@cerbykerby: so I watched shrek forever aft...

so I watched shrek forever after.

and all I'm going to say is: wwx is *exactly* the type of person who would give up the day he's born in order to save his loved ones.

wwx makes the deal with jyl's still-warm body still lying in his arms: his soul, his life, his very existence in exchange for the the wellbeing and happiness of his loved ones. he no longer cares what becomes of him—so long as those he cares about are safe and alive.

because the universe is merciful, it accepts the deal, and wwx's existence is wiped from reality.

because the universe is cruel, wwx continues to live.

nobody knows who he is, or what his name is, or where he is from. and there was never a 'wei wuxian' or 'yiling patriarch'.

if this had happened a few years ago, wwx would be horrified at how every trace of him has been erased from the world.

wwx as he is now is just... tired.

so tired.

he would have preferred death, but the universe gave him this—so this is what he will have to work with.

piece by piece, bit by bit, he picks himself back up. he no longer has a golden core, so cultivator work is out of the question when it comes to earning money—and he doesn't want to draw attention with demonic cultivation again.

he gets by with portraits he sketches on the spot.

he manages to snag a deal on a small dilapidated farmhouse by a small river. piece by piece, bit by bit, he rebuilds it with his own hands and coaxes life out of the soil and river.

sometimes he hears news when he goes to sell his produce to a restaurant.

sect leader jin has passed. his son jzx takes over the sect. jzx's wife jyl is expecting their second child. sect leader jiang has stepped down to allow his son to take over. the gusu lan sect welcomes its largest class of disciples yet.

wwx hears all and yet none of it.

he cannot go see them. he's nothing more than a simple, humble farmer now. the cultivation world is well out of his reach. they don't even know him; to them, he never existed. this is for the best.

that doesn't stop wwx from drinking during particularly difficult nights.

he's not himself during those nights. sometimes he cries himself to sleep, his robes reeking of cheap alcohol. sometimes he rages at the sky, cursing the heavens for his fate.

sometimes, his hand moves without his permission, and he wakes the next morning to a new drawing.

those mornings are the worst. not only does wwx have to deal with a hangover headache, but he has to look at what he drew. if he's lucky, it's incomprehensible.

if he's not, it's a perfect copy of something from his memories. so far, he has sketches of jyl, jc, wq, wn, and more.

one morning, he wakes up with a crumpled, ink-smeared portrait of lwj lodged under his pillow.

it's a terrible sketch. his previous night's self hadn't bothered to let the ink dry before balling it up. but there's a level of care put in the sketch that is impossible to deny.

wwx scoffs at the sketch and tosses it at his cold fireplace to be used as tinder for that night's fire.

but after some breakfast and water, wwx can't help picking it back up and smoothing it out. without thinking, he redraws it, this time with the care it deserves.

it's not a perfect sketch of lwj, but it is similar enough to make wwx's chest ache at the sight of it.

beautiful, cold, law-abiding, boring lwj. how content he must be now, having never known the likes of wwx.

it is very likely that wwx will never see him again.

it's for the best, wwx tells himself. lwj has never looked at him with anything but disdain, admonishment, and hatred, but complete and utter apathy would be far worse. wwx doesn't know if he would be able to handle those golden eyes passing over him indifferently.

wwx will never see him again.

so.

it wouldn't hurt to keep this one sketch of lwj to look at for the oncoming decades. it will be a good way for an aging wwx to remember his… friend?

wwx frowns. they were never friends, but also not rivals. nor were they enemies, really.

they were… it is difficult for him to put words to it. they'd always felt on the verge of something—like all it would take was one word or action to mark them one label or another.

an almost-friend, wwx decides, and an almost-enemy. a former acquaintance he respects and misses.

weeks, months, years go by. wwx's wide range of skills ensures that he always has a way of earning money. he soon has enough to hire a farmhand to watch his fields whenever he travels.

caiyi town is beautiful, although it is still recovering from the waterborne abyss incident.

the people of caiyi are used to cultivators flying overhead and do not pay any mind to the passing shadows on the ground. wwx, however, can't help looking up.

the lan cultivators are too far upfor him to see clearly, but he thinks one of them has a guqin strapped to their back.

he watches the group until they are nothing but pale specks in the sky.

ah, he's being silly. the lan sect is known for their music cultivation; it could've been anyone who happens to have a guqin.

still, wwx raises his winecup and silently wishes lwj a long and happy life.

without a golden core to preserve his youth and extend his life, it will only be a handful of decades before wwx's time in this world is done. he fully intends to spend those decades out of trouble. anonymous. forgettable.

he still helps when he can, of course. life is hardly anything without a sense of community. he chats with the food vendors he sells his produce to and draws silly doodles for the local children.

but when it comes to matters of the cultivation world, he turns his back.

he deliberately avoids discussion topics surrounding the great sects or its members. he makes a wide berth around a peddler in town claiming to sell protection talismans. he hasn't so much as touched another dizi since waking in this world—and he wants to keep it that way.

so one night, when the owner of his favorite wine shop openly voices his worry about the hauntings in a nearby local forest, wwx does nothing but flex his fingers as he listens to the patrons brainstorming on how to pull together funds to ask one of the sects for help.

they reach out to all the sects—but gusu lan is the only one willing to spare the manpower to help deal with the issue.

wwx asks for the exact date the cultivators are expected to arrive, then he prepares to hunker down for several days and not leave his home.

the cultivators arrive. they're welcomed with much gratitude by the town. the keeper of the inn they stay at treats them to dinner attended by half the town.

wwx spends that night at home, making himself rice porridge with scallions accompanied by some sliced salted meat.

that night, he hears nothing.

the next night, he hears faint faraway strikes of a cultivation weapon-level guqin.

on the third night, he begins to worry.

the villagers are also worried. the cultivators had returned to their inn after the first night, but they haven't since.

"Maybe we should look for them?" the flower vendor suggests.

"Don't be stupid!" the butcher hisses. "They're cultivators and they couldn't handle it. What can the rest of us do?"

"Reach out to the other sects!" another says.

"We can't," the innkeeper sighs. "We have no money."

wwx listens to them talk and sighs.

after he has had his meal and walked back to his farm, he starts preparing—food, water, bandages, clean cloth, and alcohol for cleaning wounds. he doesn't have time to carve a dizi, so whistling will have to do.

once he's deep within the woods, he stumbles across the bodies of several slain beasts. they are mutated—hideously large, with bulb growths on their hides. the resentful energy around the corpses is suffocating.

wwx turns the energy on itself, destroying it.

there is a clear trail to follow; the trees bear the slash marks of cultivators' swords, and there are patches of cleared ground from a guqin's chord strike. wwx walks through, letting the resentful energy guide him to where it's most concentrated.

he finds a cave.

more of the mutated creatures surround it, snarling at the entrance. wwx can see two exhausted lan disciples defending the cave, their white robes almost brown with soil and blood.

with a whistle, wwx turns half of the monsters against the other.

it does not take long for the creatures to tear each other to shreds. even after silence falls, the guarding disciples don't dare move from their stances. only after they cautiously examine the area for any additional threats do they finally collapse to the ground in exhaustion.

wwx stays where he is, hidden from view. he will not get any more involved than he needs to. the lan disciples are injured, but not to the point where they can't shuffle themselves back to town on their own.

movement near the cave catches his attention. someone steps out.

wwx's breath catches in his throat.

it has been five long years since he last saw lwj—yet somehow lwj has grown even more beautiful. even with his robes stained with blood, mud, and other creature bits, he's still devastatingly handsome.

and still devastatingly cold.

