Chapter 9

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Lan Xichen had been very worried about Wei Wuxian since he opened his eyes this morning. He could not even sleep until the usual waking hour; he had been on his feet way before then today. He started taking care of his duties to distract himself, but his thoughts were returning to his brother all the time.

"I hope Wuxian would not lose his courage and would indeed go to the lectures, he had still seemed very reluctant and nervous yesterday. I have informed uncle so I am sure he would be careful if brother shows up. But there are still so many things which could go wrong even with Wangji and uncle by his side... I am worried about him."

In the end, just when the lectures officially started, he could not wait anymore and decided to check how things were going. With determined and somewhat hurried steps, he headed towards the lecture hall. He knew that he would not be able to see inside since the lectures were already in progress but he would at least be able to hear if anything was amiss.

When he arrived, he immediately saw that something was indeed happening. A guest disciple who he recognized as the Lanling Jin sect heir was leaving the lecture hall in a hurry, accompanied by a Gusu Lan sect disciple which Lan Xichen barely knew, if he was asked, he would not have been able to say his name. Jin Zixuan seemed to have been angered and was stomping loudly, they both headed towards the Library pavilion.

"Oh, I see," understood Lan Xichen immediately, "Jin Zixuan must have done something to anger uncle and now he is going to copy the rules. I only hope that when he had been told to go, uncle had been considerate of Wuxian being present and did not shout as he has a habit of..."

His hopes were not to be fulfilled as not even a second later, Lan Wangji supporting Wei Wuxian came outside of the lecture hall as well. Lan Xichen was immediately alarmed, if his youngest brother needed support and was looking this distressed – there was even blood dripping from his nose! – then surely Lan Qiren's behaviour must have pushed him over the edge. Or perhaps it did not even have to be this, Wei Wuxian could have just snapped on his own, overwhelmed by his anxiety and fears.

Lan Xichen did not think for a second and rushed towards his brothers. He did not even have to ask; he could already see that Wei Wuxian was on a brink of another one of his episodes. It seemed like he was still somehow holding on but it would not last long, Lan Xichen was afraid.

Knowing fully well how to deal with this kind of situation, both older brothers did not hesitate and immediately headed towards the Cold Spring in the back mountains. Since time was of the essence and Wei Wuxian could hardly walk in his condition, Lan Wangji picked him up and cradled his trembling body against his chest. Despite running being forbidden in the Cloud Recesses, they were not far from it as they quickly took one step after another, in hopes they would arrive in time and Wei Wuxian's episode could still be stopped before it started to fully manifest.

Lan Xichen was worrying to no end: "What could have happened? And is Wuxian alright? For now, it seems like it is not the worst case we had seen over the years, but his reaction still is very violent. I can feel his qi all over the place, we need to calm him down as soon as possible, otherwise, I fear that this time we could be too late..."

His pace quickened even more when they left the residential area and went into the forest. No one would see them here but even if someone did, it would not matter, Wei Wuxian's health was of the utmost importance.

After what seemed like an eternity, they have finally arrived to the cold spring. Lan Wangji did not waste any time by undressing himself or his younger brother and plunged immediately into the cold water with Wei Wuxian still in his arms. Lan Xichen quickly took his flute out of his robes and started playing. He was afraid that his music would not be as effective as Lan Wangji's would have been but until Wei Wuxian's qi calmed down a bit, he did not want to risk aggravating his condition if he took Lan Wangji's place.

For one reason or another, Wei Wuxian had always been closer to Lan Wangji than to Lan Xichen. Perhaps it had been the age difference or that they had spent more time together after the death of their mother and became close; either way, during Wei Wuxian's most vulnerable moments, he would not let anyone beside Lan Wangji anywhere near him. If someone accidently approached him, he would only panic more.

So for now, Lan Xichen had to content himself with helplessly watching Lan Wangji cradling their brother in his arms while he could only play his flute, not entirely sure he was actually helping.

After several minutes, Wei Wuxian finally started to look better. The violent trembling of his body now became only an occasional shiver and his nose-bleed stopped as well. His breathing was becoming more and more even and Lan Xichen could also feel his qi calming down and starting to circulate properly again. He however did not dare to ease in his efforts, continuing to channel his spiritual energy into the music.

After another ten minutes or so, Lan Wangji got out of the water with Wei Wuxian limply laying in his arms. His lips were starting to take on a bluish colour and it seemed like the Second Jade did not want to risk their youngest brother catching a cold on top of everything else. It was a good call too since Wei Wuxian's qi had now completely calmed down and he did not need to remain in the cold water any longer.

Lan Xichen put his flute away and watched Lan Wangji take off in the direction of the Jingshi. Although he wanted to follow after them immediately and check Wei Wuxian's condition as soon as possible, he knew he would be of no help at the moment, they needed a specialized physician experienced in treating qi deviations. Despite his youngest brother now looking normal and his qi circulating properly, there could be some internal damage to his meridians which they would not be able to assess easily, a thorough check was essential.

Lan Wangji must have been counting on him getting the doctor because he did not even turn back and hurried to his and Wei Wuxian's personal quarters. Lan Xichen did not lose another second and went to the infirmary. He knew that his brother would feed Wei Wuxian the sleeping medicine they were storing on hand for exactly these kind of situations.

It was sad but his youngest brother could still not bear being touched by anyone else but his family. They had always had to drug him if he needed to be attended to by a doctor. Lan Xichen had always hoped that Wei Wuxian would get over his fears with time, but until today, he had yet to see any real progress in this area.

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