The girl looked straight at Lan Wangji for precisely one very long minute, in which everyone seemed to suddenly become mute, even Xie Lian could not utter a word, from the pressure alone. Even as a tiny little five years old kid, Wei Wuxian had the confidence of a leader, and no fear whatsoever, which was often the reason why he got into troubles with authorities later in his life. The Wei Wuxian that they all knew was such a troublemaker and nine out of ten, he was the initiator. But his loyalty to his friends and his sense of justice were parts of why he did that. He just couldn't stand to see any injustice, even only the smallest part, and that was what made his friends follow him with unwavering loyalties. It was also one of the traits which attracted Lan Wangji to him like a moth to flame.

She looked around until she met Xie Lian's eyes.

"Xie Lian gege. Where am I? Why do you have so many people in… wherever this place is?" She asked him in a clear childlike voice that she was, with a hint of confusion. She looked so adorable with her beautiful silver eyes and long dark hair. Her adult clothing shrunk to follow her new child shape. It was so fascinating.

Xie Lian gasped and quickly came over to embrace the girl and nuzzled her for precisely three seconds before he was pushed away by the girl, which made him whine in disappointment. 

"Xianxian, mon bébé, please let gege hug you for a minute, gosh you're so cute when you're this small." Xie Lian was still unwilling to let go, and showered her with smooches.

"Okay, ew… now tell me that you did not do something that you're not supposed to do, gege. And who are these people? Why are they looking at me like I'm some kind of a freak?"

First of all, the girl spoke in French, which indicated that it was her mother language. Secondly, her accent was so thick and she spoke at a rapid fire speed, even Lan Wangji had difficulty understanding all the words. And lastly, she seemed to revert back to her five years old self, body and mind, since she wasn't able to recognize her friends and boyfriend.

Lan Wangji was blown out of his mind, he was speechless by this turn of events. And so did the others. It was so unpredictable what would happen next.

"Mon bébé, they all looked at you because you're so beautiful." Xie Lian looked at her eyes. "Gosh, your eyes… they're so… hypnotizing." Xie Lian quickly checked Wei Wuxian's condition and put some extra protection arrays, then he turned to look at Lan Wangji. "He's fine, but like I said, this is probably the side effect of having only half the power source. And no, Xianxian, gege only did what he was supposed to do and these people are our friends, and no, you're not a freak, you're a princess." Xie Lian hugged her again, which she dodged completely this time, making him whine again.

"Dianxia looks like he's having fun." Liu Qingge whispered to Shen Qingqiu, who had a lot of thoughts in his mind. They already had seventeen years old Wei Wuxian, although only physically, and now, this? He wondered if they had to take care of the little girl until she grew up, or should they send her back to Wei Wuxian's parents. And what about Lan Wangji? Ugh, this was all so fucked up. But it was just an ordinary day in Wei Wuxian's household.

Girl Wei Wuxian kept looking at Lan Wangji, then she tilted her head and asked him a question. "Uncle, do you have a daughter my age? You look exactly like the girl I like, my princess, if she was your age. I plan to marry her when I grow up, so, shall I call you papa?"

Shen Qingqiu burst out laughing.

"Oh man, does this mean that we have to raise him up?" 

Well, that was a thought that Lan Wangji never thought he would have. 

"No, guys, this was supposedly just a temporary effect, not permanent. See, because the power source was cut in half, the soul had to work twice as hard, and the result was this. The body reverts back to where the mind was starting to wake up. I think it's to ease the transition, to not burden the mind and the soul. So overall I can say that this is a success!" Xie Lian carried the girl and dumped her into Lan Wangji's embrace. "Congratulations, Lan Wangji! Now you can raise your future spouse and not miss a single moment in her childhood life. Supposedly the memory will come back gradually until he's back at his actual age." Xie Lian winked at him. "And so will his body." Xie Lian sat back on the chair and fanned himself. 

That was a close call.

