A Ghost of Snow

15. Was He Guilty?

When Wei Ying walked out the door, Lan Wangji wanted to follow him, but was stopped by his brother's hand on his shoulder. "Let him be for a while." It wasn't as easy for him to do so as it was for Lan Xichen to say. Even Lan Qiren had been furious after reading the contents of the letter and the only reaction that Wei Ying had was a smile, a few stray tears had escaped his eyes but that was it. As far as Lan Wangji knew, Wei Ying wasn't one to not be affected by others' pain, he had even defected from his own sect for the people he had absolutely no relationship with; this, this was his sister. It was impossible for him to not be happy at finding his sibling and it was even more unlikely for him to not care about the injustice that had been done to her. But maybe his brother was right, Wei Ying most probably needed some time to digest whatever horror he had read on that piece of paper.

So he diverted his attention to Baixue, she was staring at the door of Lanshi where Wei Ying had been just moments ago. He had long disappeared but her cold gaze was fixed on the door as if trying to bore a hole through it.

"Young Lady", Lan Qiren spoke in his usual serious voice, "It is unfortunate what has happened but we shall find a solution to your predicament as soon as possible."

She looked at Lan Qiren with the same emotionless eyes before speaking, "Master Lan, I think it is more of a predicament for Master Wei. I am well aware that what happened to him has nothing to do with me and vice-versa. None of us is at fault. But I would still like to be free from the shackles that were forced upon me in his name. I wasn't aware when I was saved in his stead, neither was I asked if I wanted to give my life away for him."

She looked at Lan Wangji who was staring at her, listening to her intently, his face showing absolutely no emotion, but she noticed how his hold on the sword in his hand had tightened. Before she could address him and speak anything, a muffled cry coming from a distance caught everyone's attention. Undoubtedly, it was Wei Wuxian. Lan Wangji's heart clenched at the sound, he had seen his sect burn down before, he had been almost convinced that his family was dead and yet nothing compared to what he felt when he heard Wei Ying's painful scream.

Minutes passed and the painful screams only seemed to intensify. Lan Qiren was about to go find Wei Wuxian himself but stopped in his tracks when he heard the gut-wrenching question from the screaming voice, "WHY?" He was stunned into silence and so were the other two Lans. This single word held so much sorrow that it made Lan Qiren question whether it was the things mentioned in the letter or something more than that which made Wei Wuxian wail like a lunatic not caring about the place he was in.

Lan Qiren had been so sure that Wei Wuxian wasn't one to be easily bothered by what other people thought of him or how his actions affected them. In the past, no matter how he was reprimanded or demeaned or what situation he was in, he was never disheartened and always walked through it with a smile plastered on his face. It wasn't much of a secret that the Madam of the Jaing sect had hated Wei Wuxian with a passion, he might have been one of the many people who had tasted the bitterness of the Zidian but he had never batted an eye, even when he was punished back in his school days in Cloud Recesses, he had never even squeaked about being in pain let alone cry which is why this sudden outburst on his behalf sounded a lot like a desperate attempt at asking for help.

It was precisely because he had never seen Wei Wuxian sound so defeated that his heart broke at the question. At this point he didn't even want to know what the context of this question was. He only wondered if he had been a contributor to this accumulated affliction. Was he guilty?

He looked at his younger nephew whose face was painted with fear and worry. Lan Qiren was always known to be a strict and straightforward man, but when it came to his nephews, he was just a big old teddy bear. He would even punish himself the same as them in the privacy of his own quarters. It wasn't that he didn't understand how Wangji felt about Wei Wuxian before, but that he didn't want to accept it. Even now, he didn't really approve of Wei Wuxian, he couldn't deny that he was sceptical that the Yiling Patriarch would eventually leave Wangji broken beyond repair.

He was after all a demonic cultivator and just about everyone in the world hated him. Lan Qiren pondered whether he was one of those people. He certainly did not want Wei Wuxian dead but that did not mean he vouched for him either, he wanted him to leave the demonic path and cultivate righteously.

He was lost in a trail of questions and only came back when he heard his older nephew's voice, "Uncle, I think we should follow Wangji." It was only then that he noticed that Wangji wasn't in the room anymore. So he nodded and walked to where he could still see his nephew's silhouette with Lan Xichen and Baixue following behind.