Wei WuXian slumped at his table in the banquet hall from the night before, feeling every single one of his twenty-two (or thirty-five) years. The lack of sleep coupled with the amount of energy spent creating the phoenix and fighting off those archers had drained him more than he wanted to admit; he hadn't felt this weak since leaving the Burial Mounds. He wiped a drop of blood dripping down from his nose. Lovely. Just another sign that he overworked his body. A woman in black and red placed a pot of tea and two bowls of soup on the table with a slight bow. As desperate as his body was for sustenance, he pushed the bowls away. At Lan WangJi's inquiring look, he explained. "Do we know it hasn't been tampered with? It's not easy to poison almost five thousand cultivators who aren't drinking the same thing…. Someone, or several someones, in the kitchen must be in on the plot to kill us."

Lan WangJi pushed a bowl back towards his husband and then picked up his own to drink. "Did you forget? There are YilingWei disciples in the kitchen making food now…. You sent them." Wei WuXian blinked with blurry eyes at his love. Did I? "Eat," Lan WangJi encouraged. "You need the energy to deal with what's to come."

Wei WuXian picked up his bowl and drank; his sleeves swung with the movement, wafting the smell of smoke into his nose. "I need a bath," he muttered. "I stink."

The hall was filling up with cultivators, most of them looking hung-over with the after-effects of the poison. There was no order to their gathering; the strict seating and entrance rules of the opening and closing banquets were ignored. However, they left a wide gap between them and the YilingWei sect. It could be due to the Yiling Patriarch's power demonstration. Or a general distrust of the Patriarch's use of resentful energy. But it was most likely because behind the Patriarch, perched on the top of a chair that had been dragged into the hall for that purpose, sat the phoenix. The bird spit little plumes of fire at any cultivator not wearing the black and red who dared to go too close to its creator.

The hot soup warming his insides and giving him some energy, Wei WuXian looked around the hall paying special attention to the men and women who appeared to not be feeling the effects of the poison. He ignored Sect lead Ouyang who was alternately hugging his children and scolding them; that man didn't seem like the kind who would willingly place his children in danger. He also ignored the blustering Sect leader Yao; that man was too direct in his dislikes to use poison and ambushes.

Nie HuaiSang…. His former classmate sat alone at his table, fan barely moving. Was he the one? Rumors and innuendos and getting others to unwittingly do his bidding were his way of getting things done…. But does he want me dead? Is he really willing to potentially kill thousands to keep his position as a major sect leader? But then why the assassination attempts on ZeWu-Jun and Li MeiLi? Or Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing? And even killing me doesn't change the number of disciples in Sanctuary…. Unless the men in black were supposed to pretend to be YilingWei disciples? But then why were they just in black and not in the black and red?

That Jin elder who was trying to marry off his daughter to Lan XiChen…. What was his name again? Jin Lo something or other? Whatever his name was, he looked smug. But then, the few times Wei WuXian remembered seeing the man, he had also looked smug. Standing next to his beautiful daughter, who also looked like she had not ingested the poison, he looked… happy? This one may not be responsible for the poison nor the attempt at murdering me and Shidi, but I'm sure he's the one who ordered the assassination of Lan XiChen and Li MeiLi!

Wei WuXian scanned the room again. There was that young cultivator who wanted to persuade any Wen that he came across to confess their crimes before handing them over to the Sect leaders to judge…. Was he the one behind the attack on Jiang Cheng, Wen Qing, and Wen Ning? If so, he had overindulged in something as he looked extremely hung-over.

There was a disturbance in the group of cultivators and then two sets of short legs burst from the crowd to practically jump onto Wei WuXian. "XianGege! I was scared! I woke up and you were gone!" The little one rubbed his nose across Wei WuXian's shoulder leaving a smear of off-white goo behind. "Ugh!" he sniffed. "Gege, you smell bad!"

The older one used Wei WuXian as a stepping block to jump into Lan WangJi's lap. "Were you scared, too, Liu?" he asked gently.

"I wasn't scared!" Liu insisted even as she scrunched her body to fit better in the small circle inside his crossed legs. With an understanding mmm, Lan WangJi settled his daughter more firmly in his lap and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Are you hungry?" Wei WuXian asked. Without waiting for an answer, he twisted around to find the person who had served him soup earlier. "Can you bring us more breakfast? We're all quite hungry here."

Liu peeked over a shoulder to look at the bird who was looking right back at her. "HanGuJu? What is that?"

"It's a phoenix," he answered. "Don't worry. XianGege will keep it from hurting you."

"Can I pet it?" she asked, already reaching out a hand.

