It's been thirteen years since Lan Zhan was last in a room with Wei Wuxian, but its been five minutes since he saw Wei Ying teaching art online. Devising a complex plan to save Wei Ying from being framed from murder, Lan Zhan throws his life and he...
Lan Zhan has had plans in place for seven years. Lan Xichen ensures they do drills and maintain vigilance, the stains and scars never leaving their Sect, which has grown again into a large community.
They have evacuation plans now and alarms systems but fear persists. They have trained Seniors on their roles should an attack happen, listing who will take the Juniors to safety, who will empty the medical wards if necessary, who will guide the Elders and their families to safety. Who will stand until their last to defend the Cloud Recesses and how Caiyi SCD fits in with this.
The Twin Jades have spent hours staring at maps, calculating distances and potential routes, secret openings, caves in the mountains, the pathways that would be more hidden at least.
It was a way to express grief and rebuild a sense of safety. A process of accepting they cannot change what happened, but can better protect the future. Their hopes that they would never need any of these desperate plans, shattered like glass when the Wen Sect made their announcement.
But as Uncle brutally phrased it to the Elders, a meeting where both Twin Jades were in session as Leader and Second, "The Jiang Sect thought they were ready too."
Lan Zhan had looked up from the plan review documents he and Lan Xichen had been looking at, to stare at his Uncle, staggered a little by the power of his own reaction. The Jiang family heads had been murdered, Wei Ying and his siblings had nearly died! It was too sudden, too recent, too raw to just mention like it was fact from a century ago.
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Standing in the middle of Gusu, seeing what used to be here and counting who used to be among them, had his confidence wavering. Brother was desperate and equally desperate to hide it, to project the calm serenity that was expected of him.
All that changed when Jiang Yanli had contacted Brother with a proposal. She would send Wei Ying to them as a guest speaker, but his primary purpose for the visit was to install the measures that Fuong had been working on. The tri-layer shield that could be altered to suit GusuLan requirements. The anti-burning talismans and hidden alarm system.
Just having Wei Ying during this time felt like salvation. He was never afraid when Wei Ying was nearby. The spiraling thoughts, grief and frantic stocktaking screeching to a halt with just a few texted words. That commanding presence even on a vid call, that clever thinking and the well of faith that he had in Wei Ying was enough to allow him to breathe through his most instinctual reactions.
Wei Ying would come with another person in two days for the more detailed proposal to the Sect and if he had their agreement, he would install the entire thing before the Wen Sect arrived. By staying the week, Wei Ying would also be able to disengage the system should the Lan Sect choose that option, when they had gone.
The Elders had eventually agreed. Measures had to be taken to preserve lives and the Lan Sect was not trapped into permanently living with many of these measures. They all knew that the threat was real, that Wen Chao had attacked Lotus Pier, that Wen Xu had burned Gusu for his father Wen Ruohan and had threatened Lan Xichen before it had happened.
