Lan Zhan was woken from a shallow sleep by a soft knocking on the door of the Jingshi. For a moment, he was confused; his dreams were of a time gone by, filled with an unruly boy who wore a red ribbon in his hair, and whose eyes shone like diamonds.

He hates waking up.

Every time his eyes open, he has to remember that Wei Ying is dead.

The knocking becomes a little louder, and that's when Lan Zhan realises that he is alone in bed.

Where is A-Yuan?

Panic makes him stand up too fast, and he has to wait a moment or two, before the pain washes over him. Through him. It leaves him gasping, and he clutches the bed frame in a desperate attempt to remain upright.

His body is not the same as before; the scars on his back still weep from time to time, and the healers mentioned that they would always hurt. It wasn't called the Discipline Whip for nothing.

The lesson taught is not one meant to be forgotten.

Lan Zhan has proof of their words. His back feels tight, an uncomfortable stretching of skin because it has had to grow back in unfamiliar ways.

But in the strangest way, these physical scars give him a strength he didn't know he had. They are proof that what he felt in his heart was true. That it was worth fighting for.

And yet, they are nothing compared to the scars in his heart.

One foot in front of the other, this is how he reaches the door.

When he opens it, there are two guards who must be on duty tonight, and there is A-Yuan.

He looks terrified.

The relief … It is something Lan Zhan feels he could touch with his fingers.

But he cannot show any tenderness here, not while they are watching.

"This is the third time this week, Hanguang-Jun." One of the guards says.

"Lan SiZhui, come inside." Lan Zhan holds his hand out for the boy. To them, he says, "I will deal with it."

A-Yuan comes inside as he is told to, and Lan Zhan sees that the boy's feet are bare. It is a sad day for the Lan Clan, if their members do not think of picking up a child, because they might hurt their soft feet walking on the hard, rough ground.

He closes the door in their faces because he can, because this is the Jingshi and because, what goes on inside is none of their business.

Lan Zhan picks up his son and places him gently on their bed. Then he takes a bowl of warm water and a clean cloth, and brings them to place on the floor. With great difficulty, Lan Zhan manages to sit on the ground too, but he is sure he will have to get on his knees first, in order to stand up.

Silent tears are falling on the boy's cheeks and every one breaks Lan Zhan’s heart into pieces. The only surprise he has is that it is still a functioning organ.

A-Yuan watches him, as Lan Zhan takes each foot one by one, and cleans it gently. First, the soft pads under each toe, and then the arch of his sole, followed by his tender heels. There is infinite care because this boy is his last link with Wei Ying. This is their child.

A-Yuan is a smart boy.

He knows that when his new father calls him by his new name, he must not question what he is being told. But, when his birth name is used, and it is only in this place that he will use it, the Jingshi, where it is safe, then he can ask his questions, and his new father will try to answer him.

A-Yuan already knows how to live two separate lives.

He watches this quiet man clean the little tiny stones and soil from his feet, and A-Yuan feels bad for leaving without his boots.

"A-Yuan…would you like a hug?" The quiet man asks him.

Moonlight glides into the room, making his golden eyes so much lighter…almost silver. His eyes look soft, and he cares.

A-Yuan jumps off the bed and into his arms. His new A-Die does not ever tell him off. A-Yuan likes this quiet man.

"A-Yuan…?" Lan Zhan knows he has to do something about the boy leaving at night. It isn't safe for him…and he doesn't wish the boy to learn the hard way about punishments. A-Yuan is only six years old and in Lan Zhan’s eyes, he's still very much a baby.

He is a quiet child, but clever and likes to think. It shows in their daily lessons and when Lan Zhan tells him stories at night.

Lan Zhan forces himself to stay on track.

"A-Yuan…where do you go at night?" He asks softly. He trusts that A-Yuan will tell him the truth.

They are quite close as father and son…though perhaps, not as close as his other father was.

But Lan Zhan has to try.

This little body is in his arms and he has to look after him. The soft weight of this child leans against his frame, and Lan Zhan feels his warmth, his little heart beating.

