They reached the River of Souls after what seemed to Lan Zhan to be an endless march through grasslands and swamplands. Then they followed the river of souls and got further and further down, until they finally reached a dark tunnel, which was even signposted with: "To the underworld".

Essam handed Lan Zhan the lantern with the candle that never burns down and said, "It won't be able to give you much light. But enough to at least see what's right in front of you."

Lan Zhan took the lantern and said, "You know, there is such a saying. Those who have the light in front of them have only darkness around them. So what good is it for me to see what's in front of me if I can't see what's around me?"

"What are you afraid of? Nothing will attack us in the tunnels. And we can't get close enough to Dad's five beasts."

"What beasts?"

"The fire beast, the ice beast, the wind beast, the light beast, and the dark beast. Dragon like huge creatures that attack and kill in a variety of ways. But as I said, we can't even get close to them. They live in the Rift of Worlds and only there you can meet them. And actually, a visit to them would be worthwhile. They are really beautiful and interesting beasts."

"I see, I think I'll pass on meeting them."

"All right. Shall we go on?"

"Sure." Said Lan Zhan, leading the way with his lantern in hand. He probably would have seen as much, or rather as little, without the lantern as with it.

At the end of the tunnel came a cave room, then another cave passage, and another cave room. Lan Zhan already knew this from his dreams and even saw the succubus in one of the cave rooms that he had already seen in his dream. And amazingly, she recognized him. "Hello handsome man. So we meet again. Don't worry, this time I won't even try to get close to you." She said and ran away laughing.

"I guess your dream wasn't just a dream after all." Said Essam with a grin.

"Um, seems so." Replied Lan Zhan confusedly and continued walking. Automatically, he followed the path he had taken in his supposed dream and finally arrived at the castle of the God of the Underworld. Essam was visibly impressed.

They went into the castle, where the god of the underworld was already waiting for them. Standing in front of him was a glass coffin containing the body of Wei Ying. Lan Zhan immediately ran to the coffin. "Open it." Said the god of the underworld.

"Yes, right away." Said Lan Zhan and carefully opened the glass coffin. He felt the soul ball on his chest begin to vibrate. He brought it out and opened it. "You must return to your body now." He whispered.

Essam wanted to go to Lan Zhan, but the god of the underworld stopped him. "Lan Zhan must do this alone. He is your brother's mate!"

"But father. What if he can't do it?" Essam asked anxiously.

"Why wouldn't he be able to do it? He found your brother's soul in the afterlife without any problem. He didn't even have to persuade your brother to go with him. He even waited for Lan Zhan! And see how gently he takes your brother's soul out of the soul ball? That shows me he knows exactly what he's doing."

"But father..."

"I understand you. You're worried about your favorite little brother. But what Teremun needs is not you, but Lan Zhan."

"And you're going to resurrect him right away?"

"I don't have to. Lan Wangji will do that."

"What?"

"Just watch." Said the god.

Meanwhile, Lan Zhan had lifted Wei Ying's soul out of the soul ball as carefully as he could. He held the brightly shining and delicate soul on his left hand and gently stroked it with his right hand. He gave the soul a kiss and carefully lowered his hand down to Wei Ying's lifeless body.

The soul gently entered the body and Lan Zhan lifted the body out of the coffin. He held Wei Ying in his arms and gently rocked him back and forth. He softly hummed a song as he did so and kissed Wei Ying's cold lips. Lan Zhan could feel the warmth returning to Wei Ying's lips. But Wei Ying was not awake yet.

Deep inside, Lan Zhan felt that there was still something he must do. He also knew exactly what it was. He bit his own wrist and let the blood that came out of the wound run into Wei Ying's mouth. "From our first breath on the day we were born, you were mine and I was yours. Then, now and for all eternity, you are mine and I am yours. This we have promised to each other and this will not be broken. So wake up now my dearest and keep what once you promised me."

A smile appeared on Wei Ying's lips. Suddenly, he grabbed Lan Zhan, pulled him to him and kissed him passionately. "My Lan Zhan. Mine all alone!" Whispered Wei Ying, hugging Lan Zhan as tight as he could.

"Who else would I belong to but you?"

"I don't know. You could have fallen in love all over again."

"Never! You're the only one I want. For you, I would go to hell and back just to be with you. Because you are the only one for me!"

"Good, because I would do the same for you."

"That's what you did. Even if the afterlife is not hell."

"That's the only way I could help you. And I knew you would find me."

"And what was that about the potion of oblivion?"

"Well, it was the only way you could begin your test of destiny."

"And did I pass the test?"

"Of course you did. My son proved that he would sacrifice even the most important thing for his love. Namely, his own life. And you Lan Wangji have proven that you are willing to do anything to get your mate back. Even if it means smuggling your mate's soul out of the afterlife." Said the god of the underworld.

"I hope we have finally proven our love and will not be put to such a test again." Replied Lan Zhan.

"You have proven your love and passed all the tests. Now you can enjoy your love without worry." Declared the god.

"I hope so daddy. And now I'm hungry. What's for dinner?" Asked Wei Ying. Everyone laughed in response and his father ordered the food to be served. Now André also joined them and ate together.

