It's been thirteen years since Lan Zhan was last in a room with Wei Wuxian, but its been five minutes since he saw Wei Ying teaching art online. Devising a complex plan to save Wei Ying from being framed from murder, Lan Zhan throws his life and he...
His Little Tiger is in trouble and Lan Xichen has no idea how to help him.
He has a half mad contingency plan already decided, no matter the guilt that churns for making one. He is the Sect Leader of Gusu Lan and well within his rights to offer Nie Huaisang shelter, until all of this has blown over. A refuge, nothing more. Not imprisonment like his mother, but honest sanctuary.
It sounds diplomatic, like he's offering shelter from a rainstorm. It doesn't describe how that shelter comes with Lan Xichen's sword, every drop of his cultivation and martial arts. It doesn't sound like Lan Xichen is perfectly willing to throw his life and the lives of his disciples on the line. But that is exactly what shelter means.
He will not sit by and watch Nie Huaisang being whipped or beaten. He will not sit by as he's arrested for the crime of keeping everyone else alive. He will not be some bystander, when the man he loves is kicked.
He's lying to himself, if he doesn't want to keep Nie Huaisang safe for the rest of their lives, but he won't be their father.
Right now, Huaisang is on his way back from Meng Yao. He tries to deny it to himself, but it hurts that Nie Huaisang, who happens to be in a relationship with him, didn't tell him about this. He had to hear about it accidentally.
Had to overhear him telling Meng Yao. As much as it's a relief he went to A-Yao when he was afraid for his life, who would always protect Huaisang, it still hurts that he left Lan Xichen's side and found sanctuary there. Lan Xichen was rooms away and always trying to be good enough...but once again he wasn't.
It hurts and he tells himself that it isn't just to be obsessing about that detail, when there are far bigger problems.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Its mid afternoon when Lan Xichen gives in and finally calls A-Zhan, telling him all of what they heard and the ramifications, he knows are vast. He wants A-Zhan's take on this situation and if he's completely honest, he wants his brother's support.
A thing that's taken him years to learn to ask for, but rather than be annoyed or burdened, like Lan Xichen still half-feared, A-Zhan listens intently and nods along. He seems pleased that Xichen is telling him this and that at least calms Xichen' heart.
He also sees right through Lan Xichen and offers a bandage for his hurting heart, without judgment.
"If he's been threatened before, that you would get hurt, he might be afraid to tell you. Meng Yao is of lesser rank and perhaps considered unimportant by the traitors." A-Zhan says, furious that he himself has been used as a threat. "They threatened people and followed through with it. They murdered Nie Rong as a proof that they could. Perhaps they have killed others and bragged to Nie Huaisang."
