Wei Ying tossed and turned for the third night in a row. He missed Lan Zhan in every way. He missed the way Lan Zhan would curve his body around him while they slept, waking him with soft kisses, providing comfort when the nightmares took over. It was hard to sleep in a bed that felt...empty.

Wen Ning had stayed, standing outside the door while he slept, or tried to. Jin Ling kept him company during the day whenever Jiang Cheng was busy. But he missed the other kids who had returned with Lan Zhan to Cloud Recesses.

It was close to morning anyway, he decided, giving up on trying to rest. He grabbed a towel and dragged an amused Wen Ning with him. Swimming was always an option...

*****

Time passed quickly in the training grounds, watching Jiang Cheng teaching his disciples. Jin Ling sat with him when not training too. The boy was learning to relax around him, Wei Ying thought, happily.

"Want to fight me?" Jiang Cheng offered, wiping the sweat from his face, after a few sessions.

"I'll beat you." Wei Ying grinned. "Are you sure you won't mind? In front of your kids?"

"I'd like to see you try!" He scoffed.

"You're on!"

Wen Ning tossed him Suibian.

The fight was epic. Jiang Cheng aggressively attacked while Wei Ying gracefully dodged, getting a few hits in. They twisted in the air and on the ground, so fast, their robes were a blur of black, red and purple.

All the disciples stopped training to watch the two masters show off their skills. An hour later, a dusty and sweaty Jiang Cheng called it. Wei Ying beamed, twirling Chenqing which had stayed tucked in his belt.

"I told you," he smiled, smugly.

*****

Something was bothering Jin Ling. He would stare at Wei Ying, start to speak and then change his mind. When it happened for the fifth time, Wei Ying lost his patience.

"Jin Ling?" He sat closer to the boy and took his hand. "Just tell me."

"W-what?" Jin Ling struggled to pull his hand away. "I don't know what you mean!"

"Look, you obviously have something to say. I'm just making it easy for you." Wei Ying smiled kindly, trying to reassure him. He waited.

"Well...the thing is, I need your opinion on something." He cautiously looked up at his uncle. "You know, after the Sunshot campaign, Wen Ruohan's treasures ended up mostly seized by the Jin Sect." He paused, thinking. "We found a box, and we don't know what it is."

"And you want me to have a look?" Wei Ying guessed.

"Well, yes. It's warded, and none of us have been able to break it open. There's definitely something inside."

"Of course, I'll help." Wei Ying said warmly, feeling proud his nephew was asking him.

"Instead of just sitting there, why don't you make yourself useful?!" Jiang Cheng tossed a bow to him. "Go and teach. Or something." And pointed behind him.

Wei Ying was just walking to the other side of the training grounds towards the archery arena when there was a loud crack and smoke appeared in front of him. A masked man grabbed his wrist, injected him with something in his neck and disappeared, all within a few seconds. The last thing he heard was Jiang Cheng shouting.

*****

Wei Ying groaned, feeling shaky. The cold wet stone upon which his cheek rested, wasn't helping.
His head hurt when he tried to move. He felt his arms tied behind his back, shoulders aching with the awkward position.

"He's awake, Boss." A rasping voice close to his ear said, lifting his head up by his hair, then dropping it to hit the floor.

It did not help with his headache.

"Open your eyes!"

When he couldn't, he felt a sharp kick to his ribs.

"Now, now. Let's not get excited." Another, smoother voice said.

Wei Ying barely heard them. He was roughly pulled up and slammed against a wall. He heard chains rattling and thought of Wen Ning.

They untied his arms and chained him up.

"What's this?" The smooth voice again.

Wei Ying felt his clenched fist being forced open.

"It's a ring, Boss." The rasping voice supplied, helpfully.

"I can see that!"

They yanked it off with Wei Ying protesting weakly. His eyelids were roughly opened with calloused thumbs.

"I said, open your eyes!"

Another punch in his stomach. He tried to remain silent, just letting out a single breath, painfully.

"We'll come back later when you're ready to cooperate."

This time, they left him with a sharp slap that knocked him out cold.