A bright yellow butterfly fluttered into the Library where Lan Wangji was going through music manuscripts for Jin Ling and Wei Wuxian was still admiring the Qiong Qi's painting, while searching for more on it. "A-Zhan."

"Mn?"

"Letter," Wei Wuxian pointed to the window.

Lan Zhan looked up from his book and reached out to let the butterfly settle on his hand and dissipate.

"What is it?"

"Your sister's here."

"Sister.....? XIAOLIAN?"

"Mn."

"Woohoo!" Wei Wuxian hopped up and rushed outside.

Lan Wangji sighed. Wei Xiaolian was a lovely person now, but he just could not tolerate how Wei Wuxian paid her so much attention... all the time...

Grumbling, he sauntered out of the Library. 

**********

"XIAOLIAN! My darling meimei's back– X– Xiaoqing!"

"Gege, come help, quick!" Wei Xiaolian waved to him at the gate. Wei Wuxian hurried to her and nodded to the guards to let them in. Wei Xiaolian was supporting Chang Xiaoqing the rogue cultivator who returned from Dongying, but who Wei Wuxian remembered as the girl who sent Lan Zhan love letters when younger. 

"I met her outside Gusu, somewhere around Wuxi. Gege, could you help me take her to the Healing Hall?"

"Chang Xiaoqing, what on earth have you gotten yourself into?" Wei Wuxian shook his head, looking up and down the woman leaning on his sister, pale orange robes tainted with blood leaking from her arm and leg. "Tell me whatever you encountered didn't bite off your leg!"

"No, Yingxiong Laozu. Just a scratch... Ahem, ahack!" Wei Wuxian's hackles raised at the bad blood spilling out of her mouth.

"Goodness, come let's go see Yuanhua and Wen Ning fast," he bent down.

"Oi! Don't carry me!"

"Tch, fine then," Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes and nodded to Xiaolian. His sister let go of her friend and stepped aside. Wei Wuxian slung Chang Xiaoqing's better arm over his shoulders and held her by the waist, lifting her a bit off the ground with his increased strength to carry-walk her to the Healing Hall. On the way, he spoke to Xiaolian. "Meimei, what happened?"

"She said she met some beast at the Grand Canal in Wuxi. Bloody thing almost bit her limbs off, apparently."

"When did you find her?"

"It's wonderful, I should say. I happened to come across her in a forest near the said river, she said it was minutes after the battle."

"Xiaoqing, you killed the beast?"

"No, injured it e– enough......... ahack....... Enough for it to retreat."

"Good," Wei Wuxian nodded. "Aqua beast, eh? Allow me to deal with that," he winked and she rolled her eyes through the bleeding. "HEY! Qiang-Er!" Wei Wuxian shouted at the woman walking past.

Wei Xiaolian ran up to her. "Qiang-jiejie!"

"Ah, Xiaolian! What on earth!" Lan Qiang gasped when she saw the bleeding woman.

"Qiang-jiejie, could you notify–"

"Mn," Lan Qiang rushed to the Healing Hall.

**********

Wei Wuxian hurriedly helped Xiaoqing to the Hall to find Lan Yuanhua and Wen Ning both free and available, waiting for them. While they treated her behind closed curtains, Wei Wuxian wiped his brow and sat on another bed, smiling at his sister. "Xiaolian, good that you brought her here."

"Wuxi's quite far from here, but I had to. Terrible state," Wei Xiaolian shuddered.

"Want to change your robes?"

"No, I'll wait till she's up."

Lan Qiang stood at a corner, arms crossed, grinning. "Zhan-ge."

Lan Wangji stood beside her, also watching the whole episode with impeccable amusement. "Mn?"

"Look who's changed."

"Mn," Lan Zhan smirked.

Before this, Wei Wuxian was incredibly jealous of Chang Xiaoqing. Sure, he was Lan Wangji's husband now, but he regretted never having confessed his love or ever written a normal letter, let alone a love letter, to Lan Zhan back then. But this free-spirited woman had. Seeing Lan Zhan still in good terms with her, having tea, chats, all of it since Lan Xichen, Lan Qiang, Lan Wangji and Chang Xiaoqing were good friends, made him a tad too jealous. He was almost unwilling to talk to her back then.

