I'm alive and I'm back!
---------- Lan Zhan
The forest felt subdued, the wet spring failing to chase away the vestiges of winter. Mountainous weather was always fickle, too unpredictable to those not used to it.
For Lan Zhan the sight before him, had a sick dread settling into his stomach, his fingers itching for any of his weapons. Not that there was an enemy in sight, only proof that one existed.
Already on edge, this discovery had only heightened his worries and diversified them. As of this moment, he didn't know if this was an attack against his Sect, another attempt to ransack his home or another part of the attack on Wei Ying. All of them were actually viable, if horrible possibilities.
The entire world knew that Wei Ying was here to deliver a lecture, 'in honor of his academy days'. Something that had drawn derision from his detractors to Lan Zhan's irritation but admiration from his fans. To the point where some of them were vocally disappointed they were not recorded for the internet or televised.
He didn't blame them. If he didn't semi-permanently live here, he would be disappointed too. He did actually post a comment to several of his favored Wei Ying fan-sites, especially since in two of which he held a VIP position - on this trip and the promise of other places where he might lecture. Lan Zhan hoped he would and hoped he might be able to attend those too.
Friends support each other after all.
It felt so good to communicate with other people who admired his love.
Lan Xichen stood by the closest tree, pale and to those who didn't know him, or perhaps had not grown up with him, he might seem expressionless. Lan Zhan through could see the white knuckle grip he was maintaining on Shuoyue's hilt and the coldness in his gaze. His cultivation power was keeping this small area of the shield visible.
At the other end of their group, Wei Ying was examining the tear in the shield, shivering slightly when the mountain wind swept down through the trees.
Lan Zhan watched with a heavy heart as Wei Ying grimaced when he stepped back, his perfect mouth tightening, eyes hooded. Troubled, but he wasn't speaking and the silence was beginning to unnerve Lan Zhan.
"What is it?" Lan Zhan asked pitching his voice low. Something had unsettled Wei Ying, something specific.
Grey eyes flicked to meet his and he wordlessly gestured. Lan Zhan didn't know if he was encompassing the horror of having the shields breached, the need for a tri-layer shield or the general victimization of Gusu. Sometimes he just could not follow the path of Wei Ying's thoughts and he was less skilled at it when he was upset.
But there was a darkness in his gaze that worried Lan Zhan. A tension in his posture that was more than the frigid air and stress. It didn't seem as though he was going to say anything more yet, but the quiet exchange had captured Lan Xichen's attention immediately.
"Please be direct Master Wei." Lan Xichen requested quietly but firmly. Truly though it was the way the Jade Twins were braced for a blow that decided it for Wei Wuxian. "Anything you can tell us, can help us deal with this incursion into our lands. We are most grateful for your expertise Master Wei."
As always Brother never shied away from defending their people, no matter how this development and discovery had shaken him. His grip on Shuoyue was tight, his eyes sorrowful but blazing with determination. The same look his eyes had held the night they freed Mother and then again at the hospital.
Grey eyes assessed them, sliding from one brother to the other for a moment and Lan Zhan braced for impact. Whatever this was, it was bad.
"Forgive me, Zewu-jun. I wanted to make sure that I was right before I spoke." Wei Ying says formally and Lan Zhan's unease ratchets up immediately.
"The shield was cut from the inside." Wei Ying adds flatly but not unkindly.
Brother stiffened in shock, denial in his eyes but Lan Zhan moved in quickly. "How can you tell?" He made sure to sound exactly the same way he did when asking typical intellectual questions about Wei Ying's research projects. It didn't please Lan Xichen but he ignored that for a moment.
Eyes brightening as if he had expected something more aggressive or an outright denial, Wei Ying gestures to the shield. "Can you see the feathering? How it flares out from the edges and spans up the seam of the tear?"
"Yes." Lan Xichen replies smoothly but a little tightly. Lan Zhan glances at his brother but nods.
"When you break a window from the outside, the majority of the glass fall inwards right? If you do the reverse it falls out. This is pretty much the same." Wei Ying explains quickly. "If this was sliced by a ward breaker, the tear would remain open. This was instead made using resentful energy to push parts of the shield away from itself, forming a hole that can be resealed."
"Should the...feathering not be on both sides then?" Lan Xichen asked confused. Brother was a specialist in curse breaking among many things, but not shield construction. The shield of the Gusu Lan Sect had been shaped and formed a century ago and clan elders gather once a year to strengthen it. The Wen Sect had used ward breakers to enter Gusu and that damage had been patched, a newer layer added. Clearly it wasn't enough.