"I wouldn't just yet," Wei WuXian advised. "It's not tame…. And I'm not quite sure how to tell it you're…" The rest of his thoughts trailed away as the firebird ducked its head down to look Liu right in the face. The bird trilled softly as her little fingers stroked feathers on the side of its head. "I guess it likes you…."

Jin Ling limped into the hall and sat heavily in the seat reserved for the head cultivator. At a nod, an aide rang a gong grabbing everyone's attention. The boy looked younger than his fourteen years, and pale from loss of blood and exhaustion. "We've compiled lists of the dead and the captured," he began.

"Who are you to proclaim yourself Chief Cultivator?" a voice from the crowd yelled out.

Jin Ling sat up as straight as his wounded side allowed. "Who am I? I am the Sect leader for the LanlingJin! I am the master of Koi Tower! People were attacked in my home. Fellow cultivators were killed in my home! People tried to assassinate my uncles and aunts and friends! Who else has the right to sit here?"

Jin LongWei strode to the center of the room. "Any of the Jin Elders has the right. It is our home, too. You are just a boy. Move away and let the adults do the talking."

Jin Ling leaned forward. "I am to allow the Jin elders to rule in my place? I, the Sect leader, am to step aside from my position simply because of my age? I think not! Who are you to tell me to step away?"

"You!" Jin LongWei shouted! "You are as insufferable as your father!"

"Perhaps," Jin Ling pouted. "But my father never resorted to murdering someone simply because he married someone else's daughter!"

"I've never murdered anyone!" Jin LongWei insisted.

"Ordered the murder, then."

The two began bickering over the attempted assassinations and who was, and was not, responsible. Wei WuXian looked down at his son gnawing on a chicken leg, at his daughter still enraptured with the phoenix, at the tables where the Lan and Jiang Sect leaders should be sitting, at the crowd of cultivators getting more and more agitated as allegations flew. I don't want to be here. Then he looked at his husband. I don't think I've ever really wanted to be here. I know I don't belong here. "Lan Zhan?" he called for the other's attention. "Let's go home." Lan Zhan nodded his agreement, and the four got up. Wei WuXian signaled to Lan SiZhui to follow.

"Where do you think you're going?" a stern voice called out.

"It's the bad man," Liu whimpered and hid her head in Lan WangJi's neck.

Lan WangJi saluted as best as possible, given that his arms were full with his daughter. "Uncle," he murmured. Wei WuXian just nodded his greeting to the Lan elder.

"Where are you going?" Lan Qiren demanded to know.

"We're going home," Lan WangJi answered for his spouse.

"Going home?" the elder scoffed. "You cause endless trouble. Hundreds are dead because of your arrogance," he pointed an accusing finger at the Yiling Patriarch. "And now that there's a mess you made, you leave for others to clean up!"

Wei WuXian bristled at the accusation. "Are you really trying to imply that I did this? I'm the one who ordered my own assassination? That I would arrange for the murder of my brother? Or ZeWu-Jun? That I would arrange for my son and nephew to be poisoned? What kind of monster do you think I am?"

Sect leader Yao stepped up. "Why would you balk at murdering your brother or brother-in-law? You allowed your own sister to be murdered right in front of you! Had this assassination attempt worked, you'd be in a perfect position to become emperor! You inherit the YunMengJiang Sect, and HanGuang-Jun inherits the GusuLan Sect. You might even finesse a way to inherit the LanLingJin from your nephew. Add in your Demon's Lair disciples and whatever is left of the Wen, and you have all the power you could possibly want."

"Wrong," Lan WangJi interjected, switching Liu to one arm so he could hold back Wei WuXian from punching the loud-mouthed Sect leader with the other. "If this attempt had succeeded, we'd be dead, too. Then there would be no clear successor to the GusuLan, the LanLingJin, the YunMengJiang, the YilingWei, or the Wen Sects. Which leaves four of the five major Sects in disarray." As that logic processed its way through the crowd, eyes turned to the only major Sect leader who had escaped the previous night unscathed.

Nie HuaiSang stood slowly. "I had nothing to do with the events of last night. I did not order any assassinations," he asserted in a clear voice, so unlike his normal stuttering, fawning, humble actions. "I will admit to learning about the Demon's Lair before almost everybody here. I will admit to ordering my aides to discretely release this information because this is something we all deserved to know. I will admit to knowing that Wen Qing was alive and under the protection of the YunMengJiang Sect before she was presented to this assembly as Jiang WanYin's wife.

"I will not admit to anything further. I have no incentive to kill LanGe or Jiang WanYin; their deaths get me nothing. And I'm the one who stole the Yiling Patriarch from Meng Yao! I'm the one who persuaded Mo XuanYu to use his suicide to resurrect Wei WuXian instead of releasing Wen RuoHan back into the world! Why would I kill my best friend after working so hard to bring him back to life?"

