The Path In-Between

Chapter 9: A Sorrowful Reunion (LXC & NHS)

A/N: Hey guys! So sorry I haven't updated in a while! I'm posting both chapter 9 and 10. Kinda had a bit of a writer's block about plot progression... anyways! Hope you enjoy the new chapters!
Warning: Mild gore, pain, references to abuse, depressed behavior etc.
~worldlesswanderer

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It was a confession. The truth closest to Wei Wuxian's heart laid bare for the first time by his own voice. The unspoken regrets of a lifetime, the unknown sorrows or an internal war that had been waged for years, the bitter taste of truth, the wishful thinking of the past for the future, the whispered secrets of heartache.

Wei Wuxian's final confession.

"I gave my golden core to Jiang Cheng..."

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Jasmine tea had the wonderful quality of relaxation and calming. This tea was often used in the Lan Sect before discussions. Lan Xichen always had many Jasmine tea leaves present in the Hanshi to welcome sect leaders. Slowly, he took a languid sip in an attempt to cease the buzzing in his head.

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When he was young, Lan Xichen felt proud of his home.

Cloud Recesses. Where minds heal and bodies bloom, they had said. Where the fresh spring of clear water is purer that none other and where resentful thoughts have no grasp, they had said. Where good character builds and gentle minds flourish, they had said. Home to brilliant minds, righteous natures, and loving beings. That was the Cloud Recesses.

As he grew older, he felt protective of his home where his family resided and where they were surrounded by pillars of righteous elders who aided them in the clan and cultivation. A community that he would soon vow to protect and nurture.

Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji's Shufu had been claimed as a professor of professors. A teacher with an iron will. A Gusu Lan Clan elder who was known for producing outstanding students, even out of the most hopeless cases. A famously pednatic and strict teacher that was rumored to be able to create righteous citizens out of the most unruly children. The man who loved him and his didi more than life and practically took over the mantle of fatherhood when their parents were dead/secluded. The only mark of shame on his Shufu's record? That was none other than Wei Wuxian who, now that he looked back on it, was nothing other than an innocent and curious child that had no one else to guide him.

Lan Xichen's precious didi. The cultivation world's Hunguang-Jun who presides over all that is good and eliminates all that is evil. The Second Jade of Lan who was known to be wherever chaos is. A true model of Lan principles. His precious didi who hid a broken heart and a wounded soul ever since their mother died. His precious didi who had become a shell of himself until a certain mischevious ball of sunshine had forcefully catapulted into his life at the tender age of fifteen. His didi promptly becomes more emotional once the boy arrives (even though it is only visible to Lan Xichen's eyes) and Lan Xichen was eternally greatful for the mercy the gods had decided to bestow upon them. Later, however, he had begun to resent the young man as his descent into demonic cultivation consequently splinterred Lan Wangji's soul once again.

Lan Xichen still had conflicting feelings when it came to the Wei-gongzi. Of course, he knew that Wei Wuxian was who his precious didi had fallen in love with (afterall, Lans only love once). But, it was all the more reason to resent him. The boy had played around, flirted with Wangji to his heart's content, yet managed to hurt Wangji more than ever before. Ever since he picked up demonic cultivation, Lan Xichen had noted that Wei Wuxian had changed immensely. The boy that was always happy, if not a little rambunctious, and the perfect emboident of literal sunshine had turned into a pale, cold, and tempermental man surrounded by death and corpses.