The pain of a wound reopening is one thing, having salt and then vinegar poured on it is very much another. So the brothers focused on Wei Ying and tried not to let this devastation show.
Wei Ying probably understood this already, hence his careful handling rather than his usual enthusiasm for a task or cool professionalism. Lan Zhan could only feel appreciative of this though. Wei Ying's compassion lived at the heart of him. How could Lan Zhan ever resent that?
Now, Wei Ying only shook his head, "The side you place the very illegal talisman creates the feathering I'm afraid."
He walked a little closer and gestured again, "I've led various teams testing these kinds of devices to pass the shield testing grades." That made sense. They were offering a newly invented tri-layer shield to Gusu, that Wei Ying would have thrown everything legal and probably illegal at, to ensure it really did hold up against an onslaught.
"I've also been working with SCD - the Yunmeng office, to stop illegal ward breakers." Wei Ying continues studying the tear closely, "Plus trying to fortify Lotus Pier after the Jin Zixun episode." Both brother wince at that but Wei Ying was facing the other way and missed it. "...There is an entire range of talismans, arrays and three levels of ward breakers, you can get just about anywhere. Some of these texts are centuries old."
"University attack." Lan Zhan said realizing what Wei Ying had been working on. Of course this interest was personal too. Wei Ying had Yunmeng to defend from the Wen Sect, balancing freedom of movement with safety. He hadn't volunteered for scientific interest alone.
They had asked, SCD and the government for one of the greatest minds of their generation to assist them, but it wasn't Wei Ying's primary interest.
"Right." Wei Ying answered smiling briefly. "When YiHai university was attacked by that occult group, the assailants were able to use a similar talisman to breach the wards. A similar case happened in Guangmo, when a bank vault was breached. When we tested the effects, it was clear. Which side you began from, left tell-tale marks behind."
"Someone from our Sect has done this?" Lan Xichen said numbly. "Who would..." They stared at each other, neither able to think of anyone who would risk their Sect and who would wield resentful energy. There was grief in his brother's eyes and Lan Zhan let him see his anger.
"The easiest way to find out, if you don't mind me interfering, would be to lay a trap." Wei Ying cuts through the sense of betrayal and shock like a knife through butter. His face is surprisingly expressionless, but his grey eyes flit from one to the another again, gauging reactions.
"I agree." Lan Zhan says nodding. "If no one realizes we are aware of their criminal activities, we should be able to catch them in the act."
Wei Ying smiles brightly, "I have some talismans and if you could get some SCD cameras from Caiyi for a few days, we could set the trap."
=== Lan Xichen, One Night Later
Despite the immense stress of having the Wen disciples here in Gusu and the disturbing news that one of their own might be working for them, Lan Xichen found that he felt a lot more stable having something productive to do.
There were endless tasks and duties to attend to, but having a role to fill in the defense of their home, settled the gnawing worry. There was no chance of a sudden blade at your back, if you could see the weapon right in front of you. It was no guarantee that was all they were planning, but Lan Xichen for all his worries, remained an optimist.
Knowing about the tear, changing their preparations and ultimately being ready for them, was a far cry from sitting on rooftops praying you moved in time.
He could not guard the tear for the entire time, day or night and Wei Wuxian was entirely right, when he suggested that keeping this secret, might flush out the traitor before they acted or better yet, in the middle of their incriminating act.
Nor could A-Zhan, though it was difficult to convince him of this.
Wei Wuxian had changed the topic for his lecture and as the afternoon drifted closer to sunset, he began his two hour slot with the subject of Altering Talismans. To be followed by Energy Layers in Arrays, Removing Resentful Energy and his proposed Evil Identification Model.
Uncle had put Lan Zhan in charge of the event, ironically as he was the finest, arguably most disciplined member of their sect, without seemingly being aware that he was desperately in love with Wei Wuxian. Something that Lan Xichen encouraged.
Wei Wuxian had been a troublemaker and outstandingly brilliant during his time in Gusu thirteen years ago. His indelible mark on the academy were his arguments with Lan Qiren, the rabbit field and his near expulsion when Jin Zixuan insulted his sister and clan. Uncle really didn't like him, but did reluctantly admire his work.
Lan Xichen had thought it was sweet that his brother had a harmless crush on the troublemaker and encouraged him to befriend the Jiang head disciple, even as unruly and wilful as the teenager was. The epitome of a bad boy with a good heart. His didi refused and yet did very little to dissuade the other teen. It was adorable for the older brother.