"You?" Wei Ying whispered. The final missing pieces, assumed and now confirmed, of his resurrection fell into place. "How? What?" he sputtered.

Lan Zhan squeezed a warning hand on his husband's arm. "Later, Wei Ying. Let's just go." Wei Ying turned accusing eyes to his spouse. You knew! Lan Zhan lowered his own eyes in acknowledgement.

"Even if you're not guilty," Lan Qiren stated pompously, "You have an obligation as Sect leader to stay and judge the guilt or innocence of the accused."

Wei WuXian sighed wearily. "And after we find someone guilty, what does that achieve? Does it magically make ZeWu-Jun's legs work again? Does it stop my brother from looking like an archery butt after a competition? Does it make the innocent men and women who died last night alive again?

"I've seen what passes for judgement from you all! I've been convicted over and over without proof, or even a trial! I've seen the men and women hanging from the walls of Koi Tower who were guilty of nothing more than having the wrong last name! I have no interest in taking part in a sham trial where he who speaks loudest must be right!

"But if it's justice you want…. SiZhui, JingYi: take the children, pack your things and then go to ZeWu-Jun." Wei WuXian waited until the youngsters left the hall before he turned to the Jin elder who had been harassing Jin Ling earlier. "You there. You wanted your daughter to marry ZeWu-Jun, right?"

Jin LongWei raised himself to his full height. "My Ying'Er has spent years learning how to be the perfect wife for Lan XiChen!"

"So… it's safe to say you were rather upset at his announcement last night?"

"My Ying'Er is the perfect wife for him! Not that… that… incompetent…"

"Careful, there…" Wei WuXian warned twirling Chenqing. "That's my disciple and sister-in-law you're disrespecting."

"Disrespect? That woman is nothing but disrespectful!"

"So… if she had died last night, you wouldn't be sad at all…."

"Sad? I would have been happy! She was supposed to die!" Jin LongWei blurted out.

Wei WuXian stopped playing with Chenqing; the noise in the hall died down at this pronouncement. In the silence, everyone could hear Jin ChangYing whisper, "Father… what have you done…."

"You ordered the murder of ZeWu-Jun and Li MeiLi," Wei WuXian confirmed.

"Yes!"

Wei WuXian looked around the hall. "My obligation as Sect leader is to determine guilt or innocence? Well, then... I find you guilty of attempted murder." He waited in vain for someone to protest. "I sentence you to death!" Chenqing let out a few clear notes; still perched on its chair, the phoenix ruffled its feathers and launched into the air. Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi pushed their way through the dumbfounded crowd and left the hall, ignoring the screaming and the crying, ignoring the sudden odor of burning flesh.

Once outside, Wei WuXian took in a shaking, cleansing breath. It didn't help. I haven't changed anything. "I was right, wasn't I. He's dead, and your brother still can't walk." He shoved Chenqing into his belt. "I need to be alone for a while. I'll meet you at LanXiChen's in a bit, OK?" He looked up as the phoenix flew overhead, screaming in satisfaction or hate he didn't know.

"Wei Ying…." Lan Zhan whispered, pleading. His love was hurting, and didn't want his company.

The younger man smiled. "Later, you can hold me until your arms hurt. You can come inside me until we can't move anymore. You can love me so fiercely that I can't even remember the color of my hair. But right now, I need to be alone. I… I just murdered a man, Lan Zhan. I've never done that before…."

"Which is why you shouldn't be alone!" Lan Zhan insisted. "Let me stay with you. Just be with you."

Wei Ying leaned over to rest his forehead against his husband's shoulder. "An hour. At most. Give me an hour to think, and I'll be with you. Please." He didn't wait for an answer or permission; he just walked away. And ended up outside the still smouldering ruins of his room. Other than the metal box where they hid, everything was burned.

"How did you survive this?"

Wei WuXian gingerly picked his way through the debris to pick up the box. "I turned this into a qiankun pouch/box ö and we hid in here until the YilingWei disciples arrived." Looking inside, he could see Suibian still lying on the base of the box next to the pallets Lan WangJi had stuffed in for the children to sleep on. He looked up at Nie HuaiSang as he walked out of what was left of the room. "Why did you bring me back?"

"You have to understand," the younger man begged. "I was desperate to punish Meng Yao for murdering my DaGe. I'm not strong like you…. I can't stand up there in front of everybody and make them listen to me. I… in the process of finding out his crimes, I discovered what he and Su She did to you….

