CH38

'Wei Ying come down!'

Lan Zhan shouted for about the fifth time that evening, and again he got completely ignored. Wei Ying had been drinking for most of the afternoon and was now completely drunk out of his mind. However, as Wei Ying normally did, the man had decided just being drunk wasn't making enough of a spectacle of himself and found his way onto the roof of the JingShi. Now his drunken husband stood, wobbling but semi stable, on the pinnacle of the roof looking down at him. Wei Ying's eyes were red and wide and the grin on his face seemed as if it was fixed there. He was waving his hands as he spoke to someone who wasn't actually there, the wine bottle in his hand waving dangerously as if it would go flying any moment. Lan Zhan tried again.

'Wei Ying come down!'

This time Wei Ying spun round and wobbled precariously before rebalancing himself automatically. Lan Zhan's heart slowly got itself back into its normal rhythm. Tomorrow was the day his brother had invited Sect Leader Jiang to to the Cloud Reccess. He had not mentioned that he would be meeting his brother, however of course Wei Ying knew what would be expected. Wei Ying, who still felt the hurt of being kicked out of the home he had been raised in, the only home he had known. Wei Ying who had been betrayed by the only siblings he had ever known, the only family he had ever had. Wei Ying who had seen his own brother there that night at YiLing when everyone was trying to kill him and spent the last few years knowing his younger brother didn't even try to look for him. Yes…...his husband knew who he was meeting and why….and that's why he was now drinking himself stupid on the roof.

Giving up on trying to get his husband down from the roof by shouting. Lan Zhan leapt up on the roof himself and wrapped his arms around Wei Ying trying to get his attention. Wei Ying didn't squirm in his embrace so he pinned him to his side with one arm and reached out with the other. Removed the waving bottle of wine and placed it down on the roof in a way it wouldn't topple off. They were at their own home so even if the bottle did fall it would only make a mess in the courtyard instead of hurting anyone. Wei Ying spun round, as much as he could in the firm grip, his face red with the wine, and kissed Lan Zhan on the cheek. Lan Zhan looked sideways as Wei Ying began giggling stupidly. With a small sigh Lan Zhan tightened his grip and launched them both off the roof, dragging them both hastily through the front door.

Once inside he let go of Wei Ying automatically while he shut and locked the door, partly for privacy and partly to keep the other man from wandering outside in his current state. By the time he turned around Wei Ying was already leaving a trail of clothing behind him as he headed towards the bed as he muttered too quietly for him to overhear. Lan Zhan always found the that tone of voice alluring, and the semi clothed Wei Ying made his heart race and always made his desire rise. Tonight though he was well aware that all Wei Ying needed his comfort rather than other attentions. Tomorrow they would, himself, Wei Ying, Jiang Cheng and both his Uncle and brother, would all sit down and soothe some of the problems of the last few weeks.

Late into the night Lan Zhan was woken up by a noise. As he turned he found Wei Ying still asleep but had somehow rolled out of his grip and was sprawled on the other side of the bed. Before he could move, the words coming out of his husbands mouth and the tears running down his face in his sleep made him freeze.

'Uncle Jiang...dog DOG!...help me help please!...Jiang Cheng...i'm not a monster...i'm not ...your my brother...you hate me...Madam Yu...you can hit me all you want but please let me stay...no don't throw me back out on the streets...pleaseee.'

There seemed to be a pause as the nightmare Wei Ying was caught in faded. Lan Zhan could feel the tears falling down his own cheeks. His loving and honest husband had gone through so much and was now being forced to face it all again. Wei Ying might act as if nothing could get through his thick skin but Lan Zhan knew just how much of a defence mechanism that was. This wasn't the first time he had woken up to such nightmares. Leaning over he took Wei Ying's still form in his arms and pulled him close to his chest for both warmth and comfort, before settling back on the bed himself. Just as Lan Zhan was dropping back of the sleep he heard the soft voice of Wei Ying again, this time not full of panic but still full of fear.

'Lan Zhan...Lan Zhan...please don't leave me!'