And now? While Lan Wangji watched from the doorstep to the Library, Wei Wuxian had gone as far as carrying Chang Xiaoqing to the Healing Hall, yards away from the gates. Little did he mind the blood drenching his robes. Little did he mind he didn't even know this lady, not even as close as Mianmian was.

"Childishly jealous. Pouting when Zhan-ge paid any attention to Young Mistress Chang. Look at him now," Lan Qiang smiled. "But then..."

"Mn," Lan Zhan nodded, understanding what she meant by the end. "He saw me watching all this while, didn't tell me a word."

"Guess he's still cautious against you being with Young Mistress Chang," Lan Qiang chuckled. "Jealous, yet caring."

"Selfless. As always."

Wei Wuxian caught the conversation in his ears and turned to glance at his husband. Lan Zhan smiled at him. Gentle and loving. Wei Wuxian melted into the smile and nodded back, gifting a bright sunny beam of his own. 

**********

"Well, well, Lan Zhan, funny you decided to let me come!"

"Good for you."

"What is?"

"Tackling this case."

"Why?"

"You're an aqua beast. The Jiaolong is an aqua beast. Fighting it might do you good."

"Oh, I see! Ah, my love, you think so far for me!"

"Mn."

"Why you stuck-up husband, even agreeing to what I said!" Wei Wuxian laughed. "Jiaolong... The hornless scaled dragon." Wei Wuxian recounted the details he knew by memory of the infamous Jiaolong. "Dragons usually have both horns but this guy has only one horn. River-dwelling. No wings but of course, all dragons can fly anyway. Extremely large in size and superior fast swimming skills. Long-scaled body. So it's basically a water dragon, yeah?"

"Mn."

"Cool! Would love to get to fight a dragon right now, let's see who wins," Wei Wuxian grinned and slipped off his outer robe onto Lan Zhan's arm as he approached the line of forests bordering the massive isolated lake that was well covered by a ring of hills, water flowing in and out through the Grand Canal of the Jiangsu province. Having had a good jar of wine at Wuxi, Wei Wuxian felt readier than ever to attack.

"You have to win."

"Alright, alright, I won't leave you alone crying again, don't worry," Wei Wuxian chuckled and kissed him dearly before walking past the trees onto the bank. As thought having sensed the presence of the powerful immortals, the water swirled and a head rose from the waters.

Growling deeply, a thundering grumble rumbling in its throat, the beautiful ultramarine blue creature rose its head out of the sheltering waters and glowered at the two. Single horn protruded from its forehead, gleaming a luminous cyan, orange gills flapping angrily, midnight blue scales gleaming in the sunlight, opening and closing in time with the growls. Wei Wuxian couldn't tell its height from the current view since it still only had itself risen up to its neck, but he could see the head was about six feet on its own.

Needless to say, the entire body would be a minimum of twenty feet...

"A-Zhan, I'll handle this, you stay back. No stepping over this line, hear me?" Wei Wuxian drew a mark on the ground with his foot.

"Mn. Only if you take care."

"I will," Wei Wuxian winked at him and he nodded with relief. Wei Ying walked to the edge of the water and glanced at the monster, pointing to the blood streamed across the banks. "See this? She was a friend!" He snarled, diving in without a trace of hesitation.

A low roar echoed underwater, with a flash of bright golden light that made the Jiaolong flinch and swim a few feet back. Up shot the glamorous Kun Peng, silver eyes ablaze with resolve. Seeing the Winged Kraken was a beast with flight ability, tail flapping on the surface of the water, wings fluttering high up in the air, it decided to show its own height.

Up. Up. Up. Up it rose into the clear blue sky. Up until ultramarine scales clashed with pale sky blue when the thirty-four feet long dragon showed its full self. It didn't even bother to fly, just stuck to the water, its home.

