Despite what everyone said, Wangji had a flair for dramatic entrances.
Xuemi was relieved to know that that hasn't changed in the past sixteen years. Mainly because his entrance also saved Jingyi's life.
This is why we never part with our Guqins, Xuemi thought as she watched Wangji execute Cleansing with precision, and as he scanned the sword that Mo Ziyuan's corpse was holding. The bodies of the Mo family all slowly sat down, save for Mo Xuanyu. Speaking of which…
"Where is Mo-gongzi?" Sizhui asked no one in particular.
The juniors immediately began spreading out, looking for the missing member of the Mo household, which left the two seniors alone with each other.
Both headbands glinted as brother and sister stared at each other.
Slowly, Xuemi lifted the veil off and let it fall softly to the ground.
Wangji's lips parted in a silent gasp, and he immediately flew down to stand in front of her. "Lin-jie?"
The name was whispered so desperately, like he was scared that she would just disappear, a hallucination caused by his longing.
But she was quite sure she was alive, and her face split in a wide smile. "Wangji." She whispered softly.
The Second Jade of Gusu does not hug, but at the moment, he couldn't care less.
The reunion is silent. There are no words that needed to be spoken between them. For a while, they just stood there, taking in the physical presence of each other. Xuemi breathed in the familiar scent of sandalwood and Wangji buried his head in a fragrance of assorted tea leaves.
At one point, the juniors stumbled back into the clearing, and then uncomfortably retreated to the main door of Mo manor, leaving the siblings privacy.
Wangji finally pulled away. (For a person that supposedly doesn't like touching, he was surprisingly clingy with those he loves.) "Where?"
Where were you?
"Here."
I have always been here.
"When?"
When did you remember?
"This morning."
I recalled everything today.
Wangji stared at her for a few seconds, then asked the last question. "What now?"
Will you come to Cloud Recesses? Will you disappear again? What will you do now?
For a moment, Xuemi weighed her options. But soon, she came to a decision.
"Cloud Recesses."
Wangji smiled. It was only a tiny smile, but it lit up his whole face.
It didn't surprise her when they stopped on the way back to Cloud Recesses to participate in a night hunt at Dafan Mountain. Her heart clenched when she realized that this is where her family lived, but she brushed it off when she realized that it was mostly practice for the juniors, so she didn't have to go up to the mountain personally.
There was a small confrontation between Wangji and Jiang Wanyin along the way, which… complicated matters.
It turns out that Jiang Wanyin had brought his sons, Jiang Wushan and Jiang Wenxin. Jin Rulan had also come, though he was very much acting like a petulant child right now.
Wei Wuxian had called him a brat, and it couldn't be a better description.
Jiang Wanyin, you old softie. You can't deny your nephew anything.
The twins had been chatting animatedly. Rather, Wenxin was doing most of the talking, and Wushan interjected at some points, but eventually it dissolved into laughter. However, as soon as Jin Rulan was seen on the ground, struggling to stand up, both of them silenced, sensing a brewing confrontation.
Despite his father's hate of Wei Wuxian, Wenxin was still faintly dubious of the Yiling Patriarch's reputation. Mainly because he grew up hopping around Lotus Pier, and everybody would tell him stories of how much he was like his uncle.
Yes, his uncle. Wenxin heartily accepted him as his uncle.
Wushan shared the opinion of his twin, even though he didn't show it. So, whenever an argument between Jin Ling and Jiang Rui was about the Yiling Patriarch, Jiang Hui would always take his sibling's side.
No such argument had come up in the past six weeks. Perhaps they have finally agreed to disagree.
Jin Rulan, it was very clear, absolutely loathed Wei Wuxian. It was to be expected; everyone told him that Wei Wuxian murdered his father and his mother. Sandu Shengshou fed that fire, too, with his own bitterness and hate. Even though he knew the real reason why his A-jie died.
It was never more evident than now, when he attacked Mo Xuanyu just for being a demonic cultivator.
A blue sword glare intercepting Suihua announced the arrival of the Gusu Lan Sect.
Lan Wangji led them, Bichen already sheathed, like he wasn't the one that just blocked the blow. Beside him, Xuemi strode alongside her brother, still wearing the bright red robes and the red veil. Behind them, all of the junior disciples from the Mo manor night hunt followed.