"Hanguang-Jun," one of the disciples greets. they struggles to get on their feet.

lwj waits for them to stand up. "What happened?"

"I don't know," the disciple answers. "They started attacking each other. I-I think maybe—maybe a rival pack showed up?"

"Hm." lwj looks around at the cooling bodies of the mutated creatures. "We cannot be certain. Our wounded need treatment and rest; we will head back to town."

"Yes, Hanguang-Jun," the disciples answer, bowing, before they run back towards the cave.

wwx expects lwj to follow them—to help carry the wounded disciples. it would give wwx the perfect opportunity to slip away.

instead, lwj walks slowly around the clearing, stopping at each beast's corpse and inspecting it. with each inspection, his expression grows more severe.

shit.

lwj is going to notice that something is off, that the lingering resentful energy around some of the corpses are more honed and focused than in others—a clear sign of control through demonic cultivation.

but demonic cultivation isn't known in this world. for now.

wwx doesn't dare take any more chances. the moment one of the disciples calls for lwj and lwj heads towards the cave, wwx turns and bolts as quietly and quickly as he can back out of the woods.

he doesn't stop running until he has bolted his farmhouse door shut behind him.

once his breathing has evened out and his heartrate has slowed, he lets himself laugh.

in all of five years, he hadn't allowed himself to do any sort of cultivation work. and now that he has, he remembers how exhilarating it is—how in control he feels over the resentful dead.

he can't ever do it again, of course. today is an exception. lives were on the line. but he can't ever do it again—especially not in front of lwj.

with that in mind, he puts his supplies back and washes up for bed. he has done his part, and it is time to sleep.

but of course, it's not that easy.

a storm roll in around midnight. among the pouring rain, the flashes of lightning, and the roar of thunder, wwx somehow manages to hear the pounding on his door. he gets out of his bed and opens the door.

there stands lwj, completely drenched.

all notion of manners flies out of wwx's head. he stands there in shock, mouth hanging open, staring in silence. lwj is *tall*. the top of his guan almost scrapes the height of the doorway.

after a long while—during which lwj probably expected him to speak first—lwj bows.

"Honored Sir," lwj says. his voice is lower and smoother than wwx remembers. "This one is Lan Wangji of the Gusu Lan Sect. I have injured disciples with me, and their wounds need to be tended to urgently. Might we trouble you to allow us to stay here for the night?"

at first, wwx does nothing. he just continues staring at lwj as he crumples and smacks himself internally. his farmhouse is on the very edge of town and is the closest to the woods. of course it's the first one the lans would see once they emerge from the woods.

once he realizes he hasn't given an answer, he gives a start. "Oh. Of c-course. Uh." he looks around. his house is far too small to shelter more than three or four people at a time. "Sorry—would you mind staying in the barn? It's a barn, yeah, but it's large and dry and warm."

lwj nods and bows again. "Thank you for your hospitality."

wwx can only laugh nervously as he grabs a raincoat. "Please don't thank me. It's just a barn. I'm afraid it's not as nice as the town inn."

"It will suit our needs," lwj answers, stepping back to allow him to pass.

once outside, wwx finally gets a good look at the group. there are around six disciples, with two injured enough that they have to be carried. one of them is already unconscious.

wwx leads the way to the barn, holding his lantern up. lightning flashes across the sky.

"Alright," wwx says after closing the barn door. "Make yourselves at home. I, uh, I'm afraid I don't have enough blankets for all of you, but the hay is dry and warm."

the disciples sit down with grateful, tired groans. one disciple bows to wwx. "Thank you, kind sir."

wwx laughs nervously. "No, don't thank me. I'll, um," he glances over the group. "I'll go get wood for a fire in here, and some fresh water for all of you."

"I will go with you," lwj says.

wwx pales. "Uh, you don't have to."

"We are in your debt," lwj insists. "I will help."

wwx makes a face. "Hanguang-Jun has helped us with the local hauntings. There are no debts here."

still, he trudges back to his house with lwj close behind him.

it turns out to be a blessing that lwj came along; his strength is many times wwx's, and he can carry more water.

there is not much food in wwx's house, but he takes a jar of dried fruits and passes them out.

the disciples are in a much better mood once they have taken off their sopping wet outer layers and were drying nicely by a warm fire with water to drink and fruits to snack on.

"Thank you, honored sir," one of the wounded disciple says when wwx helps bandage their wounds.

"Ah, 'honored sir' makes me sound so old." wwx ties a neat little bow with the bandages. "Call me Wei Wuxian."

the disciple smiles tiredly. "Alright. Thank you, Wei-xiansheng."

it takes a while, but soon the disciples are fed, watered, and dry. it gives wwx a small bit of satisfaction to see them nestle close to each other in the hay, already dozing off. even the wounded disciples are resting peacefully.

lwj surveys the group silently.

meanwhile, wwx isn't sure what to do. it is terrible manners to just waltz back to his nice, warm house and go to sleep in his proper bed while his guests are sleeping in hay. he should sleep here and offer his bed to lwj, but the thought of lwj in his house makes him queasy.

lwj speaks first. "It is late. Wei-xiansheng should retire. You have done much for us tonight."

wwx's argumentative side kicks in without warning. "However much I've done, you've done more. Our town is now safe, thanks to you. I can sleep here. You can take my bed."

lwj's eyebrows move infinitesimally together. "I cannot take your bed."

"Yes, you can," wwx insists. "The juniors look up to you. If you're not well-rested, then they will be even more stressed."

"I will not kick you out of your own home," lwj states firmly. "I will stay here."

they both stare at each other, neither of them willing to back down. wwx is just about to argue more when one of the disciples shuffles towards them.

"Hanguang-Jun, we will be alright here," he says with a bow. "Please go with Wei-xiansheng to the house. You need to rest."

lwj frowns a little more. "I do not wish to leave you unguarded."

"We won't be." the disciple answers. "Hanguang-Jun, we're tired—but we are not helpless. Please, you haven't slept for over two days."

wwx's jaw drops. "Alright, bedtime for you, Hanguang-Jun. No ifs or buts."

lwj still frowns, but thankfully he doesn't put up a fight and follows wwx back to the house after bidding the juniors good night.

"Alright!" wwx goes over to his bed and begins stripping it of its sheets. "I'll get you some fresh covers and then it's time to sleep."

"I will not take the bed," lwj says.

wwx knows it's childish, but he can't help sticking his tongue out. "Oh, come on. You know I heard your junior disciple say you haven't slept for two days. It's late, and we're both tired. Just take the goddamn bed."

lwj blinks in shock.

wwx takes advantage of the new silence to dump his bedsheets on the floor. just then, a piece of folded paper slips out from under his pillow.

immediately, wwx snatches it up and hurriedly tucks it into his robe. he doesn't have to open it to know what it is.

there is not one scenario where lwj would look at the portrait, somehow *not* recognize his younger self, and be alright with a complete stranger possessing a portrait of him. he might even think wwx is some kind of stalker or pervert.

"I'll go get the new sheets," wwx declares.

luckily, by the time he has the new sheets out and spread on the bed, lwj seems to be all out of arguments. he doesn't even protest when wwx helps wash and bandage his wounds.

"You do not change your mind easily, do you?" lwj says as wwx begins extinguishing the room's candles.

"I don't," wwx says proudly as he lies down in his spot on the floor. "If it takes a bad word to get you to take the bed, then I'm willing to say as many bad words as needed."