Aren't you a fascinating creature... Wei Wuxian smirked, baring his teeth in a challenge.

A challenge the dragon eagerly accepted.

Crash! Scrrrrick! Gold and blue scales scraped against each other like swords ground together. The Kun Peng dashed across the water, dodging the sharp horn that tended to ram into his body, ducking underwater before resurfacing when the sharp sheen of the white teeth had moved away.

And as if things with the horn and the teeth and the sharp scales weren't enough, turns out, the thing could breathe fire as well.

Out shot fiery blue flames, glowing like lightning crashing into the other beast. Wei Wuxian made use of water's ability to extinguish all flames by diving under the surface when the fire struck. The fight was gong well: so far not a single scale of his was burnt.

Clash! Smack! His tail thwacked the water dragon, sending it hurling backwards under the pressure.

And that's when he saw...

Six huge and round balls, like white dumplings, seated cosily on the grass of the banks, on the wetter marshes, closer to the lake. Each ball was like a white wonton. But a five-feet big wonton...

Eggs.

"A-Zhan!" He roared while the Jiaolong struggled to turn its upturned body the right way round. "It's a dragoness!"

"Ah?" Lan Wangji ogled at him. What in the world was he talking about now?

The Kun Peng that had been all furious and flaming a second ago dropped down to the water and swam across to the Jiaolong. With a light push from his wing, he turned the dragon around. Before it could attack him again, he darted up into the sky and leapt down onto the grass near his husband, in human form, panting.

"A-Ying?"

"A-Zhan..." Wei Wuxian heaved deep breaths to take in all the air he lost while fighting incessantly. "It's a dragoness. She-dragon. The Jiaolong's a she-dragon."

"So what?"

"Aish... such a dunce," Wei Wuxian shook his head and kept his hands on his knees to huff and puff for air.

Seeing the Jiaolong approaching him again, Lan Wangji quickly stood in front of Wei Wuxian, Bichen unsheathed, arms raised in protection.

The she-dragon glared at them both, eyes on fire, warning them against approaching her again.

Lan Wangji's brows furrowed in curiosity. Why wasn't she attacking? They were vulnerable, and Wei Wuxian wasn't in his beast form. Why not attack?

Come to think of it... where were the green eyes?

"A-Ying, eyes?"

"Nope, they weren't green for one second. Bright peanut brown all throughout the fight."

"So she isn't manipulated?" Lan Zhan raised Bichen higher.

"No."

"But Chang Xiaoqing..."

"Xiaoqing never said she saw green eyes, it was our assumption. As for the dragon... She's just being protective." Wei Wuxian tapped Lan Zhan's shoulder. "Hey, no need to be afraid." He kissed him on the cheek to calm him down and stepped forward. 

Without uttering a single word, he gazed up into the light brown eyes.

The she-dragon looked back down at him, her eyes declaring that he was forbidden to cross her territory. Now that Lan Zhan could see clearer, he gasped. The eyes said it all. 

The flames glowing in her eyes, weren't really flames of fury; they weren't really murderous instinct.........

Wei Wuxian rose his left hand to the air, palm facing the dragon. He gazed into her eyes and smiled warmly. Reassuring her. "It's alright. It's just mother's instincts. I get you."

To Lan Zhan's amazement, the beast slowly, warily bent down her head to Wei Ying's level. Wei Ying blinked once slowly, dispelling her fears. She nuzzled her nose against his palm and he beamed at her. "You're a beautiful mother, you know?"

"Mother?" Lan Zhan asked.

"A-Zhan, come here." Wei Ying took his hand and nodded to the dragon. She inclined her head to him too.

"You can talk to her?"

"No, I'm not a true beast, I can't speak dragon-tongue," Wei Wuxian chuckled. "But I understand her. There, she's accepted you now. Come, I'll show you."

Lan Wangji let his husband drag him along the banks, around the lake, to the spot where the dragon had been struggling earlier. He stared in wonder at the six eggs that lay in a cluster on the spot of damp, swampy grass.