"You didn't die in the Nightless City, WeiXiong," Nie HuaiSang shivered, either at the memory of seeing his friend lying pale and lifeless in a dingy cottage or the sight of the phoenix circling almost lazily above them. "The fall didn't kill you. Over those thirteen years, your body had healed itself except for... I don't know what was still damaged. By the time I found you, you seemed perfectly fine except you wouldn't wake up. I sent for the best healers I could find, and they couldn't wake you, either. And there was Mo XuanYu going more and more insane every day. Mo YuanYu was so anxious to die and kill the people who hurt him…. He wanted to hurt the entire cultivation world! I couldn't wait any longer for you to finish healing on your own…." Nie HuaiSang took a deep breath to fortify himself. "I persuaded him that the Yiling Patriarch was far more evil than Wen Ruohan, that you would destroy every sacred institution we have in your quest for restitution…. He believed me.

"That morning... we brought you to Mo Manor and I suffocated you. And then he performed the suicide spell which would bring you back to life and force you to kill his enemies. He got what he wanted: the death of his family. And I got what I wanted: my friend back."

"Is that really what you wanted?" It was the Yiling Patriarch who smirked at Nie HuaiSang. "I think it far more likely that I was incidental to your desire to expose and execute MengYao."

"Can't I have multiple reasons for doing things?" Nie HuaiSang pleaded. "I needed to avenge DaGe, and I wanted my friend back. And I really did not want that Wen RuoHan resurrected."

"You're smart enough that you could have found a way to expose MengYao and Su She without using me as your tool for revenge," the Patriarch's voice was cold with fury.

"Perhaps WeiXiong is correct," Nie HuaiSang bowed his head in repentance. "And perhaps he isn't. What's done is done and I won't apologize for my actions."

The Yiling Patriarch's demeanor became even icier. "Do you want me dead now? Is that why you released rumors about Sanctuary?"

The younger man paled. "No!" He insisted. "I don't want you dead! Just… I can't let QingHeNie fail! I'm already losing our younger cultivators to other clans. With you as a Sect leader, I'll lose them even faster! And with Demon's Lair having so many disciples already…. The Nie Sect will fade into obscurity. I can't dishonor my ancestors by letting their hard work and accomplishments fade into nothing through my inaction! I can't disrespect my ancestors by refusing to teach cultivation using the sabers and I won't endanger my successors by teaching it! I'm destroying my Sect and I can't stop it!"

"So your solution to saving QingHeNie is to destroy YilingWei? Power and influence wax and wane. That is normal. That is the way life is designed! Yet you are saying that what once was powerful must always remain in power? No! My friend…" the man in black sighed heavily. Somehow Nie HuaiSang could see that it was now Wei WuXian in front of him and not the Yiling Patriarch. "We fought a war to stop that belief…. Shidi… it's not disrespecting your ancestors to put down the sabers because they cause qi deviation and death. It's acknowledging their history and protecting your future. Honor your ancestors by continuing to teach the saber to those who want it, after explaining the costs. Show them all the sword barrows and how you must fill the walls with corpses to appease the blade spirits. Explain why you're moving your cultivation basis. And then hire a sword master and teachers who can train your disciples in the sword path. You dishonor your ancestors by stubbornly clinging to a path that, while it was proper a hundred years ago, is no longer viable and will only bring your Clan to ruin."

Nie HuaiSang hung his head at the scolding. "Do you hate me Wei Xiong?"

Wei WuXian smiled, but the smile did not touch his eyes. "I don't hate you…. I'm not sure if I like who you've become, though…. I do thank you for my life."

"You don't have to thank me, WeiXiong; you would have woken up on your own eventually. I… I…." The younger man fanned his face a bit faster. "I did miss you, you know. I cried for days when you fell off that cliff and I thought you were dead. I cried tears of joy when my spies reported they'd found you alive."

"Oh, that reminds me… Who took care of me back then? I would like to thank them."

"I don't know," Nie HuaiSang admitted. "The villagers all called her LaoNiang. I begged her to leave with me when I took your body; she refused. I stopped by her home again after you met up with HanGuang-Jun at Dafan Mountain, and she was gone. Her neighbors say she just disappeared one night. I hope she just left. But I also think that if Jin GuangYao ordered her execution, he would have made it look like she just chose to leave on her own."

Wei WuXian placed a hand on Nie HuaiSang's shoulder and squeezed gently. "I need to go, now. Lan WangJi is worried." He smiled at the younger man. "Get your house in order, eh? Come visit me in Sanctuary after the first snow."

Nie HuaiSang ducked his head. "I will do as you advise, WeiXiong. And I will hope the snow comes early this year."

Wei WuXian chuckled. "So will I, my friend." And with a heart a tad bit lighter than it had been just a few minutes earlier, he walked towards his loved ones and his future.

A/N; LaoNiang means maternal grandmother