*A lesser know temple in Lanling*

Meng Yao enters the temple and orders its doors shut. He gestures one of the hefty looking men to approach him, "Have you secured the perimeter?"

The man holding a metal rod nods, "Yes, but a couple of days ago, there was some disturbance inside the temple where you asked us to place the object."

"Tell me." The chief cultivator orders, making his way down into the tunnel dug at the back of the statue of the deity, and the large man starts explaining, "Four days ago when we brought the item here, we felt like we were being followed."

"Why wasn't I informed!" Meng Yao fumes.

"Master, we decided to wait till we could confirm, since we didn't have any solid evidence. Moreover, you had I instructed that we should avoid approaching you unless it was something urgent."

Meng Yao gestures the man to continue.

"For the next few days, we observed and kept a close eye on the item and the surrounding area. We found no suspicious activity. After that first day, everything had gone quiet, and we concluded that the item was safe. We did, however, continue to guard it." 

 The hefty man says confidently before lowering his eyes, "But today, we noticed that some people were trying to gain entrance into the temple. They said that it was very important that they give their offerings to the deity. As ordered, we tried our level best to dissuade them, but they made a fuss. We had to resort to violence, but in the end, they gave up and left." The man finishes.

"And what of the item?" Meng Yao enquires, gesturing his companion to open the vault-like structure.

"It was as we left it. That is why we didn't bother you." The man informs opening the vault, revealing a four by four box.

Meng Yao breathes a sigh of relief and orders the man to take the box out and leave; the man does as told.

Once Meng Yao is all alone, he crouches next to the box and opens it. 

Peering inside his eyes fall on a dismembered head. The very head that Wei Ying had discovered when he had entered his chamber as a paper man.

The Jin clan leader smiles bitterly, "If only you would have treated me better, you wouldn't be lying here like this now." He whispers. He is about to close the box when his eyes fall on one of the marks he had made.

The soul trapping symbol, Meng Yao observes, looks a little different than what he had drawn. He pulls out the dismembered head and peers into the box to take a closer look.

"No!" He shrieks and pushes the box away. "Guard!" He yells, and a second later, the hefty man arrives.

"Put it back and close it up." Meng Yao orders walking out of the tunnel and going to the temple's main hall.

*Somewhere deep in Yunmeng forests*

Having left the gathering, the older Lan walks aimlessly into the Yunmeng forest. He feels empty and alone. He feels betrayed and abandoned. He feels like his life has no meaning. 

He looks at Meng Yao's sword that he had brought along with him when he had left the crowds behind, and tears roll down his face.

"Why, A Yao?" The older Lan whispers into nothingness. All alone, he looks at the horizon and sees the sun disappear, "How will I face the consequences of trusting you, A Yao?"

Something occurs to Zewu Jun, and his aimless steps falter. He feels a presence around him and he takes out his sword Shuoyue, "Who is it? Answer me." He commands.

The air around him picks up speed, and a figure shrouded in black smoke starts taking from a few feet away from him, "Reveal yourself!" The older Lan orders as the black form advances towards him.

Lan XiChen holds his ground and stares back at the form. "I am not afraid of you." He states confidently, and the black form stops.

The older Lan stares at the form that is now hovering just a few inches away from him, and slowly his expression, that was once alert and defensive, softens. He smiles, and a fresh tear rolls down his face.

Shuoyue falls from his hand and hits the ground with a clang. In the quiet of the fading dusk, Lan XiChen follows his sword and falls on the cold hard ground as well.

His eyes close, but the sad smile doesn't leave his face.

*Outside the now-empty cave*

Lan Zhan directs a withering look at Wei Ying, and without a word, turns away from him and starts walking towards one of the carriages Jiang Cheng had left behind.

The younger man catches up and holds his husband's forearm, stopping him from walking away, "Lan Zhan, I realize that you did not like me lying about our relationship to everyone, but I don't see why that has you so upset."

Lan Zhan closes his eyes and looks at Wei Ying's questioning face before prying his hands away.

"Wei Ying, I need to be alone for a little while. You said that you were tired as well. Go ahead and rest. " The light bearer says, pointing at carriage left behind by Jiang Cheng.

"Lan Zhan... " Wei Ying whines, but before he can say more, Lan Zhan pulls him close, and brings their lips together in a small kiss, "Please, Wei Ying." The older whispers, stepping away from his husband.

With that, Lan Zhan looks at his husband reassuringly before walking inside the now harmless cave and disappearing from Wei Ying's sight, leaving the younger man confused and worried. 

Wei Ying feels like there is something that Lan Zhan is hiding from him. As he makes his way to the carriage and recalls the last thing Lan Zhan had said to him, he feels empty and suffocated; he feels alone and restless.

Still, keeping his husband's words, he lies down in the carriage, and all the times Lan Zhan had been less than forthcoming about his feelings, come to his mind.

He tries to convince himself that his husband is a private man and doesn't show his true feelings often, but for the past few days, he had been feeling like something was bothering Lan Zhan; something that made the light bearer uncomfortable and sad. 

 He knew now, that Lan Zhan loved him more than anything and that they were soulmates. But that only made Wei Ying more curious as to what could be bothering his husband so much.

With these thoughts in mind, Wei Ying falls asleep.

*Lotus Cove*

On reaching Lotus Cove, a very distracted Jiang Cheng orders his house staff to accommodate the guests that had accompanied him back to Lotus Cove. He goes to his quarters and sends for Yenay.

When the older lady arrives, he hugs her, "A Cheng! what has happened?" Yenay asks, pulling away and wiping the young clan leader's eyes, "Why are you crying?"

