Not this time, MDZS fix it WIP

by harrisonmkaleigh

Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying find themselves 15 again and decide to take advantage of their knowledge and fix their future. editing may not be perfect, but I have very little time and have been sitting on it a while. I'm pulling things from all versions of the series and other stuff, your warned. #MoDaoZuShi #rewritefixit

Series: Mo Dao Zu Shi
Genre: Time Travel/ Fix it, hurt/comfort, everyone who deserves to live does, meng yao bashing, jin guangshan bashing, Yanli/Mingjue/XiChen as sworn siblings, Jiang Cheng x Quin Su, MianMian x Wen Qing, Wen Ning x Huaisang, save Xue Yang, save Mo XaunYu, Wei Ying and Lan Wangji plus a whole flock of little ones because I cannot deal. Brothers resolve their bull shit, they need to talk it out i'm not sorry.
Prompt: Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying find themselves 15 again and decide to take advantage of their knowledge and fix their future.

Jiang Cheng groaned, blinking for several moments as his eyes adjusted to the room, the last thing he remembered was getting into a fight with his martial brother during a night hunt, a night hunt he'd been tricked into going on by his nephew. "I'm going to break his legs the next time I see him..." he thinks irritably, after all, he wouldn't have gotten caught up in whatever nonsense Wei Ying had pulled if he'd been at home. After his eyes adjust, he realizes that he isn't even in Gusu, atleast, not the Gusu that currently exists. The next realization to hit him is that there is another bed across from his, it's currently empty -it's occupant had apparently rolled off the bed in their sleep, he's more than a little unsettled by the appearance of his brother in his original body, Wei Ying's hair is a mess and he's in just his inner robes, which are slightly askew. "WHAT THE FUCK." is his second thought, "Am I dreaming?" is his third.

Wei Ying stirs to wakefulness not too far behind his brother, and immediately looks around the room as if he's seen a ghost, which is a sentiment that conveys immediately to Jiang Cheng that it's not just him whose consciousness has been transferred. Wei Ying's eyes finally lock with his, "A-Cheng... sorry, I woke you up, didn't I?"

Jiang Cheng glares at him "Cut the crap Wuxian, I know I'm not the only one." he ignores the way his brother flinches at his tone. "I don't know what the actual fuck you did during the night hunt, but suddenly we're back here."

"Temper A-Cheng, you'll give yourself a Qi deviation one day" Wei Ying tuts, now seemingly unaffected by Jiang Cheng's tone." I had some of my experimental talismans on me, they must have activated when you whipped me." He says it as if it is the obvious answer, not another set of questions.

"Why -for fucks sake- did you have a fucking time talisman on your PERSON during a night hunt- you know what, I don't want to know."

"In case a night hunt with Jin Ling turned into a trap... it's was only supposed to rewind a few minutes."

"Glad to know you think so highly of me." Jiang Cheng snorts rolling his eyes, this was the 4th time in a month that Jin Ling had tricked them into doing something together, apparently, he thought they needed to fix their relationship. "Did he ever think that maybe we are happier without fixing it..." he thinks that but in reality, it couldn't be farther from the truth, Jiang Cheng had gotten so used to being alone that he'd forgotten how it felt to be loved.

"Don't think so highly of yourself" Wei ying responds, "Jin Ling is a danger magnet, he almost lost his head to an eight legged bear last time."

"Would have served him right" Jiang Cheng huffs, irritably "If he won't improve, he might as well."

"You don't mean that." Wei Ying says, "You raised him, you're the reason he is the way he is."

"Yeah well YOU are the reason why he wasn't raised by his parents." Jiang Cheng snaps, ignoring the way his chest aches. "Even if you weren't the one who caused ZiXuan's death, you were still the one to blame... if you didn-"

"A-CHENG" Wei Yings pitch rises in warning, startling Jiang Cheng into silence. "I KNOW... I KNOW you blame me, but don't you DARE drag the Wen remnants into this."

"And why shouldn't I?" Jiang Cheng growls, his eyes are stinging, he ignores it. "GIVE me ONE GOOD Fucking REASON." He emphasizes every other word. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't blame the ones that destroyed everything, took everything." he sounds hoarse as he continues to speak, eventually falling quiet because his throat hurts.

"Because it wasn't their fault." Wei Ying says, his voice is softer, he can see the way that Jiang Chengs eyes are reddening. "I was the one who was arrogant enough to think I was in control..." he pauses briefly, sighing before he continues "I was the one who foolishly thought I was the only demonic cultivator." Wei Ying had in truth long ago given up being upset with Jiang Cheng, there was truly no one to blame for his brother's mental state but those who were long past, it was time to move on. "I'd rather that I bear your hatred alone." there is a long silence between them before anyone speaks.

"I don't hate you" Jiang Cheng says, his voice is soft. "Sometimes it would be easier if I did." he continues a little louder, "Do you know how many years I spent carrying your flute around?... How many times I visited your old room?" his volume is still rising but there is a definite tremor in his voice, and tears are streaking down his cheeks. "DO you EVEN know HOW much I MISSED YOU." Wei Ying doesn't respond; he doesn't know how to. "You promised we would always be together..." his words trail off and he truly breaks down, Wei Ying does the only thing he can think to and getting up and straightening his robes, goes to Jiang Cheng's bed side and sits down next to him. Jiang Cheng fights back briefly as Wei Ying pulls him into a hug then caves, sobbing against his brother's chest. They sit like that for a while before Jiang Chengs sobs finally quiet.

It's probably around 1 am seeing as the moon is still high in the sky, they finally move apart, sitting in awkward silence for another moment before either speaks. "It seems like we really have a second chance here, maybe we can save everyone this time." Wei Ying offers hesitant to get his hopes up about how long the effects of the charm could last.

"If we don't suddenly wake back up in our timeline." Jiang Cheng agrees "But first" he punches Wei Ying in the arm hard.

"Ouch!" Wei Ying whines rubbing his arm, "A-Cheng! What was that for!?"

"NO MORE SELF SACRIFICE." Jiang Cheng almost yells at him, barely keeping his tone quiet enough to avoid waking anyone. "I SWEAR TO GOD Wuxian, if you try to give me your core or anything similar, I WILL KILL YOU MYSELF."

"Aiya, so violent A-Cheng." Wei Ying whines, "It's my job to protect you, I didn't have a choice before."

"BULL SHIT" Jiang Cheng spits, "You are my BROTHER, NOT my fucking BODYGUARD." he looks at Wei Ying with one of those 'if looks could kill' glares hes famous for "I don't care what my A-Niang told you. SHE IS WRONG."

Now it's Wei Ying's turn to get teary, "You are the sect, Heir." is all he manages to say.

"and You are head disciple, dont think less of yourself because of what A-Niang says." Jiang Cheng pushes, right, he's going to have to get his parents to actually fucking talk to each other. "You always told me to ignore her and you were right... so it applies to you as well moron!"

"I'll try" Is Wei Ying's only response, "We're going to see Yanli again soon..." he says quietly after a moments silence.

"She's still alive, they are all still alive." Jiang Cheng says, and it feels like a weight is lifting off of him, suddenly he's laughing and so is Wei Ying, maybe they can make this work.

Jiang Cheng walks over to the dresser and gets a piece of parchment, pen and ink from a drawer, Wei Ying gives him a questioning look as he sits down on the floor and begins to write. "What are you doing?"

"Writing down what happened before in order." Jiang Cheng says, "We have several years of events to live through again and I don't want to forget anything that could be important."

"My memory is terrible, so I'm afraid I can't help too much." Wei Ying says, moving to sit down next to him, he watches as Jiang Cheng starts recording events. "A-Cheng, the incident in Caiyi town wasn't the first time I experienced dark energy... or heard voices"

"What the-"

"I experienced the dark energy first when the corpses gusu uses for training got out." Wei Ying Continues, talking over Jiang Cheng "I've always heard voices, sometimes I can't tell if they are real or if I'm imagining them." He admits, "They put awful thoughts in my head and images, I think that is why the burial mounds didn't really affect me."

Jiang Cheng has stopped writing and just stares at his brother for a long time, suddenly something that happened the summer before they came to gusu sticks out like a sore thumb and Jiang Cheng wonders why he never saw it before. "Last summer... when you told Fuqin and I you went for a swim drunk..."

Wei Ying turns pale as a ghost almost immediately and looks at the ground "A-Cheng it's been a year since that there's no reason to-"

"OH MY GOD." Jiang Cheng gasps, "You were... You were trying to kill yourself! Dad and I actually believed you all this time."

"Forget it, it's not that Important- it's not like it was the first time anyway..." Wei Ying's response is under his breath and Jiang Cheng barely catches it.

"WEI WUXIAN!" Jiang Cheng almost shouts again, this time he's shaking for another reason, not anger, but fear, suddenly so many odd occurrences are clicking into place, giving him a better look at his brother's real heart than he's ever had before. "What happened the first time!? How many times have you tried to-" he breaks off mid ways through asking 'how many times have you tried to die.' his throat feeling like its closing up.

"I tried to cut my wrists, Shijie caught me in the act." Wei Ying mumbles, "She went to the infirmary and came back with bandages, she begged me never to do such a thing again."

"That was when you said you had hurt your wrist and couldn't practice." Jiang Cheng realizes, "That's why Yanli was bringing you food at night and staying close to you." he suddenly understands a little better why even his sister had favored Wei Ying, his brother had been practically screaming that he needed help and no one had known how badly except for his sweet sister.

"She was afraid I'd do it again if she left me alone for too long... she was right." Wei Ying sighed, it had been 4 months before he'd tried to drown himself, Yanli had been staying with her grandmother in Meishan at the time of the second attempt.

"Is there anything else I should know about." Jiang Chengs voice sounds tired and hallow, it's a lot of information to take in all at once. Wei Ying shakes his head, and Jiang Cheng stares off into space for several minutes, trying to process it. He eventually returns to writing down events, committing what Wei Ying had just revealed to memory. He makes it to the part about the archery contest hosted by the Wen sect before Wei Ying speaks up again.

"That's when I met Wen Ning for the first time." He reminded Jiang Cheng, "I got lost before it started and came across him practicing, he's a good kid, just really nervous."

"You're going to want to save them still aren't you?" Jiang Cheng states more than asks.

"Of course! The Dafan Wen were just as trapped as the rest of us before the war." Wei Ying answers, "And Qing-jie is a brilliant doctor, she'd be a great asset to have on our side."

"How do you know she'd change sides." Jiang Cheng asks, after all at this point that 'brilliant doctor' is one of Wen Ruohan's right hands.

"She is being black mailed, Ruohan is keeping her people and her brother as hostages, if she say's the wrong thing they die." Wei Ying explains, "If we can free them, there is no way she will stay loyal to him."

So thats how it was, the famous doctor effectively had her hands tied. When Jiang Cheng thought about it he couldn't say his own decisions in such a situation would be any better than hers. "So she took a personal risk when she helped us escape and kept us hidden"

"Exactly, that's why I couldn't abandon her when she came and begged me for help." Wei Ying explains.

"You will still need to speak to him this time then." Jiang Cheng says pointedly. He makes a note as he continues down the page to remember to save the Dafan, he still has mixed feeling about all of the Wen but he knows he would have died last time if not for the quick thinking of Wen Qing and her little brother. "We also need to be sure he doesnt become a fierce corpse."

"I agree with you on that." Wei Ying says, "I never intended for him to become a weapon in the first place, I reacted out of anger when I raised him." he admits looking guilty, "Wen Ning is a gentle soul, he never wanted to be like that."

Jiang Cheng looks a little incredulous at that statement, of course he has to admit, even his nephew had grown quite close to the ghost general, seeing him as someone to pity rather than blaming him for his fathers death. "Jin Ling takes after his A-Niang in that way... I wish I could forgive that easily." He finishes writing down the events and then goes back adding notes about Meng Yao's involvement as had been discovered later. Next to him Wei Ying moves and stands up looking around the room. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for a clue as to when we were sent back to exactly..." Wei Ying says, he trails off as he fumbles through a stack of books and scrolls laying on top of the dresser. "I think I know where we are now, tomorrow will be fun!" Wei Ying chuckles, he pulls something out of the stack, it looks like a regular poetry book at first glance.

"Oh no, what happens tomorrow." Jiang Cheng can't help but feel apprehension over Wei Ying's glee, said brother comes back to sit across from him and holds a random page of the 'poetry book' open, he immediately looks away, of course. tomorrow is the day Wei Ying pranked Lan Wangji with the gay porn... just his luck, remind him how he ever missed his brother's orientation. "I think I'd genuinely rather eat your evil congee thanks."

"You should have seen his face A-Cheng" Wei Ying busts into laughter, it's a sound that Jiang Cheng had totally forgotten, and hadn't realized how much he'd missed. "Oh! That's right even this early on Er-gege already had feelings for me, maybe I shouldn't... I want to see it again though"

"Just tell him you fucking like him." Jiang Cheng groans, "If you don't I'll-" he'll what? He has to think about it for a moment before it hits him to take a very lan zhan approach. "I'll find a way to confess for you."

"Uh, ha? A-Cheng!" Wei Ying starts to splutter, "You can't! You wouldn't! Unfair.." Wei Ying whines his face turning every shade of red, he dramatically covers his face with his hands.

"The only thing that's unfair is the amount of dog food the two of you made all of us endure." Jiang Cheng teases, "Thats why I never agreed to meet for lunch after the first time."

After that more teasing follows, they finish writing down events and making notes with about an hour to go before the first bells alert everyone to get ready for class, they both realize that outside of Wei Ying needing to go to the Library to finish his copying work, there was really nothing important. To Jiang Cheng's surprise, while Wei Ying did grab the book he intended to prank Wangji with, he actually behaved in class and paid attention, for once not incurring the wrath of Lan QiRen. He also noticed that his brother headed for the library without being dragged there as he had been the first time around. "he must of matured after living here for five years..." He thinks.

Wei Wuxian P.O.V

Wei Wuxian's head was still spinning from the night before, he couldn't believe he was really back in the past for one thing. Another thing that left his mind reeling was the realization that his brother DIDN"T hate him, he missed him, had carried his flute 'Chengqing' on his person for years. "I thought he just brought it back to me at the temple." He thinks.
His mind spinning, he actually pays attention to QiRen's lesson this time around, it gives his mind something easier to focus on, before he knows it he's headed for the library pavilion to finish copying lan sects rules and see his Er-gege. "He doesn't even know I like him at this point... don't call him too familiarly." Wei Wuxian tells himself, he remembers he had studied and copied diligently the last time around and gotten done early, he hasn't brought his sword this time, he thought about it all morning and ultimately decided that avoiding the previous incident with the book and the fight was probably a wise move. "It would be nice if we could be friends before the war at least..." some part of Wei Wuxian's mind is unsure of how to go about confessing, he remembers clearly how badly his first attempt had gone back then, his Er-gege had simply thought he was making fun of him. While it might have started out as teasing he never would have been that cruel, the fact it had been taken that way stuck in his mind like a meat hook, it's barbs making it hard to remove.

Arriving at the pavilion, he enters and sits down and gets straight to work, he finds himself having to reread the rules just to be sure he doesn't record rules that have yet to be added. "The last thing the elders need is more rule ideas." He thinks mirthlessly, to his surprise it doesn't take him that long to finish copying, there are still a couple of hours left. He starts doodling on a blank sheet of paper to entertain himself as before, drawing the other youth seated a head of him again! He has a lovely muse in front of him after all. As before Wei Wuxian held his piece up to show Lan Zhan, asking silently if it was good.

"You have spare time and yet you scribble instead of copying." Lan Zhan says slowly, "In my opinion your release from this punishment will never happen."

"I finished it already!" Wei Wuxian says blowing on the ink which had yet to dry, "I won't be coming again tomorrow!" once again not receiving any response beyond a surprised look, Wei Wuxian gently throws the art work and him "It's yours."

Lan Zhan's eyes drift to the fallen art work of himself on the floor, he stares at it blankly for a moment before noticing the flower crown Wei Wuxian had drawn on him, the corners of his mouth twitch. Wei Wuxian doesn't try to bait him this time around, instead saying "You'd look better if you smiled Gege." what he'd just called Lan Zhan doesn't click in his brain for several seconds and when it does, he freezes. "Shit... that was too familiar... what the fuck Wei Wuxian." He internally groans.

"Ridiculous." Lan Zhan responds after a moment, keeping his face as blank as ever however Wei Wuxian can see his ears have gone pink at the tips. The lack of reaction to the negative emboldens him a little.

"Ah, Lan-Gege is blushing!" Wei Wuxian laughs, "Will Gege miss seeing me every afternoon?" he asks, his tone is playful teasing.

Lan Zhan's ears turn even darker red if thats possible, and Wei Wuxian almost thinks he's imagining the little "Mn." he gets in response to his question.

Jiang Cheng P.O.V

Jiang Cheng had barely made it out of the class room before being accosted by Nie Huaisang, the Nie sect leaders little brother was really more Wei Yings friend at this point in time, however with Wei Ying currently in the library pavilion copying rules there had been little choice outside of studying. "Jiang-xiong! I wanted to ask if you knew what was going on with Wei-xiong..." Nie Huaisang started, he sounded worried, of course it was hard for Jiang Cheng to tell, he seemed perpetually worried about everything.

"Why would anything be wrong with him?" Jiang Cheng says, "He's just getting sick of copying rules."

"Sure, but Wei-xiong was going to prank 2nd Young Master Lan today he told me yesterday." Nie Huaisang starts, "He returned this to me before class though, he said he changed his mind." Huaisang holds up the porn book with the poetry book cover that Wei Ying had been laughing over last night.

"Maybe he's realized how immature he was acting." Jiang Cheng snorts rolling his eyes, "Or he decided against scarring the guy he's obsessed with." he adds after a moment, "Why not have a little fun and his expense... not like Huaisang will tell anyone."

"Wei-xiong likes 2nd Young Master Lan?" Nie Huaisang parrots, fluttering his closed fan under his mouth to signal 'tell me more'

"As if that much isn't obvious" Jiang Cheng scoffed, "Every time he sees him, he calls after him."

"He also talks about 2nd Young Master Lan a lot." Nie Huaisang adds thoughtfully "I don't know how I missed it."

"I only realized it last night." Jiang Cheng admits, it's only a half lie, after all, at this point in the past he hadn't even known Wei Ying liked both genders (Wei Ying had actually told him himself after everything that had happened with his resurrection)

"2nd Young Master Lan avoids him though, he's going to have a hard time." Nie Huaisang says shaking his head. "Poor Wei-xiong."

"What about me! I'm the one who has to listen to him chatter about that guy" Jiang Cheng groused, rolling his eyes in an exaggerated manner. Jiang Cheng still vividly remembered Wei Ying going on and on about how much he wished Wangji would have come to visit Yunmeng the summer after they returned from Gusu Lan.

"Maybe you should get them together Jiang-xiong" Nie Huaisang offers, "Then Wei-xiong won't talk about 2nd Young Master Lan so much"

"Yeah, I'll just walk in on them making-out or something instead." Jiang Cheng said in a half mocking tone. "I'm trapped with either witnessing dog food or hearing Wuxian pine over the 2nd jade like a girl." He adds with a defeated sigh and a mild expression of disgust. "I had more than enough Dog food from those two the last time."

Wei Wuxian P.O.V

"Is it possible that Lan-Gege likes this one?" Wei Wuxian of course knows the answer, he had been told repeatedly by his husband in the other time line that in-fact, his Lan Zhan had been in-love with him from the first time they met. It seems strange not to ask though, and as shy as Lan Zhan is at this age it is probably the most logical route to take.

"Mn, like Wei Ying." Lan Zhan's ears had only just begun to fade from pink but the flush comes back full force at this. Wei Wuxian feels his own cheeks heating, he knew what he was asking but hadn't honestly expected an answer, yet as usual, Lan Zhan managed to catch him off guard.

The bell telling the time can then be heard, his studying time is over. Wei Wuxian awkwardly neatens the stack of papers he copied, setting them aside to be graded. "I-I guess I will see you in class Lan-gege."

"Mn, see Wei Ying later."

With a small nod of acknowledgment, he left the pavilion. Wei Wuxian wasn't sure why he was in such a hurry to get out of there, he'd spent the last five years married to the adult version of the golden eyed youth he'd just been speaking to. Maybe it had something to do with the fact this was his real body and not someone elses? Either way he felt like he was a few seconds from doing something stupid like kissing Lan Zhan, he needed to get out of there. He almost ran down the steps, and nearly ran into Jiang Cheng and Huaisang as a result.

"Did you confess yet?" Jiang Cheng totally blind sides him and he starts coughing.

"Ah... Cheng... You can't just..." Wei Wuxian gets out between coughs.

"I won't tell anyone Wei-xiong!" Nie Huaisang says quickly, "I'm great at keeping secrets." Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng both internally grimace at that remark, it's all too true of Huaisang...

"I haven't yet... I got him to admit he likes me though!" there is an almost giddy quality to Wei Wuxians voice as he says this. "I don't know if confessing will be a good idea or not, it could just result in something being messed up for the worse." Wei Wuxian thinks, trying to ignore the whispers in his mind telling him he doesn't deserve to be happy, that he's just the son of a servant.

"You will tell him SOON though RIGHT?" Jiang Cheng half asks half demands, "DON'T test me Wuxian, I will tell him for you if you don't" Nie Huaisang looks back and forth between the two with and uncomfortable expression, no doubt trying to decide what happened between the brothers.

"A-Cheng... it's not, I can't just... he's busy, I don't want to bother him." Wei Wuxian stumbles his way through his words, the voice that's been whispering in his head gets a little louder 'your supposed to stay in yunmeng' it whispers 'you owe the Jiang family... besides Lan QiRen hates you.'

"2nd Young Master Lan has been busy for a while now." Nie Huaisang offers, "I think he would be happy if you told him though Wei-xiong."

"What if I cause more trouble for him?" Wei Wuxian states more than asks, "QiRen hates me... how do you think he will act if he thinks I've corrupted his favorite nephew?"

Jiang Cheng P.O.V

Wei Ying's words make their conversation from the night before pop back into Jiang Cheng's mind and he mentally curses. "Excuse me and Wuxian." He says curtly, grabbing Wei Ying and dragging him away before the other can argue with him, thankfully Huaisang doesn't follow. Wei Ying tries to pull his hand off, and tries several times to ask what he's doing or tell him to let go, he ignores him until they are far enough away to have some privacy.

"What the hell A-Cheng!?" Wei Ying barks, finally snatching his wrist out of Jiang Chengs grip and rubbing it in soothing manner, glaring at his brother.

"The voices are messing with you right now aren't they?" Jiang Cheng asks bluntly, "you had acted like you weren't being bothered by them at all before we ended up back here." there was a piece of the puzzle he was still missing, when they were this age before his brother had been confident and loud despite his apparent struggles with the voices in his head. "So why is Wei Ying struggling more this time."

"It doesn't matter." Wei Ying tries, he really doesn't want to talk about this right now. The voices whisper 'you are causing trouble again.' and 'worthless idiot, you can't even keep him from worrying'.

"YES it DOES" Jiang Cheng argues, how the ever-loving fuck is he supposed to fix things if Wei Ying doesn't let him help. "I can't help you if you won't let me, Wei Ying." He pleads, he rarely ever calls Wei Ying anything other than Wuxian, but right now he feels like his brother needs a reminder that they are family damn it. "I dont want to lose you again." after the words leave his mouth Wei Ying just stares at him in shock for what feels like an eternity. Jiang Cheng finally speaks again after a while, "Does it have something to do with Lan Zhan?"

"Er-gege used to play clarity for me at night to help with them." Wei Ying admits slowly after another long moment staring. "I was getting used to not hearing them as much."

"More reason for you two to get together sooner." Jiang Cheng sighed. "And as for QiRen, do you honestly think that grouchy old goat would keep you apart?" He asks, "Because I seem to remember the 2nd jade fighting 33 elders for you."

Wei Ying looks at him like he's been hit by lightning, suddenly being forced to remember the scars that Lan Zhan had born for his sake. "Yo-your right... it's just... what if we screw it up even worse A-Cheng? I don't think I could take it..."

"We won't let it happen again." Jiang Cheng tells Wei Ying decidedly, "I won't let it happen again." the truth is he can't stand the thought of it getting worse, he wants to stop everything bad just as terribly as Wei Ying does, he's scared too, but failure is not an option.

"A-Cheng... it's easy to say that but we can't know what will happen with even the smallest changes" Wei Ying reasons.

"Then we will just make sure it's not bad, we can change things A-xian." Jiang Cheng promises, "I know we can."

"What are we going to do about the water borne abyss?" Wei Ying asks after a moment, it's the first major event on their list, and also the first run in with Su She.

"Let Su She drown." Jiang Cheng snorts, he wishes they could, but he knows his brother too well.

Sure enough the next words out of Wei Ying's mouth are "We can't, he hasn't done anything yet... there is a chance we can stop him from taking that route."

"I'd rather he never had the chance."

"Me too, which is why I'll have to make sure we resolve his bitterness towards my Er-gege before he gets kicked out of Gusu Lan." Wei Ying says, giving Jiang Cheng that goofy lopsided grin he hasn't seen since the first time they were 15.

The next day they are reminded by Nie Huaisang that Lan QiRen had gone to a conference in Qinghe Nie and thus wouldn't be teaching the classes for a few days. Wei Ying had delightedly declared he was skipping to go hunt pheasants, and Jiang Cheng had told him he was going to be punished when the old goat returned. "Why worry about what will happen later? I'll just enjoy the freedom in the meantime!" Wei Ying had laughed.

As the three of them walked together chatting about random things, Wei Ying suddenly exclaimed "Ah! Lan Zhan!" waving at the 2nd jade who had just walked out of the reception room with the 1st jade and several disciples.

Lan Zhan had the same reaction as before, however what Jiang Cheng had once thought was a glare now looked more like someone who'd just been greeted by a crush. "How the heck did I miss read that?" He wonders, trying not to laugh as he notices The 2nd jade looks away like he's trying desperately to avoid Wei Ying's gaze.

"And you are...?" Lan XiChen asks, smiling warm as ever... honestly Jiang Cheng thinks it suites him better than the past few years of sadness and seclusion in their time line ever could.

"Jiang Wanyin of Yunmeng." Jiang Cheng salutes

Wei Ying follows his lead, "Wei Wuxian of Yunmeng."

Lan XiChen returns their salute, before turning to Nie Huaisang. "Your brother asked about your studies, are you going to pass this year?"

Nie Huaisang wilts his voice is quiet as he responds with "Generally speaking yes..." he looks at Wei Ying as if to say 'help me'.

Wei Ying grins widely, "Ze-Wu-Jun, what were you two heading out for?" he knows the answer of course however they both need to keep playing their roles.

"To exterminate a water ghoul. We were short of hands so I returned to get Wangji." Lan XiChen explains.

"Mn." Lan Zhan says before adding "There is no time for small talk, we should depart."

"Wait! We are really familiar with water ghouls. Why not bring us along?" Wei Ying volunteers.

"It is Against the rules." Lan Zhan declares, next to him XiChen just smiles at Wei Ying's enthusiasm.

"How is it Against the rules? We don't even have class right now and A-Cheng and I catch water ghouls all the time in YunMeng." Wei Ying responds quickly.

"A-Xian is correct. We can definitely help you Ze-Wu-Jun." Jiang Cheng confirms.

Lan Zhan tries to assert that they don't need their help again, and is cut off by XiChen welcoming their help and asking Huaisang if he will be joining them as well, which he denies, saying he'd rather study instead. Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying head back to their rooms to gather anything they might need. It wasn't long before they returned to join the twin jades. Jiang Cheng notices this time the awkward silence between the brothers and the way the 2nd jade is still refusing to look at Wei Ying. "Damn, I really was oblivious before wasn't I?" He thinks.

They mount their swords and make their way quickly towards Caiyi town. The nets XiChen had placed a few days ago once again prove to contain the corpses of strangers unknown to the area, and Wei Ying once again points out the oddity of it. XiChen is quick to say that this is why he returned to get Wangji's help in the matter, and Wei Ying tells them that the ghouls may hide if they continue their current approach. Wangji suggests waiting them out and Wei Ying questions the logic of using 'just nets?' to catch them.

"Does YunMeng have other methods?" Lan XiChen asks patiently. To which Wei Ying smiles but doesn't respond, Jiang Cheng remembers seeing him dive into the water to drag the water ghouls out. Diving in would be considered too dangerous here given the temperature of the water, it would also definitely bring on a lecture from the old goat.

Wei Ying looks around for a moment before taking on his normal shit eating grin looking at Lan Zhan's boat. "Lan Zhan, look at me!" Wei Ying shouts splashing water at him with his bamboo paddle.

"Ridiculous!" Lan Zhan responds, jumping lightly onto another boat. Clearly he thought Wei Ying was goofing off, at another point in time, Jiang Cheng would have agreed. Wei Ying however lightly kicked of the boat he was standing on and used the momentum to flip the boat where Lan Zhan had been standing moments earlier. Revealing that there were three water ghouls on the bottom, other lan sect disciples immediately moved to suppress them.

"Young Master Wei, how did you know they were on the bottom of the boat." XiChen asks, impressed.

"Thats simple, the water displacement was wrong, his boat sat lower than those with two people in it." Wei Ying begins, "there had to be something on the bottom." he finishes. Lan XiChen praises his experience, and then Wei Ying glides his boat closer to the one Lan Zhan had jumped to, apologizing for splashing him with water and explaining he simply was trying to prevent the water ghouls from fleeing. The previous time around Lan Zhan had been angry with Wei Ying over the porn book prank, but that hadn't happened this time, instead he simply looks mildly annoyed by Wei Ying's splashing him with water.

"Why did you come?" Lan Zhan asks, his tone isn't as scathing as last time around, he just looks annoyed and unsure if he can trust Wei Ying to be serious. Wei Ying defends himself saying that he really did come to help and telling Lan Zhan to not be so gloomy.

Jiang Cheng understands Lan Zhans distrust of Wei Ying's seriousness perfectly, he snaps "If you want to be of help stop chattering an get over here!" at Wei Ying with a roll of his eyes. A moment later the net starts to move and a disciple announces it loudly. Things start moving more quickly as the thick black curtains of hair in the water start to surge and swell among the boats, and ghoulish hands dig into the sides of their boats, as before Lan Zhan severs the hands on left side of the boat at the wrist and is about to go after those on the right side when the red sword glare of Wei Ying's sword is seen flashing by on the right, quick as anything it's sheathed again.

The exchange revolving around the name of Wei Ying's sword happens again and Jiang Cheng both internally cringes and rolls his eyes at Wei Yings reasoning all over again. Lan Zhan's exasperated expression and comment of ridiculous, strikes Jiang Cheng as funny because frankly it is ridiculous, that's why it's perfect for Wei Ying. Jiang Cheng finishes hacking off the water ghouls on his side when he sees the shadow dart around the boat again "Here it comes!"

Another disciple from the other side shouts "There are some here as well!" the dark masses undulate in the water changing sizes and shapes.

It isn't long before Wei Ying comments on the strangeness of it, before crying out "Lan Zhan! Beside your boat!" and the white robed youth is still quick to send his sword after it but fails to catch anything.

On the other side the disciple Jiang Cheng now recognizes as Su She still sends his sword out like the absolute dipshit he is and it doesn't return. "What a fucking moron..." is all Jiang Cheng can think about it. Jiang Cheng elects to ignore Su She's chastisement at the hands of the other disciple and instead watches as Lan Zhan manages to swipe a scrap of clothing off another water ghoul with the tip of his sword, Wei Ying still laughs, but decidedly doesn't nearly lose his balance this time. "No point in commenting on his dumb sense of humor this time..." Jiang Cheng thinks rolling his eyes at his brother.

"So the thing sneaking around was just that scrap of clothing?" Wei Ying asks after his laughter dies down.

"Mn. But clothing wouldn't have taken a sword so something else has to be down there." Lan Zhan responds. Just then Lan Zhan seems to notice how far the boats have drifted, "Go back, immediately!"

"Why?" XiChen asks, looking at his brother.

"They led the boats out here on purpose." Just as Lan Zhan answers the question, they all feel their boats begin to sink.

Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying both notice that the once deep green water has now turned black and is beginning to spill into the boats. The clanging of swords is a chorus in the air as everyone mounts their swords quickly, everyone except that fucking idiot Su She who is quickly rescued by Wei Ying, who then throws him at Lan Zhan as the thing from the lake seems to recognize Wei Ying, reaching out and dragging him down. "WEI YING!" Jiang Cheng screams, feeling his heart drop into his stomach, he starts to go after him but Lan XiChen Catches Jiang Cheng's arm before he can.

ALL P.O.V

"WEI YING!"

upon hearing the scream, Lan XiChen's attention snaps from where Young Master Wei had vanished beneath the black waters, to Young Master Jiang who is making to dive after him. Moving quickly he catches Jiang Cheng's arm and holds him firmly. "You will be swallowed if you go down there."

"I HAVE TO GO DOWN THERE." Jiang Cheng tries to shake him off, then pry him off, he-he has to get down there! Wei Ying needs help! "HE'S GOING TO DROWN!" his focus is completely on the dark swirling waters he doesn't even look up as he yells at Lan XiChen to let him go! Lan Zhan meanwhile had caught Su She and without wasting time had Raced him back to the docks. He deposited Su She rather roughly by tossing him onto the docks, not bothering to land, before returning to the main group. He doesn't even look at Jiang Cheng, his eyes are focused on the black waters below them, then apparently having spotted something amid the darkness he dives in his sword following him into the dark.

Wei Ying doesn't even feel the cold of the water to be honest, only the numb feeling of the dark energy as it tries to invade his body, this time though his core drives it out, he can vaguely hear the voices inside the dark energy hissing in anger. You belong to us! Your ours to play with! Ours to keep, they won't have you... no one will save you... they whisper and he's distantly aware that his lungs are burning and that he needs air, then that water is filling his lungs and he's very likely going to drown.

Above the surface, Lan XiChen knocks Young Master Jiang out to keep him from deviating, and stares down at the waters his brother had vanished into moments before worriedly. He turns to the other disciples, "Head back to the docks" He tells them "Wait there." a few of them glance at each other in fear and confusion but they ultimately obey with a bow and a 'yes Ze-Wu-Jun'. Moments later and much to XiChen's relief, Lan Wangji breaks the surface carrying an unconscious Wei Wuxian in his arms. He gives his brother a look that asks if the other boy is ok, and a curt nod is the only response he gets but the concern in Wangji's eyes tells him Wei Ying needs to be looked at more closely when they reach the docks.

Jiang Cheng P.O.V

When Jiang Cheng wakes up they are back in Gusu Lan, he soon realizes he can hear his father's voice outside the door. After looking around at the sparsely furnished room, what happened at the lake returns to his mind and his pulse begins to race, "Wei Ying..." the moment his brothers name flashes in his mind he basically jumps out of the bed. It's only after hearing the commotion that the door slides open, and Jiang Fengmian and a healer in Gusu's white robes enter the room. At this time in the past his fathers presence would have calmed him down but instead right now it makes him panic worse. "Fuqin... Wei Ying he got sucked down by the water borne abyss." the moment he starts talking the words just keep tumbling out. "I tried to go after him but the Ze-Wu-Jun wouldn't let me, I don't know where he-"

"Calm down. Everything is okay A-Cheng" Fengmian's voice is as warm and gentle as Jiang Cheng remembers, his tone is concerned but not pained or panicked in anyway and it brings a little relief, Wei Ying must be okay. "A-Ying is asleep in the next room, the 2nd Young Master Lan is playing clarity for him." as his father says this Jiang Cheng realizes he can faintly hear the sound of the Gugin being played.

"How did he get free! He was gone! I kept looking for him in the water but I couldn't see him at all-" Once again he's cut off, he won't totally calm down until he can talk to Wei Ying himself.

"2nd Young Master Lan went in after A-Ying" Jiang Fengmian says cutting off Jiang Chengs half panicked rambling, "1st Young Master Lan said that he was concerned you would Qi deviate so he knocked you out." he finishes, placing a hand on his sons shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"I kept remembering when he almost drowned last year." Jiang Cheng says, his tone is no longer panicked but there is still an edge to it, like he wants to cry. He's shocked when his father hugs him, even as a small child this sort of comfort was rare. "I thought he was gonna die..." he trails off trying to stop himself from actually crying. The healer has excused himself, undoubtedly to give them privacy.

