Golden eyes yawned open to find themselves staring up at the Jingshi's ceiling.

Huh? I... Wasn't I in a forest?

Lan Wangji slowly sat up and tried to prop himself up on his hands to find a searing pain shoot up his arm. Ah right, the cut... he looked down to find himself entirely bare from his waist upwards, arm wrapped up in a neat bandage.

So neat you didn't need expertise to guess it was Wen Ning's doing.

Frowning in befuddlement, he scooted backwards to rest his back against the pillow and looked around.

Wei Wuxian sat at the table, reading a book, legs crossed and placed up across the table, casually sipping a jar of wine while he read.

"A-Ying?"

Wei Wuxian looked up from the book. Placing it aside, he downed the remnants in the wine jar, swiped the back of his palm along his mouth, and walked forth towards the bed. He sat on the edge, grabbed Lan Zhan's hand and raised his arm up and down, eyebrow raised in a silent question.

"Mn, I'm good. Doesn't pain."

Nodding, Wei Ying threw aside the blanket to point to Lan Zhan's similarly bandaged leg.

"That's fine too– pains a little," he groaned through gritted teeth, when Wei Wuxian barely touched the dressing. Smirking, Wei Ying covered him up, legs and chest, in the blanket, before walking away, tossing the door open and finally opening his sealed mouth. "Lan Hao!" He waved to a boy running around in the distance.

"Master Wei?" Lan Hao hopped up to him and smiled in relief when he saw Lan Wangji sitting up. "Oh, Hanguang-Jun's recovered."

"Go get Wen Ning. Or Yuanhua. Whoever's there. Just to check on him."

"Sure," Lan Hao bowed and walked off again.

Wei Wuxian walked back into the room and sat at the table again, legs crossed, fingertips placed together, waiting.

Lan Wangji was waiting, too. "A-Ying?"

Irrevocable ignorance.

"A-Ying... is this the 'declaring war' you mentioned?"

Not even a nod; silence was the perfect 'yes' on its own.

"A-Ying... I had a concussion, so I lost control... I wouldn't be injured otherwise..."

Wei Wuxian's clasped hands curled up into fists and his head shot up to meet his eyes at the word 'concussion'. Fiery panic ablaze in his eyes, he began pacing up and down the room, impatient.

Lan Yuanhua walked into the room and nodded to them. "How's the situation?"

Wei Wuxian ran to him. "Yuanhua, he just said he had a concussion!"

"Ah?" Lan Yuanhua quickly sat on the bed and checked on Lan Zhan for a while before shaking his head. "He slept for six hours, the effects have worn off. Master Wei," Yuanhua smiled reassuringly. "Your husband is stronger than you fear, so don't worry."

"Which must be why I had to rely on Xiangxiang to save his neck, hmph!" Wei Wuxian crossed his arms and stomped out of the room, waiting outside in the garden for Yuanhua to finish renewing the dressings and checking one last time.

Xiangxiang? Young Mistress Xiao saved me? When?

While Yuanhua wrapped fresh white cloth around his arm and leg, he pondered over the battle. Presence. I did sense a presence... but I recognised it as a threat... right, she's a demoness. Of course, my energy would see her as a threat. But she was there right from the start? Lan Zhan understood what happened and smiled softly.

"Smiling now? Good, because nothing but your smile could calm that frenzied maniac outside right now," Yuanhua laughed. "He'd been worried sick for the past six hours. Wangji, no worries, with the bandages firmly set, you'll be able to go on the night-hunt with Sizhui and the rest today."

"Good, thank you," Lan Zhan inclined his head.

"Try walking."

Having paced up and down a few steps, Lan Wangji got used to the stiffness in the bandage and nodded his assent. Using his better hand to throw a robe around his shoulders, hanging loose, chest still visible, he walked outside to bow goodbye and then walked over to his husband. "A-Ying?"

Wei Wuxian twisted his head away. But the instant he realised Lan Wangji was about to sit down on the grass, despite his leg being injured, he quickly stood, quietly wrapped both hands around his better arm and pulled him back into the house, forced him down onto the bed, and made him sit with the pillow to his back. Just as silently, he picked up a soup bowl nearby, and placed it on the bedside table, nodding to it.

