1

Su She was like a feral dog that had been backed into a corner, barking out obscenities, hair disheveled and spittle flying.

Wei Wuxian was entirely unimpressed.

He had to give it to him though that his frantic bids for freedom were annoying—even bound with rope from Lan Wangji's qiankun pouch, Su She continually attempted to run off into the woods.

In the end they dragged him inside the old mill where he could be confined more conveniently. Su She resisted every step of the way—his thrashing and screaming drastically increased in vigor as they crossed into the mill's flour-infested darkness.

Luo Qingyang remained outside with the juniors. Wei Wuxian was grateful that, for now, she seemed to trust them enough to believe their hostility justified without pressing for details.

"You fucking bastards! Who do you think you are?!" Su She screeched where he'd been tied to the old main shaft of the mill.

Wei Wuxian felt tempted to kick him into silence. Only the fact that Lan Wangji wished to interrogate him kept the urge at bay.

"Are you here on behest of the Qishan Wen sect?" Lan Wangji asked.

Su She let out a mad laugh. "You think I'll tell you anything, Lan Wangji?! I see you're still an arrogant, stuck-up prick, you're getting nothing from me!!!"

"Don't take Lan Zhan's name into your filthy mouth," Wei Wuxian warned.

"I don't answer to you either!" Su She yapped. "You're both disgusting cutsleeves! Get the hell away from me!!! Cock-sucking degenerates!!!"

It was satisfying to hear the crunch of Su She's nose breaking upon impact with Wei Wuxian's fist. Unfortunately, instead of finally shutting up, Su She was howling in pain now.

"Wei Ying," Lan Wangji cautioned, likely sensing Wei Wuxian's persisting bloodlust. "Do not kill him."

Wei Wuxian forced himself to take a few steps away from his victim. If things were up to him, he would have already driven Suibian through the pest's heart—though not before making him feel exactly what he'd done.

Wei Wuxian had memorized every single bruise and scratch that had been marring Lan Wangji's skin after Wen Xu's attack. It would be an easy thing to replicate the picture exactly. Su She didn't have enough fingers to give for every dead Lan disciple so just the ten of them would have to do.

He should give an entire arm for Lan Chuanli's parents though, right up to the shoulder. The other arm, too, for sword master Cai and Xie Juan. The bones in his legs should pay penance for Lan Lingxin's dead face, down to the very last.

Perhaps Wei Wuxian would leave the killing blow to Lan Wangji after all though, for his father.

"Does your allegiance with the Qishan Wen sect persist?" Lan Wangji asked.

"Wen Ruohan will squash you fuckers like bugs!" Su She's voice was even more unpleasant congested with the blood from his broken nose.

"Answer the fucking question or I'll slit your throat, no matter what Lan Zhan says," Wei Wuxian snapped.

"You can't kill me! Don't—don't come closer!!!"

Sighing, Wei Wuxian rubbed his temple. They were not getting anywhere.

He felt tempted to make good on his threat immediately but convinced himself to think instead.

After all, Lan Wangji would be disappointed if they didn't get anything useful out of Su She, which Wei Wuxian obviously couldn't accept. Perhaps they should try a different approach? If his memory didn't fail him Su She had been responsive to well-aimed provocation.

"You know, I distinctly remember that you had quite the holier-than-thou attitude when you were still in the Cloud Recesses," Wei Wuxian mused. "Weren't you talking shit just because Lan Zhan is the heir of a great sect? I wonder where all your pretty moral superiority disappeared to when you allied yourself with the greatest sect of all?"

The reaction was immediate.

"What do you understand?! You don't know what I went through! You would never understand how it is to be hounded off like a dog, without money, without a sword! You fuckers whipped me!!! Do you know how long I had to heal?!"

"So, pain and inconvenience was enough for all your self-righteousness to crumble. I have to give it to you Su She—after being abandoned you wagged your tail for the first friendly hand that deigned to feed you at the cost of your own so-called morals. It's quite fitting that you called yourself a dog just now."

" You— !"

"I wonder why you're not with Wen Xu and his people anymore? What, did your new owner not want to keep you?"

The mortification on Su She's face was more telling than any words could have been.

"Oh." Wei Wuxian huffed out a laugh. "Oh, wow, really? Right on the money, huh? You were good enough for some intel but nothing more, were you!"

Su She started writhing against his restrains, face bright red. "Shut your fucking mouth! Don't talk down to me!!! You're not better than me! You're just the son of a servant!!!"