It was afterwards that Lan Xichen went from hoping for friendship, to being hopelessly indebted to Wei Wuxian and the younger man didn't even know it.
The attack on Gusu nearly killed his brother, first during the attack itself and the fire that almost claimed his didi's life. Lan Zhan had burns so severe they badly scarred his back and shoulders, the infection so intense it was a miracle that Lan Zhan not only lived, but could still cultivate.
Uncle didn't weep for his brother or for their lost clan. He did cry that night in the hospital, when he was told they might lose A-Zhan. At that point, Lan Xichen was leaving the land of devastated and heading to inconsolable.
But the troublemaker boy saved his brother again in the liminal time of 'after.' They had saved Mother and relocated her as quickly as they could, even as injured and broken as they had been. A-Zhan had been healing by that point and Lan Xichen was mostly recovered. She certainly didn't want to go, refused to leave them when they were so hurt. But losing her to cruel and corrupted justice wasn't an option.
The trauma his brother went through led to depression, withdrawal from life and the seeds of an obsession that spanned the last decade. Bringing justice for all those they lost.
Something impossible, something even idealistic Lan Xichen had understood at twenty. Pinning the Wen Sect down was like trying to paint watercolors with a dry piece of brick. Possible but unachievable without something else like water.
The fight for justice led no where and few were willing to publicly condemn the Wen Sect. No one was brought to trial and no answers were given beyond the obvious.
Everyone said it was the burning of Gusu, the murder of both of their parents. A lot of their Sect were badly struggling. Some had even taken their own lives, unable to recover. But it was loss of any hope for justice. This was what snapped something vital in his little brother and Lan Xichen feared what might have happened if not for Wei Wuxian.
Uncle failed miserably to get a reaction. Mother couldn't reach him, Lan Xichen had tried everything and nothing worked. His didi was slipping away. He slowly stopped eating, never spoke a word and barely left his house.
Serving in the military for the honor of the Jiang family, Wei Wuxian couldn't do much, but he did reach out to A-Zhan. Somehow, he sent A-Zhan messages of support, talked to him when he would talk to no one and slowly ripped A-Zhan from isolation into the light once more.
He gave A-Zhan three gifts that year, that his didi openly treasured and Lan Xichen had known then, that Wei Wuxian had saved his brother. An oil painting of a white crane that hung in the middle of the Jingshi, a silver bracelet that rarely left A-Zhan left ankle and a pair of rabbits.
It all culminated in A-Zhan joining the police force, damaging his relationship with Uncle and dividing all his time between the Lan Sect and this cultivator police force SCD.
For all the ruptures and arguments, the tears and the sullen silences, Lan Xichen honestly believed it had saved his brother, given him purpose and meaning beyond the walls of Gusu. That it helped further his obsession didn't help, but couldn't be helped and Lan Xichen knew this.
Without Wei Wuxian's intervention, he dreaded to think what might have happened. Lan Zhan was stronger now, a pillar of stability and calm. Nothing like the broken figure he had been at eighteen. And he owed all to the boy who refused to give up.
They drifted apart for some reason Lan Xichen didn't understand, thought that teenage friendship perhaps hadn't evolved into adult lives. Except the New Years and birthdays gifts that Lan Zhan treasured, the cards and 'thinking of you' style notes. Then this 'reuniting' period they were stuck in. If nothing else, Lan Xichen hoped they might use this time in Gusu to finish reuniting and head off to actual friendship or the romance for his brother he was hoping for.
"Wei-xiong should be mid lecture now." Nie Huaisang declares, jolting Lan Xichen back to reality.
They were sitting in the security center, ostensibly so Nie Huaisang could watch the shield site and Lan Xichen to ensure it was secure. He could claim it was the duty of a sect leader to oversee such matters and to a degree it was, but half of the reason was to sit next to his lover.
His little tiger was sitting at the desk, half working on something on his laptop - something about system upgrades, actual malware detection software and an actual secure email. Lan Xichen was sitting on the floor on a seating mat, meditating or attempting to right beside the chair, his back to the desk. Every so often, Nie Huaisang would reach out and stroke his hair, or ghost his fingers over his ear.
Lan Xichen reminded himself that this was no time and no place for anything...amorous.
"Does Master Wei ever speak of my brother?" He asks Nie Huaisang softly, guilt for asking and interfering in his brother's life competing with a strong desire to know.
His little tiger snorted and nearly choked on his strong coffee. He swiveled his chair to face Xichen. "Are you serious?" He asked amused, staring down the few centimeters of height difference even sitting on the floor, at Lan Xichen. "Baobei come on."
