Seeking Solace

Chapter 14

Lan Xuan couldn't believe his eyes.

Wei Wuxian was here. Not alive... but his soul was here. He had found a spot near Yanling Daoren and Suibian against a wall and had closed his eyes, seeming to be resting.

He looked the same as he did when Lan Xuan had last seen him only. Even as a spirit, a soul - he seemed a hit hollowed out - emancipated and exhausted. If Lan Xuan looked really closely, he was deeply wounded. Where Wei Wuxian had been after his death these past months...

Something horrifying had been happening to him. He could sense the lingering agony and pain from him. He knew Suibian and Yanling Daoren could, for their expressions were dark and angry.

Lan Xuan looked at his little didi, debating on whether he should tell him Wei Wuxian was here in the room with them a few feet away. He also learned from Yanling Daoren that Wei Wuxian's body was preserved in his old room by Jiang Cheng. They obviously planned to bring him back somehow after all this and Lan Xuan would gladly help them.

Should he tell A-Zhan now or wait? His A-Zhan was hurting deeply because of Wei Wuxian's death and seeing his memories and the truth of everything Wei Wuxian had been shouldering all alone.

'What should I do?'

"Is something the matter, Lan Xuan?" Lan Xuan blinked when he heard Lan Xichen speak to him softly, seeming worried as he looked at him.

Lan Xuan shook his head gently and a quick fleeting glance at their baby brother, and spoke softly, "It's nothing."

'Not yet. I can't. But soon, I will tell him, away from prying eyes and listening ears. Whether or not these people have begun to see the error in their own ways, I still don't trust them.'

....

Wei Wuxian hummed quietly in his cave, working on his talismans and a gift for Jin Ling and just doing the finishing touches. A little over a week ago, he got an invitation letter to Jin Ling's one month ceremony. He was brimming with excitement. He had to make sure his gift for Jin Ling would look good and would work efficiently. He had been working on the gift diligently since and he was nearly finished. He had worked on it without breaks or sleep which Wen Qing constantly nagged him about. He had to make sure it was perfect.

"Wei Wuxian, you've been at this for days now, with no sleep. Your body needs rest. You need rest."

Wei Wuxian didn't even have the energy to argue with her, focused on the task at hand, he waved his hand at her and continued working. He heard Wen Qing's grumbling but she said nothing more, she knew how important this was to him.

He would make Shijie proud with his gift and Jiang Cheng as well.

Just a little more...

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Hot tears stung Jiang Cheng's eyes, seeing this memory.

Nie Huaisang, sighed heavily behind his fan, feeling a heaviness in his heart for Wei Wuxian.

Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen sighed at the same time, feeling a pain in their hearts, especially when they looked at Wangji, and his heartbroken expression with the silent tears dripping from his face.

Nie Mingjue closed his eyes and looked away, unable to look too closely at the feeling tugging at his heart. He looked to Lan Xuan, as the other sat near his family, and tried to comfort Lan Wangji quietly.

Others looked on, their expressions downcast. They could see Wei Wuxian's eagerness and excitement, like a giddy child, proud of the work he was making and wanting to show it off. And the gift itself, the Yunmeng Jiang Bell, although not finished, but nearly so - you could tell how much painstaking effort and time Wei Wuxian had put into it, and they could also feel it.