Chapter Text
Wei Wuxian let out a shaky breath as he held Chenqing tightly, not enough so it would break, but enough to show his anger. He wasn't afraid to die, but that didn't mean he wanted to die yet. He still had so much to do, he needed to protect and raise A-Yuan and A-Liang.
At the thought of his two children, he couldn't help but feel fear. How could he not? The two were young, one a toddler and the other an infant. He should've gone to Gusu with Lán Wangji, but it was too late know. He couldn't back away.
Accompanied by that thought, he felt anger.
He was losing innocent people to hypocrisy, to lies, just for having the same surname. He was like them, once, but now he knew better. The cultivators are only acting in their best interest, never in others because they were selfish. Apparently that included killing two children.
He hopes that wouldn't happen. He told A-Yuan explicitly to not leave the array of talismans he set up for him. He only hoped that eh would listen and not try to find him and get killed by some asshole.
As for A-Liang... oh his baby... only a month old and yet having to go through this...
Wei Wuxian broke himself out of his reverie as someone raised their sword. He kicked them away and began to play Chenqing once again, the notes that came out of the instrument fierce, yet somewhat calming as the same time.
The fierce corpses kept on fighting and fighting, refusing to stop. He just needed more time for them to escape, to get out. He may not have Wen Qionglin anymore, but he wasn't helpless without his friend.
Then a familiar cry made him freeze.
"A-Xian!"
Oh no...
"A-Xian!"
Please no, not her!
"Shijie..." He whispered. Then he growled as he yelled out, "Don't touch her! Get away from her!"
Some corpses listened. Others did not. Gritting his teeth, Wei Wuxian played a tune for those corpses and had them go away from Jiang Yanli. She ran towards him and skid to a stop.
She didn't have her sword with her.
"Shijie, why..." He shook his head. He needed get her out, "Shijie, you need to run! Run, just go!"
"A-Xian, come back." She says instead of running away, "I can protect you, I—"
A cultivator raised their sword behind him. Wei Wuxian felt Jiang Yanli's hands on his shoulder, attempting to push him away, for her to take the hit herself. But the cultivator was knocked away, revealing Lán Wangji.
Wei Wuxian turned around, looking at him. He knew that he was the man he loved, yet did not visit after ten months after a single night of passion.
"Wei Ying, flute!"
The words registered in his mind before he nodded, putting Chenqing to his lips and playing. Jiang Yanli placed her hands on his, attempting to tug them off to talk to him. But he shook his head and kept on.
Finally, the corpses stopped. Some kept on fighting, but causing minimal damage. Wei Wuxian turned to Lán Wangji and opened his mouth, "Lán Zhan, you need to—" a shout came from Jiang Yanli, who placed her hands on his shoulders once again. Without thinking, he pushes both her and Lán Wangji away.
Perhaps that was a mistake, as a cultivator stabbed him in the back.
Freezing at the sword, Wei Wuxian freed himself and kept the cultivator in the stomach before snapping his neck.
He looked down at the wound in his chest.
He wouldn't survive. Blood was both leaking from his chest and back. The corpses weren't listening to his order, now, they began to fight again without the use of Chenqing to control them.
Wei Wuxian let them. It didn't matter anymore. He was now only concerned for his children— behind a bunch of talismans— oh god oh no—
He didn't register Lán Wangji picking him up and flying away on Bichen as Jiang Yanli looked at them in anguish, as Jiang Wanyin crackled Zidian on his finger.
"Wei Ying, I'm sorry..."
Lán Wangji hated the two last words. Whenever they were together and those words were uttered, it would always be in a horrible circumstance. The times where it wasn't in a horrible place could be counted on one hand. Just like that time, ten months ago in Yiling.
"Wei Ying, come back with me," he begged. Wei Wuxian had refused several times before, but Lán Wangji kept on trying and trying. He just wanted to save the man he loved.
