Wei Wuxian woke up to the smell of soup. "Shijie?"

He sat up, knees crossed, and hastily looked around the room. Where was he? His hands brushed against two pillows, making him look down. One had a beautiful design of lotuses, while the other was plain, but radiated a strong fragrance, which Wei Wuxian realised was all over the room. Sandalwood.

"Oh? Jingshi? Why is my mind all cloudy?" Wei Wuxian muttered, ruffling his head. Wasn't he somewhere else just now? He clutched his head, gripping his fingers into his hair. Shouts. Screams. Swords clashing. Cultivators wailing. Black smoke drifting everywhere. Blood. Shijie's blood.

"Shijie..." He mumbled under his breath, calling out softly.

But amidst all that, one man in white, attacking, clearing Wei Wuxian's way when all others ran to kill him. Whose side was he on? Both? He was attacking. And yet, protecting. What was going on? Wei Wuxian forced himself to remember, digging his fingers into his scalp. White clothes. Jade face. "Lan Zhan!"

The recalling of this one special man brought back everything that happened to him. Scenes of his life flashed by, from Shijie's death, to his own death, to his rebirth, to Jin Ling, to Cloud Recesses, to Jin Guangyao, to A-Yuan, to the hilltop farewell, to the marriage, to the fight at Koi Tower. He stopped at the trip to Dafan Mountain to call back Chenqing, and arriving here by sword. Hm... Why don't I remember beyond getting on Bichen? Must have fallen asleep.

So it was all a dream. Real, but a dream. Wei Wuxian sourly laughed at himself, grinning at his own irony. He got out of bed to stretch, and noticed that his face felt itchy. Bringing his hands to his face, he was shocked by the dampness. Water. Salt. Sweat and tears. Again. He better find a way to stop the nightmares.

Suddenly, terror struck him. Shijie's soup was here, obviously made by his darling. But where was his darling? "Lan Zhan? Lan Zhan!" He kept calling out, searching all around the Jingshi. But Lan Zhan was nowhere to be found.

Wei Wuxian panicked. Of course, he told himself, Lan Zhan would probably have gone to work. Interrogate. Teach. Study. With each idea, Wei Wuxian's mind grew more and more unstable. Lan Zhan had always managed to be there when he woke up, precisely at nine in the morning. He would sit by his side, stroking his hair, waiting to feed the soup while he was sick, or just watching. Why wasn't he here today?

Maybe the nightmare is making me panic. Calm down, Wei Ying, calm down... He thought, stroking his chest. For some reason, Wei Wuxian felt like he was about to lose his life any moment now.

He walked over to the table, hyperventilating, skin growing paler and paler. He breathed in the aroma of the lotus root and pork rib soup. Despite it having very few spices, Wei Wuxian's eyes began to fog up.

"NO!" He shouted to himself. "No, A-Zhan is here somewhere. Study!" He thought, dashing out of the Jingshi.

While he ran to Lan Wangji's study, back in the Jingshi, a breeze toppled over the bowl on the table. The dish crashed, pieces of shattered porcelain scattering everywhere as the soup glided across the wooden floor.

**********

"LAN ZHAN! LAN ZHAN!" Wei Ying cried as he burst into the study and then, the library. Both were empty.

He sprinted over to the Hall, heart pounding, the veins in his ears throbbing as blood filled with adrenaline and terror pulsed through him. "LAN ZHAN!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, bursting through the large doors.

Which was something he usually need not do. Usually, the doors to the Hall would be wide open from when the Lans woke up at five to when they went to sleep at nine. Strangely, for once, they were shut. But of course, this would have been a warning to a more conscious Wei Ying.

Lan Qiren, Lan Xichen, Elders An, Chen and Ning, all stood in the Hall, bewilderment evident on their faces at the dishevelled man in his night robes. "Wei Ying!" Qiren growled.

But Wei Wuxian could hardly care less for his appearance or his Shifu. "Where's Lan Zhan?" he barked.

His words were met with absolute silence.

"Where is Lan Zhan?" He repeated, his voice rising with each syllable. The Elders looked from one to the other, while Lan Qiren and Xichen exchanged glances.

