"Either you tell us everything that happened, or I will personally throw you off a cliff and strangle you." 

~LAN XICHEN'S POV~

Lan Xichen paled as he took in the young man before him. The same man that he had protected and cared about for nearly 13 years. 

A-Yao, the brother that he had once sworn would never do evil- was now one of the cultivational worlds greatest villains. 

Not even the Yiling Patriarch could commit the horrors Lian-Fang Zun had done. 

Xichen's knees buckled as his hand tightened on Jiang Cheng's arm. His beloved steadied him with a gentle hand on the small of his back. His hand was a tether, anchoring Lan Xichen to this Earth. 

A thousand emotions flashed across A-Yao's face- emotions that Xichen was sure reflected in his own eyes. A surge of guilt overtook him. It was all his fault. How could he not think of it sooner? How could he not see it clearly? He had always known that Da-Ge and A-Yao were unusually close, and always believed them to be more than just friends. But he would've never guessed them as lovers. Because A-Yao had been so shy and meek, while Da-Ge had been harsh and unforgiving. He thought that Da-Ge would crush A-Yao- thought that the flame would eventually burn the moth. 

Little did he know, he had it all wrong. Nie Mingjue was never the burning fire- he was the delicate moth. And Jin Guangyao hadn't been the unknowing mantis- he had been the preying oriole. **

Fear lit up inside him. 

He never thought A-Yao would be capable of going this far. In his mind, his brother was a caring sect leader, a brilliant genius, and a skilled cultivator. He had always thought that A-Yao had his own difficulties, and that was why every move he made was so carefully calculated. Xichen once sympathized with him, and that was maybe why he was so drawn to him. Because when Lan Xichen first saw the unsuspecting Meng Yao at Cloud Recesses, he had seen himself in him. He had seen the younger version of himself- the Lan Xichen who was forced to put a smile and a polite facade, despite being so broken and bitter. He had seen the young man who was being treated as the dirt of society, just because of his upbringing. It made him recall his own childhood, and the whispers that sounded behind his back. He knew what had happened between his parents was unconventional, and he knew how the Lan Sect elders- despite holding high hopes for him, always felt a tinge of scorn towards him. 

Perhaps that was why Xichen had been furious with the way others would scoff and spit at Meng Yao, and why he had rushed to give a helping hand. 

He knew that it was unbecoming of a Sect Leader, but when he saw the smile- the real, genuine smile that lit up the young man's face- Xichen just couldn't bring himself to care. Since then, Meng Yao had become a little brother to him. He became the companion that Xichen could confess to. He became the friend that he could rely on. He became the advisor that he could confide in. And slowly but surely, A-Yao had carved out a permanent spot for himself in Xichen's heart.

Lan Xichen took a deep breath, "What did you do?" he murmured, voice shaky and the tears threatened to fall from his watery eyes. Jiang Cheng gently rubbed circles on his back, holding him from collapsing. Lan Xichen put a grateful hand on Jiang Cheng's shoulder, before snaking a possessive arm around his waist. It wasn't lost on him how pale his beloved was. 

Jiang Cheng had lost a lot of blood, and Xichen would be damned if he let Jin Guangyao touch his lover again. 

"I-" 

"Zewu Jun," Wei Ying interrupted, tossing his makeshift flute up in the air. "I believe it's best if I do the explaining. And Jin Guangyao can just nod and agree with what I say." 

Lan Xichen was about to protest, when Jiang Cheng held him back, dipping his head at his brother. "Xichen, he's right. Jin Guangyao would just try and twist his words so you can sympathize with him. How could we give him a chance to play the victim?" 

"I..." Lan Xichen let out a shaky breath. "You're right. Young Master Wei please explain." 

Wei Ying gave him a quick bow before turning to Jin Guangyao. He narrowed his eyes and knead him in the gut. 

The former Chief Cultivator let out a gasp as the breath was knocked out of him. 

Xichen gave a sound of protest, but was quickly silenced when Jiang Cheng's grip on his arm tightened. 

