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It happens on a night-hunt, like most peculiar things that occur in Lan Zhan’s life.
There were rumors of a huge amount of resentful energy brewing in an abandoned temple just northeast from the barriers of Lotus Pier and while solving the problem is technically under the jurisdiction of the Yunmeng Jiang sect, his husband, after hearing of the incident, could not resist wanting to see it for himself and help out with cleansing the area.
So, here they are, Lan Zhan and Wei Ying, alongside their junior disciples (and Jin Ling), just a couple of miles away from the abandoned temple, staring down Jiang Wanyin and the two Yunmeng Jiang disciples accompanying him.
Upon seeing Jin Rulan amongst them, Jiang Wanyin’s eyes narrows and Zidian sparks to life in his finger, “Jin Ling! Why are you here? Don’t you have Sect Leader duties to accomplish?! You want me to break your legs?!”
“Jiujiu! I couldn’t not go with them after knowing you planned to cleanse the resentful energy by yourself! Besides, why are you not angry at him!” Jin Ling defends, pointing his finger accusingly towards his sheepish husband, “I just followed Wei Wuxian!”
“Jiang-zongzhu, we just wanted to help out!” Jingyi chimes in, causing the man to pinch his nose in exasperation.
Lan Zhan steps forward quietly, his calculating eyes taking note of their surroundings which felt heavier as soon as they stopped several feet away from the temple. He shifts, leaning towards his husband and taking note of Jiang Wanyin’s tense stance. He must have felt the growing heaviness in the air too.
It has been nearly five years since the events in Guanyin Temple ensued. He and Wei Ying have spent the majority of the past four years journeying the cultivation world before finally settling down in Cloud Recesses.
Although Wei Ying and Jiang Wanyin have never reconciled after the revelation that went down in the Ancestral Hall of Lotus Pier and subsequent events in Guanyin Temple, Lan Zhan could desribe their current relationship that of civil and professional, with the Yunmeng Jiang sect leader seemingly putting aside his rift with his husband, attending their wedding and cooperating with each other during night-hunts, especially when his brother only recently left seclusion.
It isn’t something Lan Zhan was going to hold his brother accountable for– he was well aware of the betrayal and grief he endured. Thus, for the past years, Lan Zhan assisted his uncle in running the sect and carried out his responsibilities as the Chief Cultivator, even when he was traveling with Wei Ying.
The duty of looking over cultivation clans came along with his role of the Chief Cultivator; this included Yunmeng Jiang. Despite Jiang Wanyin no longer going out of his way to antagonize them every waking moment, Lotus Pier has never really been welcoming towards them. It angered Lan Zhan seeing the uncomfortable and pained look in Wei Ying’s eyes whenever they stepped foot into his husband’s former home only to be met with caution and distaste.
Five years ago, Lan Zhan would have felt more contempt towards the man who was definitely behind the unwelcoming atmosphere and for causing the pain in his husband’s eyes. However, five years with Wei Ying is a long time, long enough for him to put the past, or at least most of it, behind.
Five years ago, when Lan Zhan was feeling petty enough, he would triumph over the fact that Wei Ying will forever be bonded to him, and Jiang Cheng was utterly, irrevocably alone.
Now, he feels nothing but indifference and perhaps even pity for the man.
Jiang Wanyin looks terrible, to put it simply. His eyes are dark and his face appears to be gaunt. There was also a prominent exhaustion on his posture— as if he was carrying the entire weight of the world on his shoulders.
Lan Zhan should know, he looked exactly like that before Wei Ying came back in Mo Xuanyu’s body after all. But he was not going to say anything.
It was not like he and Jiang Wanyin were anything more than strangers, anyway.
“Hanguang-jun!” Sizhui cries out, bringing Lan Zhan back from his reverie. He could distantly hear the arguments between Jiang Wanyin and Jin Ling come to a halt but he couldn’t focus on it, not when the resentful energy became stronger and the sky was ripping apart like a portal, streaks of corrupted energy and mysterious white flashes falling down to the ground.
“Wei Ying, be careful.” Wangji cautions his husband, who was already motioning his hand upwards to bring Chenqing to his mouth.
“Don’t worry about me, Lan Zhan! Keep the kids safe.”
“Mn.” He responds, taking out Wangji and playing a resentful energy-dispelling musical technique to aid Wei Ying.
