Changes:
Mix of "The Untamed" episodes 42 & 43 with Chapter 14 of "Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation".
Lan Zhan carries Wei Ying in his arms, not on his back.
Wei Ying is not comatose for those 4 days following the stabbing. Instead, he fluctuates in consciousness while Lan Zhan cares for him.
Aftermath
Wei Ying thought that the stabbing didn't hurt at first, but his adrenaline rush was draining. A moan escaped his lips and blood rushed out of his paled mouth. Nearly all his olive color had faded, his entire body was trembling in Lan Zhan's strong arms. Lan Zhan called his name, and Wei Ying tried to keep his heavy eyes looking up at him before they rolled back closed. His head dropped backwards but Lan Zhan shifted so that Wei Ying's head rested against his chest instead. He could feel Wei Ying's shoulder blades and spine through the robes.
Lan Zhan remembered remarking that Wei Ying's face did look thinner. He needed to get Wei Ying help immediately.
"Where are we going?" Wei Ying asked him.
Lan Zhan replied, "Where I should've flown you to thirteen years ago."
On Bichen, he flew to Cloud Recess.
The Quiet Room
In his house, a.k.a. The Quiet Room, Lan Zhan was heading towards his antique day bed when Lan Xichen barged in behind him, hopping off his sword and sheathing it. At the sudden ambush-like noise, Lan Zhan reflexively aimed Bichen at his brother before recognizing him. This move nearly forced him to drop Wei Ying's legs draped over that arm.
"Xiongzhang!" He gasped.
Lan Xichen must have mounted Shuoyue soon after Lan Zhan fled with Wei Ying. The two brothers assessed each other, both concerned. Wei Ying coughed and his breathing grew more labored, hoarse, while a fresh trickle of blood dripped down the corner of his mouth. Lan Zhan tore his gaze away from his brother and made to step closer to his bed when Lan Xichen finally spoke.
"You're putting yourself at great risk. You know what your actions look like to everyone back there." Lan Xichen warned him softly, "You're throwing your reputation away and turning against all of the cultivation clans for him."
"My actions? You think I care how they see them? Now?" Lan Zhan spat. "Forget about me! If I'm no longer welcome here, I'll take him elsewhere!"
But nowhere was safer than Cloud Recess if Lan Xichen sheltered them. He knew not to test his younger brother's threat. He shook his head – of course his doors would never close to his family.
"Here. Let me help you." said Lan Xichen, extending his arms to take Wei Ying's lower half.
Lan Zhan was relieved, silently reprimanding himself for doubting his brother's dependable generosity and kindness. Lan Zhan was an emotional wreck on the inside and barely holding it together on the outside. He needed his brother's serenity and grace more than ever. As Lan Xichen was helping lower Wei Ying onto the bed, Wei Ying hissed at the change from being supported by one man to two. He gasped and choked as more blood dripped out of his mouth as he fought weakly to hold onto more of Lan Zhan, harshly twisting away from Lan Xichen. All the while calling out to Lan Zhan in a weak, pitiful voice.
"Never mind. Stop. Give him back," Lan Zhan said hurriedly, unable to take the sound of Wei Ying whimpering.
Wei Ying trembled harder in Lan Zhan's arms and only weakness made his hands drop when he was laying on his back on the bed. His eyes rolled around beneath heavy lids, his breathing more ragged than ever from pain.
"He's very pale," Lan Xichen observed. "We need to operate immediately to prevent further blood loss."
Lan Xichen retrieved the emergency supplies stored in Lan Zhan's house without needing permission. Anything was 'a go' with Wei Ying. There were hundreds of absorbent cloths, suture material, and a wide range of medications. Lan Zhan gulped; his throat had gone dry at the sight of Wei Ying laying barely conscious on his own bed. Wei Ying was trying so hard to keep his eyes open, and he kept muttering Lan Zhan's name as though he couldn't see clearly.
"I need to see his whole abdomen." Lan Xichen asked for Lan Zhan's assistance, "Help me take his robes off, at least from his torso."