Wei Ying paid them no mind- too far gone in his own demons to notice them."You fucker," the Yiling Patriarch hissed, voice filled with fury. "How fucking dare you. You sent Jin Zixuan to find his cousin didn't you? You planned the Massacre of Qiongqi Path and then blamed it on me. You were the one playing demonic music to control Wen Ning weren't you? And then you made it look like I was the one that lost control, didn't you?" 

"I-" 

But Wei Ying wasn't finished. He grabbed Jin Guangyao's collar, pulling him close as his spit flew across the room, "You fucking killed the peacock didn't you? You piece of shit. Don't you know who he was? Do you know how much he meant to my sister? You didn't just kill the Jin Sect's only heir, YOU KILLED MY SISTER'S HUSBAND! YOU FUCKING LEFT A ONE MONTH OLD JIN LING WITHOUT A FATHER. YOU ABSOLUTE FUCKER. DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU FUCKING DID? YOU SENT THE SECTS INTO CHAOS. YOU KILLED THE LOVE OF MY SISTER'S LIFE. YOU-" 

Lan Xichen cut him off with a loud gasp, "A-Yao," he murmured, tears trailing down his face, "Is this true?" 

Jin Guangyao hung his head in shame, and Xichen felt his heart slowly breaking apart in his chest. "Er-Ge, you have to believe me," he pleaded, helplessly trying to loosen the ropes binding him. Zidian immediately tightened and Jin Guangyao let out a grunt of pain before he muttered, "I had no choice... Er-Ge I really had no choice." 

Lan Xichen looked at the man in front of him. His eyes were wide and his face blanched. "No choice..." he echoed, head spinning. "You could've told someone... you could've told me," he murmured, still reeling from A-Yao's confession. 

"You would've hated me," Jin Guangyao pointed out, eyes still lowered in shame. 

"So?! If you knew I would hate you, then why did you do it?" Lan Xichen snapped. His mind was barely processing and he was on the verge of collapse. It was only Jiang Cheng's presence that soothed him enough to give him some measure of comfort. 

Although there wasn't exactly much comfort to give, was there?

Lan Xichen felt his lips thin out into a bitter smile. The brother he had so desperately tried to protect, turned out to be a monster. The man he had shielded from accusation after accusation, had betrayed his trust. The boy he had seen grow up before his very eyes, had turned into nothing more than a stone cold murderer. 

The truth smacked him right in the face as Lan Xichen's mind finally caught up. 

Jiang Cheng was right. 

His beloved had been right all along. It was only Xichen himself that was unwilling to face the reality of their situations. Perhaps if he had been more careful, if he had observed more attentively- then perhaps none of this would've happened. 

"Why?" he finally bit out, tone harsh and filled with grief. One word, and a thousand questions hung in the air between them. 

Why did you do this? Why did you lie to me? Why did you play me like a fool? Was I truly nothing more than one of your pawns? Why didn't you tell me? I could've helped you, I could've saved you. Why didn't you let me?

"Er-Ge..." Jin Guangyao looked up, eyes puffy and red. "I truly had no choice." 

"He was your brother! What do you mean you had no choice?"

"Was he really though? Was he really my brother? He hated me Er-Ge- he scorned me like everyone else did. Jin Zixuan might not have acted like it, but I saw those looks of disgust that flashed across his face every time he saw me nearing his darling A-Li. I saw the fear in his eyes whenever he found me beside his precious son- like he was so scared I would corrupt his sweet little Jin Ling. And his cousin- that dreadful Jin Zixun! He was even worse! He openly despised me, and scoffed at everything I did! It didn't matter how hard I worked- I would always be below him! And for what? Because my mother was a prostitute!" Jin Guangyao was livid, years of pent up frustrations finally coming out. "As if his mother was any better! As if that pathetic father of mine was anything more than a lecturous bastard!" he spat at Jin Ling, causing Jiang Cheng to take a step forward in warning. Xichen held him back, but Jin Guangyao was too caught up in the ghosts of his past to care about the both of them. "How dare he!" he murmured, eyes flashing with fury. "How dare he insult my mother! How dare he act like he was any better than me! He was pathetic! A useless cultivator not even worth the dirt underneath my feet!" 