"Why should I shut my mouth? I enjoy talking. And, between the two of us, I think it's clear who is better. Better off, that is." Laughing about his own joke, Wei Wuxian turned to Lan Wangji. "Lan Zhan, I've figured out why he isn't telling us anything. I bet Wen Xu didn't even bother seeing him personally, back then he was just allowed to speak to a random Wen disciple. This guy doesn't know a single useful thing!"

"It was Wen Xu's second-in-command who spoke to me!" Su She shrieked.

Wei Wuxian snorted. "You think talking with the second-in-command is impressive? Face it, Wen Xu just used you, he didn't even bother showing his face. He didn't think you worthy of becoming one of his men, and he didn't trust you with any secrets. That's exactly how it was, wasn't it, Su She?"

Just as Wei Wuxian had hoped, the pest's eyes flashed with indignant energy. It was the look of someone desperate to prove his adversaries wrong.

"What secrets? I heard everything! Those Wens spoke among themselves plenty! I even stayed in Hongmei Manor with the others! I went with them after the attack, I was with Wen Xu's troops in Qishan for two whole weeks! And so I can tell you, you'll never beat the Wen sect!"

Wei Wuxian briefly lost control of his bored expression as he was reminded of the Yancheng Wan clan's massacre, of Wan Bing's little ghostly face.

Su She cackled. "I'm actually glad I don't need to play along with Gusu Lan's pretentious fucking rules anymore! At least I won't die when Wen Ruohan comes to slaughter you all!"

"Even Wen Ruohan is just a man. He won't stand a chance against all other sects combined," Wei Wuxian said.

"All sects?" Su She sniffed with a look of satisfied superiority. "If you think you'll get all sects together you're even dumber than I thought! Wen Ruohan has already given Jin Guangshan an ultimatum! The Jin sect certainly won't help you! And the Wen have the Core-Melting Hand on their side! You'll never be able to beat him! You'll all have your cores crushed to dust and then you'll see how fucking pathetic you really are!"

"What ultimatum did Jin-zongzhu receive?" Lan Wangji asked.

"Heh! Wen Ruohan called him into the Nightless City, after Wen Xu's attack failed. Said that he had to choose whether he wanted to be an enemy!" Su She snickered gleefully. "Jin Guangshan didn't join the alliance your oh so perfect brother and Nie Mingjue are trying to run, did he? How will you ever win without the Jin sect?"

So, Jin Guangshan's lacking cooperation during the alliance discussion had in part been Wen Ruohan's doing?

It was not likely that Su She would know more on the topic. His information was clearly limited to the gossip of low-ranking Wen disciples.

After they'd shared a nod, Lan Wangji shot forward and knocked Su She out with a single precise hit to the neck.

Luo Qingyang's patience appeared to run out as they emerged from the mill with his unconscious body slung over Wei Wuxian's shoulder. Lan Wangji could excuse himself to write his brother, but Wei Wuxian had no choice but to face her suspicious concern.

"Okay, can you please explain, how the hell you know this guy again? While you're at it, if you could also clarify what exactly he's done that warranted this— " she motioned vaguely at Su She's limp form, frowning at the blood dripping from his clearly broken nose, "—that would honestly be great."

"He was a Lan disciple. Until he was, well, kind of kicked out for attacking me," Wei Wuxian admitted, still feeling slightly awkward about that whole thing. "Apparently, he'd been jealous of me. Or of Lan Zhan? It wasn't really clear. In any case, later we discovered him back in Lan territory even though he'd been exiled. He was busy feeding Wen Xu information about the Cloud Recesses."

Her surprise was clear. "What kind of information?"

"The exact layout of the sect grounds among other things. Wen Xu said that a little bird told him exactly where his men's arrows should be aimed to burn everything down. And during the fight his people attacked secret locations only Lan disciples should have known about."

Like Qingheng-jun's place of seclusion.

Luo Qingyang was still frowning but the last of her suspicion seemed to have left her.

Satisfied that she would no longer think he and Lan Wangji had chosen to beat up a random rogue cultivator, Wei Wuxian shrugged Su She's dead weight more securely over his shoulder and looked past her back, where the juniors were nervously loitering.

"Xie Peng."

A wide-eyed Xie Peng stepped forward. "Wei-gongzi!"

"As the oldest disciple after Lan Zhan and I, you are in charge of leading everyone back to the barn for the night. In the morning, visit farmer Chen and report that the rogue cultivator will no longer bother this village. Then take everyone straight back to the Cloud Recesses. Can I trust you with this?"

Xie Peng's shoulders straightened. "Yes, Wei-gongzi!" he called stiffly.