Lan Xichen frowned lightly, turning to see him properly, resting his arm on those slender thighs. "Yes. I hardly talk to him, despite the place he owns in my brother's heart."
Nie Huaisang looked a little disbelieving and laughed, stroking his arm possessively. Lan Xichen considered annoyance but thought he looked adorable so waited.
"A few weeks ago," Nie Huaisang began, "We ran into a problem with one of our test arrays. I called in Wei-xiong." His eyes were sparking as he told the story, stretching his legs so his feet pressed to Lan Xichen's sides.
"Oh?"
He really loved being caged by Nie Huaisang. It gave him a thrill, having his lover around him, surrounding him. He was so lithe and half of Lan Xichen's size, but he felt wanted, treasured and it was so easy, knowing he was never actually trapped. Swallowing he focused on his words and ignored the knowing, tender expression aimed at him.
Humor curled Nie Huaisang's lips slightly, "I had everything written out on the whiteboard, some bangin' tunes on and I go for it. I'm chatting away, talking about the problem, the solutions, the time-frame all of it."
Those slender fingers are now caressing his face, making harder to comprehend his words. "So I turn to him right, waiting for his input. He looks at me when I prompt him - he's just staring into space - and he looks at me and he says, like this is the most important knowledge, world changing stuff. He says, 'I think the Peacock upset Hanguang-jun in the hospital', almost teary."
"The hospital?"
"Yeah, that's what I said." Nie Huaisang snorts again, "I sounded like a complete idiot. He just looks at me and says, 'After Lotus Pier. He was there and then he went before I woke up. I think Peacock upset him. That's why he left me."
"Left him?" Lan Xichen repeats.
"Left him." Nie Huaisang repeated with a laugh. "Wei-xiong been hoping for years that they might get back together."
"Back together?' Lan Xichen repeated, feeling like a fool.
Nie Huaisang looked askance at him, "Well yeah, they were dating for like a week or so at Gusu Academy." His face scrunched in thought, "I don't think they ever progressed beyond first kiss though...then you know..."
Lan Xichen smiled.
Nie Huaisang was fast learning the meaning of this smile and leaned in, right before the silent alarm went off.
-----Lan Zhan
Time flows like pouring sugar, thick and slow as Wei Ying delivers his lecture, to a packed room. Lan Zhan expects that this is a sensation he alone is experiencing and it has nothing to do with the content of his explanation or the tiredness creeping up his spine.
No this is wonder and awe. This is ceaseless bubbling happiness and the enchantment of being in love.
Wei Ying is always stunning, but rarely has an Zhan ever had the excuse to watch him so openly, to stare and admire. He could be talking about mud and Lan Zhan would be as speechless. As it is, Wei Ying is talking about new identification levels for corpses and ghouls, and entrapment talismans. How modern life has created new yaogui and demons, new ways for ghosts to haunt far more populated areas.
Its brilliant and disturbing, answering many of Lan Zhan's own questions born from daily cases. His ideas are cutting edge and a marvel in their simplicity of description, when the actual array or talisman is complex with new radicals. That alone is shocking.
His audience is listening intently, writing notes as Wei Ying explains the logic behind the system. The alternative talismans are solving a genuine problem, one Gusu faces regularly.
But it is not the lecture that has Lan Zhan staring, taking conscious breaths, his mind caught on the riptide of feeling and the staggering realization that Wei Ying is here, right in front of him after years of distance and tiny characters printed on an unfeeling screen or a face in a video call.
What they are is a vague unknown, a relationship in the throes of being defined. The once clear edges are blurred, perhaps always were, smudged with shared experiences and his own boundless hunger for more.
Wei Ying moves across the tiny platform as he delivers his ideas, confident and bold. Each motion is swift, lithe natural grace and contained energy. Lan Zhan watches him, memorizes every step and while he listens intently to every word, he immerses himself in his sheer presence.
A turn to the board to demonstrate the talisman in question and he flashes Lan Zhan a beautiful little smile, like sunshine hiding in the shadow of leaves, glittering and radiant. There is not enough air in the room. The lack of it makes him feel lightheaded, loosing his carefully measured breathing.
Still, Lan Zhan tries very hard not to skim his gaze down that long toned body, let his eyes fall to the slender waist, or worse actually let himself admire the twin peaks of his ass.
