Past 

Xi Xi stands up and makes her way to YiJun, "We will tell him that Xian will return to this body one day. That if YiJun loses hope and kills himself, Xian's soul will never find peace."

Shen shakes his head, "But that's a lie, Xi Xi. What if Xian is...." Shen trails off. He stands up.

"Cong, someone is coming this way. Soldiers, I think. They are human. I don't know how YiJun will react to others. I have warned my father, and he has taken the tribe to the waterfall caves. It will mask their scent. Once I have made sure that you all are safe, you must join them. Protect our people, Cong. Please."

Cong nods, and Shen runs out of the cottage.

"Cong, what if Xian is born again, and YiJun refuses to acknowledge him? Why can't we tell him the truth?" Xi Xi questions. 

"Sweetheart, you saw him. He is a broken child. If you tell him now that his Xian will never speak, never smile or hold him again, he will surely kill himself. We won't be able to stop him." Cong explains.

The couple discusses the matter at length with each other; they go through the books kept in the cottage and come up with a plan to not only save YiJun, but also to make sure that Xian finds YiJun.

As dusk falls, YiJun wakes up. He looks at Xi Xi and Cong, who are busy reading the books. "Uncle, is the medicine ready?" He enquires hopefully. 

Cong smiles at the young man, "Ah good. You are up. Son, there are important things that we need to tell you." He states and proceeds to tell YiJun everything that they know about his condition. He tells YiJun that he will crave blood, but he shouldn't give in; that he needs to protect Xian and himself till Xian wakes up; that they don't know when Xian will wake up; that YiJun needs to be patient and never lose hope. And that That Xian can feel and hear him.

YiJun smiles, "Don't worry, uncle, I will wait. I am good at waiting. I will wait for him as long as it takes."

"Good... Good." Cong nods. He opens his mouth to speak once more but feels apprehensive. 'What if YiJun figures out that I lied about Xian returning to this body on hearing what I say next?' He wonders.

"Is there something else, Uncle?"

"Son, there may be a chance that Xian returns in a different body..." Cong starts, but before he can elaborate, YiJun's eyes turn red, "What are you saying, uncle!? Were you lying to me all this while? Or are you going to lie to me now!?" He yells.

"YiJun!" Xi Xi bites out and slaps him hard. YiJun's lip starts to bleed. His eyes widen in surprise.

"Wang YiJun, how dare you speak like that to Xian's father!? How dare you raise your voice like that after you were unable to protect my son!? Shut up and listen to him." Xi Xi growls. 

YiJun falls to his knees and lets out a whine, while shivers run down Cong's spine, 'Bai bloodline.' he reminds himself.

Cong continues, "You may come across people who look like him over the years. It may confuse you. They may or may not be Xian."

"How will I know?" YiJun asks in a small voice. He doesn't understand what made him calm down. He wonders how Xian could return to a different body when Cong had just told him otherwise.

"If it's Xian, your voice of persuasion will not work on him; his blood will call to you. It will excite you. He will be able to recognize you, and he will be able to do magic."

 Present 

Wangji knows the voice. Though he is upset at being interrupted, he wants to thank XiChen for arriving when he did. "I am fine. I just had to attend to... I was on call. You may leave." Wangji answers before XiChen can look inside. 

XiChen smiles. "I am glad you are alright, Mr. Lan." 

Wangji doesn't move till he is sure that the security guard has left. Once they are alone once more, Wangji's grip on Xian loosens. He strokes the younger's face, "You alright?"

"Mn." Xian nods. He likes XiChen, he does, but right at that moment, Xian thinks that he could have killed that man with his bare hands. Of course, Xian doesn't voice his thoughts. He knows the moment is lost. 

Wangji smiles. It's a sad smile, "I am sorry once again for losing myself. I can't give myself to you, Xian."

He hugs Xian. "If there is anything else you want from me, just say the words."

The way Wangji had told him that he couldn't give himself to Xian makes the young man think that Wangji had changed his mind about attending his birthday party. "I want three things," Xian says confidently. 

Once again, Wangji was filled with a sense of Deja Vu. It reminds him of the day his Xian had asked three things as compensation for saving his life. 

Wangji nods, "Ask."

"I want you to come to my party."

Wangji sighs. "I promise I will. Next. "

Xian hugs Wangji tighter. "I want you to ask me what I want when you meet me, and you have to give it to me."

Wangji nods, "I promise. Next."

Xian wants Wangji to take responsibility for what he is doing. He doesn't want Wangji to think he can do things and then tell Xian to forget them. "I want to remember that which you will give me."

Wangji breaks the embrace and stares at Xian, "What did you say?"

Xian smiles, "I want to remember."

"Why did you say that?" Wangji asks, perplexed. 

"Well, you said that I would forget this once it's over. I don't want to forget the gift that I will receive." Xian answers confidently. 

Wangji feels at a loss for words, for he had never persuaded anyone more than once. He had never had the needed it. Xian was the first one he had persuaded multiple times, 'Maybe, he remembers my words now, but forgets when the persuasion is over.'

"I promise." The immortal says finally. 

Xian smiles before kissing Wangji's lips lightly, "I love you."

Wangji hugs Xian once more. He buries his face in Xian's neck and breathes deeply. He removes Xian from his lap and buckles him up once again. 