The portal on the sky grew rapidly, reacting to Chenqing and Wangji’s simultaneous playing. However, the surroundings became a mix of purple and black as Jiang Wanyin flew closer using his sword and attempted to strike the gaping hole above the temple with Zidian.
“Jiujiu! Look out!”
Lan Zhan snaps his head as a large amount of resentful energy hit Jiang Wanyin, causing the man to fall from his sword and clutch his dantian where his– Wei Ying’s – core was located. The disciples from Yunmeng Jiang rushed towards him and Jin Ling followed suit, helping him up.
All of a sudden, the resentful energy starts dispersing, like it was never there in the first place, only to be replaced by a strange flash of hot, white light and a figure falling down from the portal above the temple before it closed.
Multiple gasps resounds throughout the clearing and Wei Ying’s breath hitches as the figure rose from where he fell, eyes merely glancing their way before it stopped to Jiang Wanyin.
Lan Zhan’s eyes widens imperceptibly as the man abruptly turns towards him and he sees what caused Wei Ying’s surprise. Long, dark hair enclosed in a bun, light amber eyes that seemed to peer into his very soul, and whose body was donned in a white mourning robe. The most damning thing in the man’s appearance, however, is the Gusu Lan ribbon meticulously placed on his forehead.
He did not look just like any other Lan. He looked like an exact copy of Lan Zhan.
“Um… is it just me or does the figure who fell down look exactly like Hanguang-jun?” Lan Jingyi speaks up hesitantly.
The doppelgänger treads forward. Lan Zhan raises Bichen and pushes Wei Ying behind his back in case the man (or possibly a spirit copying him, but he has never heard of a resentful soul who could change one’s own body into a living person) attacks them or his husband.
Lan Zhan is not going to let any harm come Wei Ying’s way, especially not one who was masquerading as himself. The Junior Disciples copies him, unsheathing their swords and aiming it towards the clone.
To his surprise, not only did his double barely bat an eye, he doesn’t even gaze at Wei Ying at all; instead, he approaches Jiang Wanyin, and to everyone’s shock, kneels in front of the man.
“What are you doing near my jiujiu!” Jin Ling say, leaning forward to protect Jiang Wanyin from danger only for the back of his robe to be snatched back by the man, propelling him behind the man’s back as Jiang Wanyin’s disciples takes on a defensive stance.
Despite being clearly affected by the resentful energy that strike him just a few moments prior, Jiang Wanyin wobbly stands up, a menacing expression passing over his features, Zidian crackling in one hand and the other thrusting Sandu a mere centimeter before his doppelgänger’s chest, “Who the hell are you and why are you walking around with Hanguang-jun’s face? Answer me!”
The man who is wearing his face stayed silent and did nothing to defend himself against the sword inching closer to his chest, instead, simply taking out an item from the inner pockets of his robe and holding it out for everyone to see.
Lan Zhan hears his husband’s breath stutter again. Jin Ling gasps and Jiang Wanyin’s sword almost falls from his hand. On the palm of his doppelgänger’s hand is a round, silver bell with the nine-petaled lotus engraved on it, and a purple tassel attached at its lower end. Even from a couple of feet away, Lan Wangji knew this is not a regular Yunmeng Jiang clarity bell, for not only did the bell have a butterfly on its tassel (something only the Sect Leader had), it also began to chime and the spiritual energy imbued in it covers the entire clearing.
Jiang Wanyin’s spiritual energy.
“I am Lan Zhan, courtesy name Lan Wangji, the second Jade of Lan. I come from another dimension to see you, Jiang Wanyin—
I am Wanyin’s husband.”
The silence that permeates the Lotus Pier throne room almost felt suffocating, even with Yunmeng Jiang disciples murmuring and buzzling about outside of the hall.
After confirming several times that the man who fell from the portal is indeed a Lan Wangji from another dimension and not a resentful spirit, Jiang Wanyin and his disciples led them back to Yunmeng Jiang to rest, but not before asking them to convene at the Sword Hall to talk about the rather peculiar situation they just encountered.
Lan Zhan and Wei Ying sat on the chairs provided to them by Jiang Wanyin’s second in command, alongside their junior disciples who were stunned into stillness after the bombshell that was dropped onto them by the man who was claiming to be him from another universe. Even his husband became unusually quiet at the revelation, not letting go of his hand or even making jokes to lighten up the mood.
Lan Zhan is normally a calm person who cannot be deterred so easily, but he could not help but feel absurd and dubious at the information that came out from his doppelgänger’s mouth.