"Ridiculous," lwj mutters, making wwx laugh.

"That's me," wwx chuckles. "I'm ridiculous."

lwj makes a soft sound that can be either a scoff or a laugh. considering that it's lwj, wwx is willing to bet that it's a scoff.

still, wwx can't help smiling. "Goodnight, Hanguang-Jun." he blows out the last candle.

"Sleep well," lwj answers from within the darkness.

the next morning, wwx wakes up to the sound of quiet conversation and activity outside.

he groans. of course the lans would be up and running at 5am, regardless of what happened the night before.

he tries, and fails, to fall back asleep before giving up.

wwx is hardly a stranger to sleeping on floor, but after five years of his nice bed, he has cramps and joint stiffness from just last night.

stretching out, he rolls over—and nearly shrieks. his portrait of lwj, still folded, is on the floor, right next to his blankets.

it must have fallen out of wwx's robes during the night; wwx unfortunately has the tendency to toss and turn in his sleep.

quickly, wwx snatches the paper up and tucks it back into his robes. surely lwj didn't see it. if he did, then wwx likely wouldn't have woken up at all.

his timing is impeccable; just as the portrait is safely put away, the door opens. lwj enters, neatly dressed in what can only be a fresh set of robes—the ones from last night are likely stained beyond repair.

when he sees wwx, he blinks. glances at the floor. "Good morning."

now without the urgency of injuries or a storm, wwx can't quite stop himself from laughing nervously. "Good morning, Hanguang-Jun. Uh. Are the juniors awake?"

lwj slowly turns to look out the window, where the disciples are visibly chatting. he looks back at wwx. "Yes."

ah.

wwx's nervous laugh kicks up a pitch. "Yes, I see that now. Um, so," he stares at a nearby chair so that he doesn't have to look at lwj. "I suppose… you'll be heading back to the inn now?"

"Mn." lwj bows his head. "I thank you again for your aid."

"Yeah, well," wwx rubs his face, "you needed help, and I could give it. It's nothing worth giving thanks over."

"Nonetheless, I would like to repay you for your kindness." lwj's gaze is intense—almost piercing. "Please accompany us back to the inn for breakfast."

wwx wonders how often he can laugh because of nerves and not appear insane. "No, no, it's quite alright. I have my own food here, and I'm on a budget, so I really shouldn't—"

"I will pay," lwj says. he hasn't looked away from wwx once. "It's the least I can do."

wwx considers refusing once more, just in case lwj is offering for courtesy's sake, but then he catches sight of the junior disciples waving at him through the window.

one of them calls, "Wei-xiansheng! Care to go get breakfast with us?"

and just like that, wwx caves in.

once at the inn, they're greeted by both the innkeeper and his wife. the innkeeper expresses relief that the cultivators are alive; meanwhile, his wife kisses both of wwx's cheeks once she hears he sheltered the cultivators for a night.

"What a sweet boy!" she coos, hugging him.

and just like that, wwx is treated to a nice, steaming platter of dumplings as thanks from the innkeeper for ensuring that their guests didn't die during their stay.

wwx pushes the platter towards the juniors when he sees a few of them eying the food curiously.

after ordering some fried dough strips, soybean milk, and some vegetable dishes, the juniors begin eating. although they initially start off silent, a few words from wwx are enough to coax them into discussion during mealtime.

it also helps that lwj isn't at the table.

instead, oddly, lwj is at the bar, chatting with the innkeeper's wife. they are far away enough that wwx has to strain to catch what they're saying.

"… such a darling, he is!" the innkeeper's wife exclaims. "And so handsome! It's such a shame that he still hasn't married."

lwj's reply is too low and too quiet for wwx to hear, but by reading his lips, wwx thinks he said, "I see."

the innkeeper's wife sighs. "I've been trying for the past five years to convince him to marry, but he won't listen!" she rolls her eyes. "Honestly, men wait too long."

this time, lwj's reply is audible. "Why five years?"

"Oh, that's how long he has been in our town," the innkeeper's wife replies, shaking her head. "Five years! My goodness, and he still hasn't found a wife. Honored cultivator, you mustn't follow Wei-gongzi's bad example!"

"I will heed your advice," lwj says sagely, which makes her giggle.

once lwj has returned with a new pot of tea, wwx leans forward. "Wise choice, not chatting with her for too long. She'll try to set you up with one of her nieces if you show interest."

"Is that so," lwj says.

"Trust me," wwx stuffs a dumpling in his mouth, "I've seen it happen many times. If you're not careful, you might find yourself married."

lwj watches him. "Don't speak with your mouth full."

wwx snorts a laugh and nearly gets dumpling filling in his nose.

unlike the junior disciples, lwj sticks by the lan rule of no talking during meals, so the conversation dies there. the food is still good though, and wwx polishes off his plates with enthusiasm.

afterwards, the disciples who are minimally injured prepare for another night-hunt.

"We need to ensure that the threat has been dealt with and will not return," lwj explains when questioned. "The forest was the site of an ancient war, and recent logging activities have disturbed the spirits. They use beasts as proxies for their unfinished battles."

wwx gives a thoughtful hum. "Hanguang-Jun is very thorough and perceptive. I can rest easy once all this is over."

lwj looks at him for almost a touch too long. "You live right by the forest. Have you not encountered any difficulties from the restless spirits within?"

of course wwx has—but he's not about to tell lwj *that*. wwx may have left the world of cultivation, but he is still the yiling patriarch. on the occasion that something not human and not alive wanders out of the forest, all wwx had to do was tell them to go away, and they did.

"Nope!" wwx lies through his teeth. "I mind my own business. If I hear strange footsteps and sounds outside, I just barricade myself in my house and pretend I can't hear anything."

"I see," lwj says.

"… But I'll let you know if I do ever end up needing help!" wwx grins.

something changes in the way lwj looks at him. "You know where to find me?"

wwx blinks and tilts his head to the side. "Yes? Maybe? Wouldn't it be the exact same way we contacted you to ask for help?"

"… Hm," is all lwj says, before he resumes checking his pack inventory.

with the wounded juniors recovering at the inn, the remaining disciples and lwj return to the woods to see their mission to its end.

after the juniors say their goodbye's to wwx, wwx watches them until they disappear down the path to the woods.

hopefully, yesterday was the worst of the hauntings, and now all they have to do is cleanse the area before they can go home.

but what if it's not that easy? what if, for some reason, the beasts return in greater numbers?

wwx paces nervously beside his door.

he shouldn't interfere. he really shouldn't. the gusu lan sect is capable of handling night-hunts on their own, and wwx has already risked revealing himself yesterday when he turned the beasts against each other.

he busies himself with chores: packing the hay back in its place in the barn, cutting firewood, cleaning his house, and fishing to stock up his winter pantry. all the while, he can't help glancing towards the woods.

night falls. they don't return.

that's fine. night-hunts typically take more than one night anyhow.

wwx leaves a lantern burning outside throughout the night, just in case.

the next day, still no sign of them. the following night, too.

