jin Guangyao’s crimes were revealed. As a result, his feelings and thoughts about Wei Wuxian became more complicated. Perhaps seeing Wei Wuxian’s memories might help him reorganize his thoughts. 

Madam Jin sympathized Wei Wuxian even though she disliked him. ‘How could Wei Wuxian keep smiling after being attacked by a dog?’ she kept thinking. ‘How can Wei Wuxian not be upset with the dog owner who abandoned him?’ It makes no sense at all. People are born with resentment hidden within them; seeing little A-Ying like this, she felt this kid didn't have any resentment held in his heart; he's just....innocent and pure. It felt as if the world didn't deserve him.

Winter had come to an end, and seasons started to change. It was now summer. People here and there were working, there were also children playing around. Then a watermelon vendor announced.

“Watermelons! Watermelons, freshly picked! Huge and delectable! Come try a bite!”

The buyer in front of the stall hummed contentedly as he ate his sliced watermelon. After finishing his watermelon, the buyer looks at the seller and grinned. “You grow the sweetest watermelons after all! This year's summer has been extremely hot! I've only been pulling a cart for one trip and I'm already drenched in sweat! Hey, give me another slice!" The buyer says, and the seller immediately gives him another slice.

Then, the seller leaned in close to the man, whispering, “Hey, when you're done eating, don't just throw away the peel. Place it there.” The buyer looks over to where the seller had pointed. Then he continues, “There's a kid who goes around collecting them to eat.”

The man raised a brow. “A kid?”

“A very cute kid!” Nie Huaisang exclaimed cheerily.

“Yeah, a little street urchin. Well behaved and likes to smile.” The seller smiles when he notices someone. “Oh, look, he's here.”

Lan Qiren and Yu Ziyuan’s brow twitched at that. Wei Wuxian was far from a well-behaved person, but here, he was still a beggar, not the grown up mischievous Wei Wuxian. 

It was Wei Wuxian, much older now, but his clothes were just as dirty as before. His body remained thin and pale. 

Observing him, the cultivators gasp in horror when they realized that the number of scars of bite marks on his body seemed to double, and he also had wound infections.

Wen Qing and a few of the cultivators cursed under their breath.

“Here,” the watermelon vendor said, as he hands him the watermelon rinds. 

Wei Wuxian's eyes light up and smiles. “Thank you very much!“

‘Huh, he really does like to smile. Born with a nice face too. If I’d known about that, I’d have left a few more bites for him.’ Thought the buyer, who had turned earlier to look at the child. 

“Mn, Wei Ying is beautiful.” Lan Wangji says proudly and Wei Wuxian flushes. 

Hiding in his husband’s chest, he responds, “Lan Zhan, warn me will you? My poor heart can’t take it!” 

“Mn.” He nods, but Wei Wuxian knew Lan Wangji is not gonna warn him, ever. 

Another year had passed, and winter had returned, with snow falling from the sky and blanketing the ground and surroundings in a white. The scene brought them in the back of an alley. Then, they heard loud growls. Four large, wolves towering over the trembling Wei Wuxian. 

“No, no no…” Yanli whispers as she shakes her head. This thing that cornered her brother now were not common dogs. They were wolves. 

“Get away! Run!” Mianmian exclaims, and then realized that Little A-Ying can’t hear him. 

The wolves corned the trembling child slowly, saliva drooling in the corners of its mouth. Wei Wuxian's eyes welled up with tears as he tried to scoot further away, but he was too weak, too paralyzed by fear, to move. When he saw a small rock nearby, he grabbed it and threw it at the dogs, desperate to get them to leave.

A small rock, on the other hand, cannot scare or injure a dog. Because of the Wei Wuxian's weak arms, the small rock only landed on the floor about a meter away from the wolf.

“Please make this stop, I can't watch this anymore...Please, please, please..” Wei Wuxian pleads. He began crying and trembling again after calming down. The same as before, Lan Wangji embraced him tightly and kept whispering to him.

The cultivators stared at the large wolves. They had long and large teeth, their fur blacker than night, and their glowing yellow eyes staring hungrily at Wei Wuxian. The chances of escaping these predators, especially if they were in a pack, were extremely slim. Wei Wuxian could die if no help arrives.

Jiang Wanyin, Jin Ling, and Jin Zixuan froze as they watched the large wolves approach little Wei Wuxian. As they love dogs, common or spiritual, they tend to forget that there are wild dogs too, such as wolves. Seeing this, they couldn’t help but clench their fists. A common dog can bite, but a wolf can consume an entire person. 

