"Well, well, look who's back!" Wei Wuxian ran to the gates, right into his gege's wide open arms.

"Didi!" Lan Xichen beamed and hugged him, patting his back. "Well? All good?"

"Sure we're good! But I missed gege! A-Zhan missed gege!"

"Oh?" Lan Xichen looked over his shoulder and peeped at Lan Wangji. "Didi?"

Wangji knew this time it was him being addressed. He stepped a foot closer. "Gege?"

"Missed me? You certainly look happy," Xichen couldn't help the big grin on his face.

"I guess," Lan Zhan stoically replied.

"HOW do you even KNOW?" Jiang Cheng sighed. "He's as icy and jaded as ever!"

Xichen shot him a glare that shut him up. He reached out and grabbed Lan Wangji's collar, pulling him into the hug. "You better get used to this," he laughed.

"Right," Wei Wuxian agreed, nodding into the Jades' chests. "Gege's getting more and more hug-prone," Wei Ying chuckled.

"Daddyyyyyyy!" Meilien ran to Jiang Cheng and jumped up, asking for him to carry her.

"Goodness, Meilien, you're twelve now, I can't be carrying you all the time!" Jiang Wanyin complained, while nonetheless picking her up and into his arms. "So? Behaved well? Didn't trouble your uncles and Lan brothers?"

"Sizhui-gege's a bit distressed, Jingyi-gege's busy with Xiyi-jiejie and the unborn child, so I didn't bother them too much. Susu taught me a lot! And Shushu got me this!" She pointed to a new hair ribbon, gleaming amethyst and turquoise strands braided and laced together.

"Pretty," Jiang Cheng nodded and tucked her loose hair behind her ear. "But why's Sizhui distressed?"

"Gege's being weird."

"Sizhui's being weird?"

"No!" Meilien shook her head. "MY gege. Gege's being weird, so Sizhui-gege's distressed. He doesn't know why gege's acting strange."

"A-Ling's being weird? What now..." Jiang Cheng frowned. "I barely get to come back from a decent trip and that brat's gotten himself into some crapload? Aish, I'll deal with him. Hey, A-Xian, know anything?"

"A-Cheng, he's my son," Wei Wuxian chortled and walked to him, while Lan Xichen talked to Wangji about how the sect was doing. "He said he's found something. You know how he banned all modes of prostitution, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, he says he's gotten news of there being a secret brothel in town, the main city of Lanling, dangerously close to Koi Tower too. Scary, how they've got the guts, he says. Said it might be his good-for-nothing Elders. So he's a bit worked up on sorting it out, trying to find the place out with Huaisang's help."

"I know you mean Huaisang's scouts, but..." Jiang Cheng smirked. "You don't need scouts to find a brothel where Huaisang's involved."

"True, he'll find it out himself," Wei Wuxian crowed. "But he's changed after Xuanji now, so..." he shrugged. "Decent and darling Nie-xiong has sent a couple of scouts to help Rulan out. I go there frequently because he just seems so distraught. Would do great if you could, too."

Meilien nodded. "Gege loves his Jiujiu and Daddy equally," she smiled.

Jiang Cheng's mouth opened slightly in wonder and a nearly invisible smile bloomed on his sun-kissed face. "Fine, then."

"Er... Daddy?"

"Yes, Meilien?"

"And Daddy too," she waved her hand to Lan Xichen.

"Yes, angel?" Xichen walked over with Wangji.

"Are you two alright?"

"Huh? Why do you ask, angel?"

"No... It looks like you fought..."

Cough, cough! Wei Wuxian stuffed Lan Zhan's billowing sleeve in his mouth to shut himself up.

Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng didn't get what was going on so they both frowned.

"Meilien, we hardly ever fight, what are you talking about?"

"But... all these wounds..." Meilien ran her fingers over the sore redness along both the tanned neck and the long, snowy neck.

"Exactly," Wei Wuxian nodded, stifling his grin. "Did you two go on a honeymoon or a night hunt?"

Xichen pursed his lips to muffle his chuckles. "Wrestling match," he answered.

Jiang Cheng flushed red and spun around on his foot, marching away with Meilien in his hands.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Wei Wuxian shouted.

"I've a sect to take care of, a nephew to check on," he turned to glower at the laughing Lan Xichen. "And a husband to teach a lesson or two to."

"And hickeys to patch up," Wei Wuxian nodded, making Lan Xichen burst out laughing.

