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To keep the timeline in check, here is a healthy serving of Wen Chao getting what he deserves 😛
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Murmurs of a finely tuned zither massaged Lan WangJi's ears. He tried his best to play alongside his brother, but every time he tried, his notes fell flat. Sighing deeply, he pulled his hands away in resignation and leaned back against the wall of the carriage.
Blinking up at him, XiChen drew back as well.
"How do you feel?" He asked after a long while of squeaky-wheeled silence.
Lan WangJi hesitated with his response. He could lie and say he felt soothed by their journey in traditional Gusu folksongs, but XiChen was too wise to fool. He could tell the truth and say he felt his heart had ceased beating months ago, but XiChen was wise enough to know that already. In the absence of an answer, Lan WangJi dismissed his guqin with a swipe of his massive sleeve and said, "When I disappeared, I went to the Burial Mounds."
"What?" Lan XiChen exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Tangled in the chords of his zither, XiChen's hands curled into tight fists. Strings were pulled taut. They almost snapped under the tension of his dread. "WangJi, we must immediately play Cleansing."
"No need."
"But—"
"Already played."
For Wei Ying was heard but not said.
"I see."
Lan WangJi was tired of this conversation and tired of this day that felt like a scroll with no end. Peering outside the parted curtains, he glared at the sky. The evening sun shown in his eyes like raw honey.
"What led you to enter such a place?"
Who.
"Wei Ying," Lan WangJi whispered his name like it didn't deserve to be fouled by his lips. He remembered the day he'd first tried the flowering name of Lotus Pier's head disciple on his tongue. In the beginning, it was born from anger and embarrassment, but despite that, it tasted unlike any before. From there, it had taken root and blossomed into something beautiful. However, now it had withered, and it was all his fault.
"I assumed he was found in Qishan along with the swords." Lan XiChen didn't want to believe it, much like WangJi at first. "He... all this time?"
"Mn. For three months while I did nothing."
"WangJi, how could you have known?"
"I heard the rumors."
"Rumors are often untrue. You can't blame yourself, WangJi. Wei Gongzi wouldn't want that."
Lan WangJi pursed his lips. He hated when XiChen pulled that card.
"Sorry," the First Jade chuckled. "How is he doing now?"
