{Note :- The part in italic is happening in Wei Ying and Lan Zhan's subconscious mind. The parts in bold italic is spoken in real world and heard in subconscious mind. The events mentioned here are parts of specials.

The ***** show a shift in scene in subconscious and transition from dreams to reality.}

*****

"Lan Zhan!" Wei Ying calls out, but no one replies. It's dark and cold. Wei Ying moves his hands over his forearms and calls again, "Lan Zhan, where are you? Can you hear me?"

Feeling lost, miserable and all on his own, Wei Ying sits on the wet ground. It's only then that he realizes that he is drenched. "No wonder I was feeling cold." He observes and sighs. Closing his eyes, he gives voice to his thoughts, "Hanguang Jun, you promised that you will never leave me, remember?... I guess you already forgot. You forgot your promise, didn't you, Hanguang Jun?" 

"Wei Ying... " He hears someone call his name. It's like a strangled whisper; like whoever was calling him, was taking great pains to do so. 

"Who is it? Where are you?" Wei Ying asks, standing up and opening his eyes. "Lan Zhan?" He adds, his voice full of doubt. "Is that you?"

"Wei Ying, come back... " The voice becomes clearer; it's seeped in sorry. Like a sword that is drenched in the blood of several men. 

"Lan Zhan, I am right here!" It's dark here. I can't see you." Wei Ying replies, stumbling on things his eyes fail to show him, "Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan... can you hear me?"

Once again no one replies, but Wei Ying notices that it's not as dark as it was before. I small feeble spark, glowing at a distance, catches his eyes, and he runs to it like a moth to a flame. 

Soon, Wei Ying finds himself staring at Bitchen, and immediately, relief floods him. 'Lan Zhan is around here somewhere.' Wei Ying reassures himself and smiles. He holds out his hand to touch the sword, but his hand passes through it. 

"What!?"

"He is fine... He is fine... He is fine..."

'That's Lan Zhan's voice... Why is it so sad?" Wei Ying steps closer to inspect the sword, and what he sees breaks his heart.

The mighty sword is barely a shadow of its former self, it's bright blue glow, all but gone. 

"What happened?" Wei Ying wonders aloud and feels a sharp pain in his abdomen. He touches it.

"Blood... " He mouths, staring at his bloodied hand. In the feeble glow, Wei Ying gives himself a once-over, and the events that had taken place in the temple come back to him. 

 'Zewu Jun was possessed... I tried to stop him... He hurt Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng!... Did I get hurt at well!? Did I fail to protect them!?' Wei Ying panics. 

 "Lan Zhan, talk to me! Please, Lan Zhan..." Wei Ying begs, falling to his knees. 

 "Why won't he accept my energy?" Wei Ying hears Lan Zhan's voice. He hears the anguish, the pain, the despair, and his heart breaks all over again. "Lan Zhan, I am right here!" He screams, "Why can't you hear me!?" and collapses. 

 *****

 Wei Ying opens his eyes and finds himself in a market. He has been here before. Long ago. With Lan Zhan. 

 There is a loud burst, and petals start raining from the sky. Wei Ying smiles and looks to his right. Lan Zhan. 

 "Lan Zhan, I found you!" Wei Ying gushes, but Lan Zhan doesn't look at him. His eyes follow the petals that rain from above. 

 "Lan Zhan, we are long past the point where you can ignore me, remember?" He teases and tries to grab his husband's wrist. But before he can do so, someone else grabs Lan Zhan's wrist, and then he is running through the market. Wei Ying tries to follow, but is stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

 Wei Ying turns feeling irritated. He had wanted to follow Lan Zhan. "Who the fuck..." Wei Ying trails off. For the man who had stopped him is none other than his husband. "Lan Zhan? What are you... How are you here... You just left." Wei Ying feels confused; his brows crease. 

 "Wei Ying, you shouldn't follow them." The man in front of the Yiling patriarch begs. 

 "Why?"

"Just don't, let's go elsewhere." Lan Zhan urges, but Wei Ying refuses. "Tell me why you don't want me to follow them."

Lan Zhan looks away, and darkness engulfs them. 

 *****

"Wei Ying!" Lan Zhan calls, running through the forest. He is surrounded by heavy mist, making it difficult for him to see what's right in front of him. "Wei Ying, say something. Wei Ying...Wei Ying... Please." He yells, running around in circles. 

"Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan!" He hears Wei Ying call him. He follows the sound of the voice. His Wei Ying's voice, "Stay right there. Keep talking to me. I will come to you." Lan Zhan instructs, but Wei Ying keeps calling his name, as if not being able to hear him at all. 