Lan Zhan remembers when he first introduced A-Yuan to the bunnies. The first two that Wei Ying had caught and presented to him as a gift, the black and white ones are thriving, and they seem to attract other bunnies too. They are in the back hills of Cloud Recesses, in a no man's land sort of, surviving in the loophole of no pets allowed here. Technically, they're not pets, they're still wild and Lan Zhan never told them to stay.

This and other small acts of rebellion are what gives him peace these days. He was shown another way of life by the brightest light in the Universe, and he wishes Wei Ying were here to see the changes wrought by him.

It will not do to think of the man who owns his heart, only because that path only leads to unending tears, and he refuses to upset A-Yuan any further.

A-Yuan is silent.

"I will not be upset with you. Please trust me." He coaxes.

Above all, he has taught A-Yuan that the Jingshi is a safe place. He must uphold that rule in order to love this boy.

His face still looks the same as the first time he saw it. Still round and perfect with a tiny dimple in his chin. His eyes are beautiful, silver like the clouds that cross these mountains just before the monsoon season.

A-Yuan nods. His face is open, and trusting. In that, he reminds Lan Zhan of Wei Ying. They share moments all the time, where A-Yuan might not be sitting properly, and he will tilt his head just so. He also taps his nose when he's thinking. This and many other nuances are like a sharp blade piercing his heart, over and over again.

These mannerisms are so much like Wei Ying, unintentionally mimicking the original one…and Lan Zhan is simultaneously ecstatic to see these reminders, and yet…it is a bitter reminder of the truth: that his heart broke three years ago and he is still living with that unimaginable pain.

Two sides of the same coin.

"A-Die…I go to visit the bunnies." A-Yuan tells him.

Lan Zhan knows he isn't lying…but… perhaps, this is not the whole truth.

"But we usually go in the mornings. Why do you go again?"

A-Yuan shifts from one foot to the other, no longer looking at him now.

"A-Die… I have a new friend." A-Yuan finally says, watching him from under his eyelashes.

"A new friend? Doesn't he know about the curfew rule?" Lan Zhan asks.

He wouldn't put it past the guards to catch only one of the rule-breakers, and of course, it would be his son. What of the other child?

He was willing to bet that no other parents were woken up like this, in the middle of the night.

But in spite of any suspected bias, neither he nor A-Yuan is in any position to leave this place, however tempting that might be.

So, for better or worse, this is their bed and they must learn to lay in it.

However, this mysterious friend…Lan Zhan knows he cannot let A-Yuan keep going to meet him like this, especially after curfew.

"How about we tell your new friend that we can't meet after curfew? What about in the afternoon, or…if he is by the bunnies anyway, we can just meet in the morning." Lan Zhan offers.

They are both good compromises.

But A-Yuan is already shaking his head.

"We can't see him then, A-Die. Only at night." He explains patiently, as if Lan Zhan is the one who doesn't understand and needs it spelled out.

"But A-Yuan…it won't be good for us if they catch you after curfew." Lan Zhan says.

A-Yuan's eyes fill with tears.

This is too much.

His heart already hurts; this is pure agony now.

"A-Yuan…it isn't safe." Lan Zhan tries again.

"A-Die…you can come with me!" A-Yuan dashes away his tears, his face now full of excited hope. "Then you can meet my friend. He's nice. He's fun to play with." A-Yuan is so enthusiastic about this, Lan Zhan is already nodding, just relieved that the tears have stopped.

"Alright. We will go together tomorrow." Lan Zhan says, firmly.

He raises himself up on his knees and adjusts to the sudden, sharp bursts of pain until they fade, becoming background noise. He uses the bed to balance this action, a stability he cannot do without, these days.

A-Yuan is watching his progress with big, wide open eyes.

It feels unnerving to be studied so finitely, every tiny movement scrutinised by a six year old.

"We must sleep now." Lan Zhan reminds him.

A-Yuan happily folds his legs under the sheets and waits for Lan Zhan to join him. There is comfort in lying so close together, not only for the warmth, but there is a companionship in their joint missing of one person. A-Yuan might not remember Wei Ying as he was, because when Lan Zhan found him in the Burial Mounds, he was suffering from a life-threatening fever.

