In the privacy of the Hanshi, Jiang Cheng kissed his boyfriend freely. This man, whom he had observed in the past, had actually led a lonely life. The handful of friends, some dead (still made him want to unleash Zidian upon their souls) were not enough.

This beautiful soul had been hurt brutally by misplaced trust, and Jiang Cheng vowed in his heart that he would do everything in his power to heal and restore his faith, even a little bit.

XiChen cupped his face, returning the sweetness of his kisses, overwhelmed by this side of the angry lotus. Jiang Cheng had only ever shown him this soft side, a subtle sensitivity that was so rare; he certainly did not go around showing it to anybody else, and he felt humbled by his trust.

The knock on his door had them hastily shuffling away from each other, but XiChen refused to be embarrassed.

"Hanguang Jun has returned." The disciple said, bowing.

"What about my brother?" Jiang Cheng had meant to say it flippantly, but one glance at the paled face of the messenger had him standing up at once.

"What's wrong? Where is Wei Ying!?" Without waiting for an answer, he ran out of the room, closely followed by XiChen.

The moment he saw Lan Zhan carrying an unconscious Wei Ying, he lost it.

"What the hell happened? Why is he like this?" He shouted, visibly upset.

No answer was forthcoming, so he grabbed Lan Zhan's arm.

"Tell me!"

XiChen covered his hand, exuding calmness. He looked at his brother and saw his suffering, knew his brother would be blaming himself. So he took control of the situation.

"WangJi, take Brother Wei inside, I shall call for the healer." He turned to the protesting Jiang Cheng. "Please, come with me for now. WangJi is not yet ready."

Lan Zhan gratefully nodded and took Wei Ying inside, gently placing him on their bed.

Forcefully knocked out, Wei Ying had resumed the calm, peaceful features of deep sleep, no trace of the hurt that had traumatized him.

He was right there, he thought sadly.

Right there, and yet totally helpless. And what had Wei Ying seen, to cause such a bad reaction? Wei Ying was an emotional person, quick to laugh, quick to cry, but this...he had never seen him so heartbroken.

Except when his Shijie had died.

The healer knocked and entered. He checked Wei Ying's pulse, and looked puzzled for a moment.

"Do you want me to wake him?"

Lan Zhan wasn't sure, but decided against it. Wei Ying needed to rest, and if waking brought back those terrible memories, then he would be better able to cope if he wasn't tired as well. Jiang Cheng could wait.

A rush of wind alerted him to the dragon's presence outside.

"My sincerest apologies, Young Master. I did not mean for this to happen." Shen Ling said through their mind connection.

Lan Zhan couldn't help but blame him; he had known about the danger of the knife and his warning was too late. So he stayed silent.

"I will be with my children."

Lan Zhan felt him go. It was late now, and time to rest. He curled up around his husband, offering a quiet physical protection and fell asleep.

*****

He woke up at the sensation of something wet on his chest. Wei Ying had moved closer in the night, his head fully resting on Lan Zhan, loosely hugging him.

Lan Zhan stroked his head, fingers combing his silky locks. They were both awake and he knew Wei Ying would talk when he was ready.

Hours passed by and the wet patch grew as light filtered in through the slightly open window.

"Please don't let me go," he whispered, finally.

"Never."

"I freaked out."

"No matter. I am here for you."

"I-I...want to tell you what I saw, but..." He stopped to take in a deep breath. "I can't stop crying. Why can't I stop crying, Lan Zhan?" He asked, pitifully.

Lan Zhan held him tighter, rubbing circles on his back. "You don't have to tell me anything."

"No, no I should. It's not right that you should also suffer like me, but I have to tell you." He sobbed once more.

"I am strong enough for both of us. Wei Ying should not worry."

Wei Ying kissed his chest, wearily. "Thank you." More deep breaths. "I saw...a group of men, and I think they were more than a clan, maybe even a cult. I'm not sure if what I saw is going to happen, or has already happened but...either way, it is something terrible." He told Lan Zhan everything he had seen, all the details. "Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, I couldn't look away...I mean, well, I couldn't but if I could have, I wouldn't have. It felt like...like if I did, I'd be dishonouring her death. Does that make sense?"

He shuddered. "I felt that knife, Lan Zhan. I felt it."

Lan Zhan was trying to process everything. It was a lot to take in.

"Lan Zhan, did you...do you have that knife?"

"Mn."

"Can you please keep it safe until I find a way we can examine it better without... without the side effects?" That last bit was mumbled.

"Sleep now."

"Hmn."

*****

Loud cursing outside the Jingshi woke them up, Wei Ying jumped out of bed before he was fully awake and at the door.

"What...washup?" He stuttered, squinting at the bright light.

"You!" Jiang Cheng pointed at him, aggression already at a hundred percent.

"Jiang Cheng! What...what are you doing here? Then like a lit candle, he understood. "Oh my! Did you spend the night?" He said, too loudly, cracking up at the reddening face. "You totally did, too! I can't believe it!"

Jiang Cheng wanted a fierce corpse to drag him out of there then, but he remembered why he was angry.

"You have a lot of explaining to do!" He shouted back, changing the conversation. "What happened to you? And why the hell did I see a dragon flying over Cloud Recesses this morning?"

"Shall we have breakfast first?" A pleasant mannered XiChen tried to intervene.

Wei Ying was taken aback at the sudden transformation of his brother, who softened immediately upon hearing his voice.

"Oh boy! You are so whipped!" And then laughed at his own joke. "Zidian...whip...geddit?"

XiChen dragged him away before he could actually use it.