Wei Wuxian was unresponsive, justified considering that he had been stabbed. Lán Wangji had did his bets to clean the wound, to patch it up, but he was no doctor. He was on adrenaline at the moment. He held Wei Wuxian close and began to transfer spiritual energy into him, hoping to prolong his life.
As he pulled away for a moment, Wei Wuxian's eyes shot wide open. He looked around for a bit, then at Lán Wangji. In a panicked voice, he said, "Go, you need to go!"
(It should have been obvious what he meant.)
Lán Wangji froze at the words. Just as he was about to ask why, Wei Wuxian pushed him away, "Lán Zhan, you need to go!"
The tone was frantic, yet Lán Wangji misunderstood. Did that night really mean nothing to him? Or did he not remember?
"Wei Ying, I can't,"
"Lán Zhan, please...!"
"Wei Ying, I—"
"Please..." If they weren't sitting down, Lán Wangji knows that Wei Wuxian would have gotten on his knees, "Go... you need to go... the mounds..."
After they spelt together, after they confessed their love, did Wei Wuxian really forget all of that? If Wei Wuxian wanted him to go, then he would go. He needed to buy more time — more time for Wei Wuxian to live.
"Wei Ying, wait for me."
He grabbed Bichen and flew off, fully intending to be punished.
Although it was fruitless, as a few hours later, Wei Wuxian was declared dead.
As they prepared to raid the Burial Mounds, Yunmeng Jiang stood in their way. They refused to let anyone inside, under the guise of not wanting them to be infected with the craft tricks. Although some know that it is because Jiang Wanyin doesn't want his brothers name to be sullied. Blow after blow after blow from Zidian made them want to give up, but they didn't.
Despite their constant attempts for seven hours, they eventually broke through and began to pillage the mounds. They broke down huts and whatnot, what those 'Wen-Dogs' made.
Lán Xichen, in particular, went into a cave.
Due to his high cultivation level, he was able to see well enough in the dark. As he began to look around in the cave. There was several talismans and notes plastered around, as well as the resistant smell of blood.
One part of the cave had several talismans over it, and they were still active. Wei Wuxian was a powerful cultivator, after all, so ever after death they would be active.
As he stepped forward towards the talismans, he froze. It was a crib, finely made. It had several engravings in the wood, with a blanket wrapped around someone trembling, someone that could not be older then two or three years old.
'No...'
He looked at the position of the arms, and saw that the child was cradling something. Dread began to grow even more inside of Lán Xichen as he lit the room up with a fire talisman, putting away Shuoye. At the sounds the child selflessly wrapped his arms around what he had near his chest.
The child's eyes moved up to him and shined in relief as he threw himself towards Lán Xichen, the blanket coming off to reveal an infant that was no more then a month old.
"Rich-Gege?" The child said, "Rich-Gege, Xian-Gege told me to wait for you so I did! Rich-Gege—" then the eyes showed fear when the spotted Lán Xichen's features. He was always mistaken for his brother at times, so it shouldn't bother him. But it does now, especially when he sees the infant opens his eyes and reveal gold.
Gold.
No, no, no, no.
Lán Wangji didn't even know! It had been ten months since he was forbidden to go to the Burial Mounds.
Lán Xichen had to act quickly, he couldn't let anyone else find out about the two children. So he knelt down until he was at eye-level and said, "You know Wangji?"
"Mhm. Xian-Gege told me to wait for him, so I waited. Are you Rich-Gege's brother?"
"I am." Effectively making him their uncle.
Lán Xichen got up and picked up the child and putting him down, "I'll take you to Wangji, okay?"
"What about Xian-Gege?"
The tightness of his chest made Lán Xichen almost choke, "...We'll get him later."
He hid the two children under his robes and walked, atoning for making them without a father.
As he did, he walked past Jiang Wanyin almost being restrained, yelling at them at how stupid, how foolish they were. As the child clings onto his leg, careful of the infant, Lán Xichen agrees.
