Jin Ling didn't look that frightened. Everyone must be fine.

The trees were more bare after the portal disappeared. Their leaves fluttered to the ground, which was already cluttered with twigs.

"What are you thinking about?" Lan Zhan asked.

Wei Wuxian smiled at him. "I was thinking about that portal. Have you ever seen a cultivation technique like that?"

"I haven't."

"I wonder how they found us," Wei Wuxian said. "We were out for a walk. They caught a moving target. That's impressive."

"Mn."

Wei Wuxian tapped his finger on his own arm. It felt like ants were crawling under his skin. He just couldn't sit still. Jin Ling's voice kept echoing in his head.

Lan Zhan touched him, stopping him from tapping anymore.

"Did you want to find Xue Yang?" he asked.

"Well… yes, of course."

Lan Zhan tilted his head ever so slightly. He knew something was bothering him and he wasn't going to drop the subject until he figured out what was wrong.

"Was it the Unclean Realm? Is that where you want to go? ...Or Yunmeng?"

Lan Zhan spoke stiffly with those last words. Wei Wuxian knew that he wanted nothing less than to cross paths with Jiang Cheng again. He couldn't blame him for that. Every time Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian met was a disaster.

"I thought we might go find Jin Ling before looking for Xue Yang… to get the full story."

"Mn."

Lan Zhan regarded him warmly and then started off down the road without a word. He was immaculate as always. His perfect hair streamed behind him, his headband was squarely placed, and his Lan robes were as white as freshly fallen snow.

Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, was quite sure he himself looked disheveled. He hadn't cleaned up before they went on their walk, and just moments before that, he'd been – well – working very hard. He was a little sore, though that wasn't uncommon.

"We're going to walk there?" Wei Wuxian whined.

"The walk was your idea, was it not?"

"Yes, but just to stretch," he said. "I don't need to be more exhausted!"

"Mn."

Months ago, Wei Wuxian might not have caught the mirth in that quiet sound Lan Zhan made. But now, the two of them had spent so much time together that they could almost read one another's mind.

"We aren't far from Qinghe," Lan Zhan soothed.

Wei Wuxian made a face at Lan Zhan's back. But his rude expression faded instantly as he was then struck with an idea and ran up beside him.

Wei Wuxian flashed a huge grin and cried, "Carry me!" before throwing himself at his husband.

Lan Zhan, of course, obliged him with another happy 'mn'. He wrapped him up in his strong arms and held him close to his chest. The two continued down the winding forest path like this, as close to one another as was humanly possible.

The road they took wasn't heavily travelled, but the people who did pass them either didn't care much about what they were doing or they took one look at Hanguang-jun and put their heads down, not daring to stare even though they wanted to.

Wei Wuxian made it a point to give a cheerful hello to anyone who made eye contact with him.

A little girl, no older than five years of age, carrying a basket and dressed in fine silk robes with pretty embroidery about the cuffs of her sleeves, made the mistake of so many passersby before her.

"Hello!" Wei Wuxian called out, to the dismay of the girl's mother, who promptly took her daughter's hand.

"Hello!" the girl said brightly in return. "I hope you heal quickly, sir!"

He laughed while the girl's mother furiously whispered something to her about not talking to strangers.

"Even if I don't heal quickly," Wei Wuxian said, "I have my husband here to care for me."

"Yes," the girl said thoughtfully. She pulled her mother backward slightly so as to continue her forbidden conversation with Wei Wuxian. "But no one wants to be broken forever. You should ask your husband to help put you back together."

He bit his tongue to keep from bursting into uncontrollable laughter. The girl was being very nice, but Wei Wuxian couldn't help but think of what he and Lan Zhan had been doing earlier that day. It definitely felt like Lan Zhan needed to put him back together.

"I will," were the only words he managed to squeak out at her.

The girl smiled as her mother began to tug on her arm with more vigor. He could have sworn he heard the tweet of a little bird, barely audible, come from the girl's basket just before her mother hurried her along down the path.