"You remember how to get back to Gusu?"

"I do, Wei-gongzi!"

"If you encounter any trouble on the way, don't try to be heroic, you hear? And report to Zewu-jun once you have returned home."

"Yes, Wei-gongzi!"

"Good. Off you go, then."

The juniors rallied themselves commendably, forming a perfect line to follow Xie Peng down the path that led to the settlement.

"You're taking Su-gongzi back to the Cloud Recesses right away, then," Luo Qingyang concluded, once again regarding Su She with furrowed eyebrows.

"Yeah. I can't imagine Xichen-ge will decide anything else."

"Is Zewu-jun not asleep? It is after haishi."

Wei Wuxian smiled fondly. "Poor Xichen-ge is chronically overworked. I would be very surprised if he wasn't still up."

Lan Wangji returned in that moment, indeed holding confirmation of Wei Wuxian's words. "Su Minshan is to be delivered to the Cloud Recesses at once."

"See, he's still awake!" Wei Wuxian laughed. "Ah, Lan Zhan, I've told Xie-shidi to bring the boys away to rest for the night. They'd fall asleep on their swords if we made them fly home now."

"Mn," Lan Wangji approved, then addressed Luo Qingyang. "Are you equal to an immediate return?"

"Ah, yes. I'll manage."

Wei Wuxian was glad as Lan Wangji took over Su She's body. Carrying it on the ground wasn't a problem but he didn't know whether he could have borne it while flying on Suibian. Proudly, he watched how easily Lan Wangji balanced the body on his broad shoulder, how effortlessly he called forth Bichen and stepped on her blade.

"What will happen to Su-gongzi once we're back?" Luo Qingyang wanted to know as all three of them rose into the air.

Wei Wuxian wasn't actually sure—he had never looked into Gusu Lan protocol on how to proceed with traitorous enemies.

"He is to be executed," Lan Wangji answered.

Luo Qingyang looked shocked. "I thought killing was forbidden in the Cloud Recesses?"

"The rules are not absolute in specific instances," Lan Wangji replied succinctly. "Su Minshan has violated his exile and denounced all integrity, willfully disclosing intelligence about his former sect to one who sought to destroy it. To honor those fallen to Wen Xu's forces, there is no other righteous way to proceed."

-------

Nightly flights always passed by like a blur, everything seeming hazy and strange when you felt the speed of your movement but didn't get much sensory proof of it, woods and mountains below you a black, indistinguishable maw.

The Cloud Recesses, too, were almost pitch-black as they arrived, save for a single lantern's flame, waiting for them at the gates and revealing Zewu-jun in the company of two senior disciples.

The pale-yellow light sent tired lines across Lan Xichen's handsome features, but his eyes were hard and alert the moment they fell on the one carried by his little brother. The Lan disciples behind him audibly gasped as Su She's unconscious face was illuminated.

Not wasting any time, Lan Xichen immediately ordered for him to be brought into the Mingshi to be confined.

Once the two seniors had hurried off with Su She, he turned to pay Luo Qingyang the proper etiquettes, thanking her for the trouble of assisting his brothers with such a disagreeable matter and apologizing earnestly that she had been involved in it at all, before he finally led the way into the sect grounds.

"How surprising that Su Minshan was still in Lan territory," Lan Xichen said. "I had fully believed him to have remained with the Wen sect. Wangji, did you ascertain his reason for coming to Moling alone?"

Lan Wangji shook his head.

"He was harassing local farmers," Wei Wuxian chimed in. "But since that was no longer an issue with us bringing him away, Lan Zhan and I didn't think it was very important why he'd chosen Moling of all places to stir up trouble."

"I see." Lan Xichen sighed. "We will question him tomorrow, then. I need such information for an official verdict."

Lan Wangji cast his eyes down. "Wangji was thoughtless."

"Ah, no, it is quite all right." Lan Xichen smiled at his younger brother, looking like he felt tempted to pat his head. "You did very well to apprehend him. Thanks to you this lose end will finally be brought to a close."

"Mn."

They walked for some time in silence until the Mingshi appeared and Lan Xichen stopped their group.

"I am afraid I must take leave of you to ascertain Su Minshan's secure confinement. Go and rest. It has been a long night." He turned to Luo Qingyang. "Again, I must sincerely apologize that you were involved in this mess. If I could make any amends..."

"As I said, Zewu-jun, it's fine," Luo Qingyang replied, almost sounding a little amused.

Lan Xichen managed to return her smile.

