Wen Qing had spent the better part of the afternoon confirming her situation. She had woken up in the Cloud Recesses with her brother anxiously by her side. He was alive. Properly alive. Wen Qing had been too overwhelmed to speak. The last thing she remembered was fire. Smoke stung her eyes and choked her throat, but she still remembered the faces of all those cultivators who watched her burn. All things considered she was happy that she woke up in Cloud Recesses. Not just because she was alive, but because in all those righteous sects the only voices to speak for her and her brother were Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen. Lan Xichen had been opposed to the cruelty of the punishment and had tried to sway the sects to investigate the incidents. Wen Qing wasn't entirely sure if he said these things because of his own beliefs, or because his brother had spoken up first.

When she asked her brother what happened he said he found her unconscious after he finished his archery practice. She prodded just enough to be certain that he didn't know about the things she remembered. The things that it seemed were going to happen in the future. Her first thought had been Wei Wuxian. She travelled through time, or at least she thinks she did. There was a chance that it had been a strangely vivid dream. She would actually really like it to have been a strangely vivid dream. Before knowing Wei Wuxian she would have been certain that was the answer. However, with Wei Wuxian... it just felt a little too much like something he would do.

Wen Qing sighed as she paused in her step. She'd find Wei Wuxian first. She wanted to believe it was a dream. She knew, however, that she wouldn't be able to believe it until she spoke with him. If he didn't remember the events she remembered. If he seemed like the same reckless carefree idiot bouncing around the Cloud Recesses. She bit her lip as her anxiety made her turn uncomfortably..

'A-Ying. I hope it was a dream. I hope what happened to us, and especially what happened to you... I hope it was all just a nightmare, and that you're okay.'

"He did what!?" Wen Qing was immediately pulled from her thoughts but the sudden disruption. The shout was quite a ways away, but she recognized the voice.

'Jiang Wanyin. With that tone, he can only be talking about A-Ying.' Wen Qing felt her anxiety spike immediately and he placed a hand on her chest to force herself to slow down. 'Don't jump to conclusions. He yells in a similar manner almost daily.'

A purple figure flew by at a run. A short while later Jiang Yanli appeared, walking quickly down the same path with Lan Xichen at her side. Her eyes were red with tears. Wen Qing had seen her upset before. Namely when Jin Zixuan had been excessively conceited. However she had never seen Jiang Yanli in such a state of grief as this. A sinking feeling made itself at home in Wen Qing's stomach. Something is wrong with Wei Wuxian. It was the most obvious explanation. Wen Qing tried to calm herself. It didn't necessarily mean it had all been real.

'But if it was real and A-Ying travelled back in time.' Wen Qing knew how broken Wei Wuxian had been before she left to hand herself over. To say it had been bad was an unfortunate understatement. One could easily assume that after those events it was probably worse. She had hoped A-Yuan and the others would be enough to help Wei Wuxian through it. It was perhaps a foolish hope now that she thought about it clearly. Wen Qing found herself following after Lan Xichen and the Jiang siblings at a quick pace. Best case scenario was that something was wrong and she might be able to help. Normal unrelated reckless Wei Wuxian things. Worst case scenario, Wei Wuxian had travelled back in time. Possibly in a very bad mental state with the intention to do something irreversible.

Wen Qing bit her lip hard and walked a bit faster. She stepped into the infirmary just in time to hear the loud crash as a Lan disciple was thrown into the wall in front of her. The air was filled with a familiar chill and half heard whispers. She turned to where the person had been thrown from. She was already expecting to see thick clouds of resentful energy. She turned and found her concerns realized. Resentful energy was churning and dancing through the air like black smoke. Wen Qing frowned. She restrained a disappointed sigh.

"Not a dream then." she said quietly to herself. Without delay she turned to one of the stunned healers gawking at the scene. "You, check on them." Wen Qing barked as she gestured to the unconscious healer on the floor. Once they nodded in acknowledgement she turned and marched into the room that was already half filled with resentful energy.

Wen Qing entered the room and quickly evaluated the situation. Four people were in the room. All seemed to be in a different form of shock. Lan Xichen appeared to be frozen in place, possibly still attempting to understand what he was seeing. Jiang Wanyin looked outraged. The shock and fear were already half buried under his rising anger. Jiang Yanli was gripping onto her brother for support. Her tears were flowing faster and she looked like she might fall over at any moment. The most put together, unsurprisingly, was Lan Wangji.