"He didn't though, he's okay." Fengmian reiterates, adding with some relief "I was afraid the two of you were drifting apart. I'm glad that fear was unfounded" Jiang Cheng freezes at those words, he and Wei Ying had still been close at this point in time, but his father had been worried about them this early on?

"He's my brother... I don't want to even think about anything happening to him." Jiang Cheng answers after a moment. Of course his fathers words make Jiang Cheng think about the last time around. About the number of times he'd snapped at Wei Ying for one reason or another... Things he'd thought Wei Ying knew to take in stride, and winces. How many times had he said something that had hurt Wei Ying? And suddenly he feels more than a little guilty and unsure of himself. "I dont want to be like mom... not this time." He tells himself, he's going to be stronger this time... He never wants to lose his family again!

Wei Wuxian P.O.V

Wei Wuxian regains consciousness to aching lungs and a throbbing head, he can hear the familiar tones of his husbands Gugin notes drifting softly throughout the room. He's vaguely aware of calling out to his husband but to be honest at this point he is still waking up, and isn't sure where he is or what happened. "Maybe something happened during the night hunt with Jin Ling?" He feels someone sit down on the edge of the bed, then a hand reaching out to check his temperature. It's Lan Zhan, but he looks different than Wei Wuxian expected, much much younger. Suddenly his memories of being dragged under by the water borne abyss resurface and he's trying to sit up. "Wait... that's not right... fuck."

"Careful, Wei Ying." Lan Zhan says softly, helping him to sit up and moving pillows behind him for support. "Wei Ying almost drowned yesterday."

"Ah" Wei Wuxian says in recognition, wincing mentally at the way the sound hurts his throat, his head still hurts. "Sorry." He apologizes, it hurts to speak so he keeps it short... thinking isn't much better. Lan Zhan gives him a look that asks 'sorry for what?'.

"Wei Ying did nothing wrong." Lan Zhan says after a moment. Looking Wei Wuxian in the eye, his eyes are intense and after everything thats happened meeting his gaze makes Wei Wuxian miss his original time line, he wants his husband.

"I made everyone worry." Wei Wuxian clarifies, staring at the sheets, wishing Lan Zhan would take his hand, his fingers curl into the white sheets trying to keep himself grounded.

"Not Wei Ying's fault." Lan Zhan tells him.

"But- if I hadn't-"

"Wei Ying did what was right." Lan Zhan interrupts him "Nothing to apologize for."

"Ah, Lan Zhan, I thought you weren't supposed to interrupt people?" Wei Wuxian teases, trying to keep this 15 year old version of his husband talking. "I dont want to be alone right now... please stay." he pleads mentally.

"Didn't." Lan Zhan says, "Stopped Wei Ying from speaking untruths." Wei Wuxian could swear Lan Zhan just teased him. He stares at him for a solid minute trying to figure out how to respond to that.

"That rule is about bad-mouthing others, Lan Zhan!" Wei Wuxian's throat is still sore but for the moment he's distracted from the pain. "It doesn't count if I'm talking about myself"

"Won't allow it." Lan Zhan insists stubbornly. "Wei Ying acted bravely, should be proud."

"Aiya! Lan Zhan, warn me before you say things like that!" Wei Wuxian whines, whether it's because his mind is still recovering or because he was thinking about the other time line, it takes him a moment to realize he was being overly familiar. The moment that the realization hits him his face turns red, and he shuts up. "S-sorry... that was-" Wei Wuxian stumbles through his words pausing for a moment to gather his thoughts before trying again "I'm being overly familiar, aren't I?".

"Mn." is Lan Zhan's response as usual, Wei Wuxian isn't sure how to interpret it.

Wei Wuxian looks up at Lan Zhan, his eyes briefly locking with the other youth's golden ones only to dart away. "It's just... I like you... Being around you makes me happy."his cheeks are most definitely burning, so much for being shameless, he has no idea why this is so difficult. It's probably a full minute and a half before he can finally look back up at Lan Zhan, and when he does, those gold eyes are wide with surprise.

"..." Lan Zhan says nothing, he is still looking at Wei Wuxian brows knitting slightly, he's still processing the information.

"Lan Zhan! I- it's okay... just forget I said anything." Wei Wuxian mumbles, on top of still hot cheeks he can feel his eyes burning, and it's mortifying. His feels like it's racing faster than one of the rabbits he'd given Lan Zhan a bit later on in the previous timeline. "Dont cry, dont cry... this is so stupid... why am I so emotional right now?" he thinks, blinking a few times subconsciously his eyes focus on Lan Zhan for a split second before shifting to the walls, the floor, anywhere to avoid those gold eyes.

"Wei Ying-" Lan Zhan starts, breaking off as the door to the room slides open, it's the healer as well as Wei Wuxian's Uncle and Jiang Cheng. Lan Zhan rises from his seat on the edge of Wei Wuxian's bed and bows to them politely. "Sect leader Jiang, Jiang Wanyin." Lan Zhan greets, before turning to glance at Wei Wuxian briefly "I will leave you to visit.". With those words said he turns and walks out the door.

Wei Wuxian digs his fingers into the sheets and tries to pull it together before looking up to his uncle and brother. "Jiang Bobo!" he forces himself to smile, though he's almost sure it's faker than he wants it to be.

Jiang Cheng P.O.V

Jiang Cheng has barely stepped into the room before his eyes narrow, Wangji is sitting on the edge of the bed like he and Wei Ying had been having a conversation. Needless to say the two talking isn't why his eyes narrow, no it's the fact that Wei Ying is staring at the wall next to the hospital bed like he wishes it would swallow him. Wei Ying looks like he's a few seconds from bursting into tears as well and the only thing Jiang Cheng can think is "WHAT. THE. FUCK." he doesn't even acknowledge the 2nd jade as he bows politely and greets them before excusing himself.

Jiang Cheng sees the way Wei Ying clenches his fingers in the sheets, and prepares himself mentally for what he knows is going to be a fake smile. And then Wei Ying looks up and Jiang Cheng simultaneously wonders how he was fooled by it before, and how he can hide a body because he's going to kill Wangji. Well maybe not kill, but at least kick the shit out of him... He needs to think of a way to excuse himself so he can go after that white robed prick.

"Jiang Bobo!" Wei Yings tone is a little pitch-y, before he might have thought it was excitement, but he's getting better at reading his sibling.

"A-Ying, are you feeling alright?" Fengmian asks, this time Jiang Cheng hears the concern in his tone that he'd somehow missed for years... his father must of realized Wei Ying was struggling, it only makes Jiang Cheng curse himself more for having been oblivious.

"My throats a little sore, but I feel fine otherwise." Wei Ying says, he pauses for a moment "Sorry I made you worry, You didn't have to come check on me."

Okay, something about that response makes Jiang Cheng's blood boil... Why wouldn't his FATHER want to check on his martial NEPHEW. He tells himself to breath, gathering his thoughts and forcing himself to calm down. His father is telling Wei Ying that he was worried when Lan XiChen sent him a message about what happened in Caiyi town, he wanted to see that Wei Ying was safe with his own eyes.

Then Wei Ying asks about what happened, apparently, he blacked out almost immediately when the water touched him. "Did you have to drag me out again A-Cheng?" Wei Ying's words jolt Jiang Cheng out of his thoughts.

"I would have, but I got knocked out." Jiang Cheng admits, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

"1st Young Master Lan said that his brother pulled you out, A-Ying" Fengmian answers, "A-Cheng was panicking and 1st Young Master Lan feared he might Qi deviate." he explains. "He was very worried about you."

Jiang Cheng looks away awkwardly, he's never been good in these sorts of situations. "Be more careful next time..." He spits, "You damn near gave me a heart attack."

Wei Ying looks back and forth between them, his aura full of surprise and confusion. "I'll try A-Cheng, It's not like I was expecting the Water borne Abyss to grab me."

"I need better than that Wei Ying-" Jiang Cheng starts but his voice breaks, he regathers himself for a moment and starts again. "What part of I need you here and healthy don't you get? You are so much more than a servant, I don't care what A-Niang says, your more than even a brother... You are my best friend, my only real friend." He emphasizes certain words, trying to get his feeling across clearly, he should have done this sooner.

"A-Cheng you don't have to-" Wei Ying starts

"YES I DO" Jiang Cheng snaps, cutting him off. There are so many things his father needs to know, and the Wei Ying has needed to hear for years, and Damn it. Jiang Cheng is done staying quiet, he won't lose everything again, Not. This. Time. "How do I know if I let you off with 'I'll try' you won't go and try to drown yourself again? How do I know you won't slit your wrists again? I need my brother to be here, I can't lose you." Jiang Fengmian looks horrified, and Wei Ying looks like he wants to vanish through the floor. "Good, no more avoiding things, Fuqin needs to know the truth... sorry Wei Ying but I won't stay quiet anymore." Jiang Cheng thinks.

Jiang Fengmian looks extremely distressed by his sons' revelations; he waits for Jiang Cheng to stop talking before speaking up. "A-Ying, is it true? Did you really try to..." He sounds hoarse, and trails off towards the end unable to say the words. Not that it mattered they knew what he was asking.

Wei Ying looks down at the ground, he doesn't say anything but his body language says everything. At length he nods slowly, "I'm sorry."

"A-Ying, If anyone should be sorry, it's me and Ziyuan, You should have been able to come to us when you needed support." Fengmian's words are filled with regret, he knows he's let them all down, it's the same realization that Jiang Cheng had had himself a couple of days earlier.

"Th-Thats... I.. It had nothing to do with you, I was just struggling with some things." Wei Ying flounders for a moment with his words.

"You still should have been able to share that with us." Jiang Cheng responds, "You are family, we haven't done a good enough job of making sure you knew that."

"But-" Wei Ying starts and Jiang Cheng can see that his sibling is thinking about his mother's words again, he can practically hear 'son of a servant' in his head.

"A-Cheng is correct A-Ying, I will talk to Ziyuan, I've truly put this matter off too long." Jiang Fengmian promises, "Please forgive me." Wei Ying truly looks like a spooked deer.

The healer who had followed them in, to check on Wei Ying clears his throat quietly. His face says 'this is all well and good but please leave so I can check on my patient.' Jiang Cheng and Jiang Fengmian say good bye to Wei Ying, Jiang Cheng promising to come by later to see him again. Jiang Cheng sees his father off after telling his father more about Wei Ying's mental health, including his trouble with hearing voices, Fengmian thanks him for his honesty and asks him to take good care of his brother for the remainder of their time in Gusu.

After saying good bye to his father, Jiang Cheng goes looking for the 2nd Jade, he knows their changes the past few days are likely a lot for everyone to take in. However, he won't see his brother look like that again, and Lan Zhan might be able to help when it comes to fixing things. He stops by the guest house he and Wei Ying have been staying at and grabs the documents he had written, then heads for the library pavilion. When he reaches the pavilion it's XiChen he finds, he informs him that his father has returned to Yunmeng and asks him where he can find Wangji, telling XiChen that he simply wanted to thank him for saving his brother in person. Lan XiChen tells him that Wangji is probably at his private dwelling, the Jingshi, and offers to take him there.

"I would greatly appreciate it, Ze-Wu-Jun." Jiang Cheng says bowing politely, it takes active thought to be polite and respectful he finds, he'd been to use to being thorny towards everyone. "Something I have to change; I don't want to end up alone again." He thinks, he also wonders if maybe telling XiChen too might end up saving the older Lan some heartache in the end.

"Is Young Master Wei recovering well?" XiChen asks, as they walk together towards the edge of the cloud recesses.

"Lan Xie told us he needed a couple more days of rest." Jiang Cheng tells Lan XiChen, "He seemed well when I saw him earlier though."

"Good, Wangji will be relieved to hear that." XiChen says, his tone is earnest and Jiang Cheng can see the concern in his face he works very hard to hide his displeasure towards the 2nd jade while talking to Lan XiChen. "He was very worried when Young Master Wei didn't wake up yesterday."

"It wasn't my brothers first close call with water, I'm more worried about any affects from the water borne abyss." Jiang Cheng says after thinking about it for a moment, he decides that having both jades on their side will prove to be an advantage ultimately.

"I'm sure you have had a few close calls living in Yunmeng." Lan XiChen agrees, Yunmeng Jiang often contends with flooding during the rainy season so some accidents with water are unavoidable. "Wangji was also concerned about the dark energy from the abyss having a bad effect on Young Master Wei." he admits.

"My brothers mental health isn't as good as people think, Wei Ying is good at hiding things but he has a lot of emotional trauma." Jiang Cheng explains, "after his parents died, he was on the street for 2 years before my fuqin found him."

"It's understandable he'd struggle with trust after having to survive in such a situation." XiChen responds, his expression is sympathetic and kind. Jiang Cheng begins to understand why Wei Ying had been happy in Gusu, even if QiRen disliked him; both of the jades and Lan Zhan's juniors had cared about him.

"I only found out how badly he was struggling a few days ago." Jiang Cheng admits, "I wonder how I missed seeing it now." XiChen looks at him in a way that seems to say 'ah, so that was why you panicked so much.'.

"Sometimes when your too close to someone it's easy to miss things." XiChen says, "and sometimes it's just that you delude yourself into believing things are a certain way." his tone isn't judgmental in the slightest, if Jiang Cheng had to guess it would be that Lan XiChen has been in a similar situation before.

"That's true." Is all he says in response, they have made it to the jingshi quicker than he expected. Jiang Cheng mentally braces himself for what is a head, if he's lucky they will believe him without trying to get Wei Ying involved. If he's unlucky, well he'll be counted as mental again, it wouldn't be the first time. Lan XiChen calls out to his brother softly through one of the silk paneled doors, shuffling can be heard faintly from inside and a moment later the door slides open, Lan Zhan stares at them both for a moment before stepping aside.

"Enter." Lan Zhan says, giving them permission to come into the living area of his home, Jiang Cheng notices seemingly silent conversation that seems to pass between the jades as they settle at the tea table.

"I came to thank you for saving Wei Ying the other day." Jiang Cheng tells the 2nd jade, bowing his head respectfully. "My brother has been struggling a lot the past year and the events at the lake reminded me of another event... I acted irrationally as a result." it takes everything he has to be polite to the 2nd jade, a part of him really wants to tear into Lan Zhan for whatever happened earlier but he knows getting them on his side is important, so he puts on his sect leader mask.
"No need for thanks, Wei Ying needed help." Lan Zhan is as short of words as ever and Jiang Cheng tries supremely hard to not be pissed off by his piercing gold stare.

"Still, thank you for rescuing my brother." Jiang Cheng insists, "There was something else I wanted to talk to both of you about, I've thought about it a lot the past couple of days and I think it's important you know." He draws the papers and scrolls out of the qiankun pouch in his sleeve and lays them on the tea table.

Lan XiChen reaches out and takes one of the scrolls, opening it so that Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying's neat calligraphy can be read, it's a timeline covered in notes. "What is this may I ask, Young Master Jiang?"

"This isn't going to be easy to explain, but please listen to what I have to say." Jiang Cheng begins, here goes nothing. "My brother can also confirm what I'm going to tell you."

Lan XiChens eyes sparkle with curiosity and Lan Zhan looks at him with thickly veiled confusion. "We will listen." XiChen says, and Lan Wangji gives one of his infamous 'mn' responses.

"I'm not actually from our current time, or well, my memories aren't." Jiang Cheng begins, "Wei Ying and I accidentally sent ourselves back here from the future."

"when you say accidentally you mean?" XiChen asks, he's curious and interested, atleast he's not kicking Jiang Cheng out yet.

"One of Wei Yings future experiments basically exploded and we ended up here roughly three days ago." Jiang Cheng says, "but that isn't what is important."

"Mn. Sounds like Wei Ying." Lan Zhan speaks up and Jiang Cheng tries very hard not to snort, because yes, yes it does sound like Wei Ying. XiChen looks at his sibling in a way that seems to say 'really Lan Zhan, birth name basis already?'.

"Agreed." Jiang Cheng groans, "At any rate, we're from 25 years in the future, and there are some things we really need to fix." Wangji and XiChen look at each other like they are trying to decide if he's insane. "I'm telling you both this because Wei Ying and I could use your help."

"I will decide after we hear everything." XiChen says, ever the impartial mediator. Lan Zhan says nothing but looks interested.

"That's fair. I was expecting to be thrown out" Jiang Cheng responds, he pauses for a moment to gather his thoughts before starting again. He begins with explaining what happened here at Gusu the first time around, including how Wei Ying had prank-ed Wangji the last time and how the water borne abyss had gone. Next, he tells them about how the events of the archery tournament hosted by Wen sect had resulted in an assault on both Gusu Lan and Yunmeng Jiang, during which the cloud recesses burned and lotus pier was almost completely annihilated (he also explains about the slaughter tortoise). As he continues on, he notices XiChen looking paler and paler, next to him Wangji is beginning to look concerned. When he starts to explain how he'd lost his core not long after the destruction of lotus pier and the core transplant he'd undergone, Lan XiChen stops him.

"A core transfer is impossible!" XiChen says, "And even if it weren't it would still mean that someone would have to give up theirs."
"I wish it was impossible, it would have saved a lot of heartache." Jiang Cheng says, "It was the famous doctor, Wen Qing who performed it, and it was her theory that it could be done in the first place."

"I thought you said that Qishan Wen sect were the ones who started the war." XiChen states, his tone is questioning.

"They were, but not all the Wen's agreed, many of their people were being threatened." Jiang Cheng explains, "I would have died when I was caught if not for Wei Ying having befriended Wen Qing and her brother... I owe them a lot but I treated them horribly." He admits.

"I see, continue then." XiChen says, next to him, to Jiang Chengs surprise he sees what looks like compassion in Lan Zhan's eyes. It won't be there when he's done, that much Jiang Cheng is sure of.

"The truth is I wasn't aware of what Wei Ying had sacrificed for me until five years ago in our time line" He continues, he can see the exact moment that they both realize what he is saying. "He kept the fact he had given up his core a secret, while the entire cultivational world started to turn on him." from there he goes on to explain to them how Wei Ying had been thrown into the burial mounds by Wen Chao and how after 3 months of tireless searching and fighting they had finally found Wei Ying, but he wasn't the same person. He explains to them about the Demonic cultivation Wei Ying had come to practice and the creation of the Stygian Tiger amulet. The eventual victory in the war, Wei Ying and Lan Zhan's falling out and Wei Ying's defection from Yunmeng Jiang to protect the remaining Wen's. He tells them about Yanli's wedding and the Birth of his nephew, then the events of Qionqi pass, and the death of Jin ZiXuan. His eyes are stinging as he recounts how his sister had insisted to everyone that her little brother would never have hurt her husband, despite all the evidence to the contrary. He tells them how Wen Qing and her brother, the conscious corpse known now as the ghost general had turned themselves in pleading that Wei Ying and their family be spared. His voice breaks when he gets to the events at the Nightless city and he has to sit in silence for a few moments.

"Breath, Young Master Jiang... take your time." XiChen says in a soothing tone of voice his eyes are full of emotion at this point, he knows that Jiang Cheng is telling the truth.

"Thank you." He manages at length, "That was a terrible night, I found out later that what happened was orchestrated by Jin Guangshan and Meng Yao." He explains shakily, "But for a long time I blamed Wei Ying for our sisters death." As he continues explaining what happened that night, including what Wei Ying had told him about that night from Lan Zhan, he notices the 2nd jade looks progressively tenser. Finally, he arrives at the events of the conference and the decision to attack the burial mounds, and he can see the anger in Lan Zhan's eyes. Jiang Cheng internally cringes as he describes what happened in the massacre and watching his brother being ripped apart by fierce corpses.

XiChen stops him there, "I thought you said both of you came from 25 years in the future?"

"Wei Ying did come back with me from the same point." Jiang Cheng confirms.

"How is that possible if he was ripped apart." XiChen asks, and in honesty Jiang Cheng was expecting this.

"He was dragged back by a self-sacrifice spell, 13 years after he died." Jiang Cheng says, "But there is more I need to tell you first." He tells them about Lan Zhan's punishment for protecting Wei Ying. Then he explains how Wei Ying had hidden Wen Qing's 4-year-old nephew in a hollow tree right before the massacre and how that poor child had been left on the burial mounds alone dehydrated and starving for 3 days before Lan Zhan had heard of Wei Yings demise and had rushed to the burial mounds in a blind panic to look for any traces of Wei Ying and had subsequently found him. He explains how Lan Zhan had ended up adopting and raising the child as his son, Lan Sizhui. He explains that the next 13 years had been peaceful but both he and Lan Zhan had avoided each other like the plague neither understanding the others view of events and just focusing on raising the children under their care.

"So you are trying to prevent all these terrible deaths from occurring." XiChen says, thoughtfully after staying quiet for several moments after Jiang Cheng finished talking. Jiang Cheng is exhausted mentally after essentially reliving the most scarring period of his life, but there is more to tell.

"Basically, and hoping we can get through this without Wei Ying needing to be brought back through Demonic cultivation and human sacrifice." He adds, "My brother would actually like to save the boy he came back in the body of from his fate as well."

"Wei Ying is kind, he would hate being in such a situation." Lan Zhan says, and once again Jiang Cheng finds himself agreeing, Wangji already reads his brother very well despite their short time knowing each other currently. It gives Jiang Cheng a strong feeling of relief.

"He did. He also hated being alone after he came back." Jiang Cheng tells them, "Actually after the next events he stopped leaving the jingshi unless You or Sizhui were with him." both siblings look surprised at this revelation.

"He lived here? With Wangji?" XiChen asks, he looks amused but not surprised.

"They got married a year after he returned, and then proceeded to scar everyone by making-out all over the place." Jiang Cheng can't help himself, he has to pick at Wangji a bit, revenge for making Wei Ying cry earlier... "they couldn't keep their hands off each other even in public, at least not for more than five minutes." XiChen looks mortified and Wangji looks very uncomfortable, his ears are pink. "Serves you right jerk." Jiang Cheng thinks and can't help smirking.

"I have trouble imagining Wangji being that shameless." XiChen admits, "he did throw tantrums though when he was little." he adds teasing. Wangji looks like he wants to vanish through the floor and Jiang Cheng has never been so happy about embarrassing someone.

"I think Wei Ying rubbed off on him." Jiang Cheng agrees "I doubt he would have done some of the things they did if he'd ended up with someone else." his brother is, after all, the king of shamelessness.

"So can you tell us what happened after he came back? How did it happen in the first place?" XiChen is still asking all the questions, but at this point its mostly out of curiosity about how his brother and Wei Ying got together.

"I wasn't actually there when he first came back so I will tell you what he told me." Jiang Cheng starts, he goes over how Wei Ying had woken up on a blood array in a shack with gouges in his arms as his only clue as to what he was brought back for. He tells them about how Wei Ying had quickly learned he was reborn into the body of the lunatic from Mo clan, Mo Xuanyu, who was a bastard child of sect leader Jin. He explains the workings of the body sacrifice spell and how Wei Ying had been confused as to how he counted as an evil spirit in the first place. He tells the about how the Mo's ended up being their own undoing after their heir stole a evil lure flag from the Lan disciples who had entered the area for a night hunt. How the boys had ended up having to call Lan Zhan for help after things had gotten out of hand and Wei Ying had to sneak away, only to end up running into his nephew, Jin Ling who he hadn't recognized on account of the boy only being a year old when he died. He tells them about his fight with Lan Zhan and about the stone idol that had come to life. How they had all been shocked to discover that the ghost general still existed when he answered Wei Yings flute music and appeared to fight the idol.

"You said Wen Ning and His Sister were burned.. how?" XiChen asks, this is another question he expected.

"Jin Guangshan apparently burned a different corpse, Wen Qing did die in the flames though." Jiang Cheng answers, "I saw it myself..." he sounds haunted when he says this. He never wanted to see her die, so the fact that he didn't stop it has been the source of nightmares for years. He continues after a moments silence, telling them about the journey that Wei Ying and Lan Zhan had made across the cultivational world to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding the arm. How Meng Yao had caught on to them towards the end and kidnapped the juniors of multiple sects in order to frame Wei Ying and Lan Zhan. How it had backfired when he'd kidnapped Lan Zhan's adoptive son and his juniors, who had all known their Hanguang Jun wouldn't hurt them. He tells them in detail about the argument between he and Wei Ying at lotus pier and how his brother's fainting had resulted in Wen Ning telling him the truth about his core. The last thing he tells them is about how they ended up back so far in the past, and about his brother's mental health issues even this far back in the time line.

"Wei Ying is having trouble adjusting." Lan Zhan says, "called me something different when he woke up earlier." Lan Zhan had mostly been quietly listening all this time, so Jiang Cheng is slightly startled when he speaks.

"He called you Er-gege didn't he?" Jiang Cheng asks, "He hardly ever called you by your name after you got married." Suddenly Wei Ying's appearance before makes sense, he'd woken up confused and called out to his husband.

"Mn." Lan Zhan nods, "wasn't sure how to respond. Thought Wei Ying was sick." Jiang Cheng's temper cools at this, it was just a misunderstanding then.

"He looked like he wanted to cry when Fuqin and I went to see him." Jiang Cheng tells him, he sees concern flash across Wangji's eyes.

"Coming into contact with the water born abyss probably didn't help his mental state." XiChen suggests, "Wangji, why don't you go and play clarity for him for the next few days? Or he could come here." the last statement comes off slightly teasing, slightly suggestive and for a moment, Jiang Cheng questions his life choices.

"Just don't make out in-front of me again and I won't say anything." He groans, rolling his eyes, he catches the mischievous look on Lan XiChens face and feels like banging his head against a wall. What the heck is with Lan's... Seriously...

Wei Wuxian P.O.V

After Jiang Fengmian and Jiang Cheng left the healer introduced himself as Lan Xie. Lan Xie sits on the edge of the bed and asks for his wrist, Wei Wuxian stretches his hand out and the healer begins by taking hold of his wrist gently and using his Qi to check Wei Wuxian's meridians. Once satisfied he checks his pulse, "How are you feeling? Any discomfort?" Lan Xie asks, his face is kind but stern and Wei Wuxian can tell he won't get away with 'i'm fine'.

"My chest hurts when I speak, it's just achy." Wei Wuxian offers, "and my heads been pounding since I woke up."

"Thats understandable, you almost drowned and had to be resuscitated after our Hanguang Jun pulled you out." Lan Xie, response very nearly has Wei Wuxian turning red. "What about the voices?"

"Their quiet right now." Wei Wuxian says quietly, he hopes the healer wont push farther but much to his dismay.

"They weren't earlier though?" Lan Xie asks, and Wei Wuxian winces.

"I heard them while I was in the lake" Wei Wuxian admits, "They were louder than usual, they said no one was going to save me... they said I was theirs to keep." Lan Xie looks a mixture of concerned and horrified, Wei Wuxian regrets being so forthcoming.

"I see." is all the healer says for a moment, "We should continue the music therapy for a few more days, I believe it may help you."

"I... can we not..." Wei Wuxian pleads, he really doesn't want to see this Lan Zhan, not right now... he wants the one he's been married to for 5 years, the one who knows how to read him, the one who cuddles him when he's upset, the one who rubs his back and sings when he wakes up from a nightmare.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid there are still traces of dark energy in your system." Lan Xie insists gently, "leaving it will only hurt you." Wei Wuxian knows he right but he still doesn't want to think about it right now.

At length the healer finally leaves, telling him to rest for the time being, someone will bring him food later. The moment he leaves Wei Wuxian buries his face in the pillows and starts crying, he should be happy, he has a chance to fix everything after all... But right now all he wants is to wake up in the jingshi and have Lan Zhan asking him whats wrong.

At some point he must have cried himself to sleep because the next thing Wei Wuxian knows he's waking up to the soft notes of clarity, he feels better than he did when he fell asleep. His mind is still clear of voices and he feels more relieved and at peace with his current situation, his head is also no longer pounding and the tightness in his chest has eased. He lays still for a few minutes, simply enjoying the peaceful music, at length though Lan Zhan seems to realize he's awake. The music stops and Wei Wuxian can hear the soft sounds of cloth sliding against cloth as the white dressed youth stands. Wei Wuxian sits up, and watches the other glide across the room before sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Morning Lan Zhan." he greets, if a little shyly, admiring the others appearance, Lan Zhan has never been anything but beautiful to Wei Wuxian and this young naive version definitely has an appeal similar to his older variant.

"Mn, Morning." Lan Zhan returns, he's looking at Wei Wuxian intently, it makes Wei Wuxian feel a little self-conscious and he looks away. "Is it true?"

"Is what true?" Wei Wuxian asks, his eyes move back up to look at the other, trying to figure out what he's asking.

"Is Wei Ying really from the future?" Lan Zhan asks rewording his question, Wei Wuxian's eyes widen in shock.

"A-Cheng told you?" Wei Wuxian says more than asks, "he suggested we tell you when we first arrived."

"Mn." Lan Zhan responds, "Wanyin said Huan-ge and I needed to know."

"Th-then... you also know why I was being... overly familiar... right?" Wei Wuxian manages to get out after much hesitation. "please don't think we're insane... please god don't think I'm crazy."

"Wanyin told Huan-ge and I." Lan Zhan confirms, "Said I should ask you if I wanted to confirm it was true."

"Consider it confirmed." Wei Wuxian says in an almost breathless manner, for some reason he feels pinched for air. "We eloped, our son caught up with us half way through our elopement and traveled China with us on our way back to the cloud recesses." Wei Wuxian's eyes are stinging thinking about Sizhui, but he could swear the way Lan Zhan looks at him can almost be described as tender.

"We will find him again." He promises, and Wei Wuxian's breath hitches in his throat.

"You don't think I'm crazy then?" Wei Wuxian asks nervously, not wanting to get his hopes up.

"Wei Ying is crazy." Lan Zhan says, and pauses long enough to confuse Wei Wuxian before adding "But I like it." in a teasing tone. Wei Wuxian can't help himself and throws his arms around the others neck, pulling him into a passionate kiss. Lan Zhan freezes under him at first out of shock, but quickly melts into it, adjusting the angle and deepening the kiss. Their hands tug at each other's clothes, scrambling for purchase on the smooth material, Wei Wuxian's hands tangle themselves in Lan Zhan's hair. They break apart for air just in time as the door slides open to reveal a horrified and border line disgusted Jiang Cheng.

"Ugh, I'm going to have to deal with this already?" Jiang Cheng groans, "Remind me why I thought getting you two together sooner was a good idea?" he smacks himself in the forehead with his palm.

"Because you thought it would keep me out of trouble." Wei Wuxian snips, slightly flustered he sticks his tongue out at his brother. He straightens his robes out self-consciously and Lan Zhan does similarly moving a respectful distance from him.

"Yeah? Well clearly, I was drunk." Jiang Cheng huffs sarcastically, "Be glad it was me and not your Shufu." Jiang Cheng sighs, looking at Lan Zhan. "He would be ready to skin both of you."

"Shufu has no say." Lan Zhan responds evenly, Wei Wuxian notes that the air between Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng is as cold and dense as it was in the future time line... what died between these two? oh... never mind.

"Er-gege, A-Cheng, be nice, I'm right here..." Wei Wuxian says, looking back and forth between them. Lan Zhan's ears turn pink at the pet name and Jiang Cheng snorts, clearly finding his embarrassment amusing. They talk for a while, or rather Jiang Cheng tells Wei Wuxian what he's missed at class today, Wei Wuxian complains about having to catch up on said class work, and then fills the silence between them with pointless chatter.

Healer Lan Xie comes in to check on Wei Wuxian and gives him the all clear to go back to class tomorrow. He also tells Wei Wuxian he can return to the guest dorms, but tells Lan Zhan he probably still needs a few more music healing sessions.

The next couple of days are a blur to Wei Wuxian, between classes and going into Caiyi town with Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng in the afternoon, he doesn't have much opportunity to spend time with Lan Zhan. The music sessions are one of the few times they get to enjoy to themselves, especially because Jiang Cheng avoids coming to the jingshi unless he's forced to. Lan QiRen upon his return had been shocked to learn that Wei Wuxian was actually behaving himself, he was also surprised to learn of the incident involving the water borne abyss. Much to Wei Wuxian's delight, classes became shorter and shorter as a result of QiRen having to deal with the water borne abyss at Caiyi town.

It's one of those days that Wei Wuxian remembers his husband telling him how much he loved the rabbits Wei Wuxian had gifted him back then. He goes looking for them and presents them to Lan Zhan the first chance he gets. "Lan Zhan, I brought you a present this time!" Wei Wuxian announces when he arrives at the jingshi after classes in the afternoon. Lan Zhan blinks at him, curious but also weary, he still remembers Wei Wuxians penchant for pranks. Wei Wuxian pulls the two little fat snow balls out of his outer robe, "I know you like rabbits so I found you a couple, I gave these little guys to you last time around too." Wei Wuxian explains, "Unless of course you don't want them. I'm sure the Lan cooks would make use of such fat bunnies." he adds a little mischievously.

"Killing isn't allowed in Gusu." Lan Zhan states, his face is neutral as ever but his eyes are slightly worried.

"I could always take them outside of gusu, prepare them and bring them back in." Wei Wuxian points out cheekily, messing with Lan Zhan is fun, but he doesn't actually mean it. This time around he knows how protective of the little fluff balls his Er-gege is.

"Give. Them. Here." Lan Zhan says, and Wei Wuxian cant help laughing as he hands the two male bunnies over.

"I wouldn't actually do it you know." Wei Wuxian says, watching Lan Zhan pet one of the bunnies, "You still had them when I was brought back in the other time line... you'd even gotten a bunch more."

"Pets aren't allowed in Gusu." Lan Zhan says confused.

"Last time, you told XiChen-gege that they were a gift, he talked to Shufu." Wei Wuxian explains, he'd accidentally called XiChen big brother a few days earlier and had panicked only to have XiChen tell him it was fine, asking for permission to call him 'A-Ying' in return. XiChen had said it made sense because he was going to be his brother-in-law one day. "I already asked him this time; he said it was fine and that he'd talk to shufu." They are both silent for a couple of minutes, playing with the little white fluff balls and feeding them lettuce that Wei Wuxian had brought with him in a qiankun pouch. "I sort of freaked out and ran off when I gave them to you last time..." Wei Wuxian starts, "You aren't mad at me for surprising you with them are you?"

"Not mad. Surprised." Lan Zhan says slowly after a moment, "Like rabbits."

"Yeah I know..." Wei Wuxian laughs, "You've told me that more times than I can count in the other time line."

"Still true." Lan Zhan leaves them to hop around the jingshi's main living area and begins to play his Guqin, at this point he's given up telling Wei Wuxian to meditate.

Wei Wuxian realizes as his eyes wander around the room that one of the rabbits is a lot like him, hyper active and persistent in annoying the other rabbit. "Ah, Lan Zhan... do you like me because I Remind you of a rabbit?" he's partially teasing and partially flirting.

"Mn." is all Lan Zhan says, Wei Wuxian looks at him and swears he's smiling.

"Aiya... I can't deal with you sometimes, just what is 'Mn.' supposed to mean anyway." He looks away. His face definitely feels hot dang it. "So I remind you of a rabbit, I'm not sure what to do with that information..." He thinks.

Then just like before, the large of the two pins the smaller hyper active bunny and starts humping him, and Wei Wuxian tries not to call Lan Zhan's attention to it. "Hmm... It's sort of ironic with how we ended up" Wei Wuxian thinks, briefly wondering if the cut sleeve rabbits were a sign of some sort.