-------

Wei Wuxian fully expected to sleep in the next morning. As was custom after nighthunts, both he and Lan Wangji should have had at least half the day free.

However, just half a shichen into maoshi, only a short while after Wei Wuxian's head had been lovingly transferred from his husband's chest to infinitely inferior bedding, a message from Lan Xichen arrived at the Jingshi, requesting Lan Wangji's assistance in the Mingshi's side chambers as soon as he could give it.

Wei Wuxian was very disgruntled. Couldn't Lan Xichen ask someone else?

Still half-asleep, it was hard to see why he should give up on certain alternative plans he'd been devising for their morning. Wei Wuxian had had yet to decide between tempting Lan Wangji back to bed by way of an innocent yawn and an artful slip of a robe down a bare shoulder or stretching so as to make his sleep shirt ride up his stomach and in so doing revealing a vulnerable sliver of naked belly.

But unfortunately, the only force mightier than Lan Wangji's desire was his sense of duty.

Whining loudly to give voice to his disappointment, Wei Wuxian crawled out of bed in search of husband and warmth, determined that, even if he was to be cruelly deprived the joys of successful early-morning seduction, he would not accept giving up his rights to Lan Wangji's lap during breakfast.

After he had been consoled with cuddles and kisses for a while, Lan Wangji reminded him that he had no classes to teach today which meant that nothing prevented him from coming along to the Mingshi, thus proving yet again that he was not only the most amazing, handsome and perfect husband anyone had ever had but also the smartest one.

Wei Wuxian's mood was saved.

They finished eating, dressed, then left the Jingshi together.

Somehow, despite Gusu Lan's general disapprobation of gossip, it had taken no longer than the night and the morning for the news of Su She's arrival to reach every last disciple and servant living within the sect walls.

Not even the Second Jade's disapproving glower stopped Gusu Lan's disciples from whispering amongst each other that the person who had been cast out for slander and violence against the main clan, the very person who had colluded with the enemy, was now back to get his righteous due.

"I heard a shixiong say he's going to be beheaded!" a young junior disciple disclosed to three companions in a hushed voice. "Apparently it's been decades since someone was last executed in the Cloud Recesses!"

"Do you think we'll have to watch?" one of the other boys whispered back, voice a mixture of horror and excitement.

"Gossip is forbidden. Go to your classrooms," Lan Wangji brought such wild speculations to a halt—all boys flinched as they found themselves addressed by none other than the second young master of the sect. Immediately, they backed away, bowing in apology every third step or so.

Just as they had disappeared however, three elders strutted down the hallway near the Discipline Pavilion's ruins, followed by a group of older juniors with mountains of scrolls in their arms.

"It has to be done," one of the elders harrumphed. "Such deviance is not to be borne."

"Qingheng-jun's sons can finally avenge him," the second elder agreed. "Doing anything less would be a breach of filial duty. Without Su Minshan's betrayal the Wen would have never found their father's cottage. He might as well have burned him with his own two hands."

"Do you know anyone who was friends with that Su person when he was here?" one of the juniors behind them whispered to his neighbor. "I only saw him once or twice from afar, but I immediately thought there was something off about him."

The group rounded a corner and their voices turned muffled, but not before Wei Wuxian could have sworn he heard the third elder call Su She a foul scum , which were definitely unprecedented depths of vulgarity in the Lan sect.

By now Lan Wangji's mouth was pinched, and there was a grave crease between his pretty eyebrows, signs which heralded deep irritation, and so Wei Wuxian quickly dragged him away from his gossiping sect members.

Upon reaching the Mingshi's side chamber they found Lan Xichen amongst a landscape of paperwork, pondering over an ornate jade container.

His eyes were lined with dark circles—Wei Wuxian hoped he had slept at all.

"Xiongzhang."

"Dabo, good morning. Do you mind if I come in too?"

"Oh—Wangji, there you are. And A-Xian, of course not. Come in you two," Lan Xichen said, waving them to join him at his table.

He began to fill them in on how things would proceed; apparently Lan Qiren had decided that Su Minshan's execution was to be enacted in a few days, leaving enough time for interrogation and a thorough investigation of the particular details of his crimes.

As sect leader it was Lan Xichen's responsibility to document Su Minshan's exact offenses and write an official verdict, something he confessed he felt unsure about.

"You were always more concise in writing than I, Wangji," he said with a tired smile.

Lan Wangji inclined his head. "Wangji will help."