When Lán Xichen returns from the Burial Mounds, Lán Wangji refuses to look at him. He refuses to look at his brother, who helped led a siege against the one he loved, against several innocents because of hypocrisy. But he looks when he sees two children, one holding an infant carefully while following behind his brother. The children are wearing Gusu Lán outfits.
He knows the child, Wen Yuan, who looks at him with familiarity. The baby is looking around, confused and scared. Lán Wangji can't help but stop his breath when he sees the colour of the baby's eyes.
Gold. Just like his.
"Wangji," Lán Xichen starts, a slight tremble in his voice, "We... raided the Burial Mounds."
He suppresses a flinch at the icy look that he receives from him.
"There was nothing there to take but these two," Lán Xichen allows Wen Yuan to run towards Lán Wangji, allows the child to sit on the bed, "Wangji... you visited Wei-Gongzi ten months ago."
A nod.
"What did you do with him at that time?"
He remembers Wei Wuxian putting his mouth onto his, remembers pinning him to the cushioned rock in the Demon-Slaughtering Cave, remembers Wei Wuxian arching his back under his touches; remembers how Wei Wuxian shamelessly dug his heel so that he would be deeper inside.
He remembers Wei Wuxian pulling him close, legs wrapped around him as he professes his love.
"Reconciled with Wei Ying," he decides on. He turns towards the baby in Wen Yuan's arms, who talks, "Rich-Gege, where is Xian-Gege? Xian-Gege told me to protect didi, and that he would be back later. But Xian-Gege isn't here."
Lán Xichen closes his eyes, turning around and leaving the Jingshi. Lán Wangji freezes after hearing the question that came out. Finally, he allowed himself a tear to run down.
"Wei Ying... he's gone. I'm sorry, he..." He almost hiccups. Almost. "I..."
"Rich-Gege," Wen Yuan removes an arm and puts it on his back, "Rich-Gege, don't cry." Lán Wangji knows that Wen Yuan is close to tears himself. Ah... Wei Wuxian's selflessness rubbed off of him.
Lán Wantji looks down at the two children. One, a Wen who Wei Wuxian joked that he gave birth too and the infant, which was the product of Dual Cultivation. Both of who that he cares for, that he loves.
He failed Wei Wuxian by letting him die. He won't fail raising their children.
Wen Yuan allows him to hold the infant swaddled in a blanket. The infant is silent, quieting just like Lán Wangji used to — he really is their child. In that instant, Lán Wangji feels himself fall in love.
When he asks for the child's name, Wen Yuan says, "Liang."
Liang, someone who is bright in nature.
Lán Wangji thinks back to the cave where he and Wei Wuxian hid in. He was on adrenaline at the moment, and Wei Wuxian looked so tired. But when he saw Lán Wangji, his eyes shot open in panic as he said, "Go, you need to go!" even as Lán Wangji transferred spiritual energy to him.
Lán Wangji remembers feeling hurt. He remembers wondering where he went wrong. But as he holds the child in his hands with Wen Yuan leaning against him, he knows.
A lie is created. Their mother was a rogue cultivator that died during the siege. It isn't exactly a lie, as Wei Wuxian was a cultivator of the demonic path that did die, but no one needs to know that.
When the elders hear that, they are surprised and confused as to why the marriage was kept a secret. But Lán Xichen knows, and Lán Qiren seems to know whenever he stares at the two children, but treats them nicely.
Wen Yuan and Liang have their surnames changed to Lan. When knows gets out about Lán Wangji's 'wife', there are condolences everywhere, with him not wanting them. Because if he knew that they knew, then whispers would come forth.
("Hanguang-Jun, what a romantic!", "Hanguang-Jun will never stop mourning his wife, will he?", "Lans love once! Of course he won't move on!", "His wife must have been a skilled cultivator.", "Lans... Cold on the outside, passionate inside.")
Knowing that Wei Wuxian was gone made Lán Wangji feel tired almost everyday, the only thing keeping him tied down was their two children. When he saw them, a breath of life would always shoot up him, and he would feel alive.
He will not fail Wei Wuxian again.