It hadn't been that long since everyone had left them alone, and Wei Ying and Lan Zhan easily caught up to XiChen and Snizzy escorting Li XiWang and Rumi home.
Rumi was mostly asleep when Wei Ying held out his arms to hold the little boy, smiling when he snuggled closer with the sweetest smile on his face.
"Baba." He whispered.
Wei Ying nearly dropped him.
For a moment, he thought he had misheard, but Lan Zhan had also caught it. His golden eyes glowed proudly as he came to put an arm around his family. Li XiWang hugged them both.
Wei Ying kissed the top of his head, blinking back tears. Rumi was so quiet most of the time, but here...and that single word...
This beautiful little boy had found them in the market among thousands of strangers, and Wei Ying had never been so grateful as now, that he was well looked after and safe.
"Let's go home." Lan Zhan picked up Li XiWang and they walked back to the Jingshi.
Wei Ying was thinking about Lan Zhan’s mother as he went to put Rumi to bed.
This extension to the Jingshi was built after one of his experiments had gone wrong and the roof had been blown out...but Lan Zhan hadn't batted an eyelid. He had actively participated in rebuilding their home.
And now that Wei Ying was thinking about the previous occupant who had lived here, in the Jingshi...he wondered if Madam Lan would be happy about the changes.
The Jingshi was filled with happiness and sunshine now, as their children grew up. In the beginning it was just Lan Zhan, and then SiZhui had joined him.
In later years, Wei Ying and then Li XiWang...and now Rumi.
"Wherever you are, Lan Furen...I hope you are at peace. Your children are also happy...and I hope that brings you contentment." Wei Ying whispered, closing his eyes and hoping his wishes would reach the beloved mother of Lan WangJi.
Just as he was about to open the door of the children's bedroom, he heard a question that made him pause.
His hearing was superb now, much better than before his slow transition to his new form, and he could hear every word as if he was right there, next to the speakers.
"Father...please may I ask a question? It's about Father Wei...or..well, I'm not sure." Li XiWang was asking.
"Mn. What would you like to know?" Lan Zhan said.
Wei Ying could hear the smile in his voice.
His Jade was only hard on the outside; inside he was as active as a live volcano, full of fiery emotions. His love was fiercer than a hurricane, and now, his concern was as soft as his bunnies, as he listened to his daughter.
Wei Ying loved these beautiful moments between themselves and their children, but specifically when Lan Zhan was bonding with them. He was such a good father, so caring and protective, and yet Wei Ying knew he worried about that, that he wasn't good enough.
Wei Ying knew he had nothing to worry about...but insecurities were part of every parent's life...and only the joy to banish those fears were what they saw and heard from their children.
"Who is the Yiling Laozu?"
Out of all the questions she could have asked, that one...that one made his blood run cold.
Wei Ying was reminded of that first day, in the supervisory offices where Wen Chao had tried to hide with his dog, Wen Zhuliu.
That night...he had met Lan Zhan for the first time after three months of going missing.
And Lan Zhan hated him.
Wei Ying was convinced of this, because their volatile relationship had reached meltdown.
Lan Zhan had used his full name. Wei WuXian.
Wei Ying had called him Lan WangJi.
They had never done that.
Maybe in jest Wei Ying had from time to time used all of his titles, but he always preferred Lan Zhan.
After all, it had been the first gift he had received from him.
Permission to use his birth name.
And then, to use courtesy names...it was throwing up barriers between them.
Followed by the warnings not to use resentment energy...
Wei Ying sagged against the wall, sinking to sit down on the floor. He pulled his knees up against his chest, wrapping his arms around them and feeling like a hot-headed teenager all over again.
There had been a silence on the other side of this wall.
Wei Ying knew Lan Zhan had been just as shocked to hear this question from their daughter. He sighed.
Perhaps it was better if their children found out from them, rather than any other unreliable sources.
And then Lan Zhan spoke.
"The Yiling Patriarch...Laozu was above all, a kind person." Lan Zhan paused.
Wei Ying heard him take a deep breath.
Here it was.
The condemnation that Wei Ying had gotten from everyone else...he could brush that off as easily as the snow that fell on his clothes.
But coming from his Lan Zhan?
It was akin to being cut purposefully by Bichen.
"He was wrongly accused of things he did not do, because everyone was afraid of him. And his power was stronger than every single cultivator in the cultivation world at the time...and even now. He is the strongest person I know."
There was another pause.
And then his deep voice continued, washing over Wei Ying like a balm, soothing all those past wounds.
"They gave him that title because he was thrown into the Burial Mounds, a place filled with nothing except Resentment energy...and he survived. Not only that, he came back far stronger than anyone else. He was the reason the sunshot campaign was successful otherwise none of the world you know now would have survived.
"At the time, the Wen Clan was a force to be reckoned with. They had swallowed up other minor sects and their forces were so great, it would have been impossible to beat them. But your father came back and saved us. All of us.
"He was the only one to stand up against the injustices of the Jin Clan...who were killing anyone with the Wen surname. But the Yiling Laozu...he stopped them from being hunted down.
"The people he saved were old, farmers and common people, not cultivators. There was...there was even a little boy."
Wei Ying heard his voice crack.
How Lan Zhan could remain so calm...Wei Ying did not understand.
"But father...was he all alone?" Li XiWang was speaking softly, but Wei Ying still heard the confusion in her voice.
Another pause.
"Yes."
Wei Ying was torn.
This was beyond painful.
"At that time, when he needed me the most...I failed him. And he died."
Wei Ying got up as fast as he could, almost losing his balance.
He burst through the doors and went straight to Lan Zhan, who also had tears falling from his eyes.
Wei Ying slid onto his lap and wiped them away.
"You didn't fail me! Lan Zhan....my love...that time...I was out of my mind. And you let us go....if you hadn't...they would have killed us all." He hugged Lan Zhan tightly.
Dimly he was aware of Li XiWang leaving quietly and closing the door behind her.
Wei Ying tossed out silencing talismans all over the room.
Lan Zhan was still in pain.
Every single tear that fell from his beautiful golden eyes burned Wei Ying like scalding lava.
"You were so young then...so was I. There was no way to predict what would happen...please...my love, you have to stop blaming yourself. I'm serious now. You are my love, mine forever...I cannot stand to see you hurt. Please...let's put all that behind us." Wei Ying was so consumed by the need to wipe away his tears that he ignored his own.
As soon as Lan Zhan saw them, he wiped them away for Wei Ying.
Chests heaving, they held onto one another, each other's shelter in this storm.
Wei Ying knew Lan Zhan blamed himself for what he saw as not standing by him during that time.
But those days had passed away like the leaves of autumn, drifting away like petals on the wind.
Regret was nothing but a bitter pill, and there was no use in thinking about the past.
Wei Ying let Lan Zhan’s head rest on his shoulder, stroking his back tenderly.
"Let's make a new promise to each other, okay? Let's promise to heal each other. Let's live our days in the present from now on. Each day when the sun rises, we can learn to do better....hm?" Wei Ying's voice was calm and soothing.
Slowly as the minutes passed by, Lan Zhan breathed easier.
Time could be their friend if they let it be.