Lan Zhan looks at the Ivory pillars and finally lets himself relax. It is so good to be home. Cloud Recesses means safety, means embracing the familiar, and no matter what beef he has with its occupants, this place continues to feel welcoming to him.
Perhaps it always will.
Maybe it is like drinking a favourite tea, being absent from it for a time and then when the reunion comes, it brings with it the sweetest of memories flooding over one's tongue. The familiarity of it is a warmth in his heart.
As they enter Cloud Recesses and walk along the ageless path, ancient and worn and yet, stubbornly unchanging, they pass by the great stone wall, with over two thousand rules carved into its unyielding surface. Lan Zhan pauses for a moment, staring at it thoughtfully.
Recently, there has been a growing need in the back of his mind, another thought that has been gaining momentum in the quiet places of his heart until he can no longer ignore it. It is the matter of rules and the adherence to them in Cloud Recesses. The problem with having so many rules is that most of them are micromanaging, and some of them are directly opposing each other. The rules and the need to follow them blindly have to be addressed, a complete revamping must happen, and not just an evaluation, but a total upheaval. The rules have to be ripped apart, torn asunder and then only the ones that matter must be kept. It's like sorting through a heap of lentils and picking out the stones.
He will have to wait until Shufu is ready to hear him out.
The further into Cloud Recesses they go, there's a collective sigh that falls from everyone's lips. It's a strange feeling, as if someone, no, something, has been turning the screws on their patience, on their ability to remain calm and of measured thoughts, and it's only now with the withdrawal of the pressure, they can finally relax.
A different kind of peace settles over them, and that's how they all realise how absent this feeling had become without anyone noticing it earlier.
Lan Qiren smiles at them, and the rarity of the moment isn't lost on anyone.
"All of you felt that, correct?" He asks them as a whole.
He's given a variety of affirmative answers.
"Cloud Recesses is perhaps the only place where the wards nullify Resentment energy. The effect is immediate and usually longlasting, though in the case of what we have brought with us, it may take the artefact a while to assimilate and that will buy us much needed time. A-Zhan, you may hand me your qiankun pouches now. I will go to the Cold Pond and secure all of them. Then we should rest, replenish our strength and come up with a foolproof plan to move forward." He carefully and on purpose does not say the specifics of their mission, nor call the artefact by name.
Lan Qiren has been thinking about the possible traitor in the Wen Sect, and how, only by committing a search for the Yin Iron have they revealed their presence. If not for that singular action, they could have remained hidden indefinitely. But what is the likelihood of the Cloud Recesses having a similar issue? There simply is no guarantee that the GusuLan Sect don't have a traitor in their midst, and there's even the possibility that someone who might be loyal to begin with could easily be turned against them with the right incentives.
Besides, it is common practice among the five major sects to have someone on the inside; the level of their efficiency notwithstanding.
So while they are protecting the Yin Iron, and until it is destroyed, not a word of its existence can be overheard by anyone not directly involved. It's just a precaution at the moment, and Lan Qiren hopes that that's the way it remains.
Lan Zhan obediently hands them over. The pouches are warded and it should be enough protection until Lan Qiren puts them in that secluded, locked away secret place.
