Nie Huaisang looks around the temple and takes out a parchment paper from the front of his robes. "It's too dark for what needs to be done." He states calmly and throws it over his head.

The parchment hovers over his head for a few seconds before bursting into tiny sparks and moving to the extinguished candles, lighting it one by one.

Meanwhile, Jiang Cheng looks at his friend's confident actions with a sense of wonder. His mind tells him that there is more to it than meets the eye, for the usually cowardly clan leader Nie, did not look even a little frazzled by the happenings around him.

"Brother Nie, " Jiang Cheng starts again, but immediately falls silent when he sees Huaisang walk calmly towards the eye of the storm, that is Lan XiChen possessed by Nie Mingjue's spirit.

'What is he trying to do?' Jiang Cheng wonders, following Huaisang.

"Brother, " Nie Huaisang calls his elder brother in a clear confident voice, making the furious spirit look at him.

Lan XiChen's eyes soften as soon as they fall upon the young man, "You are here."

"Yes brother, I am here, and I am going to help you find what you are looking for," Huaisang states and holds up the mirror in front of him. "Come closer, Brother, and look." The young man suggests.

Lan XiChen walks closer and looks at the reflection. "YOU! " He bellows pointing his finger at the reflection.

"Yes brother, you are occupying Zewu Jun's body." Huaisang smiles and looks over his shoulder, "He joined hands with chief cultivator Jin and was responsible for your death." Huaisang elaborates.

"Brother Nie! What the fuck are you doing!? Your words are serving to infuriate your brother further!" Jiang Cheng exclaims, snatching the mirror from Huaisang and flinging it away. The mirror hits the floor and breaks into pieces, but the damage is done. 

 Lan XiChen's eyes turn red and he holds out his hand once again, summoning his saber. "If not Meng Yao, XiChen, you will have to do." He states.

 "Stop this. Make your brother stop! I beg of you!" Jiang Cheng exclaims, shaking Huaisang, who keeps looking over his shoulder. 

 The ground starts to shake, as dark energy from all sides starts getting pulled towards Lan XiChen's outstretched hand. 

 In the meanwhile, Lan Zhan staggers towards his brother; his white robes stained with his husband's blood. "Clan leader Nie, please don't. Brother didn't know he was helping Meng Yao." The light bearer tries to reason, his voice weak and low. 

 Lan XiChen looks over his shoulder and shakes his head as the saber made of powerful dark energy, finishes taking shape in his hand. He chuckles humorlessly and flings the sword over his head. He opens his arms as if welcoming the saber to take his life and then commands, "NOW!

 The temple rings with the cries of three cultivators, as Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan scream "Nooooooooooo!" and lung towards XiChen. But both of them know that they won't make it in time to stop the blade from piercing the older Jade's heart. 

 As the saber draws blood, the ground rocks again, and the temple is once again plunged into darkness. Not even the faint glow of Bitchen remains. 

 In the silent darkness, Lan Zhan whispers, "Brother?" fearing the worse, and Jiang Cheng tries to stand up and summons Sando, 'What's the point now though?' the young clan leader thinks dejectedly as once again silence falls over them. 

 Then someone calls, "A Yao?"

 It's Lan XiChen's voice. It's strong and clear. He sounds like himself. 

 "Brother...Zewu Jun" Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng call simultaneously, and Bitchen starts glowing. 

 The cultivators' eyes fall upon a sight that none of them could ever imagine. 

 Sitting in the middle of a pool of blood is Lan XiChen holding Meng Yao's body in his arms as the younger man bleeds to death through a gaping wound in his chest. 

 The formidable saber in nowhere in sight. 

 "A Yao, what did you do?" Lan XiChen asks his sworn younger brother who he couldn't bring himself to hate, even when he knew of the terrible things Meng Yao had done and the lies he had spoken. 

 Meng Yao smiles, "Er ge, your friendship and trust are the only good things I earned in this lifetime and I have lost them already. Er ge, I know I don't deserve your love, but please don't hate me either. Thank you for everything...." 

 With that, Meng Yao closes his eyes and his hands fall away from XiChen's face. "A Yao... " XiChen mutters, shaking Meng Yao's shoulder, "A Yao..."

 "Zewu Jun, he is dead." Jiang Cheng whispers, crouching next to the older Jade. 