"Lan-er-gongzi." Wen Qing addressed him. He didn't react to her. His slightly widened eyes were staring fixedly at Wei Wuxian. Wen Qing frowned.

"Lan Wangji," she said sharply, raising her voice slightly. Lan Wangji startled slightly before turning to her. "Does he have any severe physical injuries?" Wen Qing continued in a commanding tone. Lan Wangji shook his head no. Wen Qing internally sighed. If his life wasn't in immediate danger then this wouldn't be too complicated.

"Was he conscious or unconscious?" Wen Qing asked next. Lan Wangji seemed to have recovered from his shock rather easily. He was able to focus clearly on her questions and responded concisely.

"Asleep." Lan Wangji replied. Wen Qing nodded. If Wei Wuxian had been having a nightmare when the healer tried to examine him, then it was a wonder they were only thrown out of the room. Even in Burial Mounds, where he trusted all of them, only a handful of people could be the ones to wake him up if he was having a nightmare.

"Talk to him." Wen Qing said firmly. Lan Wangji hesitated then took a step forward, just outside of where the resentful energy was swirling defensively.

"Wei Ying." Lan Wangji spoke softly. Wen Qing watched the movement of the energy in the air, looking carefully for reactions. Until she could see Wei Wuxian's face, this would be the best clue as to whether or not he was actually hearing Lan Wangji. She saw a momentary pause in the movement of the energy, like a stutter. A small tendril of resentment moved hesitantly toward Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji tensed and Wen Qing quickly stopped him from drawing his sword. The resentment that reached toward Lan Wangji hovered like an outstretched hand.

"Don't react violently. If you want him to be calm, then you need to be calm first." Wen Qing said in a soft firm voice standing near Lan Wangji.

"Wei Ying." Lan Wangji's voice was even softer than before. Wen Qing couldn't hold back a sad smile. She hadn't realized the emotions had been here so early. When Lan Wangji came to the Burial Mounds, Wen Qing first saw it. When Lan Wangji spoke out at Koi tower, she had been certain exactly what emotions she saw there. She had never realized that they started so early though.

'Good. A-Ying needs people who love him.' Wen Qing thought to herself. Once the emergency was over she'd need to make sure that idiot figured out Lan Wangji's feelings for him and vice versa.

"L-Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian's voice was so quiet that Wen Qing could scarcely hear the desperate whisper. Lan Wangji reacted without Wen Qing's direction this time. He stepped forward as though the resentful energy wasn't there. As Wen Qing expected, the resentful energy did nothing to him. Ignoring everything, Lan Wangji went to Wei Wuxian's side.

"Wei Ying. I'm here." Lan Wangji spoke softly. A trembling hand gripped his robes and tugged weakly. Without thinking, Lan Wangji pulled Wei Wuxian into his lap. One arm wrapped around Wei Wuxian's waist. The other arm wrapped around his back to gently stroke Wei Wuxian's hair. Wei Wuxian seemed to almost cower in Lan Wangji's embrace. As though he wanted to hide. As though he wanted to disappear. Wen Qing felt like her heart was breaking. She hated seeing one of her siblings in so much pain.

Lan Wangji gently ran his fingers through Wei Wuxian's hair. Each time his fingers lightly scratched Wei Wuxian's scalp, he seemed to relax a little more. Lan Wangji continued the repetitive motion. Fingers lightly scratch the scalp. Comb them gently through the soft hair. He repeated the motion over and over. Wei Wuxian slowly settled in the embrace. As he calmed down, Lan Wangji also felt calmer. Even when Wei Wuxian's breathing became even and steady he didn't stop running his fingers through his hair. It was soothing. Not just for Wei Wuxian, but Lan Wangji found the action of doing this to be calming for himself as well.