Obviously relieved, Lan Xichen showed them old documents that he'd been planning to use as reference since they were the most recent report of a death penalty being given by the sect. They dated back more than fifty years ago—an outer disciple had been found guilty of raping his cousin's wife. She had later killed herself. The perpetrator's account of the crime had been recorded, witness testimonies had been meticulously transcribed, and a concluding verdict had been composed, sentencing the man to death via decapitation.

As justification for the one-off transgression of the first rule on the Wall of Discipline the report referred to Lan Yi's Fourth Clause , which made Wei Wuxian curious.

He asked Lan Xichen about it as he brought them to a meadow behind the Mingshi.

"Ah, yes," Lan Xichen smiled at him. "As you know, A-Xian, Lan An himself decreed that no living creature is to be killed within the boundaries of the Cloud Recesses."

"Yeah."

Kneeling on the ground, Lan Xichen carefully set down the jade container he'd brought with him. Wei Wuxian was really quite interested in it by now.

"However, two generations after him, the sect was beset by internal strife," Lan Xichen went on. "Ancestor Lan Yi who ruled at the time formulated clauses for a number of rules in order to quench dissident voices. Most of them were discarded again as leadership changed, but the Fourth Clause remains in effect to this day, allowing for a death penalty to be given if the severity of a crime necessitates it and allowing disciples to both fight and kill within the Cloud Recesses if done in justifiable self-defense."

Humming in understanding, Wei Wuxian curiously peered over Lan Xichen's shoulder as he opened the lid of the jade container.

Inside lay a pair of pristine white gloves, and a single long string so fine it could have been mistaken for a strand of hair if not for its peculiar white luster.

"This is the qin string Lan Yi herself favored in battle and the only tool eligible for use in the enactment of death sentences. Even now it carries Lan Yi's spiritual signature," Lan Xichen said, carefully slipping his hands into the gloves.

"Why not just use a sword?" Wei Wuxian wondered.

Lan Xichen hands paused.

"A sword can miss," Lan Wangji explained in his stead, making his brother wince slightly. "Chord Assassination guarantees a successful decapitation even if the malefactor struggles."

So careful it seemed as though the string might break at the slightest touch, Lan Xichen lifted it out of its container. "It is paramount that the string has been tested before use, to assure it has not dulled over time. Though the penalty is death, undue suffering must be avoided."

He walked a few steps away from them, looking down the meadow with a look of concentration. In a moment, the hesitancy of his grip disappeared. He wound the string around his gloved right hand with a practiced motion of his wrist, his left holding the rest of it.

A flash of blue spiritual energy was the only warning before Lan Xichen whipped the string forward, startlingly loud as it cut through the air. Like a snake, it coiled around one of the rocks lining the riverbank at the edge of the meadow.

No sooner had his target been ensnared did Lan Xichen yank his arm backwards again. An earsplitting crunch accompanied the rock being cleaved cleanly in two.

Shielding his eyes from the sun to see better, Wei Wuxian whistled in appreciation. Who knew qin strings had such lethal usage in long-ranged combat when they were not attached to an instrument?

"Lan Zhan, tell me you can do that too!" he exclaimed enthusiastically.

Lan Wangji hummed affirmatively.

"Every sect heir learns this technique as it is the sect leader who must enact death sentences," Lan Xichen said.

He was already carefully gathering the string back into its container. Once done he slipped out of the white gloves and returned them too with excessive care, making sure they were lining up exactly. Then followed the jade lid of the container, hiding everything from view once again.

"Xiongzhang?" Lan Wangji asked, frowning.

Lan Xichen jerked upright. He looked caught.

Wei Wuxian glanced between both of them in confusion.

In the fraction of a moment some silent communication passed between the brothers.

Lan Xichen was first to avert his eyes. "I cannot pretend with you, can I, Wangji?" A sigh escaped him. "It is just... I keep thinking whether this could not have been avoided somehow. If only for a time, Su Minshan was our own disciple."

"One is responsible for one's own reprehensible actions," Lan Wangji argued, still frowning.

"Yes, but Wangji, it was Gusu Lan who approved of him originally. As an outer disciple he successfully passed our evaluation. And... I cannot get Luo-guniang's words out of my head," Lan Xichen admitted, staring at where his fingers rested on the lid. " It is well known that Gusu Lan only ever recruits those with clean features. Is that well known? I for one did not know the world believed us to be so shallow."

Wei Wuxian shared a worried look with Lan Wangji as Lan Xichen sighed again, his shoulders slumping a bit.

"What must she think now that a former disciple of ours receives such a sentence while she is a guest here? She already seemed dissatisfied with our hospitality."

"Did you talk to shufu?" Lan Wangji asked.