Wangji had his usual impassive expression, but Xuemi saw the way his hand clenched around Bichen.
He hasn't forgiven him.
"So it's Lan-er-gongzi." Sandu Shengshou said.
When they came to a stop, the eight juniors bowed in unison and chorused "Jiang-zongzhu." Xuemi inclined her head slightly, but gave no salute. Wangji didn't bother greeting him at all.
Jiang Wanyin sneered. "Second Childe Lan, you really deserve the reputation of 'appearing wherever the chaos is,' don't you? You even have the time to visit a rural forest. I've heard that you've been to a lot of places in the past sixteen years. Are you here to take credit from us, or to look for someone?"
Wangji's face remained impassive.
Jingyi, however, had no such control. "Jiang-zongzhu, what do you mean by that?"
"What I mean, I think that Second Childe Lan knows best! Wearing the mourning robes."
"We always wear whites and blues!" Jingyi said, offended.
"And yet it doesn't always seem to be the case." Jiang Wanyin narrowed his eyes at the veiled lady dressed in red, with a Gusu Lan headband on her forehead.
The Jiang Sect Leader's eyes went back to Lan Wangji. "Lan-er-gongzi, have you finally forgotten him? Have you found a new companion?"
This finally got a reaction out of Wangji, as he swiftly turned his head and glared at Jiang Wanyin. He was quite surprised that Wanyin still hadn't figured out who it was standing beside him.
"You-!"
"Jingyi." Wenxin warned. He knew that it would be best if they didn't cause a sect war on a simple night hunt. (Though his father readily objected to him befriending any Lans, Wenxin and Wushan have met with Jingyi and Sizhui in secret.)
Sizhui smiled placatingly and stepped forward. "Jin-gongzi. Night hunts are supposed to be a fair game between the sects, yet you scattered Deity-Binding Nets all over Dafan Mountain. Doesn't this break the rules of night-hunting?"
"They were stupid, so they got caught. It's not my fault." Jin Ling snarked. Wushan repressed the strong urge to sigh. Jin Ling continued. "If there's nothing else, we can debate after I've caught the prey."
Suddenly, Jin Ling found that he couldn't open his mouth.
Panicked, he turned to his uncle and gestured frantically to his mouth. Jiang Wanyin immediately got the hint and confronted Wangji. "Lans! What is your meaning of this? You aren't in any position to discipline Jin Ling!"
Sizhui dropped into a bow. "Sect Leader Jiang, please don't be angry. The silencing spell doesn't hurt anyone, and the speech ban will be liften in a stick of incense's time, as long as Jin-gongzi does not fight it."
"Lift it now!" Jiang Wanyin demanded.
At this moment, a disciple approached Wushan, and when he heard what the disciple had to say, he immediately paled. Wushan tapped Jiang Cheng on his shoulder. "Father?" He said meekly.
"What?" Jiang Cheng snapped.
"The nets were destroyed by a blue sword glare just now."
"WHAT?"
Wushan flinched.
"How many?"
"A-All of them."
Later, Wushan will be teased incessantly by his twin as he sits there, unable to refute and burning with embarrassment.
Currently, though, Jiang Wanyin is fuming. He turned back to the other senior. "Over four hundred deity-binding nets, destroyed! The Gusu Lan clan really does have amazing skills, huh?"
Zidian started to spark as the Jiang Sect Leader clenched his fist.
"Father." Wenxin whispered.
The word was enough to calm him down, and unclench his fist. He looked at his nephew. "Jin Ling. Hanguang-jun wants to teach you a lesson, so be it. After all, it's quite hard for him to do so."
Jin Ling looked disgruntled, but eventually nodded.
Jiang Cheng continued to glare at him.
Wenxin, taking the hint, grabbed Jin Ling and Jiang Hui's wrists, dragging them off. Jiang Cheng yelled after them. "If you don't get the prey, don't come home!"
Sizhui smiled again, and spoke up. "Jiang-zongzhu, the Gusu Lan clan will return the Deity-Binding nets to you."
"Not necessary." Jiang Cheng spat, and he stormed off in a flurry of purple robes.