Lan Wangji focused all his attention on the person in his arms. The steady heartbeat and soft breaths reassured him. He was still alive. Wei Wuxian was here, in his arms. As long as he was alive, anything else could be dealt with. Lan Wangji was regretting that he ever moved from Wei Wuxian's side. When Wei Wuxian's siblings came they were clearly distraught. Lan Wangji knew he didn't really have any right to Wei Wuxian. So he had stepped back to make way for Wei Wuxian's family. Well if he was being honest he was really doing it for Jiang Yanli. Had it just been Jiang Wanyin, he might not have gotten up despite the familial relationship.

From that point Lan Wangji didn't really understand what had happened. Before either of the Jiang siblings could approach the healer entered to check Wei Wuxian's condition. As soon as they touched him Wei Wuxian was surrounded by resentful energy. The healer had been thrown from the room and the resentment grew so thick that it obscured Lan Wangji's vision. How and why was there so much of it?

"Lan Wangji?" The voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Wen Qing was standing close to him. He looked around to find the room otherwise empty. No people, no resentful energy. Lan Wangji was slightly confused. How long had he been lost in his thoughts? He didn't remember anyone leaving. He turned his attention back to Wen Qing.

"I want to take a look at him while you're holding him. Is that alright with you?" Wen Qing asked calmly. Lan Wangji wasn't sure why she asked him. He didn't have a claim to Wei Wuxian. He didn't have the authority to decide what did or didn't happen with him. Yet, the fact that she asked as though he did eased something inside of Lan Wangji. She was acting like he had every right to agree or refuse her right now. Lots of people behaved respectfully towards him, but Lan Wangji had never felt more respected than he did right now. He hadn't commented before about her change of address for him. He had been too focused on Wei Wuxian to care. Now he found he did not mind the change.

"Mn." He affirmed quietly. Only with his consent did Wen Qing move closer. She gently took hold of one of Wei Wuxian's hands. Her movements were gentle and patient. She waited until Wei Wuxian relaxed his grip before she slowly removed his hand from Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji approved of how much care she was taking with Wei Wuxian. Her every movement was gentle, but efficient.

Wen Qing took great care as she cleaned the small cut on Wei Wuxian's neck. Wen Qing internally shivered. If Lan Wangji hadn't gotten there in time, Wei Wuxian would already be gone. She was too slow when she found herself disoriented. She had even half convinced herself it was all a strange dream. Had Wei Wuxian died before she could talk to him, she would have not been able to forgive herself. Wen Qing carefully applied a thin layer of ointment to the cut before clearing things away. With a deep breath she prepared herself to begin speaking. She would talk with Lan Wangji first. Then she would speak with the rest. Lan Wangji had saved Wei Wuxian's life, and she strongly suspected that for Wei Wuxian to survive the next few years he was going to need Lan Wangji by his side. Where the two boys were at with understanding their own emotions or relationship she could only guess. She opted to begin treating Lan Wangji like her brother in law now. She doubted Wei Wuxian would complain.

"Physically he's quite healthy. Aside from the caning I heard about earlier today and the cut. His pulse is strong and his golden core is healthy," Wen Qing reported calmly.

"The resentful energy?" Lan Wangji asked. Wen Qing felt she was in a very odd place. She knew much and more about Wei Wuxian, but she respected him too much to simply divulge that knowledge at will. She decided to keep her responses factual.

"As far as I can tell it hasn't caused any damage. His spiritual energy is circulating normally." Wen Qing said in a calm even tone.

"Would the song of clarity be helpful?" Lan Wangji asked. Wen Qing considered it.

"It wouldn't do any harm, but I am not sure how helpful it will be." Wen Qing replied with a shrug. "The resentful energy isn't really what I'm worried about." Wen Qing said after some hesitation. Lan Wangji gazed at her. His eyes were very clearly asking her to elaborate. Wen Qing sighed, but honestly she was grateful he was listening. Wei Wuxian had had so much blamed on his demonic cultivation. If he woke up and everyone assumed the resentful energy was the cause of everything things would not go well. More than likely she would find herself struggling to keep him alive through crippling amounts of self depreciation.

"He attempted suicide. It takes a lot of suffering for someone to consider that as an option." Wen Qing said in a quiet tone. She needed everyone to think about that hard. She needed them to not make assumptions about him. She didn't want to watch him struggle with that anymore.

