Once more, Lan WangJi slipped carefully out of bed at 5:00 AM. He hoped Wei WuXian had slept better, but the incident in the night left him convinced it was unlikely. After he had finally settled Wei WuXian back into bed, he had found his icy hands and shivering body once more motionless. The rest of the night he had held his husband close, monitoring his breathing, ensuring he was well covered and hoping all the while that his normally restless husband would once more begin the tossing and turning that meant he was deeply asleep and being rested. Unfortunately, that had not proven to be the case and Wei WuXian had remained still for the rest of the night, even as Lan WangJi watched over him. The quaking had ceased, but Wei WuXian's hands had remained like blocks of ice, refusing to warm despite Lan WangJi's best efforts.

Quietly Lan WangJi followed his routine, using his meditation time to address his own fatigue. He wanted nothing to blunt his awareness while his husband attempted the impossible, yet again. Ready for the day, breakfast on the table, he sat on the bed and looked at his love as he lay asleep.

Terribly pale now, dark shadows lay like puddles of ink below Wei WuXian's eyes. The difficulty eating and sleeping had taken their toll on his body and his face was full of sharp angles. Lan WangJi clenched his jaw. There was no one else but his Wei Ying who could attempt what he would today, but when it was over... when his effort had been made, successful or not, Lan WangJi would insist he agree to see a Healer every day until he improved.

Lan WangJi took Wei WuXian's hand in his own, placed two fingertips above his wrist and gently sent a whisper of spiritual energy into his husband's pathways. He ignored the tang he felt from the increased traces of resentful energy still present within Wei WuXian, as he carefully tended his sleeping lover. He sat quietly and watched as tension in Wei WuXian's face slowly began to ease, his breathing to smooth out and gradually a slight colour returned to his cheeks. Finally, those lips he loved to kiss began to lose their death-like pallor and he felt some trace of warmth return to the cold hand he held.

Eyelids flickered until they rose, and two deep silver pools looked up.

Resting, Wei WuXian simply lay passively receiving his husband's gift of spiritual energy. He felt the warmth of it soothing the painful buzz in his nerves, coating all the sore connections and passageways that his own energy had failed to manage. Leaving his hand in his husband's, he reached up and cupped Lan WangJi's cheek with the other.

"Good morning, my love, my Lan Zhan," he whispered.

Lan WangJi bent forward and pressed a gentle kiss on lips still chill to the touch. "How did Wei Ying sleep?" he asked.

Wei WuXian shifted and sat up in the bed, keeping the covers close about his shoulders. "I don't really know," he replied. "The last thing I remember is laying my head on your shoulder, and barely a heartbeat or two later it's morning. I feel exhausted, but I must have been asleep all night." There was no way he was going to tell his husband he had the nightmare again. Or would that be still? I'm asleep when I have a nightmare, so it doesn't count as lying, he justified to himself.

"Mn. Wei Ying does not remember being up in the night?"

"No. I'm sure I wasn't... did something disturb you, Lan Zhan? Did you manage to sleep?"

"In the night. Wei Ying sat up but was not awake. Wei Ying was cold. Was breathing hard. Finally lay back to sleep."

"I don't remember that at all. I was awake, and now I'm awake again. I don't remember anything in between. Did I say anything? Do anything?"

"No. Just sat up. Breathing was hard, as if Wei Ying had been running. Eyes open. Said nothing."

"Well, if I wasn't running riot about Cloud Recesses, and had nothing to say – which, you know, is itself almost unbelievable – then I suppose we will have to just let it go, ah?

Lan WangJi huffed once, clearly concerned but unsure what to do about the unusual event.

"Today will be difficult. If Wei Ying grows tired, he must say so."

Wei WuXian gave a bright smile to his husband, even as he turned his eyes away and hoped it shielded his thoughts from discovery. Ah, my love, if you knew what I was planning, you'd stop me for sure... but it must be done and it's the only solution I can think of...

"I will, sweetheart. I will," he lied, wishing it could be truth.

Breakfast was a solemn meal, the weight of the day upon them both. Wei WuXian was feeling rather cold so ate wrapped in the bedcovers, Lan WangJi plying him with hot tea until Wei WuXian laughed and pushed him away.

"Enough, dear heart! Any more and my Core will float away!"

Lan WangJi returned the tray back to the kitchens, and Wei WuXian prepared himself for the day. He donned the robes he had readied the afternoon before. He made ChenQing secure in his belt before he double-checked the special talismans he'd prepared for his plan were fully concealed yet instantly accessible in the most easily reached locations within his robes. Lan WangJi came through the Jingshi doors and Wei WuXian made a show of taking up a collection of basic talismans. With a hearty "ah, ha! There they are!" he stowed them noisily and obviously away.