In what world was he ever going to marry Jiang Wanyin? Wei Ying is his soulmate and the only person he has and will continue to fall for.
As if sensing his thoughts, Lan Wangji briefly glimpses at them from where he is standing, waiting right in front of the doors where Jiang Wanyin left for a second. It feels absolutely ridiculous seeing someone with an identical face and body as him follow around Yunmeng Jiang’s sect leader like a puppy.
He does not understand it, he dares not to even think about it because of how illogical it felt. As long as Wei Ying is here, he is content.
The doors open wide and Jiang Wanyin enters, Jin Ling walking behind him casually like he did not just hear that man announce that he was married to his uncle. Wei Ying instantly stood up, approaching the center of the hall hastily towards the two.
“So, let’s get this shitshow over with so I no longer have to see you Lans again.” Jiang Wanyin claps his hand and Lan Wangji couldn’t help but twitch at the insult that came out of the man’s mouth. He married this man?
“Are you alright, Wanyin?” His doppelgänger asks, causing the latter to freeze up. A myriad of emotions crosses Jiang Wanyin’s face, looking torn between cringing at how softly the man called him or being angry. Lan Zhan subconsciously tightens his grip on his husband’s hand, disbelieving at the sight of himself being this affectionate towards the man he hated the most for the longest time.
“Err.. I’m fine. Anyway, as all of you would’ve assumed by now, we’re here today to discuss whatever we’ll do with him ,” Jiang Wanyin points to his doppelgänger, “Hanguang-jun, Wei Wuxian, any ideas? He is technically a part of the Lan Sect after all because he is well, um, you.”
“I am not leaving Lotus Pier. I’m your husband.”
“Your husband is a different Wanyin, in case you didn’t see, this world’s Lan Wangji is married to this world’s Wei Wuxian. And if you were married to me anyway, why are you here then? Is Wei Wuxian permanently dead in your world and your world’s Wanyin was your replacement?” Jiang Wanyin snaps, fury and incredulity passing over his features.
Wei Ying flinches and Lan Zhan feels his jaw tick in annoyance. Even if Wei Ying was dead, he would never touch or replace, much less, marry the man who so easily killed Wei Ying in the burial mounds. Jin Ling, Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi, and Ouyang Zizhen stand awkwardly in the sidelines, gaping like they couldn’t believe the words they were hearing from Yunmeng Jiang’s Sect Leader’s mouth.
“No, Wei Wuxian is alive. You are dead.” His doppelgänger replies flatly but Lan Zhan knew his own mannerisms way too well to distinguish that the man was suffering in grief.
Well, that explains the mourning robes he is adorned in.
“Wait, what?” Jiang Wanyin abruptly reacts.
“What do you mean jiujiu’s dead in your world?” Jin Ling demands.
He couldn’t imagine it, a world where Wei Ying was alive, but Jiang Wanyin was dead? It seemed that the very idea shocked the rest to the core because everyone appeared to be reticent. Wei Ying trembles in his arms before speaking, “What do you mean A-Cheng’s dead in your world?”
“It does not matter, you don’t deserve to know.” His double spits out with enough vehemence coating his words that his husband falls into stupefied silence.
“Don’t talk to Wei Ying like that.” Lan Zhan bristles, coldly glaring at himself.
“Okay, enough. It is laughable seeing you two fight each other when you are literally the same person.” Jiang Wanyin puts a hand up, pinching his nose in frustration. Maybe they were each other’s versions in both universes, but it was becoming increasingly clear that their similarities stopped at their appearance because Lan Zhan was never going to treat Wei Ying like this horrible, atrocious copy of himself who fell in love with Jiang Wanyin, of all people.
“So, you’re telling me you came here to find another version of myself, because I am dead in your universe?” Jiang Wanyin snorts, “You are aware that your world’s Wanyin is not me? It does not matter if we are together in your world because I literally do not know you.” Jiang Wanyin emphasizes.
“Wanyin is Wanyin. I will find Wanyin in any and every universe. I will not leave.”
Jiang Wanyin sighs loudly, making eye contact with Lan Zhan and glaring as if it was his fault, “You know what, I’m too tired for this.”