Eventually the two rabbits go back to exploring the room and Wei Wuxian follows them with his eyes, the Jingshi at this point in time is very plain and boring. After Wei Wuxian started living with Lan Zhan the walls had become covered in his chaotic experimental arrays and art he'd done of he and Lan Zhan- some of it including the younger version of Sizhui. As is this current version of the jingshi doesn't even really look lived in, it's so clean and neat and sparsely furnished. The time for the music cleansing session draws to a close peacefully, for once Wei Wuxian has nowhere to rush off to and instead offers to help Lan Zhan set the rabbits up. There are no natural predators inside Gusu so it's mostly a matter of setting up a temporary home for them in the jingshi's court yard until a proper hutch can be set up. They spend the next couple of hours between setting up a 'den' of sorts for the rabbits, and playing with them.
Wei Wuxian had laid himself on the ground under a small tree at the courtyards center, it was truly peaceful in the the jingshi. He was watching the rabbits hop around the courtyard while Lan Zhan had gone to get something to hold water for the bunnies. He honestly hadn't realized he'd missed the jingshi itself until he was coming everyday for music sessions, it still feels like home even if it's currently bare and blank. He's beginning to doze when Lan Zhan returns with a heavy, shallow stone wear bowl and a bucket of water. He hears his Er-gege filling it with water and then the tell-tale crunch of gravel as Lan Zhan walks back over to join. He lays with his eyes closed, the pretense of sleep apparent on his face if not for the way he smiles as Lan Zhan comes and sits next to him. "It's so peaceful here Er-gege... do you ever sleep out here?" Wei Wuxian asks, he can imagine that the view of the sky at night must be lovely during the summer.

"Mn. Stars are lovely." Lan Zhan admits, "Not as lovely as Wei Ying though." his tone is teasing and affectionate.

"Aiya! Warn me before you say something like that." Wei Wuxian yelps in surprise, leaning up on his elbows quickly as if he'd been shocked, his face is burning.

"Mn. Will warn Wei Ying." Lan Zhan says, but Wei Wuxian knows he won't, he can see the mischievous light in his Er-gege's eyes.

"Lying isn't allowed Lan Zhan." Wei Wuxian teases back.

"Will kneel later." Lan Zhan says so seriously that Wei Wuxian chokes in surprise, so he really was lying... he's going to be the death of Wei Wuxian if he keeps surprising him like this... Then Lan Zhan bends down and Wei Wuxian forgets about his teasing, thoughts lost in the press of lips against his.

Wei Wuxian leans into Lan Zhan wrapping one arm around his back before bringing the other up to the back of Lan Zhan's neck. Lan Zhan brings one arm around Wei Wuxian's back supporting him fully as he licks Wei Wuxian's bottom lip, Wei Wuxian parts his lips allowing the intrusion. Lan Zhan adjusts and deepens the kiss further, his free hand gripping at Wei Wuxian's thigh. He feels like a live wire, his whole body is buzzing. When they break apart for air Wei Wuxian feels Lan Zhan trail kisses down his neck, sucking and biting at the sensitive skin. Lan Zhan's free hand rubs his length through his clothes causing him to buck his hips. "Ah...!" He gasps, His pulse is racing and for the moment he's forgotten when and where he is, all that exists is the two of them and the friction that is beginning to send heat racing downward.

"So naughty, we aren't even properly courting yet..." Wei Wuxian teases but makes no move to pull away, he feels Lan Zhan grind against him in response. He wraps his legs around Lan Zhan's waist, groaning as he feels Lan Zhan grind against him, pulling him flush against his hips with both arms so that he's now sitting in his lap. Wei Wuxian leans forward, biting Lan Zhans ear gently, "Er-gege is so forward today..." Wei Wuxian breathes against his ear.

"I love it when Er-gege is so forward with me." Wei Wuxian moans softly in Lan Zhan's ear, Dragging his tongue over the shell of his Lover's ear and then down his neck. He sucks a hickey into the soft skin at the joining of Lan Zhans neck and jaw.

"Er-gege is so beautiful like this..." Wei Wuxian whispers, relishing the way Lan Zhan's pulse races under his ministrations, and grinding their hips together. Wei Wuxian pulls his head back with a whine at the shudder of pleasure resulting from the friction.
Taking the opportunity Lan Zhan's mouth trails down to his collar bone nipping at it gently, one of his hands has untied Wei Wuxian's outer robe slightly. Wei Wuxian feels Lan Zhans tongue trail down the skin visible through his loosened robe, one of his hands moves up to play with one of Wei Wuxian's nipples.

"Ah... Er-gege, go easy on me..." He whines breathlessly as Lan Zhan grinds into him again still abusing the sensitive skin with his fingers. Then Lan Zhan's fingers dig into his ass and he bucks in response to the almost bruising grip, moaning as their erections rub against each other through the layers of fabric. Lan Zhan's only response is to recapture his mouth with Lan Zhan's own, as if to keep him quiet. They are both so engrossed in each other that they don't notice the sound of footsteps on the Jingshi's steps, instead it's the door sliding open that finally draws Lan Zhan's attention. He whines in frustration and resists as Lan Zhan pulls away, not aware of the other persons arrival.

Lan Zhan bites his lip hard and Wei Wuxian lets go feeling confused and annoyed, "Er-gege, why bite me so hard! You should be gentle with me!" He whines dramatically.
"Behave." Lan Zhan says stiffly, giving Wei Wuxian a much gentler peck on the lips- he grins victoriously at this, but his sense of victory is short lived. The next moment Wei Wuxian hear's someone cough and looks up to see Lan XiChen standing in the frame of the back door. He realizes how they look and almost squeals in embarrassment as he disentangles himself from Lan Zhan and quickly tries to fix his robes. He decides he is very, very, grateful that hanfu are so lose and possess so many layers.

"If I had known A-Ying was still here with you I would have knocked." XiChen teases Lan Zhan, he looks more amused than disturbed by what he just walked in on, Wei Wuxian notes.

"Apologies Huan-ge" Lan Zhan says with a bow, "will lock the door next time." Lan Zhan's ears are the darkest pink that Wei Wuxian has ever seen, of course, his own face is beet red so who is he to judge.

"Sorry XiChen-gege" Wei Wuxian apologizes as well, feeling more than a little mortified.

"It was an accident, so don't worry about it." XiChen says, he's not quite done teasing them though as Wei Wuxian notes from the mischievous glint in his eyes. "You should be glad it was me and not Shufu, Wangji"

"Mn. Shufu would be difficult." Lan Zhan agrees after a moment.

"Please don't tell him, he'd end me." Wei Wuxian squeaks, looking shy. He never did quite learn how to deal with Lan QiRen in the last life time, he spent a lot of time avoiding the older man simply because he didn't want to cause problems for his husband; he still doesn't.

"I won't say anything to Shufu." XiChen promises laughing, "You will have to say something eventually, he'll figure it out even if you don't A-Ying."

As it turns out, XiChen had come to ask Lan Zhan for help with something on the behalf of their Shufu. Wei Wuxian says good bye to them and leaves the jingshi, heading for a quiet and secluded area outside of the wall to take care of his em... problem.. before heading back to the guest housing to study, after all, it was getting later in the day.

Jiang Cheng P.O.V

Jiang Cheng has been studying their notes on the time line and planning how to change things the most effective way ever since class ended for the day. Tomorrow is the day that Wei Ying punched ZiXuan in the previous time line, and he's sure Wei Ying will do it again if he doesn't do it first. The challenge of course is how to get Wei Ying to let him throw the punch instead, he knows Wei Ying will be thinking about his reputation as the Heir to Yunmeng Jiang and not the fact that QiRen will definitely expel him. He's still mulling over these thoughts when Wei Ying finally decides to show up. "Where the hell have you been?" Jiang Cheng asks, his tone decidedly softer than his word choice. "Your clarity session should have ended 3 hours ago."

"I gave Lan Zhan the rabbits today." Wei Ying reminds him, "It's not like you had anything planned, so I helped him set them up temporarily." as his brother says this Jiang Cheng can't help but notice Wei Ying's fat lip and the hickies on his neck... sure, helping with rabbits... that was definitely all they were doing.

"Please tell me you at least locked the door..." Jiang Cheng says exasperatedly, "Because nobody is going to believe that story looking at you." he notices how Wei Ying's face goes red and watches his brother grab a copper mirror off of the dresser... Wei Ying's face goes noticeably redder. "You are going to be in so much trouble tomorrow." he teases, Lan QiRen is going to freak out when he sees Wei Ying, never mind the likely matching bruises on Wangji... He doesn't want to be anywhere near that old goat when he puts two and two together.

"A-Cheng, what do I do?" Wei Ying whines, throwing himself haphazardly onto his bed and dramatically burying his face in a pillow "Lan QiRen is going to kill me! How can we change things and save everyone if Lan QiRen ends me tomorrow?" Wei Yings next words are muffled but Jiang Cheng is pretty sure he's just whining 'I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm soooo dead' into his pillow... he rolls his eyes and goes back to studying the time line. Wei Ying is relatively quiet for the next five or so minutes, and Jiang Cheng wonders briefly if he's fallen asleep. "I'm skipping class tomorrow... I dont want to be murdered." Wei Ying announces rather loudly, he is so fast and loud when he finally speaks up that Jiang Cheng startles.

"Sorry, but no can do." Jiang Cheng tells him, he rolls his eyes again.

"So Mean A-Cheng! Don't you value my life!?" Wei Ying wails, and good lord can he be any more dramatic? Jiang Cheng shakes his head.

"Tomorrow is the day that you punched Jin ZiXuan, remember?" Jiang Cheng reminds him.

"Even More reason to skip, he ended up changing anyway..." Wei Ying argues, he's still laying on his stomach on the bed with his pillow in-front of him. He drops forward as he speaks so that his chin is resting on the pillow, he then hugs said pillow a buries his face in it flopping onto his side.

"BECAUSE YOU BROKE THE ENGAGEMENT!" Jiang Cheng Barks, "Do you really think that dumb ass would ever realize Yanli's worth on his own?" He asks, genuinely wondering how long it would take that gold wearing dingbat, peacock, to realize how wonderful Yanli is. "Unless you want me to punch his lights out, you're coming." He tells his brother with a leveling glare.

The next morning starts out the way every morning does, bitter herbal food at the dining hall then practice and then classes. This morning though they will be learning about the History and founding of Gusu Lan sect. Of course, Jiang Cheng has lived through this before, so has Wei Ying, which has resulted in both of them trying not to fall asleep as QiRen prattles on for what seems like eternity. The grouchy old goat had yet to notice the suspicious bruises on Wei Ying, much to his relief. Lan QiRen is talking about Lan An currently when Jiang Cheng hears a couple of the Jin sect disciples chattering quietly off to the side and decides to listen in.

"Did you hear? QiRen flipped out on his nephews last night!" one boy says, animatedly.

"That's what the yelling was!? I thought he got into it with Yunmeng Jiang's head disciple again..." another says, in surprise.

"Apparently the 2nd jade has a lover that QiRen doesn't approve of." the boy from before speaks again, "He apparently had love bites on his neck! QiRen saw them and totally freaked." Jiang Cheng stays quiet but he's wondering if he should get them in trouble for the sake of preventing gossip... then again, if he gets them into trouble it will draw more attention to he and Wei Ying.

"Is that why the 2nd jade isn't in class today?" another boy asks, "QiRen didn't say anything or even excuse his absence." now that it's been mentioned, Jiang Cheng realizes how weird it is that Lan Zhan isn't in class, last time he'd been asked to stop attending a couple of weeks before. However there was no such reason for his absence now.

"I didn't hear the actual argument, but I think I know who the lover is." Another boy speaks up, "Look at the head disciple from Yunmeng Jiang..." Jiang Cheng looks away from the group, but is already trying to figure out what to do about this situation before it gets anymore out of hand. He can hear some of the boys snickering and an 'oh my god, the 2nd jade is a cut sleeve? No way!', it takes all of his self-control to not pound their faces in. He quickly reminds himself that in the past it would have been him making such unsavory remarks.

"A-Cheng..." Jiang Cheng looks up to see Wei Ying staring at him, "You're bleeding..." Wei Ying tells him quietly. He looks down and realizes he's dug his nails into his palms hard enough to draw blood, which is now dripping onto the ground... he didn't even realize he was doing it.

"I was listening to those pricks" Jiang Cheng nods his head towards the group from Jin sect. "They've figured it out already, apparently your Wangji got into trouble with QiRen last night and a couple of them overheard the fight." He tells Wei Ying, who blanches at this. "QiRen wouldn't hurt his nephew, I'm sure he is fine A-Ying." he attempts to reassure Wei Ying but the other still looks worried and scared. He never gets the chance to speak up about their gossiping because Lan QiRen is now talking about Lan An's going down the mountain to find his eventual partner. The topic around the room changes to 'cultivation partners' as before.

Someone asks "ZiXuan-xiong, who do you think is the best girl?" and Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying both shift their gazes towards the peacock.

Another person speaks up, "You shouldn't ask him that. He's got a fiancée so his answer would definitely be her."

As expected ZiXuan grimaces at the word 'Fiancée' however the initial ask-er doesn't notice, instead asking "Really? Which sect is she from? She must be talented!" looking excited and cheerful.

"Forget it." ZiXuan says, raising an eyebrow.

"What do you mean 'forget it'?" Wei Ying says, he's already stressed thinking about Lan Zhan's absence and he sounds more agitated this time Jiang Cheng notes, cursing mentally. Everyone in the room is staring at them now, wondering what could make the unflappable Wei Ying sound so irritated. This time though it's both of them Glaring at ZiXuan.

"Is the phrase 'forget it' too difficult for you?" ZiXuan mocked, high and mighty as ever.

"The phrase isn't hard to understand, it is, however it's hard to understand how you could be unsatisfied with my Shijie." Wei Ying counters with a tone that could freeze hell...

"Why don't you ask me how on Earth I can be satisfied with her?" ZiXuan challenged, Jiang Cheng was on his feet the moment the words came out, however Wei Ying was faster. Once again stepping in front of him and glaring daggers at ZiXuan.

"You think you're pretty satisfying, don't you? What gives you the right to be so choosy?" Wei Ying sneers at him.

"If she's unsatisfied then tell her to get rid of this engagement! I don't care for your Shijie." ZiXuan snaps, then, clearly not satisfied with one punch in the face he adds, "I'd tell you to ask her fuqin about it, seeing as you care so much. However, you'd clearly rather chase men." ZiXuan hisses in disgust, clearly having heard the other disciples talking. He doesn't get the chance to say anything else because Jiang Cheng has hit him as hard as he possibly can... feeling that cocky jerks nose break is definitely satisfying... he's too angry to pay any heed to Wei Ying's shocked expression as he'd been shoved out of the way. ZiXuan lays crumpled on the ground holding his nose for just a moment before he's back up and coming after him. Having been sect leader for 13 years in the previous time line however, Jiang Cheng is expecting this, and quickly and efficiently has him sprawled out over a desk and is standing over him before anyone can stop him.

"You just couldn't be happy with mocking MY SISTER." Jiang Cheng sneers at him. "You had to bring MY BROTHER into it as well." if not for the fact this is ultimately his nephew's father, Jiang Cheng would have already killed him... "At least A-Ying is happy with the 2nd jade, they aren't hurting anyone, unlike a certain ungrateful brat right in-front of me." He grinds out, "It's to be expected though, Your Fuqin is ungrateful scum too." Wei Ying is grabbing him and pulling him back and it's a good thing, because he'd like to fuck up Jin ZiXuan's face for good.

"A-Cheng, calm down.." Wei Ying's voice has taken on that nervous pitch-y tenor, and it's ultimately what snaps him back to reality, his mom is going to kill him when she hears about this... Funnily enough he doesn't care.

Unsurprisingly he's made to kneel at the punishment hall, ZiXuan joins him after a Lan healer gets done fixing his nose. He coldly ignores the Jin sect heir, instead focused on another figure being made to kneel in the hall... "What the hell did Lan Zhan say to his Shufu?" he can't help wondering.

Jiang Fengmian and Jin Guangshan are summoned and chewed out by Lan QiRen over their sons behavior. The two still mutually agree to call off Jiang Yanli and Jin ZiXuan's engagement after Fengmian mentions that he doesn't want to see either of them unhappy.

Wei Ying arrives to check on Jiang Cheng after the meeting between Fengmian and Guangshan. "I wasn't expecting you to jump in like that, You didn't have to defend me A-Cheng." Wei Ying's voice is still hesitant and Jiang Cheng can tell he's still shaken by the gossip earlier... he hates it.

"What did you expect me to do? Sit around and ignore that prick?" He asks Wei Ying, turning to look at him. "I wasn't the best brother before... but I'm not going to just ignore everything anymore." He promises. "I lost you last time because I turned a blind eye like a coward, that is Never going to happen again A-Ying." Wei Ying looks at him like he doesn't know what to say, completely at a loss.

After several moments Wei Ying apparently can't think of anything but also can't stand the silence and chimes "You've gotten better at fighting at least." in his normal playful tone.

"Shut up. How was I supposed to get better with you acting like a shield last time?" He reminds Wei Ying, his tone is lighter, once again he feels more relief than he's ever felt... it feels good to stop keeping everything inside.

"You don't have to actually fight to practice you know..." Wei Ying says trailing off towards the end. "Bobo said he would be coming to talk to you... once he finished dealing with sect leader Jin." Jiang Cheng flinches at this, great dads definitely heard of his insulting Jin Guangshan...

"I'm NOT apologizing to that prick." Jiang Cheng groans, he notes how Wei Ying raises an eyebrow at that comment. He belatedly notices the sound of footsteps on the path to the punishment hall.

"I never said I was going to make you A-Cheng." Jiang Fengmian's voice comes from the path, he sounds tired and frustrated but at the same time proud. "Sect leader Jin and I have called off the engagement between our sects." he tells them, as if it's new news to them.

"Sorry Fuqin." Jiang Cheng apologizes bowing his head, he's surprised when a warm hand touches his head. "I caused problems for you." in spite of feeling he was right to attack ZiXuan after what he said about Yanli and Wei Ying, he still feels bad for causing trouble for his father.

"There's no need to apologize A-Cheng." Fengmian says gently, "You were right to defend them, Lan QiRen explained what happened." Jiang Cheng looks up at his father and feels like he's being treated like a son for the first time instead of a disappointment. all this time it was his own fault for not standing up when he should have... it still hurts but he understands now, someone like his father wouldn't be happy with a son so easily swayed towards bitterness and jealousy. Fengmian looks at Wei Ying for a moment before speaking, "Is it true that you are with QiRen's nephew?" Fengmian asks Wei Ying.

"I..." Wei Ying starts to answer and then falls silent, unsure of how to say it apparently.

"They are!" Jiang Cheng says, looking at Wei Ying as if to say 'what are you afraid of?' "A-Ying tried to skip classes today because he didn't want Shifu to kill him." He tells his father, "You should have seen how he looked when he returned to our room last night." he adds sticking his tongue out at Wei Ying who immediately turns red as a beet.

"A-Cheng! That's not fair! You can't just..." whatever else Wei Ying was going to say apparently gets stuck in his throat, and he buries his red face in his hands.

Fengmian looks at Wei Ying sympathetically, "This relationship is consensual, correct? If it's not-" He begins looking at his nephew with concern.

"Lan Zhan wouldn't hurt me." Wei Ying says, talking over him, "He's really good to me, Jiang Bobo."

"I'm happy for you then, I'm sure QiRen will come around eventually." Fengmian says, sounding tired. "As for what happened today, Sect leader Jin has made it clear he doesn't want his son studying with the one who hit him." now he understands his father's weary tone, he won't have to apologize to ZiXuan and sect leader Jin. However he's being sent home, it's Wei Ying's choice as to whether he stays or leaves with them.

"If Jiang Cheng is leaving I will too" Wei Ying says, "It was my fault the fight started in the first place."
"Don't listen to him, staying here is better for him!" Jiang Cheng argues, giving him a look. Really his brother and Lan Zhan are back together and his brother is wanting to leave with him?

"It's A-Ying's choice, A-Cheng." Fengmian says, "A-Ying, do you really want to go home? If you stay you can spend more time with 2nd Young Master Lan." his father reminds Wei Ying and he can see the torn look on Wei Ying's face.

"Just stay A-Ying, you're better at making friends and building connections anyway." Jiang Cheng tells his brother.

"If you're sure." Wei Ying mumbles, "I should be the one being punished, not you."

"I'm glad it's me, this way you won't have to deal with A-Niang for a while longer." Jiang Cheng responds grinning. "And I can work on her before you get home.." He thinks, besides, this will be Wei Ying's last chance to spend time with Lan Zhan for a while. His father winces at the reference to Madame Yu.

They leave a couple of hours later, Wei Ying promises he will write Jiang Cheng until the year ends, He begs his brother to leave out anything to do with his relationship. He doesn't want any more of Wei Ying's ridiculous propensity for oversharing, Wei Ying punches him in the arm for saying that. Jiang Chengs stomach turns nervously as he steps onto the boat, soon he'll be back in Yunmeng for the first time in what feels like years.

Wei Wuxian P.O.V – Cloud Recesses

To say Wei Wuxian is in shock about how the days events played out is an understatement. After Jiang Cheng left he had gone searching for Lan Zhan only to discover the other was still being punished. Whatever his Er-gege had said, it had apparently had the effect of setting Lan QiRen off. Wei Wuxian had then gone looking for Nie Huaisang, wanting desperately to interact with someone who wasn't going to make nasty comments relating to his relationship. Unfortunately, Huaisang was busy studying, though he told Wei Wuxian he would be seeking him out the moment he finished. Wandering around aimlessly he had ended up running into XiChen. The older youth told him he was on the way to the jingshi to feed the rabbits, since Lan Zhan was unable to. "XiChen-ge, Do you mind if I come with you?" Wei Wuxian asked, call it silly but after ZiXuan's comments earlier he didn't really want to be alone.

"Is something wrong, A-Ying?" XiChen asks, he looks at Wei Wuxian in a gentle but concerned manner.

"It's just... A-Cheng has gone back to lotus pier and being alone feels weird." He tells XiChen, he still isn't entirely sure if Lan Zhan's older brother believes what Jiang Cheng told them, but if he doesn't, he's too nice to say as much.

"That's understandable, I heard what happened from Shufu." XiChen responds, "It's probably better if you stay close to one of us, rules here are strict but we can't ensure everyone will follow them."

"I'm not worried about being attacked or anything." Wei Wuxian says quickly, "if they tried, I'd beat the crap out of them. I just don't want to hear those kinds of words right now." he hopes he's convincing, because no, he isn't afraid of them... he just doesn't think he can take hearing them talk bad about Lan Zhan right now.

"I'm sorry that happened, people can be cruel to those they don't understand." XiChen says, to Wei Wuxian he appears to be thinking about something that happened in the past.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened last night?" Wei Wuxian asks, following closely to XiChen as they follow the narrow stone steps to the jingshi.

"It's not an easy thing to explain I'm afraid." XiChen tells him, "Shufu is a hard man to understand at times, and Wangji is very much like our Fuqin." he explains. "Shufu saw the marks you left on Wangji and he panicked, he said Wangji was making the same mistakes as fuqin. Wangji denied it saying you weren't and aren't a mistake, they started arguing." he pauses sighing heavily, "Shufu sees something in you that reminds him of our A-Niang, I need to tell you about her in order for you to understand it."

"Er-gege has told me about her in the previous timeline." Wei Wuxian offers, "He told me she'd been locked away because she killed a laoshi. And that your Fuqin married her to save her life" XiChen looks relieved at not having to tell him much.

"Our A-Niang was a kind woman, but she was also sickly, not in the typical sense." XiChen explains, "She had phases she would cycle through where she didn't know who she was, it got worse as she grew older." He pauses again, "Wangji only remembers her vaguely, I'm glad of that." XiChen is silent the rest of the way to the jingshi. When they arrive, he begins refreshing the hay and vegetables out of the basket he'd been carrying, it's several minutes before he speaks again. "A-Niang slowly began to have violent spells towards the end, she would attack people at random. She didn't know what she was doing and nearly killed servants on a couple of occasions." he finally says, pausing again. "Wangji looked forward to seeing her every month so much. The last time though, she fell into one of her spells and almost smothered him to death." his eyes are so filled with grief and he looks genuinely disturbed. "I don't believe you would fall to that A-Ying."

"You don't have to say anymore XiChen-ge." Wei Wuxian tells him, he wants to hug him, but he feels like that wouldn't be proper.

At length XiChen shakes his head, "No, you should know." He says gathering himself. "I had gone to pick flowers for her, I came back to find my A-Niang smothering Wangji with a pillow." his eyes are distant, "A-Niang didn't die from illness, I killed her. I've never been able to tell him that." XiChen finishes. "Wangji waited for her even when it snowed, from dawn til dusk once a month for 3 years. I could never tell him what actually happened." Wei Wuxian thinks about the voices he hears in his head, none of them had ever pushed him to harm others... they had told him to kill himself, that he didn't deserve anyone's love... that he deserved it every time madame Yu yelled at him, but never had they told him to hurt someone else. "Shufu fears you will be the same as A-Niang, but he doesn't know you." XiChen says, "Wangji told him last night that he won't be like Fuqin, because he won't see you locked away like A-Niang was." Wei Wuxian looks at XiChen with compassion, and shock in equal measure.

"Lan Zhan said the same thing to Shufu in the other time line too." Wei Wuxian says, "and he was punished for it there as well." He thinks about how much having to live with such a thing must hurt XiChen, who has only ever been kind and smiling... it's horrible to push the hand of someone, but especially so when they were a child at the time. "Wangji wouldn't be angry with you, if you told him the truth..." He says, "He'd probably need time to process it, but I think he would understand."

"Thank you" XiChen says, "But I'm not sure I will ever be ready to place that burdensome knowledge on him. He's my little brother, but I raised him- more so than even Shufu did, in truth... he's more like my son." XiChen seems to have taken comfort from his words. "Maybe that's why starting a family is of no interest to me." XiChen adds with a chuckle.

"You helped raise Sizhui in my time line, while Lan Zhan was in seclusion." Wei Wuxian tells him, "Sizhui was one of the few people who could make you smile after everything that happened with Meng Yao... The elder's thought you would choose to make him the official heir." he can tell from the recognition on XiChen's face that Jiang Cheng must have mentioned Sizhui.

"Jiang Wanyin said that you and Wangji had an adopted son." XiChen said, "He told me he didn't know too much about him though, as they had only met a few times"

"Sizhui is very smart and gentle, he has a very strong sense of morals and is a hard worker." Wei Wuxian describes, "He's also very clever and a good mediator- his best friends were always getting into huge fights, they couldn't stand each other." Wei Wuxian recalls, laughing "he was the one who brought them together, and who broke up the fights."

"I will look forward to meeting him in the future." XiChen says, "After all, I doubt that you will forgo adopting him." Wei Wuxian knows that XiChen is correct about this, in truth he had adopted A-Yuan back in the burial mounds... the child had even called him mother a couple of times! And A-Yuan's parents had died before the war so there was no way he wouldn't be an orphan again at it's end.

"I miss him already." Wei Wuxian admits, he does... he had been used to waking up and chattering his sons ear off while he ate breakfast and 1-2 in the afternoon, waking up to a lonely guest house didn't feel right.

"I'm sure you do." XiChen responds, "It seems you have the most adjusting to do, out of the two of you."

"I was happy enough in that future, even if I regretted a lot of things or wished I could change things to save loved ones." Wei Wuxian admits, sighing. "Not knowing what will happen scares me, we've already changed so much."

"Maybe they needed to change, the future ahead will be happier for everyone." XiChen hums, "have faith that you were given this chance for a reason." Wei Wuxian looks at XiChen for several seconds before mumbling that maybe he's right.

They finish caring for the rabbits in silence and XiChen offers to walk him back to the guest housing, it's getting later in the afternoon after all. Wei Wuxian allows him to, mostly not wanting to be alone. They arrive and Nie Huaisang is waiting for Wei Wuxian.

"Wei-xiong! I finally got done and then I couldn't find you!" Huaisang complains. "You owe me an explanation!"

"Young Master Wei was with me." XiChen tells Huaisang, "We were feeding Wangji's rabbits."

"XiChen-ge! I wasn't aware he had rabbits, aren't pets against Gusu's rules?" Huaisang asks. He raises an eyebrow at Wei Wuxian as if to say 'what did you do?'

"An exception was made because they are a gift from Young Master Wei." XiChen says, "We are not supposed to refuse gifts, and Wangji has always had a soft spot for rabbits."

"He did paint one on his lantern" Huaisang recalls, "he's not as good at painting as you though Wei-xiong" he adds with a snicker.

"No gossiping Young Master Nie" XiChen reminds gently, "I will see both of you again before long, but for now I shall take my leave." XiChen turns and walks back down the path, when he's out of sight, Huaisang turns to Wei Wuxian.

"Wei-xiong, is it true? Are you really with 2nd Young Master Lan?" Huaisang asks, holding his closed fan under his mouth signaling 'tell me more'.

"Ehn, QiRen really thinks I've corrupted his precious nephew right now." Wei Wuxian says laughing nervously. "Er-gege is being punished because he argued with Lan-laoshi when QiRen told him I was bad news."

"2nd Young Master Lan must really care about you Wei-xiong! I've never heard him fight with anyone before..." Huaisang's fan then flashes in front of his face, looking scandalized and he adds "We will have to teach you how to use make up, people are going to spread all sorts of rumors if you walk around like that." Wei Wuxian startles at the reminder of the hickies all over his neck, feeling flustered.

"I think they already are..." Wei Wuxian whines, embarrassed "did you hear what those jerks were saying earlier?"

"I did... between you and me though, I wouldn't take anything they say seriously." Huaisang tells Wei Wuxian before adding with a raised eyebrow "They are awful in bed."

"What!?" Wei Wuxian asks choking on air at this comment.

"A man has needs." Huaisang says, "Please keep that to yourself, my brother will murder me if he finds out." Wei Wuxian is suddenly grateful he didn't have that drive until he fell for Lan Zhan, he can only imagine how much trouble he'd end up in.

The day goes on, Huaisang teaches him the basics of applying makeup and concealing marks. They make plans to head into Caiyi on their next day off so that Huaisang can show him how to find good make up products. They eventually head to the dining pavilion for dinner before parting ways for the evening. Wei Wuxian is grateful that at least at this point in time, Huaisang is still someone he can consider a friend. Lan Zhan rejoins classes the next day, although, Lan QiRen has him seated on the opposite side of the room from Wei Wuxian. It doesn't matter, he waits for Lan Zhan after class ends. Another unfortunate Lan disciple is sent with them for Wei Wuxian's music therapy session. Apparently, Lan QiRen doesn't trust the two of them on their own, though, being that they are both male, Wei Wuxian doesn't get what he's so worried about. Wei Wuxian tells Huaisang about his annoying shadow whenever he visits the jingshi when they leave for Caiyi town.

"I just don't get it, I mean, it's not like either of us could get pregnant!" Wei Wuxian complains loudly once they are far enough from Gusu to not be heard.

"Wei-xiong, there are plenty of other reasons to not want you two doing such things." Huaisang says, his fan is covering his mouth, "Imagine if the Elders caught wind of your relationship, or your A-Yi" Wei Wuxian shudders at the thought of Madame Yu's reaction, maybe Huaisang has a point... still it's rather annoying.

"I still don't see why we have to have a chaperon, If they don't want us getting up to anything they could have us meet in the library or something." Wei Wuxian argues, "and if they are worried about a scandal, QiRen should give us permission to court properly." he huffs in frustration, as is he's been sneaking out in the evening just before the last bell and going to the jingshi, then sneaking back to his room early the next morning.

"Lan-Laoshi still doesn't want to give you a chance?" Huaisang asks, running to catch up.

"Nope. I can stand outside his residence all night and he still won't give me a chance in hell." Wei Wuxian groans, really... what does that old goat have against him? This can't be about who he is anymore. "I think giving him a grandnephew is my only shot." Wei Wuxian jokes, "too bad... I'm male." Huaisang rolls his eyes at this comment.

"You could always adopt an orphan I guess?" Huaisang jokes back. "What is it with you and children?"
"Er-gege and I plan on it." Wei Wuxian responds, "They are small and innocent and need protecting." he continues in response to Huaisang's other question... children are a lot like the rabbit's he gave his Lan Zhan.

"They are smelly and noisy and take too much time if you ask me." Huaisang complains, wrinkling his nose in mild disgust. "No thank you."

"That's how I would describe your Myna birds." Wei Wuxian teases, "I don't know how you can stand hearing them repeat 'hello' 800 time- Ouch!" Huaisang playfully hits him with his closed fan.

"Better than finding ink scribbled all over your walls." Huaisang argues back, "or waking up at all hours because they had a nightmare or messed themselves, yuck..."

They end up having a great time in Caiyi, though Huaisang ends up drinking too much and puking in the bushes on their way back to Gusu.

The next couple of weeks fly by, and then, just like Jiang Cheng had told him about before, he is selected for a night hunt. Lan QiRen must really hate him, Wei Wuxian decides after being teamed up with the fighting challenged Huaisang and arrogant Jin ZiXuan. He's shaken though when Jin ZiXuan apologizes to him.

"I'm sorry for what I said before, it was really uncalled for and rude."ZiXuan admits bowing his head, his tone is genuine "You were just defending your shijie, I was being very immature and nasty, Jiang Wanyin was right to hit me."

Jiang Cheng P.O.V

To say he wasn't nervous the whole way home was an outright lie. Jiang Cheng had the distinct impression that his father knew he was uncomfortable for some reason, but Jiang Fengmian seemed unable to find the words to ask him why. Honestly Jiang Cheng wasn't really sure how to explain it to his father even if he were to ask.

The trip back to lotus pier went faster and smoother than Jiang Cheng expected, and as they got within sight of the docks, a purple dressed figure came into view waiting for them. This was the first time he had seen his older sister in years, and it took everything he had not to burst into tears.

"A-Cheng! Welcome home!" Jiang Yanli shouts once they are close enough for her to recognize him. He waves back, glad that she can't see his face yet, he can feel his eyes burning... god he missed her so much... "I thought you had 6 more months of studying?" She says as they pull up to the dock a moment later.

"It's good to be home." He manages in response, still fighting the urge to cry... why is it so hard?

"I told you it wouldn't be a long visit A-Li, but thank you for waiting." Fengmian tells Yanli, "Do you know where Ziyuan is? There are somethings I need to discuss with her."

"A-Niang is at the training grounds with the older disciples." Yanli tells their father, "She's not in the best mood right now." she adds in warning.

"I'm sure she isn't." Fengmian responds, "I'll be fine though." he reassures his daughter before heading in the direction of the training grounds.

Jiang Cheng and Yanli exchange a worried look and follow after him. As they approach the training grounds Jiang Cheng can still hear his mother barking orders at the disciples. She's trash talking Wei Ying as well and effectively blaming him for the fact Jiang Cheng got into trouble. He wants to yell at her that it wasn't Wei Ying's fault, that the peacock was asking for it. But he swallows it for now, he won't embarrass her in front of the disciples... not yet. Yanli rushes forward to greet her, yelling that father has returned and Jiang Cheng came back too!

"A-Li" Yu Ziyuan says, turning from the disciples to smile at her daughter, her expression turns into a frown the moment she sees he and Fengmian however. "Your back." she says coldly, Jiang Cheng winces.

"Haste makes waste Ziyuan, they aren't going to learn faster because you push them harder." Fengmian tells her.

"They won't learn at all with the way You teach them." She snaps in response, "Tell me, How do you expect them to defend themselves in a battle, let alone our sect?" yes his mother is definitely pissed.

"What level these children reach is up to their fate to decide, pushing them harder won't change that." Fengmian defends, his tone is even and calm.

"You always defend them, no wonder they haven't improved!" Ziyuan barks, "Especially Wei Wuxian, he starts fights and creates messes but you never punish him! You always clean up his messes, and now A-Cheng has gotten in trouble defending him too! When will this madness cease?" she growls.

"A-Ying defended A-Li, Young Master Jin then attacked him verbally and A-Cheng defended his siblings. I'm proud of his choice Furen." Fengmian tells her.

"Proud of his... Fengmian, he caused the loss of Yanli's engagement and You are PROUD of Him?" Ziyuan almost spits, "Who knows what else he may do while he's in Gusu. He bring's nothing but shame yet you will Always rush to his defense."

Jiang Cheng is shaking he wants to snap at her so badly, there was a time at which he would have thought she was being just in her anger but now he sees how unfairly she views Wei Ying.

"Furen, A-Ying has always rushed to defend others, regardless of how it makes him look." Fengmian doesn't rise to her challenging words, "But have you stopped to consider how Rarely A-Ying defends himself?" Jiang Cheng see's his mother's face falter... she genuinely hasn't paid any attention to the way Wei Ying responds to personal attacks.

