For my abandoned justice

Chapter 12

                   That night Lan Wangji couldn't sleep at all. He was just lying in bed holding his sleeping husband in his arms. His brain, however, couldn't help but go over the events of the day. Yilling was thriving yet no news of it had reached the sects. That was strange on its own since it meant people were deliberately keeping it a secret. That would still not explain the cultivators that did pass by saying that Yilling was too far gone to be saved. The reports had all been the same speaking of old demolished buildings, sickly people, and barely any commerce. The land was supposed to be so seeped in resentment it was hard to breathe for a cultivator. He had not sensed any resentment until they were right outside the Burial Mounds. That didn't make any sense on its own, and then there was his energetic husband. 

                  Wei Wuxian seemed to have the ability to connect with everyone. This allowed him to be well-loved, yet he did not seem to care about it at all. He had been more interested in Lan Wangji's reactions than the people fawning over him. This was the same even in the sect now that he was noticing it. Even when disciples tried to fight for his attention Wei Wuxian only cared for Lan Wangji's opinion. 

                  The Burial Mounds are his ancestral home which is not a wasteland of resentment as he had heard. Even the air inside the barrier of resentment was pure. The only strange thing was the corpses farming the land. That also went with the other discovery he had made. Wei Wuxian was a direct descendant of a death god. A cousin if Baoshan's words were to be believed. This also explains the ghost lady he had seen one day in his husband's room. She had called Wei Wuxian little prince which made sense if he was the last of the Yilling Patriarch's human legacy.

                  The more he thought about it the more he wondered what Wei Wuxian was gaining from their marriage. He felt ashamed to have agreed to the contract of not giving Wei Wuxian anything except the title of Madam Lan.  Back then he wasn't thinking straight marrying a stranger. It worked out but it made him feel sick that his husband was basically a slave. Working for his benefit just to earn nothing. "Lan Zhan I can hear you thinking; talk to me." Wei Wuxian's sleepy voice interrupted his inner spiral. Lan Wangji feared having to let him out of his arms to have a conversation. Fortunately, Wei Wuxian only snuggled further into Lan Wangji's warm embrace.

                   Lan Wangji decided to tackle each thought as they came. It wouldn't do any good to keep his thoughts from his husband. Hadn't Wei Wuxian promised to answer his questions? "Why don't the sects know that Yilling is thriving so well?" Wei Wuxian looked up at him and smirked sleepily like the cat that got the cream. "Yilling has always been a city for the people. One of the protections around the city is for anyone from a sect to only be able to see the way Yilling used to be. The only way that restriction is lifted is if they are desperately seeking help. Then they forget what they saw as soon as they leave. You can see it this way because you are by my side."Lan Wangji nodded remembering how amazing his husband was at talismans.

                   "You seem to be able to make friends easily, but you don't seem to care about it at all. Everyone wanted Wei Ying's attention." Wei Wuxian went back to cuddling Lan Wangji with a small smile. "Jealous? Ha ha ha, just kidding. Of course, I don't care. I learned early on that people are fickle. They could love you today and hate you tomorrow. I'd rather focus on the people precious to me like you, your father, Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi, and my few close friends. If these people stay by my side when all others turn, that will be more than enough." Lan Wangji felt so warm yet felt something was wrong. This was an extremely dark way of thinking for such a cheerful man. Could his husband have been hurt by people before they met? That didn't seem right either since Wen Rouhan had said they had hidden him away from everyone. "Wei Ying..... what are you getting out of our marriage? I am getting a lot. You are fixing the Lan's reputation and keeping me safe. You have improved our class lessons. You are even protecting my sect from being destroyed. I just don't see how you benefit."