Thirteen years ago he fell in love with a boy who had starlight for a smile and a wicked smile. Thirteen years ago, they kissed under the boughs of a tree. Then the world fell apart in flames and family expectation. Wei Ying signed up, he was deployed, he was a peacekeeper. Lan Zhan was a student, then a cop and now running a cultivator enforcement division. There was a silence that hurt, a few scattered words. He came back, alive and healing from injuries never disclosed. This was a miracle, this was the blessing Lan Zhan prayed for. He joined Furong, it was an excuse to reach out.
Then there was reunion. Perhaps they were still reuniting, strings of text messages and Wechats. Well wises and birthday gifts. Then Wei Ying was a father and Lan Zhan a godfather. A child of sunlight, Lan Zhan was beginning to love like he was his own.
When the lecture was over, Lan Zhan made his way out the back of the building looking for Wei Ying. He found him on the gravel pathway, near the treeline talking with a Senior. Lan Minshang, he realized as he came closer.
There was tension in Wei Ying's shoulders, his face cold neutrality that had Lan Zhan's steps quickening.
A lot of people see that bright smile and miss the steel beneath. They see sweet kindness and miss the sharp teeth, the honed survivor and the dichotomy of a cynical mind mixed with an optimistic heart. In this way, Wei Ying was often misjudged.
"Wei Ying." Lan Zhan greeted coming up from behind.
Wei Wuxian turned at his name and smiled, small but welcoming when he saw Lan Zhan. His posture was not precisely defensive but it was...irritated, Lan Zhan realized. "Ah Lan Zhan! I didn't see you there."
"Hanguang-jun." Lan Minshang greeted coolly.
"Senior Minshang." Lan Zhan replied, his tone even colder. "Report to your duties."
The senior was the same age as Lan Zhan, had trained in the same classes and once might have been considered a friend. Those days were behind them and Lan Zhan didn't actually miss them. He saw the widening of dark eyes and the displeased expression hidden behind neutrality, faced it and dared him to challenge his authority.
Wei Ying spoke then, "I will speak with the Jiang disciples." He said flatly. "Mo Xuanyu is here as part of his academic progress. He is training with the Jiang. None of this has anything to do with Nie Huaisang."
"Nie Huaisang is not accounted for." Lan Minshang stated archly, to Lan Zhan.
"Nie Huaisang is here not as a Nie disciple." Lan Zhan informed him. "He will likely return for dinner. Is there a specific reason, you are searching for him?"
"All guests are to be accounted for by their attending senior." Lan Minshang said flatly.
The implication that Wei Ying was failing at this duty, had the hackles Lan Zhan had been repressing, rising now. "Nie Huaisang is not a Jiang disciple. He was given special permission from Sect Leader, to paint in the back hills behind the Hanshi. He is Sect Leader's guest."
Surprise lit Lan Minshang's face for a moment. Lan Zhan could feel Wei Ying's stare and continued coldly, "Report to your duties. If Nie Huaisang is not present at dinner, I will locate him." Dismissing him from his attention, Lan Zhan turned to Wei Ying, whose grey eyes were flitting from Lan Minshang and then back to Lan Zhan.
"My apologies Wei Ying. This is not your responsibility." He said to Wei Ying humbly, hoping to erase the ire brewing in grey eyes. One of the quickest ways to spark Wei Ying's temper was to threaten or suggest his 'kids' were in the wrong without evidence.
"No need Lan Zhan." Wei Ying replied hurriedly, but glanced at Lan Minshang when he said, "A mistake."
"Dinner is ready in the Jingshi." He told him calmly, "Would you like to speak with A-Yuan before or after?"
Wei Ying smiled, this time the real one that transforms the world around him. "Ah Lan Zhan,"
Wei Ying slings an arm around his shoulders with set his heart to racing, and laughs, "Before I think. My little radish will be so excited to see you!"
Lan Zhan smiled back at him, a slight curving of the lips that had Wei Ying struck mute. "Come then." He said steering the love of his life up the path, ignoring the senior behind him. "I have prepared a special gift."
Two of his Himalayan rabbits for A-Yuan to see during their video call, painstaking chosen for their sweet temperaments. He had spent weeks house training them, in case of any trouble with Jiang Cheng. It was going to thrill the little boy, because one or both of these rabbits were going to be traveling to Yunmeng with Wei Ying. One for Jin Ling and one for A-Yuan, or both for their little sunshine. He didn't mind.
Not that the Head Disciple of Yunmeng Jiang knew this yet.
Lan Minshang spluttered and Lan Zhan ignored him, in favor of hearing Wei Ying's laugh and excited chatter. "Oooh." He exclaimed exaggeratedly, "What kind of special gift?"
Of course they only made it to the door when the alarm went up.