"A-Xian takes others words to heart." Yanli says, "He pretends in doesn't affect him, but he cries himself to sleep afterwards." she would know, Jiang Cheng remembers how Wei Ying had told him that Yanli knew of his suicide attempts. Yanli had been Wei Ying's rock and his therapist in the previous timeline and that was why he'd been so destroyed by her death.

"He told me he's attempted suicide twice." Jiang Cheng speaks up, it's important that everyone know just how fragile Wei Ying's mental health truly is. The Disciples here are all close to he and Wei Ying and he hears several of them gasp and sees shocked expressions appear on their faces. His mother looks horrified, Fengmian and Yanli look sad but not surprised.

"A-Li, Zhuren, is this true?" Ziyuan asks, she looks shaken with the realization... Jiang Cheng remembers how he had felt when Wei Ying told him the truth. Fengmian and Yanli both nod to the affirmative, and his mother looks like the wind has been knocked out of her.

"We haven't been the family A-Ying deserved, he hasn't felt secure enough to share that he was struggling." Fengmian tells her, "We've failed our Zhizi badly. Our children as well." calling Wei Ying 'nephew' seems to further deflate any aggression in Madame Yu... his mother looks a combination of saddened and distraught at these words... no doubt reflecting on the things she's said since Wei Ying came to live with their family.

"How can we fix this?" Ziyuan asks after a moment of silence.

"We can start by talking things out instead of avoiding our problems, Our daughter has effectively raised both A-Cheng and A-Ying while we were busy getting into arguments and avoiding each other." Fengmian admits, "It's time we started to act like responsible adults and stop avoiding our problems."

Jiang Fengmian asks Ziyuan to walk with him and tells the disciples, who at this point are in shock, to take the rest of the day off. Jiang Cheng is shocked that his mother complies with his fathers request without argument and watches to two leave. He is about to greet the disciples when Yanli grabs his arm "We need to talk A-Cheng, you can greet them later." She says in a no non-sense tone. Yanli basically drags him back to her room, it's not the first time. It is something that might not have been considered appropriate in another Sect household, but Yanli, Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng have always been this close. When they are finally in the room Yanli slides the door shut so fast it crashes loudly against the door frame, and spins to face him. "What on earth happened at Gusu?" Yanli demands loudly, "Don't even think about lying to me, you and Wei Ying are both terrible at lying." she adds in a motherly tone, proving their fathers point.

"Nothing happened, Jin ZiXuan is just a jerk." Jiang Cheng tries, Yanli hits him in the arm, not that it hurts, she doesn't have much in the way of physical strength.

"I said no lying, you were trying not to cry earlier..." Yanli says, her tone is gentler this time. "I know my Didi, he never cries unless something is really wrong" Jiang Cheng flinches, he had hoped she wouldn't notice. Or at the least would just take it as his missing home, but it looks like Yanli is going to have to know everything as well... he really doesn't relish the thought of telling it again, but oh well...

"It's a long traumatic story A-Li." Jiang Cheng complains, "please don't make me repeat myself again?"
he adds, he can see Yanli's look of concern deepen.

"All the better reason for you to tell me." Yanli says, "Is this something that A-Niang and Fuqin should also hear?" he can hear the concern in her voice.

"They might be able to help if they know, but I'm not sure they will believe me or A-Ying." He tells her, he sits down on the edge of her bed.

"Tell me, and if I think they should know, I will help you tell them." Yanli says seriously, coming to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Okay." He agrees reluctantly, "but don't say I didn't warn you." That said he begins his story. Yanli asks a few questions at first which he answers as best he can. However midway through describing the war Yanli has gone dead silent, and is looking paler and paler. "Are you okay A-Li? We can take a break..." Jiang Cheng offers his sister, he hates the next events with passion... they are at the portion involving Wen Chao's demise.

"I'm fine A-Cheng, please continue." She tells him, giving a reassuring smile. she still looks too pale for his liking but after he asks if she's sure she insists. He makes it through to the archery tournament without telling her any of Wei Yings side, he thinks it will make understanding his change thus far easier for her.

"You said A-Xian came back here with you, why haven't you told anything from his side?" Yanli finally asks.

"Because I need you to know why I'm trying to change." He explains, he must look absolutely shattered when he says it because Yanli looks like she might cry in response. She doesn't ask anything more, when he gets to the part where she died he can see the horror in her face, he wants to stop. "It only gets worse for a while... this is why I didn't want to tell you."

"You've already said this much A-Cheng, finish it." Yanli says, even though she's crying. So he does, she hits him in the arm when he finishes the past portion of the story. "How could you do that! A-Xian loves you; he would do anything for you." She sobs.

"I know, I know that now, back then I thought differently." Jiang Cheng admits through tears, "I let the other sect leaders, and A-Niang's bitterness poison me against him." he continues on after a moment. Yanli seems unsure how to respond as he tells her about the next 13 years, raising her son with the help of Meng Yao. Then he gets into the way Wei Ying had come back, she looks horrified. "A-Ying didn't like what happened either, he often stated that he felt terrible for the person whose body he claimed." He tells her before finishing with the reveal that hers and her husband's deaths had been orchestrated by the same Meng Yao who planned their wedding and helped raise their son. He then tells her Wei Ying's side and the revelation of Wei Ying sacrificing his core in such a terrible way for him makes her sob.

"He didn't want anything to do with me after everything." Jiang Cheng admits a few minutes later, after they had been sitting in silence for some time. "I don't blame him, but I thought it was because he hated me... he would have been right to." He tells her taking in a shaky breath. "When we woke up back here though, he told me he avoided me for a different reason." he tells her how for 13 years he'd carried Wei Ying's flute on his person, regretting his choices and wishing he could fix things. "He told me he thought I hated him, that was why he left me alone."

"A-Cheng..." Yanli's voice is soft now, the same softness Wei Ying's had held when he had told him not to talk badly about Jin Ling. She wraps her arms around Jiang Cheng.

"I don't hate him, I never have... I just didn't know... Why didn't he tell me?" Jiang Cheng half asks half states between sobs.

"You and A-Xian both want to do things on your own so that you won't cause anyone else trouble." Yanli tells him, "But you both forget that we are family, we need to be there and help each other."

"I won't let it happen this time." Jiang Cheng manages to say after he's calmed down, "I won't let anything come in between us." he means it, he's never been more certain of anything.

"Good." Yanli tells him, "Now that I know I can help both of you, I do think we need to tell A-Niang and Fuqin." she adds thoughtfully. He sighs, he really, really, doesn't want to go through all of this again... Yanli Promises to help him though, adding that they will be able to prepare better with this knowledge. After they leave the room, Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli find their parents talking, the topic is Wei Ying.

"So he is involved with QiRen's nephew?" Ziyuan asks, "is QiRen aware of this?" she sounds concerned.

"From the sounds of it he's not to thrilled with the situation." Fengmian tells her, "QiRen fears that Wei Ying's instability may cause him to hurt 2nd Young Master Lan." he explains.

"That's absurd! It's more likely that Wei Ying would be cornered by 2nd Young Master Lan." Yu Ziyuan's disdain for Lan's can be heard clearly in her tone, she's never forgiven them for her friend's imprisonment and untimely death.

"I was also concerned about that." Fengmian admits, "Zhizi insists however that 2nd Young Master Lan is good to him."

"Perhaps 2nd Young Master Lan and his father differ where it's important." Ziyuan sighs, "QingHeng-Jun never gave much thought to his wife's happiness." Upon hearing this, Jiang Cheng mentally notes to ask what happened to their mother next time he talks to Xichen or Wangji.

"We shouldn't judge QiRen too harshly, he did raise both those boys." Fengmian says, "2nd Young Master Lan apparently hasn't spoken to QingHeng-Jun in years, you and he both seem to hold onto your resentment about Lan Furen's death."

"He doesn't deserve any less." Ziyuan hisses, up until now neither have acknowledged their children, engrossed in their conversation. Jiang Cheng clears his throat after his mother says this however and gets their attention.

"What happened to Lan Furen?..." Jiang Cheng asks, curious to know what his parents know about Madame Lan."I overheard Jin sect disciples talking about how Wangji defended A-Ying and got in-trouble with his Shufu." He tells them, "He was kneeling at the punishment hall when I arrived there, he was still there after I was released too."

"QiRen never changes, overly strict old goat." Ziyuan laughs mirthlessly in response to this revelation, "QingHeng-Jun's laoshi got into a fight with Lan Furen back when she was a student, she killed the laoshi in self-defense and the clan elders wanted her put to death, QingHeng-Jun forced her to marry him instead and then locked her away for life." Jiang Cheng isn't sure what to say about this, but the thought of Wei Ying being locked away makes his blood boil... he's grateful that he knows for certain Wangji would never allow it.

"Lan Wangji would just leave with Wei Ying if they tried that." He tells his mother, "Those two are so in love it's disgusting." he makes a face, remembering every time he'd walked in on the two making out or in some state of undress... he can only hope he never walks in on that again.

"I'll take that as meaning they'll be needing a chaperon whenever their together." Ziyuan says, wrinkling her nose. He might have thought it a disgust expression once but he can clearly see her amusement.

"Please don't make me, I've witnessed enough dog food already..." He complains, beside him Yanli giggles something about 'that bad?' and he rolls his eyes.

The rest of the day is surprisingly peaceful and his mother even asks him exactly what happened with ZiXuan at one point, for once she doesn't get angry with him for it. For the first time in years, he feels like there might actually be a chance to fix things. He and Yanli tell them they have somethings that they need to go over later and their parents promise to listen to them later in the evening, after Fengmian finishes paper work relating to work with another sect. They end up telling them that night after dinner, Yanli has a good memory and is able to trade off with him in places. Fengmian and Ziyuan listen quietly for once, outside of asking the occasional question. Jiang Cheng has never been so grateful to have his family around him, he goes to bed feeling safe and happy for the first time in years.

The next few days are relatively peaceful, the first letter from Wei Ying is filled with his ideas to improve the safety of lotus pier. Jiang Cheng tells his father about them and Fengmian immediately starts to implement his ideas where ever possible. Ziyuan seems genuinely impressed by the shield array plans Wei Ying sends in the next letter, commenting that he's a genius with spells the same as his father. Jiang Cheng hands down Ziyuan's complements when he responds, knowing that his brother could use encouragement from his aunt.

Jiang Cheng is floored when Wei Ying sends him a message about the nighthunt, telling him about how ZiXuan had apologized to him. Wei Ying goes on to talk about how he and ZiXuan have actually ended up talking quite a bit since the night hunt and he thinks he may actually have found a friend. Wei Ying also complains about how QiRen has yet to give him a chance, stating "I could stand outside his residence all night and day and he still wouldn't listen to me.". Jiang Cheng shares all of the letters with his parents, and upon hearing the statement about QiRen, Ziyuan makes a comment about giving him a nephew or niece, that sends he and Yanli into a coughing fit.

"A-Niang!" Yanli chokes, "A-Xian and the 2nd jade are both male, and they can't adopt at their ages their still children."

"It hasn't happened in a long, long time, but a soulmates blessing is very possible." Ziyuan tells them, "Especially when they are already as strong as Zhizi and QiRen's nephew, I wouldn't doubt QiRen already knows this." Jiang Cheng is disturbed by these words, he really, really doesn't want to know how that would work he decides. Unfortunately, Yanli is curious.

"what is a soulmates blessing?" Yanli asks, she's intrigued and they can all see the gears turning behind her eyes... at least Jiang Cheng thinks so.

"two powerful cultivators who are also cultivation partners, can have children together regardless of their genders." Yu Ziyuan explains, "A-Cheng, you said Zhizi was sickly after coming back last time."

"He could barely use his sword at all, like A-Li." Jiang Cheng confirms, "So your telling me the reason Gusu wasn't taken over by little A-Ying's, was... because he wasn't healthy when he returned?"

"Exactly." Ziyuan confirms, "this used to be a more common occurrence; however, the last case was when I was a small child." she adds. Ziyuan doesn't need to say why, the attitude towards such unions has become very ugly in the last few generations.

"Great... So be expecting a scandal before too long." Jiang Cheng groans, "Knowing Tang-ge, he'll be half way to being a parent before he knows what's happening." Yanli and Ziyuan both look horrified, Fengmian- whose been quietly listening- has a complicated expression. Jiang Cheng can't decide whether it's amused, concerned or disturbed... maybe all at once? Sort of mirrors his own feelings at the thought.

Jiang Cheng allows his mother to respond to Wei Ying's letter this time, Wei Ying needs to realize this is a possibility but he DEFINITELY doesn't want to explain that thank you very much. He's content to let his parents be parents, and avoid that conversation.

Wei Wuxian P.O.V

When Wei Wuxian gets the letter with Ziyuan's compliments on his arrays, saying he's in shock is an understatement. He doesn't remember Madame Yu ever being happy about something he's done, and he definitely doesn't know how to respond. He sits on the bed in the guest room for a good 15 minutes flustered and unsure how to cope with being praised. He then composes a response, Telling Jiang Cheng and the rest of his family about how ZiXuan apologized to him, and how they are actually becoming friends. Wei Wuxian is still annoyed with how the peacock talked about his Shijie and his relationship with Lan Zhan. But he seems genuinely apologetic and has been accepting and friendly towards him since. He also tells them about how ZiXuan had chased a dog off for him when he'd realized Wei Wuxian was terrified of them during a trip into town.

The next letter from lotus pier totally shocks Wei Wuxian to his core, he's nervous to open it at first, because instead of being from Jiang Cheng, it's from Madame Yu, his aunt. He procrastinates about reading it all day, borderline scared of what might be in the letter. That day after class though, he finally sits down to read it.

"Wei Wuxian, A-Ying, Zhizi, if you'll allow me to call you that. I know I haven't been the best A-Yi to you, I hope I can make up for my past behavior..." Yu Ziyuan begins, Wei Wuxian rereads it several times not able to comprehend that his aunt is apologizing. It takes him a couple of minutes to regather his thoughts enough to continue reading.

"Fengmian and A-Cheng have informed me of everything that I had been to blind to realize, and I truly regret the way I've treated you. A-Cheng has also told me of the other timeline, I must confess, I was skeptical until... that was until A-Cheng told us of your sacrifice for him.

I know, even as hard as I've been with you, you would still do anything for your Tang-di and Tang-jie. They would also do the same for you.

I was happy to hear that you've found someone special at Gusu, but I was also concerned about the nature of such a relationship. A-Cheng has put my worries to rest for the most part, but I still feel it's important to tell you that, should you need help, Your Bobo and A-Yi are here.

I also was made aware of the fact that QiRen has yet to approve of your relationship. It is my hope that he will learn to accept it in the following weeks, however if he doesn't there are other ways to nudge him. Please be considerate of both of your ages at present and don't go too far in your relationship..." Wei Wuxian chokes on air at the 'dont go to far', thinking something along the lines of too late for that... he continues reading.
"In the event that teenage hormones have caused that plea to fall on deaf ears, there is something you should know. It has come to my attention that many in your generation are unaware of the soulmates blessing. The last time it happened on record, I was still a child, however it is still possible now, especially given your's and 2nd Young Master Lan's cultivation levels. A soulmates blessing requires both be quite high in cultivation, but allows for pregnancy between two individuals of the same sex." Wei Wuxian rereads that line several times to be sure he's comprehending what she's written... He and Lan Zhan could end up having a child out of wedlock? Seriously...?
"You will be able to tell if it has happened by searching your own Qi, from what I have read. I would prefer that both of you remained chaste until your bodies have matured, but I do remember what it felt like as a teenager.

I also fear it may take such an event to move QiRen to accept your relationship, he's a hard headed one for sure... That being said I don't doubt Young Master Lan's affections, Lans are nothing if not single minded in their feelings.

I hope that the rest of your months in Gusu are happily spent and you learn much, and I look forward to hearing from you. Your A-Yi, Yu Ziyuan." Wei Wuxian feels a strange mixture of emotions upon reading the letter, he decides to read more on the 'soulmates blessing' at the library pavilion, but first decides to feel through his own Qi. Thankfully it feels entirely normal, he knows his body is still growing at this point in time. He will share this letter with Lan Zhan tomorrow after he's had a chance to some more reading on it's main topic.
He heads to the library pavilion after dinner, there are about two hours before the last bell so he figures he can at least figure out where the books he needs are. He quickly discovers that the books he needs are in the medical section and -thankfully- clearly marked. He borrows a couple of them for the night to return the next morning, since Er-gege is currently on an overnight with younger disciples.

He waves a greeting at Xichen on his way back to his guest quarters, the older boy is on his way to the jingshi to do the final check on his brother's rabbits for the evening. When he arrives Nie Huaisang is sitting outside of his guest house with a non-descript box. "Wei-xiong you're back!" Huaisang greets, "I've been waiting for you, I brought emperor's smile."

"What do you want in return?" Wei Wuxian asks, not fooled, Huaisang always wants something... sneaky brat.

"I want to know what's bugging you... you looked really worried in class Wei-xiong." Huaisang looks genuinely concerned, but Wei Wuxian isn't sure he can trust it.

"this doesn't have anything to do with today's lesson does it?" Wei Wuxian asks, still suspicious.

"I had one or two questions..." Huaisang sighs admitting defeat, "But I really do want to know why you looked so worried earlier... 2nd Young Master Lan isn-"

"DAMN IT, why does everyone jump to that!?" Wei Wuxian almost shrieks, he's getting really tired of that particular insinuation. "Er-gege would never hurt me! I'm getting really sick of people thinking he would."

"Easy Wei-xiong, I was going to ask if you were fighting..." Huaisang says, waving his fan in a panicked manner. "If it doesn't have to do with your 2nd jade, then what is it?"

"I'm Sorry, it's just, lately everyone I know has asked me if he was hurting me... it's getting old." Wei Wuxian explains apologizing. "I got a letter from A-Yi and I was nervous, thats all."

"Yu Furen is fierce, I wouldn't know how to feel if she wrote me either." Huaisang admits.

"She actually apologized to me..." Wei Wuxian tells him, opening the door to his guest residence and inviting Huaisang in with a gesture. "She also gave me a warning about being careful when it came to intimacy with Lan Zhan." he adds raising an eyebrow.

"How scandalous! She didn't tell you to avoid it?" Huaisang fans himself.

"She just told us to be careful until we're finished growing." Wei Wuxian says, "Want to see the letter?" he holds it up off the dresser and Huaisang snatches it.

"I can't believe she'd be so nonplussed about it." Huaisang says, "Lets see what she actually said." he adds, before proceeding to unfold the letter and begin reading. Wei Wuxian watches his friend's face in amusement, Huaisang looks progressively more shocked. Eventually Huaisang throws the note at him and he cracks up laughing.

"I told you!" Wei Wuxian cackles.

"You didn't tell me why though!" Huaisang crys, "You've given me another reason to skip on cultivation." he adds, "I really don't want any of those thank you."

"Why not though! their adorable!" Wei Wuxian protests.

"They cry constantly and they ruin your fun." Huaisang deadpans.

"not if you have someone babysit occasionally!" Wei Wuxian argues, "Besides, you get to dress them up in tiny clothes and by them toys!" he's almost giddy at the thought, he still remembers Lan Zhan buying toys for A-Yuan in the previous timeline.
"I'll stick to my birds, they don't soil themselves." Huaisang teases wrinkling his nose. "Will you help me with the class work?" he finally asks.

"Aiya! Fine, fine." Wei Wuxian sighs exasperatedly.

Huaisang ends up spending the night at his guest residence, the two drink far more of the aforementioned emperor's smile than they should before going over the books Wei Wuxian borrowed. They are up until 1am drinking and laughing before they finally fall asleep in the wee hours of the morning. Both boys sleep through the morning bells and are woken up when ZiXuan realizes they aren't at the dining pavilion for breakfast before classes. ZiXuan finds Wei Wuxian passed out leaning against his bed and Huaisang slumped over the tea table.

"Wuxian! Wake up! Your going to miss classes!" ZiXuan barks at him, shaking him roughly. Wei Wuxian startles awake and almost crashes their heads together. "Good! Your up, I was about to go get QiRen -laoshi"

"You wouldn't!" Wei Wuxian squawks sleepily in indignation. "You'd get in trouble too, because you were up just as late..."

"Last night I wasn't!" ZiXuan argues, "I studied and went to bed when we're supposed too!"

"Sure you did!" Wei Wuxian snips, rolling his eyes "and my last name is Jiang."

"Don't believe me, see if I care..." ZiXuan sighs, he and Wei Wuxian rush to wake Huaisang up, and then the three make their way to the dining hall with 15 minutes to spare.

"Jin-xiong, Wei-xiong, Will you come with me to Caiyi again next day off?" Huaisang asks while they eat their Congee at the dining pavilion.

"Sure, Er-gege has been busy copying books lately." Wei Wuxian responds between mouthfuls of bitter herbal congee. "I don't see why I wouldn't be able to." Lan Zhan had been making copies of the sacred texts and hiding them in the caves, this way there would be no reason for his brother to flee and ultimately meet Meng Yao. Wei Wuxian had also helped design arrays that Xichen was about to seek their fathers approval for. Arrays for Gusu Lan's defense.

"Can I bring MianMian?" ZiXuan asks after gulping down another bite, "I promised her I'd bring her next time I went to Caiyi. She want's to do some gift shopping." he makes a face at the last word, and Wei Wuxian is reminded of the fact that Luo QingYang and ZiXuan grew up together, and are good friends... it makes him feel lucky that she sided with him even when everyone thought he caused ZiXuan's death last time. This time around he's getting to see beneath the arrogant exterior, and he's finding ZiXuan to be much like Jin Ling, proud, and sharp tongued but ultimately kind and honorable... completely different from his father, Jin GuangShan.

"I don't have a problem with that." Huaisang tells him, "She will definitely enjoy talking about make up more than either of you do." he says with a flourish of his fan. ZiXuan cringes when he says this, and Wei Wuxian rolls his eyes.

The group finishes eating and then rushes (without running) towards the school building. They are the last group into the room before the bells for classes to begin chime. They just barely get seated before QiRen enters the room, he eyes Wei Wuxian distrustfully as usual, Wei Wuxian smiles at him... desperate to turn the other cheek as it were.

Class passes by peacefully, Wei Wuxian somehow manages to keep himself awake through QiRen's endless droning. The moment the bell for the end of class rings, Wei Wuxian is headed for the door... He needs to return those books, and then he is going to see his Er-gege... sneakily of course, he doesn't want a chaperon present with this topic thank you!

After returning the books to the library he heads for the exit when he hears a voice behind him, "A-Ying, going to see Wangji so early?" XiChen's tone is light and teasing.

"SSShhh" Wei Wuxian whispers, hand over his mouth... "I really dont want your Shufu to hear! Please XiChen-ge" he doesn't say, 'it will be awkward enough with just the two of us' but he's sure his face is clear enough.

"Something important you need to talk about?" XiChen asks, smiling mischievously, "I saw what you returned, interesting choice of reading A-Ying."

"Yeah, I- A-Yi's letter told me I should read up on it." Wei Wuxian laughs nervously.

"so your not-" XiChen starts but Wei Wuxian cuts him off.

"NO!" Wei Wuxian almost shouts, barely catching himself. "I mean... she was just warning us to be careful." he says more quietly.

"If that's the case I will let you go without a chaperon this once." Xichen tells him, "Please don't make me regret trusting you." he adds pleading.

"You won't XiChen-ge, I'm too young for that yet." Wei Wuxian laughs, genuinely. "I want to be finished growing before I worry about someone else doing so." with that he leaves the pavilion and heads for the jingshi.

When he arrives at the jingshi he can hear the familiar notes of the song his Er-gege had written for him in the other time line. It hadn't been written here yet, and Jiang Cheng hadn't known about it so the fact it's apparently being worked on now must be fated. "Er-gege! I came to see you!" Wei Wuxian chimes through the thin door. The music stops.

"Come in." Lan Zhan responds softly through the door. Wei Wuxian is quick to obey, entering the room. The door to the Jingshi's private courtyard is open and the rabbits are hopping about the room exploring.

"Did Er-gege miss me?" Wei Wuxian asks playfully, Lan Zhan is still seated with his Guqin Infront of him, clearly having been playing it up until Wei Wuxians arrival.

"Mn. Always miss Wei Ying." Lan Zhan confirms with a nod. "Wei Ying wants to ask about something?" Wei Wuxian wasn't expecting the question but he supposes he shouldn't be surprised... Lan Zhan has always been good at reading him even if he's not so good with his words.

"Ehn." Wei Wuxian nods, "A-Yi sent me a letter, she was warning me about something." he explains, "I thought I should share it with you as well." He pulls the letter out of his sleeve and hands it to Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan takes it and Wei Wuxian sits down on the floor opposite the Guqin and begins petting one of the rabbits who had hopped over to investigate the instrument.

"Soulmates blessing?" Lan Zhan says after he's been reading Madame Yu's letter for a couple of minutes.

"Ehn." Wei Wuxian confirms, "I had never heard of it, I did a lot of reading about it last night after I got her letter."

"Mn." Lan Zhan nods, "Wasn't possible in the other time line?" he asks after a moment.

"According to what I was reading, I was too weak for it to happen after I came back." Wei Wuxian explains, "After I came back in Mo XuanYu's body my core was as weak as my Tang-jie's, it requires a strong core to be possible at all." He looks at the ground, but mentally is far away... if it had been possible in the other timeline, he has no doubts that he and Lan Zhan would've had a lot of kids. He remembers how he'd told XiChen they were going to adopt orphan's once Lan Zhan retired from teaching.

"Need to be careful then." Lan Zhan says, and then deadpans "Shufu would Qi deviate." Wei Wuxian can't help himself and starts laughing at that comment. Wei Wuxian scoots himself to his future husband's side of the instrument.

"Aiya, he definitely would." Wei Wuxian agrees with a whine, "I don't need that on my conscious for several years." next to him he hears Lan Zhan's little puff of laughter, and leans in to kiss the other on the lips.

"Mn." Lan Zhan responds, his ears are pink again... Wei Wuxian finds it amusing how quickly his Lan Zhan gets flustered. "Will give Shufu a few more years to except it." Wei Wuxian arches an eyebrow.

"Ah, Lan Zhan." Wei Wuxian starts, his tone is teasing "You don't plan on waiting for a proper marriage? QiRen would be horrified." he moved at some-point in their conversation and is effectively sitting in Lan Zhan's lap now, his arms loose around his neck.

"doubt Shufu would change otherwise." Lan Zhan says, face solemn as ever.

"Aiya, true! He only accepted me last time because of our Sizhui." Wei Wuxian admits, "Your Shufu only cares about children..."

"Shufu cares." Lan Zhan objects, "Just stubborn."

"Lucky me that my Er-gege is more so." Wei Wuxian whispers in his ear. Pressed this close he can feel Lan Zhan's body reacting to his touch, it's thrilling and addicting being the cause. Just because they can't do certain things doesn't mean they cant do others... he nips playfully at Lan Zhans ear, relishing the silent gasp from his beloved.

"Encourage-able." Lan Zhan says affectionately.

"Mn, but You love that about me." Wei Wuxian teases.

Wei Wuxian ends up staying the night in the jingshi and sneaking back to his room early the next morning before the first bell. He studies for the morning lessons and finishes the previous nights homework before the time to head to the dining pavilion for breakfast.

The day slips by fairly quickly and before Wei Wuxian knows it he is heading to the pavilion for dinner. Jin ZiXuan and Nie Huaisang are sitting together, a female disciple who Wei Wuxian recognizes as Luo QingYang has joined their normal table. They wave him over, "Wei-xiong! We were wondering when you would arrive." Huaisang greets as he takes his seat. "Jin-xiong said he thought you would be eating with HanGuang-Jun."

"What? You know QiRen wouldn't allow that." Wei Wuxian squeeks, "even if I wanted to, he'd make some other poor disciple chaperon... and there is no way I would sit in silence." They all know that's true, thankfully with the number of foreign disciples in the dining pavilion, the Lan sect members have mostly given up enforcing silence.

"You'd get all 3 of you in trouble and end up at the discipline hall." ZiXuan agrees, "Oh! Wuxian, You haven't been introduced yet, this is Luo QingYang." He introduces the female disciple.

"MianMian is fine, that's what everyone calls me." She says, "So you're really dating the 2nd jade? I thought it was just gossip." her tone is friendlier and chattier than it was in the previous time line... of course last time he'd been teasing and flirting with her.

"You already know my name so there is no point in me saying it, but call me whatever you like." Wei Wuxian tells her, "I'm not super particular about it." it's true, everyone he knows has a different way of calling him. "I wouldn't listen to the gossip, but it's true that we're together." he confirms, a lot of the gossip going around is nasty and Wei Wuxian wishes he could forget it. Thankfully ZiXuan, Huaisang and XiChen have been helping to shut it up whenever they hear it.

"Wei-xiong it is then" MianMian tells him, her nose wrinkling in amusement. "Are you going to look for courting presents when we go into Caiyi?"

"That's a wonderful idea Luo-guniang!" Huaisang says, "You should buy him a belt ornament or something Wei-xiong."

"I haven't even gotten permission to court officially yet!" Wei Wuxian whines, "QiRen keeps ignoring me." he adds irritably.

"I don't think he's going to, Wuxian." ZiXuan snorts, "He seems to think HanGuang-Jun will move on to a beautiful woman eventually..." Wei Wuxian would take offense if not for the way ZiXuan rolls his eyes as he says it.

"What!? You mean I'm not BEAUTIFUL enough ZiXuan?" Wei Wuxian gasps in a mock hurt tone, and ZiXuan shakes his head in an exasperated manner very similar to Jiang Cheng.

"HanGuang-Jun is definitely besotted with you, Wei-xiong!" Huaisang tells him, clearly missing the sarcasm.

Luo QingYang rolls her eyes at the group, "I just figured out why ZiXuan hangs out with you, You treat him like a sibling!" Wei Wuxian is shocked at this comment, but when he thinks about it, she's right. ZiXuan reminds him of Jiang Cheng, and also of Jin Ling though he can't admit that to anyone except maybe Jiang Cheng.

"ZiXuan is a lot like Jiang Cheng, so of course I feel comfortable with him." Wei Wuxian admits.

"How am I like Wanyin?" ZiXuan asks, he seems curious if a little incredulous.

"Your both very serious, though it's about different things." Wei Wuxian says, trying to word carefully. "You both are very honest, sometimes to the point of starting fights. And you both are sarcastic, but you both put up with my dramatics without getting too offended..." He trails off in thought for a moment before adding "that takes work, I'm self-aware" this last statement makes ZiXuan snort.

The chatter continues until one of the Lan disciples comes in and reminds everyone to be quiet. They all finish their food before returning to their guest housing areas. It's a few days later that they finally get a break day, Caiyi town is busy and loud in comparison to Gusu Lan, vendors selling their wears shouting out prices and sales. Wei Wuxian ends up rushing to catch up after oversleeping, he's just made it to the inn they agreed to meet at when the others are about to give up and leave. "Wait for me! I overslept..." He shouts, ZiXuan hears him and turns.

"I thought your 2nd jade wouldn't let you sleep in?" ZiXuan teases, "Geez, you could have taken a moment to put your hair up." he adds, making Wei Wuxian feel slightly self-conscious about his appearance... it's not that bad is it?

"Let me help you with that Wei-xiong" Huaisang offers, tucking his fan in his sleeve. "Do you at least have your ribbon?"

"Ugh, I think I left it at the jingshi" Wei Wuxian admits sheepishly, "Er-gege tried to wake me up but apparently I was sleeping like the dead." he tells Huaisang, quietly. Unfortunately, not quietly enough.

"Seriously!? HanGuang-Jun let you sleep in AND let you out of the jingshi like that?" ZiXuan asks, he looks like he's going to burst into uncontrollable laughter at any moment and Wei Wuxian feels his cheeks heat up.

"Leave him alone ZiXuan, I'm sure the 2nd jade just didn't want to disturb him." Luo QingYang says, "I have a brush Nie-xiong, you can use it." She adds pulling it out of a qiankun pouch in her sleeve.

"Thanks MianMian, you too Huaisang." Wei Wuxian tells them, "Lan Zhan did try to wake me up, but then his brother came to ask him for help with something so he had to leave." he'd found a note when he'd woken up that said: 'sorry, tried to wake you, but couldn't, brother needed help.'

"I bet he raced out of there the moment his brother came knocking because he didn't want to get caught." ZiXuan laughs.

"XiChen-ge has seen worse I'm afraid." Wei Wuxian tells him sticking his tongue out. "He's walked in on us twice now." this shuts up the teasing and ZiXuan looks mildly horrified.

"I've heard enough, I don't want details, thanks." ZiXuan blurts out, Wei Wuxian giggles victoriously.

"I do." Huaisang proclaims, "Tell me later, I'm going back to your guest residence." He invites himself.

"Aiya!" Wei Wuxian squeaks, "You can't just invite yourself!" he whines at Huaisang.

"I'm doing your hair, you can consider it repaying my kindness." Huaisang states, brushing out a knot.

"How is it kind when you're demanding I give you black mail material!" Wei Wuxian whines, wincing as Huaisang accidentally tugs his hair brushing out a tangled ball of it,

"I demanded nothing, and you can't tell me you want everyone to know what you were doing last night." Huaisang insinuates, "Your hair makes that much obvious." Wei Wuxian tries to defend himself but much to his chagrin, apparently Luo QingYang also thinks his hair is making it obvious what he and Lan Zhan were up to... They won't believe it's just bedhead from restless sleeping (he swears it is, damn-it. They didn't do anything.)

Huaisang finally finishes brushing it out and pulls a simple hair pin out of one of his qiankun pouches. Carefully pulling it up as if to put it in a ponytail, he braids it, then coils it into a bun and uses the hair pin to lock it in place. "There, you can give me the hair pin back later, since you forgot your ribbon." Huaisang tells him, handing the brush back to MianMian.

"Thank you." Wei Wuxian tells him, all he can think seeing the way his hair is pinned up is that he looks like a girl. MianMian hasn't said anything, but he can tell she's also thinking it.

"Are we ready to go now, Wei-Guniang?" ZiXuan teases quietly enough that only their group can hear. Wei Wuxian elbows him in the ribs.

"Shut up, peacock." Wei Wuxian chides, keeping his own tone equally teasing. "Lets go! While the vendors are still here"

The group spend almost two hours looking at the wears and buying snacks from street vendors, Wei Wuxian ends up buying a set of Guqin strings and a tassel for Lan Zhan's sword. He also surprises them when he manages to find and buys a deep scarlet hair ribbon with a design showing clouds in-front of the sun. "wouldn't that be for a Wen marrying into Lan?" Luo QingYang asks him, curiously.

"maybe it was supposed to be, who knows, it's my favorite color and has clouds on it." Wei Wuxian says flippantly, "so it's perfect to tease QiRen with."

"That's very bold of you Wei-xiong." Huaisang chirps, "QiRen-laoshi will definitely panic when he sees it."

"Thats the idea." ZiXuan snorts, "Wuxian is trying to force QiRen to accept that he is courting QiRen's Zhizi." Wei Wuxian is glad that MianMian and ZiXuan both understand what he's doing, Huaisang is dense about these things.

"I'm going to laugh when he tries to punish you for it." Luo QingYang snickers adding, "Of course the 2nd jade will remind him of the rules and get into a fight no doubt." at this point everyone in the cloud recesses is aware of Lan QiRen's forgetfulness of rules when it comes to Wei Wuxian.

The days goes on, they end up having to rush back to Gusu as usual because they stay out later than they should have drinking and goofing off. When they get back, they barely have time to get back to their guest residences before the last bell. Unsurprisingly, Huaisang is true to his word and follows Wei Wuxian. Barely waiting for him to close the door before stating, "Tell me about what happened with XiChen-da-ge!"

"Ugh, you are a pest!" Wei Wuxian groans, "If I tell you, you had better not say anything to anyone!" all he can think about is if word were to make it to QiRen, at least he knows XiChen-ge won't tell.

"I won't, I'm great at keeping secrets!" Huaisang reminds him chirpily.