"Oh, this is ridiculous," wwx mutters as he sets out once again.

it doesn't take long to find them; they're in the same clearing as before, seated in a circle with their respective instruments as a huge cleansing array hovers overhead, above the treetops.

no wonder they haven't returned; cleansing a warzone could take weeks—or months.

from his hiding place behind a bush, wwx studies the situation. the malicious spirits of the ancient warriors may be too far gone to try and cleanse them by typical means. if they have lasted this long, then it's likely because their last wishes are to destroy each other.

from wwx's point of view, that would make cleansing very simple: unleash the resentful spirits and let them destroy one another. let them have one last battle to preserve their honor. and if there are any spirits left, they will likely leave on their own, their duty finished.

of course, that's not the path that lwj and the junior cultivators are taking; even from his vantage point, wwx can see how the resentful energy twists and fights against the cleansing array, hellbent on seeking and destroying their targets.

the junior disciples are visibly tired—and the more tired they are, the more mistakes they make. and the more mistakes they make, the weaker the cleansing array becomes.

even lwj, as talented a cultivator as he is, cannot cleanse two armies of resentful spirits by himself.

wwx doesn't know what to do. he could end things here, right now, with a few whistles—but then he would reveal himself. if he leaves, then lwj and the juniors could be stuck here for days, until more lan reinforcements are called in.

and with more lan cultivators in the area, it would be impossible for wwx to cut things short and resolve the matter for everyone.

so. if he does something now, he could end everything here. if he leaves, then more could get hurt, and the lans could be stuck here for months.

he waits for too long. a series of missed notes on the disciples' part, and the array sputters. tendrils of resentful energy break free.

one tendrils strikes a disciple, sending them flying. their body hits a tree and collapses to the ground, their neck at an awkward angle.

another disciple screams and abandons their instrument to rush over to their teammate. the array sputters one last time before fading.

wwx watches in disbelief as the lans switch from a cleansing song to a suppression song to try and keep the spirits contained.

there are only two junior disciples left, along with lwj. that is nowhere near enough to suppress so much resentful energy in one place.

wwx's gaze drifts to lwj. even now, lwj still looks calm and focused. blood stains his fingertips from playing on his guqin for so long.

that's what breaks wwx. without another moment's hesitation, he puts two fingers in his mouth and whistles.

at first, the spirits do not listen. they are angry at being caged, at being denied their final wishes. their captors are easy targets.

then wwx whistles again.

'Obey.'

the force of his command catches the attention of the spirits. this is what they're familiar with, this is what they remember—how much authority their commanders carry in the thick of battle.

'The war is not over,' wwx whistles. 'There is one more battle.'

the spirits quiver with anticipation. the air turns cold.

'You are surrounded by our enemies,' wwx whistles, a command targeted to each spirit. 'Fight for your lives.'

immediately, the spirits turn on each other. they clash and fight and slowly, slowly, destroy each other.

by now, the lan disciples are in the middle of evacuating. they hurriedly gather their teammates as lwj plays a warding song on his guqin to keep them shielded.

without thinking, wwx rushes over to help. "Mind his neck," he says as they lift the disciple who was thrown.

very soon, the disciples are ready to go. only lwj hasn't moved, his gaze fixed on the battling spirits. his bloodied fingers move relentlessly over his guqin's strings.

"Lan Zhan!" wwx yells over the sounds of battle and guqin song. "Leave them! They'll destroy one another!"

lwj's head snaps towards him, golden eyes ablaze. he opens his mouth.

"Hurry!" wwx hisses, gesturing wildly. "We have to go!"

there's a crunch as the battling spirits rip apart a nearby tree, sending it crashing to the ground.

jaw clenched, lwj turns and runs after wwx.

the sky to the east is already beginning to lighten with the oncoming day by the time they escape from the forest. wwx briefly considers taking them to his farmhouse again, but then decides against it; the innkeepers should be awake by now.

they probably wake up half of the inn with their rush to get medical attention to the injured disciples, but wwx is beyond caring. one disciple suffers from a broken arm, leg, and ribs—but they are still awake and conscious.

the other one might not make it through the day.

his neck is broken, and there is trauma to his brain. he will need surgery as soon as possible to stand a chance at surviving.

lwj fires off an emergency flare to call for aid.

now there is nothing left for them to do but wait.

as soon as wwx hears the pop and crackle of the emergency flare overhead, he wraps up checking on the disciples. with luck, a lan physician will soon arrive to check on the wounded, and wwx would only get in the way.

on his way out of the inn, he finds lwj standing outside.

lwj was gazing up at the sky—watching for any answers the emergency flare—but when he hears the door open, he looks in wwx's direction.

wwx smiles in what he hopes is a reassuring manner. "Have some faith in your sect's disciples," he says. "Kids are stronger than you think."

lwj's unblinking gaze follows him. "Where are you going?"

"Home," wwx answers. "I'm no doctor, and the kids will want some time for themselves and their teammates."

lwj does not say anything to that. he just looks at wwx, his expression as stony as ever.

wwx glances down, past lwj's dirtied robes to his bloodstained fingertips. "That looks painful," wwx says sympathetically.

lwj's fingers flex, then curl. "Do not trouble yourself over it."

"Yeah, well," wwx shrugs, "don't forget to wash and bandage them. Infections are nasty."

not that lwj would ever get an infection—his golden core would see to that—but it doesn't hurt to remind him. wwx knows firsthand how easy it is to lose track of oneself when there's other people to take care of and worry about.

after one last wave, wwx heads back to his home.

there's not much to do at home; he'd finished his chores while he was waiting for the lans to return from their night-hunt. so, despite the sun rising in the sky, wwx bathes, eats, and retires to bed.

when he wakes up, the sun is setting, and there's a blade held to his neck.

at first, wwx nearly swats at the prickling sensation out of habit; mosquitoes can be a problem during hot days. then he thinks he's getting robbed by an intruder with a dagger.

then he sees the design of the blade in the orange light of the setting sun.

bichen.

"Do not move." lwj's voice is far colder than the chill of bichen's blade. "And do not scream."

wwx stays very, very still. "Hanguang-Jun."

"That is not what you called me in the forest." the blade presses a little harder against wwx's neck.

the forest? wwx mentally runs through the events of the day. what had he called lwj…?

"You are very knowledgeable for a farmer," lwj says. "You know my birth name, my title, and even my appearance."

appearance. wwx nearly swears. lwj must have seen the portrait.

"You also have interesting timing," lwj continues. "It is odd that your house is on the edge of a haunted forest, yet none of its spirits bother you. And how unusual it is that you knew where to find us and could accurately predict that the spirits would destroy each other."

oh.

well, when put that way, wwx does sound incredibly suspicious indeed.

bichen moves until its point is directly over wwx's carotid artery; one wrong move, and it's over.

"I don't know what you are," lwj's voice is low, angry. "Explain yourself, or you leave me no choice."

moving would be such an unwise decision, yet wwx can't help it. he turns his head—bichen's tip scraping his neck—and looks up.

even now, as angry as he is, lwj is a sight to see—bathed in dying golden light, yet still as cold as a winter solstice. his gaze never once leaves wwx.

how very odd; this is not the lwj from wwx's universe—this lwj is older—and yet the two of them are somehow exactly the same.

always a stickler for the rules.

always vanquishing evil.

and always, always ready to strike down the deviant rule-breaker that is wwx.

"Do you think me a spy, Lan Zhan?" he asks.

"You are not permitted to use my name," lwj replies bluntly. "You could be a spy; nobody here has known you for more than five years, and that portrait of me is how I appeared five years ago."

"That would be a good guess," wwx concedes. "What else do you think I could be?"

lwj's grip on bichen tightens. "A demon," he answers curtly. he gives no explanation.

he doesn't need to; even a child would find it suspicious that wwx's sudden appearance, the mysterious whistling, and the spirits acting strange all occurred at around the same time. in a world with no grandmaster of demonic cultivation, there can only be one explanation: demons.

