Once the juniors made an exit, QinghengJun called up his sons and brother for private meeting. Though, Xichen and WangJi had wanted to make some more bonding time with Jiang Siblings, buy they knew, talking out with their father was also important. So they both followed him and their uncle to another room.

Meanwhile in the future timeline....

The juniors had come out of their array room, with a bit of emotional baggage. The things they had witnessed wasn't new to them, but the reactions the past members had, was emotuonally grating. So they went in search of their Wei Quianbei.

Hanshi

Years into the future, this place no longer held the peaceful aura it radiated simultaneous of the first Jade. Now, it held the pain, and shell of a heartbroken man. Until a few days ago, even the serenity of Cloud Recess couldn't mellow down the sadness it radiated. But since the last few days, something had changed slightly, all thanks to Sect Leader Jiang.

At this moment, both the sect leaders were sitting with a cup of tea discussing the miracle that Wei WuXian had created. Though, it wasn't easy for Sect Leader Jiang to break the seclusion of the First Jade. No one knew, what had prompted Zewu Jun to give an audience to Sandu Shengshou of all people, those few days ago. And since then, it's been like a ritual for both of them to sit together at this time and just talk.

When Jiang WanYin had seen Zewu Jun for the time those few days ago, he had literally staggered on his feet for he felt as if the soul had been sucked out of Xichen, and the first thing that came out of his lips was, 'Fuck'!!!

Though he immediately clamped his mouth and began a stuttering apology, somehow, his reaction had set off something in ZeWu-Jun and he bursted out laughing. It was wierd to see the husk of his previous immaculate form, laugh so openly. Jiang WanYin stood there speechless, for he had no more idea why he had come there. It was for the first time, he had seen the unbridled laughter of ZeWu-Jun and ot was no more a mystery why was ranked first in the list of prospective grooms. Even in this state, his laugh was beauty on its own.

A few moments later when they had finally settled at the table, he looked around Hanshi on a clear distaste. Why does a person in Cloud Recess has such a bare room, when he could have at least decorated it with a few trinkets, just to stray away from the sad thoughts for a few hours, was beyond him.

A chuckle in front of him told him, that he had spoken those words out loud. Closing his eyes in frustration, and embarrassment he took a deep breath and opened his mouth to say something when ZeWu-Jun beat him to it, 'To what do I get the pleasure of bringing Sandu Shengshou on my door?'

'Well, try for Wei WuXian being a lunatic and sending information from this point of time to our past selves and almost creating time travel in the process.' Jiang WanYin spoke sarcastically, yet there was a certain vulnerability in his voice, which ZeWu-Jun couldn't miss.

He literally jerked at his place when he heard WanYin speak of his brother-in- law's bew invention. He knew that the boy was genius, but this..... He sighed, 'Aiyah, why do I even get surprised, when he can create a new branch of cultivation, when he can come back after dying, create a fierce corpse with consciousness, literally, i dont think anything is impossible for him. When he could cut out his golden core and give it away, it should be clear....'

Xichen stopped immediately and winced when he remembered, in front of who was he spouting the last fact. It was a sensitive issue for them. He immediately apologized, 'I am sorry Sect Leader Jiang. I... I... meant no disrespect. It's just... (Giving out a frustrating sigh) I don't know what I am doing half the days anymore. I mind has muddled up. Seclusion should help me clear the haze in my mind, by its doing the opposite. And I have no idea what to do anymore....'

Jiang Wanyin who was clenching his fist until now, relaxed, 'ZeWu-Jun, it's fine. Do not apologize for its a fact that my idiot of a brother gave a part of him to me. And to be honest, I had resented him until a few days ago. But now, it has changed.'

Xichen was interested in hearing that, 'Well, if you don't mind me asking, then what changed?'

WanYin sighed, something which he hadn't allowed any outsider to see till now, 'Well, I saw my family alive and healthy. It somehow made me think that if not me, at least they have a chance. A chance that I do not have. But what I do have, is a chance to stop them, especially stop the young me from committing the same mistakes as me. And it's all thanks to Wei WuXian. That idiot may not realize, but he has given a golden chance to everyone just like he gave his golden core to me. (Chuckling mirthlessly) Well, do you know what's the wierd thing in all this is? (He continued without waiting for an answer) Its the fact that the illustrious HanGuang-Jun is with him in his shenanigans. You know, it had always been me with him, when he was upto something. I always had to look after him for he was too careless about himself. But look at the situation no. Though, I had made peace with the fact years ago that my shixiong would leave the sect than burden it, I have nothing to complain.'