The largest wolf took another step closer, and Wei Wuxian wanted to move, wanted to get away, but there was no escape route. Then, two more came from behind an alley, and so on until there were six wolves staring down the trembling child.

“Fuck, why are there no people around?!” exclaimed Nie Mingjue. “Of all the people in Yiling, no one crossed their path in that alley?!”

“It looks like an abandoned alley,” Wen Ning says, shaking slightly, terrified for his friend, but he knows he will be fine.

“Their growls are loud enough for people to hear; why weren't there any people checking around?” Madam Jin became more annoyed, her brow furrowed.

Jin Zixuan responds to his mother with a sigh, “Assuming there are no cultivators or hunters around, it's obvious that no one will venture out and chase those wolves away.”

He had a point. 

Wei Wuxian continued to shake his head. He'll die, he'll die, he'll die, he'll die, he'll die, he'll die, he'll die, he'll die, he'll die! He can't die now! His parents will return and look for him; he can't give up!

Jiang Fengmian sighed with relief. This was the moment when he found him. But he frowned, and the repeated words, 'He'll die,' did nothing to help them. Was this Wei Wuxian's thoughts in this scene? Did he really thought he'll die?

Half of the cultivators flinched, frightened. Their hearts were racing, and even though they knew nothing would happen to him since Jiang Fengmian found him, they were worried and afraid for him.

“Someone save him, please..” Sizhui pleaded, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes, praying for someone to show up and chase those wolves away. He doesn't want to see his Xian-gege bitten again, let alone eaten by wolves. Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen stayed close to him, squeezing their friend’s arm.  

Forcing himself to stand, the wolves growled again. He looked over, only to fall to the ground as the wolves pounced.

“No!!” Several cultivators cried out again. The loudest one was Nie Huaisang. Lan Wangji’s jaw clenched. When will this end? 

“Wei Ying!”

Wei Ying immediately looked away, covering his face with his little arms. He waited for the wolves to bite him off, but they never came. Instead, the wolves' growls were replaced by whimpers. When he lifted his eyes to look over, the wolves were gone, and a person was now standing protectively in front of him.

“Fengmian..” Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze sighs in relief. 

“A-Die!” Yanli cheered and Jiang Wanyin felt like a heavy weight had been lifted in his shoulders. 

“Fengmian, thank you…Thank you so much..” Wei Changze and Cangse Sanren bow to him, and Fengmian reciprocates. Yu Ziyuan gave the couple a sidelong glance before turning away. They won’t be thanking him anymore. They will most likely be enraged by the scenes they will witness soon. 

The man turns around. The Jiang clarity bell on his waist swayed lightly as he knelt before Wei Wuxian. Relief is evident in his face, then he smiles. “Don’t worry, you’re okay now. You must be A-Ying.”

Perplexed and befuddled that someone recognized him, he asked, “You are…?” 

“Ah, my name is Jiang Fengmian, and I am a friend of your parents,” he responds, surprising Wei Wuxian even more. He looks at the man's face, trying to recall if he's ever seen him with his parents before.

Wei Wuxian dared not to hope. This man could be deceiving him. However, the man in front of him looked at him with so much familiarity. “You…know my parents?” 

“I do. Your father is Wei Changze, right?” He inquires softly, and Wei Wuxian is taken aback.

“Yes!”

Wei Changze smiled at Jiang Fengmian, as well as Wei Wuxian who appeared to have calmed down. 

Lan Wangji then lets go of Wei Wuxian. He turns to the Jiang Patriarch and Matriarch and bows before saying, “Jiang-shushu, Yu-Furen, thank you for raising me and providing me with a home. I'll never be able to repay you.”

‘There he goes again with the repay’, Jiang Wanyin clenched his jaw. Then he looks at his mother, who seems to want to say something, most likely to scold or to badmouth him again. Without hesitation, he approached his mother's side and gripped her wrist tightly. The unexpected contact startles Yu Ziyuan. She turns to face his son, who shakes his head. She immediately understood his son’s intention, so Yu Ziyuan scoffed. After a few seconds, she turns to her son again. Looking up, she realized he is now taller than her and exuded the aura of a great leader with authority. She couldn't help but feel proud.