"Shut UP!"

"A-Cheng, quieten down, you're married to Zewu-Jun, maintain the Lan discipline," Wei Wuxian cocked his eyebrow. "So gege's going to Lotus Pier?"

"Mn," Xichen nodded. "I'll stay there. Come here everyday, though. Just like Jin Xiyi does."

"Haha, so much for me thinking Jiang Cheng's Madam Lan! It's you who's Madam Jiang!"

Lan Xichen smiled and waved his Lotus Heart necklace before Wei Wuxian's face. "Of course, I am!" He chuckled, nodded goodbye to Lan Zhan and walked away from the compound to the gates, where Jiang Cheng and Meilien were waiting.

"Hey, A-Xian, how's A-Xuan doing?"

"Spectacular," Wei Wuxian nodded. "He's almost caught up with Little Lien in demonic cultivation."

"Woah," Jiang Cheng gasped. "But I thought you didn't want to teach him until you found some solid thing to help him?"

"True, but I did! My own Golden Feather of Evil."

"Ah, you're a Winged Kraken too," Jiang Wanyin bobbed his head. "But a necklace for him, too?" He scrunched up his nose.

"Hahahaha, no, made it into a ring. Rolled the feather up and gilded it. Looks like a golden Zidian now," Wei Ying smiled.

"Daddy, A-Xuan got a dagger!"

"Really?" Lan Xichen beamed. "Spiritual tool?"

"No, since he has no core. But A-Zhan got him something like Shen Xiuying's dagger. He already has a sword but this is for his ease to carry around. And guess what?" Wei Wuxian turned to Jiang Cheng. "The handle. It's gold and violet."

"Jin and Jiang," Jiang Cheng grinned. Just right for Jin Zixuan. "Suits A-Xuan. Thanks," he nodded to Lan Wangji. 

"Mn," Lan Zhan nodded back.

They chatted for about five minutes at the gates before Jiang Cheng compelled them all to split up because he better get to work. Once the three were gone, Lan Zhan and Wei Ying spun around and walked back inside the compound.

"Well, that's done. At least I get to sleep with you now."

"A-Ying did sleep with me."

"Sure! But where's my 'Everyday' hm? Gone for two whole weeks! Hey, A-Zhan darling," Wei Ying cuddled Lan Zhan's arm into his grasp. "Wanna go back home and have what gege called a wrestling match?"

"Shameless," Lan Zhan smirked and shoved his arm away, marching into the distance.

"Hey! Please? Come on, no working, no Library! Jingshi, now!" Wei Ying tugged on his arm. "At least just be with me at home, just alone time!"

"Boring," Lan Zhan muttered as coldly as he used to back when he was fifteen, and marched on.

"Hmph, grumpy Lan," Wei Ying pouted, still relentlessly tugging on Lan Zhan's arm. "Pretty please, A-Zhan? Darling, come on, don't be a meanie!"

"Fine," Lan Zhan stopped walking. "But I have class."

"Ah? Aish, you have to choose! One, spiritual cultivation class with the Lan kids. Two, dual cultivation class with your Bunny. Come on, choose," Wei Ying pouted, gripping Lan Zhan's sleeve.

Lan Wangji sighed. He looked away from the pouting face and turned his head around, searching. He found the person he was looking for and called to him. "Lan Hao!"

"Hanguang-Jun!" Lan Hao walked up to him. "Can I help?"

"Yes. Take over the sword fighting class with the thirteen-year-olds. I've got some work to do."

"Sure, Hanguang-Jun," Lan Hao bowed, winked to Wei Wuxian and strode away to take over the class.

"Happy?"

Wei Wuxian beamed. "Darling's the best!"

"Now come," Lan Zhan snatched his hand, clasped it tight, and walked back to their home. 

**********

"Is everything ready, Xiaolian?"

"Yes, Qiang-jie. Thank you for being here all these days."

"No need for thanks," Lan Qiang nodded. "Food?"

"Enough for a day. I'll buy some afterwards."

"Water?"

"Check."

"Clothes?" Wen Ning reminded, walking in with a set of freshly sewn robes. "A-Yuan sent these."

"Sizhui's a darling," Wei Xiaolian smiled and accepted the robes. "Yes, that too, check."

"Sword?" Lan Qiang asked.