Lan Zhan stroked Wei Ying's head to soothe whatever nightmare he had walked into now, as he spoke gently but firmly.

'Never!'

Jiang Cheng had arrived at the Cloud Recess an hour before and been offered some tea in a side room before he had been guided into Lan XiChen's office. The letter he had received had been simple but had explained that the man would tell him everything he knew about the attack as well as something important for him to know. He was currently still stood in the private office with the Sect leader of the GusuLan and one of the most famous Elders in the world, it wasn't exactly the most comfortable of places to be. That fact that Lan QiRen had been his teacher in the months he had spent at Gusu, as well as the one who had disciplined him when he had done something wrong, normally at the instigation of his elder brother, didn't exactly make the feeling any more relaxing. The door opened, providing at least some noise, and in walked another Lan he wasn't exactly fond of, Lan Zhan. It surprised him though when Lan Zhan paused, turned round and walked back outside without greeting anyone, then he returned with his hand on the wrist of someone else.

The second man looked like another Lan disciple, he wore the Lan headband (although a darker blue than normal) and the white robes, almost exactly the same as the other three. But something about the fourth man was different from the others….he looked familiar to him….but the man stubbornly kept his head lowered, refusing to speak or raise his head. Lan XiChen cleared his voice and Jiang Cheng turned his head to the Sect leader expecting to hear what he had been invited here for.

"Sect Leader Jiang' Lan XiChen began 'I know you are probably confused as to why I invited you here, as you still have a lot of healing to do back at YunMeng.'

Jiang Cheng just nodded agreement.

'We will speak about the attack in a moment I promise, but first there is something you need to know.'

Lan XiChen nodded towards the unknown fourth person in the room and Jiang Cheng glanced back towards him. Lan Zhan prodded the man who shook his head slightly before receiving another prod in return. At this silent argument Lan QiRen tutted, letting his annoyance show without actually opening his mouth and Jiang Cheng felt himself wanting to laugh at the absurdity going on in the room. That was until the man reluctantly raised his head. The Lan browband was new, the hair was longer and the face was a few years older….but he would never forget that face. That face that belonged to the brother he thought had died years ago at YiLing. Before he realised he had moved he found himself barely two feet away from his brother, being stopped only by the physical barrier that was Lan Zhan.

'WEI WUXIAN!' he yelled, loud enough to make the walls rattle, and certainly enough to make Lan Zhan's ears ring who's head was only inches away from his mouth. Both brothers though were just looking at each other though, neither was looking at any of the Lan's, even the one stood between them. Jiang Cheng's voice was loud, quivering with emotion. 'When that man attacked us I didn't believe what he said, after all my brother had died years ago….the man must have been lying! But…..but….your here! Your alive! You have lied about being dead all these years, why did you attack us?'

Lan Zhan tensed up at the tone, stepping forwards, but Wei Ying put his hand on the others arm.

'No Lan Zhan it's alright!'

Lan Zhan just looked over his shoulder at his husband but Wei Ying nodded. Jiang Cheng was too confused and incensed to remember where he was.

'It's alright!' he echoed with astonishment. 'It's alright!….what part of this is alright? Sister has been mourning after you for years, yet you have been lying to us all. I wish I could say I was surprised but I should have expected such of you once you proved you can't keep your word and started cultivating the wrong path.' Spinning round to face the two elder men, again his anger getting the better of him. 'The Lan Sect have always placed themselves above reproach and yet you ruin your reputation for someone like him? Is it worth it to now be known as a group of liars and hypocrites and …'

'Enough!' Wei Ying didn't yell but he spoke with a tone sharp enough to cut through his brothers tirade. Before Jiang Cheng could respond he carried on. 'That is quite enough insulting Elders and a clan leader in their own home! Be mad at me all you want but don't involve them!.' Jiang Cheng was staring at him, mouth agape. 'You really think I would attack you? You think I would hold so little love for the place and people that took me off the streets, taught me to cultivate and raised me, that I would destroy the only home I had known? You and sister are the only family I had had before here….YOU might have decided I was demonic and worthless but I hadn't given up on you!' now Jiang Cheng's mouth was opening and closing without any sound coming out. But Wei Ying wasn't finished. 'Why should I have told you I wasn't dead? You were one of the people at YiLing trying to KILL ME! Why should I believe you were anything but happy I was gone? You have know right to know what I've been doing since then and certainly no right to moan about not being informed. You don't trust me…...that's fine…...I don't trust you either anymore. But the Lan's haven't changed since we were here for training so stop just thinking about your pride and start thinking with your head!'

