Yizhan/Wangxian Oneshots

empathy (wangxian)

The juniors walked into the Jingshi, seeing Wei Wuxian standing there. He admired everything and reminisced on every single memory. The three boys walked up to him and bowed politely.

"Senior Wei," Sizhui spoke, grabbing the attention of the older one.

"Oh, Sizhui. What is it?" He asked warmly, smiling at the trio. Jin Ling, Lan Sizhui, and Lan Jingyi had always been around each other whether they liked it or not.

"We were assigned an empathy assignment and we can't seem to find someone willing to perform it."

Wei Ying put his hand on his chin, "I see... Well, it can be a very dangerous thing to do."

He thought for a second. If he allowed them to perform empathy on him, it would most likely go as far as the three months in the burial mounds, maybe even back to his first time at Cloud Recesses. But, when he thought about it, things were alright now, so it didn't really matter what they saw. 

"You can perform it on me," He spoke, smiling but worried deep inside.

"Really?" Jingyi asked.

"It's alright with me, so let's start. Who's gonna perform it first?" Wei Ying asked.

"Sizhui wanted to go first."

Wei Ying smiled, "Alright, come sit down with me then."

They walked over to an appropriate spot and sat down, "If you notice that either of us is getting stuck, get your Hanguang-Jun."

The group of teens nodded, and Wei Ying held out his hands. Lan Sizhui put his on top of them, entering the spell. Wei Wuxian could feel a memory coming into his mind and he realized, it was all the way back to Lotus Pier. The day that both Jiang Cheng and he had regret for a long time. 

Wei Wuxian remembered. Jiang Cheng and he were going back to Lotus Pier, rushing there to help their parents who had already suffered their fate. Wei Wuxian shut his eyes tighter as he saw the bodies of Madam Yu and Clan Leader Jiang. He could see both him and Jiang Cheng running in the grass, fighting over everything. And being blamed by Jiang Cheng for the first time.

That memory faded out, and then became the memory of the golden core. Remembering that pain, that horrible experience, he almost winced out loud. Then, the end of the pain. The end of his spiritual energy. 

Another memory. The three months at the burial mounds, and the first time he was thrown inside. He saw himself, holding the sword and plunging it into the ground. He remembered the horrific things that happened there and wanting it to all go away. When it finally left, his eyes relaxed.

Yet another terrible memory. The first nightless city fight, and revealing the Stygian Tiger Seal. The corruption of his mind and his biggest mistake. The days where Lan Zhan spent his time playing guqin for him. He relaxed a little bit, seeing the man he loved. But instantly, things faded back into another memory.

Finally, it came to the burial mounds again. Wei Ying knew that Sizhui would see himself, smiling a little. The small child ran up to his thigh, and he muttered a slightly annoyed, "Ah Yuan."

He held the boy's face and smiled. He could see all the moments that he and the little boy spent together, those being his happiest moments of that time. The moment when Lan Zhan came to the burial mounds and Ah Yuan hugged his thigh. But also, the moments when Jiang Cheng came, and when they dueled. 

The day when Jin Zixuan fell to the ground. Qiongqi road, the day when Wen Ning and Wen Qing turned themselves in.

And then the day Wei Ying regret the most. The second nightless city fight. He could feel the same corruption and regret. Even Sizhui could feel the heavy burden. The moment where his sister whom he loved so very much, suffered. A tear left his eye. And then the moment where everything was all too much. He fell, but Lan Zhan grabbed his arm with his broken one. 

That same desperate conversation of the two of them, that replayed in his mind over and over again since he came back to life. Until the moment that he was finally let go. The moment he died for the second time.

Wei Ying opened his eyes rapidly, and so did Sizhui. Wei Ying noticed the tears falling down his cheeks immediately. 

Sizhui cried, "You went through all of that-"

He was cut off with his sob. 

Wei Ying patted his shoulder, tearing up a little bit himself, "It's all okay now."

"But your sister..."

Jin Ling cut him off, "What about my mother?? What?"

Wei Ying cried, hearing his nephew's voice. He knew that the boy grew up with no parents, and he felt so guilty. Wei Ying couldn't go through with empathy again. He couldn't look at all his pain again, so he decided to just have Sizhui explain.

"I can't do empathy again. It brings back... too much," He could barely finish his sentence.

Sizhui smiled a melancholy smile, "It's alright, I understand why you wouldn't want to go through that again."

"You can explain everything to them, I need to sit down and calm down."

Sizhui nodded, starting to slowly explain. The reality of it all came to them, just how much Wei Wuxian had suffered. Just as he was about to finish the story, Lan Zhan came rushing in.

"Did you just perform empathy on him?" He asked in a rather rushed voice for him.

"Sizhui was telling us what happened since Senior Wei doesn't want to go through with it again," Jingyi explained. 

Lan Zhan rushed over to Wei Ying leaning down and holding his shoulder, "Are you okay?"

Wei Ying smiled, "I'm fine. I guess I'm not over everything that happened yet."

Lan Zhan sighed, "What do you need me to do?"

Wei Ying thought for a second, "I just need you to be here. That's all."

The only thing that would calm him down completely was Lan Zhan. And he thanked the world every day that nothing happened to him.

Lan Zhan sat down next to the sweating boy, ignoring the shock on the juniors' faces. 

"Hanguang-Jun, would you be willing to perform empathy?" Another young disciple spoke, instantly being hit on the shoulder by Jingyi.

"Are you dumb?" He said, earning a, "What?" from the other.

Lan Zhan thought about it, but then realized they would see him in his worst. He didn't want anyone to know about what he went through after Wei Ying died. Not even Wei Ying himself.

"No," He said, earning a smile from Wei Ying. He had expected he would say that. He knew from Zewu-Jun exactly what Lan Zhan had felt those thirteen years of searching. Although he knew, he never told Lan Zhan about it. Instead, he gave the older's hand a squeeze.

Lan Zhan turned to look at him, a soft and peaceful smile being secretly displayed for him.