The awakening of bestotted love

Letter

The Cloud Recesses was always known for it's beauty and serene atmosphere but today the sect was filled with dread and hopelessness. Their second heir had gone missing in the town when the others were making preparations for their trip.

The acting sect leader Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen had been searching for Lan Wangji since this morning. They both had been so busy searching that they didn't even have the time to drink water to quench their thirst. When they had noticed the absence of Lan Wangji from their group, both had been filled with fear and panic.

It was almost noon now and they still had not found Lan Wangji. The whole town had been searched more then twice but there was not a single clue about Wangji's whereabouts. They had even send some disciples to look at the forest but the result was fruitless.

Lan Xichen had been blaming himself for being careless about Wangji. He had been busy helping his uncle that he forgotten about Wangji. When he had finished, Wangji had already disappeared. If only he had not given into Wangji's whims for traveling together, if only he had made Wangji stay back at home. But how could he even deny his brother when Wangji had asked something from him for the first time. Since their mother's death Wangji had been distant, building a wall around himself. Lan Xichen had been the only one who could enter, but even so he couldn't break them down. That's the reason why when Wangji asked to accompany him for his trip he couldn't reject it. And the small smile he got from accepting the request had been enough for a reward. But who could have known that his brother would suddenly vanish.

The hall was filled with the sect elders and senior disciples. They all were having a meeting regarding Wangji's disappearance. Suddenly the door bursts open and a tall intimidating figure entered the room. The person who entered was none other than the father of Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji, sect leader Lan Qingheng. He had come out of his seclusion when a disciple had come running informing about his youngest son's disappearance.

Everyone present had been shocked, they had not expected the sect leader's presence in the meeting. After the initial reaction everyone bowed and greated Lan Qingheng. "Brother, thank God that you are finally out. We haven't been able to find Wangji since this morning. We have already searched Caiyi town and the forest more than twice but there is still no clue. Letters asking for assistance have already been sent to the other sects and we are hoping for a reply soon too. " Lan Qiren says as he stands up from his seat.

Lan Qingheng nods and walks towards the main seat."If there is no news till the moon comes out then we will ask the spirits for their aid." he says as he sits down. Everyone couldn't help but nod their heads. They had tried every method but the second heir had not been found. All they could do now was wait for any good news.

When everyone else except Lan Qingheng, Lan Qiren and Xichen were gone Qingheng-Jun called his eldest son. It had been years since he had seen Xichen. The small boy who used to come with Qiren sometimes had now grown up into an excellent teenager.

"How have you been? "questions Qingheng. Xichen who had composed himself at the beginning of the meeting was shocked by his father's question. As far as he has known, his father never asked him such a question before.

"I am doing well, father." Xichen respectfully replies. Qingheng hums softly, "Did Wangji had any incident recently?". Lan Xichen nods, " Almost 6 days ago Wangji fainted suddenly and was on bed rest for a whole day. He seemed fine after the rest though and the only reason he was accompanying us today was because he asked permission for it."

"Was someone planning to kidnap our Wangji? But who would be so bold to do that. It's too suspicious that he got ill some few days before our trip. . I'll soon set out a search party." Lan Qiren says.

"You can go and rest xichen." Qingheng says. Xichen nods and proceeds to leave as his uncle and father continued to discuss.

~~~~~~~~~

A week had gone by but Wangji still had not been found. Other sect leader's had also sent out search parties after reading the letters but they still couldn't find any lead. It was like Wangji had vanished from face of the earth without any trace. The spirits too had denied to help them.

Lan Xichen had started to lose hope. How could a child who had not even formed his core not be found by a group of experienced cultivators if he was alive. Everyday he braced his heart for the worse, the only thing keeping him from crying was the fact that no news about Wangji's dead had arrived yet.

He had not slept properly since Wangji's disappearance and his eyes were red from the lack of sleep. He looked haggard and drained. To take his mind off from his negative thoughts he walked towards his mother's house. Gentian house had been filled with happy memories. After all it was the only place where he could express himself without getting scolded by his uncle Lan Qiren. This place had been both his and Wangji's safe place when they were young.

As Lan Xichen came closer towards the house he noticed something strange. There were rabbits playing near the door of Gentian house. He was surprised because he clearly remembered that there were no living animals near this area. He sits near a colony of rabbits and starts to pet one of them. He couldn't help but smile when he saw the rabbits gathering around him.

"I would have loved to keep you all but sadly pets are not allowed." Lan Xichen then slowly stands up not wanted to scare them away. He would find some juniors to take them back to the mountains later. It was soon time to return so he roamed the area for a while. He stopped when he came across a wooden rabbit hutch.None of the sect members came here except him and Lan Wangji so the only one who could have done that was Wangji. He smiled as he thought about his little brother hiding his pets here. Seems like he must raise these rabbits properly in place of his brother.

He looked inside the hutch and saw a baby rabbit sleeping. He stopped smiling when he notice an envelope inside. He carefully picked it up and read the letter. As soon as he finished he ran towards the main hall. When he entered, he saw his father and uncle sitting in the hall discussing about Lan Wangji. Lan Qiren have him a disapproving look and was about to scold him when he realized the looked on Xichen's face.

"Please forgive my discourtesy but I have some urgent news related to Wangji." Xichen says as he bows and presents the letter from before. Lan Qiren takes the letter and starts to read it out loud. By the end both of the adults had confusion all over their faces. The letter was written by Wangji stating that he would be traveling alone. It said that he would come back only when the time was right and that it was futile to search for him. It was a short letter but it was enough to nearly make Lan Qiren have qi deviation.

" Elder brother you seriously can't be believing this right now. Wangji is still a kid how will he be able to look after himself. Even though he took money but he is still too young to face the world. We have to bring him back. " Lan Qiren shouted.

"If Wangji can hide this proficiently then that means that a cultivator with high cultivation is accompanying him. Even if we search the whole continent we might never be able to find him. He has already decided the path he will take and all we can do is pray for his well-being." Qingheng-Jun stands up from his chair and makes his way towards Xichen. He pats Xichen's back and gives him a reassuring smile. The sect from that day onwards was filled with longing and it would do so for almost a decade.

A/N: Sorry for the late update. We had a power cut for two days straight and even after that it was frequently cut off. So I had to save my battery for online classes.