No matter what happened from here, it would all be alright. 

~WEI YING'S POV~

"Lan Zhan! Come here!" Wei Ying exclaimed, excitedly holding up a beautiful, red and blue kite. The kite had flowy clouds painted across it, and a little red string held it afloat. "I remember this! We used to fly these kites when I was little!" 

He sighed. Those were the good old days. The days when they were still young and naive, spending all their time playing and bantering under the sun. Wei Ying still remembered those evenings. Evenings where they would all gather around the campfire, telling stories of their adventures. He remembered the hot summer days of Yunmeng, when they would all swim around Lotus Pier. Shijie would stand on the side, silently laughing at their antics. When they were too tired to swim, she would bring them watermelons and lotus seeds. 

Wei Ying chuckled. Madam Yu had been furious with them. She had scolded Shijie and yelled at her for caring so much. "You are the master! Not the servant," she would scream, face red with rage. 

Shijie had given her a small smile, bowing her head in obedience. But as soon as Madam Yu left, she would turn back to her younger brothers, indulging them with a barrage of sweet treats. 

A sad, pained smile drifted across Wei Ying's face. He missed Shijie. He missed her so much. 

Jiang Yanli had a calm, soothing presence to her. She was always so gentle and patient, always putting up with Wei Ying's troublesome ways. Shijie would comfort him with a tender pat on his head and a small smile on her face. She would rush to the kitchen to bring him some of her famous lotus and pork rib soup, whenever he was feeling down. 

If there was one thing he regretted from his past life, it was not being able to make it to Shijie's wedding. He had heard Jiang Cheng describe how beautiful it had been, how radiant Shijie's face was. Wei Ying wished he could've seen it. Say what you will about that peacock, but Jin Zixuan loved his wife. 

Wei Ying's lips curved up in a satisfied smirk. Good. Shijie deserved all the love in the world. 

"Wei Ying?" Lan Zhan's voice sounded beside him. His voice was a tether, grounding him to this Earth. 

"Lan Zhan..." Wei Ying murmured, letting his gaze drift across Yunmeng. The marketplace was bustling with activity as vendors scurried about. Lively shouts echoed in the air as children ran around, happily laughing as they played.

"You know, this is quite nostalgic." 

"Mn?" Lan Zhan asked, his question hanging between them. 

Wei Ying gave a resigned sigh before continuing, "When we were kids, Jiang Cheng and I would often come here to play. We would just grab things and run off with it, leaving as fast as we could. I suppose there was a sense of thrill that it brought, like we had done something dangerous and sinful. Although, Uncle Jiang would always clean up after us, paying for our expenses." he laughed- a bitter and dark chuckle. "I wonder what he would say if he saw us now. Would he hate me? Would he hate what I did to Jiang Cheng?" 

"Wei Ying. What happened with Jiang Wanyin was not your fault." 

"But is it? Lan Zhan, I was the one that left him; I was the one that broke my promises; I was the one that chose to protect the Wen's remains; I was the brother that slipped from his grasp..." Wei Ying broke off in a shaky voice. "I don't regret it, but I do feel guilty about it." 

"You were doing what you thought was right." 

"What difference does that make Lan Zhan? Just because I tried to uphold justice, doesn't mean I didn't hurt people in the process. I hurt him. Lan Zhan, I hurt my baby brother. I promised to protect him, promised that I would never let anything happen to him. I swore to them. I swore to Uncle Jiang and Madam Yu that I would take care of Jiang Cheng, that I would keep him safe." Wei Ying gave a despairing laugh. "In the end, I was the one that harmed him the most." 

"Wei Ying..." 

"Jiang Cheng always said I had hero syndrome. He always said that I was too selfless, too brave for my own good. He was mad at me you know? That day when he visited Burial Mounds. He was so angry. He yelled at me, screamed that if I was so hell bent on protecting the Wens, then he wouldn't be able to protect me." 

Lan Zhan gave him a complicated look, the emotions clashing in his amber eyes. "I didn't know," he muttered at last. 

"You hate him don't you?" Wei Ying murmured, glancing at his lover. 

"I don't like him." 

"Not many people do." 

"He makes it hard not to punch him." 

"Ha!" Wei Ying snorted, "Isn't violence against the rules?" 

Lan Zhan shrugged, and innocent look on his face. "I never said I was actually going to hit him." 

Wei Ying giggled, pressing a hand to Lan Zhan's face. "He's an asshole isn't he?" 

"Yes." 

"He's been that way since we were young. I suppose it was just his way to cope..." Wei Ying trailed off, a thoughtful look on his face. "Jiang Cheng never had the best childhood. His parents were practically renowned for their unhappy marriage. They argued constantly, and people started spreading rumors about them. They said that the only reason why Uncle Jiang even took me in, was because he still held a flame for my mother. People would use me to taunt Jiang Cheng. Said that Uncle Jiang treated me better than his own son." 