“Make arrangements to see Lan-zongzhu and Lan-shifu tomorrow, we’re going to Cloud Recesses. All of you may remain tonight here for the time being, there are quarters prepared near the Ancestral Hall.” Jiang Wanyin orders his second-in-command before turning towards him, his husband, and the junior disciples who were remarkably not making any fuss, too dazed at everything they’ve been hearing from Lan Wangji.
“Jin Ling! Come with me, and you too.” He adds, motioning for his doppelgänger to come closer. Jin Ling advances towards him, side-eyeing the fake Lan Zhan who went nearer without any hesitation.
Jiang Wanyin pauses, facing them once again to bow, “Hanguang-jun, Wei Wuxian, I’ll see you both tomorrow to come with you to Cloud Recesses. We still need to talk about this, specifically with Lan-zongzhu and Lan-xiangsheng. Have a good night.”
“Wei Ying, are you okay?” Lan Zhan asks as soon as they enter their shared private quarters, noticing how his husband is still quiet and hasn’t stopped shaking since they encountered his doppelgänger, who acted the exact opposite of how he would usually be with Wei Ying.
“Ah, Lan Zhan, I’m okay.” Wei Ying replies cheerfully but Lan Zhan knew better, and he knows Wei Ying could read his ambivalent expression just as easily, because he eventually concedes, his smile fading before a worried look mars his face, “It’s okay, Lan Zhan, I promise. It’s just a bit weird seeing you from a different universe, you know? And I’m not jealous that he’s married to Jiang Cheng! I have you anyway, it’s just.. disconcerting, I guess, especially after finding out that his Jiang Cheng is dead.”
“Mn.” Lan Zhan nods in assent, “I love Wei Ying. He does not know any better.”
Lan Zhan holds his husband’s palm in his hands, kissing it softly before placing a deep kiss on his lips, his husband enthusiastically responding back, “I love you too, Lan Zhan! Always and forever.”
“Aiya, I will be fine, Lan Zhan, I promise. Look at the good side, Jiang Cheng won’t be alone now if he has someone like you by his side.”
Lan Zhan feels doubtful. He does not know how he would feel seeing someone who has his face walking around and becoming a part of their cultivation world, who could possibly end up marrying Jiang Wanyin in the future.
He supposes this was a better option than having that man like his Wei Ying too, but he still feels uncomfortable by the thought of it.
“Will still need to talk to xiongzhang and shufu tomorrow about it.”
“Let’s hope laotou doesn’t have a heart attack seeing two of you tomorrow, Lan Zhan!”
Shufu, indeed, almost went into a mild qi deviation after receiving the news on what happened and seeing the two Lan Wangjis appear in front of him. While Lan Zhan himself is wearing the standard Lan robes, it is a bit disconcerting to see the other man be draped in purple Yunmeng Jiang robes.
How utterly outrageous.
“Shufu, xiongzhang ” his doppelgänger bows respectfully. His brother startles, before bowing back, “Greetings, Wangji.”
Lan Zhan salutes to his uncle and elder brother as well, before clasping Wei Ying’s hand in his and directing them both to the seats beside Lan Xichen. Jiang Wanyin and Lan Wangji sit on the opposite end, facing Lan Qiren.
Lan Qiren rubs the thumbs of his fingers against his forehead, “When you told me that the two of you were going to help cleanse resentful energy near Yunmeng Jiang, this is not what I expected for you to come home with, Wangji.”
“Lan-xiansheng, Lan Wangji told me that the array he used to travel dimensions was only a one-time thing. He does not want to go back.” Jiang Wanyin tells his uncle.
“Of course, you’d be stubborn in all universes, won’t you, Wangji?”
“What you did is dangerous, Wangji. If people found out that parallel dimensions exist and that it can be used to travel into different universes, who knows what might happen.” Lan Xichen lectures. Wei Ying nods, chiming in, “I don’t know how you were able to create an array that can be used to travel dimensions, Wangji!”
“Mn. There should have been no resentful energy in the first place. I destroyed it.” His doppelgänger states blandly, like he was just talking about the weather and not something as dangerous as traveling dimensions.
“Wangji! How are you going to go back to your world now?” Lan Qiren bursts out.
“I’m not leaving. Wanyin is here.”
On his peripheral, Lan Wangji sees Jiang Wanyin cover his face with his hands, groaning and muttering curses under his breath. His elder brother looks like he is borderline amused yet concerned at the events ensuing.