Wei Ying looked at Lan Xichen with horror and weakly struggled to fight him off.
"You're not Lan Zhan!" Wei Ying recoiled from him. His efforts made the blood spill faster from his wound with each painful shove and kick, crying out, "Go away! No! Stop! Don't touch me!"
Lan Zhan hated the sound of Wei Ying's fearful cries as much as he hated restraining him. When Lan Xichen checked Wei Ying's forehead, he found it was hot to the touch.
Lan Xichen shook his head while applying pressure to the wound with an absorbent cloth, "He doesn't recognize us. His fever must be confusing him –"
"Wei Ying, look! I am right here." said Lan Zhan, firmly squeezing Wei Ying's hand.
Wei Ying paused when Lan Zhan spoke, his eyes searching in the direction of that deep voice and met his eyes with a smile that would be beaming had he not been so pale, before finally submitting. Lan Zhan stroked Wei Ying's head, Wei Ying's eyes closing at the gentle touch. Only then could those obstructing layers of robes be untied and removed efficiently. Either Lan Zhan had reassured him, or he had exhausted himself from resisting. Or both.
Lan Zhan flinched at the sight of Wei Ying in nothing but his undergarment. Wei Ying's stomach was sunken along with his ribs, his hips and collar bone were protruding … he could even see the point of the breastbone. The candlelight cast dark shadows, highlighting his hollow cheeks more.
"Has he always been this skinny?" Lan Xichen asked with concern.
Lan Zhan shook his head, "He's almost as bad as he was before… before he …"
Before Wei Ying died.
He reprimanded himself for not keeping an eye on Wei Ying's food consumption. He must be stricter about that.
As though Lan Xichen could read his brother's mind, he consoled, "You can bring a mule to the trough but can't force it to drink."
Lan Zhan agreed with an 'mn'. Lan Xichen gently pulled Wei Ying's trembling hand away from the stab wound on his stomach, and Lan Zhan held it securely at bay. Wei Ying was shaking so much from pain and cold that it resembled convulsions.
"Jin Ling cut deep, but not to the opposite side. I still need to rule out abdominal organ damage." Lan Xixhen commentated as he examined Wei Ying's wound.
Lan Zhan followed every instruction Lan Xichen gave him, applying pressure no matter how much Wei Ying recoiled and whimpered.
Wei Ying repeatedly muttered the same words quietly, "Lan Zhan, it hurts. It hurts, Lan Zhan."
"He needs anesthetics." Lan Zhan said, disgusted by restraining Wei Ying like this.
"He's not stable enough yet." Lan Xichen explained. "If I knock him out now, he might not wake up again."
So Wei Ying had no choice but to endure his wound being examined, sterilized, and bandaged while awake. Lan Zhan did what he could to reassure him, responding to his whimpers with "I'm sorry" and "I know". It didn't seem like Wei Ying was fighting against Lan Zhan intentionally, more like he was involuntarily striking out against him anytime the pain peaked. By the time Lan Xichen was finished, Wei Ying was completely spent of energy. His convulsions of pain had collapsed to a weary shivering of exhaustion.
Lan Zhan stroked Wei Ying's head again, telling him the worst part is over.
"He's stable for now," Lan Xichen prognosed. "So, we can start administering the medications."
Both Lan brothers' hands were soaked in Wei Ying's blood. Lan Xichen washed his hands before bringing a fresh bowl over for Lan Zhan, because Wei Ying would grab at him if he strayed too far. He helped support Wei Ying while Lan Zhan administered the first dose of medication by mouth. Wei Ying took it without question, desperately, because it was Lan Zhan giving it to him.
"May you bring me a fresh set of bed clothes?" Lan Zhan asked his brother.
