Return of The Yiling Laozu

Healing

The cave was neither lit by flame nor moonlight. It shimmered with an internal glow—soft, silver, like starlight held within stone. The air was still, but it breathed. Each step Mo Xuanyu and Xue Yang took reverberated not just in sound but in spirit, echoing in a place outside time.

Baoshan Sanren sat at the center, serene and radiant, her white robes brushing the marble floor like mist. Her face was youthful yet ageless, her eyes bright with centuries of knowing.

"You've come far," she said, her voice gentle and layered. "But that is not enough."

Xue Yang's hand twitched near his hip where his sword would've been, but he kept still. Mo Xuanyu bowed first.

"We come seeking help," he said. "For someone whose time is running out."

"Many seek me for that," she replied. "But few understand what they ask. To alter death's rhythm is to upset fate's balance. Why should I risk such chaos—for them, or for you?"

Her eyes settled first on Xuanyu.

"You love someone," she said, almost musing, "someone who belongs to another. And yet... you've crossed frozen peaks and faced spirit beasts not for his affection, but for his life."

Mo Xuanyu's throat tightened. He said nothing.

She turned her gaze to Xue Yang. The room seemed to darken with that shift.

"And you," she said, softer now. "Xue Yang of Kuizhou. Murderer. Schemer. You once tore the light out of someone who might've saved you—and now you kneel before me, not for redemption, but loyalty."

Xue Yang chuckled, low and unapologetic. "You see everything, don't you, old immortal?"

His smirk wavered at the edges. "I don't care what you think of me. But I remember how Xiao Xingchen smiled, even when I didn't deserve it. I remember Mo Xuanyu dragging me through snow when he should've left me. So yeah, I'm here. And I'll do whatever you ask. Say it."

Baoshan Sanren studied them both.

"You are tainted by longing," she said. "But neither of you are corrupted by it. You act not for possession, but remembrance. Not for desire, but choice. That is rare."

She stood.

"I will help you. But there is a price."

The mountain groaned quietly beneath them.

"You will become my disciples. You will live apart from Jianghu, apart from the mortal world. No contact. No return. From today onward, your past lives will cease."

Xue Yang didn't flinch. "Done."

"Xue Yang—" Mo Xuanyu breathed, heart twisting.

The other boy just flashed him a crooked grin. "I've got no one out there anyway. Not anymore."

Then Baoshan Sanren looked at Mo Xuanyu.

"Well?" she asked.

It hit him like a blade to the heart.

No more Lan Wangji. No more dreams. No chance to ever walk beside him, even as a shadow.

But... Wei Wuxian would be saved. And Lan Wangji could live. That was enough. That had to be enough.

He looked up, tears trembling on his lashes—but his voice was clear.

"I agree."

Baoshan Sanren smiled.

"So be it."

And in the next instant, she raised her sleeve.

Wind rushed like a divine roar. The air folded. The sky inverted.