"Jin Zixun might've been a hotheaded idiot, but at least he wasn't a cold blooded killer." Wei Ying interrupted icily. His face was dark as veins popped in fury. "At least he didn't kill his own brother." 

Jin Guangyao laughed- a maddening, hysteric sound. "I'm apart of the Jin Sect! What did you expect? The whole damn place is nothing more than a bed of vipers, ready to pounce at a moments notice. It's no secret what a terrible place Koi Tower is- the type of place that slowly poisons you from the inside out." 

"So?! The Jin Sect might be full of hypocritical fuckers, but they're all bark no bite! None of them went so far as murder!" 

"Ha! They all needed to die... they all deserved it. Zixuan would've stood in my way, and Zixun was a tempermental idiot. A-song... my son, he couldn't live. He would've shattered my reputation. And Da-Ge... Da-Ge would've surely killed me had I not made the first move. Even Chuan Han. Chuan Han would've never listened to me- he would've told someone, he would've ruined me. They had to die... they des-" 

"YOU KILLED MY SISTER! DID MY SISTER DESERVE TO DIE? I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT SHIJIE WOULD'VE NEVER DONE ANYTHING AGAINST YOU. SHE WOULD'VE LOVED YOU AND CARED FOR YOU LIKE HER OWN! HOW FUCKING DARE YOU HURT HER. HOW FUCKING DARE YOU STAND THERE AND ACT LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED! HOW DARE YOU ACT LIKE IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT. YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT," Wei Ying screamed, shoving Jin Guangyao backwards. The latter stumbled and fell, Zidian still wrapped tightly around him. 

"Wei Ying," Lan Zhan murmured, setting a reassuring hand on Wei Ying's shoulder. The latter's eyes were bloodshot, his voice cracked and full of pain. 

Xichen felt his own voice dying, as his protests were swallowed in his throat. 

A-Yao had killed them. He had killed Da-Ge and Jin Zixuan. Wei Ying had been right all along. And even Jiang Cheng... they had all warned him- warned him what a snake in the grass Jin Guangyao really was. But Xichen never listened. 

Well he wouldn't make the same mistake now.

Dimly, Xichen felt himself reaching for Shuoyue, his face twisting into a furious scowl. He found himself pointing his sword at A-Yao, and watching as the terror flashed across his face. He heard voices murmuring indistinctly in the background, and Jiang Cheng calling for him to stop. 

But Lan Xichen couldn't hear them. All he could see was A-Yao's betrayal, the truth that had been hidden from him for so long. 

He lifted Shuoyue, preparing to strike- when a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around him, holding him back in a warm embrace. 

Jiang Cheng grabbed him, molding his chest against Lan Xichen's back. "Don't," he muttered, his voice cracking. "Don't make the same mistake I did." 

"Wanyin..." 

"I know you hate him right now. But you'll regret it if you kill him. So spare yourself the torment and let the council decide his fate." 

"I-"

"Xichen. Listen to me. He's going to die regardless. But it doesn't have to be by your hand. You'll feel guilty for the rest of your life if you kill him now. And you're always going to blame yourself for it. So do me a favor, and leave his life in someone else's hands." 

"But-" 

"No buts. I'll deal with him. You need to rest." 

"Wanyin..." 

"Xichen. Will you just fucking shut up and rest?" 

"I-" Lan Xichen gave a sigh of defeat, letting his body sag against his lovers. He felt exhaustion overtaking him as he all but collapsed on the ground. 

Jiang Cheng held him tight, his body a reassuring warmth. 

Lan Xichen closed his eyes, the last thing he saw being his lovers face- gazing at him tenderly as he whispered, "Shhh, it's ok Xichen. It's not your fault..." 

**This is a famous saying in china: 螳螂捕蝉, 黄雀在后 (Tángláng bǔ chán, huáng què zài hòu). It means the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it. It references those who only care about their immediate interests and ignore the disasters behind them; warns against those who are short-sighted and ignorant of future troubles.