THE GAME

Healing Wounds

Lan Xichen paid a visit to his brother at the break of dawn. Lan Wangji was confined in a dungeon at the Cloud Recesses; in a place where daylight never touched. With his status in the Sect, people understood why he was not placed with other inmates at a normal prison.
Xichen put in more effort to convince their father to move Wangji to a better cell and grant permission to take him to the sacred cold springs to help him heal faster. But the Sect Leader was bent on letting his youngest son suffer.

"It was his wish to be punished, let him nurse the pain till those wounds close.", Qinghenjun always replied.

As he peeled off the bandages to let the doctor treat those deep lacerations, Lan Wangji twitched and groaned undertone. His wounds although cleaned constantly oozed out fluids.

" Mother...", Wangji said faintly.
Xichen sat by him and felt up his forehead with a palm.

"His fever is worse than before. You assured that the new drugs would work.", he looked up at the doctor. The first jade had been looking after  Wangji behind his father's back.

The Doctor was formal and experienced. He did not hide the truth from Xichen. Wangji needed something stronger to bear the pain but they had already given him more than enough.

Xichen turns his attention back to his baby brother, wiping the sweat and tears off his face. "Wangji, mother does not have the heart to see you in this state. So you need to fight the suffering and get better."

"Mn.", Wangji agreed.

From his brother's side, Xichen goes back to his resting place. The jade schools his expression as he walks inside. The last thing he needed was to listen to his mate nag.

"Your robes are bloody...", Jiang Cheng folds his arms with a displeased look. The jade ignores his remarks and proceeds to take off his headpiece.

"If you're going to treat his wounds then why bother wearing a new robe? You could have worn a simple shirt and pants.", Jiang Cheng walks to his alpha to help him undress but the jade moves away from him.

"Xichen..."

" I'll take care of it myself.", said the jade.

"Are you blaming me for what happened to your brother?...", the lotus glared.

"Jiang Cheng..."

"Lan Wangji got what he deserved and I stand by it."

"You and your brother will never be satisfied no matter what Wangji does to seek pardon, I know that...Now that he has received a fair share of humiliation and torment, please stop bringing his mistake up with me. Cause I've had it...", Xichen kept his voice low.

"Why are you mad at me?... Hey..."

"You seem to be forgetting that you're a part of Gusu Lan Clan and Wangji is now your family, your brother!!... if you had a heart or was content with his penalty, you'd not be wishing for his death.", Xichen pulled his belt with brute force, threw it on the bed and walked into the bathroom.

Shut down by the upset tone of his husband, Jiang Cheng sits on the bed and sighs. He blows the small hairs that escaped his bun as he thinks of Xichen's words.

Looking for a way to smoothen things over, Wanyin goes to the closet and picks out one of Xichen's favourite outfits. Xichen was distraught about everything and Jiang Cheng realized he needed to tune down his complaints. Lan Wangji was no longer the enemy and he only needed to find it in himself to trust the second jade's motives.

When the bathroom door creaked, Jiang Cheng stood aside with a small frown on his face. Xichen paused when he sees his clothes lying on the bed and briefly looks in the direction of his omega.
Jiang Cheng's frown drops when Xichen shakes his head twice and leaves to get another set of clothes.