A couple of scoldings by Lan Qiren to an undaunted Lan Wangji, and a long discussion between his xiongzhang and Jiang Wanyin hours later, his elder brother and uncle decides that it would be best for his double to stay with Jiang Wanyin and his sect instead, since it has become blatantly evident that he traveled to their universe for one reason only— to be with Jiang Wanyin.
If people start speculating who the man was and why he looked identical to Lan Zhan, the cover-up story would be that he was a distant cousin from their paternal side who came back from years of seclusion and decided to stay in Yunmeng Jiang for the betterment of the relations between Lotus Pier and Cloud Recesses.
Only Yunmeng Jiang and Gusu Lan disciples would be privy to the real reason, but in order to avoid any unnecessary confrontation and questions, Lan Wangji will remain within the walls of Lotus Pier. Which didn’t seem like it would be too much of an effort for his double anyway.
Talking to the Lan Elders is going to be a different story.
Jiang Wanyin stands up, saluting, “Thank you for helping out, Lan-shifu, Lan-zongzhu. I’ll be sure to keep in touch with you regarding this matter. Wangji is still one of you, after all.”
Lan Zhan observes with keen eyes as the Yunmeng Jiang Sect Leader bids his farewell, with his doppelgänger holding Jiang Wanyin’s hand brazenly in front of his uncle and elder brother. How shameless, Lan Zhan thinks. How could we be the same person if he acts like this ?
“This one bids his farewell, xiongzhang, shufu. Wei Wuxian, Lan Zhan.” Lan Wangji remarks, acknowledging his and his husband’s existence for the very first time.
Wei Ying smiles, a little bit crookedly, “Take care of my shidi, Wangji!”
“Mn. I will.”
Lan Zhan says nothing, staring at the man who has his face and stature yet draped in purple, whose Lan forehead ribbon stayed meticulously in place yet Jiang Wanyin’s clarity bell is tied neatly on his outer robe, whose sword did not resemble Bichen at all, rather, a Yunmeng Jiang sword would look more similar to it in design. The only thing they had in common was the seven-stringed guqin, and yet he could already guess that the composed melody’s name was not named Wangxian, but Zhancheng.
This Lan Wangji is him in more ways than one, yet also nothing at all.
“At least one Lan Zhan in the universe had the brain to pick the sensible brother.” Lan Qiren harrumphed disgruntledly to Lan Xichen.
A small pause, “Shufu! Wangji is happily married to Wei Wuxian.”
“I know. I’m just glad one of them actually had sense. I better receive a wedding invite when they eventually get married.”
“Don’t you think it is a bit concerning that the Wangji in that world lost Jiang Wanyin and he immediately went to create an array to travel dimensions, shufu? He seems a bit… obsessive, and you already know how our Wangji is.”
“I’m well aware, Lan Huan. However, I don’t think he will hurt Jiang Wanyin, not when he already lost him in his world.”
“I hope you’re correct, shufu. Jiang Wanyin deserves happiness after all.”
Lan Zhan bumps into Jiang Wanyin, three months later along the merchant streets of Gusu, coming back from a recently accomplished solo night-hunt.
“Hanguang-jun,” Jiang Wanyin nonchalantly greets, surprise coloring his face for a second before it settles to a blank one, “It’s a surprise to see you alone.” without Wei Wuxian was left unsaid.
Wei Ying is tasked by his shufu to help train the junior disciples, but Lan Zhan didn’t find it necessary to explain his husband’s absence to the man, so he merely flicks his eyes and hums affirmatively.
Lan Zhan notices a change in Jiang Wangyin’s appearance. He is still stern and angry but his spirit was a lot brighter, and dare say, happy even. His muscles are more filled out in comparison to his previous state of someone who obviously lost weight, and his steps hold an airiness that weren’t there before.
Lan Zhan has no doubt that his doppelganger is the reason behind it but it still left him feeling unsettled. Although Gusu Lan and Yunmeng Jiang have barely intersected since his double appeared in their world, Lan Wangji regularly sent letters to his uncle and elder brother updating them of his condition and life in Lotus Pier. Furthermore, their junior disciples had much to say regarding the newfound ‘relationship’ that bloomed between Jiang Wanyin and his double.
He recalls the time Wei Ying and him came across their junior disciples when Jin Rulan dropped by to visit Sizhui and Jingyi, bringing Yunmeng Jiang spices with him and talking about how his uncle and Lan Wangji were spending most of their days together, and that his double seemed dead-set on courting Jiang Wanyin.