Wei Ying let out another sigh, this one sad and defeated. "I know Jiang Cheng hated me sometimes. I would one up him in everything. His mother hated that. She would yell at him for being useless, and scream at Uncle Jiang for being biased towards me. I think she's the reason Jiang Cheng is so competitive. To him, life is a competition. He needs to win, he needs to be the best." 

"What does that have to do with you?" 

"Because no matter what he does, he always feels inferior to me!" Wei Ying huffed in frustration. "I can't get him to understand. He's worth far more than he thinks. There are people who love him, people who care about him. There's Lan Xichen, there's Yunmeng, hell there's even Jin Ling! He's not just anyone. He's Sandu Shengshou. He's Sect Leader Jiang. He's Jiang fucking Cheng!" 

"He's not your concern." 

"But he is Lan Zhan! Don't you see? He's my little brother! I love him! He's the brother I grew up with, the one that would help me with my pranks. He's the one that would clean up after me, apologizing on my behalf. He-" 

"But he killed you," Lan Zhan pointed out, stubbornly holding onto his values. 

"I know you hate him for what happened at Burial Mounds- but think about it Lan Zhan! What could he have done? I defected! I left the Jiang Sect. And with Jin Guangshan there to rally the crowd, how could he not have attacked? If he showed any signs of hesitation, then what do you think would've happened to Yunmeng Jiang? Jiang Cheng gave everything in rebuilding his sect. He couldn't have afforded even a moment of weakness! If he showed me mercy, then Yunmeng would become the laughingstock of the cultivational world! They would mock him to be weak, and say that he can't tell right from wrong. Only by acting this crazed way to any demonic cultivators that came after me, could he distance himself from me. Only by killing everyone who acted like me, could he preserve the Jiang Sect. Lan Zhan, don't you see now? You can't hate him for acting that way. He gave me a chance to leave with him, and I turned him down. My actions have consequences, and those consequences are mine to bear."

"But-" 

"Lan Zhan!" Wei Ying frowned, looking up in front of him. A small smile drifted across his face when he saw the rotting wood of the old tree. "Lan Zhan... do you know this tree?" 

"What?"

"This tree. This was the first tree I ever climbed. I climbed it the first night I stayed in Lotus Pier."

"Does Jiang Wanyin have something to do with this?" Lan Zhan asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. 

Wei Ying let out a broken laugh. "Yea, I suppose you could say that." 

"Explain." 

"When I first met Jiang Cheng, he saw his father holding me in his arms. We were both seven at the time, and seeing your own father hold another child close to him- well it can't have felt good. Uncle Jiang made him give up his puppies, because I was so scared of dogs. And Jiang Cheng was furious with me. He locked me out of his room, and told me that if I didn't leave, he would set the dogs on me." 

Wei Ying paused, lost in thought. He waited a moment before continuing, "That night, Shijie had found me high up in this tree. She promised me that there were no dogs, and told me to jump down. I ended up twisting my ankle, and she had to carry me back. Shijie was only a few years older than us, but she was already so strong. So very strong..." 

He stopped, blinking away the tears that threatened to fall from his watery eyes. It was hard not to cry whenever he thought about his sister. Jiang Yanli was one of the very few people that Wei Ying had loved and cherished, dearly. Her memory was a fond one, filled with laughter and joy. But it was hard to keep the longing from his heart whenever he thought of his Shijie. He missed her. Missed her so much. 

"Wei Ying?" Lan Zhan chimed in, gently reminding him about the story at hand. 

"Hm?" Wei Ying snapped out of his daze. "Where was I? Oh yes, the part where Shijie carried me. Anyways, it was late at night so we could barely see anything. And when we neared the docks, I heard a crying sound. Shijie was scared, and told me to stay back. But it turns out, that it was just Jiang Cheng. He was feeling guilty about his earlier actions, and told Shijie what happened. He had wanted to come along, but sister prevented him. So after Shijie left, Jiang Cheng snuck out on his own to find me. He suffered an injury on his head because of it." 

Lan Zhan frowned, "Are you sure that was Jiang Wanyin?" 

Wei Ying laughed, "Yea. Jiang Cheng might seem like an ass sometimes, but he's really a sap you know? He cares about you, even if he has a weird way of showing it." 

"Hm." Lan Zhan muttered, looking thoughtfully up at the tree. 

"Hm? What is 'Hm,' supposed to mean?" Wei Ying teased, playfully arching his brows up at his lover. 

"It means that I still don't like him..." Lan Zhan paused, cringing slightly. "But I suppose I don't hate him as much anymore." 

"That's the spirit! Lan Zhan I knew you would warm up to him!" 

The other just sighed, gently tangling Wei Ying's hands with his own. "If Wei Ying loves him, then I will try my best to tolerate him." 

Wei Ying looked up at his lover dreamily, "What did I do to deserve you?" 

Lan Zhan lifted their hands up, and pressed a gentle kiss to his knuckles, "You were you."