Wei Ying was loved. Wei Ying is love.

Wei Ying has always been an optimistic person who shows appreciation for life. That was how his parents raised him, even though he doesn't have many memories of them. It was this mindset that allowed a lonely child to survived in the streets, warring against stray dogs for scraps; to grow up in a household where one of the main guardians showed constant hatred towards him and punished him for every little matter; to strife for survival in order to protect his beloved siblings when their home was turned into a river of blood; and finally, to take on the duty of protecting a group of strangers and hoped for peace when he knew that the pugilist world will not gift them such desire. Wei Ying fights for the slightest ray of hope because he vowed to "Stand with justice, live with no regrets." However, such a life will drain the soul and positive outcomes will only appear so many times.

Wei Ying was exhausted. All hopes, desires, expectations, fighting spirit; they were all lost when he realized that his actions could no longer protect those he loves. Wen Ning, Wen Qing, the small Wen Clan that has become his new family... Jiang Fengmian, Shijie. Gone. All gone. All he wanted to do was to protect them but in the end, they all died because of him. He no longer had optimism for life, he no longer had an appreciation for life. He understood that moment on Nevernight that the end of this chaos was to end his existence.

Who would have thought that his "final act" became a reset in his life journey? Wei Ying was given a second chance; one that restarted 16 years later. A time skip that allowed enmities to subside and heartbreaks to mend. A time frame that allowed Wei Ying to regain his smile, laugh at those who still cursed the Yiling Patriarch for their every misfortune, and once again saw how bright the world can still be.

It was thanks to this new life that allowed Wei Ying to reflect on the past and realized how much he still had when he chose to let go of his life. He thought the final days of that life was one of emptiness and failures. Looking back, he realized that he was actually loved. The Wen Clan sacrificed their lives to saved him because they accepted him as one of their own. Shijie came looking for him because she never blamed him for Jin Zixuan's death. And then there's Lan Zhan: though Wei Ying didn't know about Lan Zhan's feelings for him until this lifetime, he now knows that every word and action that Lan Zhan did was for Wei Ying. Wei Ying was loved.

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When Wei Ying stumbled back into this world, the first person he reunited with was Lan Zhan. Thinking back, it was as if the heavens opened their gates and guided Lan Zhan to him. To Wei Ying, it was an unprepared encounter in which he hid and fled; to Lan Zhan, it was an answer to 16 years of his inquiry.

As they transversed through the pugilist world once again, this time hand-in-hand, Wei Ying ponders on his current life. Though Jiang Cheng's personality has gotten worse over the years with no one to retaliate against his anger tantrums, Wei Ying knows that their lifelong relationship is now at peace. Somethings can't be amended and certain interactions can't return to the past, but at least all is forgiven. Shijie may be gone, but Wei Ying still sees traces of her in Jin Ling. Even though that child has gained all of his father's and uncle's horrendous personalities, Wei Ying vows to enforce some senses into him. Wen Ning is still alive... exist. Wen Qing would be happy to know that her little brother is now able to choose his own path to walk on. We all have to grow up eventually. The most miraculous presence is A-Yuan: the only surviving member of the Wen Clan. He has grown up to be a perfect gentleman (thanks to Lan Zhan), far better than how he would have become if he was raised by Wei Ying (something he'll never admit to). Along with Wen Ning, they have gained a group of young followers from various sects, some of them are destined to become future sect leaders. It doesn't matter how many times their parents have coughed up blood from anger, these children have rebelled and adamantly follows Wei Ying's mischievous ways when they go on night hunts. Oh, the irony of how the previous generation constantly wants to bury him to the ground while the current idolizes him as their master.

The most important person is no doubt Lan Zhan. One of Wei Ying's greatest regrets was not realizing Lan Zhan's love for him in the past, resulting in 16 years of torment for Lan Zhan. When Lan Zhan is deeply asleep, Wei Ying would stare at his face with thousands of unspoken apologies: for not realizing Lan Zhan's love, for thinking that there was no more meaning in his life, for walking away when he said "Wei Ying, come back", and for leaving Lan Zhan without a trace of existence for 16 years. Through all the lost and chaos that Wei Ying lived through in the past, at least those only spanned for a few years. Wei Ying can't fathom how Lan Zhan never let him go, even after 16 years. For that, Wei Ying is grateful. Grateful to have Lan Zhan in his life: when they were innocent teenagers, when they were forced to grow up as their world fell to pieces, and now as adults who are finally experience what love is for the first time. Through all the regrets and apologies, Wei Ying would end his longing gazes with a smile because he knows better now. Wei Ying is love.