"You will remember nothing that happened after you entered the car," Wangji says, looking deep into Xian's eyes, and without waiting for a response, he starts driving the car. 

Xian remains quiet the whole time. Wangji doesn't talk either. It's like there is nothing to say. Wangji can't forget about his soulmate, and yet, this new boy had made a special place in his heart. And Wangji knew that he absolutely could not acknowledge that. With that thought, Wangji drops Xian home and drives away. 

*Lan Mansion*

Shen is once again waiting for Wangji; he is alone. 

"Uncle, where is officer Zhau?"

"Work. His department found more bodies." Shen pauses, "Zhau thinks that the murders have something to do with Jin Pharmaceutical. The CEO's right-hand man was spotted lurking around the murder scene just after the murders. Zhau thinks that the killer is a woman."

Wangji's doesn't understand how to process this information, "Uncle, Jin Gayo is not married. Nor does he have a girlfriend. He is more of a recluse than me. Why does Zhau think that they have a connection?"

"He met Mr. Jin. YiJun, I think that Mr. Jin is not human. From what Zhau told me, it looks like he tried to use the power of persuasion on him. It didn't work on Zhau. But since Zhau is aware of night creatures and wolves, he pretended that the persuasion worked on him." Afterward, Shen proceeds to tell Wangji all that Zhau had told him. 

"Uncle, I think you need to tell Zhau to move in with us. If Gayo is indeed a night creature, he may know about you and me."

"I think he knows about me, or at least he has doubts. The only night creatures I know are Shin and her brother. But I have never met him." Anger flashes across Shen's face. 

"Do you think it's her, Uncle?" Wangji hesitates before asking. After all, Shen had ripped her throat out. It was a different matter that her body had disappeared. 

"It would have taken a miracle for her to be able to walk again, or... " Shen says, shaking her head. 

"Or time and a lot of blood," Wangji says, completing Shen's thoughts. 

"Zhau had mentioned earlier that the killing had started around eighteen or nineteen years ago. YiJun, try to think, did you feel anything then. Did anything strange happen?"

Wangji contemplates for a few moments; his face darkens. He turns away from Shen, "Uncle, I never told you...but the lotus mark left Xian's body about 20 years ago."

"YiJun!" Shen exclaims and turns Wangji to face him, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know, uncle. Maybe I was scared that you might say something that I wouldn't like to hear."

"Are you kidding me right now, YiJun!?" Shen almost yells; Wangji cowers. He realizes that he should not have hidden this from his uncle. 

"Anything else?" Shen asks, trying to calm himself down. 

"No, nothing."

"Do you remember the exact date?" Shen asks. A thought starts to form in his head. 

"18th June 2000," YiJun answers confidently. 

Shen paces around for a few minutes. Then he stops abruptly, "YiJun, go to Xian. Bring him here."

"Uncle!" 

"YiJun, I know that you think that Wei Xian is not your Xian, but the boy told me that his birthday is the day after tomorrow. That would mean that he was conceived around that time."

Wangji shakes his head, "So what, uncle? He doesn't have magic. And my powers work on him."

Shen gets irritated. He contemplates telling Wangji the truth. The truth that his Xian will never return to his body. But at the last minute, he changes his mind, "You told me yourself that his blood called to you. And I know that you almost took him the first time you met him in the alley. YiJun, you find it hard to control yourself around him. You mentioned the other day that he is capable of hearing your thoughts. That is magic, YiJun!"

"Uncle, he can't hear me all the time. It's only sometimes. I don't know-" Wangji tails off, for what Shen was saying made sense. No one he had met had had this effect on him.

Shen tries to explain, "Maybe, Xian can't do magic because he is not nineteen yet...YiJun, please.."

Wangji's temper rises. His eyes turn red, "What do you want me to do, uncle!? Yes, his blood calls to me, excites me. I want him. I love him!" Wangji bangs his hand on the wall, and it cracks; he starts crying.

"YiJun..."

Wangji falls to his knees, "I already feel like I am betraying my Xian. I shouldn't feel like this for Xian. Uncle, if I am next to him, I want to touch him, mark him. Uncle, I am not strong enough."

Shen holds Wangji in his arms, "Don't hold yourself back anymore. Maybe because you are trying to keep your distance, you are feeling this way." Shen tries again.

"I have waited for Xian for four hundred years, Uncle. I promised him that I would wait till he returns." Wangji cries, holding on to his uncle tightly.

"I have met Xian, trust me, Son, he is special. I am not just saying that. The way he spoke about you, he was not scared of you. He was not intimidated. But his heart did race at your thought."

"Uncle, do you truly think it might be him then?"

Shen nods.

Wangji slowly breaks the embrace, "Uncle, there is something else I didn't tell you... Last night when I felt like Xian spoke to me, responded to me, in the end, he called me Mr. Lan."

"What!? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know... I guess I just wanted Xian...Ahhhhh!" Wangji suddenly clutches his heart and screams.

"YiJun! What is it?"

"I don't know, uncle. It felt like something stabbed me in the chest."

Shen panics when he sees Wangji's eyes roll back into his head," YiJun... What is happening?" He shakes his nephew's shoulders."

Xian..." Wangji whispers, before collapsing in Shen's arms. 

 {Note:- Word count 2118

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