The Path In-Between

Chapter 12: Three Months Later, Reunited (Lan)

A/N: Hey guys! Here's chapter 13! Lan Wangji's different! Lan Xichen investigates! Lan Qiren has a proposal?! Let's see what Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian have in store ahead of them!
Warning: Mild gore, pain, references to abuse, depressed behavior etc.
~worldlesswanderer

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Lan Wangji opened his eyes.

His Xiongzhang looked back at him, concern evident from the wide eyes and smileless face. A younger face. A face of the Lan Xichen who had yet to see a war so terrible that he'd wish to be sightless.

Lan Wangji breathed in.

Wei Ying had suceeded.

Lan Wangji was back in time and the lectures had yet to begin.

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It had been two months since the incident in the music room. Lan Xichen was not proud to say that he was absolutely terrified.

Lan Xichen had prided himself in the fact that he and Wangji were close enough that Lan Xichen could read his brother's emotions without any interaction on the latters behalf. So when he saw various degrees of sorrow, grief, and bitterness pass through his didi's eyes while they practiced inquiry, he was disturbed.

From that moment on, Lan Wangji's actions confused him greatly. For one, Lan Wangji continued to play inquiry, one of the hardest pieces of music in lan literature, flawlessly. In fact, he played it better than Lan Xichen. (Lan Xichen was a very proud brother by the way).

Besides confusing Lan Xichen with his newfound maturity and skill, what Lan Xichen hated the most was that he had felt fear. Fear, not for his didi, but of him. Albeit, it was only for single moment that Lan Wangji's eyes seemed convey the multitude of emotions. Yet, it sickened him. Lan Xichen's stomach had been rolling ever since he recognized one emotion in Lan Wangji's eyes that he wished he hadn't. Yearning.

Lan Xichen had only seen such an emotion once in his life. That was when he first met his father. Qingheng-Jun was a well-known cultivator who had famously gone into seclusion since marriage and had yet to break it. The yearning he had identified in his father's eyers were deeply thread into his soul. It was the very emotion that the Lan Elders had shunned in respect to Qingheng-Jun. Xichen knew that the Elders had been watchful of the Twin Jades every since they approached their teenage years. He knew that if they ever found out that Lan Wangji was harboring such feelings, it might very well be the last time he saw his didi.

To outside eyes, however, Lan Wangji appeared to stay the stoic and exemplary, young cultivator he was. His swift and unreal advancements had soon reached outside the ears of Gusu and were being weaved into tales in other sects if Nie Mingjue's recent letter had anything to say about.

Such behavior continued for close to three months and Lan Xichen noticed that Shufu seemed to pick up on the sudden change in Wangji as well. They had coordinated to set up a family outing into Caiyi to gently pry information out of Lan Wangji today.

When Lan Xichen approached the idea of an outing during one of their morning teas with Shufu, Lan Xichen was not quite surprised by Wangji's reaction. When he had asked if his didi would like to accompany them on a simple outing into town before lectures start, Wangji had paused. The briefest flicker of hesitation crossed his face before he replied.

"Xiongzhang. Shufu." Lan Wangji intoned. "Wangji had wished to ask to go to Caiyi today."

Now that was a surprise. Lan Xichen's didi had excelled in cultivation beyond that of his peers but as a result, he had withdrawn into himself. The Second Jade had entered seclusion about a week after their tumultuous music session and had come out only two weeks ago. The cultivation world had become a gossip bowl during the time of seclusion.