Lan XiChen looks from Meng Yao to Jiang Cheng and back at the dead man in his lap, "Clan leader Jiang, you must hate me, right? A Yao destroyed your sister's family, made young master Wei suffer, and was responsible for hundreds of deaths, yet I can't bring myself to despise him... I am sorry Jiang Cheng." Lan XiChen speaks with his eyes glued to Meng Yao's lifeless body. Tears stream down his face as he lays the body down and tries to stand up. His knees give way and he loses balance. But before he can fall, Jiang Cheng catches him and helps him stand up. "I don't hate you." Jiang Cheng realizes, 'How can I? I love you, Zewu Jun.' He thinks, helping the older Lan move away from Meng Yao. 

 "Thank you, Jiang Cheng." Zewu Jun answers, finally looking around the temple. His eyes fall on Nie Huaisang and his brows crease. 

Huaisang has tears in his eyes, "He is gone." He mutters, looking around the dimly lit room, "He is finally free. Finally at peace." Then his eyes fall on Meng Yao, and he walks towards the man he had once loved like his own brother, "You always underestimated me, Meng Yao. And that was your biggest mistake."

With that Huaisang turns towards Lan XiChen and bows, "I am sorry to have put you through this, Zewu Jun, but you were Meng Yao's only weakness." He clarifies and bows before adding, "I knew that no harm will come to you as long as Meng Yao is alive. I am sorry that I used you. Please accept my apology."

 Lan XiChen closes his eyes and sighs, "I understand why you did what you did, but..." The older Lan trails off and looks around, "Where is Wangji?" 

 "He was right there." Jiang Cheng states and gasps, "Wei Wuxian!"

 Now himself again and remembering all that he had put his brother and Wei Ying through, Lan XiChen panics, "Take me to them, please." He requests Jiang Cheng. And both of them walk towards the back of the temple with Huaisang following them a few steps behind. 

The Nie clan leader once again takes out a parchment that lights the extinguished candles, illuminating the way for Zewu Jun and Jiang Cheng. 

Soon the trio arrives near the tunnel where they find Lan Zhan cradling Wei Ying's body in his arms. 

Jiang Cheng leaves Zewu Jun's side and rushes towards his brother, "Wei Wuxian!" He exclaims and questions, "Hanguang Jun, what's the matter?"

Lan Zhan continues to hold Wei Ying close, "He is fine... He is fine...He is fine..." The light bearer keeps murmuring without responding. 

 "Wangji, let me take a look at Master Wei." XiChen urges, concentrating on the living. He squeezes Lan Zhan's shoulder and touches Wei Ying's wrist, "Wangji, master Wei is alive, but his pulse is weak." He states calmly and looks at Huaisang, "I am presuming that you have your people close-by?" 

"Yes, Zewu Jun. I will summon them right away." Huaisang says and walks out of the temple. 

Lan XiChen takes a deep breath, "Wangji... "

"Brother, he is not accepting my energy." Lan Zhan informs, holding Wei Ying closer.

 Zewu Jun smiles, "And why does that bother you, Wangji?"

"We are core bound." Lan Zhan whispers and XiChen's eyes widen slightly. He had known what Wei Ying meant to his brother, but the fact that they were core bound comes as a surprise to him. He thinks if he has ever come across such a case, but his memory fails him. Yet, he is sure that the answer is there in the Cloud reassess library. 

"Wangji, Master Wei is strong. You can feel his core, can't you?" XiChen states calmly. But it's a facade, for the older Lan is scared and worried for not only Wei Ying, but also his brother. 

"Mn. But he is rejecting my energy. Brother, why won't he accept my energy?" Lan Zhan questions and a moment later he too collapses next to his husband.

"Wangji!" Zewu Jun exclaims and tries to shake his brother awake. But when Lan Zhan doesn't respond, the older Jade panics, and the mask of calm, slips away and shatters. 

{Note :- That's it for today's painful update 😭

Please point out my errors if you come across any.

Miniscule rant (please feel free to skip):- I just realized that there is 99% chance that I will not be able to finish TLB before the deadline for Wattys and I am bummed. There are approximately 5 to 6 chapters to go before the story ends 😭. Even thinking about TLB's end is making me emotional, it is my first ever book, after all 😭😭
Yes, my eyes are still not good, but I am balancing my screen time.
Rant over.

Those of you who are reading and supporting my short stories, you have no idea how much joy you guys are giving me by doing that ❤❤❤❤🤗🤗🤗

Please Vote to show your support for this update if you have enjoyed it.

Thank you for reading.
Have a nice day.}