Once they were out of earshot, Wei Wuxian allowed himself the chance to laugh properly. Even Lan Zhan smiled a little, but only for an instant. If Wei Wuxian would have blinked, he would have missed it.

"I liked her!" Wei Wuxian said.

"As did I."

Wei Wuxian chuckled to himself a bit more.

Things were fairly quiet after that. Boring even.

To entertain himself further, Wei Wuxian decided to see how long Lan Zhan could carry him before he gave up and set him down.

The famed Lan arm strength was no joke. Even after several minutes, Lan Zhan was still going. He wasn't even trembling!

Wei Wuxian looked up at him in adoring wonder.

"How is it possible for you to be this stro-?"

As he said it, Lan Zhan's arms dropped out from under him. But, Wei Wuxian caught himself easily and gave him a teasing push.

"If you were getting tired, you could have said so!"

Lan Zhan didn't answer. His honey colored eyes were fixed on something straight ahead of them. The look on his face didn't tell Wei Wuxian whether he should be afraid or excited. He simply looked surprised.

"Sizhui…" Lan Zhan breathed.

Wei Wuxian's heart soared.

He whirled around to see a pale corpse with long black hair walking toward them. Beside him was a teenage boy dressed in white robes. The boy was grinning from ear to ear.

"A-Yuan!" Wei Wuxian cried, running to greet him.

"Wei-qianbei! Hanguang-jun!"

Wei Wuxian gathered him in his arms, squeezing so tightly that Sizhui had to wheeze his request to be released.

"Sorry," Wei Wuxian said, letting him go with some reluctance.

"Don't be. I'm happy to see you too."

Wen Ning inclined his head to Wei Wuxian, who mirrored him. It was good to see him too, but Wei Wuxian didn't have to say it. After all this time, Wen Ning knew how important he was to him. Many things could be left unspoken.

Sizhui looked awkwardly at Lan Zhan, as if unsure how he should greet him.

"Come," Lan Zhan said softly, holding his arms out.

Sizhui beamed. Wei Wuxian smiled too when he saw how tenderly Lan Zhan held Sizhui to himself. When they parted once more, Wei Wuxian could have sworn that Lan Zhan looked a little disappointed to let go.

"Have you and Wen Ning finished your travels then?" Wei Wuxian asked.

"Nearly," Wen Ning said. "We crossed paths with Jin Ling not long ago. He was headed to the Unclean Realm and will be looking for you next."

"Looking for me?" Wei Wuxian repeated, casting a glance at Lan Zhan.

"Yes," Sizhui said. "He said Xue Yang had been spotted in Yunmeng and-"

"I know all that," Wei Wuxian said quickly, receiving looks of shock for his interruption. "Did he tell you if everyone is all right? He said Xue Yang attacked them, right?"

The shock disappeared and was replaced by different expressions. Wen Ning pursed his lips and crossed his arms. Lan Zhan tried to remain stoic, but the corner of his mouth twitched. Only Sizhui seemed fully understanding.

"Jin Ling did inform me that Sect Leader Jiang is alive and well," Sizhui said. "His injury was temporary. He was the only one targeted to my knowledge."

Wei Wuxian sighed deeply.

The four of them then stepped off the path and sat crosslegged across from one another on the forest floor. Sizhui gave them a little more information, but nothing of much note except that Lan Xichen had emerged from seclusion – a fact that seemed to please Lan Zhan.

It did seem that Sizhui was holding something else back. Wei Wuxian didn't pry, though (something that was exceedingly difficult for him). He was happy to see Sizhui again and didn't want to sour their reunion.

"So you've heard from Jin Ling already, then?" Sizhui asked.

"We have," Lan Zhan answered.

"Was he well? Did he make it to the Unclean Realm without difficulty?"

There was an obvious note of concern in Sizhui's voice – a suspiciously intense amount of concern. Wei Wuxian would voice no such suspicion though. For the moment, he would let Sizhui explain as much or as little as he wanted to.

"We didn't speak for long," Lan Zhan said, giving no indication that he'd noticed anything odd about Sizhui's questions. "He seemed in good health."