"After I stopped him. He wanted me to kill him." Lan Wangji said softly. He stared intently at the sleeping figure in his arms. He had planned to withhold that part from everyone except his brother. Lan Wangji wasn't sure why, but something about it felt desperate and vulnerable. He didn't want Wei Wuxian to feel violated or exposed by having everything about the event spoken without his consent. For some reason he felt like it was okay to say it right now. He wasn't sure if that was true, or if he just felt like he needed to say it. Lan Wangji was normally used to not sharing things, but such silence had a cost. That sort of silence was painful in a way lan Wangji was very familiar with. Right now he was scared. He was afraid Wei Wuxian would attempt to kill himself. He was afraid Wei Wuxian would complete it before Lan Wangji could stop him. The fact that he tried to have Lan Wangji kill him, created an intense feeling of desperation. It terrified Lan Wangji that Wei Wuxian wanted to die that badly.

"He's alive because of you." Wen Qing said flatly. Lan Wangji raised a skeptical eyebrow. "If he had been with anyone else at the time... he'd be dead. He's used to pretending nothing is wrong around others. He's used to lying to protect people. He's good at both." Wen Qing said in a serious tone. "Few people would have noticed something was wrong. Fewer would have considered what they noticed to be important enough for immediate concern. To do both of those and have the ability to physically stop him." Wen Qing had to pause for a moment. "You might be the only person who meets all those requirements."

Lan Wangji felt lost. Was there really no one else who could have saved Wei Wuxian? So many people loved him. They flocked around him. There had to be more people, better people. Lan Wangji had not even realized anything was wrong before today. Even when something seemed off he had no idea what it was until Subian was already at Wei Wuxian's throat. Wen Qing's voice broke him out of his ruminations.

"Lan Wangji. That he is hurting right now isn't your fault. Don't drag yourself through the mud about not noticing or doing something sooner. If you care about him, and want to be there for him, then do it. Don't let anyone tell you it isn't your place, or someone is better suited." Wen Qing's tone was firm. It held an almost threatening edge to it. The very way she spoke, the words felt like they held a threat daring you to disagree. Wen Qing nodded towards Wei Wuxian.

"You're the one who calmed him down. Your name is the one he called when he was scared. He's sleeping in your arms right now. He trusts you, maybe more than he trusts anyone else. So I do not want to hear you backing down or leaving him, because you don't think you are enough or think someone else can do better." Lan Wangji held Wei Wuxian a little tighter. Lan Wangji had been anxious ever since bringing Wei Wuxian to the infirmary. He had been afraid he wouldn't be able to stay beside Wei Wuxian, not because he didn't want to. It was just, he felt he didn't have the right. Wen Qing's words. He wasn't sure why he needed someone to tell him that he had the right to be there, but he really had. Lan Wangji looked at Wen Qing.

"You care about Wei Ying." Lan Wangji said quietly. Wen Qing's mouth pressed into a firm line. She had scarcely had time to think about who to talk to about the future, if anyone. Still if one person was going to be involved, it would certainly be Lan Wangji.

"Now isn't the time or place for a long explanation. His safety has to come first. For your benefit I will tell you that to me, he is my didi. As dear to me as A-Ning." Wen Qing hesitated. "I'm trusting you with A-Ying. If you intend to leave, do it now. Do it before he feels like he has you. Too many people have left him." Wen Qing said quietly. She still vividly remembered the look in Wei Wuxian's eyes when Jiang Wanyin left. The tears he thought he hid when he couldn't attend Jiang Yanli's wedding. The excitement and intense sorrow when he learned he had a nephew he could never see. His joy when Lan Wangji came to Burial Mounds, and how sad he was when Lan Wangji left. Lan Wangji nodded his head slightly in acknowledgement. Wen Qing sighed. She supposed it wasn't fair to put so much pressure on Lan Wangji. She just desperately wanted someone else to stand up for her adoptive didi. She wanted someone to stay with him who could actually protect him. The list of people she thought could do that was very short.

"Now that he's calm and I've been able to examine him I'll be letting the others back in." Wen Qing spoke, almost like she was warning him. Lan Wangji acknowledged lightly, but his attention was all on Wei Wuxian. Wen Qing smiled a little. Her guilt about putting to much pressure on lan Wangji lessened a bit. Wei Wuxian deserved to have someone focus on him for a change.