A weak smile lifted the corners of Lan Xichen's mouth. "Shufu's words are your words, Wangji. He says that sometimes evil lies dormant and undetectable within a person. No one is to blame in his eyes but Su Minshan himself. I know I should be content with that. But I am Gusu Lan's sect leader now." He shook his head and stood, taking the jade container with him. "If there is cause to suspect flaws in the sect's inner workings it falls on me to bring about improvement, does it not?"

Lan Wangji's expression turned conflicted.

Wei Wuxian found it easy to agree though.

"Perhaps you should talk to Luo-guniang again?" he suggested.

Lan Xichen looked up in confusion. "Why would I..."

Wei Wuxian shrugged. "If you want to find flaws you need to know what exactly is bothering her, right? So why not ask her directly?"

For a brief moment Lan Xichen just blinked at him. Then he raised a contemplative hand to his chin. "Hm. She did seem honest and observant," he mused. "But... it would not be proper were I to send for her out of the blue..."

Laughing, Wei Wuxian wrapped himself around Lan Wangji. "Lan Zhan and I could play chaperone for you!"

Lan Xichen shifted on his feet. "Right. But I can't—should I invite her into the Hanshi? Or is that too presumptuous? It would be improper, wouldn't it? I mean... as it is she was there yesterday, but only because my office burned down..."

"Why not go somewhere more neutral? Maybe somewhere outside?" Wei Wuxian proposed, contentedly snuggling into Lan Wangji's shoulder.

"Outside. Hm, yes... oh, I know!" A smile lit up Lan Xichen's face. "There is a small summer pavilion behind the infirmary. It is sufficiently out of the way for privacy and has a nice view of the back hills!"

A startled jolt ran through Lan Wangji's body. Wei Wuxian only noticed because he was pressed up against him. Looking up and finding the other's eyes full of mortification, Wei Wuxian turned Lan Xichen's suggestion over in his head once more. Then he abruptly tensed himself.

As it happened, he and Lan Wangji were both very familiar with that pavilion.

"Or is that I bad idea? Wangji? A-Xian?" Lan Xichen was clearly growing disheartened by their lacking enthusiasm.

"Ah, no, no! It's a good idea!" Wei Wuxian exclaimed quickly. "Right, Lan Zhan?" He gave Lan Wangji's side a pointed nudge.

There was absolutely no need to confess their crimes—there were some things an older brother really shouldn't hear about! His younger brothers' nightly desecration of public places due to premarital sexual escapades very much included!

Lan Wangji managed a nod.

"I'm sure Luo-guniang will be delighted with the view!" Wei Wuxian added. "The woods are beautiful right now, ahahaha!"

Fortunately, Lan Xichen seemed eager enough to be reassured, clearly too distracted by his own thoughts to notice their stiff shoulders.

Wei Wuxian exhaled.

He and Lan Wangji should go and give that pavilion a thorough scrub before Lan Xichen had a chance to invite Luo Qingyang there.

-------

While Wei Wuxian wasn't involved in the investigation surrounding Su She's exact misdeeds, he heard about the progress, or rather, the lack of progress that was made over the next handful of days.

Though Su She was apparently generally uncooperative Lan Qiren had managed to glean that further interrogation into Moling and his attempt at extortion should be undertaken, even going so far as to send Lan disciples there to talk to farmer Chen and other locals again.

Wei Wuxian had respect for the old man's patience. He himself would have never managed to handle the matter so composedly just for the sake of complete documentation.

Perhaps it was best then that the matter was left to others while he went back to his regular duties.

Recently, the lessons he prepared for Gusu Lan's junior disciples had found inspiration from his and Lan Wangji's training sessions with Luo Qingyang—even though Gusu Lan's combat style already focused on strength, especially the juniors could still profit from working on their musculature.

To warm up for today's sword training Wei Wuxian had the boys play a game where each of them started off with a single hand weight strapped to an arm. The winner would be the person who, after two incense sticks' time, had stolen the most weights for himself.

After they had gotten past their initial reservations regarding the inelegance of theft, most of the kids took to the game quickly. Wei Wuxian was satisfied by the laughter that soon filled the training field.

At some point, Lan Peizhi had miraculously claimed more than three fourths of the hand weights, only to immediately find himself at a great disadvantage, both weighed down by his spoils and suddenly pursued by almost all his peers.

By the end of the game there was no clear winner, but an aghast Lan Peizhi had not a single weight left on his person.

"The goal was not to have everything , just the most ," Wei Wuxian laughed, ruffling his hair. "Peizhi, I bet you understand now why the Wall of Discipline warns against greed, don't you?"