His memory was affected and Lan Zhan is scared of making him remember anyone from that time. Not only Wei Ying, but Wen Ning, Wen Qing, PoPo, and Uncle Four, to name but a few. The last members of his family.

All gone now.

There is no one left to carry on that line any more.

A-Yuan burrows into his chest, and Lan Zhan automatically curves around him, his free hand stroking the boy's hair gently, lulling him to sleep.

At least one of them will rest tonight.

***********

The following evening, it is well before curfew when they set out.

Up here in the mountains, it gets darker earlier, especially the closer it gets to winter time.

A-Yuan is already so excited, but content to walk slowly next to his A-Die, holding his hand.

It feels nice, Lan Zhan thinks. This…not being alone.

Not many disciples wander here, and the few cultivators they pass quickly avert their eyes. To them, this is the once great Hanguang-Jun, now fallen from grace.

But Lan Zhan isn't ashamed of anything. He is proud of the marks on his back, and he knows he is extremely fortunate to experience that kind of love. It is a once-in-a-lifetime event, similar to creating pottery. The kiln of love burns brighter than any other fire, and when it is done with that individual, nothing else will stick afterwards.

That love is permanent.

Forever forged with the life force running through that body. Once it connects to the soul, there's no turning back, no change.

So Lan Zhan keeps his gaze forward, looking straight ahead and concentrating on placing his feet, one after the other, with as much grace as he can muster.

The bunnies are in clusters of white, nibbling on the last remnants of green grass until the harshness of the freezing cold kills off anything that can grow.

Years ago, Lan Zhan made a shelter for the bunnies one summer. It's not much, but it is somewhere they can huddle together and ride out the worst of the weather. Lan Zhan comes by with fresh hay whenever he can manage, sometimes enlisting the help of his brother. They change the water and make sure the bunnies are safe and warm.

The bunnies sniff the air and come to greet them, after Lan Zhan manages to sit down. He's not quite on the ground, choosing to sit on the exposed roots of the willow tree, correctly guessing it will be easier to rise from an elevated position.

A-Yuan brings over the black rabbit. This one is slightly bigger than the white ones, but no less friendly.

Lan Zhan thinks it might be his favourite one, but of course, his love has to be equal here.

"Are we early?" Lan Zhan asks, after a while.

"He will come, soon." A-Yuan says, with the confidence of experience.

"Hello, Gege." He says, quite suddenly.

Lan Zhan was not expecting a ghost.

The ghost is also startled to see him, it seems.

All of this is more just a feeling that Lan Zhan gets; there's no actual face to read. There's just a shadowy presence, paler like fog, right next to him.

"A-Yuan…how do you speak to him?" Lan Zhan is just seconds from summoning WangJi and dispatching this ghost.

"Just like we're talking now, A-Die!" A-Yuan giggles.

Lan Zhan senses that the ghost likes it when A-Yuan smiles and laughs; he gets the impression that he, the ghost, has softened immeasurably towards A-Yuan.

So it is not a dangerous being…yet.

Still, Lan Zhan cannot allow this to continue.

But first, he's going to find out as much as he can about whoever this is.

"Who are you?" Lan Zhan asks him.

"I don't remember." The ghost replies, as if this is normal. "The boy calls me Gege…that's a nice name." He says.

"But you know you are a male?" Lan Zhan asks. "Then you must also know that you are dead…can you remember when it happened? Or your family?"

The ghost was shaking his head at that, but when Lan Zhan mentions his family, he feels an incredible sense of sadness. It feels like a black, bottomless well. Deep and never-ending.

"Do you need help to move on?" Lan Zhan asks, trying to ignore A-Yuan's hurt expression.

"I don't think I can." The ghost answers straight away.

There's something familiar about his delivery…but Lan Zhan can't quite put his finger on it.

"What do you mean?" Lan Zhan wants to help him, he realises.

"Well, I get the feeling that this is a recent development." The ghost moves as if he's staring at his hands, or where his hands would be, if he had a solid body.

"You weren't like this before?" Lan Zhan is fascinated.

The ghost moves as if he's shaking his head.

"I am looking for someone." Lan Zhan says. He does not care how desperate he sounds; it's a true reflection of his feelings. His thoughts tumble one after another in a bid to come out and be expressed.