Lan Zhan shrugged. "My arm's injured," he raised his arm to highlight the bandage, perceived the movement was making his lie obvious, and quickly lowered it.

Shaking his head at his husband's despicable fibbing, Wei Wuxian sat beside him on the bed and fed the soup, growling low at the smug grin on Lan Zhan's face as he sipped the soup.

"A-Ying, you sent Xiao Xiang to spy on me?"

Wei Ying rolled his eyes and grumbled, but still remained obstinate enough to not answer.

"Not to spy? Then... what?" Lan Zhan asked. He had to get Wei Ying talking again.

Not that Wei Wuxian would go back on a war declaration! So he raised his hand and drew on the wall, Golden Thread snaking its way along the wall forming characters.

To protect your silly, overconfident, proud, dumb-as-a-duck Lan head!

Lan Wangji chuckled softly, nodding. "I see."

Wei Wuxian grew irritated and shoved a spoonful of soup into his laughing mouth, shutting him up effectively. 

**********

"Hanguang-Jun! Hanguang-Jun's awake!"

"Mn," Lan Wangji nodded when Xiao Xiang ran into the Jingshi. "Thank you for saving me."

"Ah?"

"A-Ying told me you saved me."

"Ah, nothing much at all. Master told me to wait until you really REALLY needed help, and you kept getting up, or I'd have interfered long before any concussion occurred. But Hanguang-Jun, are you really alright now?"

"Mn. All thanks to you."

"Actually, though, I came to apologise..."

"Apologise?" Lan Zhan could see Wei Wuxian smirking as he watered the flowers outside the open door.

"I... You see... When I saw Hanguang-Jun falling, I knew it was time. So I slit the things throat. But then... you were already lifeless when I saw you so... er..." she scratched her nape. "I really am sorry... I had no choice but to c– c– carry you..."

"Ah," Lan Zhan nodded, gulping. Never did he dream a woman would be carrying him, none but his own mother.

"Xiangxiang, you're terrifying him! The only woman who's ever carried him in her arms was Madam Lan!" Wei Wuxian laughed, bending down to place the water bucket aside and walking into the house to change his wet robes.

"AH! I'm so SORRY!" Xiao Xiang began to kowtow and wail in apology. "This is so embarrassing..." she sighed.

"Xiao Xiang, it's alright," Lan Zhan shook his head.

"I hope Hanguang-Jun's not offended?"

"Not at all. Thank you."

"Oh, you're not offended... Thank the Devil," she muttered under her breath and nodded to him.

Lan Wangji's superior hearing caught that and his eyes swelled in horror.

"Oh, sorry, it's our substitute of your 'thank God'," she grinned.

"Mn."

Xiao Xiang sat on the ground and looked between Lan Wangji seated on the bed and Wei Wuxian seated at the table, plucking at Wangji's strings. "Master's learning the zither?"

"He teaches occasionally."

"Oh, then I'll leave–"

"He's not teaching now."

"Uh... Master? Hanguang-Jun? You guys... Erm..." she frowned.

"At war," Wei Wuxian answered curtly, eyes glued to the guqin.

"Oh, I see. Hanguang-Jun looked worried. Hanguang-Jun, don't mind Master's childishness, you should have seen how anxious he was for you to come back safe before all this," she chuckled.

"XIANGXIANG!" Wei Wuxian shouted in a warning voice. "Did you just call me childish?"

"Well, aren't you, Master?" Xiao Xiang grinned. Turning to Lan Wangji, she grinned even wider. "Hanguang-Jun, believe me, Master was ready to send an entire army of demons and corpses–"

"You're asking for a good smack!" Wei Wuxian crimsoned and cried out.

"I'm going, I'm going!" Xiao Xiang laughed. "Oh, looks like Mistress Meilien is calling for me too. See you later!" She waved and vanished out the window.

"What's Little Lien up to..." Wei Wuxian muttered to himself, picking up a piece of paper to write out a short letter to her, asking what she was doing, because he could sense her using demonic cultivation. With the letter done, he snapped his fingers and the paper folded up into a phoenix that fluttered out the window. 