Wei Ying's breathing was laboured as he stopped his monologue. Lan Zhan tried to reach out to him but he moved his hand slightly out the way, a subtle signal that he wasn't ready for any support right now. Jiang Cheng stood rooted to the spot, unsure what to do or say. This was the first time he had seen his relaxed and playful elder brother so furious, he had no frame of reference. The two elder Lan's simply stood waiting for the air to clear. They had known there would be an explosive reunion between the two brothers so Lan QiRen had put up a silence spell around the office as soon as his nephew dragged Wei Ying through the door. He was glad he had. Wei Ying's tirade had surprised them all. Wei Ying was normally so laidback and friendly is was easy to forget how many emotions he hid below the surface. Wei Ying himself stood silently now, hands curled up into fists and he fought to control both his feelings and breath. He had nearly blurted out that his sister had known all about him being alive since the beginning, but he didn't want to ruin her relationship as well.

After a few moments of silence Jiang Cheng open and closed his mouth a few times once again. It took him a few moments more until his brain had worked off enough shock to actually get words out but he eventually managed.

'You have ….all the time…...then you didn't…..who did?'

Lan XiChen smiled at the Jiang Cheng, as if he weren't being some stuttering oaf making no sense, and spoke politely.

'That is the second reason we called you here Sect Leader Jiang. There has been someone trying to create discord between the Sects, and we think YunMeng was part of the plan.'

Lan XiChen spoke for little under half an hour, explaining everything, not missing anything about Wei Ying's capture and Lan Zhan saving him. The strange man who appeared to both, the letter appeared supposedly from Jiang YanLi, the attacks on the other Sects and what they had put together so far. While he was speaking he pretended to ignore the dynamics in the room. Whenever he would mention Jiang YanLi, Jiang Cheng would either glance sideways at his elder brother with a look that didn't bode well for a future discussion or clench his fists. Wei Ying would either ignore the glances or stare right back, this in turn would lead Wanji to stare at Jiang Cheng as if he wanted to stab the man with Bichen or maybe just snap his neck with his bare fists. Watching all this obviously was making his uncle take deep breaths to control his temper from prevent himself from banging the younger three men's heads together.

Eventually though, with everything explained, Lan XiChen paused and took a sip of tea to moisten his dry throat. Jiang Cheng still held his look of one half anger and one half confusion. His brother and brother in law where standing to one side silent, so he decided to take another sip before speaking. Lan QiRen decided to speak up though.

'I am sure you two have a lot to speak about' Lan QiRen said in the tone he was famous for using in classrooms 'but, as you can see, right now there are a lot more important things to worry about than a family drama between two children who should be old enough to know how to act like adults.' He pinned his gaze on Jiang Cheng. 'You are a Sect leader, I expect you to place the welfare of not only your own Sect but all Sects before your own feelings and problems. Plus I think you can realise that Wei WuXian has more than enough reason to have problems with you that need to be redressed.' He then focused on Wei Ying and Lan Zhan. 'Both of you kept things from your family and your Sect leader, that information could have been helpful in protecting all Sect from this maniac.' Glancing around the room he spoke generally, his tone softening slightly. 'This person clearly wants to make the Sects work against each other and then step into the gap. I will not allow this to happen! So I suggest you all realise you are adults, with responsibilities for the lives of others in your hands. We have work together rather than split apart.

'Having made his speech he fell silent. His gaze still encompassing everyone in the room. Slowly, first Lan XiChen, then the others began nodding agreement. Some more reluctant than others.

'Good!' Lan QiRen said, the authoritative note remaining in his voice. 'Now we need to work out how to solve this. No one is leaving until we do!'