Xiaolian picked up her sword and slung it into her belt. The sword that Nie Huaisang had gotten for her had a wooden sheath with intricate carvings on it. Quite a lot like her brother's sword. She named it Liming. 'Daybreak'. Because with this sword of hers, she was going to head for a new life. Put her white Wei's core to use for once, raise her own head to the sky. No more blind love. No more depending on her brother and aunt and friends.

The twilight was fading. She would leave at dawn.

New life, new dawn, she smiled to herself as she slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out with Wen Ning and Lan Qiang. She had come to love these two as her closest friends: both were relatively silent, never talkative, never intrusive into the mind. There were times when Wei Xiaolian felt she didn't want to talk to anyone, wanted to be on her own, but would appreciate knowing there was someone seated beside her. Silent and not chatty, just there for her.

Lan Wangji was never the one to spend time with his sister-in-law, he seemed to have some grudge against her, must be something in her forgotten past.

Neither Wei Wuxian nor Cangse Sanren could keep quiet for too long.

But these two certainly could. She'd grown to love them as her own brother and sister.

Out they walked into the compound where her aunt and brother were waiting. She bowed to Cangse Sanren. "Auntie, I'll be going then."

"Xiaolian, when are you coming back?"

"After three months. In February."

"Just in time to have a look at the newborns coming in February," Wei Wuxian smiled and nodded. "You won't be bored then, with Xiyi here, hands full. Qiang-Er would need help."

Wei Xiaolian beamed and nodded. "Sure, gege."

"And be careful, traversing the lands is hard."

"If gege did it, so can I!" Xiaolian pouted.

"Fine, fine, sure you can," Wuxian chuckled and patted her back. "Liming's there, no? Good."

Wei Xiaolian tapped her sword with a nod.

"Take care, Auntie!" Sizhui and Jingyi hugged her. Once all the goodbyes were done, she walked to the gate.

Stopping to look back at them, she waved again. "See you all soon!"

"Come back safe," Lan Zhan nodded. Everyone turned to stare at him. Since when did he even talk to Wei Xiaolian?

Wei Xiaolian knew better. She smiled warmly, nodded and left.

While the others mused over Lan Wangji caring for his sister-in-law at last, Wei Wuxian sighed and grinned. "A-Zhan, even Xiaolian understood you."

"So what?"

"'So what'? A-Zhan... You only said that because you know I'd be broken if she doesn't come back safe. You could have said something less obvious?"

"The only reason I care for her is for you. That's it," he turned around and walked off to the Library. Wei Wuxian shook his head and followed, albeit smiling at his husband's everlasting caring.

Lan Qiang walked with her husband to the Healing Hall. "A-Qiang, how's Xiyi doing?" Wen Ning asked.

"Great," Lan Qiang replied. "Not even the least bit hindered. She's five months through now, but she still sword-fights," she smiled.

"Mn, she's strong," Wen Ning nodded. "And then there's Shen Xiuying, being a fierce Madam Ouyang but also managing trips from Bailing to Caiyi, back and forth. Are pregnant women really not as weak as people say?"

Lan Qiang shrugged. "Maybe not women cultivators? Should ask Cangse Sanren," she shook her head. 

"Are you going to check on Xiyi?" Wen Ning asked when they arrived at the door to the Healing Hall.

"Isn't it early to start work?" Lan Qiang asked, picking up the folded cloak that hung over her arm.

"A bit, but I've got some books to read," Wen Ning lifted his arms, and let his wife put the cloak around him.

"Fine, then," Lan Qiang fixed it and patted it down. "There. Handsome as ever," she smiled.

Wen Ning smiled back, kissing her on the forehead before pushing the door open and walking in.

Lan Qiang turned around and wondered what to do. It was only dawn, around four in the morning, but all sleep had been chased away. Sighing, she pulled out her sword and marched towards the training grounds. Might as well practise, she hummed to herself.

"Hello, Auntie Qiang!" Jingyi and Lan Hao waved when she walked in.

"What are you two doing here?"

"Duelling. Practising," Lan Hao responded.

"Xiyi's still asleep, she's getting up late these days, too tired," Jingyi quickly added before Lan Qiang shooed him out.

"Okay." She slashed her sword at them. "Who's duelling with me?"

**********

A few hours later in the day, a red carriage was bumpily riding down a rocky road through a village when the lady in it requested to stop for a minute.

Ouyang Zizhen waved to the driver to halt. "Xiuying?" Zizhen turned to his wife. "What's the matter?"

