I will take care of you, I promise (Between a rock and a hard place 3)

Chapter 9

Just as the night before, Lan Xichen did not sleep well. In retrospect, he was regretting not being more insistent when talking to his brother and asking to see Wei Wuxian in person. Now he could not stop thinking about it and it was not letting him rest. In the morning, he rose impatiently, fully decided to confront Lan Wangji during breakfast and to not let his demand be turned down no matter what.

That was why he was quite upset when, just as he was about to leave for the said breakfast, someone knocked at his door, quite forcefully and impatiently too. He immediately knew that it could not be any Gusu Lan sect disciple. Even in the direst need, those would not be knocking like this. That only left the option of it being a stranger or a student from another sect attending the guest lectures.

Lan Xichen sighed under his breath and rubbed the base of his nose. He could not very well turn them down, especially if it should be a sect heir or someone of a higher standing. Although it was entirely not clear to him what a student could want with him this early in the day, he would still have to listen to them. He would make it quick and then go meet Lan Wangji, he decided.

He put a pleasant smile on his lips and opened the door lest he wanted the visitor to tear it down with their angry and impatient barging. Because the not such a polite knocking had now truly become a barging. The person on the other side of the door was apparently losing their patience.

Lan Xichen was greatly surprised to find Jiang Wanyin standing in front of him with his hand still outstretched to continue his assault on the poor door. The Yunmeng Jiang sect heir's face was bright red and his expression was of pure anger. It was all scrunched up and his eyes were shooting lightning. When he saw Lan Xichen however, he seemed to quickly try to reign his emotions in and gave him a small polite nod. The First Jade was not fooled since he had seen everything clearly. He wondered what had happened to make Jiang Wanyin this angry so early in the day.

He bowed his head to acknowledge the greeting and invited the guest disciple into his study. "Young Master Jiang, to what do I owe the pleasure of your early visit?" he asked as soon as both of them have been seated at a low table.

He had already guessed that Jiang Wanyin was not a patient person, an angry grape too. He had been right. He did not even get to properly finish his sentence and the Yunmeng Jiang sect heir was already talking, his voice full of barely restrained rage:

"Zewu-Jun, I cannot bear this anymore. Two days ago Lan Wangji had barged into my and my brother's quarters uninvited and had all but taken Wei Wuxian away. Without any provocation whatsoever. Till this day, I do not know what he had done to my brother. I ask you to go check on Wei Wuxian, I am fearing the worst."

For a whole half minute, Lan Xichen could not reply. He was completely stunned by this revelation. So it had not been Jiang Wanyin nor Wei Wuxian who had asked Lan Wangji to take care of the Yunmeng Jiang sect head disciple, it had not even been for the sake of recovery. The Second Jade had just kidnapped Wei Wuxian in broad daylight and took him to the Jingshi. Just as their father had done after meeting their mother.

How could this had happened? Why had Lan Xichen not seen this coming? True, he had been lulled into a fake sense of security because he had thought that Wei Wuxian was sick and needed calm and quiet environment to recuperate. But he still should have been more insistent in finding out the truth. Lan Wangji apparently lied to him after all, that was perhaps the biggest blow in all of this.

Although, here was the question; why had Jiang Wanyin lied to him as well and only came to seek help after three whole days? That was what he could not understand. If the Yunmeng Jiang sect heir had spoken sooner, the situation would not have become like this, Lan Wangji could have still been saved from himself.

Lan Xichen lifted his head from where it had lowered itself in his shock and looked at his visitor: "Young Master Jiang, that is a serious accusation. Why would you not come tell me immediately after it had happened? Why wait until today?" He made it a point to not accuse, just ask as pleasantly as his shaken self could manage.

This seemed to have taken Jiang Wanyin by surprise and he opened and closed his mouth several times without being able to speak properly: "I... well... I wanted to... I..." Then he took a deep breath and finally managed to convey his message. His cheeks were even redder than before but this time, Lan Xichen could not tell if this was because of anger or embarrassment.

"I wanted to come to you immediately, but Lan Wangji had threatened me. He said that if anyone should learn about this, he would accuse me of some crime and punish me from his position of the first disciple responsible for discipline here in the Cloud Recesses. You have to understand; I could not have soiled my sect's reputation. And I was afraid of him, he had his sword drawn and was about to cripple me if I did not hand Wei Wuxian over.

That is why I am coming to you only now. I hope that you will see who is at fault here and help me free my brother from Lan Wangji's grasp. Who knows what he is doing to him. I fear for his safety. Please, Zewu-Jun, I am begging you, help me in this."

Lan Xichen now had to close his eyes and brace himself with one hand on the table, helping himself stay upright. Everything was crumbling around him and he felt lost for a second. His worst fears were becoming a reality and he suddenly did not know how to make everything better again. Not only had Lan Wangji already acted exactly as their father but now he was also threatening a sect heir of another great sect.

And because of what? A fleeting infatuation with a boy whom he could not even marry and have heirs with. A very unsuitable match at best. His brother was just confusing friendship with love. Yes, that was it, Lan Xichen understood it very well. The problem was that Lan Wangji himself could not see it.

He made a conscious effort to not let his inner turmoil and disappointment show as he replied to Jiang Wanyin's plea: "Young Master Jiang, I understand. Thank you for coming to talk to me. Do not worry, I will take care of everything. You just go back to your quarters for now to calm yourself. It must have been very hard for you."

Jiang Wanyin was looking at him as if he wanted to say something more but in the end, he just nodded, stood up and left his study. Lan Xichen was finally alone.

He let his mask fall and put his head into his hands. This was such a mess. How was he even supposed to take care of this? He did not think he could do it, not alone anyway. He wanted to believe his brother was innocent, however, under the circumstances, it was very unlikely. In this case, there was nothing else for him to do but to go to the Jingshi, free Wei Wuxian and seize his own brother. Lan Wangji's punishment would not be decided by him himself, elders would have to be informed about this.

He stood up swiftly, there was no time to lose. He was already late and he could not afford to be delayed anymore. He left his quarters at a quick pace to find his uncle. It seemed like the lectures would be cancelled for the day anyway because of this. And he also needed Lan Qiren to help him deal with this, he was the current acting Gusu Lan sect leader after all.

Lan Xichen did not have to explain anything more than Jiang Wanyin had told him and Lan Qiren was already coming with him. Lan Xichen could not tell what his uncle was thinking at all, and he did not care at the moment either, he had enough to deal with himself. On their way, they also took several senior disciples and two healers with them, one could not be safe enough.