Something's Wrong

Wei WuXian laid back against Lan Wanji's broad chest, relaxing on one of the few times they had in the day to be alone. Normally one or both of them was teaching, in meetings, or just generally busy. Wei WuXian idly wound the long ends of his husbands headband round a few fingers one one hand were it intermingled with the dark colour of his own forming a kind of knot without either of them realising. Both men had their eyes peacefully closed, enjoying the relaxing heat of the summers day and the silence of this little section of Gusu that they had found years before.

'Senior Wei…..HanGuang Jun!….'

A voice shouting their names in the distance made them both open their eyes almost in unison.

'Senior Wei….HanGuang Jun!'

The voice was a little closer and more out of breath as if the person was running. But running was prohibited in Gusu so something drastic must have happened to make this person knowingly break the rules. Both men sat up and Wanji frowned slightly at the tug on his head as he realised the knot that had formed between the two ribbons round Wei WuXian's fingers. Wei WuXian for once didn't smile or tease but rather took diligently to the task of unbinding the two. It was only a matter of seconds before both men were once again separated and walking speedily towards the voice.

'Senior Wei…..HanGuang Jun!…...'

They could now hear the voice clearly enough to make it out as JinYi. One of the closest friends of both their adoptive son SiZhui and Wei WuXian's nephew Jin Ling. As they followed the voice round a large tree they spotted the junior disciple disapear round the corner, again shouting their names. Lan Wanji paused as if in frustration at chasing a junior halfway around Gusu. Wei WuXian just smiled and then cupping his mouth in both hands shouted.

'JinYi…..turn around we are back at the large tree in the square'

Wanji turned a glare to him as if to say 'I didn't know you could be that loud'…..Wei WuXian just laughed again at the expression on his husbands face and returned one of his own which could clearly be interpreted as 'you have made me scream often enough and you still don't realise how loud I am'.

Both men where forced to take there eyes away from each other when JinYi appeared once again around the corner. He was out of breath and obviously distressed about something, but upon seeing his two seniors he promptly fell into a formal bow and greeted as his training had taught him.

'Senior Wei…...HanGuang Jun' This time the words where not shouted in a panicked tone but rather said in the level formal tone of junior to senior.

Wei WuXian spoke up first.

'Stand up JinYi, its obvious you have something important to tell us otherwise you wouldn't have been shouting us for the last 10 mins.'

JinYi looked at Wanji and then quickly at the floor in embarrassment at the great HanGuang Jun seeing him in such a state. However when Wanji didn't say a word to admonish him for his actions he finally remembered the message he had been sent to deliver.

'Senior Wei, HanGuang Jun...ZeWu Jun had just received a message from YunMeng' JinYi was so involved in delivering his message that he missed Wei WuXian tensing up at the mention of the sect leader receiving a message from his old home. JinYi hurried on oblivious. 'There is something wrong in YunMeng, ZeWu Jun didn't tell me what it was but he told me to come and find both of you as soon as possible and to send you to the main hall'.

JinYi finally took a breath having delivered his message. Both Wanji and Wei WuXian looked over at each other with concern. Nodding to the JinYi they both turned together towards the direction of the main hall and walked as fast as their long strides would allow.

The main hall had returned to its normal state after the grandeur of the assembly weeks before. The tables had all been returned to their original places and all the blue and white decorative furnishings had been folded away in storage ready for when it was needed again. The place looked bland and bare, but that's the way the GusuLan Sect enjoyed their buildings. Upon walking into the hall both men halted. They had expected Lan Xichen waiting for them alone in the hall but instead stood not only Wanji's elder brother, and leader of the Sect, but also Lan QiRen and several of the Sects elders. Both men took a small glance at each other sharing the same thought, if this many of the top members of the clan where gathered in one place then whatever the message was from YunMeng it wasn't good.

Lan QiRen looked over at both men as they approached the others, as always his gaze on Wei WuXian did little to hide his distaste for his nephews cultivation partner. Without saying anything though he motioned for everyone present to sit. Both Wanji and Wei WuXian automatically moved to the end of the row, after all although Wanji was the chief cultivator for all the Sects his own Sect only ever treated him as before, and Wei WuXian never had any official title or power within the Sect in the first place. Surprisingly though Lan QiRen stalled them and beckond them to seats much closer to himself and Lan Xichen. Wei WuXian was begining to get a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach about what was going on, there was only one reason all the leaders and elders would want him in the room….he was the only one who knew YunMeng intimately, which meant…..

Wanji squeezed his hand gently in reassurance as Lan QiRen began to speak in his normal teachers tone.

'All of you are here because you will have something to add to this discussion. We have just received a message from Sect Leader Jiang of YunMeng. For the last few days there has been an illness going around Lotus Pier. No one is sure where it started but one thing is certain and that is that it only seems to attack Cultivators. Within a few hours of the contracting the illness a persons golden core seems to be affected.'

Murmurs could be heard around the room. A cultivators golden core was the essence of his very being, without it he was just a common person. The idea of an illness that actively attacked the golden core was the worst thing the cultivation world could imagine. Wei WuXian was to stunned by what he just heard to speak but several of the elders spoke up instead.

'If this illness only attacks cultivators then I find it hard to believe it is natural'

'I have never heard of an illness which focuses on ones golden core'

'Why did we not hear of this before?'

Lan QiRen raised his hands for silence and the whole hall fell quiet.

'I have told you all everything the message contained' He said blandly as if he was reading the Gusu rules in a classroom. 'What we need to do is decide how we are going to handle this problem'

It was then Wei WuXian managed to snap out of his muddled mind and find his voice.

'I am going to YunMeng' He announced to no-one in particular 'I am going to see what I can do to help. If this is a natural illness then it should be cureable. If it isn't then someone is behind it and that means no Sect is safe.'

Wei WuXian had expected some response from his outburst but instead Lan QiRen simply nodded.

'I agree' he stated ' We need to offer our aid and keep this illness contained' He glanced down at Wei WuXian and then over to Wanji 'Wei WuXian you know Lotus Pier best out of us all, you can best figure out any problem areas. Wanji I am not fool enough to think that you will let him go without following so you will go also. Both of you will take with you some of our best healers and historians. Anything else you need can be supplied as requested.' His gaze turned even more serious as he looked upon the assembled members 'I don't need to tell you how important this mission is!'

Quietly everyone left the hall, murmuring gently in small groups or just thinking to themselves. Wanji and Wei WuXian wandered out into the still warm sun, but neither of them were in the mood to feel it any more.

'We head to Lotus Pier tomorrow' Wanji said gripping Wei WuXian's hand as if he might fall down any second.

Wei WuXian just nodded in response and continued to walk.

'Wei Ying?' Wanji stopped, pulling his unresponsive husband with him.

Wei WuXian turned and looked him in the eye.

'I'm fine Lan Zhan…..its just a lot to take in….and what…..what if Jiang Cheng already has this illness…...will my sister ever forgive me if I didn't make things up to him?'

Wanji took Wei WuXian into an embrace, he didn't care that it was daytime and they were stood in the middle of Gusu. He patted his husbands head affectionately as Wei WuXian gained strength from the contact. Eventually Wei WuXian himself pulled away and looked Wanji in the eye.

'We will fix this' He said with conviction.

Lan Wanji nodded 'Yes we will fix this'.