After the meal, Lan Zhan and Wei Ying rested in Wei Ying's old room. They lay on his old bed and cuddled together until there was a knock at the door. It was Essam, who wanted to say a quick goodbye. He wanted to go back to his place. "Essam? Please wait a minute." Said Lan Zhan.

"What is it?" Asked Essam.

"I have something for you that you will probably be happy about. In return for saving Wei Ying, your father has promised me a reward. Since I have everything I could want with Wei Ying and all the others in my life, I wished for something for you."

"For me?"

"Mmm. Andre?" Shouted Lan Zhan.

"We're here." Replied André, appearing in the doorway. However, he was not alone.

When Essam saw who André had brought, he fell to his knees, crying. The two people André had brought with him ran to Essam and fell into his arms, crying. Lan Zhan smiled when he saw this. "I spoke to your father and he agreed with me when I said that you have waited long enough to be reunited with them. Besides, you've earned it. And hey, they're the originals! And they'll live as long as you live!" Explained Lan Zhan.

"Is that true?" Essam asked, sobbing.

"Yes, it's true. It is your reward. Your father personally fetched the two. So you should definitely thank him too. And thanks to him, you will never have to say goodbye to them again."

"I thank you so much Lan Zhan. I can't even express how grateful I am."

"I can see how happy you are. That is completely enough for me."

"Brother, you really deserve it. I thank you for bringing my Lan Zhan to the afterlife so safely. Thanks to you, everything went well." Said Wei Ying.

"I was happy to do it. And it gave me a chance to get to know Lan Zhan better. He's a great man and I'm now convinced he's a perfect match for you."

"Of course he's a perfect match for me Essam. He is my Lan Zhan. My mate."

"It's okay. I have understood. And now I will take my leave. I will take my two mates home. We have much to catch up on." Said Essam. He hugged Wei Ying and kissed his forehead, then reached out to Lan Zhan and thanked him again with a big hug and left.

"It's time for us to go too Lan Zhan. I miss Youn and Ali. And I want to know how things are going with Yanara and Rouhan's test."

"Then we'll set off. Let's see how long it will take us to catch up with them."

"Lan Zhan, we'll be with them real quick. I'll just teleport us to them."

"But first we'll say goodbye to your father."

"Of course." Replied Wei Ying cheerfully. They went to the God of the Underworld and said goodbye to him. They promised him to visit soon with the whole "family" and then Wei Ying teleported himself and Lan Zhan to a ship, where Youn and Ali almost fainted from shock when they suddenly appeared there.

The joy of reunion was great among all. They hugged each other warmly and told each other what had happened in the meantime. However, there was no sign of Lan Xichen and Meng Yao. They were on another ship, facing their own fate. Nevertheless, they sent word through Yanara that they would all meet again soon.

Yanara and Rouhan also passed their test of destiny and plan to marry as soon as they are back home. And Yanara had more good news. She is expecting a child with Rouhan! Lan Zhan, who already knew that this would happen, pretended to be clueless and celebrated the good news with everyone.

At night, when everyone was fast asleep, Lan Zhan and Wei Ying stood arm in arm on the upper deck and looked at the starry sky. Lan Zhan looked around to all sides. When he saw no one, he turned Wei Ying around to face him and kissed him. "I'm glad I can hold you in my arms and kiss you again." He whispered.

"So am I my dear Lan Zhan. And I'm glad your hunt for the Inquisitor is finally over."

"So am I. Even though I still can't really grasp it. The end came so unexpectedly, without a fight, and quickly, that I think it will take me a while to really grasp it."

"So what do we do once you really get it? What are our next goals?"

"Well, we're going to travel the world. Learning about other cultures. Everything is open to us."

"Then I have a wish."

"And what is that?"

"I want you to go back to teaching kids who otherwise can't afford to go to school."

"Well, I guess I could do that."

"That's what you should do Lan Zhan. And I'll help you do it."

"Well, in that case, I guess I can't say no."

"But the first thing we should do is finally go to Korea so Youn can see and talk to his uncle."

"That's right. That's what I promised him. And it's time to fulfill my promise."

"That will make him very happy. And we should leave Ali at home. Because he belongs with his wife."

"What wife?"

"The young Nubian woman who works in the household of a villager from abroad. Have you forgotten that already? He loves her and she loves him."

"I really forgot that. Very well, then Ali will stay at home. But only if Rouhan and Yanara keep an eye on him."

"I'm sure they will. I think those two, once we're back home, won't be going away again anytime soon. After all, they'll be busy building a house and getting ready for their baby."

"So it will just be the three of us then."

"Not quite."

"What do you mean not quite?"

"Well, there's this little vampire. My father told me about him. He's four years old and his name is Yuan. He happens to need a family. And we could be his family. And don't worry, unlike other vampire children, he can grow and get older. At least to a certain degree."

"Okay, you've already talked me into it. Yuan will become a part of our family."

"I'm glad. But now my dear Lan Zhan, we should go to our cabin and finally make love."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Replied Lan Zhan. He grabbed Wei Ying, put him on his shoulder and rushed with him below the deck and to their cabin, which Youn and Ali had taken the precaution of booking for them.