While Lan Xichen searched the wardrobe, Lan Zhan quickly ran a warm moist towel scented with sandalwood all over Wei Ying's nearly naked body to clean him as best as he could. He would need a proper bath once he recovered. Lan Xichen must have thought the bed clothes were for his brother because he turned around very quickly when Lan Zhan started removing the rest of Wei Ying's clothes. Lan Zhan sighed at the overall thinness of Wei Ying's body but did not miss a beat redressing Wei Ying in a fresh set of his personal bed clothes. They were extra baggy on Wei Ying but they were at least clean and dry.
Lan Zhan glanced over his shoulder up at his brother's back, "I'm finished. May you help me change the bedding set?"
Lan Xichen retrieved a fresh bedding set as requested and replaced the bloodied set with it while Lan Zhan cradled Wei Ying in his arms again. Wei Ying was so deeply asleep from the pill he had taken, perhaps even Lan Xichen could have held him without upsetting him. Lan Xichen always knew his younger brother as someone who loathed to be touched and therefore rarely initiated physical contact himself. But Lan Zhan has broken many rules before, both personal and clan, all for Wei Ying. It was with the utmost care and gentleness that Lan Zhan tucked Wei Ying into his bed.
Lan Xichen observed Wei Ying sleeping soundly, painlessly, in his brother's pajamas, in his brother's warm bed. He wondered where Lan Zhan would sleep, as the bed would be a tight fit for two grown men. Some part of him resented Wei Ying for the care Lan Zhan performed and Wei Ying never seemed to reciprocate. It was impossible to Lan Xichen that Wei Ying didn't know how Lan Zhan truly felt about him. Wei Ying looked so peaceful compared to the frightened young man Lan Xichen had helped only minutes earlier.
"He was so afraid of me." Lan Xichen reflected aloud, sadly. "He counted me among those who want him dead."
"I am grateful to you, Xiongzhang." Lan Zhan then shook his head, "Don't take offense."
"I'd never harm him, especially while the truth is so unclear." Lan Xichen said, downcast. "The fever and trauma of the attack must be confusing him, making him fear everyone … well, everyone except you. He must have trusted Jin Ling wouldn't hurt him like this …." Lan Xichen sighed. "This medication should heal the wound quickly, not even leave a scar behind. You brought him here just in time."
"You helped him just in time." Lan Zhan highlighted, standing too. "Thank you."
"However, the rest of Wei Ying's condition is still troubling – malnutrition for starters." Lan Xichen gestured at Wei Ying's sleeping face peeking above the blankets, particularly at those very hollow cheeks. "Our medication may be advanced, but it'll still take a few days. It's contraindicated for him to go any longer without food."
Lan Zhan nodded eagerly, "I'll go to the kitchens immediately."
He then paused mid-step, trapped between needing to retrieve more supplies for Wei Ying and being afraid to leave his side. Not to mention he didn't know how the rest of his sect would react to his presence. He did not know if word had reached Cloud Recess yet that the feared Yiling Laozu had officially returned. Not only had he returned but he was vulnerable, wounded, an easy target to be eliminated again. He set his foot down, that turmoil evident in every facet of his face.
"Stay with him. I'll go for you." Lan Xichen offered.
Lan Zhan shook his head, "But you don't know what he likes."
"He's going to need something more substantial than Emperor's Smile." Lan Xichen teased for a moment before being serious again. "Something nutritious, easy to eat and digest. Congee would be the best option."
"That's low in calories. Most of our food is." Lan Zhan complaiend. "It's difficult to gain weight on our clan's diet. But see what we have for sweets."
Lan Xichen nodded, "I will. And I'll add dark leafy greens and red meat to the congee. That'll raise the caloric value."
"Make it spicy." Lan Zhan told him. "Add in whatever the kitchen has."
"He'll be entirely reliant on you for now." He appraised Lan Zhan's own condition, "But don't neglect your own needs. You're not made of stone, Wangji. You're looking thinner, too."
True to his word, Lan Xichen returned about an hour later with enough food, toiletries, and more medical supplies for two men. Lan Zhan organized those supplies in his bedroom which had turned into a temporary hospital ward for Wei Ying. Lan Xichen was the last to attend to himself, now that his brother was prepared for the task at hand.