"That's what had been going on all this time. Remember? Xiaoqing said a group of villagers had gone to this forest and come to this lake to find a dragon and were nearly killed by the beast? So she went to check? Of course she'd fight fiercely, she wouldn't have seen the eggs. Nobody would have, they're well shielded by this little hill. But look," he pointed to the grass nearby, where blood was strewn so close to where the eggs lay. "Someone must have tried snatching the eggs before. And the villagers who came and complained might have been hunters. No wonder she was ready to kill them."

"Mn," Lan Wangji nodded.

"Don't you think it's wrong to harm her, just because she's doing what you and I would do for our kids?"

"Mn."

"My good darling Hanguang-Jun," Wei Wuxian smiled at him and pecked him on the cheek. "Give me a minute," he rubbed his nose for a while, thinking, before plunging into the water again.

The Kun Peng rose up into the air and flew above them, floating across the blue, searching for something. Satisfied with what he saw, he flew back down onto the grass and transformed. 

"I thought right." 

He spoke this time to both Jiaolong and Lan Wangji. "The inlet to the lake is from the town but the outlet is directly to the sea. So this lake has an inflow of fish and plants from the sea itself. All your aquatic prey come in directly. So you wouldn't mind if I restrict you to stay here, right, Mama Dragon?"

Lan Wangji smiled at his 'Mama Dragon', knowing what he was up to. The Jiaolong stared at him for a while but agreed to whatever purity his eyes portrayed. She bent her head in assent.

"Perfect." 

Wei Wuxian turned around to face the woods, waving his hand and shutting his eyes, fully focussed, drawing out endless strands of Golden Thread, forming a criss-cross, invincible barrier around the lake, starting at the point where the hills closed up around the edge of the lake, enclosing around the river that led to the ocean...... 

all the way around the forest......... 

ending at the point where the forest finished at the tip of the hill range. 

"The Golden Thread barrier will prevent anyone entering into your territory through land, the hills will naturally protect the other side of the lake for you. Nobody can break or pass my Golden Thread," he assured her. "Should you ever need to leave, the sky is your option."

The dragon bowed low in excessive gratitude for his help.

Lan Wangji thought for a good time before patting Wei Wuxian's arm.

"A-Zhan?"

"Could you transform for a minute? A favour."

"Sure," Wei Wuxian shrugged and leapt into the water, reemerging at the banks beside the Jiaolong to wave his fins at his husband.

Lan Zhan nodded and sat cross-legged on the ground, while the two monsters watched keenly. Lan Zhan concentrated his energy out of his core, out through the meridians in his palms, creating a massive ball of bright blue light between his hands: a globe of gentle turquoise radiation. Once it was complete, he stood and walked to the edge of the water, careful to not let his robes get wet. "A-Ying, keep this underwater, on the lakebed by the outlet to the sea."

Wei Wuxian took the ball in his teeth, cautious to not break it, and swam underwater. The Jiaolong and Lan Zhan followed the blue glow of the ball to the river mouth where the stream to the sea met the lake. Once the sphere settled there, firmly held between rocks, dazzling bright, Wei Wuxian reemerged and hopped onto the land on his feet. "Well? What was that?"

"Light ball."

"Light ball?"

"A ball of light, composed purely of spiritual energy. To attract creatures."

"Eh?" Wei Wuxian scratched his wet head, contemplating, while he put on his outer robe held in Lan Zhan's arm. "Oh, you mean the light would draw in aquatic creatures from the sea?"

"Mn. Plants mainly," he explained to the she-dragon. "But you might get animal prey too."

"OOH!" Wei Wuxian clapped happily. "Any water creatures residing in the river would come to the lake! That should bring enough food for you to last your children's lifetimes!" He beamed at her. "That enough, Mama Dragon?"

She bowed to Lan Wangji as well. Both bowed back to her and walked back to where they had been. "Well then, see you some sunny day, Mama Dragon! I'll try to come see you, perhaps? You wouldn't mind?"