The boys standing closest crowed in agreement, while Lan Peizhi grinned sheepishly and scratched his head. Wei Wuxian let his excited students rib their friend for a moment longer, then broke the kids up and made them form pairs to spar.

For the first half shichen everything went by as usual. Wei Wuxian moved through the fighting juniors, correcting stances and giving advice. Most of the boys had improved noticeably over the past weeks.

Just one person seemed to struggle unusually much today.

For the fifth time since they'd started Xie Peng tumbled to the ground with a frustrated groan. Lan Yuhan, who was his partner, looked slightly guilty by now. Wei Wuxian had already scolded Xie Peng for lacking focus twice and advised him on his footwork once. He wondered if there was something else wrong with the boy's technique that he had overlooked.

Just as he had decided to go over again, Xie Peng suddenly glared at Lan Yuhan and exclaimed, "Stop talking!"

Lan Yuhan seemed puzzled. "Everyone's been talking about it, why are you getting offended?"

"I don't want to hear it!"

"Boys, what's going on here?"

As he realized Wei Wuxian had overheard them, Lan Yuhan quickly saluted and apologized. Xie Peng behind him just glared at the floor.

"Were you fighting?" Wei Wuxian asked, looking back and forth between them. "If you can't get along, just don't talk altogether. You're supposed to concentrate on the spar anyway."

"Ah, yes," Lan Yuhan agreed.

"Well, let's still switch partners, it's about time." Raising his voice, Wei Wuxian called everyone to assemble, then paired the boys up anew.

He kept half an eye on Xie Peng as everyone began fighting again. He had matched him with Ming Zheng this time who was among the weaker students.

Whatever issue plagued Xie Peng, it didn't seem to be one of skill though. Hardly a fen passed before he'd been sent to the floor again. Wei Wuxian guessed that there was an underlying problem that had more to do with Xie Peng's head than it did his body.

He stopped scolding the boy for the rest of training since it obviously did no good. Instead, he told him to stay behind afterwards.

The others gave Xie Peng pitying looks as they left the field while the boy himself came over to Wei Wuxian and immediately saluted.

"This disciple asks Wei-gongzi to punish him for his bad performance."

Wei Wuxian waved the idea away with his hand. "Nonsense, I won't punish you." With a grin, he nodded at the crates of hand weights. "I would appreciate a little help getting these back into storage though. You could save me one trip."

"This disciple will help!" Xie Peng immediately ran forward to heft up the biggest crate.

Picking up the other two in one hand each, Wei Wuxian led the way into the training hall. He carefully watched Xie Peng's sweaty face as they walked.

"Did you not sleep well last night?"

"Ah? N-no, I slept fine," Xie Peng replied nervously. "Wei-gongzi need not worry about this disciple."

Wei Wuxian smiled. "Why shouldn't I worry? Aren't I your teacher?"

The boy looked as though he didn't know how to respond.

They arrived at the storage room. After briefly setting down his crates so that he could open the door with his jade token, Wei Wuxian signaled for Xie Peng to walk inside first. "They go on the top shelf in the corner. You see the empty spot?"

Xie Peng evidently did not, instead looked around the room with a lost expression. Showing the way, Wei Wuxian put away his crates first.

"Um, I can't..." Xie Peng stammered next to him. He was making himself as tall as he could, yet still failed to reach the top shelf.

"Oh, let me," Wei Wuxian offered, taking the crate from his struggling hands and pushing it up next to his own. "You know, Xie Peng, if there's ever anything you'd like to get off your chest and you need someone who will not worry about the rules, you can always come to me, okay? In general, if any of you boys need help or advice, I'm always happy to lend an ear or a hand."

Xie Peng meekly lowered his head.

Not wanting to push, Wei Wuxian squeezed his shoulder, then took him back outside.

As he relocked the door, Xie Peng was quietly frowning to himself next to him. Wei Wuxian took his time, wanting to give the boy a chance to gather his courage.

"It's just—!" he at last burst out with, gripping his robes. "It's so unfair! What's been decided for that former disciple! That—that Su Minshan!"

"You think his sentence is unjustified?" Wei Wuxian asked.

"He's getting off too lightly!" Xie Peng hissed.

Surprised, Wei Wuxian looked at the boy, finding fury in his eyes. He'd thought he might be uncomfortable with the thought of Su She being killed, but it seemed the opposite was the case.

"How so?"