“There's nothing to pay, A-Xian,” Yanli responds with a smile. Wei Wuxian fixed his posture, his eyes still rimmed in red. He looked at Jiang Wanyin and gave a wet smile.

Noticing Wei Wuxian's hunger, he pulls out his qiankun pouch and pulls out a fresh sliced watermelon. “A-Ying, do you want to eat this?” 

Wei Wuxian’s eyes lit up. “Watermelon?”

He held out the sliced watermelon to him. “I bought it for you. Do you want to eat it?”

“Yes! Thank you very much!" He quickly accepts it, slowly eating the watermelon to savor the flavor. A moment later, Jiang Fengmian spoke.

“A-Ying, why don’t you come back to Lotus Pier with Uncle? There are a lots of delicious foods there. Right now, lotuses are in season. The seeds are very sweet, as tasty as watermelon. You’ll definitely like it.” 

The Jiang siblings nodded, and some cultivators who had not visited Lotus Pier yet wondered if they could go and try the famous lotus seeds as well.

Wei Wuxian was taken aback once more. He passed many people in Yiling, but no one bothered to offer him shelter for a short time, not until this uncle appeared in front of him. "R-Really?" he asks almost in hushed tone.

“Really. I’m not lying to you. Come, I’ll take you home.” Jiang Fengmian extends his hand, and Wei Wuxian looks at it, still unable to believe he is being taken home by a friend of his parents.

With a soft laugh and bright smile, Wei Wuxian nods. “Okay!” He takes Jiang Fengmian's hand and in a split second, he is hauled into the man's arms. Witnessing Wei Wuxian’s delighted and relieved expression, Jiang Fengmian chuckles. Both then left the alley.

Jiang Wanyin recalled his father bringing Wei Wuxian home while he was playing with his puppies. Wei Wuxian cried and clung to Father’s arms when he saw the puppies and was then immediately consoled by him. Jiang Wanyin was envious at the time because his father did not carry him like that ever since his core manifested. Yanli noticed the change in emotion on his brother's face. She grabbed and squeezed his hand to comfort him. He looks at his sister who smiled at him. He’s glad she’s here now. 

Cangse Sanren, Wei Changze, Lan Wangji, and the disciples smiled at the sight of delighted Little A-Ying. It’s relieving to see his smile again after everything that has happened.

“I also have a son called Jiang Cheng. He’s around the same age as you. He’s a great kid, I’m sure you can become good friends.” Jiang Fengmian’s voice starts to fade as he walks away to the alley. Then the screen flashed, and everything turned black. 

“Huh? Is that it?” 

“We are finished?”

“I thought we were gonna see more.” 

The disciples tried to keep their voices low so that their complaints would go unheard. Unfortunately, the Immortal has acute perception, and she huffs in amusement.

“That’s all for now. The screen will flash again in a few moments with a new scene, so be patient,” she says before turning to face the cultivators. “All right, let's talk about what we've seen.”

“Sure, let's talk about it. What does the earlier scene have to do with proving Wei Wuxian's innocence?” A man crossed his arms, clearly irritated.

“Well, we needed to see how Sect Leader Jiang saved Wei Wuxian first,” Nie Huaisang responds. “I'm referring to the previous Sect Leader Jiang,” he adds.

“And? We only saw Wei Wuxian being bitten by dogs and some shit. It would have been preferable if the dogs had finished him off.” Lan Wangji’s head snapped quickly towards the man. He is tempted, he really is tempted to draw his sword out and cut his tongue.

“Yeah. Without Jiang Fengmian saving him, he was as good as dead. How fortunate.”

“Right? If that's all I'll be able to see for a while. It would have been preferable if I hadn't been dragged here."

“But if we hadn't been dragged here, we wouldn't have known the Yiling Patriarch's fear. We can use it as an advantage!”

“Oh yeah, I’ll adopt a dog soon. A ferocious spiritual dog.” 

The men cultivators went on as if no one was paying attention to them. Half of the cultivators, including Baoshan Sanren were glaring at them. Enraged, Lan Wangji's hand begins to shake, and the veins in his jaw and forehead begin to bulge. Jiang Wanyin was much worse, Zidian crackled and extended, his face dark. 

“Shut up, shut up!” Jiang Wanyin hissed angrily.

“I suggest you all stop if you want me to seal your golden cores.” Baoshan Sanren warns, her tone strict and cold. 

"How arrogant of you, Immortal, to flaunt your power like that,” a man remarked. They really did not fear the Immortal at this point.