Lan Zhan ignores the uneasy suffocating feeling in his chest and continues to follow Wei Ying's voice.

"Wei Ying!" Lan Zhan calls, finally spotting his husband, and rushes to him. But before he can touch him, a black chain wraps around Wei Ying's neck and he is dragged away.

"Wei Ying!" Lan Zhan screams, but no words leave him. His lips are sealed. It's the silencing charm; his silencing charm. 

 "Ammmm....Ammmm." He struggles to break the charm, but fails. He runs towards where he had seen Wei Ying getting dragged, but soon the mist surrounding him becomes denser and he stumbles. 

 *****

When Wei Ying opens his eyes, he finds himself in his room. The same one he shared with Jiang Cheng in Cloud Reassess so many years ago. 

'I am dreaming. But why?' He wonders and looks around. His eyes fall on two men chatting on the bed; his bed. He can't make out who it is; he walks closer. 

'It's Lan Zhan and me. Lan Zhan is drunk.' Wei Ying observes and chuckles, "It's the time I got him drunk!" He exclaims, walking closer still. 

"Come to think of it, I don't remember what happened here that night." Wei Ying smiles and takes a seat next to the bed. He watches as his younger self cups the light bearer's face, "Lan Er gege, do you know I like it most when you are angry." and then kisses his nose. 

"Fuck! Why did I do that? Why did Lan Zhan not push me away?" Wei Ying wonders. For Wei Ying was very sure that then, all he wanted, was to be Lan Zhan's friend. And what was more, he knew for sure that Lan Zhan despised him.

 "Lan Er gege, won't you punish me today?" Wei Ying hears himself speak and his heart starts racing, 'What the actual fuck was I playing at!? Did I have a death wish then?'

"Do you want me to punish you, Wei Ying?" Wei Ying watches the young Lan Zhan ask, and his insides do a flip flop. 'Why isn't Lan Zhan angry? Why is he accepting my touches?'

Wei Ying watches as a most ridiculous and confusing conversation unfolds in front of him. He wonders where it is going. 

Suddenly he feels the air around him go warmer. He turns and finds Lan Zhan staring at him. It's his Lan Zhan; his husband. 

 "Wei Ying, let's leave." Lan Zhan says resolutely, but Wei Ying shakes his head, "I want to see what happens next."

"No. Not important." Lan Zhan says, dragging him out of the chamber. 

Wei Ying struggles to free himself from his husband's iron grip but fails. "Lan Zhaaan!" Wei Ying cribs, "Why do you keep stopping me!?"

 "It's nothing important. I need to talk to you, Wei Ying." He blurts out, but before he can close the door, Wei Ying hears himself moan. He stops Lan Zhan, "Lan Zhan, I want to see!" He turns around and runs back inside. 

Wei Ying's eyes fall on their younger selves in throws of passion, with Lan Zhan on top of him!

 "What is happening!? What are... " Wei Ying trails off when the boys start kissing each other. His eyes widen and his hand moves to his chest. 

"No!" He hears his Lan Zhan exclaim from behind him, "No... " He whispers again, when Wei Ying turns and looks at him. 

 "Lan Zhan?" Wei Ying questions his husband. The light bearer's cheeks are stained with tears and lips are quivering. "Why?" He asks, stepping closer to his husband, but Lan Zhan turns away from him and disappears. 

"Lan Zhan!" Wei Ying yells, trying to follow him, but stumbles once again. He falls to the floor and closes his eyes. "Lan Zhan, come back."

******

 *Cloud Recesses*

 "Wangji!" Zewu Jun exclaims, taking a seat next to his brother, "Elder, what is happening to Wangji? Why is he crying in his unconscious state?"

 "Zewu Jun, look, "Jiang Cheng calls, dragging the older Jade's attention to Wei Ying, "Color has risen to Wei WuXian's face!"

 The physician sighs, "Their states, though different, seem connected. I think that they are experiencing the same things differently." he guesses. 

 "What do you mean, Elder?" Zewu Jun enquires. 

 "The same memories can mean different things to different individuals." The old man elaborates. 

 "So they are still communicating...in some way?" Jiang Cheng guesses, and the old man nods, "It's possible."

 "So if we can somehow form a connection to even one of them, we can communicate with both of them, right?" Zewu Jun asks hopefully, and the old man nods, "Yes. Now, let's make haste. I will keep what you have told me a secret. I don't think the fact that the brightest pupil of our clan has given his heart to a man will sit well with most of our clan, especially Qiren."

