Wei WuXian’s voice trembled, “Your surname was Wen? Isn’t it Lan? Lan SiZhui, Lan Yuan…” He murmured, “Lan Yuan… Wen Yuan?”
Lan SiZhui nodded heavily. His voice was shaking as well, “Senior Wei, I… I am A-Yuan…”
Wei WuXian hadn’t yet wrapped his mind around what was going on, still confused, “A-Yuan… Didn’t he die? He was left alone on Burial Mound back then…”
Before he finished, Lan XiChen’s words echoed beside his ears, ‘They say those years were him reflecting on his mistakes, but in reality he was entirely bedridden. Even so, when he knew of your passing away, he still dragged such a body to Burial Mound to take one last look, no matter what…’
He spun to look at Lan WangJi, “Lan Zhan, was it you?!”
Lan WangJi, “Yes.” He gazed at Wei WuXian, “This was what I never told you.”
For a long time, Wei WuXian couldn’t say anything.
At least, Lan SiZhui couldn’t hold it any longer. With a loud cry, he leaped up. One hand around Wei WuXian and the other around Lan WangJi, he pulled the two into a tight embrace. Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi bumped into each other from the hug. Both of them were surprised.
Lan SiZhui buried his head between their shoulders, “HanGuang-Jun, Senior Wei, I… I…”
Hearing his muffled voice, Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi exchanged a look, only inches apart. They both saw something soft within each other’s eyes.
Wei WuXian fixed his mood and put his hand on Lan SiZhui’s back, patting, “Enough, what are you crying for?”
Lan SiZhui, “Not crying… Just… I suddenly feel so frustrated, but so happy as well… I do not know how to describe it…”
After some silence, Lan WangJi laid his hand onto his back as well and patted. Lan WangJi, “There is no need to describe it then.”
Wei WuXian, “That’s right.”
Lan SiZhui didn’t say anything. He hugged them even tighter.
Soon, Wei WuXian exclaimed, “Hey, hey, hey, why are your arms so strong? Definitely deserving of HanGuang-Jun’s teachings…”
Lan WangJi glanced at him, “You taught him as well.”
Wei WuXian, “No wonder he grew up so nicely.”
Lan SiZhui, “Senior Wei never taught me anything.”
Wei WuXian, “Who said I didn’t? You were just too young back then. You forgot everything I taught you.”
Lan SiZhui, “I did not forget. Now I remember. I think you did teach me.”
Wei WuXian, “Right?”
Lan SiZhui had on a serious face, “You taught me how to disguise pornography as normal books.”
Wei WuXian, “…”
Lan Wangji glanced at Wei WuXian.
Lan SiZhui added, “You also taught me that when pretty maidens walked by…”
Wei WuXian, “Absolute nonsense. Why do you remember these things only? You must be dreaming. How could I teach these to young children?”
Lan SiZhui looked up, “Uncle Ning can testify. He should also have been present when you taught me these things.”
Wei WuXian, “Testify what? No such things happened.”
Wen Ning, “I… I don’t remember anything…”
Lan SiZhui swore, “HanGuang-Jun, every word of mine is true.”
Lan WangJi nodded, “I know.”
Wei WuXian threw a tantrum atop the donkey, “Ugh, Lan Zhan!” With another thought, he asked, “Speaking of it, How did you remember, SiZhui?”
Lan SiZhui, “I do not understand either. Something just felt really familiar when I saw Chenqing.”
As expected, it was Chenqing. Wei WuXian, “Oh, of course it’d feel familiar. You loved eating Chenqing back then. You always drooled on it and made it so that I couldn’t play it.”
Lan SiZhui’s face flushed red at once, “R-Really…”
Wei WuXian, “Yup, or else why did you remember everything the moment you saw it? You wanna listen to more stories of when you were young?” He made two butterflies with his hands, “HanGuang-Jun, do you remember the time I treated you to a meal, when he held a pair of butterflies and mumbled around, saying ‘I like you’, ‘I like you too’…”
Lan SiZhui’s face grew even redder. Wei WuXian added, “Oh right, that time you even called HanGuang-Jun ‘Dad’ in front of everyone’s eyes. Poor HanGuang-Jun. What a pure, wholesome young man he was back then, yet he inexplicably became someone’s dad…”
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Lan SiZHui yelled, blushing, “HanGuang-Jun, I apologize!”
Lan WangJi looked at the grinning Wei WuXian and shook his head, his eyes gentle.
Wei WuXian spoke again, “Right, Wen Ning, you knew about this?”
Wen Ning nodded. Wei WuXian was shocked, “Then why didn’t you tell me?”
Wen Ning gave Lan WangJi a glance, speaking carefully, “Young Master Lan didn’t say to tell you, so…”
Wei WuXian was infuriated, “Why do you listen to him so much? You’re the Ghost General—why should the Ghost General be afraid of HanGuang-Jun? Doesn’t it make me lose face?”
Lan SiZhui was still shouting, “HanGuang-Jun, I apologize!”
…
The four parted ways in a forest at the edge of Yunping City.
Wen Ning, “Young Master, we’ll be going this way.”
Wei WuXian, “Which way?”
Wen Ning, “Didn’t you ask me what I wanted to do when everything ended? I’ve talked to A-Yuan about it. We’ll be going to Qishan first to bury the ashes of our people. I also wanted to look around there to see if I could find the things from when my sister was still alive, to build her a cenotaph.”
Wei WuXian, “A cenotaph. I built one for you and her back on Burial Mound, but they were burned down. We can go to Qishan too.”
He turned around to ask Lan WangJi, yet Wen Ning answered, “There’s no need.”
Wei WuXian hesitated, “You won’t be going with us?”
Lan SiZhui, “Senior Wei, you should go with HanGuang-Jun.”
Wei WuXian was about to speak again when Wen Ning spoke again, “Really, it’s fine, Young Master Wei. You’ve done enough.”
After a moment of silence, Wei WuXian asked, “Then what about after you’ve done these things?”
Wen Ning, “Send A-Yuan back to the Cloud Recesses, and then I can take some time to think about what to do next. You can let me walk the rest of the way on my own.”
Wei WuXian nodded slowly, “… I might as well.”
It was the first time in all these years that Wen Ning made his own decision and stopped walking the same path he walked. Wei WuXian guessed that perhaps he had something he wanted to do out of his own will.
It was what he hoped all this time. Each to their own path. But now that they day really came, watching Wen Ning and Lan SiZhui’s figures walk slowly, slowly away until they finally disappeared, he felt somewhat dejected.
Lan WangJi was now the only one who stood by his side. Luckily, Lan WangJi was also the only one he wished to have by his side.
Wei WuXian, “Lan Zhan.”
Lan WangJi, “Mn.”