"Who?" The ghost sounds interested, too.

"A man…" At this, Lan Zhan chokes back a sob. He can't help it, because these emotions are too raw.

Three years have passed, and yet he feels the breathtaking devastation as if it happened just minutes ago.

A-Yuan puts his soft hands on Lan Zhan’s knees. There are tears in his eyes, too.

The ghost is waiting for more.

Lan Zhan strives for control.

Deep breaths pass through his lips and eventually, he calms himself. He must be calm, because months of playing Inquiry have been fruitless. This might be his only chance to reach out to his Wei Ying.

If there is even a sliver of hope that this ghost can find Wei Ying for him, then Lan Zhan is going to grab this opportunity with both of his hands.

"The man I am looking for, his name is Wei WuXian, Wei Ying. I must talk to him." Lan Zhan whispers.

"Why?" The ghost seems curious, and otherwise friendly in an off-handed way.

"When he was alive…I should have stayed by his side. Maybe then…maybe then, I could have saved him." There is no point in trying to hold back the tears now.

It doesn't matter if Lan Zhan can't see anymore, there are plenty of images in his head of the man he loves.

"Ah…my friend, if there's one thing I do know, it is that every man is responsible for his own deeds." The ghost is gentle with his words.

"But…why is it that I cannot find him now?" Lan Zhan asks.

The ghost seems to shrug. "I dunno if I can answer that. Are you sure he's dead?"

Lan Zhan glares at this thing…it is powerful enough that the ghost shrinks back, afraid.

"A-Die! You're scaring him. He's a good person!" A-Yuan is distressed and Lan Zhan doesn't want that.

He composes himself first, before attempting to speak again.

"He is dead." He confirms.

Those three words… They are a cage of pain.

"Well, I can't speak of anyone else, but my own situation. I haven't felt this whole in a long, long time. And as for being able to find more like me… I'm afraid I can't help you. I was drawn here." The ghost admits.

"By what?" Lan Zhan asks, sharply. His arm comes around A-Yuan in a protective gesture.

"I couldn't say. But this boy was the first person to talk to me. So I played with him." The ghost sounds happy.

"We played with the bunnies, A-Die! Did you know, the bunnies can see him too, and they're not afraid!" A-Yuan exclaims.

"Really?" Lan Zhan doubts this, but he is willing to put it aside for a smile from his son.

A-Yuan smiles a little bit more these days, but only in the Jingshi, with him.

"What do you play?" He asks.

"Hide and seek." A-Yuan says, enthusiastically.

He sits down and the bunnies come to him, naturally drawn to the hay and sweetcorn in his basket.

"Why do you think you were drawn here?" Lan Zhan persists.

Is he a Lan ancestor? What could be the connection?

"I've been thinking about it too." The ghost says, amicably. "And I think I have an idea."

"Please share with us." Lan Zhan looks over to A-Yuan and smiles.

His boy is happily playing with the fluffy balls of soft cuddly bunnies and isn't paying attention. This is good because Lan Zhan is full of questions, the answers of which his son might not understand.

The floodgates in his mind have opened, and he is anxious, wanting to know everything there is to know about the afterlife, and ghosts.

The library in Cloud Recesses is famous and there are many texts on this subject, but this is straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak. Direct from one who has experience.

"So my theory lies in substances." The ghost says. "There's the solid body, which I've lost somehow, and then there's a mind and a soul. I think what you're looking at is the best visual of my mind-body."

"What is your proof?" There is no tone; Lan Zhan is simply curious.

"I am affected by feelings. They are…concentrated, if that makes sense."

"Can you remember anything of your time when you did have a body?" Lan Zhan asks him.

"No. At the moment, this form is looking for comfort. It is attracted by whatever it perceives as happiness." The ghost looks around. "I feel at peace here. Something made me come to this specific place. Perhaps, you can help me figure this out." He sounds hopeful now.

"In return, I would ask for your help." Lan Zhan tells him.

"Of course…but I cannot do much in this form." It sounds as if he is amused.

"What I require is the passing on of a message." Lan Zhan has made up his mind.

He's convinced that he cannot let this chance go.