“Respect the Immortal!” Nie Mingjue’s voice thundered throughout the temple. Now that they had chosen to disrespect the Immortal, it’s was time for him to speak. Some of the cultivators flinched, startled by his voice. 

“Let me remind you that the person you're speaking with is a legendary immortal cultivator, not an ordinary cultivator. She has the ability to kill you at any time if she so desires,” Nie Mingjue adds.

Baoshan Sanren gave a bitter chuckle, “I'm flattered, Sect Leader Nie, that you think so highly of me.”

“Of course,” He then bows to her.

Nie Huaisang is standing next to his brother, his fan covering half of his face. His timid demeanor had vanished, replaced by a cold one. Before, he killed cats in a gruesome fashion in order to lead the disciples to Yi City. He was not even sorry for what he had done. If he needs to order someone to kill every dog in the cultivation world to protect his friend, he would, and will do it. 

“My Grandmaster is too kind to do that, Sect Leader Nie Mingjue, but I suppose I'd be happy if she did.” Cangse Sanren said stonily. Hers and Wei Changze expression turned dark and murderous.

“You'll expect worse from me, child.” Baoshan Sanren responds, her hand shining gold again. But then, the surroundings darkened and they shuddered. They could sense whips of resentful energy coming from a specific person.

“I won't let you do that, Immortal, but I am willing to,” Wei Wuxian’s whole demeanor changed. His voice was dark and full of venom as his head was lowered. Tendrils of black smoke encircled his body, as if they're protecting their master from anyone. When he glances up, his eyes are already red, the corner of his lip lifted up. “Torture them of course.” he finishes and Lan Wangji paled.

“Wei Ying, no.” 

“Wei Wuxian, don’t!” 

Wei Wuxian was aware that there were still those who despised him and wanted him dead. Normally he wouldn't care about someone making fun of him, much less bad-mouth him, but the cultivators were going too far. He couldn't focus on them earlier because he was crying and trembling in fear, but now that he's calmed down, he strides towards them, only to be stopped by his husband.

“Lan Zhan, let go,” he says darkly, not looking at Lan Wangji.

“Wei Ying, no.” He pleads. 

“Lan Zhan.” He repeats again, his tone even darker, warning him to let go.

The cultivators shivered, especially the juniors. This was no longer Wei Wuxian, but the Yiling Patriarch.

Cangse Sanren, Wei Changze, Jiang Fengmian, and Yu Ziyuan were at a loss for words. The black smoke surrounding Wei Wuxian…..there was no mistaking it, it was resentful energy.

“Wei Wuxian!!” Yu Ziyuan yelled, and everyone flinched. Wei Wuxian was startled by the loud noise and turns to Yu Ziyuan, who is now approaching him but is being held back by Jiang Wanyin and Jiang Fengmian.

“San-niang, don’t—”

“You are really a disgrace to the Jiang Sect! You dared to use resentful energy?!” She thrashed, desperate to escape his son's and his husband's grasp. She wanted to slap Wei Wuxian, punish him for switching cultivation, but Cangse Sanren, Wei Changze, Lan Wangji, Wen Ning, and the disciples stood protectively in front of Wei Wuxian.

“Yu Ziyuan, you're yelling at my son right in front of me,” Cangse Sanren grits her teeth. Despite the fact that he and his husband are as perplexed as Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan, she was not about to see his son getting slapped and yelled by her. 

“He's practicing demonic cultivation! He will tarnish the name of—” A loud slap made everyone stop. All of the cultivators widened their eyes. The disciples, on the other hand, had their jaws dropped.

“You will say that when we see everything. I’m sure my son has his reasons.” She says and Jiang Wanyin flinches, which did not go unnoticed by her, but decided to let it aside. Yu Ziyuan touches her cheek before glaring back at Cangse Sanren.

“Cangse Sanren!” she shouts once more.

Cangse Sanren also exclaimed, “Yu Ziyuan!” 

“San-niang!” 

Could not hold anymore, Lan Wangji steps forward. “Whether Wei Ying is practicing demonic cultivation, and you wish to punish my husband for it, is none of any Yunmeng Jiang Sect's business.” Lan Wangji says coldly, glaring at the Jiang Matriarch. He will not tolerate this woman's behavior. If he has to attack her if she dares to land a hit on his husband, then he will do so without hesitation.