"Good, because if QiRen were to hear about any of this I'd be royally screwed." Wei Wuxian grumbles, flopping onto his bed with a huff. He tells Huaisang about the first time and XiChen telling them to lock the door (and how they'd said they would and then promptly forgot).

"So the first time was when You gave him the rabbits, when was the second?" Huaisang asks, "You said there were two times, I want details."

"Ugh, the second time was horribly embarrassing... please don't make me!" Wei Wuxian wails, his face is already red as a beet just thinking about it.

"I'll buy you more emperors smile" Huaisang offers, smirking like a fox.

"5 jars and you have a deal." Wei Wuxian huffs, he's going to need at least five jars if he's going to relive that experience.

"Deal, I'll throw in one more if you add enough detail." Huaisang tells him, making Wei Wuxian a bit like a cornered deer.

"Fine." Wei Wuxian sighs in defeat, and then starts telling him about it, it was right after they returned from the nighthunt where he had been teamed up with Huaisang and ZiXuan. It was well before he'd found out about the whole 'soulmates blessing' thing, and frankly it was amazing that he hadn't ended up knocked up by the time he'd gotten that letter from his aunt. At any rate, he and Lan Zhan had been on their second round the following morning (neither of them had gotten much sleep, to excited from the action the night before.), when XiChen had apparently walked up the path to the jingshi to ask Wangji for help with something before class. They had apparently remembered to use silencing charms, but forgotten to lock the doors. This resulted in poor XiChen walking in right as Wei Wuxian climaxed. Wei Wuxian's face is redder than wedding robes, and he's stuttering over himself as he tells this to Huaisang. "XiChen has so much face, he just turned and walked back out of the room and waited for us to make ourselves decent." Wei Wuxian tells him, burying his face in a pillow. "Ugh I couldn't look at him for several days."

"..." Huaisang is quiet for several seconds before bursting into laughter, "I'm sorry Wei-xiong, that must have been sooo embarrassing, poor XiChen-da-ge having to see that too! Oh my god!" it takes him a while to stop his near hyperventilating from laughter... Wei Wuxian is tempted to go get a bucket of water.

"Happy now? This is why I said he'd seen worse." Wei Wuxian grumbles, "ugh, I wanted to vanish through the floor that time." actually, he still wants to vanish through the floor to be perfectly honest... He's just grateful that XiChen never told Lan QiRen.

"Sorry Wei-xiong..." Huaisang says again, this time more apologetic. "If it makes you feel any better, Da-ge has walked in on me with a lover too." he tells Wei Wuxian, "I learned to lock the door really quickly after that, and make sure Da-ge was either away or busy." Wei Wuxian can only imagine how nasty Nie MingJue would have been, the sect leader is notorious for his short temper after all.

Lan XiChen and Lan Zhan P.O,V

The twin jades had talked about it at length the past few days, what the future was going to be with the coming war. They had made and hidden copies of their ancient texts in the caves over the past few weeks as well as preparing arrays to protect their home- many of them with the help of Young Master Wei. However, the brothers also felt it was time they face their father, QingHeng-Jun had spent enough years in seclusion and if it continued, he would no doubt end up dying in this time line as well. This is why the brothers are currently seated outside his door together, waiting for their father to acknowledge their presence.

They have been seated there for hours, morning has turned into noon and now evening is casting its cool light as the night descends. Finally, though, the door slides open, and a man in long pale blue robes can be seen in the door way. He looks like a more depressed, older version of his youngest son, his hair worn half up, braided on the sides and tied with a deep blue ribbon. "If I continue to ignore you, will you stay seated there forever?" his voice is tired, his gold eyes are sad... speaking to years spent morning his wife's death.

"Only until you listen to what we have to say Fuqin." XiChen speaks softly, his tone calm he remains kneeling before the door, his sword still held in front of him in a respectful bow. Next to him, Wangji nods in agreement but does not look up. The silence stretches on for a few more minutes before the figure finally sighs, stepping back from the door.

"Come in, tell me what it is you need me know." QingHeng-Jun says, padding softly back into the main living area of his residence. Wangji and Xichen both rise, looking at each other as if to say 'here goes nothing' before entering the residence.

They settle at the tea table across from their father, the man is just as locked in his depressive state as he was the last time Lan Zhan spoke to him at age 8... there are more crows feet around his eyes now though, the mans age beginning to peak through the slowed aging of a powerful golden core, many years out of practice. "Thank you for agreeing to hear us father, this will be a long story, the ones who can confirm it are Young Master's Wei and Jiang" XiChen says, "both of them were very truthful when they shared this information with us and we believe them, we felt we should also share it with you in hopes of changing things for the better moving forward."

"I am weary of information from strangers however, FangMian himself was a good friend of Mine in our youth, for his sake I will hear what you have to say." QingHeng-Jun tells them, before adding "However I will be wanting to speak with these Young Master's myself before making any judgements."

"That is Fair, Wei Ying would be happy to speak with Fuqin." Lan Zhan says, XiChen notes with some amusement their father's raised eye brow at Wangji's way of calling Young Master Wei.

"A-Ying cares deeply for all that goes on in Gusu and YunMeng, he's helped me with crafting defensive arrays these past few weeks." XiChen tells their father with a nod to Wangji, "You will understand when we've told you everything." XiChen pulls a copying of Jiang Wanyin's event timeline out of his sleeve. "Let us begin the explanation of how this started."

"Please do." QingHeng-Jun says, looking at the paper scroll XiChen had taken out of his sleeve.

"It apparently started a few weeks ago when they woke up here from their time line." XiChen begins, XiChen, unsurprisingly, does the majority of the talking, with Lan Zhan occasionally jumping in with a few details. They get to the attack on Lotus Pier before QingHeng-Jun stops them.

"So your telling me that Gusu was attacked because of our ranking 1st in the archery contest?" QingHeng-Jun asks, "How far has RuoHan fallen to do such a thing."

"I do not pretend to know Fuqin, however he has already driven the water born abyss into Caiyi's water's" XiChen tells him before continuing on, telling him how Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying had barely escaped and of Fengmian and Yu's deaths. It's late into the night when they arrive at the portion about the events at nevernight and early morning before they reach Wei Ying's resurrection as Mo XuanYu. By the time they finish their story they can see the concern on their fathers' features. QingHeng-Jun has gone pale, "A-Ying has already moved to make changes in this timeline, as has Jiang Wanyin, Fuqin." XiChen closes.

"Wei Ying has made friends with Young Master Jin, he has no intention of watching the previous timelines events come again." Lan Zhan adds, "Wanyin is currently working on fixing things at Lotus Pier." he says.

"You are asking me to leave seclusion, so that I can help in preparing for the war?" QingHeng-Jun surmises, he after all is more experienced than either of his sons.

"Yes Fuqin." Xichen says.

"You have punished yourself long enough." Lan Zhan says, XiChen looks at him in surprise.

"Perhaps that is true." QingHeng-Jun sighs, "But there are somethings which no amount of regret can ever make right."

"Then perhaps it's time to let them scar." XiChen says, "Let them be reminders of why you must change, that is, I feel, what mother would want."

"Allow me to think alone for a while." QingHeng-Jun asks, "I will summon my brother and talk to the elders at the ringing of the bells, until then, retire for the time being."

"Yes father." XiChen agrees, he gets up to leave, and QingHeng-Jun speaks before Wangji can follow him.

"Is it true that you and Young Master Wei are courting?" QingHeng-Jun's tone is gentle but firm, "I had heard that you were in a relationship from my brother however..." Lan QiRen's dislike of Wei Ying makes believing his account hard.

"Mn. Courting, Shufu will not except it however." Lan Zhan confirms, "Shufu said Wei Ying is a bad influence. But Shufu doesn't know Wei Ying."

"And you do?" QingHeng-Jun asks, "You certainly call him in a familiar way. As does XiChen"

"Mn." Lan Zhan responds, "Wei Ying is honest and kind, he makes mischief, but is not mean spirited, Wei Ying is very affectionate, loves deeply, very loyal." XiChen has stopped in the door, he muses that this is the most talking he's heard Wangji do in years, of course it would have to do with his beloved.

"I would like to meet this Young Master." QingHeng-Jun tells Lan Zhan.

"Wei Ying would also like to meet Fuqin." Lan Zhan tells him, it's true, Wei Ying has expressed such an interest on several occasions.

Wei Wuxian P.O.V

The next morning when Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang wake up, it's to Jin ZiXuan and Luo QingYang shaking them awake. "Wuxian, wake up idiot! Do you really want QiRen to kill you!?" ZiXuan barks at Wei Wuxian shaking his shoulder roughly, "Come on, we're all gonna be late for class!"

"Wha- Oh... Mornin' Peacock.." Wei Wuxian mumbles sleepily, he and Huaisang had ended up chatting late into the night. Wei Wuxian had admitted to him about the coming from a different timeline thing, to his surprise Huaisang had said that he'd 'figured there was something going on' after Jiang Cheng mentioned Wei Wuxian having feelings for Lan Zhan. Huaisang had stated bluntly 'he never would have put 2 and 2 together before... Wei Wuxian had to admit that was accurate.

"Morning, get your hair up, it's 15 minutes before classes start!" ZiXuan tells him shortly, "If I'm late to class, I'm going to punch you."

"Aiya- so violent!" Wei Wuxian whines, but forces himself to get moving. "Why didn't you come get us earlier! We won't even have time for breakfast!" He fusses as he grabs a brush of off the dresser and starts hurriedly running it through his hair.

"MianMian had to come wake me up, I guess I stayed up too late studying..." ZiXuan admits, "Then we got to the dining pavilion and you both weren't there, and none of the Qinghe disciples had seen Huaisang last night so."

"We figured he'd be here with you, probably getting his details." Luo QingYang snorts, wrinkling her nose. "You guys haven't heard whats going on today yet." She adds with excitement, "QingHeng-Jun is coming out of seclusion! He's taking back over as Sect Leader!" Wei Wuxian fumbles and nearly drops his hair ribbon hearing this, Lan Zhan and XiChen-ge were successful in talking to their father then... that's good, it's another directional change from last time.

"Maybe he will except me and Er-gege courting" Wei Wuxian voices, hopeful but nervous, he was lucky his uncle and aunt excepted it without argument. He knows that cut-sleeves aren't widely accepted, and that there will likely be a lot of resistance to his and Lan Zhan's relationship all around, there had been even when they were older.

"I don't see why he wouldn't Wei-xiong, he has no ground to judge you based on his own marriage." Huaisang tells Wei Wuxian, it's true that QingHeng-Jun's own marriage was considered highly controversial among the sects but Wei Wuxian doesn't want his decision to ride on that alone.

"Your loud and annoying but I don't see anything to dislike." ZiXuan says sticking his tongue out at Wei Wuxian in a manner that is truly, just like Jin Ling.

"Says the one who keeps choosing to hang out with me." Wei Wuxian points out teasing, he finishes brushing his hair out and ties it up in his normal high ponytail. He then throws his brush to Huaisang, who follows suit, brushing his hair and throwing it up into a stick bun.

"Lets go, maybe we can grab a mantou or something from the dining pavilion." Huaisang says hopefully, they do have those in the cloud recesses though there blander and not nearly as heavily seasoned or as rich as the food from lotus pier... better than nothing though, Wei Wuxian agrees.

They end up being half way to the class building when the bell begins for classes to start, they end up having to run to get to class in time. Thankfully it seems that no one is paying attention, because they aren't called out on it. Instead, Wei Wuxian sits down at what has become his spot across the room from Lan Zhan, only to have QiRen tell him to move back to his old spot... He's understandably confused. "Are you sure, I thought you said that you wanted me to stay away from him."

"I would have preferred that, yes, however my brother and nephews have made it very clear that won't be happening." QiRen sighs, still looking annoyed. "Now move before classes commence, Young Master Wei." Wei Wuxian doesn't need to be told twice, he's much happier to be sitting behind his Er-gege thank you!

"Good Morning Lan Zhan!" Wei Wuxian says quietly as he sits down behind his future husband.

"Mn. Morning Wei Ying." Lan Zhan returns, glancing back at him, "Fuqin wants to meet Wei Ying."

"He does!?" Wei Wuxian gasps barely managing to keep his volume down.

"Mn. After class." Lan Zhan informs, then reading Wei Wuxian's apparent nerves adds "don't be nervous."

"How can I be anything else!" Wei Wuxian whines, "What if I say the wrong thing!"

"Wei Ying will be fine." Lan Zhan tells him, "Wei Ying is amazing, Fuqin will like him."

"And what if he doesn't." Wei Wuxian argues, "I- What if he hates me..." trailing off his tone trembling.

"Will leave with Wei Ying." Lan Zhan promises, "Wei Ying matters most." Wei Wuxians feels his face heat up, how can he possibly belong with someone as amazing as Lan Zhan.

"Aiya, warn me before you say such things! I'll die of shock!" Wei Wuxian whines in embarrassment... yes, he definitely doesn't deserve his Er-gege..

"Mn." Lan Zhan says, but Wei Wuxian knows, he definitely won't warn him, he never will... and some part of him is grateful for such surprises, even if they make him feel like his heart is about to burst. At length, QiRen coughs, and they both go silent, Wei Wuxian swears he can feel half the disciples staring at them. Wei Wuxian awkwardly smiles, straightens himself in his seat and focuses on the front of the class, he's only too glad when QiRen goes back to his monotonous droning and the attention slowly turns back to the lesson.

After class ends, Wei Wuxian waits while Lan Zhan finishes helping his uncle with something. Huaisang asks if he wants to go down the mountain but Wei Wuxian tells him Lan Zhan was going to take him to meet his father. "Good luck Wei-xiong, I'll bring some emperors smile to your guest house later! Tell me how it went." Huaisang says, hiding his mouth from view with a carefully placed fan.

"Shoo, don't get me in trouble! I'll see you later" Wei Wuxian tells him teasingly.

"I think you do a good enough job on your own Wei-xiong" Huaisang jokes back.

"Aiya, true!" Wei Wuxian groans, "I'm always doing something someone doesn't like, I think I'd still manage to get in trouble in my sleep."

"That's because you nap in class! Wei-xiong I wouldn't have the guts..." Huaisang says with mild exasperation.

"If he didn't speak so monotonously, I might be able to stay awake!" Wei Wuxian argues. "have fun."

"I plan on it!" Huaisang giggles, "I wonder who it will be this time" he hums walking away, he's out of earshot before what he said processes and Wei Wuxian chokes on his on saliva, good grief Huaisang... and people call HIM shameless.

Lan Zhan finally joins him outside a few minutes later, having finished whatever it was his uncle needed help with. Wei Wuxian has just barely managed to pull his composure back to an accept-able level after being left wondering how anyone could be as thick of face as Huaisang. "QiRen doesn't need your help anymore?"

"Finished." Lan Zhan confirms, "Wei Ying is ready?"

"Yes." Wei Wuxian says, his voice trembles in-spite of his effort to keep it steady, damn it...

"Wei Ying will be fine." Lan Zhan reassures him for the third time that day. Wei Wuxian leans his head on Lan Zhan's chest and is delighted when Lan Zhan hugs him gently.

"I know you think so, I can't help being afraid though." Wei Wuxian sighs, "I want things to go well so badly Er-gege." Lan Zhan squeezes him closer gently before releasing his grip on him and pulling away.

"Lets go." Lan Zhan says, and Wei Wuxian nods grabbing his hand like a life line, it's amazing how much better he feels when Lan Zhan threads his fingers through Wei Wuxian's own and squeezes them gently. They walk to the main residence like that.

QingHeng-Jun is very much an older, albeit sadder looking, reflection of Lan Zhan, it gives Wei Wuxian a feeling of deja vu. He reminds Wei Wuxian of his first encounter with Lan Zhan after being reborn, the sadness he'd been blind to at first, but, after realizing its existence, had been unable to forget.

"Wangji, I had expected to see you after classes ended." QingHeng-Jun tells his son, wanting an explanation for why they were late no doubt.

"Apologies." Lan Zhan says, "Shufu needed help preparing for the next class, it took longer than expected Fuqin"

"Ah, I could have guessed as much." QingHeng-Jun responds, "I'm sure QiRen-ge appreciated having your help." smiling at his son, though it never reaches his intensely sad eyes. Wei Wuxian thinks he must still miss Lan Furen very badly, he can't imagine how he'd feel if something happened to Lan Zhan... he doesn't want to. "This must be Young Master Wei; I've heard much about you." QingHeng-Jun tells Wei Wuxian, turning his attention to greeting him with a smile.

"None of it good, I'm sure." Wei Wuxian admits sheepishly, looking at Lan Zhan for support.

"It's a mixture I will admit, but one can never trust QiRen to hide his personal feelings." QingHeng-Jun offers, apologetically. "Or to temper his prejudices for that matter. Come in." he says with a flourish towards the main room of the residence.

Just like all the other buildings in Gusu, QingHeng-Jun's residence is predominately white, personal possessions are few and far between. They sit down at the low table and QingHeng-Jun signals to a servant to bring them tea. After the servant leaves, QingHeng-Jun finally speaks, "XiChen and Wangji were telling me you came from the future." Wei Wuxian feels more than a little exposed at this comment, he knew of course that Lan Zhan and Lan XiChen were going to tell their father. Lan Zhan had asked him for permission since it was really his and Jiang Cheng's story to tell, he'd agreed. He just wasn't expecting to be asked this soon.

"I did, or rather, My memories did..." Wei Wuxian tells him, "A-Cheng is in the same situation." being honest is the best option in this situation, right? He feels Lan Zhan's hand nudge his under the table in silent support.

"I see." QingHeng-Jun says, "I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable, I simply have a hard time believing such a story." He explains, "I have questions, if you don't mind answering."

"O-of course not! I think I would think someone was crazy if they told me they were from the future." Wei Wuxian says with a soft laugh, his trembling gives away is nervous energy however.

"In our present time line, where is the threat from yours? I don't mean RuoHan." QingHeng-Jun asks, clarifying afterwards that he's not talking about the Wens.

"Meng Yao is currently a disciple of QingHe Nie." Wei Wuxian answers quickly, "He should have already been noticed by Sect Leader Nie, who should feel sorry for him right now because he's being bullied." He remembers the drama he'd over heard from the other sects during the war, among them how fast Nie MingJue had grown distrustful of Meng Yao.

"I'm assuming Meng Yao and Jin GuangYao are the same person?"

"Yes Sir." Wei Wuxian responds, "He was given recognition by Sect Leader Jin after the war ended." as Wei Wuxian says this the servant re-enters the room and pours the tea for them, he thanks her quietly. QingHeng-Jun and Lan Zhan also thank her, before QingHeng-Jun dismisses her from the room.

"Were there signs beforehand that he could go off the deep end?" QingHeng-Jun asks,

"At the start of the war, Meng Yao was kicked out of Qinghe because he killed a guard he'd been arguing with and tried to pin it on the Wen's" Wei Wuxian says, "he then proceeded to head for QiShan on his own, in hopes of joining them." he adds, pausing, "This is actually when he met XiChen who had run when Gusu was burned."

"What did he want in QiShan?"

"He used the murder of the guard as proof of loyalty to the Wens." Wei Wuxian says, then elaborates "over the next few months he worked his way up through the ranks and sent information to XiChen that helped us to win the war." he debates about whether or not to tell QingHeng-Jun about Meng Yao's killing a platoon of men from QingHe infront of Sect Leader Nie after he'd been captured by RuoHan, eventually though he decides he should. The concern on QingHeng-Jun's face when he hears of this tells him he's made the right choice.

"I will keep this information in mind." QingHeng-Jun says, "As another question, I was told you gave your core to Young Master Jiang. How? What made you feel like you needed to do such a thing?" Wei Wuxian sighs when he hears this question, he can almost feel the numbing cold he'd felt after it was removed.

"A-Cheng has always lived for his cultivation, His core was destroyed by Wen Zhuliu not long after my A-Yi and Bobo were killed." Wei Wuxian begins, adding shakily "I knew I would be fine without it, and I promised A-Yi I would protect him." He leans against Lan Zhan for a moment, needing to be supported physically for a moment. At length he continues, "Wen Ning rescued us when I sneaked back in to lotus pier, he and his sister took care of us and it was Wen Qing who performed the surgery for me."

"Why did they help you?" QingHeng-Jun asks, "Why was she willing to do such a thing?"

"I befriended Wen Ning during the archery tournament, he had trouble making friends... he said he asked to be sent to lotus pier when he heard of the attack, he was worried about me and Jiang Cheng." Wei Wuxian explains thoughtfully, "That was also why Wen Qing helped us, but she agreed to help with the surgery she had theorized about, based on the fact that she would have done the same for her brother." He finishes. Wei Wuxian notices that QingHeng-Jun looks considerably softer as he finishes explaining this, maybe because he also understands as a sibling.

"This is the same Wen Ning, who became the fierce corpse known as the ghost general?" QingHeng-Jun's tone is less drilling now, more pitying.

"Yes." Wei Wuxian responds his voice becoming icy at the memory, "He was killed trying to protect his cousin in the Jin Sect's labor camp after the war." he notices the way Lan Zhan's father pales at his, admittedly, angry tone... He can't help feeling rage over it however, he still remembers how awful that scene had been... Still doesn't regret killing the Jin Sect Guards. He digs his nails into his robes.

"I'm sorry to bring up such a terrible memory." QingHeng-Jun apologizes.

"I'm the one who should apologize, it wasn't your fault, no one knew what the Jin's were doing, and once we did, it was too late." Wei Wuxian responds, apologetically. "Jin sect had become corrupt and used their wealth to buy the loyalty of those who were worst off from the war... no one, could risk standing up to them for a hand full of war prisoners." he doesn't blame Jiang Cheng for casting him out at that time. Lotus Pier had been burned to ash, most of their people were dead or injured, he couldn't risk incurring the wrath of LanLing Jin. Wei Wuxian had known and that was why he'd left on his own, he couldn't put more pressure on his brother.

"We will have to make sure that it doesn't happen this time then." QingHeng-Jun says, his tone lighter now, "You have answered my questions about that matter. I must admit, you did better than I expected you to." He jokes, "I can see now that you have told the truth."

"Thank you for trusting me. QingHeng-Jun" Wei Wuxian bows forward respectfully in his seated position.
"Lan LiangFa is fine, you came here to ask for permission to court my son, did you not?" QingHeng-Jun says. He seems amused by the way Wei Wuxian's cheeks heat up at this reminder.

"Then you should also call me Wei Ying." Wei Wuxian knows it's a little strange to ask to be called by your birth name, but he's always preferred it. It makes him feel included. only Yanli is allowed to call him A-Xian.

The visit goes on, QingHeng-Jun, no... Lan LiangFa, asks about him, wanting to know about his childhood at lotus pier, about his life on the streets before. Wei Wuxian is startled when LiangFa reveals that he knew both Wei CangSe and CangSe SanRen. "You knew my parents?" Wei Wuxian asks excitement obvious in his tone.

LiangFa smiles, "We attended class together, You're mother was very much like you."

"So I keep hearing, I don't really remember either of them though." Wei Wuxian tells LiangFa, "For a long time my A-Yi and Bobo wouldn't talk about them at all."

"That makes sense unfortunately, Yu Ziyuan was never fond of CangSe SanRen." LiangFa says with a sigh, "Wei CangSe might have been Fengmian's dear friend, but he probably doesn't want to upset her."

"A-Yi listens to the rumors too much, Bobo ignores them too much." Wei Wuxian admits, "I just wish they were better at listening to each other, because I know Bobo loves A-Yi."

"Maybe I can talk to him, after all, you're going to need their permission as well." LiangFa tells him.

"Bobo has already given his! But I still need to ask A-Yi, I don't think she will refuse though, she's already made some, scandalous comments." Wei Wuxian laughingly tells LiangFa, Lan Zhan shifts next to him.

"Is that so?" LiangFa asks, raising an eyebrow, "I'm going to guess it has something to do with my brother."

"Mn." Lan Zhan speaks up, looking awkwardly down. "Yu Furen is rather... unorthodox."

"I will be interested to see what she has to say in person then." LiangFa laughs lightly. The afternoon winds down, they talk to Sect Leader Lan for another hour, he tells Wuxian everything he remembers about his parents and their days as students. At length though he says good bye to the boys when XiChen comes looking for Wangji, apparently needing help with something. Wei Wuxian walks down to a juncture in the path with them before bidding them good bye and heading back to his guest residence.

Unsurprisingly he ends up spending the night chatting and drinking with Huaisang. Unexpectedly they are joined by ZiXuan, who, much to Wei Wuxian's surprise, was actually worried about his meeting Sect Leader Lan, and wanted to be sure he was okay.

The following weeks pass quickly by, and before Wei Wuxian knows it, they are getting ready to leave for YunMeng Jiang. Wei Wuxian's stomach flips excitedly as they meet at the docks, for the first time in 23 years he's going to see his Aunt and sister!

Jiang Cheng P.O.V

Jiang Cheng had been surprised when he'd heard from Wei Ying that his brother considered both ZiXuan and Huaisang to be friends now. His brother had also said that a girl from one of the smaller clans in jin sect, Luo QingYang, had also joined their little group... Leave it to Wei Ying to make friends with the one person besides Wangji who had stuck up for him last time.
The next letter is heralded by the announcement that the Sect Leader of Gusu Lan has left seclusion. Wei Ying writes that he has met with Sect Leader Lan and has gotten his permission to officially court the 2nd jade... "Finally, it's not like QiRen could keep them apart anyway..." Jiang Cheng thinks, rolling his eyes. The next line makes him take the letter to his parents so that they can prepare however, Wei Ying has written that Sect Leader Lan and his sons will be coming to lotus pier with him when classes end. "Fuqin, A-Niang, A-Ying wrote that Sect Leader Lan and the twin jades will be coming with him when classes end." Jiang Cheng says as he walks into his father's office, Fengmian and Yu had been looking over building plans and trying to determine the best points for setting up defense arrays. Both look up at their son when he enters.

"All three!? Your sure A-Cheng?" Fengmian asks, taking the letter from his son. He notices that his mother looks surprised by this revelation as well.

"Yes Fuqin." Jiang Cheng tells his father, "He also said he's made friends with ZiXuan A-Niang." he sees his mother smile at this, clearly thinking 'maybe we can fix the marriage arrangement yet'.

Fengmian reads the letter with interest before handing it to Yu, who makes a remark of "I can finally ask him some important questions." Jiang Cheng snorts at this, he can also hear his father mumble something about 'what happened to worrying about our image.' Yu Ziyuan tersely responds, "I AM thinking about our image. What will people say if we let our Zhizi be locked away like Lan Furen?"

"Lan Wangji would never allow such a thing A-Niang." Jiang Cheng reaffirms. "You will see that when you meet him, I might not like him, but he's good to A-Ying." he can admit that while he dislikes the younger Lan heir... (and he's certainly glad that he isn't being made to marry him) He does however recognize the love and respect Lan Wangji treats his brother with. "In the other time line, he took 33 lashes of the discipline whip for protecting Wei Ying from his own sects' elders."

"How one earth did he survive such an ordeal!?" Yu Ziyuan gasps, her face going white as a sheet. "One lash of the whip is enough to cripple most people." Fengmian nods in agreement at this statement.

"2nd Young Master Lan must be extremely strong, to have survived such a punishment." Fengmian agrees solemnly, "I can't believe even QiRen would be so harsh with his own Zhizi."

"The elders didn't give him much option, Lan Wangji killed a couple of them and badly injured others." Jiang Cheng explains, "QiRen was told to either execute him or cripple him." he adds grimly, "Even then, he chose to beat him so viciously to prevent Wangji from killing himself after Wei Ying died."

"Even in such a scenario, it would have been kinder to offer him support through it." Fengmian says, "I'm sure 2nd Young Master Lan and QiRen's relationship suffered badly afterwards." Jiang Cheng nods in response, he knows from Wei Ying that Lan Wangji had harbored resentment towards his uncle.

"QiRen has always been dense when it came to emotions, no wonder his Zhizi struggles with communication." Yu Ziyuan comments, "he was lucky his idea of punishment didn't kill his Zhizi."

"Thank you for telling us this, A-Cheng." Fengmian tells his son, "This confirms that our A-Ying will be safe and loved with his 2nd Jade. We can rest easier"

It feels like no time at all before they are all preparing for the arrival of their guests and the return of Wei Ying. Yanli gets some of the other girls to help her prepare Wei Ying's favorite meal, and Jiang Cheng pushes their disciples through training so that everyone can have a break when he arrives.

The moment the boats come into view Jiang Cheng, his sister and their parents make their way to the docks to greet their guests, and welcome their head disciple home. Jiang Cheng sees his brother's eyes fill with tears the moment he spots them, and remembers his own feelings when he first returned.

He allows Yanli to brush past him as the boat docks, she and Wei Ying have always had a special bond. In the past Jiang Cheng had felt like he was last place even with his own sister, but now he realizes that jealousy was misplaced... Yanli and Wei Ying's bond is more that of a mother and child than that of siblings he realizes as he watches the way his brother throws himself into Yanli's arms like a child. Moving forward he places his hand on Wei Ying's head, which is still buried in Yanli's neck. "Welcome home, idiot." He teases, intending to sound snarky but failing miserably as the realization of how long it's been since they were all together sets in. "great, now I'm about to start crying..." he groans mentally feeling his eyes sting.

"A-Xian, oh dear, you really are crying a lot..." Yanli coos, pushing Wei Ying off her only to gently wipe his tears with her sleeve.

"Shijie, I missed you soooo much..." Wei Ying sobs, his eyes are red from crying, his nose clearly stuffed up. He looks like a little kid, Jiang Cheng muses.

"I missed you too A-Xian, A-Cheng has told me about everything, A-Die and A-Niang as well." Yanli tells Wei Ying, "Now, are you going to introduce everyone?" She asks patiently. Wei Ying nods, however before he can say anything, QingHeng-Jun speaks.

"It's been a long time since I've been out of Gusu, Fengmian." QingHeng-Jun greets Jiang Fengmian in a familiar and warm way.

"Too long, we have some catching up to do." Fengmian agrees, "The last time you were outside of Gusu, I wasn't much older than A-Li."

"Indeed, It seems fitting that it's our children that bring me all this way." QingHeng-Jun turns his attention to Yanli and Jiang Cheng next. "You must be Wanyin and Yanli, A-Ying's told me a lot about you."

"Our A-Xian enjoyed his time in Gusu, and I've been looking forward to meet you Sect Leader Lan." Yanli greets pleasantly... Jiang Cheng envies how easily his sister can get along with others, he still has to consciously decide to be pleasant.

"Thank you for taking care of my Tang-ge Sect Leader Lan." Jiang Cheng tells QingHeng-Jun, "Welcome to Lotus Pier." QingHeng-Jun smiles at them in response.

"I had been looking forward to meeting you Jiang-Guniang." XiChen bows politely, "I'm ZeWu-Jun, however XiChen is fine." He says introducing himself, he then gestures to His brother, "My Didi is the reason we came with A-Ying."

"This one's title is HanGuang-Jun, courtesy name is Wangji." Lan Wangji introduces himself, "Prefer to be called Lan Zhan."

"So that is why you glare at me when I call you Wangji..." Jiang Cheng says, "I also prefer Jiang Cheng." he admits, apparently, they have been annoying each-other for years, who knew. He notes the acknowledgment Lan Zhan gives him in the form of a nod... right then, this is something else he can fix. Of course, he also had called Lan Zhan by his courtesy name because XiChen did, but now that he thinks about it, no one outside of his brother, father and uncle calls him that. "So like Wei Ying only allowing A-Li to call him A-Xian."

"Mn. Will remember it." Lan Zhan says.

"It's good to finally meet all of you" Yanli bows ever polite, before adding a mildly threatening "I would like to ask you a few questions later A-Zhan, since you've expressed interest in our A-Xian.", Jiang Cheng tries not to snort... most people think that Yanli is sweet and naive, they forget that she is Yu Ziyuan's daughter. Lan Zhan, notably, doesn't look worried though... smug bastard. XiChen and QingHeng-Jun both look more amused than worried. "I'm sure A-Cheng and A-Xian would love to show you around Lotus pier later as well." Yanli adds. "I was also wondering if I could ask you about musical cultivation, I want to try to get stronger before the war." this blind sides Jiang Cheng, and judging by his parents expressions she hadn't spoken to them about it either.

"I would very much enjoy that, Young Mistress Jiang." XiChen responds, returning Yanli's bow. "Perhaps you can join us for the tour later." he suggests with a warm smile.

"I shall then." Yanli says with a smile. "I'm sure everyone must be tired from the trip, My brother can show you to the guest rooms that have been prepared." She continues after moments pause, "I will take my leave, I have dinner to finish prepping." She says with a graceful bow. Wei Ying lights up at the mention of food, if Yanli is cooking, naturally his favorite meal will be on the menu.

"Shijie makes the best lotus and pork rib soup!" Jiang Cheng can almost hear Wei Ying saying, just by looking at his face. Lan Zhan is looking at Wei Ying like he is the most beautiful person on earth, and Jiang Cheng definitely isn't looking forward to playing chaperon with that. Jiang Cheng is more than grateful when his mother suggests to Wei Ying that he should go unpack his things and greet the other disciples.

Jiang Cheng shows the twin jades to their guest rooms, however Fengmian and Sect Leader Lan are lost in conversation, and Fengmian tells him he will show him to his room himself later. It's a strange feeling, having his parents have company... he can't remember the last time there was a guest at lotus pier besides Nie Huaisang, and that brat invited himself every summer after meeting Wei Ying at a conference.

Jiang Yanli P.O.V

Yanli was aware that something had changed the moment that her father returned from the first incident at Gusu Lan. When she'd heard him speak of how shaken her brother had been, she'd known there had to be something going on. While she knew that her brother cared about Wei Ying, A-Cheng had never been as attached to him as she was. Additionally, he definitely wouldn't have realized on his own that Wei Ying's drowning attempt the year before was actually a suicide attempt. She loved her brother, but he was dense when it came to emotions.

She wasn't surprised either, when she got the truth out of him. It made sense with the way he'd changed, of course he'd want to fix things after living through such a nightmare. She determined after hearing everything that if they wanted to fix everything, she needed to get stronger herself as well. She would protect her family and their future with everything she had.

When their guests arrived and everyone had been situated, Yanli had gone back to the kitchens. After all, to night was a big occasion, this was the first time Wei Ying would be back in lotus pier in years after all. She was having his favorite foods prepared, including two large pots of his favorite soup, one made vegetarian for their guests, the other made the way her A-Xian was used to. When everything had been prepared, she left the soups to cook, giving one of the servant's instructions, and went to find her brother.

She wasn't surprised when she found Wei Ying in his room, he'd seemed overwhelmed earlier. She'd known when she left, that he probably needed a moment to take everything in. "A-Xian?" She asks, smiling when he shoots up off his bed.

"Shijie!" Wei Ying bounces into a sitting position with his legs tucked under him.

"I thought you would be here." She chuckles, "You seemed like you were struggling earlier."

"I'm okay now." Wei Ying assures, "It's just been soo long Shijie, I missed everyone so much and now your all here and I didn't even greet everyone properly."

"It's fine, A-Xian has been through a lot up-til now." Yanli says gently, "no one will judge you for needing a moment." walking over to the bed she hugs him close.

"I should still have greeted A-Yi and Bobo." Wei Ying sighs, "I really missed you Shijie..."

"I know A-Xian." Yanli soothes, "You can make up for earlier at dinner." she offers. "How about you tell me how your life with A-Zhan was?" They talk for a while, Wei Ying tells her about his life with Lan Zhan in the other timeline, about his adopted son, Sizhui, and about her son, Jin Ling. She couldn't wait to meet the sweet, noble and studious boy her brother described Sizhui as. His description of Jin Ling as a kind but spoiled brat who followed his son around like a lost puppy amused her. It made her wonder how ZiXuan would react to his son, and reminded her of how their engagement had been called off. A-Xian had reassured her that they would still eventually marry, the peacock (as he called ZiXuan) eventually regretting his decision on his own.

It had surprised her to learn that ZiXuan had eventually fallen in love with her, it had simply taken time. And while she knows that it ended in tragedy before, she can't help but feel excited at the prospect of a happy future.