If anyone asked, Lan Zhan absolutely did not eavesdrop — eavesdropping is forbidden in the Cloud Recesses — the junior disciples were just loud. It made him feel a bit uneasy, however, remembering the dark look that resembled something close to jealousy on Wei Ying’s face as Jin Rulan’s descriptions of the courtship became more vivid and detailed.
He is unsure if Wei Ying was jealous of Jiang Wanyin, or of his double, and he didn’t know if he wanted to find out.
“Jiang Wanyin.” Lan Zhan addresses succinctly, “Lan Wangji is not with you?”
It feels a bit jarring to be talking about his double with Jiang Wanyin, but he wants to soothe the curiosity of bumping into the revered Sect Leader with no one, not even a single disciple, accompanying him.
Jiang Wanyin twitches at the mention of the name, the tip of his ears turning red, “I’m here to pick out a courting gift for him.”
Oh.
It is only then that Lan Zhan became acutely aware of the blue and purple tassel hanging on Jiang Wanyin’s belt— a shade of blue the color of Gusu Lan, but a striking purple that of Yunmeng Jiang.
An inexplicable discomfort began to worm its way into his chest out of nowhere, though he does not know why. Maybe the junior disciples’ conversations were getting to him. Maybe it was seeing Wei Ying become so gloomy the past week, but before he could even think properly, “Perhaps you would like my help. We are the same person,” unexpectedly leaves his mouth.
“What’s up with you?” Jiang Wanyin asks disbelievingly. “You two are more different than you’d think, Hanguang-jun. After all, you despise me, and he doesn’t seem to want to leave me alone at any cost,” he adds, amusement tinging his tone.
I don’t hate you. Not anymore.
Jiang Wanyin quirks a brow and shrugs when Lan Zhan doesn’t respond, “Sure, whatever. Maybe you can help me pick out a pendant from that stall.”
They approach a merchant who staggers upon seeing two prominent cultivators together, “Hanguang-jun, Sandu Sengshou,” the man nearly kowtows, only to be stopped by Jiang Wanyin, holding a hand up and waving away the motion.
“I would like to buy a jade pendant.” Jiang Wanyin informs the merchant who began excitedly taking out his ‘most’ precious pieces, a collection of rare and top-quality jadeite that can’t be found anywhere but in Gusu.
“What do you think, Hanguang-jun? Do you think you would like this?” Jiang Wanyin coincidentally holds up a lotus-shaped jade pendant with a rabbit engraved in the center of it.
Lan Zhan ignores the merchant openly gawking at them and the murmurs from the other merchant stalls adjacent to the one selling the jade pendants. Somehow, he doesn’t feel bothered by it at all.
“Mn. I do.”
“Thanks, Hanguang-jun. I’ll create a tassel with it.” Jiang Wanyin pays off the jade with a generous amount of gold teals from his qiankun pouch, oblivious to Lan Zhan’s tone, thanking the merchant and carefully placing the jade pendant within his inner robes.
“I’ll be on my way now, Hanguang-jun. Wangji must be looking for me already, Wei Wuxian’s probably the same with you. I don’t want to hold you up any longer.”
“Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying strides with ease from where he was standing on the pavilion, opening his arms to embrace his husband before rattling off, “What’s this I hear about you accompanying Jiang Cheng to buy a jade pendant?”
“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan kisses his husband’s cheek, internally smiling at the blush that appeared on Wei Ying’s face at the sudden affection, disregarding the uncomfortable feeling worming in his stomach just a couple of minutes ago.
“He purchased a courting gift.” Lan Zhan says almost hesitatingly, noticing how his husband’s face shuttered for a second before a smile replaces it. Nonetheless, he catches a glimpse of jealousy marring those beautiful, gray eyes that always only ever radiated joy or pain when it came to mentioning Jiang Cheng.
Lan Zhan could read his husband better than anyone, but it is in moments like this, that he felt lost.
And the worst thing is, the same emotion of jealousy is running through his veins, whether he knows it or not.
It is almost six months later until Lan Zhan eventually crosses paths with Jiang Wanyin once again.
The annual Discussion Conference is happening in a few days, with Yunmeng Jiang hosting the event this time around. Sect Leaders and their disciples aren’t going to begin arriving in three days, but Lan Zhan, accompanied by Wei Ying, Sizhui, Jingyi, and a couple of Lan disciples are already in front of the gates, several days before the conference is going to commence.