Lan Wangji grinned and watched his husband trying out the zither. "A-Ying... really? A-Ying was worried?"

TWANG! A zither string was pulled on so loud and hard that the echo vibrated through the room, chilling their bones. It shuddered with anger. TWANG! ZING! CLANG!

Lan Zhan interpreted it wonderfully accurately.

'You expect me to not be worried? When you run off into a forest far away, somewhere you've never been before? To fight something that's as heavy as Dafan Mountain? Manipulated by the Qiong Qi? AND YOU ASK ME IF I WAS WORRIED?'

Yes, Lan Wangji had deciphered the guqin code perfectly.

Realising he was on the verge of tearing the strings apart, and that no real melody was being played out of his frustration, Wei Wuxian compressed his hands on the strings to stop the vibrations and marched out of the room to bring the soup. 

**********

The night hunt went well. Lan Wangji was limping, but still fast as ever. But when a normal demonic beast came — curiously, not one under manipulation — Wei Wuxian tied him by the waist to a tree with Golden Thread to their sons' amusement. Together, demonic father and Lan sons defeated the queer and unexpectedly non-green-eyed monster in minutes. Two more similarly regular beasts were tackled swiftly and successfully.

All the time, not once did Wei Wuxian talk to Lan Wangji. The only interactions with him were to trap him in a Golden Thread barrier, and to repeatedly check on him while fighting. He even kept checking his fever while walking.

Sizhui and Jingyi were beyond bemused.

"Daddy, you might as well start talking!"

"Once I declare war, it's over, hmph! One week means one week!"

Oh, a twist of my line? Lan Zhan smirked, speaking through their connection. Speaking of which, let's see if you keep silent through tonight's 'Everyday'.

Wei Wuxian blushed and skipped a few steps forward, ignoring him. 

**********

As a punishment for Lan Zhan, Wei Ying laid a blanket down and slept on the floor that night. 

**********

The next morning, Wei Wuxian was as bright as ever, smiling and talking with his husband as he always did. Lan Zhan felt more than just relieved.

"Oh? What happened to your one week?" Cangse Sanren laughed.

"He got the strictest punishment he could ever get from me last night. No need to torture him anymore."

"Goodness, what punishment?"

"I slept on the floor."

"Hahahahahahahahahaha!" Cangse bent over, roaring with laughter. "Good one! So, Zhan-Er, you're going without him again tonight?"

"Tonight, I don't mind," Wei Wuxian waved his hand. "A-Yuan and Yiyi are greatly skilled, they'll take good care of him."

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Cangse grinned.

"He'll look after them, they'll take care of him. Last night, we didn't come across any green-eyed beasts. I think tonight will be okay."

"Can't tell," Lan Zhan shook his head.

"Why not?"

"They may have plans," Lan Wangji sighed.

"Plans which only you understand but won't tell," Wei Wuxian grumbled.

"Fine, I'll tell."

"Hurray!" Both mother and son clapped excitedly. "What has the intelligent Yin Yue Xian uncovered?"

Lan Wangji took a deep breath. Since when was he this talkative? How easy his more silent life had been.

"Before coming home after the conference, Nie Huaisang told me the enemy seemed to be someone afraid of A-Ying. Afraid to provoke A-Ying. So last night, A-Ying came with us, no strange events. If tonight, we come across a green-eyed beast, with the same team of us except only A-Ying's not there, then that's confirmed."

"Oh... then Yunmeng?"

"They wouldn't have guessed A-Ying will be there. A-Ying and I came there last minute before Meilien and the others left."

"Right!" Wei Wuxian nodded. "And Baipaozixiang?"

"I see a sequence. Wolf in Lanling. Lion in Yunmeng. Spider in Qinghe."

"OH!" Wei Wuxian gasped. "Ox-rhino in Baipaozixiang, which falls under Bailing! LanlingJin, YunmengJiang, QingheNie, BailingOuyang! Four of the five main sects!"

"Mn. Hence my request for you to stay to guard Gusu."

"Oh..." Wei Wuxian nodded. "We might get out Gusu answer tonight?"

"Mn."