Yanli notices that the Lans seem a little out of their comfort zone at dinner, XiChen tells her it's because meals in Gusu are silent, which she finds odd. Sect leader Lan tells them that he thinks he needs to work on easing the rules a bit in Gusu, 2000 rules is a lot for anyone to be expected to remember and he doesn't want his future son in law to feel trapped. This consideration makes Yanli happy, it sounds like her brother will be happy in Gusu.

Afterwards Wei Ying grabs Lan Zhan and animatedly declares it's time he shows him around lotus pier, the fact Lan Zhan allows himself to be dragged around makes Yanli laugh... yes, he is definitely besotted with her A-Xian. Xichen is also amused by the interaction, but Yanli notices something else flicker across Jiang Chengs face... she hopes that wasnt what she thinks it is, but it's gone in an instant and she has no proof.

"Shall we then?" XiChen asks,

"Why dont we all go, it's lovely weather." Yu Ziyuan speaks up, smiling, Yanli has noticed her mother looks much happier lately, she's grateful for that. They start with the main property, training grounds, docks and ancestral hall, they will show them around the town tomorrow.

As they walk along the docks Xichen speaks up, "What is it you wanted to know about musical cultivation?"

"I was wondering if it might be a better fit for me than a sword." Yanli begins, "I have a weak body as a result of illness when I was younger, and sword training is hard and dangerous for my health." She explains.

"It still requires training and focus, but it's certainly not as taxing as sword cultivation." XiChen confirms.

"How about fan cultivation?" Wei Ying suggests, popping into their conversation.

"That could work as well." XiChen agrees, "I could also see if Huaisang was interested, it might calm the tension between he and Da-ge."

"It would also give me someone to practice with!" Yanli agrees, this could definitely work, the most important thing to her is that she learns some way of protecting herself. She wants to be of use to her family, not a burden.

"I can ask Sang-ge later! We've been exchanging messages for a long time." Wei Ying volunteers.

"Of course you have." Jiang Cheng snorts, rolling his eyes, Yanli giggles, now they know why Huaisang has randomly invited himself to stay for weeks at a time.

"He needs someone to vent to! Sect Leader Nie isn't... easy to live with." Wei Ying argues, clearly trying to word his lines carefully, after all XiChen and MingJue are good friends.

"He's under a lot of stress." XiChen says, but Yanli can see he agrees with Wei Ying on that fact.

"It would help if his brother didn't dodge training constantly." Jiang Cheng tells Wei Ying, "I'd be stressed out too if you kept vanishing to buy clothes and art scrolls." he adds, Yanli can't help laughing at the insulted noise Wei Ying makes in response. "as it is, you ditch to catch fish and steal lotus pods."

"A-Li, ChengCheng is teasing me!" Wei Ying whines, throwing himself at Jiang Cheng who side steps, resulting in Wei Ying landing belly down on the dock. The scene is so familiar to Yanli she doesn't even flinch at the impact.

"Who the fuck is 'ChengCheng'!" Jiang Cheng snaps at him, hand balled into a fist in annoyance.

"Jiang Cheng! Language!" Yu Ziyuan corrects, looking exasperated with her son and nephew. Jiang Cheng apologizes but Yanli knows it will happen again and so does their mother.

"A-Cheng is 'ChengCheng'" Wei Ying reiterates from the floor of the dock, clearly not in the mood to behave Yanli notes, but she will give in this time...

"how old are you XianXian?" Yanli teases, if she's feeding into his childishness who cares, everyone here is either family or soon to be family. She might as well let them see what their getting themselves into.

"XianXian is three!" Wei Ying announces without missing a beat.

"More like one!" Yanli says, bending down she taps his nose. "be a good boy XianXian."

"Mhmm'kay XianXian will be good for ShiJie!" Wei Ying promises, looking serious, Yanli chuckles.. she can see XiChen trying hard not to laugh at Wei Yings antics, Lan Zhan also looks amused... it's the most facial expression she's seen on his face thus far.

Jiang Cheng P.O.V (starting with previous event recap in his POV)

They had just finished eating when Wei Ying practically threw himself at Lan Zhan. "Er-GeGe, I can finally show you around!" Wei Ying's excitement beyond containment, apparently... when was the last time his brother was ever that excited to be home? Something about the attention his brother gives Lan Zhan bugs him, he doesn't know what though.

His mother's suggestion that they all go is somewhat a relief, he doesn't want to be stuck playing escort to those two morons by himself. She at-least seems happier and more at easy than she has in a long time.

As they walk along Jiang Cheng catches snippets of his sister and XiChen's conversation, his mother and father are lost in conversation with Sect Leader Lan. He thinks about trying to join either group, but ultimately just listens, his eyes keep wandering back to Wei Ying and Lan Zhan. "Lan Er-GeGe, A-Cheng and I bring the disciples down here to swim during the summer." Wei Ying chatters as they approach the docks. Jiang Cheng listens to Wei Ying talk about the mischief they'd gotten into during their summers here, and feels something tighten in his chest, but pointedly ignores it. Suddenly Wei Ying shifts his attention to Yanli and XiChen. "How about fan cultivation?" Wei Ying suggests. Jiang Cheng then realizes he'd been totally spacing on what they were talking about.

"That could work as well." XiChen agrees, then says he should suggest it to Sect Leader Nie for Huaisang as well. It's very XiChen to worry about his sworn brother's relationship with his sibling.

Wei Ying offers that he can ask Huaisang, because they have been in contact for a while apparently. Jiang Cheng snorts, "Of course you have." rolling his eyes, now the summer visits from Huaisang make sense. Wei Ying argues that MingJue isn't easy to live with an Huaisang needs to vent sometimes, all Jiang Cheng can think is pot meet kettle.

"He's under a lot of stress." Xichen says, always the diplomat, he's also trying to avoid gossiping about his friend, Jiang Cheng can tell.

"It would help if his brother didn't dodge training constantly." Jiang Cheng tells Wei Ying, "I'd be stressed out too if you kept vanishing to buy clothes and art scrolls." he hears Wei Ying's offended gasp and sees his sister start laughing. "as it is, you ditch to catch fish and steal lotus pods." he finishes, dodging as Wei Ying tries to pounce on him after loudly whining that he's being mean. Jiang Cheng internally flinches as Wei Ying hits the dock, that can't have felt good. A second later what Wei Ying called him kicks into his brain and he snaps "Who the fuck is 'ChengCheng'!" automatically, without thinking about who is with them.

"Jiang Cheng! language!" Yu Ziyuan corrects, looking exasperatedly between he and Wei Ying.

"Sorry A-Niang" He apologizes, though he definitely knows this won't be the last time it happens, Wei Ying is Wei Ying after all. He watches the familiar scenario play out between his sister and Wei Ying again, he supposes it's a good thing that their guests find it amusing, they are going to be family after all. He pointedly ignores the uncomfortable way his stomach twists at the thought of Wei Ying marrying into Gusu Lan sect.

The rest of the evening goes on without incident, if he can't stop watching Wei Ying and Lan Zhan interact, it's just because he's supposed to be their chaperon.

The next couple of days feel like they drag, he and Yanli and XiChen accompany Wei Ying and Lan Zhan into town the next afternoon. The trip goes about how Jiang Cheng expected, with Lan Zhan buying Wei Ying loads of sweets as they watch the two bounce between vendors. The days afterwards feels like the weather is mimicking Jiang Cheng's own mood, it rains all day and Jiang Cheng desperately wishes someone else would watch the lovebirds. He's getting sick of breaking up the make-out sessions already, how did XiChen deal with these two for months?

Yanli and XiChen seem to being getting along well, Huaisang and MingJue arrive the third day. Jiang Cheng is only too glad to let Huaisang play escort for an afternoon and get away from Wei Ying and Lan Zhan for a couple of hours. He decides to follow his sister and XiChen around instead and listen to the three older siblings talk about their struggles, Yanli seems to be getting along well with both of them and He's glad, his sister deserves friends.

Yanli, MingJue and XiChen are currently sitting at one of the shaded pavilions outside of the main house. XiChen has a scroll he sent for from Gusu infront of him and is explaining how fan cultivation works to the other two. Jiang Cheng had been listening when a flash of movement on one of the docks catches his eye, looking up he realizes it's Wei Ying and Lan Zhan. "Where the heck did Huaisang vanish to?" Jiang Cheng mumbles, looking up and down the area that isn't blocked by buildings, Huaisang is definitely nowhere in sight. At this distance he can't hear any of their conversation but he can see Wei Ying is laughing happily and chattering the 2nd jades ear off. Jiang Cheng decides to keep watching them just encase they try anything inappropriate.

Jiang Yanli P.O.V

Jiang Yanli has noticed over the past few days that Jiang Cheng tends to watch A-Xian very closely, especially whenever 2nd Childe Lan is around. Her suspicion that her little brother may have feelings for Wei Ying is becoming more grounded by the day, however she doesn't think he's realized it himself yet. She knows, because her brother is dense, and will likely never figure it out on his own, that she may end up having to have a talk with him in the near future. After all, for all that Yanli adores her baby brother, she cannot allow him to say anything to Wei Ying.

Yanli is honestly relieved when Huaisang volunteers to play the role of escort for the afternoon. Jiang Cheng needs a break from following Wei Ying and Lan Zhan around, he doesn't complain, but she can see he's frustrated, especially after all the rain. She tries in-vane a few times to involve him in the conversation, but her brother, as usual, isn't much of a talker and seems content to just listen for the most part.

XiChen had just laid out the scrolls he sent for on the pavilions small table, the scrolls have images of positions and guides on how fan cultivation can be achieved. "These scrolls were written by Sect Leader Lan Yi, she's behind a lot of Gusu's current training methods." XiChen explains.

"It makes sense for the creator of fan cultivation to be a woman." MingJue says, Yanli thinks anyone else wording that sentence would be using it as an insult. However, Sect Leader Nie has no such intention and seems to be genuinely interested, and impressed by Lan Yi's work.

"She's also the one who created the assassination cord method." XiChen adds, "Gusu generally frowns on violence of any sort, however it's important that her life experiences are taken into account." he continues.

"Wasn't Lan Yi also a friend to the immortal BaoShan SanRen?" Yanli asks, she has heard Lan Yi's name before, she's almost certain it was in connection with the famous immortal.

"More than friends, Lan Yi and the immortal were lovers." XiChen says, "ChangSe SanRen was their daughter."

"How is that even possible, they were both women." MingJue asks. "Last I checked that was impossible."

"Mother said that their was a case of a soulmates blessing when she was a small child." Yanli says, "I wonder if she meant our A-Xian's A-Niang."

"Quite possibly, it was the note she sent A-Ying about the soulmates blessing that made me go back and look." Xichen responds. "On a different note, I was wondering if A-Ying might be capable of crafting a spiritual weapon." this last part is aimed at Jiang Cheng, who doesn't appear to have heard it at all. Yanli looks in the direction her brother is facing and sees A-Xian and 2nd Childe Lan, A-Xian is basically draped over the 2nd jade in a highly inappropriate fashion. She definitely needs to talk to A-Cheng later.

"A-Cheng, do you know if A-Xian has ever experimented with spiritual weapons?" Yanli asks tapping Jiang Chengs shoulder, he was apparently so focused on them that he was dead to the world, he jumps slightly in surprise.

"He's only ever made two and they were both for demonic cultivation." Jiang Cheng tells them, "He'd probably be able to figure it out, but you'd need to give him a place away from people to experiment safely."

"What do you know about the demonic items, were they stable?" MingJue asks, "I've heard demonic cultivation is hard on a person's mental state." the Nie Sect Leader had been caught up on the time travel by Yanli and XiChen over the past few days with the help of the timeline Xichen copied from her brother.

"The flute was perfectly safe, and easily controlled." Jiang Cheng answers immediately, "The Stygian tiger talisman however, was highly dangerous if you couldn't control your emotions."

"Could he control it?" XiChen asks, sounding a little worried about his future brother in law.

"Debatable." Jiang Cheng responds, "he created it during the war and used it to control legions of the undead, after the war he started to fray mentally." XiChen shudders at his description of necromancy.

"what would happen if he lost control?" Yanli asks, her brother never went into the gory details when he recounted the past to her. Now that he's mentioned necromancy however, she feels she needs more details.

"He crushed 40 jin sect cultivators like ants under a boot." Jiang Cheng says, with a disgusted expression. "The Jin's had killed a bunch of innocent Wen survivors and were keeping the rest in labor camps... many of the dead were children and elders, Wei Ying snapped." MingJue and XiChen both look pale and horrified by this revelation, and Yanli is sure her own face is much the same.

"So the Jins cannot be trusted." MingJue replies after a moments silence. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me."

"Actually I think some of them can be." Jiang Cheng says, "Jin ZiXuan was never ruthless enough for his father's tastes, he's a bit vain and spoiled, but he would help us." he still remembers how quickly ZiXuan had put aside his distrust of Wei Ying for the sake of Yanli. That willingness to forgive and accept for the sake of his beloved, had ultimately gotten him killed in the original time line, but Jiang Cheng knows Wei Ying won't allow it to happen again. "I fairly certain Jin Furen can also be trusted."

"According to A-Niang, Jin Furen has always despised Jin Zhuren" Yanli confirms, it's well known that Yu Ziyuan is good friends with lady Jin, and that the two women had grown up together in MeiShan.

"That explains why Young Master Jin is an only child." XiChen says, he looks as if he feels sorry for the peacock in question.

"That peacock is so desperate for a sibling he started clinging to Wei Ying after I was sent home." Jiang Cheng snorts dismissively, Wei Ying had told him about ZiXuan saving he and Huaisang repeatedly from arriving to class after the last bell.

"Wei Ying is allowed to make friends outside of lotus pier A-Cheng." Yanli says softly,

"Did he have to choose that prick though?" Jiang Cheng grumbles, "I still haven't forgiven him for what he called you and A-Ying... He's going to have to prove he's changed first."

"I'm sure my brother has already thought of ten ways to get pay back." MingJue says, surprising everyone with in ear shot. "What? Did you really think I was unaware of my little brother's habits?"

"It's just strange hearing you admit he has them..." Jiang Cheng clarifies for the rest of them.

"The amount of unaccounted for funds and trade coming in and out of QingHe had to be being used for something." MingJue says with a long-suffering sigh, "I found out by accident that he's been paying prostitutes to spy for him." XiChen chokes on nothing, and Yanli cringes, this is definitely not what they were expecting to hear. The look on her brother's face tells her he isn't surprised at all.

Their conversation topic changes back to fan cultivation and Yanli notices Jiang Cheng eventually spaces out again, staring at the docks that Wei Ying and the 2nd jade have now disappeared from. He appears to considers going to find them but apparently decides he doesn't want to know what their up to, and instead takes his shoes off and sits on the edge of the dock with his feet in the water.

Eventually Sect Leader Nie is called back to QingHe to attend to something and Jiang Cheng, XiChen and Yanli see MingJue off. Huaisang will be staying for the next couple of weeks, at least this visit with Gusu is almost over... she thinks A-cheng can deal with the headshaker much better than the 2nd jade, even if she is glad that XiChen and Nie Mingjue seem to be people she can get along well with.

Wei Wuxian P.O.V

Wei Ying was delighted to be home, don't misunderstand, but constantly having his time with Lan Zhan interrupted by Jiang Cheng wasn't exactly what he had in mind. When he'd sent a message to Huaisang he had expressed that sentiment to his friend, he knew if anyone could get them some alone time, it would be Huaisang. He got a message back later that night via a communication spell, Huaisang was delighted at the prospect of training in something other than the saber. He had also been quick to suggest that he could play chaperon and then 'get lost' in the town for a couple hours while he stayed with them. They had continued sending messages back and forth via the communication spell for several hours that night, working out a perfect plan.

After the Nie's arrival, there were a couple of hours spent together as a large group. XiChen explained how fan cultivation worked briefly, and MingJue was shown around the training grounds of lotus pier. They ate lunch together in the dining hall and then XiChen, MingJue and Yanli started to leave for one of the pavilions to talk more about what the training would involve. "Lan Zhan! It's finally good enough weather to go to the markets again." Wei Ying chatters at his future husband, "I want to buy tanghulu, it's nice enough out we could rent a boat too!"

Lan Zhan nods quietly in response "Mn."

"I'm not renting a boat with you; you'd somehow manage to ruin the view for everyone else." Jiang Cheng rejects, rolling his eyes as usual.

"Then stay on the shore! I was inviting Er-GeGe not you!" Wei Ying says sticking his tongue out at his martial sibling.

"You arent married yet." Jiang Cheng reminds him again. "You have to have a chaperon."

"Then rent another boat." Wei Ying suggests, he's getting tired of the Jiang Cheng '3ft apart at all times' rule. "it's not like we're going to try something in public anyway."

"Fine. But if you try anything I'm going to splash you both." Jiang Cheng snorts. Wei Ying doesn't doubt he would do it, his brother's idea of 'try anything' though includes something like holding hands though. Wei Ying is about to say as much when Huaisang speaks up.

"I can Chaperon for the day, if that's okay with everyone." Huaisang interjects, "it's been almost a year since I've been to the markets in YunMeng."

"Your a guest here, Young Master Nie, we wouldn't want to impose." Jiang Fengmian speaks up, "A-Cheng complains, but he volunteered to chaperon them himself."

"It's not imposing, I want to visit the market anyway." Huaisang reassures, "besides, I can pick up some cheap fans for Jiang Guniang and I to practice with." this offer seems to quiet any further opposition, much to Wei Ying's delight.

With that settled, Wei Ying, Lan Zhan and Huaisang head for the market.

The market is bustling by the time the group arrives, vendors can be heard bargaining with customers. Huaisang points Wei Ying towards a merchant selling fans, "Wei-xiong, help me pick out practice fans for Jiang-Guniang!" Wei Ying drags Lan Zhan with him, after all this was the excuse, they used. The merchant has many different styles of fans laid out on his stand and propped open on shelves. Some of the fans are plain, with either colored silk or stained wood as their only decoration, others have lovely imagery or embroidery delicately flowing across their silks. The vendor also allows customers to choose charms and tassels to be attached to the fans if they wish.

Wei Ying looks through the images on the available fans, these are simply going to be for practice, but he still wants to choose a design that fits his ShiJie. His eyes finally land on a pair of lilac silk fans, the wood is stained deep mahogany. "These will be perfect for ShiJie." Wei Ying says, "since you are both just beginning, sticking with simple ones is best."

"Your probably right Wei-Xiong." Huaisang agrees, "I wouldn't want to risk destroying the artwork." with that in mind, Huaisang chooses a set in deep mahogany with white silk.

"Nie Zhuren would Qi Deviate if you bought anymore art fans." Wei Ying jokes, "once I have the whole spiritual weapon thing figured out maybe we can convert one of your favorites?"

"I really hope he doesn't, I dont know what I would do without DaGe, I don't want to be Sect Leader." Huaisang says honestly, "as for my favorite fans..." he adds with a pause "He already burned a lot of them before you contacted me, Wei-Xiong."

"Aiya, so mean... Nie Zhuren is worse than an untrained dog!" Wei Ying groans, "At least A-Cheng has never destroyed my things." and it's true, if anything, Jiang Cheng had taken great care of his old possessions, he hadn't even allowed his old room to get dusty... and he'd kept Wei Ying's flute, ChengQing in perfect working order. Next to him Wei Ying catches a 'puff' from Lan Zhan, who was clearly amused by the 'untrained dog' comparison. "Er-Ge-Ge, what are you laughing at? Sang-Ge's DaGe is truly feral, messing with other peoples things." Wei Ying argues.

"Huan-Ge has also called MingJue a dog." Lan Zhan says, Wei Ying and Huaisang both gape at this.

"Er-Ge-Ge, you arent supposed to gossip!" Wei Ying chides, bumping Lan Zhan with his elbow.

"Not in Gusu." Lan Zhan quips back, "Wei Ying asked, cannot lie."

"Er-GeGe, you can't just bend the rules whenever you want!" Wei Ying whines.

"Can. Will." Lan Zhan says firmly.

"I want to know when that happened." Huaisang interjects, "DaGe visits Gusu a lot, but XiChen-Ge wouldn't say such a thing while in Gusu." the implication that XiChen also bends rules while out of GusuLan floors Wei Ying.

"Cultivation conference in Qinghe, heard Huan-Ge arguing with MingJue." Lan Zhan answers.

"They got along fine all through the conference." Huaisang says, looking confused. Wei Ying had attended that conference but had slept through most of it, he doesn't know either way.

"Not during. After" Lan Zhan says, as if that clarifies it, apparently Huaisang remembers something however.
"So that's where DaGe vanished to." Huaisang says as if realizing something. "That was so late though, XiChen-Ge should have been asleep."

"Not Gusu." Lan Zhan says again. "Huan-Ge often stays up later during conferences. Learned not to bother him." it takes a moment for the implication to sink in, when it does, Wei Ying can feel himself blushing and Huaisang looks equally horrified. The merchant coughing awkwardly snaps them out of their conversation and they pay for the fans.

"I don't think I'll be able to look DaGe in the eye." Huaisang complains as they finish paying, but before they part ways. "or XiChen-Ge"

"Me either." Wei Ying agrees, "we'll meet back up later, have fun!" he adds with a suggestive eyebrow raise.

"I plan on it." Huaisang says, fanning himself in a suggestive manner before vanishing into the crowd, Wei Ying shakes his head before turning back to Lan Zhan.

"Lan Er-GeGe! Let's go, there are so many places I want to show you!" Wei Ying giggles dramatically as he grabs Lan Zhans wrist and drags him in the opposite direction.

He introduces Lan Zhan to his favorite vendors and merchants, pointing out his favorite restaurants along the way. Lan Zhan buys him treats at several of the stalls, and Wei Ying ends up giving some of them to homeless children as they wander through the merchant center of YunMeng.

Wei Ying had been joking about the boating thing, it had been a way to get to the point where Huaisang could volunteer and give them a chance to escape. Instead, he leads Lan Zhan out of Yunmeng, to a place in the forest where he often escaped to when he didnt want to be found. Not even Jiang Cheng or Jiang Yanli knew about this place, it had been his private hangout when he needed time alone.

The place where he leads Lan Zhan is a clearing surrounded by dense woods on all sides, there are no signs of anyone having stepped foot here recently. Perfect for their purposes, Wei Ying muses. "No one else knows about this place, I put a barrier up back when I was first learning spells." He explains, "it was my place to escape whenever things got rough, even ShiJie and A-Cheng dont know about it." Lan Zhan seems pleased with this statement and Wei Ying wraps his arms around the 2nd jade's neck. "we can do whatever we want, no interruptions."

"Mn. Good." Lan Zhan hums, before claiming Wei Ying's lips in a kiss that starts out innocent and quickly becomes anything but. Wei Ying allows himself to be swept off his feet and placed on the ground on his back as the kissing deepens.

"Anh..." Wei Ying gasps as Lan Zhan breaks the kiss, Wei Ying can feel Lan Zhan's teeth nipping the sensitive skin of his neck, and his hot mouth sucking bruises into his skin. He feels Lan Zhan's mouth close gently around one of his nipples through the fabric of his robe. "Er-GeGe..! I'll still need my clothes later- Let me take them off first!." He Whines, fighting with the ties, Lan Zhan pulls back briefly, the look on his face clearly reading as 'do you really need them?'. "Lan Zhan! What would your father say if I came back in different clothes!? A-Yi would find it amusing but she'd definitely be angry as well." That said Wei Ying finishes untying them and flings them away.
Now in just his pants, his hardening length can be easily seen, Lan Zhan is still completely clothed. "Er-GeGe, It's unfair, I want to see you too!" Wei Ying whines.
"Patience." Lan Zhan hums lowly in his ear, Wei Ying can feel his warm breath, he keens impatiently. The next moment Lan Zhan shifts his attention, stringing kisses and love bites down Wei Yings chest before reaching the top of his pants. Wei Ying grabs at and manages to untie Lan Zhan's belt, his fingers are trembling from a combination of excitement and arousal. Lan Zhan gently grabs one of Wei Ying's hands and draws it to his mouth, kissing his hand before sucking on one of his fingers. Desire curls in Wei Ying's stomach at the sight, he moans subconsciously.

"So mean! Teasing your husband like this..." Wei Ying whines, he's about to ask Lan Zhan if he wants him to beg, when he feels Lan Zhan's hand enters his pants and wraps his cock. Lan Zhan strokes him deliciously slow, roughly, sending pleasure vibrating up and down his spine. "Hah... Lan Er-GeGe, if you keep doing that I won't last..." Wei Ying has discovered sex in his original body is very different from the body he'd been given in the other time line. Lan Zhan finishes tugging Wei Ying's pants off and then, finally, undresses himself. "Lan Zhan...! Er-GeGe, hurry and take this husband already! I want to still feel you inside me tomo-" Wei Ying's admittedly inappropriate chattering is cut off by Lan Zhans lips.

"Wei Ying. Behave." Lan Zhan chides breaking the kiss.

"Make me." Wei Ying purrs as he feels Lan Zhan's cock breach his tight rim, as usual his Er-GeGe is only too happy to indulge him. After being reborn as Mo XuanYu even regular encounters sometimes made walking hard, he'd been delighted to find that his real body was as sturdy as he remembered.

"Remember you have to pull out, unless we want to marry before the war in this time line! I'm sure we could figure something out if you-" Lan Zhan steals his lips again before he can say anything else scandalous.

Just like their first time in the other time line, Lan Zhan sets a bruising pace, not giving Wei Ying a chance to adjust to his intrusion. He's definitely going to be sore later, but right now the mixture of pain and pleasure is driving him quickly towards orgasm. He begins grasping at Lan Zhan's back, desperate for something to hold on to as Lan Zhan angles his hips searching for Wei Ying's prostate. Wei Ying moans into Lan Zhan's mouth when he hits it, seeing stars, both from the bolts of pleasure/pain that shake him with each thrust, and need for air. "Ha... Er-GeGe..." Wei Ying moans breathlessly as Lan Zhan breaks the kiss, both of them are panting hard. Before Wei Ying can think of anything else embarrassing to say he feels Lan Zhan's hand around his cock again, pumping him in time with each thrust... he's vaguely aware that he's chattering all sorts of nonsense, but his voice feels disconnected...

Lan Zhan bends down and Wei Ying feels hot breath, then teeth brush his ear. "Wei Ying, Cum for me." Lan Zhan purrs next to his ear, the words are accompanied by Lan Zhans teeth sinking into the soft skin of his shoulder. Wei Ying's vision whites out as his orgasm hits hard, knocking the breath out of him, later he will discover the nail rakes he's left down his Er-GeGe's back.

Lan Zhan follows quickly behind him, somehow managing to remember to pull out and spilling across Wei Yings thigh.

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan cuddle in the grass after they've tidied themselves up a bit and redressed. The weather is mild for Yunmeng's typical summer heat and there is a breeze, making under a tree in the clearing a perfect place to doze. They spend maybe an hour napping under the shade of the tree before Wei Ying tells Lan Zhan he wants to show him his favorite area of the docks.

Jiang Cheng P.O.V (time skip)

Much to Jiang Cheng's relief, their visitors finally leave a few days after Huaisang's failure at chaperoning. However, Huaisang and XiChen will still be coming and going from Lotus pier on a regular basis, Wei Ying is delighted as this gives him time with his friend and more chances to see Lan Zhan who sometimes accompanies XiChen. Jiang Cheng. on the other hand has decided he really misses peace and quiet with just his sister and parents. It definitely doesn't help that Wei Ying whines about missing the white robed prick CONSTANTLY.. he really wishes he knew the silencing spell.

The next year feels like it drags by to him, on the one hand, he's happier than he's been in years, his family is all there. His sister's core is improving by leaps and bounds, and with it her health, for the first time, Jiang Cheng feels like maybe things are going to be okay. But then there is the other stuff, he feels bitter and annoyed every time he sees the 2nd jade. Jiang Cheng knows shouldn't feel that way, he knows it's stupid, but he cant help feeling like that prick is stealing his best friend from under his nose. There are also the moments when Wei Ying is chattering with Huaisang, that he wonders why the younger Nie doesn't inspire the same dislike. "If anything, I should dislike Huaisang for what he did in the last timeline, but I dont." he grumbles mentally at one point after listening to his martial sibling and Huaisang chatter about art for 45minutes.

When the meaning of those feelings finally dawns on him it's only after he, Wei Ying and Yanli are alone. Wei Ying is flopped on the dock and has been whining since he was pulled off of the younger Lan four hours ago. "Lan Zhan this, Lan Zhan that... Will You PLEASE, SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY!?" He snaps, "I don't know how he puts up with you! Your giving me a fucking headache.."

"A-Cheng... That wasn't nice, he's not used to being apart from A-Zhan, it's natural that he would-" Yanli starts, but he doesn't want to listen right now, he honestly just wants to escape.

"I dont give a fuck what he's used to! I can't stand listening to it anymore!" Jiang Cheng growls, interrupting her, he can hear Wei Ying telling her it's okay he knows he was being a little annoying, but he's not listening anymore.

He needs to get out of there, right now, he needs a moment alone to think... fuck, what did he just do!? Wei Ying has always been extra and whiny, he should be able to deal with it, but for some reason he just had to open his fucking mouth... he was just going to tell him to be quiet, but somehow it came out sounding like a jealous- "Fuck." he hisses internally... that's what this is, he's jealous of Lan Zhan, because he loves Wei Ying.. Somehow realizing the source makes it feel 10x worse, his chest aches... and his eyes burn. Just when did he stop seeing Wei Ying as a brother? The lines are all blurred and Jiang Cheng isn't sure how or when it happened, but clearly, it's an issue. Being so lost in thought he isn't even aware of where he's going until he's back in his room.

He really hopes Wei Ying doesn't notice his jealousy issues, for once he's grateful Wei Ying also tends to be dense when it comes to emotions. He knows Wei Ying loves Lan Zhan, and he knows they make each-other happy, thats precisely why... He can't let Wei Ying find out how he feels, he needs to get better at controlling his emotions. If he buries it deep enough, maybe he cant forget it exists, at least he hopes he will... because it hurts. It takes a moment for him to realize he's crying, he's not a big crier, he never has been. But right now, back against the door of his bedroom, he can't stop the tears. "Why... Why does it have to be him?"

Jiang Yanli P.O.V

The past year has sped by for Yanli, she's getting better and stronger with her fan every day, and the other disciples around lotus pier are treating her with more respect as a result. Don't misunderstand, they weren't disrespectful before, they just were different, Yanli isn't blind to the pitying glances. Jiang Cheng, on the other hand, is beginning to worry her. Recently her brother has become very jealous of his time spent with A-Xian, who somehow remains oblivious. It's becoming clearer and clearer to her that he doesn't realize how hes acting, but she sees the way the 2nd jade looks at him sometimes... Lan Zhan definitely realizes what's going on, she just hopes he won't say anything to her A-Xian. Speaking of saying something, she really needs to talk to A-Cheng, but how to go about it? Her little brother is much more sensitive than anyone realizes, and very dense.. they need to talk but she doesn't want to upset him.

While she's trying to come up with the words, her choice to do this delicately vanishes. Poor A-Xian gets snapped at in a very rude manner by her brother, who then has the nerve to interrupt her! Quite rudely might she add! Yanli is done with this delicate business, she's going to go have a few words with A-Cheng as soon as she gets done making sure A-Xian is okay.

"A-Cheng didn't mean it A-Xian." Yanli says, "He's frustrated with having people coming and going regularly, but that isn't an excuse to be a jerk." Wei Ying is fidgeting with his ponytail, she can see that look on his face again, A-Xian clearly thinks it was his fault.

"It's fine ShiJie, A-Cheng is right, I was definitely taking it a little too far earlier." Wei Ying says, he's looking at the ground.

"You always take it a little too far, A-Cheng knows this too." Yanli says softly, "that's precisely why he needs to apologies for being a prick." She adds firmly, "I'm going to go have a 'chat' with him and make sure he does just that."

"S-ShiJie!" Wei Ying yelps, "I'm really not mad at him, it's fine, we fight all the time, so why bother when it's so silly!"

"it's not fine, and it's not silly!" Yanli argues, "Besides, he was rude to me as well! I'm definitely not letting him get away with that, he's lucky I dont tell A-Niang." Wei Ying visibly gulps at the mention of Yu Ziyuan, yes her mother would definitely be less than nice about how he behaved just now. With that said she turns to head in the direction he went, towards his room she notes mentally.

"At least tell him I forgive him, and I'll try not to whine as much." Wei Ying calls after her, his tone is more normal again and Yanli relaxes, good, at least Wei Ying seems to think it's just normal Jiang Cheng behavior... though that leaves her with questions as to how they'd gotten along in the other timeline.

"You can tell him yourself when he actually apologizes." Yanli jokes, She's secretly relieved that Wei Ying doesn't follow her, it gives her a better chance to confront him without exposing it to Wei Ying. She's definitely still irritated with A-Cheng when she reaches his room, and has to check herself and take a moment to breath before she grabs the slider's handle.

"go away..." Jiang Cheng's voice says from behind the door, "I dont want to talk to anyone right now." she notes the hoarseness in his voice and the anger dissipates.
"Sorry but I can't do that." Yanli tells him, "We need to talk about this." her tone is gentle but firm, the same tone she uses with Wei Ying when he tries to avoid talking about things. She goes for the handle again but the door slides open a crack, Jiang Cheng is turned away from her, but she can see his shoulder trembling slightly. "A-Cheng?" She begins, her tone is gentle and careful.

"I'm sorry." Jiang Cheng mumbles, she can tell her brother is trying hard to keep his tone even, "I shouldn't have cut you off like that."

"Apology accepted." Yanli says, but continues further into the room. "You should really be apologizing to A-Xian, though." She places a hand on her brother's shoulder, "You know why I actually came after you right?" She asks. Jiang Cheng doesn't respond, and they stand there for several minutes, finally she says, sighing "You have feelings for A-Xian."

"..." Whatever Jiang Cheng said is too quiet for Yanli to catch, she asks him to repeat it. "Why me?"

Yanli hears him the second time, the phrase hangs in the air for a moment as she tries to think how to respond. Then Jiang Cheng turns towards her, and she sees his face, there are tear tracks down his cheeks, though he isn't sobbing right now, his voice is hoarse. She can see the frustration and irritation on his face, clearly aimed at himself, as well as heartache. "I don't know A-Cheng." She says finally, pulling him into a hug, "unfortunately we have little control over who we love." She tells him. When her engagement was called off she'd been heartbroken over it, but the things she'd learned about the other time line had given her hope.

"Why him!" Jiang Cheng buries his face in his hands, "mom was right, I can't do anything correctly... I can't even fall for someone I have an ACTUAL CHANCE with." his frustration makes his voice pinched, there is an almost strangled sounding sob, after it. Yanli flinches at his words, she's under no allusion as to whether or not their mother had said such things in the previous time line. Yanli's heard their mother compare Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng in a less than kind light before, and while Madame Yu's attitude has changed drastically, the damage is done.

"You shouldn't say such things." Yanli tells him, pulling her brother into a hug like she would when he was little. "My Didi is an amazing person, he's so strong and has survived so much." She tells him, "I KNOW that there is definitely someone for you, A-Cheng." She stands there, holding him close for an unknown amount of time before he finally calms down enough to speak properly.

"Was A-Ying okay?" Jiang Cheng asks sheepishly, Yanli nods in response.

"He was a little confused as to why I got mad, he said you argued all the time." Yanli tells her brother, "I know you make jabs at each other from time to time, but I've never heard you snap like that."

"We only made up when we woke up back here." Jiang Cheng admits, "to be honest we avoided each other completely, we were only night-hunting together because Jin Ling tricked me." he confesses, "We both were scared the other hated us and we were afraid we'd make things worse."

Yanli sighs, she should have figured as much, neither of her brothers are good at reading people, and constant misunderstandings and traumatic events made that worse. "Somehow, I'm not surprised it happened that way. I suppose I should thank my son for a second chance when he's born." she says, her last statement is worded in a teasing way.

"I think you becoming stronger is the best thank you." Jiang Cheng says, "He missed both of you a lot, even though he wasnt old enough to remember you, he wouldn't let go of his fathers sword even when he slept." Her brother's eyes are sad when he says this, she can tell he misses Jin Ling, just as A-Xian misses his adopted child.

