even after thirteen years, i still love you | MDZS

人

"...I wasn't the happiest after what happened, especially as days past by. I felt that the guilt kept eating me up day by day so I did some stupid and terrible. The thing is, after you destroyed one half of your Stygian Tiger Seal, Jin Guangyao wasn't the first one to snatch the other half. Someone from our- my sect was found holding it in his hands, even after he died. I hadn't realised until we took all the dead corpses of our sect back and properly had them buried. When I saw the Stygian Tiger Seal sitting in his hands, I felt that the right thing to do would have been to destroy it right then and there, but the problem is,  I didn't. I felt that Chenqing and the Stygian Tiger Seal were the only things I had of you left so I kept it until..."

Weiying looked at the person in front of him; was Jiang Cheng really the demon that caused so much havoc upon the world? Did he really have so much hate for him that he didn't even want to spare him after death?

"...I kept it until I found a solution to what I wanted to do. I found Xueyang before Jin Guangyao did and asked for advice. I know, I knew, I just had a gut feeling, but, despite all my gut instincts, warnings inside my body going off, I still thought his solution would be hope for my despair."

Weiying and Lanzhan listened on intently, although the latter seemed deeper in thought, as if figuring something out.

"Xueyang told me that if I sacrificed enough lives, I would be able to trade all their blood and souls for a dead person back. I don't know what motivated me to trust him but I carried out the actions that he told me to. I had sent people from my sect to raid villages one at a time; taking all the villagers whilst making sure they weren't dead. Xueyang was mainly in charge of the killing as he reassured me everything would work alright. The first few weeks he was peacefully doing what he told me he would but as weeks went by, his demands got higher and higher."

Jiang Cheng stopped talking, taking a break from the long speech he had just made. His expressions told the two that he was upset, regretful and, possibly, a hint of tiredness. He opened his mouth to continue again but was interrupted by a member of the sect coming in to update him of situations at other places.

Weiying took this time to reflect over what Jiang Cheng had said. If Xueyang was the one who had directed Jiang Cheng to do all that he had done, was it really Jiang Cheng's fault? Was Jiang Cheng that desperate to save Jiang Yanli? His inner thought were disrupted, however, by Jiang Cheng's voice.

"Weiying, I'm sorry. I really didn't think the situation would be so out of hand. If I had- if I had known that the simple act of Sacrificial Ritual could bring back your life I would've-"

"My life?" Weiying's expression said one thing in that moment: confusion.

"Yea, your donkey ass is what I was working so hard to bring back to life" mocked Jiang Cheng, trying to make light of the situation. The solemn atmosphere around them only made it worse.

Weiying pointed at himself, turning to look at Lanzhan, the person Jiang Cheng did everything for him? Him, and not Jiang Yanli? Jiang Cheng's guilt was for Weiying's death? After everything

Lanzhan looked at the person next to him. Weiying's position in Jiang Cheng's heart was much higher than what anyone would've ever expected.

Jiang Cheng peered closely at the other two men in this room, who were both confused at the information they had just absorbed. He hadn't realised how his previous attitude had led them to mistaken his brotherly love for hatred and despite. In the last ten something years, the hot-headed Jiang Cheng that "forced" Wei WuXian down the cliff all those years ago had changed drastically, learning how to control his temper. The snarky attitude he once had died along with Weiying and his elder sister.

"So what did Xueyang actually do with the blood and souls of the villagers?" Weiying broke the silence.

"Truth be told, I never actually found out. He ran away one day and I was never able to find him again despite how many sect members I sent out. If I really was to guess, though, I do think he was trying to improve his own cultivation, seeing how he became so powerful."

Lanzhan looked at Weiying, and then Jiang Cheng, indecisive of whether or not he should speak.

"Actually", Lanzhan began, "at some point Xueyang really did try to revive Weiying."

"The bastard did?"

Lanzhan nodded in response, "he came to Gusu Lan Sect to see me once but was stopped by our members. After a massive commotion, my elder brother allowed him in to talk to me...

"Lan Wangji, I don't believe Wei Wuxian's death hasn't impacted you in the slightest. Your three years of silence, of isolation; you were probably dying to go out to find his dead corpse weren't you?"

"What's your point?"

"I have a solution that may be able to bring back Wei Wuxian but I need your cooperation. Hanguang-jun, I kno-"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Wow the renowned Hanguang-jun truly does not disappoint. So straightforward and so-"

"Get to the point."

"Alright alright so all you need to do is play inquiry as I perform a ritual. Put in as much effort as you can to search for his soul. I trust your abilities, Hanguang-jun, you're probably one of the last people in the world who can whole-heartedly try and seek for Wei Wuxian."

...and so I played inquiry with him for a whole three months, to no avail. After all, Weiying never really did want to come back" Lanzhan ended his story, turning to Weiying.

Weiying stared at Lanzhan; in order to revive him, he even teamed up with someone as vile as Xueyang? Trusting his words and theory? What if Xueyang wanted to kill Lanzhan? It would have been a lift of a finger to kill Lanzhan while he played Inquiry.

Lanzhan, seemingly knowing what Weiying was thinking, spoke again, "I trusted Xueyang; I trusted him because his respect for Weiying is unparalleled, you could see that from the spark in his eyes every time he came across one of Weiying's inventions. Maybe, after his death, there wouldn't be someone who respects Weiying as much as he ever did."

Weiying looked at the ground, everything; up until this point, had been spiralled into this mess because of him. His death, his mistakes, his stubborn personality. Had Xueyang not so respected Weiying, there would be no Jiang Cheng, no Lanzhan, and quite possibly, the whole world would be under the Jin Sect.

"Jiang Cheng, I-"

"Weiying, what's passed has passed. You saved my life, my hopes and my dreams when you gave me your golden orb. All I've done is returned the favour you bestowed upon me" Jiang Cheng laughed under his breath; Weiying never really did owe his family anything major. Even if Weiying hadn't offended Wen Chao, the Wen clan would have still ordered a massacre upon their sect, like they did with every other sect. The time he was caught by Wen Chao's men in an attempt to save Weiying, he let that be a secret kept in his heart. After all, Weiying didn't need to carry that burden.

Weiying glanced up at Jiang Cheng, who was lost in his own thoughts. Maybe, the blood sky won't ever return to the light blue. Maybe, Weiying would never be able to fulfil his promise of ruling over the Jiang sect with Jiang Cheng. Maybe, Weiying wouldn't be able to eliminate evil and help the weak like he always thought he would. Maybe, Lanzhan would never be truly forgiven by the elders of his sect. But, at least thing were alright now. 

And at the very least, someone was willing to play inquiry for thirteen years, just to find him.

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a/n: and that's a wrap :) im so sorry it took so long to get this update up; i lost access to my wattpad account and just got it back. (also, im aware lanzhan playing inquiry for 13 years is fanon but the quote is actually super nice)

until next time!