Jiang Cheng was still lost in the memories of the day when they staged 'his' defection, when he felt a soft touch on his hand bringing him out of the bad memories. Xichen had a sad smile on his face. And with the way he was wasting away, it was all the more prominent.

'Jiang-zonghzu, to be honest I won't say that I understand your feelings, for it would be a lie because the our relationships with our respective brothers are quiet different. But what I do understand is the fact the we both love our brothers too much. We are worried for then as they don't want to be entangled in politics and go on in doing the right thing, even if it costs them everything. But we are unable to protect them even if we want to be there with them.' Xichen spoke all this I'm a faraway voice. To Jiang Cheng it felt like he was reliving a memory while saying this. He didn't understand as to what must the illustrious HanGuang-Jun have done to gain the ire of sect politics and have ZeWu-Jun so worried.

Seeing him spiraling into the bad memories, Jiang Cheng immediately held his hand which had held him earlier bringing him out of those bad memories. Xichen chuckled, 'You must be thinking what am I babbling away. But no one knows, what I had to witness in this 'righteous' sect of mine. To be honest, if I think back, I had broken down so much during that incident. But for WangJi's sake I never confronted myself. Even these rules gave me no respite. Rather they made me feel suffocated. And I guess that was the first time in my entire life that I had ever questioned the rules.'

Jiang Cheng was damn confused but he didn't interrupt him. He wanted to know, what was it that made him question his sect values, the foundation of this sect. But he waited patiently, but how, it would always be a mystery to him for he was never a patient man.

That day, when Jiang Cheng left Hanshi, his brain was about to explode with all that he had learned today. A facet of Lan Sect which he came to feel disgusted at for it broke a man of ZeWu-Jun's stature so easily. And for the first time in his life he felt that may be HanGuang-Jun wasn't so bad for his shixiong as it is neither easy for, nor is it ever heard of that someone took thirty three lashes of a punishment whip and lived to tell the tale. All for a person whose last words to you were 'get lost', even if he didn't mean it. It wasn't so far of from his shidi giving up his everything for the innocents and ripping out his golden core for a brother who had tried to choke him just a few hours before that.

Well they both were certainly made for each other. In fact, they deserved each other. And he promised himself that, come what may, he would make sure that the younger them wouldn't have to go through so much of pain.

The bunny field

The rabbits which had become an integral part of Cloud Recesses since the time Wei Ying gifted a pair to Lan Zhan. Right now, all those fluff balls were helping Lan Zhan in "torturing his poor husband", in Wei Ying's words.The juniors being herded back to their dormitories just a few moments before, the couple had all the time to themselves. And Wei Ying was very sure by now that his husband was very kinky as opposed to the rumors of repressed Lans, for both his husband and their naughty bunnies were tickling him mercilessly.

'Lan-Lan Zh-Zhan.... stop... ha ha ha... please Ha-Hanguang- HanGuang-Jun pl-please no... okay okay... I won't tease you anymore... ha ha ha...' Wei Ying cried out. It might broken the serenity if, one HanGuang-Jun didn't shut him up with his own.

Lan Zhan kissed him him like there was no tomorrow. His hand soon found purchase in his husband's gorgeous locks and he might have clutched them a bit harder, when his Wei Ying whined into his lips. After a breathless 10 minutes, they both came out for oxygen. But what actually lit his eyes was the bright smile on his husband's face. It was so beautiful that even his soul smiled. No more words were exchanged as their eyes did the talking. Soon Lan Zhan had picked up Wei Ying in his strong arms and off they went to their paradise.

Time bubble...

The Lan delegate hadn't yet made their return from the meeting. And though everyone was worried, they didnt disturb the family. It was a wierd combination of people who were stuck together. But they tried to make the most of it. ZiXuan for his part actually tried getting to know Yanli, who had in turn ropped in Wen Qing into their conversation, for she knew that she was damn worried about her brother. Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng were busy in their own world as he couldn't still face the Wen siblings.