"Ah," wwx says faintly. "That is also a good guess."

there is a long pause where neither of them speak. bichen doesn't waver, and neither does lwj's gaze.

"Was the emergency flare answered in time?" wwx asks.

"That is none of your concern," lwj answers.

"You left the juniors *alone*?" wwx demands.

"They are away," lwj replies. wwx can hear the unsaid 'from you' at the end of that.

that means the flare must have been answered; otherwise lwj would not dare leave his juniors unsupervised to go handle wwx on his own.

"Do you plan to kill me?" wwx asks.

"I plan to stop you," lwj replies, "by any and all means necessary."

"Which can include killing me," wwx points out.

for the first time in their interaction, lwj hesitates.

"I acknowledge the help you gave us," lwj says slowly. "I am in your debt, but it's not a debt I can repay by sparing your life."

how very thorough of lwj to realize that wwx's hospitality could've been a trick to use lwj's honor against him. it's exactly what a demon would do.

at this point, a demon or a spy might begin to panic; their attempts at kinship and securing an exit through courtesy have failed, and now there is nothing left standing between them and a cultivator's blade.

wwx hardly has the energy to panic. instead, he smiles.

"Aiya, Lan Zhan," he whispers. "I already told you; there are no debts between us."

lwj's eyes widen—just a little, but enough to reveal his surprise.

it was always going to be like this, wwx supposes, no matter the world: wwx on one side, and lwj on the other, opposing him.

it would be useless to beg for his life and claim that he is from another world—a world where lwj already irrevocably hated him, a world where wwx's hands were stained with his loved ones' blood.

after five years in this new world, even wwx sometimes doubts his own past.

if this is how it ends, then this is how it ends. wwx can't think of a more fitting way to go. he has had five years of peace. in a way, that is enough.

"Do what you must, Lan Zhan," wwx sighs, closing his eyes. "I'm glad that it's you, in the end."

he waits.

and he waits.

but the strike he's anticipating never falls.

when he opens his eyes again, lwj has the same icy look in his eyes, yet bichen's tip is trembling from where it is held over wwx's neck.

lwj's training is immaculate. he would not let his sword shake.

"I do not understand," lwj says.

it takes wwx a while to find his voice. "What is there not to understand?"

"You're no demon," lwj lowers bichen just enough that its tip is no longer at wwx's neck. "Demons do not give up so easily—especially with their life on the line."

"Maybe I'm an advanced form of demon," wwx adds wryly.

lwj completely ignores his words. "You've lived five years here, and are part of the local town's community." he sheathes bichen. "Yet you do not seem to care how they might react to your death."

wwx blinks. ah. in his later years as the yiling patriarch, he'd come to terms that his death would be celebrated by many and mourned by few—if any at all.

even in this new world, where no one knows him as the yiling patriarch, he'd forgotten he could be someone worth mourning.

"You're no demon," lwj repeats, "but you could still be a spy. Even if you are no longer an active spy, I cannot allow you to wander freely."

wwx gives him a blank stare. "Let me guess: you want to drag me back to Gusu."

lwj's eyes narrow, but he nods. "Mn."

wwx briefly entertains the thought of jumping out the window and running away. he does not want to go back to gusu—not in a million years. but now, he has no one to protect, no one who needs him.

"I suppose it was inevitable," he sighs.

lwj wastes no time restraining him with ropes and tying him to a chair as he does a thorough search of the house. he uncovers further sketches wwx had kept in a dresser; he looks through them with a scowl.

"I may have to report you to the Jin and Jiang sects as well," he says.

"I still consider shijie—Jiang Yanli to be part of the Jiang," wwx grumbles. "I didn't draw no stupid peacock."

lwj's hands stop sorting through the sketches. "Peacock? Are you referring to Sect Leader Jin?"

wwx blinks. looks at him—and, unexpectedly, laughs.

"Wow! You got him!" wwx chuckles. "He does act like a peacock, doesn't he? Strutting around acting all high and mighty and too good for Jiang Yanli."

lwj stares at him. "Sect Leader Jin dotes on his wife and regularly holds meetings with the public at Golden Koi Tower."

"What," wwx deadpans.

"'Peacock' is… perhaps a more apt description for his behavior five years ago," the way lwj looks at him is difficult to decipher, "he has changed since his marriage and the death of his father."

"What," wwx repeats.

lwj looks back down at the sketches and shuffles them around until he settles on one. "You drew Madam Jin in Jiang robes," he says, "and you drew me in my junior disciple robes. For a spy, your information is terribly outdated."

oof. wwx scoffs. "Says the fuddy-duddy."

said fuddy-duddy doesn't give wwx's words any consideration. after gathering everything he considers to be evidence, lwj wastes no time hoisting wwx onto his sword and flying back to gusu.

it is uncomfortable to stand on a sword while tied up. wwx complains the entire way there.

the juniors are already back at the cloud recesses, having flown back with the lan physician who responded to the emergency flare, and are quite alarmed to see lwj pushing a tied-up wwx into the cloud recesses.

wwx grins and waves to them the best he can.

wwx gets tossed into a holding cell that is about as comfortable as he expects it to be—which is very uncomfortable. it's sturdy and keeps out the cold, but the provided bed is hard and there is no privacy.

nobody visits him, either. it seems they don't know what to do with him.

servants bring him food, new clothes, and washbasins; he doesn't see anyone with a lan forehead ribbon for days.

the first person to visit him is lxc. he is just as wwx remembers: a handsome face with a warm smile. he seems so different from his younger brother.

he chats with wwx for over an hour. it's a pleasant enough conversation, but wwx knows it for what it really is: an interrogation.

when the topic shifts to wwx's sketches, wwx can offer nothing more than a shrug and, "I saw them in my dreams."

later,

lxc: well, wangji—wei-gongzi said he saw you in his dreams

lwj:

lwj: he

lwj: what

lxc: he says he dreamed of you. isn't that intriguing?

lwj: no it's not

lxc, watching lwj's pink ears: uh huh

the questions get difficult when lxc tries to ask about his life before five years ago. wwx claims amnesia, but even he knows that is a weak excuse. although lxc smiles and tells him to rest up, wwx is left wondering what other interrogation methods the lan have.

he has heard of the lan holding music cultivation secrets—songs that can twist someone's minds or tear them open from the inside out. he wonders if there are any truth-compulsion songs. he hopes there isn't—or if there is, that they won't be used on him.

wwx is accustomed enough to the daily schedule of food delivery that he doesn't look up when he hears a servant approaching with his dinner.

"What will it be today?" he asks, not looking over from where he's lying on the floor. "Bland rice porridge or cabbage water?"

there's an unnaturally long pause, then lwj's low voice answers, "It's… porridge."

wwx sits up a little too quickly; his head spins. "Oh! Lan Zh—Hanguang-Jun. What's all this? Here to serve me my last meal?"

the look lwj gives him is… something. "We are not killing you."

"Yeah, well," wwx shrugs, "clearly there's something planned for me tomorrow that warrants a visit from the Second Jade of Lan today."

lwj hesitates again, which surely is a bad sign. "Xiong-zhang plans to play the truth-compulsion song for you."

wwx takes a moment to process this new information. so the lans do have a truth-compulsion song after all. he's not surprised about that. what he's surprised about is that they would so readily use it.

"The song does not hurt," lwj says. "But it will be uncomfortable to lie."