"What do we say?" Elder Ning whispered.

Xichen sighed. "The truth."

Xichen walked towards his didi. "Wuxian-di, you woke up?"

"To a bed without a husband!" Wei Wuxian glared. "Somebody better speak!" No black smoke encased him today since Chenqing was back home, but the glowing red eyes — out of resentment or tears, none knew — were enough to frighten all present.

All except Xichen. Unfazed thanks to his understanding of his brother's good heart, he continued, "Didi, Wangji went on an expedition."

"Went? Or was sent?"

"Well... how did you guess?" He asked with a smile.

"Lan Zhan wouldn't go without me otherwise–" but he did... Why did he? How could he? Without even telling?

Xichen didn't need him to say the doubts aloud. "Wangji was sent on an important task."

"When is he coming back?"

Xichen gaped. Now what? Biting his lip, he turned to Qiren, who hurried forth. "It might take some time, but he'll return soon."

"And how soon is soon?"

Xichen laughed nervously, placed a hand on Wuxian's shoulder and said, "Didi, relax. He'll come back, you know he will."

No, that was the problem. Wei Wuxian didn't know if he will. He had not been willing to let go of Lan Zhan at all, prohibiting him from stepping outside the Cloud Recesses without letting him know. But now what? He didn't know why, but the gulp in his throat wouldn't leave him be.

Wei Wuxian sighed and walked out. These people aren't telling him anything. He better find someone else. With that, he sprinted towards the juniors' rooms.

Meanwhile, back inside the Hall, Elder Chen spoke. "Sect Leader, why didn't you tell him?"

"Sect Leader, you said you'll speak the truth!" Elder An said.

Zewu-Jun sighed heavily. "Well, I didn't lie, did I? Wangji was sent on an expedition. What happened afterwards... Wuxian better not know. For his own safety."

"Wangji, we can get him out somehow. But if Wuxian knew, he'll wreck everything and throw himself into the flames to save Wangji. Do we want to see a riotous Wangji again?" Qiren rhetorically asked the Elders.

Everybody else present shook their heads in silence.

**********

"Rulan! A-Yuan! Yiyi!"

The trio turned to find a wild man running to them. His hair was messed by the wind, his night robes crumpled and almost loose after running. 

"Daddy, what's wrong?" A-Yuan asked.

Wei Ying reached the three and stopped. Without waiting to take a breath, he asked, "Did you three see where Father went?"

"Father?" Jin Ling asked.

"Wasn't Father supposed to have gone on a mission?" Jingyi said.

"Do you all know where?"

"Well, Father went with several seniors, it might be to guard the tomb?" Sizhui suggested.

"No, they won't send Father to do something that lame," Jingyi shook his head.

"Rulan, do you know? Did Jiujiu say anything?"

"Jiujiu... Jiujiu went with Father too, but..."

"But what?" Wei Wuxian screamed.

"Daddy, I wanted to tell you this, but waited till you woke up... Jiujiu came back. He didn't meet me, he went to the Hall, but he came back... alone," Jin Ling ended.

"WHAT?" Jingyi yelled.

Sizhui stared and asked, "Why didn't you tell us?" 

"Jingyi, Sizhui, what difference would it make. It's not like the three of us can go to find Father. We don't know where he is! Daddy?" Rulan looked at Wei Wuxian, who was shaking.

I should go. I should bring him back. Wherever he is, whatever he's doing, he's coming back. To hell with that Rebel Leader! To hell with the rest of the world being in danger! For all I care, it can go down in flames! I am NOT losing A-Zhan... Wei Wuxian's mind buzzed on. It did not pay heed to the slowing pulse, the almost shattered heart, nor did it care about the shocked brain that had gone blank. Wei Wuxian's consciousness was knocked out of him again, as he felt his body sway and fall to the floor. 

Alas, no Lan Zhan to catch me now, he thought with a bitter smile, letting his head crash against the ground.

**********

Far, far away, deep in the verdant valleys, was a hollow hill. Hidden behind many massive trees was a large opening into the heart of the mountain. A rock cave.