The elders on the other hand were a separate case. The relationships between all of them had soured so much that they didn't know how to make casual conversations anymore. All that remained of their generation was politics. So they stayed put. Jin ZiXun, though had found an ally in Wen Chao and somehow that was expected.

Though, Wen Ruohan didnt show it overtly, but he did want to have an intellectual conversation with the cultivation genius amongst them. But even he was aware that with his infamous reputation, it would be put the boy on his guard. And though it was wise thing to do, but he didn't want anything to interrupt their conversation. Anyways, they had a lot of time on their hands, he could still figure something out.

Soon everyone had a nice dinner and went of to rest and mull over the things that were shown. They all had been full and had no responsibilities or image to hold onto. So they went to sleep without any worries. And that be the very furst time in so many years. They were all tension free. But what they hadn't expected was to be woken up in the middle of the night with a blood curdling scream that sent shivers down their spine, with imagining the cause of it. Everyone ran out of their room in tandem. But the screws hadn't yet quieted down and nobody knew who it was, with so many people running into each other. Only the Jiangs and Lan WangJi could figure out by the end that it was none other than Wei WuXian.

Soon following the Jiangs, they went and stood in front of the room, from where the screaming still continued. But now, it was also mixed with whimpering of 'I am Sorry', 'No', and 'Its paining'.

Jiang Cheng was the first one to recover his wits and immediately stuck the 'unlocking' talisman of Wei Ying's creation which was the only key for unlocking his locked room. Opening the door, they met a sight so broken, that it shook them from the core.

The entire bed was messy, with the bedsheets and quilt, all torn off. Wei Ying on the other hand was a crying mess, who was entangled in a nightmare so deep, that he was still crying and had almost drawn his own blood with all the scratching he had done. The sight literally broke Lan Zhan as much as it terrified him. He had never even imagined in his worst nightmare that Wei Ying who always had the bright and sunny smile stuck on his face, could ever be in such a condition. He wouldn't have believed it, had he not seen it with his own eyes.

Lan Qiren on the other hand felt incredulous. Just what had the boy gone through, to warrant such a nightmare. The others weren't so far off in their thinking. Wasn't he adopted by the Jiangs? Didnt he laugh always? Isnt he a rambunctious little gremlin? He should have had a normal life. What had actually happened to him?

Wen Qing was soon on her feet trying her best to treat Wei Ying and bring him out of the nightmare. Though she had her complaints and misgivings about him. But she was a healer first and she could neglect a patient in front of her who was in so much pain. And also somewhere in her heart, she knew that the bright smile carrying Wei WuXian was not so much of a demon to actually destroy her brother like that.

And even though she tried her best, yet she could only do so much without her spiritual energy. Wei Ying cries were not at all ceasing, instead he had begun whimpering now. They had no clue as to why he was having such a nightmare or eat it actually consist of, but they were surely very worried. The Jiang Siblings had already taken then positions on either side of their brother trying their best to rouse him from the nightmare.

Yanli was caressing his face so tenderly that one could have mistaken her for his mother had it not been for her young age, 'A-Xian... didi... get up. Look everyone is here. You know, A-Cheng is also very worried about you and he crying openly too. He isn't hiding his emotions. Please didi, comeback to us. It's just a nightmare. You are strong. Infact, you are the strongest in the whole world. Please fight for us. Come back didi.'

Her voice had an effect on him, but instead of rousing him from his nightmare, it had resulted in him whimpering her and A-Cheng's name in his sleep. Tears had covered his entire face and he still entangled in the nightmare.

Lan Zhan, who was till now in a state of shock, was immediately pulled our of it by a particularly loud cry from Wei Ying. It just broke his heart all over again. Right then, he was reminded of the fact that he still had his spiritual energy.

'Wen-guniang, I still have my spiritual energy. Will playing 'Clarity' help him.' Lan Zhan spoke the most words till now and that seemed to surprise everyone. But there was no time for it. So she immediately gave him the green light. Soon, he sat their with all the grace, yet one could clearly see the tension in his movements, if they knew what to look for. The first note of his guqin brought the first wave of calm on every member present their. And very soon, his notes had calmed down Wei Ying considerably, sending him to a deep sleep.