"It's just—unfair! What good does his death do! Everyone says that if Su Minshan hadn't betrayed us Wen Xu might have never gotten as far as he did! Maybe—maybe people wouldn't have been killed. Maybe my jiejie wouldn't have died!"

Sympathy churned in Wei Wuxian's chest as he saw tears welling up in the boy's angry eyes.

"Your jiejie?"

Xie Peng sniffled and roughly rubbed at his tears. "Wei-gongzi knows her, right? My jiejie studied talismans, too."

Wei Wuxian's eyes grew wide in realization.

Xie Juan had been his classmate for almost a year—of course he had known her. Though they hadn't talked much, he could draw up Xie Juan's face with startling accuracy.

Lying in front of the Mingshi, her right eye had been blue and swollen shut. Her chest had been a bloody mess, and her throat had been cut, from one ear to the other.

Wei Wuxian briefly hoped that Xie Peng hadn't seen his sister like that, but knew it was unlikely someone had thought to protect him from the sight during the chaos that had been the evening after the attack.

"He helped those Wens kill my jiejie! He deserves to suffer!" Xie Peng went on, visibly struggling for composure.

Wei Wuxian couldn't say he disagreed.

"But—but no matter what I do, she'll always stay dead." Two parallel tears rolled over his cheeks. "And I didn't—I didn't even fight! I might have—I should have protected her. Jiejie promised to take me to the lantern festival in Caiyi this winter!" More tears flowed. "If only I had fought too, jiejie might not be..."

Wei Wuxian winced in slight panic as the boy descended into sobs, no jokes coming to mind to lighten the mood.

"Your sister must be glad you stayed safe," he tried.

This only made Xie Peng cry harder.

Yet even now it was obvious that he was still fighting against his tears, mumbling out, "Sorry, I'm sorry," every now and then through his weeping, seeming embarrassed by his loss of control.

Suddenly, it was obvious what Wei Wuxian should do—seriously how dense was he that cracking a joke was the first thing he came up with, confronted with a crying child?

Careful to leave Xie Peng the option to push him away, Wei Wuxian took him by his pitifully shaking shoulders, thinking of holding them in support.

Xie Peng all but crashed against him, pushing his face into his shoulder in an obvious desperate search for comfort. It would have been silly not to hug the kid fully at this point, so Wei Wuxian did.

Guiltily he thought that, until today, he'd never realized that Xie Peng was struggling. He'd never been the most vocal or cheerful student he had, but nothing had ever given him any alarm. He would have to be more attentive from now on.

"Now, now, others will think I bullied you," Wei Wuxian laughed after he'd let the kid smear his snot all over his clothes for quite a while.

"I'm s-sorry," Xie Peng hiccupped.

He continued to cling though.

"Aiya," Wei Wuxian sighed, affectionately patting his head. "Stop apologizing, hm?"

"But—but it's...w-wrong. What I'm th-thinking. Against the rules," Xie Peng stammered wetly.

"Hmm." Wei Wuxian picked a leaf out of the boy's hair that must have ended up there during training. "I don't think your thoughts are wrong exactly. I'd even say they're natural. You loved your jiejie and she deserved to live."

Xie Peng raised his messy face from Wei Wuxian's shoulder.

Wei Wuxian pulled out the handkerchief Lan Wangji put into his sleeve every morning. "But revenge can be nasty business, you know? Especially if you want to do more than just kill. Your jiejie can't want that for you."

Xie Peng sniffled as he accepted the handkerchief. "You killed people, Wei-gongzi. The Wens," he said. "You hid us away and fought them off. And I didn't do anything. I was completely useless."

Clicking his tongue, Wei Wuxian pushed Xie Peng's hand up to his face so that the handkerchief could finally get rid of snot and tears. "If you want to be angry at anyone, be angry at me for giving you the order."

Xie Peng stayed stubbornly silent.

"Besides, right now I'm training you kids so that you can fight in the future," Wei Wuxian added, pushing a messy strand of hair out of the boy's face. "You'll see, once I'm done with you, the likes of Wen Xu and Su She will be no match for you anymore. And then, one day, you can properly avenge your jiejie. Okay?"

This finally reached the boy. He nodded vigorously, tears still falling. "I'll do my best at training! I'll never be as distracted as I was today ever again!"

"There," Wei Wuxian chuckled, satisfied. "That's what I wanted to hear."

A wobbly smile appeared on Xie Peng's face. Then he looked down at the handkerchief and startled. "Oh no, I—I'll make sure to wash it, Wei-gongzi."

"Don't worry about it! You can keep it if you like."

"...Really?"

"Sure!"