 The two cultivators nod, and the three men formulate a plan on how to proceed with treating Lan Zhan and Wei Ying, and what to tell the clan members about them. 

 After much deliberation, they conclude that due to the heavy bleeding and injuries suffered by Wei Ying, they will have to ask those with powerful cores and strong spiritual reserve to help with the healing process. For the old man had informed them that Wei Ying's core was once again gone. 

The elder then sends a message to Lan Qiren, requesting an audience with the highest level cultivators of the clan, as soon as possible. 

By this time, the members who had witnessed Wei Ying's skill and his actions while dealing with Meng Yao had informed all and sundry about how wrong they had been in accusing the man, who they had thought was responsible for countless deaths. 

The whole cloud recesses was feeling guilty for having judged a good man without giving him a chance to explain himself. Once again, Lan Zhan is put on a pedestal for being the best cultivator of the present generation, for he was the only one who had stood by the greatly misunderstood Wei WuXian.

As soon as Wei Ying was brought to cloud recesses, the old physician had done his best to stop the bleeding by closing the wounds. So, as soon as he receives a positive reply from the clan, he starts the first step in the healing process, which is to connect to Lan Zhan and Wei Ying's shared core. 

"Zewu Jun, put your right hand on Hanguang Jun and left on Yiling patriarch." The physician instructs, guiding the older Jade's palms on Lan Zhan's and Wei Ying's chest. He instructs Jiang Cheng to do the same, and Jiang Cheng places his hands on top of Zewu Jun's. 

"Good. Now please close your eyes and try to reach their joint core." The old man continues, "Try to think of happy times. That way, when you make contact, they will be more willing to listen to what you have to say."

The two clan leaders nod and close their eyes. 

*****

Crying, Lan Zhan runs aimlessly through cloud recesses. His heart pounds in his chest as he recalls the look of shock on Wei Ying's face when he had seen their younger selves making out in his chamber.

 "Lan Zhan!" He hears Wei Ying call him, but doesn't stop. He feels scared and unprepared for what his husband might have to say to him. 

He closes his eyes and ears; he doesn't need eyes to guide him through Cloud Recesses. 

Yet, as he runs, faint words that sound like his name, reach his ears. 'It's not Wei Ying.' He realizes, but continues to run; the feeling of despair growing by the second. 

In his frenzied state, he bangs into a wall unexpectedly and winces. 

 Holding his bleeding forehead, he opens his eyes, 'Servers me right.' He thinks, looking at his bloodstained fingers before looking around. 

 'It's the temple we had taken shelter in, when we were trying to hide from the undead corpses." Lan Zhan recalls, stepping inside the open door. 

 Lan Zhan's eyes fall on his and Wei Ying's younger selves and he walks closer. 'Good times... Happy times.'

Lan Zhan watches as the young boys look around the temple.  

 "What is happening?" Lan Zhan wonders when the young Wei Ying touches his younger version's forehead, and the events he has no recollection of follows. 

He watches himself pull Wei Ying in his lap and proceeds to bit his lips. 

 "No! Stop! What are you doing!? He doesn't want it! Can't you see?" Lan Zhan yells, trying to break the boys apart, but he fails. His hands pass through the boys who he concludes, can't hear or see him. 

 Fresh tears make their way down his cheeks as he realizes that here too, he had taken what he wanted, without consent. 

 Lan Zhan stands up and turns away. 'How far did I go this time?' The light bearer wonders, but just when he is about to walk away, he hears Wei Ying hum appreciatively. 

 Lan Zhan turns around and what meets his eyes, renders him speechless. For the two boys were now kissing. Wei Ying wasn't resisting anymore. If anything, he was urging Lan Zhan to do more. Wei Ying's grip on Lan Zhan was firm and possessive. It was like Wei Ying did not want to be let go. He was happy to be kissed and touched by Lan Zhan. 

 'Is my mind making this up?' Lan Zhan wonders, keeping his eyes fixed on the two boys. 

 He watches as his younger self, loosens the belts holding Wei Ying's upper garments in place and pushes them down. 'Why isn't Wei Ying stopping me?' he ponders. And when he watches Wei Ying throws his head back and moan unbridled, heat rises to Lan Zhan's cheeks. 

 He turns away from the scene and comes face to face with Wei Ying, who is looking at him with tears in his eyes.

 "Wei Ying... " Lan Zhan whispers, and his eyes widen, "I... I... please let me explain. I didn't do this...I mean, I probably did this, but I don't remember doing it... Wei Ying, please let me explain." The light bearer begs, and his eyes lower, "I told you... I have done things... I am so...Ammmmm!"

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