Everyone took a sigh of relief and decided to go back to their rooms, except Lan Zhan, who insisted through his eyes to his brother, that he wanted to stay beside Wei Ying, so that he could help him. And of course he was granted his wish. Once they all emptied the room, Lan Zhan sat beside Wei Ying and continued plating his qin.

Next morning.....

As usual, Wei Ying woke up, with absolutely no memories of his nightmare, except feeling immensely tired. He was stretching his limbs when his eyes fell on the Second Jade of Lan and he wad surprised to see him there in a meditative pose. But his tense shoulders gave him away. Wei Ying tried to think of various reasons as to why would Lan WangJi be present in Wei Ying's room. And that's when he remembered bits and pieces of the night before.

To be honest, he was stumped for a moment when he realized that Lan Zhan had stayed with him the entire night. Him helping Wei Ying wad not surprising as he had it in his nature to help someone in need. But him going to such extreme measures as to stay by his side throughout the night, was something be couldn't digest easily. He was lost in his thoughts and kept staring at Lan WangJi. He had thought that the said man hated him for his guts. But.... buy not he really needed to reevaluate his own understanding of the Second Jade.

'Wei Ying', the deep and husky voice of Lan Zhan broke him from his reverie. Seeing the concern in them, he was almost floored. No one apart from his Shijie had ever been so concerned about him. He had neen way too good at hiding his pain.

'Ah... I am fine Lan Zhan. Don't worry about me. But yeah, thankyou for yesterday. You were too good to me. But I am completely fine now. See... (showing off his muscles)' Wei Ying laughed away. But the look he received in return was a clear indication that Lan WangJi was in no way deceived. So he changed his tactics.

Giving his best smile, though every smile of his was breathtaking, he sauntered over to where Lan Zhan was seated. Bending down to his level, he looked straight into his eye, 'Lan-er-gege, are you worried about Xianxian.'

He smirked internally, for he knew that Lan Zhan would be irritated with his coquettish attitude and be was definitely satisfied with the twich that he saw in his eyes. And thus he continued with his tirade. But before long, Lan WangJi decide to get up. But while doing that, they both got entangled with how close they were sitting, lost their balance and fell on the bed together.

It was the closest they had ever been. Their entire bodies seemed to be on fire, somehow, for their lips had brushed together mistakenly. Both had widened their eyes and separated immediately. Lan Zhan excused himself and went away.

In two separate rooms both boys had placed their hand on their respective hearts which was beating so fast that they almost staggered with the feelings. Not really understanding them, they both left it for another day.

Sometime later everyone had come back to the main hall and too and they were for sure giving furtive glances towards Wei WuXian who was smiling as if he hadn't scared the shit out of everyone the previous night.

Not wanting to bring the topic up, everyone avoided direct eye contact with Wei Ying which reminded them of the raw pain they felt the last night. Even Wen Chao and ZiXun had kept their mouth shut. Right then Wen Qing came from her room, strutted straight upto Wei Ying and asked tersely, 'So, how are you this morning? Last night, you surely weren't okay. And I want to believe that Lan-er-gongzi's Calming worked on you.'

Wei Ying was somber at seeing her, as he was reminded as to why he had a nightmare. He now had a very recollection of it. Afterall he witnessed himself turning into a monster against his will and slaughtering innocents and his loved one during his insanity. His screams were those that he wanted to let out trying to stop his own actions. He didn't know, how much of his imagination was true to what happened in the future, but he truly felt sick while being reminded of it.

Wen seemed to have perceived his distress, for she softened her demeanor a bit and said, 'Wei WuXian, I am still angry and I still don't know the entire events of my brother being turned into the Ghost General. But the ones living in the future seemed to advocate for you so fiercely. Also, you being plagued of such nightmares, when you haven't yet committed those actions, is a proof enough that you are not the monster, the perceives you to be. And I, for one, really want to give you a fair chance before decide upon anything else. So stop worrying. We might as well try to understand the future better to prevent those mistakes.'

Forwarding her hand she continued to look at him into his eyes. And a few moments later, he shook her hands letting his sweet smile grace his face.