"Let me guess—this is the standard procedure for interrogating spies?" wwx asks.

lwj nods. "Of course, we do not wish to use the song unless necessary."

something clicks for wwx. "Ah, so that's why you're here; you're giving me one last chance to 'fess up."

lwj doesn't react. he only continues looking at wwx with the same unwavering gaze. "Why did you draw the inner circle members from three different sects?"

wwx walks over to the bars and leans on them. "I told you; I saw them in my dreams, then sketched them afterwards."

lwj's expression doesn't change. "How do you know my birth name?"

wwx rolls his eyes. fuck it; if this is how it's going to be, then he might as well go with it. "We studied together at the Cloud Recesses when we were teenagers."

*that* gets a reaction. "Impossible," lwj snaps.

"Wanna bet?" wwx grins. "If it's revealed tomorrow that I was telling the truth, then you have to buy me Emperor's Smile."

lwj stares at him with open disbelief. "What is that?"

wwx's grin fades. "You—you don't know what Emperor's Smile is?"

"Is it a weapon?" lwj demands.

"What? No!" wwx gapes at him. "It's wine! A Gusu specialty!"

"Alcohol is forbidden in the Cloud Recesses," lwj says flatly.

"So you've never even glanced at the wine shops in Caiyi Town??" wwx screeches in dismay.

lwj gives him an incredulous look. "I have no reason to concern myself with what the wine merchants of Caiyi Town keep in stock."

wwx's laugh sounds a little unhinged. "Alright. Okay. Anyways, when you realize I'm telling the truth tomorrow, you have to buy me a jar of it."

"No," lwj says.

wwx sinks against the bars. "Why?" he wails.

"Gambling is forbidden," lwj recites. "Alcohol is forbidden. Accepting bribes is forbidden."

"Your face should be forbidden," wwx grumbles. "Clearly such good looks are wasted on a stick-in-the-mud like you."

lwj, oddly, doesn't speak for a good few seconds. when he does, it's to hiss through clenched teeth, "Flirting with me will not spare you from tomorrow's questioning."

"… Uh." wwx side-eyes him. "You think I was—that wasn't flirting. I don't—Lan Zhan, I was just teasing you."

the tips of lwj's ears go bright red. "Then do not address me by my birth name," he bristles. "This is the second time I've had to ask you to stop."

"Alright, alright." wwx backs away with his hands up. "Aiyo, you didn't have an issue with me calling you Lan Zhan before."

lwj's face also turns red. "You already know what awaits you tomorrow, yet you still lie."

"I'm not lying." wwx sits on his bed. "You and I truly did address each other by our birth names before."

lwj looks off to the side, but not before wwx sees the bewilderment in his eyes.

"Impossible." lwj shakes his head. "I would have remembered if such a thing occurred. You are deliberately wasting my time with this nonsense."

wwx's grin loses its corners. "Well, then don't let me stop you from leaving," he sighs, lying down on the bed. "See you tomorrow."

lwj stays at the cell for a minute—perhaps surprised to be dismissed so easily. then he sighs. "Rest well, Wei-gongzi."

and then he's gone.

when wwx finally reaches for his rice porridge dinner, he's surprised to find a heating talisman taped to the bowl.

wwx peels off the heating talisman and inspects it. to his dismay, both sides bear the sigil to retain heat.

he scoffs. lwj is compassionate enough to keep his meal warm for him, but not to the point where he would leave the back of a talisman blank. lwj still suspects him.

wwx doesn't know what will happen to him tomorrow. execution and imprisonment are still likely—especially if they find out that he has figured out how to cultivate the ghost path. the best case scenario is that they kick him out after his nonsense-sounding answers.

regardless, wwx eats his porridge slowly, noting its texture, the smoothness of the bowl in his hands, and the decorative blue patterns on the spoon. at least he knows the lans would give him a proper burial, if he's executed.

it takes him a very long time to fall asleep.

the next morning, he's given a light breakfast, time to wash up, and then he's ushered, hands tied, into the mingshi.

inside sits lxc and lwj. lxc looks up from where he's fine-tuning the guqin and smiles, gesturing for wwx to sit on a nearby cushion.

wwx sits. "Is Old Man Lan not joining us?"

lwj scowls and opens his mouth, but lxc beats him to speaking. "It is our hope that you will feel more at ease with less people present," lxc says. "As such, shufu will not be joining us unless it's the next logical step."

"You mean unless I decide to be difficult and uncooperative," wwx corrects him.

lxc winces a little. "We hope it will not come to that," he says. "This is not something we like to do, but we must ensure our sect's safety."

wwx sighs. "Of course. That's always the reason."

after lxc has finished tuning the guqin, he gives it a testing strum; wwx feels the notes as a tingle up his spine.

"I will only ask questions that will help me understand how much you know and what your allegiances are," lxc says, "nothing more, nothing less."

wwx expects to feel a push of some sort when lxc begins playing, but instead, he feels—free, almost. it's like he is drunk, except his mind is still clear, and his stress and tiredness have melted away.

"Wow!" he exclaims. "Wow, it is so easy to talk. Wow, wow, wow, holy shit."

lwj frowns at swear word, but lxc just laughs lightly. "It doesn't hurt, does it?"

"Nope," wwx responds quickly. his tongue almost feels slippery. "Nope, nope, nope. It's very easy to talk. Holy shit. I bet you developed this during the war. Lots of spies during wars."

"Are you referring to the Sunshot Campaign?" lxc asks.

"Yep—unless you somehow had another war while I wasn't looking." it almost feels too good to be talking this much. "I'm a little surprised you resorted to a forbidden technique, though. It's not very Lan-like of you."

"Although I suppose at a certain point, underhanded tactics are needed against Wen Ruohan. Not bad or unexpected. Still, very surprising and hypocritical, considering how much you condemned me for—" wwx clamps his mouth shut.

both lwj and lxc stare at him.

"What did we condemn you for?" lxc asks.

wwx keeps his mouth shut. now that he's not talking, he can feel a pushing sensation stretching from his throat to his lungs. it's like trying to hold back a cough. wwx strains against it.

"Perhaps a different question?" lxc suggests.

"Yes," wwx answers too quickly.

"Alright." lxc continues playing lightly on his guqin. "Please state your name and where you're from."

"Wei Ying, courtesy Wuxian," wwx answers. "I'm from Yunmeng Jiang—or I was, until I left."

"Why did you leave?" lxc asks.

wwx has to struggle to find words safe to speak. "To protect Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli," he says.

"I don't recall Yunmeng Jiang ever admitting to having spies," lwj murmurs to his brother. "We should reevaluate our relationship with them."

"Oh, I'm not a spy," wwx says. "I would rather face my enemies head-on than deal with all that subterfuge and constant lying."

lxc smiles a little at that, but lwj still looks discontent. "If you didn't spy on the Gusu Lan," he says, "then how do you know my birth name?"

the answer emerges easily. "Oh, I heard it during my first day at class here."

lwj bristles. "That's a lie. I've never seen you before in my life."

"Hush, Wangji," lxc says. "Now is not the time to fight his answers." he turns to wwx. "Why are you not in our student records?"

before he can stop it, wwx answers, "Because I never existed in this world."

lxc stops playing. lwj checks over his brother's guqin once, then twice.

"Xiong-zhang," lwj says, "he must be lying somehow. What he claims is impossible. We should end the questioning for today."

"Wait." lxc lays his hand down on the guqin strings, stilling them. "Wei-gongzi, where are you truly from?"

wwx looks at the guqin. he wonders if this is yet another interrogation tactic—the offer of mercy in exchange for information.