Once he was gone, Xuemi turned around to the junior disciples. "Go do what you need to do. Try your best, but keep a realistic estimation of your abilities."
The eight juniors bowed and turned in the other direction. Xuemi and Wangji walked away, following Jiang Wanyin.
Wangji and Xuemi sat at the same table in companionable silence. At another table, Jiang Wanyin sat, sulking. Sulking over what, Xuemi didn't know.
It was silent enough that the other disciples that didn't follow the juniors didn't dare to make any small talk.
Even the servants serving tea did it as silently as possible.
This is why, some hours later, they easily heard the terribly out of tune melody that rang in the air.
Lan Wangji's eyes shot wide open when he heard it, and he immediately flew in the direction of the sound with Xuemi at his heels.
Wangji's speed increased as he flew, so he was the first to make it to the scene.
And since Wei Wuxian had been slowly backing away, drawing Wen Ning- Wen Ning?! What?!- away from the battered juniors, he bumped into Wangji, who promptly put a hand on his arm, stopping him from playing.
Wangji intensely stared at him, hoping desperately, because that song is only known to two people, and he would recognize it, even if it were as out of tune as that.
Wen Ning looked around in confusion, searching for the melody that disappeared.
This led to Wei Wuxian putting the flute back to his lips, and he played one more line, giving one last clear order.
Get away.
Wen Ning, chains and all, flew in the direction of the forest and disappeared among the trees. On one hand, it was good, because Wen Ning was alive, and no one would be able to kill him again.
On the other hand, it brought attention to Mo Xuanyu. No, Wei Wuxian.
And Jiang Wanyin had already begun to doubt. Zidian was said to be able to expel a soul from a body, if they were possessing it. That was why they were all so relieved (or disappointed) when no such soul came tumbling out of Mo Xuanyu's body.
But a soul sacrifice isn't possession.
The ancient and forbidden spell was only known by a few people, and Xuemi knew it was the spell used by Mo Xuanyu. The cuts on his arms were proof enough, but this was the solidifying factor.
"Take off your mask!" Jiang Wanyin demanded.
"I won't take it off. I fear that it'll scare you to death!" Wei Wuxian shot back.
"You-!"
"Are you done, Jiang-zongzhu?" Jingyi asked. "That's Zidian. It can recognize souls that possess others' bodies. That year, Wei Wuxian had died and neither soul nor body was left of him. How else would he be able to come back to the world, if not for soul possession?"
Jiang Wanyin gritted his teeth. "How do you know Wei Wuxian died for real?"
"Wasn't Wei Wuxian killed by you?" Jingyi accused.
A brief flash of grief came across his face before it was replaced by that same mask of fury. "Tell me. Who on earth are you?!"
Wei Wuxian didn't answer. He just lifted his head up and fell back into his memories, truly recalling, for the first time since his reincarnation.
A'Xian, here. Your favourite soup- Lotus and pork rib soup.
Alcohol is forbidden in the Cloud Recesses.
Yin Iron cannot be sealed, only contained.
What indoctrination? This is clearly sending them to be treated as hostages!
Wei Wuxian, why are you still joking? You nearly let the iron burn you to death.
Wei Ying, wake up!
Wei Ying, listen to me! Protect Jiang Cheng. Protect him with your life, do you understand?!
I can only give you a fifty percent chance of success.
These are the Burial Mounds. When people enter, dead or alive, they will never get out for all eternity. I would like to see whether or not you will still be able to laugh your way out of this.
Wei Wuxian, do you want revenge? Come with us… join us…
Wei Wuxian, let me be clear. You will stay away from Wangji until you have your demonic cultivation under control.
A'Xian, you've changed.
What is it, the thing that can even control Yin Iron?
It's just a few cultivators from the Wen Sect anyway. If you want them so badly, go find them for yourself at Qiongqi Road!
Who are you doing this for? I'm telling you, if you want to protect them, I won't be able to protect you!
A-Li… Is still waiting for you… to go to the child's… one month… celebration…
I'm sorry. And, thank you.
Wei Ying, stop this!
A'Xian, shijie just wanted to tell you…
Wei Wuxian… GO TO HELL!