Chapter 3

                                    

                                          
Lan Wangji had many duties as a Chief cultivator and he had only a very limited amount of free time. However, he always had space when his husband or their son asked. Just like now.
                          
Lan Sizhui came to him this morning and requested to speak with him in private. It was not something completely unheard of but it only happened so seldom that it made Lan Wangji wonder what his son had on his mind. All the more that Lan Sizhui had a serious and worried expression when he first came to ask and he said that it was because of Wei Ying. 
                          
His son came back from a nigh hunt just the day before and Lan Wangji was worried that something had happened. Something that Wei Ying did not tell him, either because he had thought it had not been important enough or because he had wanted to hide something. He had told him everything about the outing and how mature and skilful the juniors now were but nothing which would suggest in the slightest that something had not been right. 
                          
So he was thinking about all the possibilities, sitting in the Jingshi and preparing tea, waiting for his son to come. Wei Ying was out at the moment, instructing a class of children on how to properly play a flute so they would have enough time to talk. Lan Wangji could not help himself but to worry that something had happened to his husband and he did not know about it. He had of course read the juniors' reports but there was nothing in them that would suggest any injury or similarly worrying episodes.
                          
Finally, there was a knock at his door and he said, a tad too quickly to be just casual: "Come in."
                          
Lan Sizhui entered and bowed to him with respect before closing the door behind himself. Then he came to sit to the table and Lan Wangji poured him a cup of the freshly prepared tea. It was only shortly after breakfast and he would have to get back to his duties soon, however, he could see that something was troubling his son and he was ready to listen. He did not prompt him or anything alike, he was only sipping his tea and waiting for his son to start talking on his own, once he would be prepared. He had always done the same with Wei Ying and he had learned that giving space had been much appreciated.
                          
Lan Sizhui finished his cup of tea and Lan Wangji poured him another one. This one rested untouched on the low table as his son finally started talking: "Father, there is something on my mind, something that worries me. When we had been on the last night hunt with dad, he started behaving quite oddly at the very end, just when we were about to fly back to the Cloud Recesses. He would not get on his sword although I am sure his golden core is strong enough for flying by now. We tried to ask what was wrong but he just brushed us off as usually. He would not let us take him on our swords either. Father, do you know what could be the reason dad does not want to fly?"
                          
Oh, so that was it. Of course Lan Wangji knew that Wei Ying did not like to even mention flying, much less doing it. He did not know the reason either but he had assumed it had something to do with his past and that he still was not ready to open up about it. However, if even the juniors had found it worrying by now, he should probably for once try to be just a little bit more forward and ask his husband out right. 
                          
He knew that the juniors had never complained about having to walk to and from every night hunt Wei Ying accompanied them to but it was more than concerning. What if something happened and they would have to either flee or get back to the Cloud Recesses quickly? Would Wei Ying be able to fly his sword then? Or would he stubbornly refuse to and put himself in danger? It went without a doubt that he would have protected the juniors but when it came to his own person, Lan Wangji was not so sure, not with Wei Ying's character and self-sacrificial tendencies.
                          
Lan Wangji made sure that his own worries would not show on his face, he did not want to burden his son even more. Still, Lan Sizhui must have felt or saw something because he asked next: "Father, is there something we could do? What if it is serious? I am worried about dad."
                          
Suddenly his almost adult son looked like a small child again, confused by the huge world surrounding him, utterly lost and unsure of what to do. He almost wanted to reach for him and hug him as a reassurance that he was still there and that he would of course help, that Wei Ying would be just fine. But his son was a soon to be adult and they had not done this for years now. 
                          
Instead, Lan Wangji offered after a short moment of contemplation: "Flying classes. You could ask him to show you some tricks."
                          
Even though the juniors were already all proficient in flying, the flying classes were still held to help them to gain better endurance and touch when handling their spiritual energy. The teachers also taught them a few tricks to avoid obstacles and if necessary, to fight mid-flight. 
                          
Lan Wangji vividly remembered the battle with the Waterborne abyss. He had been completely captivated by Wei Ying's flying technique at that time, although so many years had passed, he never forgot even the slightest detail. Wei Ying had been navigating his sword with such ease that it had been mesmerizing. This made it even more concerning that he had not picked up flying when he had cultivated a new golden core. Just as Lan Sizhui had said, he even refused to mount a sword with Lan Wangji. 
                          
His son's face brightened at once at the proposition, he immediately understood all the implications Lan Wangji had not explained. He was a bright and intelligent child, just like Wei Ying had been when he had been his age and he had first visited the Cloud Recesses.
                          
"That is a great idea!" he almost exclaimed excitedly, then he remembered where he was and that he should watch his manners and he continued in a more Lan-like fashion. "I am sure that if we ask him to instruct us, he will not refuse. Not when it is for a class or to teach us something. When should we do it? I will talk to the others about it so they will not be surprised. I guess the sooner the better."
                          
Lan Wangji nodded, he also thought that this matter was not one they should delay too much: "Tomorrow. I will talk with the teacher. You should ask Wei Ying to come."
                          
He would have talked to his husband himself but he did not know if he would be able to face his refusal if it came to it, he was always too soft on him. The juniors had much higher chances to actually get Wei Ying to come. He found it hard to refuse any of their requests and he actually behaved like an adult around them. It was only with his husband that he sometimes acted like a petulant child, actually every time he did not want to do something. And Lan Wangji was weak against this.