Wei Ying, in a bout of impulsivity, declared that they had to go earlier to come meet Jiang Wanyin and Lan Wangji without the gossiping eyes and ears of the other sects.
Sect Leader Lan accepted their request to leave earlier with a serene smile, not particularly minding them going to Lotus Pier before him.
The air buzzed in tension as Lan Zhan, alongside his husband and disciples, hands in their invitation letters to the disciple in front of the barriers of Lotus Pier, who allows them to enter the gates with ease.
Coincidentally, Jiang Wanyin is at the pier’s entrance, and so is Lan Wangji, head held high as his golden eyes scanned the commotion, dressed in purple robes. The robes appear to be newly sewn for there were additional streaks of blue and white that blended in and the material was made of high-quality silk. Nonetheless, Lan Zhan is never going to get used to his doppelgänger wearing anything but white, much less the colors of Yunmeng Jiang.
“What are you doing here so early, Wei Wuxian? The conference isn’t in four days.” Jiang Wanyin scowls, eyeing them skeptically.
“Ah, Jiang Cheng, can’t a shixiong just visit his shidi?” Wei Wuxian grins playfully, a contrast from the tranquil aura emanating from Lan Zhan.
Lan Zhan’s eyes darts from Jiang Wanyin and Lan Wangji’s belts with matching tassels, with the latter adorning the jade pendant Lan Zhan helped Jiang Wanyin pick out last time.
It left a strange, bitter feeling in his mouth.
Jiang Wanyin rolls his eyes, “Whatever, I still have things to do. You’re all free to roam around Lotus Pier and if any of you need anything, just inform a disciple.”
The Sect Leader turns his back and Lan Wangji easily follows, walking a step behind, as if he was staking a claim on the man. Lan Zhan quietly slips out of view as Wei Ying and Jingyi begin arguing with a Yunmeng disciple, Sizhui trying to calm them down.
He surreptitiously follows the two until Jiang Wanyin and Lan Wangji suddenly stop under a gazebo near the lake and Lan Zhan pauses, conveniently placing himself behind a tree not far enough so that he could still hear their conversation and not be noticed.
Jiang Wanyin, in a rare gesture of affection, places his chin onto Lan Wangji’s shoulder, murmuring, “It always astounds me how different you are from Hanguang-jun.”
At the mention of his name, Lan Zhan stiffens.
Lan Wangji huffs, snaking a possessive arm around Jiang Wanyin’s waist, lifting his chin with the other to stare directly into the man’s eyes, “That man is not me. He and that brother of yours are a fool for not seeing your beauty.”
Jiang Wanyin blushes, slapping his arm away playfully but the man remains undaunted, “Don’t say things like that. Someone might hear you and get the wrong impression.”
Lan Wangji deliberately ignores his reply, “I’m right, my Wanyin. Look only at me,” and stares straight through Lan Zhan’s identical amber eyes.
Lan Zhan freezes at being caught, but his double doesn’t bat an eye, instead, he begins leaning closer to Jiang Wanyin, rubbing small circles on the man’s waist deviously.
Before Lan Zhan could react, the man had already caught Jiang Wanyin’s lips with his own, locking them together into a passionate, deep heated kiss that made Jiang Wanyin moan in pleasure.
As Lan Zhan turns to flee, Lan Wangji lets go of kissing Jiang Wanyin, directly looking at Lan Zhan as he declares, “Jiang Wanyin is mine.”
A mix of humiliation and intense envy fills Lan Zhan’s veins as he bristly walks away, one that does not leave him even when he returns to Wei Ying.
It does not leave him for days, even as he comes across Jiang Wanyin and Lan Wangji several times, with the latter not caring at all about the fact he caught him snooping around, rather, Lan Zhan could swear he can feel the smugness radiating from the man for all the times they’ve bumped into each other.
One month later, the Gusu Lan sect receives a letter from Lotus Pier encased in purple and blue foil.
It is an invitation to the wedding ceremony of Jiang Wanyin and Lan Wangji.
Lan Zhan dreams.
He dreams of Cloud Recesses, of Wei Ying, of A-Yuan, of the memories of his past and present. It is nothing unusual, and most days he wakes up feeling normal.
But one day, he dreams of Jiang Wanyin, walking along the lakeshore of Lotus Pier, his hair majestically cascading down in waves along his back, a wide grin on his face — one that he has never seen at all yet it takes his breath away nonetheless — as the water splashes around his legs.