For the first few hundred metres into the cave, all was so silent that anyone who discovered it would simply turn back. But two men in black kept walking on, deeper and deeper into the cave. Curiously, further inside, the cave was noisy and bustling. A hundred men, all dressed in dark shades, filled the interior of the deceiving cave, and as the visitors entered, some nodded, some bowed. The two men nodded back, while walking on into the centre of the cave.

Here was a dark room, separated from the rest of the compound by a blood-red curtain blocking its doorway. The two men stopped before the curtain and called out to the man within, "Leader Zhen?"

"Come in!" A harsh voice barked back.

The two pushed aside the curtain and walked in.

Despite being dimly lit, there were a few details that couldn't be mistaken. To a side of the room sat a rock seat that sent off Wen Ruohan vibes. There was no bed: the man here had no wish, — or rather, no peace of mind — to sleep. The place was more of an office than a room. In a corner of the abode was something else, which neither dared to even look at. To another side was a large table carved roughly out of rock, and on it, one of the two men laid a silver tray. "What's there today?" Leader Zhen asked.

"Radish soup. With bread."

"Since when do we have radishes and bread?"

The man smirked. "The loot was rather fine today, Leader Zhen."

The leader laughed. "Good. Very good. Turns out, this Light Bearing Lord here brought along his luck with him!" The leader cackled in malicious glee.

The two men hardly laughed. Gulping, they turned to the something in the corner of the room, from whence a soft growl was coming. In a dull and dark room like this, it was impossible for the eyes to avoid the brilliant figure standing there.

White clothes, once pristine, now covered in dirt... 

Long, silky hair dishevelled and partly covering his face... 

Already stripped of any hair ornaments and all other stunning GusuLan silver... 

Bright, sharp eyes... 

Thin, rosy lips pursed in a constant frown and growl whenever the Rebel Leader spoke... 

Shimmering white jade face flushed in fury...

Lan Wangji had never been more outraged.

"What are you growling at? The great Hanguang-Jun! Can't even get out of a few chains on his own!" Leader Zhen cackled again.

The growling grew louder, deeper. Lan Wangji, for the first time in his life, was being held hostage. Captured. Chained. Tied.

Of course, Hanguang-Jun could easily kill off this crowing leader and get out of here easily: if not for the fact that his feet and hands were tied most cruelly together. Neither could he play Wangji, nor wield Bichen. Nor was he in a mental state capable of focusing his energy to summon either, after days of starving and torture. Even a cultivator's inedia had its limits and Lan Zhan had no idea when he would reach his. He wasn't an immortal yet after all.

For the moment, all he could do was growl at the Leader, while all the time praying Wei Ying wouldn't find out.

While the two lackeys dared not utter a word against Hanguang-Jun yet, the Leader rambled on. "Lan Wangji, ah, Lan Wangji, don't you growl at me! If it wasn't for you daydreaming in the jungle, I couldn't have had the chance to abduct you anyway! You reap what you sow!" The scarred man laughed encore.

Right. What was I thinking? Thinking of A-Ying, but now I've put him in danger. No, Xiongzhang and Jiang Wanyin will take care of him. He'll be alright. He's probably still asleep, so it's fine. He doesn't know. He won't know. Lan Zhan kept convincing himself, trying and failing to calm his heart down. I wonder who makes him the soup now...

The Rebel Leader grinned and chuckled, for Hanguang-Jun was no longer growling. In the place of the ferocious frown on his jade face were now sparkling droplets trickling down.

"Well, well, a crying Hanguang-Jun? Thinking of your soulmate? Ha! What a rare sight! Well, let's see if your so-called soulmate can hear your screams!" He shouted in glee. 

He held out his hand to the men in black. One of them swiftly handed the Leader a terrible item. Smirking as he lifted the object in the air, the Leader slammed it down. A long belt of jet-black snaked across the air, crashing on the noble one's chest. Whip! Whip!

The victim let his tears stream down to his clothes. Lan Zhan was strong: he cried, not out of pain, but out of worry and heartache. A-Ying, please take care. I'll get out of here, but you better be there when I come back.