She nodded again.

"Oh, and if cultivators or someone comes to harm you... do you have a way of calling for help?"

She swished her tail in affirmation.

"Yay! How?" Wei Wuxian asked, jumping with glee to hear a 'yes'.

Mama Dragon rose her head to the sky and roared. Not a clamorous roar to tremble the heavens, but a strangely gentle one, a sweet sound pealing across the air. Almost a call. Wei Wuxian looked at Lan Wangji, who was frowning.

"A-Zhan, hear anything?"

"Mhm," Lan Wangji shook his head.

"Oh, so only I can hear?" Wei Wuxian nodded to her. "Dragon's call? Lucky that the Kun Peng has a dragon part to it. Then we'll come if you call! Take care! And say hello to the babies for me when they come, will you?" Wei Wuxian waved to her. She bent her head for him to stroke her snout again, and he rubbed his own forehead against hers before smiling and waving goodbye. "Bye, bye, Mama Dragon!"  

"That felt great, darling. We saved a mother! And six dragon cubs!"

"Mn."

"Or is it dragon pups?"

"Hatchlings."

"Oh okay, hehe," Wei Wuxian laughed. "A-Zhan, that light ball, it'll help her a lot for her entire lifetime. Darling, you're such a sweetheart!"

Lan Zhan smiled at him, treading out of the forest. "Think so?"

"Of course, I do!"

"Good to know."

"What's that for?" Wei Wuxian pouted.

"Just... Just know that you don't always have to be jealous about Chang Xiaoqing."

"I... You get pissed about Xiaolian no matter what! You have no right to tell me!"

"I'm not jealous of her. I'm... not empathetic towards her."

"Why not?"

"I won't forget she didn't save you when she could, while you were chained up and tortured."

"A-Zhan.........." Wei Wuxian smiled tenderly. "And I thought you were being jealous again. Fine then, I shall not hold a single grudge against Chang Xiaoqing. I was just angry at myself when I saw her, you know? I couldn't give you letters back then, my stupid brain didn't realise. At least if you let me restart the love-letter-a-month thing?"

"The flowers at the start of each month? No thank you."

"Whyyyyy?"

"Trauma," Lan Wangji curtly answered, coming to a stop outside the forest.

"Tr– Trauma... Oh, the last bouquet... Never mind then."

"A-Ying doesn't have to. Trust me, I never read a single letter from her."

"Really?"

"Mn."

"Then prove it," Wei Wuxian crossed his hands behind his back and stood on tiptoe.

Lan Wangji bent down and kissed him briefly on the lips.

"Good boy," Wei Wuxian grinned and hugged his shoulders. "Can't waste time, I'm tired. Need to– Haaaaa," he yawned. "Sleep."

"Sleeping with Mama?"

"Yes, since it's still two in the evening. You'll be at the Library?"

"Mn." Lan Zhan reached into his sleepy husband's sleeve and brought out a talisman paper. Wei Ying nodded drowsily and took the paper, writing on it with energy, letting it light up with blue fire. 

**********

When they got back, all they said was that the case had been dealt with. And that it was a normal beast, not a manipulated one. The duel of aqua beasts was well-hidden from the world by the couple because they didn't want anyone knowing about their Mama Dragon. 

After paying a visit to Sizhui — who had just been allowed by Wen Ning to remove the bandage on his neck and wore high-collared robes to cover the fang marks — and to Jingyi — Xiyi was on the verge of giving birth anytime soon now, perhaps in a week — both Lan Zhan and Wei Ying walked back, hand in hand, headed to Cangse Sanren's home in Cloud Recesses. Lan Wangji was going to drop him off there and then go to the library.

"A-Zhan, would Mama know about Mama Dragon?"

"She can read minds. No use hiding from her. But also no need to tell, she'll know. And she'll understand."

"She will," Wei Wuxian nodded. "A secret between the three of us, then!"

"Mn."

"Darling, I have the feeling Mama Dragon will be a helpful friend some day."

"Mn."