Wei Ying reached up to kiss Lan Zhan's cheek.

"It's probably nothing. You know, your Uncle misses me more than you sometimes." He grinned, trying to appease a cold Jade, who was contemplating joining him, requested or not.

It was just a feeling, but Lan Zhan did not want to let him go. Even as Wei Ying pulled away, Lan Zhan gathered him close and kissed him. Wei Ying wrapped his arms around his neck and really made an effort.

Teeth clashed in a furious haze of desire, unbridled and unrestrained, a fire that spread like molten heat through their bodies. Burning, scorching through all other thoughts until nothing else was left. Wei Ying even bit his lip, aiming for dominance but Lan Zhan's answering growl stamped out that idea as he was ravished.

"Lan Zhan, you have to let me go." He smiled against unwilling lips.

"Never."

"What if I promise we can continue this later, when I get back?"

"Mn." But he didn't let go.

"Well, you know what this means, right?"

"Mn?"

"Four, three. To you, of course, Sweetie...but not for long..." A devilish smile played upon his lips.

He was put down in seconds, a frown marring that beautiful face.

"Agreed. Four, three. Come back immediately."

"I won't even finish my tea!" Wei Ying ran backwards with a three finger salute. "Promise." His giggles echoed where he had stood, long after he'd gone.

Lan Zhan stood watching the empty air, wondering why he felt so...lonely.

********

Wei Ying knocked on Uncle Qiren's door with a bright smile resting on his lips, already making plans on how to tease his man later on, when the door opened.

He flew into the old man's arms, happy to be visiting him. Uncle Qiren patted his back and led him into the room.

"So what did you want to see me about, Uncle?" He asked, after pouring tea for both of them.

"Your bond, with my nephew." Uncle Qiren replied, straight away.

"What about it?" Wei Ying asked, cautiously. He remembered XiChen-ge's warning about saying too much.

So he waited for Uncle to say more, hoping it wasn't something bad. The problem was, his instincts had kicked in from the moment he'd stepped inside the room. Plus, he was a big believer in body language, and Uncle Qiren's was screaming defensive, because he'd crossed his arms in front of his chest, as if trying to protect himself from Wei Ying.

So of course, it prompted the question, why was he afraid of him?

Wei Ying was reminded of those youthful days when Uncle Qiren was out to get him for the slightest infringement. Those days, life was difficult enough and the only saving grace was Lan Zhan.

"I need you to break it."

Wei Ying heard those words and wished he hadn't. He was standing up and on his way to the door before Uncle Qiren stopped him from leaving. Wei Ying couldn't see for the tears that were already spilling.

"Wait...wait, Wei WuXian...please."

It was the last word that held his feet in that place, but he couldn't lift his face to look up.

"Please hear me out...and stop my nephew from feeling what you're feeling, if you can...to protect him." Uncle Qiren led him back to sit at the table.

Wei Ying felt...numb.

"If, after you hear what I have to say, if you cannot do it, I will understand. Please...just listen." Uncle Qiren poured more tea for himself.

It was a way to keep his hands occupied, for he feared that if he left them to be idle, they would shake with the weight of his words and once that started, he had no idea how to stop it.

"Many years ago, the Gusu Lan Clan sent a group of cultivators up north to investigate a series of crimes that could not be explained. It was at the time when we were hosting classes and all the brightest pupils were attending Cloud Recesses lectures.

"Jiang Fengmian, Madam Yu ZiYuan, Cangse Sanren, and Wei Changze were among the few esteemed guests accompanying us. It was before my brother had met his wife, and all of the mess that followed.

"There were many complaints about animals being slaughtered unnecessarily, but we thought it was wild animals at first. Only when humans turned up in the same state, that we realised we were dealing with something more serious, and we had to discover what it was and put a stop to it before it became out of control.

"One night, an entire village was killed..." he paused, his eyes far away, seeing the events long gone.

"What happened?" Wei Ying asked, while later.

"We found the culprit." He shook his head. "It was a demon, newly escaped from the Nether world, drunk on his powers in the mortal world. He killed without need or reason, and it was after a desperate fight, where all of us were injured in one way or another, that's when he chose to speak.

"He stared at my brother, and your parents...and he laughed. Said it didn't matter what we did, because what was coming was going to be far worse. He looked at them in the eye, and said their children would be the ones to open the gateway for Demons to enter our world. Once that happened, all hope for humanity would be lost.

"I am not proud of what we did. You could say it was revenge, or justice for all the souls vanquished by the evil one, but I know better."

"What did you do?" Wei Ying was afraid of his answer.

"We cut him up into tiny pieces and burnt the evidence. We swore a pact never to reveal any of what happened then."

"Until now." Wei Ying couldn't help but think of Hui Gai.

Could he stand by and let anything like that happen to his friend? The answer was a big, fat no.

"When we got back, we reported that it was a wild animal, and since the attacks stopped, and therefore the complaints too, we heard nothing more about it. Now, sadly, the only one left alive out of us six...is me. And I'm begging you."

To Wei Ying's horror, Uncle Qiren kneeled and bowed down.

"Please, please, find a way. Break the bond, and don't do anything like that." He was crying.

"Please, Uncle!" Wei Ying knelt also, trying to raise him up.

There was a knock on the door and XiChen entered. The moment he saw them both, and what they were doing, he came and raised the distraught older man into his arms. He nodded to Wei Ying, who left soon after.

XiChen tried to get Uncle to talk, but he kept muttering apologies despondently, and the tears never left his face.

XiChen thought the best place for him was to rest and he helped to put him to bed. He sat at the table looking at the two cups of tea, one clearly untouched, and tried to make sense of what he had seen. The urgent knocking on the door brought him out of his thoughts, and he went to open it.

Lan Zhan stood impatiently waiting.

"Wei Ying?" He pushed past his brother to check the room himself, and finding it empty of the one he was searching for, made ready to leave.

"Wait, Didi...is he not...he left here quite a while ago. I thought he would have come to you..." XiChen put a hand on his shoulder. "But he was upset when I got here. Both of them were, even Uncle was crying too."

Lan Zhan stared back at him.

"Wei Ying was crying?"

"Yes, Didi. I don't know what it was about, but it was serious."

Lan Zhan didn't wait for another second.

Wei Ying was missing...where could he have gone?