Yu Ziyuan turns to him. “Lan Wangji, the second young master Lan, dares to speak to me in this manner?” Yu Ziyuan smirks and continues, “Whether Wei Wuxian is your husband or a member of the Gusu Lan Sect now, we raised him and have the right to—”

“With all due respect, Yu-furen, please refrain from bringing up punishment for my son's husband. We have no idea what happened,” Qingheng-jun is frowning but he said it calmly. Even Madam Lan, Lan Qiren, Lan Xichen, Madam Jin, Nie Mingjue, and Wei Changze all frowned to the side, not liking the way she is treating Wei Wuxian. Madam Lan was so tempted to ask as to how such an aggressive woman could be Jiang Fengmian's wife.

Jin Ling had heard rumors and claims in the Lotus Pier that his Grandmother, Yu Ziyuan, and Grandfather, Jiang Fengmian, were not in good terms, frequently fighting. According to some, Jiang Fengmian did not love Yu Ziyuan, which is why they always argued. Some also claimed that his grandmother was abusive, particularly at Wei Wuxian, punishing him for an apparent reason or not. Jin Ling finds this difficult to believe, but seeing his Grandmother now accusing Wei Wuxian upsets him.

It's understandable that she's upset because she does not know everything that happened after Lotus Pier's demise, but for her to treat his uncle like this, he wants to protect him, speak for him, but what good would it be if he chose to speak now?

Jiang Wanyin had enough. He sighs tiredly, “Mother, she is right. Wei Wuxian had his reasons,” Jiang Wanyin's face contorted with guilt. Behind Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian lowered his head. His red eyes turned back to purplish grey, and the tendrils of black smoke had faded.

“What could be his motivation for going so far as to switch cultivation?!” She argued. Patience dwindling, Lan Xichen steps forward too. 

“Yu-Furen, this is another matter to find out later, please be patient until we see everything.” The disciples gawked at Lan Xichen. The ever-smiling cultivator, Zewu-jun, was frowning!

Jingyi leans to Jin Ling and Ouyang Zizhen, and murmurs, “Damn, you owe me four golds, Zizhen and Young Mistress.”

“Why do I owe you 4 golds for?!” Jin Ling looks at his friend incredulously; he has no recollection of agreeing to a bet or anything.

“Why, what for?” Zizhen asked, confused as well.

“In case you forgot, you three made a bet two months ago on whether Zewu-jun will frown again in the future," Sizhui explains.

A Lan disciple incredulously stared at Jin Ling and Jingyi, “Bro, he just got out of seclusion.”

“That does not matter! I want my golds!” Jingyi protests. 

Zizhen felt the urge to roll his eyes, but did not do it. He turned back to Sizhui, “And then?” 

“Jingyi bet that Zewu-jun will frown again in the future while the two of you disagreed, so as you can see, you owe him 4 golds,” Sizhui further explains.

“Really?” Ouyang Zizhen paused for a moment, perhaps trying to recall their wager. Jin Ling, on the other hand, groaned.

“We do owe him, damn.” 

“The reason better be good. Demonic Cultivation is dangerous, it’s unorthodox. If—“ Yu Ziyuan paused as a sudden thought occurred to her. Her expression darkened. “This cultivation, it has something to do with Jin Zixuan and A-Li’s death, am I right?” 

Startled, Jin Zixuan shakes his head. “No, Yu-Furen—“ 

“Shut up, Jin Zixuan! I didn't ask you!” Jin Zixuan flinched.

Madam Jin was taken aback and scowled at her friend. “Yu Ziyuan, did you not only yell at Cangse Sanren's son, but also at my son?”

“Enough!” exclaims Baoshan Sanren. She'd had enough of the drama. She expected something like this to happen, but not to this extent. “The next memory will be in a moment. Further concerns will be put aside and will be discussed later.” 

Lan Wangji then turns to face his husband, caresses his cheek, and softly asks, “Wei Ying?”

“Lan Zhan.” He breathes out, suddenly afraid seeing his memories again. “Can I do this?” He leans into his husband’s touch. “Is this okay? Am I gonna be okay?” 

Lan Wangji, being the sweet husband that he is, smiled and nodded. “You'll be fine; I will be with you. I will not leave you.” He reassures.

Wei Wuxian is really lucky to have him as his husband. He supposes that as long as his husband and his loved ones are here, he will be okay. He will be fine.

“You're so good to me, er-gege.” He whispered. 

Lan Wangji kisses his forehead and responds, “Wei Ying is good to me too.”