Shen Xiuying shook her head. "Bit queasy. The bumping up and down is increasing the morning sickness but, it's fine. Let's just stay for a few minutes, and move on," she clasped his hand, squeezing it to sustain the nausea.

Ouyang Zizhen stroked her back. "Never mind. Let's have some water from the village, hm?" He helped her out and stepped onto the ground, looking around at the village. Luckily, there was a little inn quite close, so he took her into it and asked for some water and refreshing tea. The inn was bustling with talk.

While Shen Xiuying sipped on some water, he tapped the table rhythmically, smiling to himself. "That went well, didn't it?"

"Sure did," Xiuying nodded. "Rulan-ge's eighteen at last. And I love how he didn't hold a grand ceremony. Just a banquet for the few of us, Terrific Ten and seniors. Sweet!"

Satisfied with Jin Ling's short and sweet treat to them, Ouyang Zizhen nodded. "Indeed. And guess what's coming up next? He doesn't even know about it."

"Ah, Sizhui-ge's proposal? But then... they seem to have separated a lot... further and further away... almost like the proposal will never happen..."

"Oh yes, that's true, I saw that too. Sizhui didn't sit right next to Rulan as usual. And he barely talked, left early, too. Tsk, what're they up to now? After all our efforts to bring them together."

"Zizhen dear, don't put too much pressure on them. Rulan-ge seems troubled. The sect issues seem to be getting worse all of a sudden, he looks like he's having a headache every second of the day. And Sizhui-ge's not too different, he's rubbing his head half the time. Let them be. They'll sort it out."

"I hope so," Zizhen nodded and let her have her drink. 

Zizhen looked around, listened to what was going on. Frowning at what he heard, he signalled to a waiter.

"Sir?" The man bent down.

"What's going on? What's all the chatter about?" Zizhen asked. "Did something happen in here?"

"Oh, yes. This young lady who was in the woods, she had been scared to death. She's not dead, knocked out unconscious. Couple days ago. Lass woke up today to say she saw this terrible-looking wolf in the woods, and the sheer sight of it made her collapse."

"What?" Zizhen's eyes swelled. "Know a description of this thing?"

"Is this Young Master a cultivator?"

"Yes," Zizhen nodded, careful to not flaunt his true status. "I'll help if I can."

"Oh why thank heavens! She said it looked like a fiendish spirit, a hellhound. Black fur with this weird red glow. And it had dark eyes flashing a scary red, and blood dripping from its mouth, like it had just had a good meal of fresh flesh."

"Mgh!" Shen Xiuying gulped, slamming her glass of water down on the table.

"Ah?" The waiter sighed. "Apologies, Madam, I spoke as low as I could hoping you wouldn't hear. Sorry for making things worse. Shall I bring some drink? Medicine?"

"No, it's fine," she waved her hand.

"Xiuying?" Zizhen frowned.

"I'm good. But," she swallowed the nausea and looked up. "Doesn't that sound like a demonic beast?"

"True," Zizhen nodded. "Hellhound. Maybe it's a wolf?"

"Precisely, it was," the waiter nodded.

"Hasn't the sect in your area taken action?"

"They've tried tracking the wolf down, chasing it to kill it, combing the forest to find a den or any sort of shelter it could be staying in. But it doesn't seem to live in the forest. There's no signs of it staying there. And it's not there everyday. Only occasionally. And once chased down..." The waited shuddered. "It disappears. Vanishes into thin air."

Zizhen's brows were knotting up tighter and closer. "Fine, thank you for the information. I'll try and help. I know the sect here."

"Thank you, Young Master," the waiter bowed. "It's scary, several people have seen it now, but it keeps fading away. Thank you for offering to help, Young Master, Madam."

Ouyang Zizhen nodded and Shen Xiuying casually gave the waiter a thumbs-up before gulping down the water remaining and walking back to their carriage. "Zizhen dear, are you sending a letter to all the rest?"

"Hmm... I don't know... Maybe not everyone. Not the entire Terrific Ten. I'll send a letter to Sizhui. I have a feeling of what's going on, so no, I can't risk sending the news to everyone. Just Sizhui knowing will be enough, he'll inform Wei-gege and Hanguang-Jun."

Xiuying nodded her assent and the couple got into the carriage, in which Zizhen immediately wrote out a letter and sent it flying to Cloud Recesses.