Three days. That was how long Wei Wuxian had been unconscious following the final battle. Wei Wuxian honestly had expected worse. He'd had to use the Yin Hufu multiple times before Nightless City. Then things had gone wrong in Nightless City, forcing Wei Wuxian to compensate.

Wei Wuxian vaguely remembered telling Lan Wangji to tell him what to do. After that the fight was blurry. Blurry enough that he could not distinguish between what had happened in this life versus his first life, and further what might have been hallucinated. Wei Wuxian's memory was not the most reliable thing at the best of times and living through the same years twice did not help.

Lan Wangji had assured him that Wei Wuxian had followed his instructions during the fight. He hadn't started killing at random. Wei Wuxian was glad because he was pretty certain that there was a big hole in his memory of the last battle. He only remembered one set of events for the end of the battle with Wen Rouhan. In those events Wei Wuxian was very far away from Lan Wangji, which seemed to indicate that it was from Wei Wuxian's first life.

Wei Wuxian was in Lan Wangji's lap again. A small break had been required for Lan Wangji to bring food and prepare tea. Wei Wuxian would have been fine with just continuing with hot water, but Lan Wangji had a strong aversion to any sentence from Wei Wuxian starting with 'I'd be fine with just.' So once Wei Wuxian didn't have to think about breathing anymore, Lan Wangji prepared tea and then brought food and tea to Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian was gathered back into Lan Wangji's arms, and they ate with Wei Wuxian making commentary about the meal. Wei Wuxian had asked a few questions about the battle and what had happened since then. Lan Wangji answered as best he could and didn't demand anything from Wei Wuxian. Which was so nice. Wei Wuxian did not have words to express how calming it was to be with someone who you trusted to not make demands of you.

That said, Wei Wuxian was not especially good at not making demands of himself. He poked and prodded at the things he had been thinking about before his panic attack. Gently nudging and things until he could figure out what might have set him off. It was also entirely possible that nothing in particular had set him off. It could just have been the strain of using the Yin Hufu so much followed by waking up and trying to process the world again.

Wei Wuxian poked at the idea that Wen Rouhan was dead. That felt good. A small curl of satisfaction that someone who brought so much pain into the world was gone. Wen Qing was alive. Wei Wuxian took a deep breath of Lan Wangji's scent to help him remain calm. He definitely had a lot of feelings about that. Good feelings mostly, good feelings that were all wrapped up in a jumble of repressed grief and worry that came spilling out with the relief. So that was... a thing.

Wei Wuxian didn't move on from there. He let himself focus on the fact that Wen Qing was alive. She was alive. She was hurt, but not hurt enough to be bed ridden. The war was over and Wen Qing was alive. Tears slid quietly down Wei Wuxian's cheeks.

"Jiejie is okay..." Wei Wuxian wasn't certain if he was whispering a statement or question. It was full of relief and uncertainty. Even though Wei Wuxian should not have been uncertain about what he was saying. Lan Wangji told him she was okay and Lan Wangji did not lie.

"Mn." Lan Wangji confirmed with a comforting hum.

"I don't... I don't think I let myself actually feel how scared I was that we would be too late." Wei Wuxian said quietly. "Lan Zhan. She could have died. I was so scared we'd arrive here and find her dead. Or so wounded that she wouldn't be able to heal. You said she's recovering right? Is it bad? It's not too bad is it?" Wei Wuxian asked anxiously.

"The worst injury is to her hands." Lan Wangji began slowly. "One of our healers has been treating her under supervision from Xiongzhang. She seems confident that she will heal with no long term problems from scar tissue." Lan Wangji explained sedately.

"That's good right? That sounds like it's probably okay?" Wei Wuxian asked anxiously.

Recovering without long term problems was good. Wei Wuxian thought about the implications of everything he heard. Someone held Wen Qing and hurt her deliberately. Someone injured Wen Qing enough to scar. Wei Wuxian was still exhausted, but a small protective rage curled in his stomach.

"Did Jiejie say who did it?" Wei Wuxian asked. Murderous anger leaking into his voice.

"Wei Ying." Lan Wangji's voice held a request.

Wei Wuxian turned to look at Lan Wangji, helpless to refuse the request for Wei Wuxian's attention. Lan Wangji gazed at Wei Wuxian. His hand cupped Wei Wuxian's cheek affectionately and the anger flickered, like an unprotected flame in a breeze.

"Wei Ying needs rest. The soldiers who still live are being held and will be punished. She did not name who harmed her. They may already be dead." Lan Wangji offered in a steady voice.

Wei Wuxian wilted. It was reasonable. Wei Wuxian knew it was reasonable. The sects had gone so far to punish the remaining Wens in Wei Wuxian's first life. It was reasonable to assume that whatever cultivator may have tortured his jiejie could already be dead, or as good as dead. Wei Wuxian really wasn't in any condition to go off on a murderous rampage at the moment. Murderous rampages weren't especially fun to begin with. He just hated the idea of allowing someone who hurt his family to live.

"Jiang Yanli should arrive tomorrow with the DafanWens." Lan Wangji said softly.

Wei Wuxian's eyes widened. Nuan-er and A-Yuan had been sobbing when they left. It felt like an eternity since Wei Wuxian had seen them, and he was sure that for a kid like Nuan-er it had seemed even longer. Then the dread set in.

"Lan Zhan. Is that a good idea? Everyone here is still so angry. What if they try to take their anger out on them?" Wei Wuxian asked, voice hoarse.

"We will protect them." Lan Wangji assured.

Wei Wuxian wanted to believe that. He wanted to believe that they could protect them, but there were so many cultivators here. So many cultivators who no longer had an enemy they were afraid of. Just people they blamed and hated. Wei Wuxian had tried protecting them against the cultivation world and failed completely.

"Lan Zhan, I..." Wei Wuxian took a breath. "Just the two of us? How are we going to protect all of them? We can not be with them at every moment. If the sects are still hungry for blood what can we do that won't just create another war? A war that doesn't end without..."

"Wei Ying." Lan Wangji interrupted Wei Wuxian's desperate spiral. "We are not alone."

Wei Wuxian blinked, feeling confused. It didn't feel that way. It hadn't been that way before.

"Jiang Yanli had the authority to keep them safe in camp during the war. Chifeng-zun escorted Wen Qing to this room himself after she was found. He and Xiongzhang refused those who called for her to be imprisoned with the cultivators who survived the battle. Chifeng-zun publicly told all those present that Wen Qing saved his life." Lan Wangji stated in a calm steady voice. "We are not alone. We have allies that you did not have before."

"Lan Zhan." Wei Wuxian said quietly, hiding his face in Lan Wangji's neck. "I'm scared. I'm scared of everything that happens after this. I know we've tried to change things, but I don't... I don't really understand why everything happened the way it did. What if... What if it's fate? What if I'm just meant to die hated?"

"Wei Ying cannot die hated. Wei Ying is loved. Wei Ying will always be loved, and I will do everything in my power to keep my Love safe and happy." Lan Wangji said quietly. "Do you believe me?"

Wei Wuxian nodded, pretending he wasn't getting Lan Wangji's robes wet with tears and snot. He loved this man so much. More than he had thought could fit in his body. And, the craziest thing, Lan Wangji seemed to love him just as much. Maybe even more. Wei Wuxian wasn't really convinced he was going to live to see Nuan-er and A-Yuan grow up. But Lan Wangji was determined to keep him alive. Wei Wuxian figured that probably did something to put the odds in his favour, maybe just a little.