Sizhui nodded. "Good."

Wen Ning peeked at him from the corner of his eye, but just like Wei Wuxian, he made no comment.

Wei Wuxian briefly explained the strange portal magic. Both Wen Ning and Sizhui were intrigued, but they knew there wasn't a lot of sense in asking many questions since not much was known about this new technique. They didn't interrupt him much as he spoke.

"We were headed to the Unclean Realm to speak with him," Wei Wuxian finished. "You may have filled us in on a lot of it, but I assume Jin Ling will still be looking for us. We may as well make things easier for him. Would you two like to join us?"

Sizhui's brow knit together and he stared down at his hands. "I'm… not sure…"

Wen Ning got to his feet then. "May I speak with you privately, Wei-gongzi?"

Everything had suddenly become very serious. Wei Wuxian didn't like it. Couldn't they just go back to catching up?

Concerned, Wei Wuxian nodded and stood. Lan Zhan looked up at them curiously, but said nothing and remained where he was.

Wen Ning led the way through the forest for a few minutes. Wei Wuxian dragged his feet the whole way, both because he knew he didn't want to discuss whatever this was and because he was still very tired from earlier.

Even when they were surely out of earshot, they kept going. Wen Ning must have been very concerned about being overheard.

At last, he stopped and turned around, his once handsome face resolute.

"You said I could take my future into my own hands," he said.

Wei Wuxian nodded, still feeling confused. "I did."

"I have decided what I want now that A-Yuan and I have laid our people to rest."

Wei Wuxian waited for him to continue, but he didn't. And he didn't have to. The explanation was there, written in determination on his gentle features.

The quiet chatter of the forest couldn't break the heavy silence between them.

Wei Wuxian's eyes began to sting.

"When?" he asked him, his voice hardly more than a whisper.

"Once A-Yuan says he's ready and you are safe from Xue Yang."

Wei Wuxian couldn't answer him at first. His voice was caught in his throat.

Finally, he said, "You will likely need my help."

Wen Ning inclined his head solemnly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Wei Wuxian whispered. "I'm responsible for you. I should do this. I owe you this."

"Thank you."

I'm sorry? Thank you?

Wen Qing's final words brought the image of her to the forefront of Wei Wuxian's mind. How determined she'd look on her final day, and how perfectly her brother mirrored her now.

Wei Wuxian stopped fighting the tears welling in his eyes.

"What if A-Yuan is never ready?" he asked, choking a little on the words.

"He will be," Wen Ning replied softly. "It's you that I was worried about."

Wei Wuxian wiped at his face and donned what he hoped was a neutral expression. "I will do whatever you ask of me."

Wen Ning nodded. Wei Wuxian dried the rest of his tears with his sleeves and smiled at his old friend.

"I'll miss you," he said.

"You don't have to yet," Wen Ning replied. "I want to accompany you to the Unclean Realm. I'd like to help you deal with Xue Yang as well."

"I'd like that."

"We should get back to the others… unless you had something more to say?"

Wei Wuxian frowned. Had he looked like he wanted to say anything more?

"No," he said. "Let's get back."

Wen Ning nodded and allowed him to lead the way.

In an effort not to worry Lan Zhan, Wei Wuxian tried to set his mind on other matters to cheer himself up. Or at least make himself dwell less on his sorrow.

It was very likely that Jin Ling had already departed from the Unclean Realm. They would need to find him, and Wei Wuxian would have to make talismans to protect both him and Sizhui from Xue Yang's golden core influence.

He and Lan Zhan already had talismans that offered such protections seeing as Wei Wuxian worried what other demonic cultivators might try to do to the two of them. He hadn't anticipated anyone going so far as to harm Jiang Cheng to get to him. It seemed he needed to provide protection to anyone with a connection to him. How annoying!

He already had a plan by the time they reached Lan Zhan and Sizhui. They would collect Jin Ling, return to the Unclean Realm, and figure out how to use that portal incantation to deliver a talisman quickly to Jiang Cheng as well.

There was nothing to worry about. Everyone was going to be fine.