Moving to his husband, Wei WuXian put his arms around him in a hug and his head on his chest as he vowed "I won't let anything happen to your uncle, Lan Zhan. I promise."

Lan WangJi held his husband and kissed his forehead before adding "Let nothing happen to my Wei Ying."

A moment in that comfortable and comforting embrace and they drew apart.

"Ready?"

"Mn."

The walk to the Hanshi was brief and before long the men had made their way across Cloud Recesses, up the Mountain and were again inside the Archive chamber of the Cold Cavern. The beautiful early summer morning went unappreciated; it had been missed by all three as they crossed the grounds of Cloud Recesses, each caught in their own thoughts, fears and hopes.

Once more the apprentices were sent away, leaving just the Cultivator guards, Healer Zhang, the Twin Jades and Wei WuXian in the room with the Grandmaster.

Wei WuXian looked about at those remaining, as he pulled ChenQing from his belt. He looked at the Cultivators, shuffling uncomfortably where they stood against the walls, before turning to Lan XiChen.

"Sect Leader, do you think the Cultivators could wait outside with the apprentices? With ZeWu-Jun, HanGuang-Jun and myself present, surely they aren't currently needed? And Healer Zhang? Perhaps he could join his apprentices and reassure them. The Grandmaster should not require a Healer until the procedure is complete."

Lan XiChen considered, looking at his uncle and the Healer before locking eyes with his brother. Lan WangJi gave a faint nod in response to the question in his eyes.

Wei WuXian twirled ChenQing in his hand. "I will need to call out the resentful energy and I'd like to reduce the opportunity for it to have access to anyone more than must necessarily be present. For safety. Just in case..." He knew he was laying it on thickly, but no one else knew resentful energy the way he did and he would play every card in his hand to ensure the minimum people possible remained in the chamber as he executed his plan.

"Very well," agreed Lan XiChen. "Would everyone except my brother and WuXian please leave the chamber now. We will call when you are required."

The Cultivators looked at each other. They knew their task was to be on guard against the breaking of stasis and the possibility of an unchecked Qi deviation, but this was their Sect Leader asking them to step away. The same Sect Leader that had charged them with protecting the Gusu Lan Clan from the Grandmaster if it became necessary. And the YiLing Laozu with ChenQing was an unnerving sight, given the years of tales passed along, growing in terrible and less accurate details with every telling. A minute passed, then they, too, exited the chamber, concealing their relief with varying degrees of success.

Healer Zhang stepped up to Lan XiChen and simply bowed. "I will be ready outside," he said, before taking his leave.

Wei WuXian reached into his robes and took several of the talismans he'd shown to Lan WangJi this morning. He moved to stand beside the Grandmaster.

"I promise I will do my best to help you," Wei WuXian vowed to the Grandmaster. With a small nip of his sharp incisors to one slim fingertip, Wei WuXian activated the talismans and threw wards about the entrances, preventing any passage. None could leave nor enter the chamber until his task was done. With his back to the two brothers, he drew two talismans from his hidden stash and used the same bleeding fingertip to complete the energy transfer needed to ensure they were strong and ready to work as needed. They were written in his best calligraphy for clarity – he would not risk them working in any way other than as he intended. Hiding one in each palm, he returned to the two brothers, waiting by the wall of the chamber.

Gently he placed his arms about Lan WangJi's waist and murmured "a kiss for luck once more?" He closed his eyes, the better to savour that sweet connection he had only ever shared with this one person, his soulmate, his love, his life. A moment of warmth, sweet and soft. The kiss ended and he stepped back, bringing his hands down before him.

"I shall do my best for your uncle, XiChen-Ge, Lan Zhan." With both men's eyes on his face, they did not see Wei WuXian turn his hands and before they could react, a talisman was placed upon the chest of each Jade.

Wei WuXian had worked hard to create these talismans. They were meant to provide both protection for the subject, as well as render him immobile and unable to speak. On considering the likely dangers, Wei WuXian had known there was a chance he could be lost to the power of the Yin Iron. He could be called upon to destroy himself, to prevent harm to others. He had also known that Lan WangJi would fight to prevent that action, no matter how clearly it was required. In addition to immobility and silence, the talismans were loaded with every possible resentful energy repellant charm that Wei WuXian could devise. He had used his considerable genius to ward against interference with the wearer from everything he could think to load into the talismans.

Stepping back, Wei WuXian gave a small bow. "It's for your own safety." He turned his eyes to his husband. "I love you," he apologized, before moving quickly back to Lan QiRen's bedside.

"Alright, then. Here we go."

Reaching for another set of the hidden talismans, Wei WuXian nipped his finger once more. Activating the set, he quickly sketched a cage of gleaming golden spirit-guarding ropes, the web pulsing with power. Carefully he laid the enclosure about the bed until only the bed and a small clearance around it remained cocooned within the mesh, himself and Lan QiRen the only living beings inside the space. Another ward sealed the floor of the chamber.