"Then alright, that sounds like a deal!" The ghost is so happy, he floats up into the air for a second. "What is your message? And who is it for? I'm going to need more than "a man", you know."

Lan Zhan feels as if he's being teased. But it is easier to tolerate, somehow.

"This person I wish for you to find, do you want a physical description of him?" Lan Zhan says.

"I don't know…do you think it'll help? At this point, I know as much as you." The ghost floats closer.

"Very well then, pay attention." Lan Zhan closes his eyes. "My Wei Ying is as tall as me. He has long, dark hair tied up into a ponytail, because a guan is too fiddly in his opinion. The ribbon…it belonged to his mother, and he once told me that it was the last thing she ever gave him. He's always laughing, or smiling. It is one of my favourite things about him." He can see everything as he describes Wei Ying, as if the man he loves is standing right there. "And his eyes…they are like two diamonds, silver and bright. When he laughs, they light up like the stars in the night sky. He is my match in every way."

"You sound like you love him."

"I do." Lan Zhan’s reply is immediate.

"Did he love you?"

This… This is the crux of the matter.

"I do not know for sure." Lan Zhan says, at last.

"Only because, I think there has to be a connection between you, otherwise how am I to find him? We are a sea of souls, friend."

"I have tried to reach out to him. Without success." Lan Zhan looks at the barely healed callouses on the tips of his fingers.

"We can only try…right?" The ghost sounds more positive than Lan Zhan feels.

"I have to tell him. I need him to know how I feel." Lan Zhan admits.

"What is your message to him?"

"I want him to know…that I am sorry for not being able to tell him how I feel about him. That remains my greatest regret. My opportunities were many…and then my time ran out. I was not able to make him understand. When he died…he was all alone." Bitter tears burn golden eyes.

"Will you play with me now?" A-Yuan says, suddenly.

"Of course I will, little bun." The ghost sounds happy and enthusiastic.

Lan Zhan watches them play chase around the tree trunk, he watches to make sure the ghost doesn't harm A-Yuan as they play. But both of them are having a lot of fun.

A-Yuan's chortling helpless laughter rings out in the night, and it reminds Lan Zhan of another unrestrained laugh.

He had never been able to laugh like that…and to hear it even, was a privilege.

But all good times must come to an end, and when the bunnies drifted away to rest for the night, Lan Zhan realised how late it was.

"A-Yuan, it is time to go home now." He calls out.

"Can Gege come with us?" A-Yuan is out of breath.

Lan Zhan isn't sure how he feels about this.

"I think I'll stay here, little bun. It's a lovely night." The ghost replies quickly, and once again, Lan Zhan is reminded of Wei Ying's mannerisms.

Wei Ying always tried not to be too visible…and how could he not be? He was the only thing Lan Zhan wished to see, wherever they went.

"Will you come back tomorrow night?" A-Yuan asks, eagerly.

"Yes." The ghost says, wrapping around the little boy as if he's hugging him.

A-Yuan's silver eyes are also brighter, as if he truly felt the touch.

*************

The next night is the same.

They come early and this time the ghost is waiting for them.

While they play together, Lan Zhan refrains from interrupting them. He feels vad because this is A-Yuan's friend first…and he doesn't want to take anything away from him.

Only once they are about to retire for the night, then Lan Zhan decides to open his mouth.

"Did you get a chance….to…you know…" he says.

"I tried." The ghost says brightly. "But I can't seem to leave yet. There's something holding me here." He sounds surer.

Lan Zhan thinks his image is a little clearer too, but that might be wishful thinking.

Their time together takes on a kind of routine.

Lan Zhan has never seen A-Yuan so happy before. He's happy about studying too, and listens avidly to whatever Lan Zhan tells him. This, Lan Zhan is sure is a result of him trusting A-Yuan and actually supporting this time with the ghost.

They are keeping it secret for now.

**********

This continues for a week and then one night, Lan Zhan feels a presence inside the library.

It is right next to him, too. And unmistakably, it is the little ghost from the back hills of Cloud Recesses, where the bunnies play.

Lan Zhan is all at once happy and excited. Perhaps, the little ghost has good news.

