Hourglass

XXV

Countless cultivator's lounge forward at Wei Wuxian, their blade ended up stabbing him here and there. Lan Wangji tried to rush by his side, but the cultivator's swarm over him preventing him from approaching. Jiang Yuan screamed but no one else noticed.

Red eyes flicked in anger, "finished?"

It was brief but the resentful energy solidified stabbing every cultivator's within Wei Wuxian's reached. No one dared to approach carelessly because the man clearly had no weakness.

The horror stories about the Yiling Patriarch and the stories the Jiangs have told Jiang Yuan was different. He had never felt so scared before. However... Seeing his mother killing without batting an eye, scares him. He stared at him in horror trying to swallow every detail of truth regarding him. There was no speck of hesitation in his mother's eyes.

He's scared. Scared of his mother.

This was not the person he knew.

"See this brat?" Lan Qiren stood beside him, "this is the evil I wanted to purge back then... Don't take your eyes off the mother you love so much..."

Wei Wuxian paused after seeing the man beside his son.

"Just what nonsense are you planting in my child's head now, Lan Qiren?"

"*Huffs* how vile and evil you are..."

Wei Wuxian bit his lip, "Vile? Evil?" He laughed, "why don't you look at yourself right now, Lan Qiren?! Who's the one vile and evil all these years!"

Every person paused upon hearing this outburst, "I just want to have a peaceful life... With my son... With Lan Zhan! And you sent a sorry excuse of Qingheng-jun dying to keep my husband away! You tried killing me! My child! All because of what? Because I'm vile and evil?! When in the first place we've never done anything to you!"

"You sold us to Jin Guangshan's... Have us cornered in the hopes of killing us both! Arrange a fucking marriage and what?!" Wei Wuxian shouted in pain.

Lan Qiren stood dignified and irreproachable for that moment.

"For the sake of my clan and the rules of ancient times... It is the duty of every Lan to upheld it." Lan Qiren replied, "You a rascal, an unruly disciple and a demonic cultivator much worse a son of a servant never deserved Wangji... He should have a wife more noble and good than you... You who killed thousands... You are nothing but a murderer, a heretic..."

Qingheng-jun couldn't believe what his brother is spouting right now.

"You did all this... For your own sake?" Wei Wuxian asked.

Lan Qiren and his stern expression, "I should've killed you and this child back then... Maybe Wangji might have opened to his wife..."

Lan Wangji stood before Wei Wuxian, "why are so into controlling us uncle?"

Lan Qiren did not reply. He merely glanced at Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen, "for you to uphold the rules of the clan..."

There was no reasoning to Lan Qiren.

Another elder appraoched the mountain goat, "when Lan Qiren knew our plan to have Wangji and Xichen marry the Jin's... He approved everything we agreed... He even initiated covert operations, all to kill this child for years... We came up with the plan to separate the two of you... Haha! I remember Hanguang-jun having his core sealed with the tea forcing him to the marriage where you master Wei was used as a bait..."

Jiang Yuan's eyes widen.

"Trying to force his rut... Fuck Jin Jinu... But he refused every single time and ended up hurting himself to stop his rut..." The Lan elder laughed, "and then the marriage came... How pitiful the patriarch's appearance was! Broken heartedly watch his husband marry another! Haha! Carrying this demon child calling 'Lan Zhan' with a tear streaked face! That was fantastic! So hilarious!"