"Wei Ying, where did you go off to?"

"Caiyi Town. Wine store. And then an afternoon nap on one of those boats. Why, Lan Zhan?"

"Wei Ying..." And the limp? Would he say he fell off the boat? No, I should come to the point.

"Wei Ying, the Mo Long Hu?" Lan Zhan was curious to know what lie he had prepared now. 

He wasn't disappointed.

"Heard at the wine store. Lan Zhan, you'd never have known if it wasn't for me finding out, right? I keep telling you to hang out at the wine store." Wei Wuxian shook his head, laughing.

Lan Wangji sighed. He decided to ask what was on his mind. "Wei Ying... why are you lying... to me?"

Silence. Initially, all Wei Wuxian could reply with was silence. But then he recovered. Pouting, he retaliated, "Lan Zhan, ah, Lan Zhan, if you hide things from me, why can't I?"

Lan Wangji was dumbstruck. He really had nothing to say. Wei Ying wasn't wrong: Lan Zhan himself had kept secrets, what right did he have to ask Wei Ying to open up? Troubled, he forced his eyes shut, holding on tighter to Wei Ying's slender waist, scolding himself to sleep.

The next day, Lan Wangji was reading books in his study, calm as ever on the outside, but worry flooding the veins within him. Wei Ying had said nothing on the matter of his disappearance, nor of how he heard of the Mo Long Hu's visit to the east, nor why on earth the beast was here in the first place. Wei Ying was hiding something, which wasn't something Lan Wangji could be happy about. He knew too well Wei Ying's love for self-sacrifice and magnetism towards trouble. But what could he do? His husband was his after all — as stubborn as himself...

"Hanguang-Jun? Hanguang-Jun!"

Lan Wangji was pulled back to the world around him when Sizhui and Jingyi came in running, shouting his name.

"Sizhui?" Lan Wangji asked, concerned. His son wouldn't break any rules unless the situation was badly adverse.

"Hanguang-Jun!" The two boys stopped by his desk, falling to their knees with exhaustion, panting. Hanguang-Jun quickly poured some water into two cups — which were brought out of thin air — and handed them. After having gulped the water down, they spoke simultaneously, "Undead corpses."

"What?" Lan Wangji stood up immediately and Bichen instinctively came to his hand. "Where? When?"

"In the jungle just outside Gusu. Right now, Hanguang-Jun. The two of us went to pick up something we left there last night, when crowds of corpses came running at us," Sizhui explained.

"We couldn't fight back, so we flew back on our swords. Hanguang-Jun, there were too many!" Jingyi complained.

Lan Wangji stood up. This had to stop. Before he finds out, he thought, just when he walked in.

"Never mind, Lan Zhan, all done. Jingyi, Sizhui, are you two alright? I saw you running back here. What did you think you were doing going there all alone?" Wei Wuxian was almost shouting at his sons.

"Senior Wei, how did you know?" Clearly, though it was Sizhui who asked, Jingyi and Lan Zhan had the same question.

Still excited from his recent exertion of skill, he twirled Chenqing in his fingers as he replied, "Wen Ning. He told me. There were so many fierce corpses that he needed my help."

Lan Zhan stood flabbergasted at the thought of Wen Ning somehow communicating with his Wei Ying when not even physically closeby, and winced realising his Wei Ying had run headfirst into danger twice [maybe more] so selflessly. So Wei Ying-ly. He imperceptibly shook his head.

Sizhui and Jingyi, on the other hand, noticed something else. "Senior Wei, your robes..." A dark blood talisman was drawn all over Wei Wuxian's robes.

"Oh, that was to draw all those rascals to one spot, don't mind that," he said, quickly rubbing it off, worried by the look of utter horror on his dearest's face.

"Senior Wei, why are there so many fierce corpses? First Lotus Pier, now Gusu?"

Wei Wuxian shook his head, showing he didn't know the answer to the last question. But to the first, Lan Wangji himself said, "Something is attracting them, manipulating them. It was that same thing which attracted the Mo Long Hu here."

"Correct, Lan Zhan. I believe it's an old friend of mine," Wei Wuxian spoke, smiling in a not-so-joyful way.

Suddenly, realisation dawned upon the juniors. What was powerful enough to attract such numbers of fierce corpses except "The Stygian Tiger Seal!"

Wei Wuxian nodded. "Precisely." Seeing Lan Wangji's shocked face, he continued, "Somebody must have let loose the Seal hidden in the guarded tomb. Looks like we haven't gotten rid of every enemy yet..."

Sizhui spoke now, as though understanding everything, "Oh, so Senior Wei, yesterday, when you disappeared, did you go looking for the Seal?"

Humming his appreciation of Sizhui's thinking, Senior Wei replied, "Yes, Sizhui, I sensed my old friend. One moment, it was tugging me, the next, it stopped reacting to me. I think someone took control over it. Alright, alright, now I don't want any of you kids saying this to anyone else, alright? I think only Jin Ling knows among you children, so please, be discreet."

"Jin Ling? Oh, he's a sect leader." Jingyi smirked. "Sure, Senior Wei."

"I told you to call me–?"

The juniors smiled. "Wei-gege! We'll leave then, Wei-gege, Hanguang-Jun." They hugged one and bowed to the other, before leaving.

Hands crossed behind their backs, both fathers watched their son walk away with his friend. After some time, Wei Wuxian broke the silence.

"Lan Zhan, this is what you've been hiding from me too, right?"

"Mn."

"So, Jiang Cheng and Huaisang came here to discuss this with you?"

"Mn–" Lan Zhan looked at Wei Ying with round, questioning eyes, as though asking 'you knew Huaisang came?'

Wei Ying laughed. "The Nie disciples told me on the night hunt. Plus, he was here later at night, too. Lan Zhan, I know why you hid these things, no need to look so sad," Wei Wuxian, said, cupping his husband's drooping face. Remembering something, he smiled. "Lan Zhan?"

"Mn?"

"We should tell Sizhui to stop calling us names and titles, tell him we are his fathers hereafter, make it official, alright? Could you tell him that? You're the one who can always say cheesy things like that with a straight face. I can't, but I'd love to hear it." Wei Wuxian was glowing with hope.

"Mn." Lan Zhan loved the glow. He loved it so much he could bear the desire no more.

"LAN ZHAN! LET GO! LAN ZHAN!"

The Lan disciples and elders watched, trying not to laugh or stare as the Chief Cultivator dragged his wailing husband by the back of his collar towards the Jingshi. Wei Wuxian was throwing up a chaotic tantrum — he had never been more ashamed.

"LAN ZHAN! Where are you taking me?"

"Wei Ying needs a bath." No matter how calm his tone was, Wei Wuxian could only see the pink ears.

He grinned. "Lan Zhan... will you help me? I do have a limp, you know, I can't walk. Oh, and my arm's aching after playing Chenqing so often. Lan Zhan..." 

Wei Wuxian's words were loud enough were all the Lans around to turn scarlet, including the one carrying him. 

"Could you help me bathe?" Wei Ying laughed as Lan Wangji's pink ears turned scorching hot-red, and his pace picked up, almost running to the privacy of the Jingshi.

For the rest of the day, the Yiling Patriarch was rather tired, yet pleased.