He does, but it's more for himself, than for Lan Zhan.

"Look! I managed to come here!" He sounds really excited. "Turns out, there are simple wards all around this place."

Lan Zhan turns to look at him. He is still just a shadowy presence, but he still seems a little more substantial than before.

"Did you break the wards?" Lan Zhan is most interested in this.

"Um…yeah, but, but, but they came back after I came in." He's eager to explain.

"And you came straight here?"

"Ahuh, ahuh!" He's nodding as if he's accomplished something major.

And it's kind of cute.

Lan Zhan looks around, but no one has noticed the little ghost.

Just in case, he keeps his voice low.

The Sect sees him in a negative light already, and it wouldn't do to raise the hackles of the Elders. He still has to consider A-Yuan.

So Lan Zhan continues to grade papers.

"That is a significant breakthrough." He praises the little ghost though.

It rubs up against him, and Lan Zhan feels his ears getting hot.

"Shameless!" He says, because it reminded him of another, who also had no respect for his personal space.

The ghost looks hurt, and shrinks into itself.

Lan Zhan feels bad now.

"Why do you think you came here first, though?" It is a distraction, and luckily, the ghost falls for it.

"I didn't do it by myself, you know!" He says, indignantly. "I was pulled here. And, I think it was only the wards which kept me in the field with Little Bun. Where is he, by the way?"

"Lessons. Pulled here, you say? By what?" Lan Zhan is finding this even more odd.

And it supports his theory that this really is a Lan ancestor.

"I don't know." The ghost drapes itself all over Lan Zhan’s desk, preventing him from writing.

On the plus side, it looks like he's reading out loud now.

"All I know is, one second I was flying through the barriers and the next thing I know, I'm here. Now, the next question is, is it the place? Or you?" He gets up and starts floating around.

It's comical to see him trying to read over people's shoulders and get in their way. They have no idea he's there, and Lan Zhan is fighting a smile.

Lan Zhan returns to his work, but his mind is dwelling on everything the ghost told him.

Was it the library? Or him? Why couldn't anyone else see him?

There was no point thinking about this, when his mind was just going round and round in circles.

The ghost follows him out when Lan Zhan returns to the Jingshi.

A-Yuan is absolutely thrilled to have him there, and he doesn't even want to go and visit the bunnies either, which is strange.

It's only after A-Yuan has fallen asleep, that the ghost flits around Lan Zhan’s table, where his guqin rests.

"This seems familiar…." He says. "Can you play me something?"

"Most of the scores I know, they may harm you." Lan Zhan comes and sits next to WangJi anyway, thinking.

There is one song…one song that means more to him than either Empathy or Inquiry.

He hasn't had the heart to play this…in such a long time.

This is WangXian.

The song he wrote for Wei Ying.

His fingers falter as they hover over these well worn strings.

He can sense the curiosity skimming off the ghost…and something makes his fingers move.

These notes…they are more than mere notes. They are pieces of his soul, everything he is put into a musical form. There's a reason why it is said that love rules over every other emotion, because it is so powerful.

It can move mountains if the affected so wished for that.

As the song plays, Lan Zhan feels a change coming over him. His fingers feel lighter, and yet the strength with which the strings are plucked is the same. The notes sing and resonate against the walls of the Jingshi, rebounding to reach right inside his heart. And even after he plays the last note, the echoes of the sound ring loud and true all around him.

"Lan Zhan."

At first, Lan Zhan thinks his mind is wishing for the return of Wei Ying so badly, that those two words came from his imagination.

"Lan Zhan! Open your eyes." The voice belongs to Wei Ying.

His eyes snap open.

It is!

It's Wei Ying!

"How?" His tears are falling and he can't blink them away fast enough.

It is Wei Ying…but it's only the shell of him. Like a drawing that's been erased a few times, his form wasn't clear…but Lan Zhan knew it was him.

"Wei Ying." His name is like a balm on the wounds upon his heart.

"I don't know…" he shrugs but he's smiling. "The more you played, the more I could feel myself. I feel so much stronger now."

Lan Zhan can only look, this time there are happy tears falling from his eyes.

It is definitely his Wei Ying sitting right next to him.