He dreams of Wei Ying and himself surrounding Jiang Wanyin in an embrace, which he returns with an overwhelming amount of affection, the sunset casting a beautiful hue on their faces as they navigate the lakes of Lotus Pier and the rabbit field in Cloud Recesses that Lan Zhan has so meticulously tended to for the past decade.
Lan Zhan dreams of kissing Jiang Wanyin the same way his double makes out with the man, just as passionately, fervently, and lovingly. He dreams of a wedding with the man dressed in the most elegant red robes. He dreams of a future where they were all together, with the junior disciples as their children, and adopting a baby to take care of as a family.
He wakes up with cold sweats running down his body from that dream and a sense of loss so tremendous that tears run from his cold, pale skin. Wei Ying remains asleep in his side — something Lan Zhan was grateful for, for he does not see the mess that Lan Zhan has become from a single dream — as his breaths come out in short gasps, extremely shaken by what his mind showed him.
For the longest time, the strange, bitter feeling in his mouth remained a mystery, something he could not fathom, could not decipher. He did not understand the meaning behind the darkness in Wei Ying’s eyes, the hesitations when Jiang Wanyin’s name was brought up.
But now, as he collects himself from his dream, he has an epiphany.
He realizes that the feeling was of regret.
It haunts Lan Wangji of what could’ve been.
Lan Wangji gazes at Jiang Wanyin peacefully sleeping on their bed, the lamp shining a light down perfectly on his hand where a ring newly adorns his middle finger besides Zidian. A ring Lan Wangji has given to show off his promise of commitment, love, and long-lasting devotion to the man.
After his world’s Jiang Wanyin died, it was like life was sucked out of Lan Wangji. He spent years confined within the Jingshi, performing Inquiry on his guqin like his soul depended on it, never mind the fact that his fingers have become permanently damaged from the excessive playing that caused blood to spill out of his fingers constantly.
And it did.
He ignored Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren’s letters of concern. He blocked out the Lan Elders’ lectures about him wasting his life away over a dead man. He went days without food and water, slowly losing himself to the insanity eating him alive. He preserved everything that reminded him of Jiang Wanyin as if that would make any difference. He destroyed Bichen and kept Jiang Wanyin’s clarity bell on him possessively, creating a new sword whose design was that of Yunmeng Jiang.
After all, how can he use Bichen when it caused the death of Jiang Wanyin?
Lans only love once.
They never tell you how that love can often become obsessive to the point of madness.
It happened to his ancestors. It happened to his father. It’s happening to Lan Wangji.
Only, unlike his ancestors and his father, Jiang Wanyin’s death did not deter Lan Wangji. Even in his self-imposed seclusion, he spent countless weeks learning a musical technique he found off of a demonic cultivation manual to bring back the dead, not as a fierce corpse, but as a human being. But, he was no Wei Wuxian, and it did not work. He could not bring himself to tell the man of his plans when it concerned his brother.
He wanted to keep Jiang Wanyin for himself without anyone else getting in the way.
Eventually, he found a forbidden ritual that talked of an array which would allow its user to travel parallel dimensions. Unbeknownst to his clan, his family, and those who knew him, he endured months of figuring out the logistics of the array, its legitimacy, and if it would bring him to a world where Jiang Wanyin was alive.
The man dozing in front of him, who agreed to marry him, is proof that he has not failed.
And he will never part from Jiang Wanyin, ever again, not with him destroying the array the first chance he got, not only getting rid of any opportunities for this world’s people to bring him back to his former dimension, but also getting rid of the evidence that he was from another dimension in the first place.
After all, why would he go back to a world where Jiang Wanyin does not exist?
“My Wanyin.”
Lan Wangji remembers the jealous looks from this world’s Lan Zhan and Wei Ying and feels a sudden rush of irritation course through his body. They are fools. They are too late.
Lan Wangji basks in the glory of knowing that those two will never ever get the chance of touching Jiang Wanyin the way he does, of feeling Jiang Wanyin’s body under them, moaning and crying out in pleasure, of kissing him fervently on a sunny day in Lotus Pier, of spending the rest of their lives living a mundane but fulfilling life together.
He touches Jiang Wanyin’s chin softly, placing a kiss filled with yearning and utter devotion on his lips, “No one in this world will take you from me, A-Cheng—
Not even myself.”