In fact, he himself didn't even understand why Angel Devourer decided to do… these things. She was supposed to welcome Wei Wuxian's soul, since he was the original owner anyway. Well, she probably just threw a tantrum because she was forced to be separated from Wei Wuxian for a few months, ever since his soul was forced to be extracted by someone with knowledge of arrays as good as him. She would get over it, but they needed to find the other half of the talisman fast. He wondered where Wei Wuxian kept the talisman, since it was his lifeline. He must have known that he was being stalked, for him to separate the whole thing into two. Well, he could ask Wei Wuxian after he got back to his own age, well, to be exact, after Angel Devourer stopped throwing tantrums.

Then he moved to put a stealth array to hide his cousin's soul and prevent another mishap to happen, like someone extracted his soul and imprisoned him in another body. Maybe he should do that to the gangs too, since their opponents were not that simple. He would do it tonight since he had to recuperate first from giving almost all his energy to his cousin to restart the body without the other talisman.

The girl positioned herself comfortably in Lan Wangji's embrace and nuzzled into his neck. Just like when she was in Mo Xuanyu's body. Like a small cat. Guess some things would never change. 

Lan Wangji ruffled the girl's hair awkwardly. He had never been in contact with any children before in his whole life, so, this was a brand new experience for him. And it made him feel like he was pushed headfirst into an unknown abyss. But when he took a whiff of the little girl's baby smell, he felt oddly comforted, and when her flyaway hair tickled his nose, he chuckled.

"Uncle, you smell so good, just like your daughter."

Even when Wei Wuxian was literally a baby, he was such a tease, and it made Lan Wangji laugh. At least some things were not going to change. And suddenly he felt much better. This was his silver lining.

"I will take care of him." 

He probably would have to go shopping for baby clothes and other necessities.

"We will help you." Shen Qingqiu offered him. "I'm curious to see how he will grow his body, and what other things he could do." He tried to temper down his excitement. Baby Wei Wuxian was so cute! Maybe he would design a whole new kids' line this season. Once a muse, always a muse.

Liu Qingge poked Wei Wuxian's baby cheek, which earned him a slap on the hand and a glare.

"Still feisty I see." He grinned and took out a lollipop from his pocket. "Want candy?"

"Qingqing, you're being suspicious as hell. You're gonna get arrested if you act like that in front of the public." Shen Qingqiu snatched the lollipop and opened it, then he gave it to baby Wei Wuxian, who took it and said, "Thank you weird uncles." Then she nestled back on Lan Wangji's neck.

"It's strange how he quickly becomes attached to him, in whatever forms he had." Hua Cheng was observing from afar, next to his Dianxia. He was more interested in his Dianxia rather than other things. "You're doing a great job, Dianxia."

Xie Lian, who was mindlessly observing Wei Wuxian, turned his head to face Hua Cheng, and gave him a smile.

"Thank you, Hua Cheng." His gaze then focused on the eye patch. "What happened to your eye? I was curious, since I detected some… unusual energy from it, if you don't mind me asking."

"Not at all, Dianxia." Hua Cheng took off the patch to reveal his glowing red eyes. "Don't you remember? You helped me with… this sticky situation with my family around fifteen years ago? The devil worshipper cult?"

Something clicked on Xie Lian's mind and he gasped. "That was you? But… hasn't it been that long ago already? You were around Xianxian's age now, right?" He touched the corner of the red eyes. "Do you have any discomfort? Are you doing well?" 

Hua Cheng took Xie Lian's hand and kissed his palm, just like what he wanted to do for so many years, and it made Xie Lian blush by the sudden act of intimacy. Hua Cheng was a very gorgeous man, and he exuded danger and a very masculine pheromone, which he unconsciously spread around and reached Xie Lian's sensory now, making him tremble by its potency. Xie Lian tried to retract his arm weakly, but Hua Cheng held on to it tight. 

"I'm very well, now that I see you, Dianxia." Hua Cheng looked at Xie Lian's eyes directly with his heterochromia eyes, one red and the other was as dark as the abyss. And it was making Xie Lian tremble with some kind of… alien feelings. True, he was always surrounded with many gorgeous men and women, and he paid almost no attention to them, giving his very long lifespan. They all started to look the same after a while. But this man… this man was different. He could not tell exactly what made him different, it was just a… feeling. 

Judging by the murderous aura from Mu Qing behind them, he knew that both of his friends could feel it too, the strange pull that this beautiful man had toward him. But he just couldn't help it. It was like he was hypnotized by those eyes…

Wait…