"Can I touch you?" Lan Zhan asks. He is so scared.

When they last parted, it wasn't on the best of terms.

"We can try." Wei Ying sounds…kind.

Lan Zhan places his palms face up on the table in front of them, in the little space that remains not taken up by his guqin.

He can feel how nervous Wei Ying is, in trying to do this for them. Lan Zhan closes his eyes, wanting to pass on any strength he can.

It's light…but it's definitely there.

Lan Zhan is so happy.

This feeling, it's indescribable. His heart feels like it's soaring to some mysterious destination far, far away.

He turns his fingers inwards, so their hands are clasped together.

At last, after three long, gruelling years…Wei Ying is finally here.

"Lan Zhan…what you said…back there, in the field. Did you mean it?" His voice is still as lovely as the first time Lan Zhan heard it.

He's nodding even before his lips can form the right words.

"Every word."

Wei Ying looks as if he's going to cry.

"Really?" He whispers.

"Really." Lan Zhan feels as if he could conquer the world. In direct contrast to Wei Ying, the quieter he becomes, the stronger Lan Zhan feels.

He's ready to shout this from every rooftop.

"Wei Ying…I love you. Not as friends. Let there be no misunderstanding here. I love you and if you feel the same way…I want us to be together. Forever."

Wei Ying is staring back at him as if he can't quite believe these words that are reaching into his ears.

"I have looked at you a million different ways, and I fall in love with you every single time." Lan Zhan says with certainty in his voice.

"But Lan Zhan…I don't remember what happened to me…why am I like this?"

He sounds heartbroken.

"It doesn't matter. We have to find a way…a way for you to come back to me." Lan Zhan is utterly serious.

"There might be a few." Wei Ying admits. "I was investigating the different ways a soul could be brought back…but my mind isn't what it used to be like." He sighs, looking at their joint hands. "Do you ever feel as if you've had enough, Lan Zhan?"

"Every day. But I must be strong for A-Yuan." Lan Zhan confesses. "Otherwise…I would have joined you long ago."

Wei Ying gasps at this.

"Lan Zhan, promise me something!" He sounds urgent. And upset.

"Anything." It is already a vow.

"Promise me that you…you'll wait for me. Don't…don't do anything rash…" his voice is strangled on the last word.

"I will wait…if you promise to come back to me." His golden eyes are blazing.

This is just as serious as a blood oath.

His shape suddenly lights up as if from within. Now it looks like Wei Ying but as if he is standing in front of the sun.

"What's happening?" Lan Zhan cries out. "I just got you back!"

Wei Ying looks incredibly heartbroken. His face crumples and he's barely keeping himself together.

"Wei Ying! DON'T GO!" His shout wakes up A-Yuan from the bed, and he comes running.

"Xian Gege! XIAN GEGE! DON'T GO!" He wails, and it turns to inconsolable screaming.

The lights gets so bright, Lan Zhan has to close his eyes.

He hates it…it is stopping him from seeing his beloved.

"Lan Zhan…A-Yuan…I'll find a way!"

It's the last thing they hear, before the Jingshi is plunged into darkness, now that he is no longer there.

Wei Ying is gone.

But not forever.

One day…..

*************

Lan Zhan is drinking tea when the first notes catch his attention.

The first stanza isn't even finished before he's racing on Bichen to the source.

There's a young man wearing a mask with a flute at his lips, playing their song.

And Lan Zhan knows.

It's Wei Ying.

Somehow, he managed it. Attempt the impossible…indeed.

Lan Zhan's feet take him all the way to him.

His hand grips his wrist and the young man turns to face him.

This might be a different body, but those are Wei Ying’s eyes, shining so brightly with love.

Wei Ying is back.

He kept his promise.

THE END

**************

A/N

Dear Fabulous Readers,

Don't ask me where this came from…all I did was look at a picture on Tumblr. It was of a little boy taking a bunny to Wei Ying and his image wasn't clear. I've been writing nonstop since last night, when the bare bones of this story threw themselves at me.

I hope you like it, and I know it's sadder than my normal stuff, but there's a happy ending!!

I should be packing right now…

Let me know what you think…💙

Charlie.