"You will get to see him again A-Cheng." Yanli says, "even if you wont be raising him this time around, I know you will still be his favorite uncle." She tells him.

"his favorite blood uncle maybe, but after he came back Jin Ling definitely preferred Wei Ying." Jiang Cheng snorts, "I can't blame him, A-Ying is more affectionate and motherlike, I could never be that way with him." it's true, they both know that Wei Ying will be a wonderful mother one day. But Yanli thinks that her little brother will definitely be a good father figure to someone, no matter how much he might deny it.

"I think he probably felt torn between you." Yanli tells Jiang Cheng, if her son is anything like her, it would have stressed him out seeing them fight... yes, he would definitely try to fix it, she decides. "On a different note, you can come to me when it gets hard to stay silent." She tells her brother, "Our A-Xian can't find out how you feel."

"I know he can't, that idiot is too self-sacrificing." Jiang Cheng agrees, his eyes, which had begun to brighten at the change of topic, look hurt and hopeless. "I'll try to hide it better." He promises, and that's honestly all she can ask of her brother, she's had more experience at building walls than he has.

"It will get easier, A-Cheng." She tells him, before she leaves him alone for a while, he probably does need some time. She pretends she didn't hear the quiet 'will it though?' that she gets in response.

Jiang Cheng P.O.V (time skip)

It would definitely be a lie to say that the first couple of weeks after that realization weren't rough, he cried a lot when he was alone at night. But he got better at hiding it, better at keeping himself from snapping at Wei Ying when he would complain and cling to Lan Zhan like a leech. Wei Ying had told him when he apologized for snapping at him, that he would try not to be so extreme, and to his credit, Wei Ying did try... but would it be Wei Ying if he wasn't a whiny brat?

Yanli had finally brought up XiChen's thoughts about Wei Ying making spiritual weapons at dinner one evening. Their parents had asked Wei Ying if he was interested, to which the answer had been an immediate, of course! As a result an empty piece of land near the training grounds now had a tent and desk set up, and Wei Ying was often there tinkering with talismans and arrays. Jiang Cheng was discovering that helping Wei Ying with his crazy experiments, was both soothing and maddening. he enjoyed spending time with Wei Ying in-spite of the ache in his chest, but it also made him lonelier.
"A-Cheng! Help me test this shield array." Wei Ying chirped; Jiang Cheng had come searching for Wei Ying after he hadn't showed up for lunch. He'd barely even made it to the tent before Wei Ying came rushing to the door and grabbed his wrist excitedly.

"I thought you were working on spiritual weapons!" Jiang Cheng remarks, the inside of the tent is a mess, there are scorch marks everywhere. "Were you trying to burn the tent around you?"

"I am, I'm multi-tasking... We have a war coming so I'm working on arrays to shield our disciples." Wei Ying explains, "besides, I needed to let the metal cool for the fan frames." he continues, dismissing the concerned comment about the scorched sections of the tent completely.

"You couldn't get the disciples to help you?" Jiang Cheng asks, concerned.

"They ran off after I had a fire talisman, I was working on exploded." Wei Ying says nonchalantly, "it's not like anyone got hurt, it was just loud." Jiang Cheng has a feeling he knows what happened to the tent now.

"Test fire spells outside of the tent dumbass." Jiang Cheng snorts, "I can't blame them for running off." He sometimes thinks Wei Ying is a danger to everyone's sanity when he's experimenting.

"Ehn? But the tent is fire proofed, I made that array earlier." Wei Ying says confused.

"I think that array needs more work." Jiang Cheng deadpans, pointing to the scorch marks. Wei Ying's eyes light up as it dawns on him what Jiang Cheng was referring to.

"Ohhhh, those happened when I was still working on it." Wei Ying chimes, "look, it wont catch anymore." as if to prove a point he whips a fire talisman out of his sleeve and ignites it pushing it into the tents fabric. The flames flickers and then goes out, there are no new burns to the fabric.

"you couldn't test it on something smaller?" Jiang Cheng asks, incredulously.

"I was making it to stop them from being able to burn lotus pier and the cloud recesses." Wei Ying insists, "I had to know it could cover a building. Now help me test this shield array." he argues, handing the shield array talisman to Jiang Cheng.

"okay, okay!... how do you activate it?" Jiang Cheng asks, he's never seen symbols like the ones one this array before, honestly his martial brothers ability to come up with this stuff never ceases to amaze him.

"it's a blood charm, once it's activated it will continue to protect the person who activates it indefinitely." Wei Ying explains, "to tell you the truth i've already tested it one myself, but I want to make sure they work for everyone else." Jiang Cheng isn't sure whether to feel reassured or angry that Wei Ying is experimenting on himself.

"can you please STOP doing that?" He begs Wei Ying, it's not the first time, nor will it be the last, but it doesn't make it less frustrating. Wei Ying gives him a look that clearly says he has no idea what he's talking about, see? Selective hearing. "We would all prefer you to be in one piece, A-Ying."

"it's fine, the worst I would have gotten was a few burns, I'm not a flower A-Cheng." Wei Ying dismisses, once again he misses the point. "it only takes a drop of blood, like a normal fire lure charm." Wei Ying explains. "Then you push enough power into it to activate it, like normal." Jiang Cheng follows his instructions, the talisman lights up with a yellow gold glow, then the paper vanishes and there is an odd warm sensation on his wrist. The sensation makes him pull his sleeve up, on his arm is the Sanskrit symbol for 'shield' looking like a pale white scar on his skin.

"What the fuck!?" Jiang Cheng startles, Wei Ying cracks up laughing and he has the momentary urge to smack his martial sibling.
"It's supposed to do that, A-Cheng." Wei Ying explains when he's stopped laughing, "if it stayed as a paper it would only be good as long as the paper was on your person."

"you should probably warn people ahead of time that they're going to have a tattoo afterwards." Jiang Cheng snips, oh well, at least it's easily hidden.

"it will keep them safe when their back is turned, I doubt they will complain too much." Wei Ying argues, "Now walk away from me." Wei Ying tells him. Jiang Cheng gives him a 'this had better work' look before doing as he's been told. The next moment he hears Wei Ying hit the ground, and turns around to see his martial brother sprawled on his back in the dirt, grinning like a lunatic. "see? Totally works." Wei Ying laughs.

"what if the attack comes from the front?" Jiang Cheng asks, now he's curious.

"then it will only protect from murderous intent." Wei Ying admits, "I couldn't make it shield against every type of attack or it would be hard for disciples to practice." he explains. "it makes a barrier around your body if it senses danger." he continues, "sparing isn't done with intent to harm, so it will only activate if the weapon comes too close to vital organs."

"We should wait until we take care of Su she and Meng Yao before we give it to the other sects then." Jiang Cheng says, "Do you think we can trust Gusu Lan to not give it to him?" he asks.

"I will tell Er-GeGe that it is just for the main family and their elders next time I see him." Wei Ying assures him, "he already knows they can't trust Su She." Jiang Cheng nods in approval.

"so when are you going to tell A-Niang and A-Die?" He asks, "A-Niang will definitely flip if she sees the mark first."

"I'll explain it at dinner." Wei Ying says, "OH! Do you want to see the art I had commissioned for ShiJie's fans?" Jiang Cheng can see the excitement radiating off of his martial sibling.

"You got them already?" Jiang Cheng asks in surprise, "how much more work do you need to do to make them function as spiritual tools?" He questions as he follows his brother to an old cabinet, currently being used to keep supplies dry.

"Sang-Ge told me about at artist in Meishan who he'd bought fans from before, I contacted the artist via a message array a couple of weeks ago." Wei Ying explains excitedly as he rifles through the cabinets contents. "Sang-Ge also ordered the ones for his and his designs are here as well." He continues, pulling out a couple of canvas rolls. Walking to an empty table he carefully unrolls the canvas, the first set are immediately recognizable as belonging to Yanli. The silk has been painted and cut to resemble a lotus known as 'beautiful dancer', it's petals beginning as a soft yellow and fading to a rich pink. Huaisang's are painted and cut to look as if they've been made from hill myna bird feathers, glossy black with iridescent pigments overlay-ed.

"A-Li will love them, the pinks suite her." Jiang Cheng says, he's trying to imagine what the fans will look like complete.

"I thought so too, I had thought about having the artist add iridescent pigments..." Wei Ying starts hesitantly, "But I thought about it and realized it would make them harder to match to her clothes." he still looks like he's not entirely sure whether he made the right call or not.

"I don't think they need anything extra." Jiang Cheng agrees, "They look refined, like A-Li" he tells Wei Ying, whose eyes light up at the encouragement... if Jiang Chengs heart flutters at Wei Ying's smile, he doesn't acknowledge it. "It's almost time for the archery tournament" He reminds Wei Ying, "we need to try harder to befriend Wen Ning this time." Jiang Cheng continues, "we need he and his sister to trust us during the war."

"I dont think you need to worry about that, all I did was stand up for him last time." Wei Ying reminds him smiling, "I could ask for permission to message him I guess." Wei Ying adds after thinking about it for a moment.

"That's a good idea." Jiang Cheng agrees, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "if we can make them trust us before the war starts, it will make rescuing the Dafan afterwards easier"

"I will definitely do it then!" Wei Ying chirps.

The day moves onward, that evening Wei Ying shows off the protection arrays he's made and how they work. Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan are just as disturbed to hear about Wei Ying's method of testing the array, but are glad he's okay. Yanli immediately pounces on Wei Ying, demanding that he take better care of himself and that he let their doctor look at his burns later.

"They are already healed ShiJie! I dont even have a scar, look!" Wei Ying argues, he tugs up his sleeve and shows them that the skin looks normal and healthy. Jiang Cheng feels relieved knowing his martial sibling hadn't burned himself too badly while experimenting.

"Thats not the point A-Xian!" Yanli argues.

"With your luck you could have cursed yourself or something." Jiang Cheng adds, sounding exasperated but teasing.

"My luck isn't that bad." Wei Ying argues, "I've survived, haven't I?"

"Barely." Jiang Cheng snips, "You were ripped apart by fierce corpses last time, or have you forgotten?" Jiang Cheng counters. He loves Wei Ying, but god is his martial sibling thickheaded sometimes. Wei Ying winces at this comment, Yanli and their parents go pale.

"to be honest I don't actually remember feeling anything." Wei Ying says, "Lan Zhan told me what happened after the GuanYin temple events." Wei Ying explains.

"Just be more careful of your health, A-Ying." Yanli pleads after a moments silence, "You are very important to all of us." Wei Yings 'I will try, ShiJie' is the end to that conversation.

The announcement of the archery tournament is a few days later, He and Wei Ying double down on archery training with the younger disciples in preparation. They also make sure that Wei Ying's shield has been handed out to all of their disciples.

The day of the event arrives and as before Jiang Sect arrives early to the location. This time Jiang Cheng follows Wei Ying when he deviates from the map and gets 'lost'.

Wen Ning P.O.V (Dafan, one week before the tournament)

The last thing Wen Ning remembers is being on a night hunt with the juniors, Wei Ying and Sect Leader Jiang. He wakes up in a cold sweat, unsure of his surroundings and is completely lost, the urge to breath shocks him when it hits and (after gasping for air) he fumbles about for an oil lamp in his dark room. What Wen Ning sees when he turns on the light shocks him, he's in his old bedroom in Dafan, his bow is leaned against one corner where he'd always left it. His hands aren't the gray, ashy hands of a corpse anymore, instead their flush with life and color. "I'm alive." he whispers to himself, then the reality of it hits and he starts crying... he's alive and warm and he needs to breath and it's over whelming, he's also home, what happened? Is he dead, as in actually truly dead and in the afterlife? Or is he in the past somehow? He has so many questions. Before he has too much time to process, his bedroom door is opening, and Wen Qing enters.. one look at her face and he knows, she's followed him, somehow their both in the past.

"A-Ning, what is the last thing you remember?" His sister's voice is shaky, she's panicking as much as he is.

"I was on a night hunt with Master Wei, A-Yuan and Sect leader Jiang." He answers, "And there was some sort of flash and then I woke up here."

"My last memory was feeling flames licking my skin, and choking on smoke." Wen Qing cringes, "how did we end up back here?." his normally brave sister looks like she wants to gag right now, her face is more than pale.

"I dont know, maybe one of Master Wei's experiments went off?" Wen Ning guesses. "Master Wei is always tinkering with spells after all."

"He definitely didn't change after I died then." Wen Qing sighs, and Wen Ning can see the barely hidden amusement in her eyes "did he at least stop trying to plant A-Yuan?"

"Master Wei still liked playing pranks" Wen Ning admits, "but A-Yuan no longer fell for them." Wen Ning and his sister talk until early morning, he tells her everything that had happened after she died. They agree to keep it between them what has happened, as well as deciding it's time they make friends with YunMeng Jiang and Gusu Lan if possible. The two also decide that, because they don't know that Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng will remember, they will simply try to enter communications with Wei Ying at the archery tournament (Wen Qing had found the day marked on a paper in her office). They also agree that they will play their original roles until the tournament, that way, should Young Master Wei and Young Master Jiang remember, they can work together with them to fix things.

In the next week, Wen Ning works his tail off on his archery skills. He hasn't used anything other than his hands to fight in years, and at first the lack of practice shows. He's pleased to discover that his body still remembers how to shoot however, and makes fast progress to his previous level with archery.

Wen Ning can tell his sister is delighted to have access to her tools and medicines again. Over the week he watches her slowly stockpiling medical supplies and herbs with a good portion of her funds from their uncle. The upside with the time spent in the burial mounds is that they are able to stretch their food funds out, buying supplies they will need during and after the war.

The week seems to fly for Wen Ning, he's barely used to breathing again, and seeing all his aunties and uncles, as well as Yuan's birth parents, alive and well is jarring to say the least. Wen Ning isn't sure whether to hope Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng came back with him, or hope they have forgotten. Both of them have been through so much, and part of him hopes fate will spare them the pain...The more realistic side of him realizes changing fate will be easier with their help.

He still feels torn when he arrives at the training area where he had first met Wei Ying, he has trouble focusing on the targets and thus almost hits Wei Ying this time around too. This time though it's Jiang Cheng standing next to Wei Ying, who knocks the arrow away... Jiang Cheng wasn't there the first time around, that can only mean one thing, and Wen Ning's logical reasoning goes out the window as he drops his bow and runs to greet them. "Young Master Wei! Sect-Young Master Jiang!" he cries, basically throwing himself at a very startled looking Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying, He almost says Sect Leader Jiang out of habit.

Wei Wuxian P.O.V

They arrived at the area where the archery tournament was being held two hours early, as before. This time however Jiang Cheng went with him when he decided to wander around, Wei Ying naturally, remembered which way he'd gone the first time he met Wen Ning. "I'm still going to pull off Lan Zhan's headband." Wei Ying jokes, "It's required."

"How does he put up with you?" Jiang Cheng groans, "your going to make our sect look bad." he snips sarcastically, as usual, an eye roll following close behind.

"My Er-GeGe loves me." Wei Ying declares, fluttering his lashes dramatically.

"Gross." Jiang Cheng mutters, shoving Wei Ying playfully "leave the rest of us out of your dog food."

"It's not gross!" Wei Ying whines playfully, "Lets see how much you care about image when you find the right person!" he teases.

"Not fucking likely." Jiang Cheng scoffs, looking salty as usual "Or did you forget I was almost 40 and still single in the other time line?"

"You were 37 and weren't looking actively." Wei Ying argues.

"More like nobody in their right mind was even interested." Jiang Cheng rejects, "Who wants to spend their life with someone whose always angry? I don't even blame them." his tone on the later sentence is that of someone who's just accepted it as fact that they would be alone. But Wei Ying has always thought Jiang Cheng would find someone eventually, he isn't always angry, Wei Ying's just good at pissing him off and he knows it.

"I'm going to see if ShiJie will help me find you someone then!" Wei Ying exclaims, "I'm sure there's someone who would be perfect for you!"

"I'm Not going to treat some other poor soul to what A-Niang put A-Die through." Jiang Cheng hisses stubbornly "I refuse." Wei Ying is surprised by those words, but it reveals something deeper about what created his brother's bitterness in the other time line.

"You're more patient than A-Yi is ChengCheng." Wei Ying says, his tone turning teasing towards the end of that sentence. "and She's working on being more patient." he reminds his sibling. They walk in silence after that, the next turn in the trail is where Wen Ning is shooting. When they round the corner, everything happens fast, he sees the arrow fly at him, but Jiang Cheng is in-front of him before he can even react. Jiang Cheng stares at the arrow in his hand for only a second before they both hear Wen Ning.

"Young Master Wei! Sect-Young Master Jiang!" Wen Ning cries, basically throwing himself at them. Wei Ying wasnt expecting this response and from the look on his brother's face, Jiang Cheng wasn't either. This reaction can only mean one thing.

"A-Ning! You followed us back!?" Wei Ying asks as soon as Wen Ning lets go of him.

"Not just me, Qing-Jie remembers too!" Wen Ning answers, "Are both of you well? How long have you been back here? It's been a week for Qing-Jie and I."

"Well that makes things easier." Jiang Cheng snorts, "We've been back here for over a year." he answers one of Wen Ning's questions. Why did they arrive at different times? Wei Ying wonders.

"I wonder why we were sent back further?" Wei Ying wonders aloud. "Either way, we're all together now." Jiang Cheng and Wen Ning nod in agreement.

"Have you told anyone? We warned the Lans and my parents, the Nies are also aware." Jiang Cheng says, they do need to get an idea of who else might have been told.

"Qing-Jie and I haven't told anyone yet." Wen Ning answers, "We wanted to see if you remembered first." he explains. "I knew you did when I saw you together."

"that's probably for the best, no one can overhear who we don't want to." Wei Ying says, "you should probably go through the motions of what happened before."

"I was thinking the same thing, Young Master Wei." Wen Ning agrees, "I want to stay in touch with you after the tournament though."

"We were thinking about that too." Jiang Cheng tells him, "Wei Ying developed a method of messaging that won't be track-able." Wei Ying nods.

"I have one of the spell sheets with me, just copy it whenever you want to contact us." Wei Ying says, pulling the spell paper from his sleeve. They all seem to be in agreement about keeping anything really important from being spoken here, with that in mind, Wen Ning 'leads' them back to the main area.

Immediately after arriving at the entrance, Lan Zhan catches Wei Ying's eye, he's wearing the hanfu with the brilliant red collar, just like last time. "Not that I told him about that, he must of just decided to dress up..." Wei Ying muses, either way, his Er-GeGe looks lovely. Walking over to him he teases "Your head band is crooked." Cracking up when Lan Zhan starts to check it, "I'm kidding, Er-GeGe looks as beautiful as ever." he whispers leaning forward slightly. When Wei Ying pulls away, the 2nd jade's ears are bright pink. "Er-GeGe is adorable." Wei Ying giggles.

"Wrong. Cute one is Wei Ying." Lan Zhan refutes. Wei Ying feels his face heat up.

"Aiya, You have to warn me before you say such things!" Wei Ying whines, trying to cover his cheeks with his hands. He can hear other disciples chattering and giggling, some of it about his and Lan Zhans interactions, but he doesn't really care. Flirting with his Er-GeGe is something fun to do before the events begin. He sees the others beginning to line up however and heads back to the group from YunMeng Jiang.

Finally with all sects having arrived the beating of the drums began and a speaker began reading of the name of the major sects as before. "Zhuren of Lanling Jin, YunMeng Jiang, Qinghe Nie, and GusuLan sects have arrived!"

Wei Ying watches as his uncle and the other Sect Leaders walk towards the viewing area, he notices Sect Leader Nie start to leave and what appears to be a disagreement between he and QingHeng-Jun. He cant hear anything from where he is however, it's none of his business anyway so he moves on. "A-Cheng, I bet I can hit more targets than you!" Wei Ying boasts, picking at his brother.

"Not if you keep flirting with the 2nd jade, lovebird." Jiang Cheng snorts, "You'll be lucky if they don't disqualify you for indecent behavior!"

"I'm not that bad!" Wei Ying whines, "If I didn't know you better I'd think you were jealous!" he adds closing his eyes and sticking his tongue out. (he totally misses the brief look of panic on Jiang Chengs face)

"Who would be jealous of you!?" Jiang Cheng snaps, "You are the one who's going to marry into the sect with 3,000 rules!" Jiang Cheng reminds him. "You are going to be in trouble constantly, you can't even follow your own rules!"

"When have I not followed my own rules?" Wei Ying demands, "besides, A-Zhan wont let them punish me constantly." he adds matter-of-factually.

"So you really are courting the 2nd jade?" One of their fellow disciples pipes up.

"Yup! Er-GeGe can't get enough of my cuteness!" Wei Ying bragged; Jiang Cheng's eyes roll for the 15th time that day... several of the other disciples look mildly exasperated with their head disciple.

"So that's why the Lan's have been coming and going from Lotus Pier." Another of the disciples speaks up.

"Part of it, XiChen-Ge is teaching ShiJie fan cultivation." Wei Ying volunteers, "She's getting really good at it too!" A moment later the speaker announces Wen Chao's arrival and they fall silent. It's almost time for the events to start. Wen RuoHan has only just been announced and taken his seat when the Wen sect disciples all kowtow and begin their chant, just like last time. Wei Ying barely suppresses the urge to roll his eyes. Wen Chao once again speaks up, telling someone to kick Wen Ning out, saying he can barely shoot, and Wei Ying steps forward again.

"Who says he can barely shoot?" Wei Ying responds, "Not only can he shoot, He's quite good with a bow."

"Your Wei Wuxian, they say you are pretty good with a bow." Wen Chao answers him directly as before.

"Good enough for shooting pheasants." Wei Ying says humbly, how he'd like to brag but he doesn't want to put a target on his head in the contest.

"Unfortunately for you, our spiritual targets are nothing like pheasants." Wen Chao boasts loftily, Wei Ying thinks how satisfying driving him insane was. "Wen Ning, He says you can shoot. Lets see what you've got." Wen Chao challenges Wen Ning, and Wei Ying sends him a 'you've got this' smirk.

Wen Ning steps up to the challenge, taking aim at a target that has been brought forward. Unlike last time, Wen Ning isn't shaking from nerves, he easily nails the target dead center. "None of us are the same as we were the first time, it will be interesting to see how this changes things." Wei Ying muses as Wen Chao splutters, clearly not having expected his distant cousin's skill with the bow.

"Fine! So you can shoot, but spiritual targets arent going to stay still." Wen Chao snaps at Wen Ning, "If you make us look bad, it will cause problems for your sister!" Wen Chao threatens.

"This one will do his best 2nd Young Master Wen." Wen Ning says humbly, bowing himself, Wei Ying is grateful for Wen Ning's quiet and humble personality, if he was more like Wei Ying himself or Jiang Cheng, he likely would get into trouble. This Said, Wen Chao waves dismissively, and Wen Ning steps back into line.

The speaker announces the start of the contest, explaining that the spiritual targets have been set up to sense the signatures of each sect. Every time they hit a target it will send up a signal flare with the insignia of the sect who shot it. The no. of targets hit by each will be tallied at the end, along with the individual tallies of disciples who shot the most targets. Disciples who miss a target are immediately disqualified and must exit the arena. This part is exactly the same as before, with the exception that Wen Ning will be joining them in the arena. Each sect has a separate entrance into the expansive mountainous event area, Wei Ying remembers clearly where he had found targets before so the moment, they are told to enter he splits off.

"A-Ying, Wait up!" Jiang Cheng barks running after him, their fellow disciples however split off in different directions, after all, there is a higher chance of finding a target if they split up right?

"Aiya, A-Cheng hurry up." Wei Ying fusses "who knows when A-Ning will find the targets, if we want to be on top we have to reach them first!"

"YOU are the reason he's in the tournament in the first place!" Jiang Cheng snaps impatiently, "You should have considered THAT first!"

"It's called friendly competition A-Cheng!" Wei Ying jokes, "It's good for growth."

"You're going through the cave first this time." Jiang Cheng grumbles, "You can enjoy bashing your head into rocks." Wei Ying vaguely recalls how annoyed his brother had gotten over the darkness and narrowness of the cave in places.

"Whatever you say." Wei Ying says begrudgingly, "It's not that big of a deal, A-Cheng."

"You aren't the one who a concussion for several days." Jiang Cheng gripes. Wei Ying has already started walking into the cave and thus, he doesn't respond, he can hear his brother following him however. The path continues to get narrower the farther they go, at first they can walk side by side, then single file, then the roof drops. Wei Ying was expecting the dip in the roof however (thanks to Jiang Cheng's loud complaining) and switches to crawling before he can hit his head on a rock. The curse from behind him tells him Jiang Cheng still managed to hit it, he tries hard not to laugh at the irony.

After they exit the cave (Jiang Cheng had ended up hitting his head for a second time just like before), Wei Ying looks up and sees the same four spiritual targets as before. "A-Cheng!" is all he says, but its enough, both he and Jiang Cheng are quick to draw their bows and take out the targets.

Jiang Cheng P.O.V

He just wants today to end already, is that wrong? Wei Ying's comment earlier had briefly sent him into a panic, Wen Ning is actually competing with them this time, and he has a concussion again because fucking low cave ceiling. They have shot just as many targets at this point as last time, they might have gotten more if not for the fact Wen Ning had actually beaten them to the punch twice! Jiang Cheng knows that Wen Ning and Wei Ying are close, he just hopes this doesn't change that.

As they continue tracking down and shooting targets, they notice fewer and fewer Wen disciples, just like last time. It seems like Wen Ning is the only good archer among the group, "Maybe he's enough to keep Wen Chao from butting in this time." Jiang Cheng thinks, hopefully. Unfortunately, Wen Chao sniping Wei Ying's target a few minutes later proves otherwise.

"Wei Wuxian!" Wen Chao barks at his martial sibling from up above them on a cliff, "I won't let you guys win, now that I'm here." Jiang Cheng doesn't have to see Wei Ying's face when he turns around and walks on to know that he's rolling his eyes... or to know that he and his martial brother now have to contend with a bunch of thieving pests, because there is no way Wen Chao won't start following them. As if to prove a point the next three shots are also stolen by Wen Chao and his helpers.

"Might as well get disqualified!" Jiang Cheng mutters when he's close enough for Wei Ying to hear him.

"He gets disqualified eventually, so just put up for now." Wei Ying mouths, Jiang Cheng nods that he understood. They continue trying to get targets first, and eventually, Wei Ying is proven right when Wen Chao misses a target, and Wei Ying hit's instead. "Thanks!" Wei Ying says cheerily upon hoping down onto the path.

"WEI WUXIAN! You.." Wen Chao snaps snatching three arrows from the helper holding his quiver he attempts to aim at three targets at once, totally ignoring the disqualification flare.

"Do you have a problem with your eyes?" Wei Ying asks Wen Chao smugly, "That has to be why you can't see the big 'Out' sign." this is the same thing he said before and Jiang Cheng still wonders how his martial brother didn't get killed earlier in the timeline with his skill at picking fights. Even so he's standing behind him this time and is ready to spring forward when necessary.

"What did you say?" Wen Chao's voice is angry and threatening as ever, but Wei Ying apparently isn't done playing along with the old timeline and poking a bear.

"Wrong shots, and missed shots are disqualifications." Wei Ying quotes, copying Jiang Chengs own line from the previous timeline. Wei Ying's arms are folded and he looks both cheerful and smug. Jiang Cheng feels his chest swell with pride in spite of himself.. stupid pointless feelings.

"Are you going back on your own rules?" Jiang Cheng finishes, to heck with it.. if they're going to stick to that line he might as well share in the bear poking.

"Rules? I AM the rules!" Wen Chao sounds in-sensed at the first and angry at the second.

"Why bother setting rules in the first place then?" Wei Ying says, rather loudly with his typical devil may care smirk, once again copying Jiang Cheng's line from the first time, why is he doing this?

"He thinks he's above the rules..." Young Master Ouyang speaks up from the left of them and Jiang Cheng internally cringes... suddenly this scene is far too familiar. "Just because he happens to be a Wen." that last line said the idiot turns around and starts to walk away.

"What. Did. You. Say!" Wen Chao Barks, turning towards the unfortunately outspoken disciple and firing all three of the arrows in his direction.

"Young Master Ouyang! Watch out!" One of the Disciples from BaLing Ouyang sect yelps upon seeing the arrows fly, causing Ouyang to turn around. Like before though Lan Zhan makes his appearance at that moment, managing to nail both the arrow that would have hit Ouyang and a target in a single shot. Lan Zhan lands in-between them and Wen Chao, glaring at the Wen Heir like he insulted his ancestors.

"You.. People.. Feh!" Wen Chao spits, throwing his bow at his helper childishly, apparently not wanting to further cross the 2nd jade. Wen Chao turns and leaves, followed quickly after by his helper.. good riddance! Unlike last time, Lan Zhan doesn't immediately walk away once Wen Chao leaves, great, he gets to enjoy more dogfood.

"Nice shot Er-GeGe!" Wei Ying praises Lan Zhan, "Er-GeGe, your headband is coming loose." Wei Ying tells him, stepping closer to him. Wei Ying isn't kidding of course, it really is loose, it's about to fall off actually, but Jiang Cheng can't watch them anymore after Wei Ying leans into the 2nd jade. "Let me help you with it..." He hears Wei Ying say, and then hears the gasps from the BaLing Ouyang disciples and looks up from the ground. Wei Ying actually did untie the ribbon and is carefully retying it, this is when Jiang Cheng remembers that only those in YunMeng and Gusu know of their engagement. "Great. Scandal here we come." he mentally gripes.

Eventually the archery tournament wraps up, the disciples gather back into the main area and the winners are announced. The results of the tournament are different from before, while Wei Ying does still win, he and Lan Zhan are tied for the top spot, behind them are XiChen, ZiXuan, then Jiang Cheng himself surprisingly tied with Wen Ning. This time Wen Sect is in the top four, but only because of a disciple they didn't allow to compete before. "Maybe we will have more time this time around." Wei Ying suggests to him quietly on their way back to lotus pier.

"or they will cause trouble for Wen Ning and his sister." Jiang Cheng huffs, he hates to be negative, but at the same time, Wen RuoHan and Wen Chao arent exactly known for patience or reason-ability.

"True, either way we're prepared." Wei Ying responds, "Oh! I gave Lan Zhan the shield spell earlier and told him to make sure Su She didn't get it."

"Did you also tell everyone about your engagement?" Jiang Cheng asks dryly, when Wei Ying gives him a clueless look, Jiang Cheng pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs loudly. "Do you know how much of a scandal that incident with the headband is going to cause?"

"It doesn't matter, we can just tell them later if they ask." Wei Ying says, as if it's that simple... one thing Jiang Cheng doesn't like about this time line is having to do damage control for Wei Ying, he decides.

"Do you realize how many rumors are going to be going by the time we get home?" Jiang Cheng asks incredulously. The announcements happened in the late afternoon and it's a long flight back to Lotus Pier, the sun has since set.

"People start rumors even if you don't do anything scandalous." Wei Ying sighs, "Why bother trying to stop it?" Wei Ying has a point, Jiang Cheng remembers all of the rumors that went around about Wei Ying being a monster who deflowered beauties from poor sects and had countless offspring. Little had they known that Wei Ying had died a virgin in that time line, he hadn't been in any sort of relationship and definitely hadn't fathered any children. Jiang Cheng had tried to correct people on this at first but had eventually given up, because no-one believed him.

Sighing Jiang Cheng admits "Maybe you have a point about that."

"A-Cheng, did you just admit I'm actually RIGHT about something?" Wei Ying gasps in mock shock, Jiang Cheng resists the urge to shove him off his sword...

"Shut up!" Jiang Cheng huffs, glancing away for a moment.

"Never!" Wei Ying says laughing, "I will still be annoying you when we're old and gray!" Wei Ying is smiling radiantly when he looks back at Jiang Cheng who briefly loses his footing and scrambles to right himself as a result. He's never been more grateful for the cooling effect of moonlight, at-least Wei Ying can't tell he's blushing.

They are quiet for several minutes before Jiang Cheng finally speaks up, "You'd better be." it takes Wei Ying several seconds to figure out what he means... Jiang Cheng sees it in Wei Ying's eyes when it clicks what he'd meant.

"Of course! You'd be bored out of your mind without me making things interesting!" Wei Ying proclaims dramatically. Jiang Cheng can't help but amend mentally 'more like lonely and depressed', even if Wei Ying can never know how he feels... Jiang Cheng still loves him, he doesn't want to live in a world where Wei Ying no-longer exists, not again.

"I can't wait until you're QiRen's problem." He snorts, but he's thinking, "It will be lonely when your in Gusu." after all, in spite of everything they've gone through, Wei Ying is still his best friend, his only friend.

"If he doesn't Qi deviate at my wedding to his nephew you mean." Wei Ying laughs bitterly, the old man has been giving Wei Ying and Lan Zhan a hard time, it's been less than a week since QiRen tried to suggest a 'more appropriate' marriage match for his favorite nephew. Jiang Cheng knows his brother wants QiRen to accept him even if lack thereof changes nothing.

"You'll grow on him eventually." Jiang Cheng says rolling his eyes.

"Aiya, A-Cheng! You make me sound like some sort of disease..." Wei Ying whines, and Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes in fond exasperation, But Wei Ying is smiling again... if Jiang Cheng's stomach does a flip every time he sees that smile, it's nobody's fucking business.

The rest of the flight back is uneventful, when they arrive at the docks, Yanli and Yu Ziyuan are waiting for them. "How did it go!?" Yanli asks almost immediately upon their landing,"Did you meet your friend?" the second question is aimed entirely at Wei Ying who nods enthusiastically.

"A-Ning remembers everything! He said Qing-Jie remembers as well; he told me he would try to contact me at some-point tomorrow so we can compare notes." Wei Ying Chatters, his depression over QiRen seeming to vanish the moment he mentions Wen Ning.

"That will definitely make things easier." Yanli says smiling, "it won't be as hard for us to protect them this way."

"I know you created that untraceable spell, Zhizi, but I think you should reach out to him normally as well and ask him to visit." Yu Ziyuan suggests to Wei Ying, "we should make it clear that we're on friendly terms with Dafan before the war begins."

"I was thinking the same thing, A-Niang" Jiang Cheng admits, "Maybe Wei Ying can suggest it to Wen Ning over the untraceable spell, so that it looks like he's reaching out to us?"

"That might be for the best, that way it just looks like A-Ning wants to be friends after the tournament." Wei Ying speaks up, "A-Ning and Qing-Jie are very isolated outside of their village they don't know many people."

"Well we have a year to fix that." Yanli says decisively, "The rest of the cultivational world needs to know that Dafan and YunMeng are on good terms." They all are in agreement then. Good. Fengmian had taken a boat with the rest of the disciples after the weaker ones had been afraid to fly at night, they arrive a few minutes later and Yu Ziyuan catches him up on the plan.

The next day, Wei Ying does get a message from Wen Ning, as well as an attached message from Wen Qing, asking about his health and demanding that he back off on the drinking, Jiang Cheng cant help laughing when he reads it over Wei Ying's shoulder. Yanli asks what's funny and He tells her, resulting in her saying she likes Wen Qing already, and a disgruntled whine from Wei Ying about 'I don't drink THAT much'. Wei Ying sends back a note telling Wen Ning and Wen Qing of their plan and asking Wen Ning to send a message asking permission to write him, so that it can seem like Wen Ning wanting to be friends.

The rest of the year before the events at the cave seems to fly, Wei Ying finally manages to finish the fans he's made for Yanli and Huaisang a month before. Jiang Cheng had watched his brother adding blood seals to the finished fans so that they would only recognize their owners bloodline. Jiang Cheng couldn't help but feel pride over his martial brother's inventions, Wei Ying was capable of so much more than he'd been allowed in the previous timeline. Watching Wei Ying grow more comfortable and confident for the first time in years was amazing, Jiang Cheng hopes this time it will stay that way.

"A-Cheng! A-Ning and Qing-Jie say their coming for a day visit!" Wei Ying's excitement breaks him out of his thoughts.

"I thought You were going to give A-Li and Huaisang their fans today?" Jiang Cheng asks, confused.

"Their already here, Qing-Jie and A-Ning are coming in the afternoon." Wei Ying clarifies, "Actually I can bring them their fans now, we just need to find them." Yanli and Huaisang had been practicing in the training field this morning, but they'd since moved on to meditation time.