Jiang Cheng shakes his head as if confused, "That dumbfuck didn't tell me that he got his core back!" Jiang Cheng exclaims.

"A Xian got his core back!? Since when? How?" The old woman questions, smiling radiantly.

"I don't know. He didn't tell me. We couldn't talk. But I am planning to ask him..." Jiang Cheng trails off as he remembers Wei Ying controlling Bichen and a single word leaves his lips, "Lan Wangji..."

"What about, Hanguang Jun?" Yenay asks.

"Nothing, Wei Wuxian may have lied to protect Lan Wangji, so I can't be sure..." Jiang Cheng pauses once again and a small half-smile plays on his lips, "He saved us all. He saved Jin Ling again, Yenay. Had it not been for him, we all would have been reduced to mear puppets." Jiang Cheng elaborates.

"I always knew that Master Fengmian's teachings would never leave his side. He would never hurt any innocent soul." Yenay muses before looking at her clan leader and seeing something that doesn't match what he was telling her, "A Cheng, why are you looking sad? And where are clan leaders Lan and Jin?"

The mention of older Jade beings fresh tears to Jiang Cheng's eyes, "Yenay, there is much that I need to tell you." The Jiang clan leader says and goes on to describe what had gone down in the forest.

Yenay is both relieved and apprehensive about the situation, "So, clan leader Jin has gone missing, and A Xian decided to deal with the resentful spirits at the cave before returning home?" She summarises.

 When Jing Cheng nods, and Yenay presses on, "Why did Clan leader Lan go to look for the chief cultivator alone? I mean, isn't that dangerous?"

Jiang Cheng shakes his head, "I believe that if there is one person Meng Yao cares about, it's Zewu Jun. I don't think Meng Yao can hurt him."

Yenay purses her lips, "A Cheng, a man who has lost everything, including the trust of the one he cares about the most, can't be trusted to make rational choices."

"Mn?"

"A Cheng, I trust that you did what you thought needed to be done, but if I were you, I would not let my guard down just yet." She pauses and gives Jiang Cheng's shoulder a lite squeeze, "I can tell that you are worried about clan leader Lan. See if there is a way to know of his whereabouts."

With that Yenay leaves to take care of her duties.

Worried, Jiang Cheng pats the front of his robes and closes his eyes, "What should I do, Zewu Jun?"

He takes a deep breath; he concentrates on his heartbeat, and the cool object swung around his neck. The same object, that had saved his life only a few hours ago.

Jiang Cheng tries to feel Lan XiChen's presence with his mind's eyes like he had been taught to do by the older Lan the night before, but he fails. 

'Why can't I feel his presence?' Jiang Cheng wonders, getting restless and immediately takes out a piece of paper.

*Inside the cave*

After leaving Wei Ying's side, Lan goes inside the empty cave. It's not filled with restless energy anymore. He walks to the innermost chamber with Bichen guiding his way, and settles down.

He closes his eyes and his brows knit together. He shakes his head, "That can't be!" He mutters under his breath before taking out a piece of parchment paper from his robes.

 He summons Bichen and runs his finger on its sharp end. The spiritual sword trembles, and a few drops of blood fall on the parchment paper.

Lan Zhan closes his eyes once again and chants a spell. Nothing happens. 

 "Where are you, Brother?" Lan Zhan sighs and makes his way out of the cave, towards his husband.

"Wei Ying," Lan Zhan shakes his husband's shoulder, gently dragging him out of slumber, "Wake up."

The younger man slowly opens his eyes and ignores the tightness he feels in his chest, "Lan Zhan, is something wrong?" He enquires, looking at his husband's worried face.

Lan Zhan shakes his head, "I am not sure, Wei Ying. I think we should send a message to Jiang Cheng and ask if brother has returned."

Wei Ying's brows knit, "Lan Zhan, I wanted to ... " The younger starts, but the light bearer cuts his words, "I am worried for him. I know that Meng Yao may not do anything to him wantingly, but what if others are working with him. What if brother is in trouble?" Lan Zhan elaborates.

'Lan Zhan really is worried about Zewu Jun right now. We have time to talk about other things later. Maybe I am overthinking things.' Wei Ying concludes, and nods, "Lan Zhan, why can't you just send a message to Zewu Jun and ask him where he is, and if he needs you?"

"I can't feel him." Lan Zhan answers.

"What do you mean?"

"Just now, I tried to contact him. You know how we need to feel the other's presence to send the message, right."

"Mn."

"I couldn't feel him at all. It's like he has vanished. I tried to connect to his headband too, but got nothing. Today when we met, I noticed that his headband was missing from his forehead." Lan Zhan explains.

Wei Ying gives a light squeeze to his husband's shoulder, "I will send a message to Jiang Cheng right away." 

With that, Wei Ying takes out a parchment and writes down the message. He hands it over to Lan Zhan, who takes it and chants a spell, turning the paper into a glowing butterfly.

"What now?" Wei Ying asks looking at the butterfly flutter away towards Lotus Cove. Lan Zhan shrugs and is about to voice his thoughts, but he stops when he sees a butterfly, similar to the one that had flown out of their sight just seconds ago, approach them.

{Note :- That's it for today's update.
Hope it was worth the wait.

If you come across any inconsistencies or errors, please feel free to point them out to me.

Today is 5th August, my boy Wang YiBo's birthday, so this chapter is dedicated to him ❤
I also published a WangXian one-shot titled 'Ever After' to show my love for our boys on YiBo's special day.

On another note, I recently saw the trailer of Legend of Fei and it looked awesome. Did you guys see it?

Your Votes and comments encourage me to do better, so please Vote for this update if you have enjoyed it.

Thank you for reading.
Have a nice day.}