"Someplace else," he says. "Not here."

lxc nods as if he understands. wwx knows he doesn't understand. "Is there a way for you to confirm that you are not from… here?" he asks.

wwx thinks on it. no, not really. ultimately it's his words against reality, and he can easily be dismissed as a lunatic.

he shrugs.

"Perhaps something only you could have know?" lxc suggests, "Or maybe knowledge that nobody else has?"

knowledge that nobody else has? that's ridiculous. wwx knows plenty that no one else knows. it doesn't hel—

ah. wait.

wwx points to lwj. "He likes rabbits."

lwj's mouth falls open as his ears turn bright red. next to him, lxc barely manages to catch his laugh in his sleeve as he tries—and fails—to mask his chuckles as coughs.

"Ridiculous!" lwj seethes through clenched teeth.

"Do you deny it?" wwx asks.

"That is absurd!" lwj hisses as lxc twists himself completely away, shoulders still shaking with muffled laughter. "How could you claim—pet are forbidden in the Cloud Recesses!"

"Which is why I got you a pair of rabbits!" wwx can't help cackling. "You even kept them!"

still fuming, lwj turns to lxc. "Xiongzhang, I do not have rabbits. What Wei-gongzi says is not true."

"Not true, perhaps, in this world," lxc answers, still smiling. "But quite likely in his world, since he knows your little secret."

lwj looks scandalized. "You believe him."

"It is an intriguing thought, isn't it?" lxc chuckles. "The idea of another world where you and Wei-gongzi are close enough that he knows to gift you rabbits."

that does it for lwj. he stands up. "I have student papers to grade," he says briskly, bowing. "Please excuse me."

after lwj leaves and very much does not slam the door on his way out, lxc turns to wwx.

"We'll end today's conversation here," lxc says, his eyes still sparkling with mirth. "I no longer suspect you of being a spy, Wei-gongzi, but I'm afraid I still have some questions."

wwx gives him a wry smile. "Of course you do."

"I would, in particular, like to know what you did to earn our condemnation in your world, and how and why you come here to our world," lxc says pleasantly. "So please, think on it overnight."

wwx returns to find his cell changed; there's another pad layer on his mattress along with an extra blanket, pillow, and writing materials. he eats his food, doodles a donkey on the paper, and takes a nap.

he wakes up to lwj knocking on one of the bars.

"I don't have any rabbits," is the first thing wwx says.

the tips of lwj's ears flush pink again and he scowls deeply enough to cause wrinkles. "I need to speak with you."

"Well, I don't have much of a choice about that, do I?" wwx says, gesturing to his surroundings.

lwj ignores the remark. "If what you say is true," he grits out, "and you are from another world like this, then I must know the *exact* nature of what our relationship was."

wwx blinks. "Huh? Why do you care so much?"

"Because—" lwj flexes his fingers, "—because if we were—if you know too much about me, then that's information that can endanger me or my sect. I need to know just how much you know."

wwx stares at him. "Uh. Trust me, I don't know anything that can be used against you."

"I do not believe you," lwj insists. "There must have been something. You said we addressed each other by our birth names. You know—about how I view rabbits. Your sketch of me is more detailed than the others."

"So?" wwx arches an eyebrow. "That doesn't prove anything."

"Do you call anyone else by their birth name?" lwj asks.

wwx thinks. "I call Jiang Cheng, uh, well, Jiang Cheng. But that's what everyone calls him."

"Then why did you specifically target me?" lwj demands. "What is your reason for using my birth name?"

wwx is a bit at a loss. he doesn't know why lwj is being so aggressive. is it embarrassment, perhaps? surely liking rabbits is hardly embarrassing. maybe wwx shouldn't have revealed it in front of his brother?

"Because—because I knew it would annoy you," he blurts out.

"What?" lwj shakes his head. "Why would you—why?"

wwx laughs nervously and taps the tips of his fingers together. "You're usually so uptight and rule-abiding that it's fun to make you crack and lose your temper, so I just sort of started calling you by name…"

"So you call me by my birth name," lwj's voice is stony, "and gifted me rabbits, because… you found it funny to provoke me."

wwx thinks it over. "Yeah, that's about right," he confesses. "Ahaha, you caught me."

"That does not explain why I would call you by your birth name," lwj says flatly. "I would not do it with the intention to provoke."

wwx taps his chin. "Now that you mention it, I'm not sure either. You've always called me by my birth name."

"What," lwj says in a way that, to the untrained ear, might sound a little choked-up.

wwx knows better, so he ignores it. "Ah, well, there *was* one time when you called me Wei Wuxian, but that was when you were mad at me."

lwj takes a deep breath. "When was I mad at you?"

wwx grins more out of habit than actual amusement. "What a question," he snorts. "You were always either mad at me or ignoring me. You hated me with every fiber of your being."

the silence that follows almost makes wwx regret answering.

"I… hated you?" lwj's voice is small.

"Yep." wwx nodded. "At one point, you wanted to punish and imprison me—which, huh, I suppose is what you're doing right now."

for some reason, the tension in lwj's body language increases. "I don't understand," lwj shakes his head. "I wouldn't use your birth name if I wasn't…"

wwx drags his hands down his face. "Look, I don't know why you kept on calling me Wei Ying, alright? I'm sure you had your own reasons. All I know is that you never liked me, so you never told me anything about yourself. There's nothing I know that can be used against you."

"So that is how it is," lwj's sigh sounds bone-deep. his shoulders sink. "Thank you for your time. I apologize for disturbing your peace."

wwx gives a one-shouldered shrug. "No need for 'thank-you's and 'I'm sorry's. You had a good reason."

"That does not make it right." lwj bows. "I leave you to your rest. I will see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," wwx replies as he begins idly folding a piece of paper into a butterfly.

by the time it's time for bed, wwx's cell is littered with various paper animals.

the next day, when wwx goes to the mingshi, lwj and lxc are already seated—as expected.

lwj nods in greeting, but otherwise keeps his gaze down. lxc looks between the two of them with some interest, but he doesn't comment on the changed atmosphere.

"Shall we begin?" lxc asks.

wwx briefly holds up his tied-together hands. "I don't really have a choice in that, do I."

"Rest assured, Wei-gongzi—nothing you tell us will leave this room unless it poses a direct or immediate threat to us," lxc tells him.

wwx makes an unconvinced sound.

still, he makes no fuss when lxc starts playing. the song is softer than it was the previous day, almost gentle in the way it coaxes wwx into wanting to speak.

"When did you arrive in this world?" lxc asks.

"Five years ago," wwx answers.

lxc pauses to lay out wwx's sketches on the table between them. "When did you draw these?"

wwx looks at them. "Five years ago."

"And why did you draw them?"

"Because I wanted to remember them," wwx says. "I didn't know if I would ever see them in-person again."

lxc hums sympathetically. "Would you be opposed to telling me why the sketch of Wangji is different?"

that's an interesting way to gain permission during an interrogation, wwx thinks. "No, I would not be opposed."

"Alright." lxc nods. "Why is Wangji's sketch different?"

wwx shrugs. "Because I redrew it."

"And what compelled you to redraw it?"

"The first sketch wasn't great," wwx admits. "I wanted to get his face right." he looks at the sketch of lwj again. "Ah. I made his left eyebrow a little too short. I will correct that later."

lxc gives an amused chuckle as lwj somehow falls more silent, despite not having said a single word.

"Why was it important to you that you get his face right?" lxc asks.

"Because he's very handsome," wwx answers sincerely, "and it would be a shame if I remember him wrong."

this time, lxc's amused laugh is paired with a glance at lwj. lwj stubbornly refuses to meet his gaze.