"Get the fans." Jiang Cheng sighs, "I'll go find A-Li and Huaisang, we will meet you at the inner courtyard pavilion."

"Thank you ChengCheng!" Wei Ying chirps happily, Jiang Cheng shoots him a glare that isn't anywhere near as harsh as normal and shoves him lightly.

"Jerk..." Jiang Cheng grumbles he still hates being called that, but it's becoming harder and harder to find the energy get mad about it. "get going already! Knowing you their buried under something"

"I'm Going... I'm not that disorganized A-Cheng!" Wei Ying complains back, sticking his tongue out before he turns to head for his experiment area.

"Oh! If A-Niang and A-Die dont know about the visit yet, tell them before you meet us!" Jiang Cheng shouts at Wei Ying, who waves in response, letting him know he got the message. As it turns out, Yanli has finished meditation and is talking to their mother when he tracks her down.

"I'm saying that I think you should watch Huaisang and I spar first." Yanli is saying as he walks up, "I'm much stronger than I was even a few weeks ago" Yanli explains, and Jiang Cheng wonders what they are arguing about. The next thing Yanli says makes a spike of dread shoot through him. "I should attend the indoctrination camp with A-Xian and A-Cheng"

"No!" Jiang Cheng snaps, and they both turn and look at him in surprise. "Wen Chao went after woman like a dog after a bitch in heat, he is sick in the head." Jiang Cheng rejected, "Wei Ying got a red-hot brand burned on his chest for protecting one of the women from another sect." Yanli and Yu Ziyuan both look thoroughly disgusted.

"Even so! I can protect myself A-Cheng, as your older sister I should be with you." Yanli asserts stubbornly. "I have my fans now!"

"The first thing they did was confiscate our weapons A-Li." Jiang Cheng argues, "we were burned when they attacked later because we had nothing to defend ourselves." He reminds her of what he'd told her before about Lotus Pier being burned. "I know you can fight A-Li, but this event is a mess, once we entered the cave they trapped us down there and waited outside." He elaborates "There are other events in the future where your help will be welcome, but this event is too risky... "

"I didn't think my brother needed a lesson on woman!" Yanli hisses, "I'm capable of more than being a nurse or a cook!" Jiang Cheng sighs and mentally curses, why is this so difficult?

"I didn't say you couldn't fight, fuck this is hard to explain..." Jiang Cheng tries his best to stay calm sounding, but he can't help expressing his frustration at his inability with words. "If humans were the only problem it would be one thing, but the XuanYu in that cave picked off a lot of us last time." He says carefully after a moments pause, "I don't want to risk you getting caught by IT." he can see on Yanli's face that she had forgotten about the slaughter tortoise, he cant blame her, all he'd told them was that Wei Ying and Lan Zhan had killed it. He may have glossed over the gore and carnage that had taken place before he'd escaped (he didn't relish reliving that particular moment of his life).

"Was it really that bad?" Yu Ziyuan speaks up, she'd been listening quietly up til now, seeming unsure what to say.

"yeah it was." Jiang Cheng grits his teeth, "That thing is massive and has a neck like a snake, it woke up when A-Ying hopped on it's back.. he had captured Wen Chao and needed to create distance, he thought it was an island" the size description seems to get the point across, good. "I can tell you about it more later." Jiang Cheng groans, "I told Wei Ying I'd find A-Li and Huaisang and bring them to the pavilion in the the inner courtyard." he explains quickly, "The fans he's been working on are complete."

"You arent getting out of a more thorough explanation later." Yanli chides, but her face lit up at the mention of the fans. Jiang Cheng relaxes, at least he has some time to think how he wants to describe what happened before. "Huaisang is still in his guest rooms. Do you want me to go find him?"

"I will go get Huaisang." Jiang Cheng huffs, why does he have a feeling that brat isn't meditating? He's either asleep or doing something inappropriate. "A-Niang, A-Ying heard from the Wen siblings, they are making a day trip to visit today." He adds speaking to Yu Ziyuan.

"Not much warning." Yu Ziyuan complains, "You'd think Zhizi would at-least give us time to prepare."

"We apparently have until noon." Jiang Cheng snorts rolling his eyes "You will have to ask A-Ying for details, A-Niang."

"Oh I definitely will." Yu Ziyuan says, playing with Zidian on her finger, Jiang Cheng finds himself remembering both Yu Ziyuan's lashing of Wei Ying and his own in the past timeline. He suppresses a shudder, his stomach feeling sour suddenly, he really wishes he could go back and slap himself. Yu Ziyuan notices his discomfort at the action and immediately stops. "I won't hit him A-Cheng." she promises.

"I know, it's not just you." Jiang Cheng says, "I was equally guilty if not worse." he admits, his mother is trying her best to change, just like he is. In the end their both flawed humans but their working on it and that's what matters. "I was thinking about when he first came back in the other timeline." He explains, "It's past now, so it doesn't matter. I'll see you in a few." He says turning and walking towards the guest housing.

Unsurprisingly, Huaisang isn't meditating, he's reading some of his porn scrolls, and Jiang Cheng really wishes he had either Zidian or a bucket of water. "I'm glad I came to get him instead of A-Li." he thinks, "Huaisang, I was told you were meditating." He snorts, tapping him with his foot where he's currently sprawled on the floor reading with his back to the door. Huaisang startles and drops the end of the scroll hes reading, resulting in it unwinding on the floor.

"Jiang-Xiong! I was meditating for a while! Honest!" Huaisang squeals in surprise, "It's just that. I started falling asleep, it's sooo pooring sitting still-"

"Frankly, Huaisang, I don't care! Just be glad it wasn't my sister that came to find you." Jiang Cheng scoffs, "Wei Ying finished the fans, he wanted me to bring you and A-Li to the inner courtyard." at this Huaisangs eyes light up and he begins hurriedly rolling up his dropped scroll.

"Is Jiang-Guniang already headed there then?" He asks, as he finishes. "I can't wait to see how Wei-Xiong finished them! He showed me his plans but its hard to imagine." Huaisang banters.

"I guess we will see how they turned out, I just know he's been working hard on them." Jiang Cheng responds. That said they head for the pavilion in the inner courtyard, when they arrive, Madame Yu, Yanli and Wei Ying are already there.

"What took you so long?" Wei Ying asks, "I was already here when A-Yi and ShiJie arrived."

"Ask Huaisang, apparently meditation is super bor~ing." Jiang Cheng says rolling his eyes.

"Jiang-Xiong surprised me and I dropped my scrolls." Huaisang whines, "Don't tell Da Ge? Please?"

"We came up with this partially to help you ya no.." Jiang Cheng snarks, "atleast try to take it seriously."

"I am, but meditation makes me sleepy." Huaisang fusses.

"Maybe I should make a focus charm next." Wei Ying chimes in, and Huaisang sends him a grateful look. "At any rate! We have guests coming later, so lets get to the reason I asked you to meet me here." with those words said, Wei Ying produces two velvet pouches from his sleeve, one is deep scarlet, the other is near black with a green undertone. He hands the scarlet pouch to ShiJie and the black to Huaisang. "Both of the Fans I made for You ShiJie, have koi spirits in them, their best for water based fighting. Sang-Ge, yours are myna bird spirits, they best for wind based fighting." Wei Ying explains, "It took me a while to figure out how to make them channel energy, but then I realized that there are spirits in our swords and decided to ask a blacksmith how it was done. He helped me a lot actually!" Wei Ying admits, "I also put a blood seal on these Fans, once they have been activated they will only work for people who carry your blood line."

Yanli is the first to remove her fans from the velvet pouch, she gasps when she does, and Jiang Cheng finds himself remembering when he'd seen his sword for the first time. Yanli's fans look like lotus petals when closed, the metal frames are aged brass with gold leaf accents, a cushion cut emerald sparkling at the center of the hand grip on each, when spread out they form the shape of a beautiful dancer lotus. "A-Xian! These are beautiful!" Yanli says, opening and closing them a few times, admiring the way they snap open with ease.

"Very nicely done Zhizi!" Yu Ziyuan praises Wei Ying after Yanli hands her one of the fans to look at. "These are very high quality indeed, Truly A-Ying, you should design spiritual weapons more often, a lot of the other sects would definitely commission you."

"Maybe, I wouldn't be against it!" Wei Ying practically glows at the praise, "It was fun, figuring out how to make them work!" Wei Ying smiles and Jiang Cheng forces himself not to stare.

Instead, he turns his focus to Huaisang who is looking his fans over with excitement, when closed they appear to be larger versions of the glossy, iridescent feathers of a myna bird, and when open the feathers give a scalloped edge. The metal frames of Huaisangs fans are aged Stirling with bright silver detailing and sapphires set in the hand grip. "These are beautiful Wei-Xiong! Prettier than I could of imagined even with the sketches you showed me!" Huaisang praises as well, hes clearly very happy with his fans.

Wei Wuxian P.O.V

to say all the praise made him feel over whelmed was an understatement… especially coming from Madame Yu. Could he really take commissions for spiritual weapons? Wei Ying wasn't opposed to the thought, if anything the prospect was exciting after so many years unable to cultivate at all. Wei Ying was finally beginning to get used to not being a constant source of strife and grief, but complements and comfort were things he really didn't know how to deal with. Naturally, hearing that his work made his loved ones happy was enough to leave him on the verge of happy tears.

After the fans had been presented, Madame Yu had rushed off to prepare for their afternoon guests. He was nervous about how this first meeting would go too… he'd been talking to Wen Ning quite a bit, the former corpse general had expressed to him the previous night that his sister was nervous about seeing Jiang Cheng again. Wei Ying hadn't been aware that his brother was there when she had burned, apparently Jin GuangShan had told her she could live if she became a concubine for Jin sect… she'd naturally refused. Shan had apparently given marrying into YunMeng Jiang as an option as well, also refused, but for the reason that she'd felt it was unfair to Jiang Cheng, who was in no position to refuse, but didn't even really know her. It hadn't really shocked Wei Ying to find out, given that Jin GuangShan had an unmatched lust for beauty, and Wen Qing was one of the most beautiful women of their generation. What had surprised him was that Wen Qing said Jiang Cheng had apparently argued with Shan over the execution method, stating she didn't deserve to burn. No one would be swayed in the end though. She told him via Wen Ning's message that she'd asked Jiang Cheng to stay until the end as her last request. Jiang Cheng did, he stayed… and that left Wei Ying wondering how his brother would feel about seeing her again.

They are all sitting at the pavilion when a couple of disciples bring news of the arrival of the Wen siblings. Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng go to meet them at the docks. As they arrive, Wei Ying can see Wen Ning fidgeting in excitement, Wen Qing looks calm at first glance, closer inspection reveals her to be worrying her hands a little, nerves… he can't blame her, he's a bit nervous himself.

They had agreed it would be better to make it seem like a first invitation this time, that said, Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng introduce themselves as they would in such a situation, before inviting them in. Wei Ying had finished setting up wards to prevent listening in around the main buildings before he'd set up this meeting. So naturally the moment the gates are closed, any pretense of auras crashes and burns. "Qing-Jie, I missed you so much!" Wei Ying tells the older sibling, pulling her into a hug, not really caring about appearances. This action breaks her out of her tense stupor.

"A-Ying, what's gotten into you?" She demands, shoving him lightly off of her, "I would prefer to make a good first impression." She scolds in true older sister fashion.

"Aiya, but you already know us!" Wei Ying argues. Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes in exasperation, and Wen Qing shakes her head with a similar fondness.

"That maybe master Wei, but we haven't met the rest yet." Wen Ning points out. This is when Wei Ying turns to see that his Uncle and Aunt have both made their appearances and are headed towards them, Madame Yu with a mildly disapproving look on her face having seen the hug. Wei Ying gulps subconsciously, he has some explaining to do.

"That's not appropriate behavior, Zhizi." Madame Yu reminds him gently, giving him a look that reads "How would your 2nd jade like seeing you hug someone else."

"It isn't like that, A-Yi, Qing-Jie is my sworn sister." Wei Ying explains quickly. This is when Wen Qing chooses to introduce herself and her brother properly.

"Jiang Zhuren, Jiang Furen, I am honored to finally make your acquaintances." Wen Qing says seriously, bowing respectfully with her sword in hand, Wen Ning follows clumsily. "I am Wen Qing of Dafan Wen, he is my Didi, Wen Ning, curtesy name Qionglin."

"A-Ying has told us a lot about you, Wen-Guniang." Jiang Fengmian tells her, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Wen Qing smiles at them, but looks nervously at Jiang Cheng. Wei Ying notices his brother looks a bit pale too right now, probably remembering the last time he'd seen her.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you before." Jiang Cheng apologizes to her, shocking Wei Ying. "I don't think I will ever forget that day."

"You actually did help, maybe not how you would have liked to… but the way you looked at me, it gave me courage to keep my head held high." She tells him, "You helped me to be strong in that situation, I was glad you stayed." Wei Ying feels mixed emotions hearing this, looking at Jiang Cheng he can see his eyes go red, trying to control his emotions, it must have been very hard to watch something like that. Jiang Fengmian and Madame Yu both are giving questioning looks to Wen Qing and Jiang Cheng, it's Wen Ning who answers however.

"My sister asked Jiang Cheng to stay when they lead her to the pyre to be burned, he did as she asked." Wen Ning explains solemnly, "He even cleaned up her ashes at the end. I could see it from where they had me contained." Wei Ying feels sick hearing this detail, no wonder Jiang Cheng looks like a mess right now, the last he knew of Wen Qing had been sweeping her remains into a box…. He'd probably had nightmares about it for years. As for Wen Qing, he was the last thing she saw, the only one watching her with compassion in a crowd filled with hatred.

"I would have married you." Jiang Cheng tells her, honestly, "I would have preferred not to watch you burn."

"You would have been stuck in a loveless marriage though." Wen Qing returns, equally honest, "You didn't deserve it then, and you still don't now." Wei Ying feels like he's missed some important interaction between these two in the past. Nie Huaisang's cough, announces his and Yanli's arrival, apparently, they had taken a break from practice to come greet the siblings, arriving at the end of that awkward exchange.

"I'm Jiang Yanli." Yanli introduces herself, curtsying "It's nice to be able to put a face to the names our A-Xian tells us. You must be Qing-jie and A-Ning."

"I always wanted to meet you last time." Wen Qing tells her returning a bow, "A-Ying had talked about you whenever he was home sick."

"Aiya, you make me sound like a child." Wei Ying whines, "it was really hard back then, we have a chance to make sure it's better this time." Even as he says this, he can hear the voices in his head whispering that it won't be better… he does the best he can to ignore them, at least they are quieter, Lan Zhan plays clarity for him whenever he visits.

"That's because you ARE a child." Jiang Cheng snorts, there's that eye roll again, how does he not give himself a headache? "I agree though, we can make sure it's different this time."

"That starts with GusuLan, YunMeng Jiang and Qinghe Nie forming stronger bonds." Huaisang speaks up thoughtfully, "We're already on track for that." He turns to look at Wen Qing and Wen Ning, "I'm Nie Huaisang, of Qinghe Nie. It's nice to meet you."

"We also already have a better bond with Lanling Jin's heir in progress." Wei Ying points out, sounding excited. "He actually wrote me a couple of days ago asking to meet for a night hunt next week." He'd been surprised when he got the message and then had gotten busy and forgotten to ask Jiang Cheng if he wanted to come with them.

"and you were going to tell us about this when?" Jiang Cheng asks incredulously.

"When it arrived… I got distracted because the gems for the fans arrived." Wei Ying explains, "I just remembered it now okay?"

"It sounds like poor Zixuan's been left hanging." Yanli says, hand covering her mouth to suppress her laughter. "Don't forget to respond to him tonight Xianxian."

"I won't actually, I can send it now if Jiang Cheng will tell me whether he's going to come." Wei Ying says pointedly.

"Fine, I guess I need to get to know him better anyway." Jiang Cheng sighs. "Whether I like it or not I'm stuck with him."

"Yep, you definitely are." Wei Ying agrees then adds in a joking tone, "unless you want to forget about our original time line."

"Nope, I'd rather keep the good things as they are." Jiang Cheng responds, sounding like he didn't get Wei Ying was teasing him… oops, sorry A-Cheng.

"I was only kidding A-Cheng." Wei Ying says, "I'll be quick." That said he runs for his room to finish his response and send it. He hears Jiang Cheng shout 'don't joke about that!' after him, but doesn't respond to it. "I don't want to lose A-Ling or Sizhui either, don't take things so seriously."

Yanli P.O.V

She isn't sure how to feel about the exchange she hears as she and Huaisang approach the area where the others have already gathered in front of the gates. The last words from Wen Qing tell her there is a lot that her brother glossed over about their other time line, no doubt he'd simply wanted to avoid upsetting her… she could take it though, she wasn't as weak of a flower as either of her siblings seemed to think, something she definitely needed to remedy… She was still annoyed by Jiang Cheng insinuation that her attending the indoctrination was a bad idea, maybe Wei Ying's sworn sister could help her with that matter.

"I'm Jiang Yanli." Yanli introduces herself, curtsying "It's nice to be able to put a face to the names our A-Xian tells us. You must be Qing-jie and A-Ning." The nice thing is she knows that they remember too, so perhaps they can help her convince her siblings. Wen Qing returns a bow, saying that's she'd wanted to meet her the last time around, before stating in a teasing tone that Wei Ying talked about her a lot when he was home sick, making Wei Ying whine that she makes him sound like a child – Yanli cant help the smile on her lips at the dramatic pout her brother puts on. Jiang Cheng takes a jab at Wei Ying and she shakes her head in fond exasperation, her life will never be boring with these two as siblings, that's for sure. She is grateful though, that A-Cheng seems to be coming to terms with his feelings now, he's not as short with Wei Ying, though the longing is still obvious to everyone outside of the target… a fact she is very glad of, Wei Ying doesn't need to know.

"That starts with GusuLan, YunMeng Jiang and Qinghe Nie forming stronger bonds." Huaisang speaks up thoughtfully, "We're already on track for that." He turns to look at Wen Qing and Wen Ning, "I'm Nie Huaisang, of Qinghe Nie. It's nice to meet you." Huaisang's way of introducing himself brings Yanli's mind back to the present conversation, she'd been surprised when she'd found out he was in the know as to everything that happened in the other timeline. Especially given he'd been one of the ones behind A-Xian's resurrection in that time line, she hadn't considered that her brother would still consider him a friend after causing so much hurt. Wei Ying had told her though, that in his mind, Huaisang had been pushed too far, this version hadn't done anything yet and thus could be redeemed. She was still wary, but he genuinely did seem to care for her brother as a friend, so all she could do right now is watch.

She's surprised when Wei Ying mentions her eventual husband, Jin Zixuan, more particularly the fact he asked her brothers to meet him for a night hunt in a weeks' time. having made a rather worrisome comment in a joking tone, that Jiang Cheng clearly missed the intonation of, Yanli sees the realization hit Wei Ying as he explains quickly "I was only kidding A-Cheng." With a nervous laugh, before stating "I'll be quick." before he runs for his room to finish his response and send it.

"Don't make jokes about that!" Jiang Cheng shouts after him, but A-Xian gives no indication of having heard. Yanli feels like she still needs to mediate between the two, she's afraid they may end up on bad terms again if they can't understand each other in even a situation like this.

"A-Ying still likes to joke around too much." Wen Qing says, shaking her head, "I would've thought you'd be better at dealing with it than I am."

"You must be joking, this last year and a half is the first time we've been together longer than a couple hours." Jiang Cheng huffs, "and in the other time line, he'd only been back for 5 years. And I saw him at a distance more than I interacted with him…" He admits Yanli notices how he trails off, but at length he continues. "it took 20 years and a trip back in time for us to even breath the same air without fighting." Yanli sees the hurt in her brother's eyes when he says that. she can also see the concern on their parents faces, she definitely has to be sure she's strong enough to keep her family together this time.

"That's something we need to remedy." Huaisang decides, snapping his fan shut loudly enough to turn the focus to him. "If we're going to fix this time line, then we ALL need to understand each other."

"Nie-xiong has a point, misunderstandings will give our enemies weaknesses to exploit." Wen Ning speaks up, agreeing with Huaisang in a calm and quiet voice that throws Yanli's idea of the corpse general out the window. "We have a lot to do before the indoctrination camp."

"Agreed, A-Xian told me that they needed herbs and food supplies pretty badly last time." Yanli says, "I was going to ask you if you could help me design herb pouches that will look like perfume, Wen-Guniang?" she asks, turning to Wen Qing.

"I would be happy to." Wen Qing says, "We will need A-Ying's help though, he was there, so he will know what kind of infections they were fighting."

"I can prepare some ration packs, Wei-xiong should be able to find away for us to conceal them." Huaisang hums, "We should probably also get Dage to help us with concealment charms for our weapons." Huaisang seems to be a natural planner, he's also much more logical than Yanli had first thought… of course the things he'd done in the other time line point to his scheming abilities rivaling Jiang Cheng's own battle strategy abilities, something she new her brother was, in fact, better at than Wei Ying.

"I might actually be of help with that." Jiang Cheng speaks up, "last time they simply took our weapons when we arrived, I've actually been considering this for a while now." He draws something out of his sleeve. "I had thought that we could just leave our weapons at home, but that would likely make them suspicious." He continues, "so I've been working on this charm, the problem is, the charms need to be customized to match each person's weapon. The charm will make a normal Jian look like a spiritual weapon."

"I thought the charm Master was A-Ying." Wen Qing says, quirking an eyebrow curiously.

"I have been helping him test his ideas the past year, it would be hard not to learn something." Jiang Cheng snorts rolling his eyes, "it was either catch up or get left in the dust."

"More like get turned to dust." Yu Ziyuan says, at one time it might have seemed malicious but right now she looks more amused. "Zhizi often neglects safety considerations when he's running experiments."

"He was like that in the burial mounds too, Yu furen." Wen Qing agrees, "I have often been called absurd for my theories, but seeing the things he'd do made me seem normal." This comment concerns Yanli, she is going to needle Wei Ying later for details about the burial mounds, she has this feeling that much of the trouble between her brothers started with that place.

"We keep getting on to him about it, but Zhizi seems to have very little consideration for his own wellbeing." Jiang Fengmian says, looking a little sad. "I'm afraid that it started with our own misunderstandings and will be a constant struggle to fix."

"The first step in fixing an issue is realizing it's there." Wen Ning speaks up, "I don't think young master Wei holds it against either of you Jiang Zhuren."

"In some ways, it would be much easier if he did." Jiang Fengmian sighs, "it might not have ever gotten to this point" Yu Ziyuan nods in agreement, they've cleared their misunderstandings over the past year and have worked hard to be more aware of their own actions. Yanli sees the regret in both of them, but while one could argue more lies with Madame Yu, she can see it bites her father Fengmian far harder… he knows this could all have been avoided if he'd been clearer with his wife in the first place.

"Wei Ying wouldn't hold a grudge against anyone, period." Jiang Cheng snorts, "That's part of the problem, we've had a chance to get rid of one of the biggest assholes from last time, but he hasn't done anything yet so Wei Ying saved him." Yanli can tell he's salty about something, she will ask who and why later, possibly while she tries to get him to let her join them at the indoctrination camp.

"Aiya, Chengcheng! We couldn't just let him drown, he's still innocent right now." Wei Ying argues, announcing his return from his task.

"If he shoots at you again, I'm going to feed him to the Xaunyu." Jiang Cheng shoots back, "innocent or not, he's an arrogant, cowardly, useless piece of garbage." Yep, Yanli definitely needs to needle them both later, she's missing something here. "Stop calling me that! it's annoying."

"If he hurts Wei-xiong, you'll have a line of people want to do the same." Huaisang says, and Yanli can see the scheming look in his eye, he's already planning a way to take the person in question out… telling Yanli he either already knows who it is, or he's going to be questioning them later as well.

"augh, your both sooo mean! Shijie their both terrible!" Wei Ying whines whipping his head back and forth between the two. "I wont! Chengcheng is Chengcheng!"

"You have a lot of people who worry about you, young master Wei." Wen Ning says trying to pacify Wei Ying.

"but he hasn't done ANYTHING yet!" Wei Ying repeats, "there's still a chance we could get him on our side!"

"NO! Fuck that guy!" Jiang Cheng snaps, "I was worried enough when you brought him in on everything" he hisses pointing at Huaisang, who looks sheepish Yanli notes… he must know what he did last time around. "We are NOT saving Motherfucking Su She! Did you forget he's the reason Qionqi pass happened?" the mention of that event makes Yanli's mind go racing trying to recall everything she'd been told about that event. It takes a moment before it clicks that it's the event where her husband was killed in their previous time. She notices that both Wen Qing and Wen Ning flinch at the mention of the pass as well.

"LANGUAGE Jiang Wanyin." Yu Ziyuan chastises Jiang Cheng for cursing, "A-Ying has a point that he has yet to do anything, wait until he tries something before you feed him to the Xuanyu." Yanli tries not to show her amusement at the fact her mother just told Jiang Cheng to go ahead and feed him to the turtle if he tries anything.

"I knew there had to be something else behind that day." Wen Qing says, "A-Ying wouldn't have hurt Zixuan, I knew that much."

"Never. I might have wanted to punch him when he made Shijie cry… but that's different." Wei Ying says, "I still have nightmares about it." He admits. Yanli can see the anxiety in his posture, she doesn't like it, Wei Ying should always be bouncy and childish. Both of her brothers came back from that time with trauma that their going to have to struggle with forever, she hates that fact with a passion.

"I know you wouldn't A-Xian." Yanli tells him, "I'm pretty sure the version of me from that time line knows you better than that as well. She wouldn't have blamed you either." Wei Ying looks like he wants to cry when she says this.

"She definitely didn't blame him, she insisted there had to be a mistake until the end." Jiang Cheng says, looking at the ground. "I was the one who didn't listen. I had so many people telling me he was at fault and so much other stress that I just let them sway me, it was wrong, it won't happen again."

"That's how I feel about my other self from your timeline too." Huaisang says, "I must have really been pushed too far to do what I did, so I will just work even harder to make sure it doesn't happen this time."

"We've all made mistakes, but the first step in moving forward is forgiving ourselves for them." Wen Qing says, "I say A-Ying can help A-Cheng with his charm ideas, Jiang-guniang can introduce me to your doctor and we can work on the perfume sachets." She says dividing up the work.

"Wen-xiong can help me with figuring out the travel foods." Huaisang offers, "I'm sure both of your herbal knowledge will be helpful there." and Wen Ning nods in agreement.

"You can call me Yanli, A-Qing, after all, A-Xian considers you family." Yanli tells her, "Also, we can all meet back at the main house for dinner in a couple hours." Plans made, Yanli leads Wen Qing to their medical building. They talk on the way there, and she discovers that Wen Qing is a few years older than Her brothers, almost her own age, and has been a doctor since she was 12. She is serious and no nonsense but has a calmer kinder side to her, it makes Yanli realize why Wei Ying would've clung to her in the burial mounds. They are different, but have enough similarities to put their siblings at ease.

"This is Jiang Lin, she's been our doctor for a long time." Yanli says, introducing Wen Qing to their doctor. "Lin, this is Wen Qing of Dafan Wen, she's visiting with her brother to help us with some things."

"it's and honor to meet you Wen-Guniang." Jiang Lin bows, "What is it I can do to help you?"

"Yanli had the idea to disguise medicinal herbs as perfume sachets." Wen Qing explains, "I asked her to introduce us so that we could work together on this."

"It's an interesting idea, but why would we need to disguise them?" Jiang Lin asks, it's a fair question, they've been making arrangements 'just in case' for months now after all. It's natural that other sect members are wondering why.

"Call it a sort of premonition based on what went down at the archery competition." Yanli says, "I have a bad feeling about the main Qishan Wen sect as a whole."

"My uncle is unstable at the best of times and highly dangerous at the worst." Wen Qing agrees, "I would rather my friends be safe and well prepared if he lashes out." She explains earnestly.

"That could be dangerous for you, Miss Wen." Jiang Lin says with concern.

"I'm well aware of the perilous path I walk." Wen Qing says, "I can only hope that by helping the rest of you, there is a better chance for my family as well." Wen Qing's words strike a cord with Yanli, she's ultimately doing the same thing they are, forging friendships in hope of surviving what's to come with her loved ones safe.

"aiding others may bring his wrath down on you though." Jiang Lin points out.

"He will make no move against me for now, he needs me for his medicines." Wen Qing says, "he will be annoyed with me, but as it stands, we're at a draw, he needs his medicine and I need my clan safe. He won't get his meds if he harms them, so he will bide his time." Her confidence in her ability to hold him off from harming the Dafan is admirable, but Yanli cant help wondering how she's managed it.

"Couldn't he just find another doctor?" Yanli asks.

"they wouldn't know how to treat him, it's dark cultivation that has caused his present state." Wen Qing reveals, "I have been made to run experiments on different methods, to learn how to treat him. but I memorized my methods and burned the notes and ingredient lists. Without me he will have to start from scratch, he can't physically afford to do that." that answers it, she has an eidetic memory like A-Cheng, interesting.

they spend a lot of the time going through different types of herbs, they put together several different samples. They will show them to Wei Ying at dinner and get his opinions on exactly what needs to be changed, Jiang Lin also gets several tips and tricks from Wen Qing on treating and soothing symptoms of dark cultivation, which will help Wei Ying. Yanli realizes that Wen Qing is likely the only reason her brother survived as long as he did after the war in the other time line. She also has Wen Qing help them list the medical supplies they need to stock pile for the war and immediately after.

As they gather at the dining hall, they find Huaisang and Wen Ning already waiting, Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying are nowhere to be seen however. "Jiang-guniang, Wen-guniang, how was your work with the herbs?" Huaisang asks as a greeting.

"we've made progress, we need to ask Wei Ying about the samples we've brought though." Yanli answers, "Have you seen A-Ying or A-Cheng yet?"

"Nope, there was a lot of noise coming from Wei-xiong's experiment tent though." Huaisang says,

"I think young master's Wei and Jiang were arguing about something." Wen Ning agrees.

"Well if they don't show themselves in a moment, I will go get them." Yanli sighs, those two really can't go ten minutes without fighting over something, can they? Of course as soon as she goes to get up they can be heard walking towards the doors.

Jiang Wanyin P.O.V

Never again. Never. Leave it to Wei Wuxian to somehow manage to trip him up and make a fire talisman explode. Thankfully they both have the shields he created permanently imbedded in their skin, but it didn't keep ash from staining their clothes. Even so, it was a situation he'd rather not repeat, if that means he has to check his pockets AND Wei Ying's to be sure his klutz martial sibling wont set something off accidentally, so be it. He doesn't want to be sent back any further in time thanks! Between bickering about whose fault that was, and the charms they need to work on, they end up going later than expected. Their also covered in smudges of ash and soot, and Wei Ying's hair is a disaster… though he some how pulls that look off better than he should it's hot—Jiang Cheng isn't sure how to feel about that. "You definitely need to change." He says, feigning disgust which couldn't be further from his actual response to seeing Wei Ying looking like that. "You can't go to the dining hall like that."

"So do you." Wei Ying says sticking his tongue out animatedly, "go look at your reflection."
"We wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't decided to leave that stuff in a place it could easily ignite." Jiang Cheng huffs, "We're going to be late." They're already heading to their rooms to change at this point. Jiang Cheng is grateful that they don't share a room anymore, he has a sneaking suspicion it would make things ten times more awkward for him when it comes to hiding his feelings.

"How was I supposed to know you weren't going to watch where you were walking?" Wei Ying responds, and Jiang Cheng wonders what Wei Ying's reaction would be if he found out he tripped because he was watching him? misplaced feelings aside, he was doing it right now too. Wei Ying's robes are slightly tousled as a result of his attempts to brush off ash, and his hair is half down from his ponytail because Jiang Cheng had fumbled for something to grab when he tripped and ended up grabbing his hair.

"how was I supposed to know you put a box in the middle of the floor!?" Jiang Cheng returns, "You know most people keep those on shelves."

"I don't think about where I put things when I'm working!" Wei Ying argues.

"OBVIOUSLY." Jiang Cheng snorts. "You also apparently don't pick up afterwards."

"If I did, I'd forget where I put it and then dig everything back out and make a bigger mess." Wei Ying argues, "It's pointless."

"What's pointless is this conversation." Jiang Cheng grouses. "You aren't going to magically stop being a disorganized wreck no matter how much I argue with you."

"Nope. Your right, it's pretty pointless." Wei Ying agrees, they're near their rooms now so they split up and go to change clothes and fix their hair. They meet back up around 30 minutes later and head to the dining room, there are still streaks of ash on both their faces but it's better than it was, their already late so it will have to do.

"Get ready for the questions." Jiang Cheng sighs,

"Eh, whatever… it's not like we're in Gusu, who cares?" Wei Ying jokes, "Qing-jie and A-Ning have definitely seen me look worse." He has a point, there aren't exactly baths or even easy drinking water in the burial mounds. Still, that's not where they are, and they're definitely going to get asked.

"I'm telling everyone it's your fault." Jiang Cheng grumbles, they enter the dining room and everyone else is already seated and waiting, as he expected.

"Nice of you two to finally show up." Yanli says, giving both of them a look. "Something happen?" she asks after appraising their appearances.

"Wei Ying leaves shit lying all over the place." Jiang Cheng states.

"He means he tripped because he didn't look where he was going." Wei Ying clarifies.

"That doesn't explain the ash on your faces, or the change of clothes." Wen Qing says, raising an eyebrow.

"when he tripped, he activated a bunch of fire talismans by accident." Wei Ying says, looking slightly deflated, "because of my shield spell, we didn't get burned, but a lot of parchments did and we ended up covered in ash."

"It wouldn't have happened if you would pick up your messes, A-Xian." Yanli giggles, "maybe you should work on that."

"But I lose things whenever I clean." Wei Ying whines, "I don't see the point."

"how about a lower chance of lighting people on fire?" Jiang Cheng argues, "not everyone who goes in there has your shield spell."

"A-Cheng has a point Zhizi, you may need to work on organizing that chaos." Jiang Fengmian says, "for now, lets eat, then we can go over some of the things you were working on." No one argues, by this point everyone at the long table is hungry and the food is being brought out.

After the meal, the sun is low in the sky, almost setting, the group gathers at one of the pavilions to talk about what they've accomplished so far and work through ideas together.

"A-Qing, Jiang Lin and I made up some sample sachets for you to look through, A-Xian" Yanli says, she and Wen Qing pulling them out of their sleeves. "We thought you could help us fine tune them since you know what you ended up needing last time." Wei Ying looks through the pouches, and Jiang Cheng watches as he pulls out Shi gao, and Qing hao- both herbs used for reducing fever- Ma bian cao, Chuan xin lian and Lian qiao- herbs that help with infections,

"All of these would be very helpful, last time we both got injured in the chaos." Wei Ying explains to Yanli, "or well… I got branded and then shot in the arm by Su She, and Lan-er gege distracted the Xaunyu and ended up getting bitten on his already broken leg." Yanli pales at this account, and Jiang Cheng wonders once again if he should have given her more details and not left out so much of the gore. On the other hand, he really doesn't relish remembering that he'd allowed Wei Ying to stay behind and play bait. He's also dreading what comes next, it's only a week or so before the burning of Gusu in the last time line.

in the end the group parts ways with an agreement to all stay in touch using Wei Ying's un-traceable methods. they all head to their rooms for the evening, rather, everyone but Yanli heads to their rooms- apparently, she was serious about getting more details on the indoctrination camp event. After quite a bit of needling from her, Jiang Cheng gives in, he tells her everything he remembers in gory, brutal detail. "Jiejie, I'm just worried about doing something and losing the good things from our future." Jiang Cheng finally admits, "I know we have the shields that Wei Ying designed, but it would be better if we didn't make them common knowledge yet." He looks at the ground, before admitting "I'm scared… this whole thing was the start of something I still have nightmares about, please stay here this time."

"this isn't because you don't think I can fight?" Yanli asks again.

"No, it's because I know what that guy is capable of, and he scares me." Jiang Cheng answers honestly, "he was the one who pushed our brother over the edge and into darkness to begin with last time. Part of me is afraid he would try to do the same to you."