At last, the scene was set. Wei WuXian allowed himself one final look over his shoulder to Lan WangJi, standing frozen against the wall, his face showing signs of a gathering flush from the effort to break free of the talisman glowing on his chest. Wei WuXian turned to his task, now fully focused and intent. He took ChenQing from his belt and raised her to his lips. A deep inhale and then a soft and peculiar note floated forth and hovered lingering in the air. Another. Slowly, note by note, an eerie air began to sing to the Yin Iron.

Wei WuXian closed his eyes, concentrating. He needed to feel the Yin Iron. Listen to it. Locate each and every tiny mote within the Grandmaster and call it forth. There would be damage done to the body, but no other means of extraction seemed possible. It was important to link to all of it so it could be lifted free in one movement, so the Healer could be called to treat the injury. The Grandmaster's own golden Core, freed of interference, would return him to health, but the Healer would be needed to stem the immediate blood loss until the Core could take up its burden of physical maintenance.

The tune gained richness as it continued, and Wei WuXian felt his way toward every particle of Yin Iron. His blood and bones sang in resonance with the resentful energy and his teeth ached with the tang of Yin Iron. Moment by moment, note by note, he drew on his intimate connection to resentful energy. It might still pollute his body even after being neglected in favour of developing his new Core, but it was still part of him. Still within him. The long and arduous study in its use and control would now bear fruit. The communication channels flexed and opened wide even as the Yin Iron began to respond to his command.

ChenQing lay lightly in Wei WuXian's hands as resentful energy began to sift from the Grandmaster's body and gather about Wei WuXian. The black robes were soon obscured and the musician within seemed to float amidst dark clouds. In the Archive chamber there was no movement of air, no breeze stirred, yet the inky lengths of hair lifted about Wei WuXian's face, resentful energy moving it playfully about. His robes began to billow and lift, as smoky dark energy collected about his limbs. There. He had it. He was sure of where every minor fleck of the Yin Iron was located, and he had a lock on it.

Never stopping the music, Wei WuXian turned to see his husband, safe against the outer wall of the chamber, beside his brother, equally immobile. I love you so much, he thought, I'll be as careful as I can. Please gods, keep him safe. Then he turned once more to his task.

Frozen in place, unable to move or call out, Lan WangJi desperately fought to free himself from the hold upon him. Wei WuXian had used his intimate knowledge of his husband to tailor the talisman. Every effort Lan WangJi made to break free simply bled energy back into the restricting force designed into the talisman. He watched helplessly as the resentful energy rose from his uncle's body and enshrouded his husband. Filled with fear, he saw the glowing red of his husband's eyes when they turned to look at him and wept as they turned away. He could not move, he could not call, but his mind kept screaming Wei Ying! Wei Ying! in a desperate, fear-filled mantra.

It was time.

Wei WuXian straightened where he stood. He was well past exhausted. This was the danger point. Here was where his control could not, must not waver. The resentful energy had been comparatively easy for him to manage but the Yin Iron fought him with a ferocity that was undiminished from the start of the procedure. The power it exuded tore at Wei WuXian's control – control of the resentful energy, control of the Yin Iron, control of himself. He braced himself in place and with a wild chorus the tune crescendoed, ringing majestically about the chamber even as the haunting melody cut like a knife into his marrow. A red cloud appeared to bloom above the Grandmaster's body, supine in the bed, as the thousands of miniscule fragments of Yin Iron were forced free from their hiding place. Only a moment the ghastly cloud endured, then it reshaped to a dart, and plunged straight into the centre of Wei WuXian.

He staggered.

The Grandmaster's robes began to leach an ominous red stain about the level of his lower dantian, and Wei WuXian gathered himself, still playing. Achingly slowly he stumbled back, away from the Grandmaster. The enshrouding resentful energy drifted into his robes, his hair and garments stilling as the energy was rendered harmless within him. Still playing, unable to risk freeing a hand from the melody, Wei WuXian used his body and the spiritual energy of his golden Core – the spirit-guarding ropes recognizing him as their creator - to force the enclosure back, releasing the Grandmaster's bed from its prison as the far edge was dragged over the bed until it fell once more about him, and him alone.

Wei WuXian sank to his knees, ChenQing rolling free from cold fingers that had lost all strength. He struggled to focus and complete his tasks as dark spots gathered at the sides of his vision. Wards, did I tear down the wards? he thought. He raised a shaking hand and practiced movements removed the wards from the doors. Can they reach the Grandmaster? His vision narrowed until all he could see was the beloved face of Lan WangJi. With a flick of his fingers, the talismans flamed before the Jades. All Wei WuXian could see was Lan WangJi's face as the darkness moved in to claim him. He was too far gone to see the cage still held him within, as he collapsed, face down on the cold stone floor.