"And what did you plan to do with these sketches?" lxc asks.

"Look at them when I miss my friends and family," wwx replies, "… although I guess Lan Zhan never was my friend."

lxc's second glance towards lwj is more of a pointed stare. he stills the guqin strings. "If you dislike Wangji, then why have a sketch of him?"

"Oh, I don't dislike him," wwx clarifies. "He disliked me. A lot."

lwj avoids his brother's gaze. "Why did I dislike you?"

"Because I regularly flaunted your sect rules," wwx grins, "and you didn't like my… life choices."

"None of those are reasons to dislike you," lwj argues, "especially to the point of hate."

wwx shrugs. "Well, I can't just take back my wish now and ask you to explain, can I?"

lxc sits up so suddenly that his fingers push against the guqin strings, making an off-key 'twang' sound. "Wish? What wish?"

ah. wwx clamps his mouth shut and gives lwj an unimpressed you-tricked-me glare.

lwj's eyes are wide. "Wei Ying," he whispers, "what did you do?"

wwx crosses his arms. it feels so, so wrong to just shut down like this—to not try and talk his way out of it like he has done a thousand times before—but right now talking is the worst thing he can do.

"I will not answer any more questions," he says.

lxc looks down at the guqin, his expression pensive.

immediately, lwj reaches over, places a hand on the instrument, and shakes his head.

there is clear hesitation in lxc's body language, but he eventually sighs. "Then we will end today's discussion here."

wwx spends the rest of his day in his cell, doodling eyes and features on the paper animals he'd folded the day before.

dinner that evening is a simple soup with rice and steamed vegetables. wwx eats it with no complaint.

the next morning, to wwx's surprise, lwj shows up.

"My brother and I spoke," lwj says as he opens the cell. "You are free to go."

wwx blinks. "Huh? Just like that?"

"We reviewed everything you told us," lwj says. "And we concluded that you pose no threat to our sect."

"Huh." wwx looks out the open cell door. it feels odd not having his hands tied. "That's it?"

"That's it," lwj nods. "I am to take you home."

cautiously, wwx steps outside the cell and follows lwj up the stairs. once outside, he blinks from the sunlight and inhales deeply.

"What convinced you?" wwx asks as they make their way to the entrance.

"We pieced together your answers," lwj says. "You said you didn't exist in this world before five years ago. Then you mentioned yesterday that you made a wish that is related to me not remembering you."

"During my meeting with my brother, I argued that—no matter what your wish was or why you chose to come to a world where you don't exist—seeing as you haven't done anything in five years, it is unlikely that you have malicious intentions," lwj concludes.

wwx stops in his tracks. "You defended me?"

"Yes," lwj replies.

"Willingly?"

"Yes." lwj turns to face him. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Huh." wwx plays with his fingers; he's saying 'huh' a lot. today is full of surprises. "I… didn't expect that, to be honest."

they continue walking down the path. lwj breaks the silence with a quiet, "Was I cruel to you?"

wwx snorts. "You? Cruel? No, no you weren't cruel. Mean? Yes. You were very mean, always rejecting my gifts and attempts at friendship. But cruel? Never."

lwj still frowns. "But you do not have positive memories of me."

"I do!" wwx insists. "Like—like the look on your face when I got you rabbits, or that time when we fought on the Cloud Recesses wall because I tried to sneak in alcohol past curfew—"

lwj's face goes through a series of expressions, almost too quickly to detect. "It does not sound like I was ever kind to you in any of these… positive memories," he says.

wwx thinks about it. "True, you were mostly angry," he admits. "Oh—except for the time we went for lunch."

lwj tilts his head. "Lunch?"

"We went to a restaurant in Yiling with A-Yuan," wwx hums. "It was a good lunch—although, uh, ahaha, I think you up ended up footing the bill for it."

lwj's face does something complicated again. "Is A-Yuan… a child?"

"Yes," wwx nods, "or, well, he was. He was about three years old when we had him."

"Three years old," lwj sounds a little faint. "Whose… child was he?"

oh, this is too good. it's not every day wwx gets to make the same joke twice.

"Mine," he declares. "I birthed him myself."

there is nothing wwx wouldn't give at that moment to have a piece of charcoal and some paper on hand; lwj's face is absolutely priceless, shock widening his eyes until almost each of his golden irises are visible. his eyebrows nearly push his forehead ribbon to his hairline.

but before wwx can burst out laughing at lwj's frankly *hilarious* expression, lwj blurts out, "Was I the father?"

the laugh wwx was holding back ruptures into a high-pitched, shocked cackle. "WHAT?! Lan Zhan—I was joking! I'm a man! I can't bear children!"

lwj looks mortified, ears and cheeks all cherry-red. "You said," he articulates slowly, "'when we had him'."

"For lunch, Lan Zhan!" wwx wails. his face is on fire and he can't stop panic-laughing out of embarrassment. "We borrowed him for lunch! I was babysitting him!"

"Oh-h," lwj chokes. "I—oh, you were joking. I apologize for—my overreaction."

wwx gasps and heaves with a hand over his heart. his teenage self would have found this hilarious, but wwx's heart is beating so fast it might burst from his chest. maybe he's getting too old for this.

"I can't believe this," wwx wheezes. "Do you not know how children are made? How do you not—" he freezes, "Oh, no. Is it because I didn't show you a certain book in this world?"

lwj somehow goes even redder. "You showed me a *marriage book*?" his voice is thin and strained.

wwx is certain he is losing his voice. "What!" he screeches. "No! What even is in a marriage—never mind. It was porn, Lan Zhan! I pranked you with an erotic art book when we were classmates!"

lwj's ears remain red. "I see." he doesn't sound like he sees. "You were… joking?"

wwx considers launching himself off the nearest cliff. "I did it to get a reaction out of you." he is so tired; being embarrassed costs so much energy. "It—we were both young. I was being stupid."

"Ah." lwj nods, then clears his throat. "And did you get the reaction you wanted?"

wwx buries his face in his hands. "Yeah, I did. You got very angry. It was funny to see."

"Ah." lwj nods again. "That is—good to hear."

the rest of their walk to caiyi town is filled with awkward silence. lwj's ears are still lightly pink. wwx keeps his dang mouth firmly shut.

the hustle and bustle of caiyi town does wonders in clearing up the last of wwx's lingering embarrassment. he flits easily from stall to stall, looking at the wares on sale.

"Ooh, Lan Zhan!" he motions at a stall selling snacks. "Come look at the—"

wwx turns to see lwj heading in the opposite direction, towards a wine shop. confused, wwx follows him.

"Lan Zhan, why are you here?" wwx asks, tugging on his sleeve. "Snacks are across the street."

"One jar of Emperor's Smile, please," lwj says to the wine vendor.

"Ah?" wwx's jaw drops. "Why? You don't drink alcohol."

"You do," lwj says as he pays the wine vendor. "And you told the truth."

it takes wwx a good minute to realize what he's saying. once it hits him, he can't help grinning. "I thought you said gambling is forbidden."

"I never agreed to a bet," lwj points out as he takes the jar and two winecups from the vendor and thanks them.

wwx gasps, scandalized. "Hanguang-Jun! Resorting to underhanded methods to maintain a righteous and rule-abiding appearance—how very sinister of you!"

lwj blinks, confusing marring his beautiful face. "This is… a joke? You are teasing me?"

wwx almost wants to laugh. "Yes, I'm teasing you."

"I see." lwj nods, then thinks for a moment before haltingly responding, "yes, very sinister of me."

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