The senior elders were ready and waiting when Lan XiChen arrived at the Main Hall in the morning. Taking his place at the head of the Hall, he took a moment to bow his head in greeting to each of the men and women before him. Twenty pairs of eyes looked back, silent and solemn.

Lan XiChen raised his head and motioned to a servant, awaiting directions. A swift exchange of hushed words and suddenly the usual assistants were being gently ushered from the Hall, doors and windows closed, until only the Council of Elders and Sect Leader remained.

Lan XiChen sat perfectly erect. He had used his meditation time in the morning to prepare for this meeting, and the other challenges clamoring for his attention. "The circumstances of the Grandmaster's illness are only just beginning to be understood. I know word will soon escape, but I hope to keep the truth within Cloud Recesses as long as possible."

The Council members remained still where they waited, long years of self-discipline reflected in their seemingly passive acceptance of this statement, although several eyes shifted, sharing glances.

"While there will be discussions and many questions and more than a few of you may have been... concerned to learn we owe Lan QiRen's recovery to Wei WuXian, I know you will soon agree that it was a gift from the gods that Wei WuXian returned at this time and that he was willing to come to Cloud Recesses." He held up a hand as a small noise of protest escaped even these senior Lans. "Surely you do not imagine that Wei WuXian held any eagerness to come to Cloud Recesses. Where a solid thousand of our Rules are precisely aimed at his every thought and action? Where he has been reviled and hated for many years? Wei WuXian came to Cloud Recesses because we had need of HanGuang-Jun. We had need of HanGuang-Jun and he flatly refused to return without Wei WuXian. Wei WuXian came to us not for gain, not to wreak the havoc so many lay at his feet, but so that we would have HanGuang-Jun when we needed him. Not for himself, but for us. Can any find fault with him for that?"

Lan XiChen held the gazes returned, until they softened and fell before his eyes. Undefeated, but perhaps willing to acknowledge there could be reasons beyond their knowledge.

"Healer Zhang was able to place the Grandmaster in stasis and discover the accumulation of resentful energy driving him to Qi deviation, however that was all he was able to accomplish. Resentful energy is beyond his ability to manage. He could not remove it, nor could he determine why it was there in the first place. Despite his excellence, Healer Zhang could do nothing but attempt to preserve Lan QiRen until someone else, someone who could deal with resentful energy, arrived. That someone was Wei WuXian."

Pausing, Lan XiChen sipped some tea, framing how best to give the bad news necessary.

"Wei WuXian was forced to develop Demonic Cultivation – yes, I will name it, there is nothing to be feared in labels and words – for his very survival. Upon his... unusual return to the world, his skills with Demonic Cultivation were still needed as the Core he... inherited was inadequate. Wei WuXian has been working hard to develop it, but the skills he acquired in manipulating resentful energy - which I remind you all won the war for us - are still his to command. He inspected the Grandmaster's quarters, and he was the one who found the magnet which drew the resentful energy to Lan QiRen. He examined the Grandmaster and discovered the truth behind the Qi deviation. He also removed a quantity of resentful energy, allowing the stasis to stabilize once more. And he created a plan to rescue the Grandmaster from his peril. He lies now, between life and death, because he once more threw himself at danger to save someone else, someone who has never had any use for him. He is the only one who could have done this. I believe he is the only one who would do this."

Lan XiChen allowed himself the luxury of a single stifled sigh, one hand on his temple, before continuing.

"I will ask you to keep this news to yourselves as much as possible for now. A somewhat edited version of what has been discovered will be public shortly, but I would hope to avoid panic in the population as long as possible."

Chins lifted, concentration absolute, as the elders held their collective breath, waiting on Lan XiChen.

Very softly, he continued. "The cause of the Grandmaster's Qi deviation was an imbalance caused by an application of Yin Iron."

Silence so loud it screamed rang throughout the Main Hall, as 20 minds of the highest Cultivation levels and vast lived experience absorbed and assimilated the news. Nothing but the sounds of breathing were to be heard.

Yin Iron.

It wasn't gone. The horror wasn't truly over, even after all these years. Yin Iron still existed. Yin Iron was still unfathomably dangerous. Yin Iron had been weaponized against the Grandmaster. Gusu Lan had been targeted by an enemy who could deploy the most profoundly powerful dark energy ever to exist.

Lan XiChen stood once more.

"I will be sending personal messages to each of the Sect Leaders, as well as the heads of Major Families. Word is going to get out and we need to turn our thoughts to reassuring the common people, until we have a lead on the source of this Yin Iron. Right now, our best hope for figuring things out lies unconscious, having taken within himself the threat of the Yin Iron. When he recovers - and we had all better pray to the gods he does - he may have more insight. Until then, please spend your efforts on how best to reassure the common people and accelerate the training of our disciples. As much as we had hoped such times were a part of the past, it appears our people may once more face battle."

Lan XiChen bowed to the Council and left the Main Hall, bound for the Healing Hall. Behind him quiet voices began to tease apart the unprecedented news, as they sought to understand and determine how best to move forward in the face of such a shocking development.

At the Healing Hall, the Grandmaster lay apparently peacefully resting in a bed of pristine linens, attended by various Healers and apprentices. When Lan XiChen arrived, he waited respectfully at the entrance until Healer Zhang caught his eye. Quietly the two stepped outside the room, the Healer leading the way to his own office, where the men settled with tea.

"How is Uncle?" asked Lan XiChen.

Healer Zhang nodded, reassuringly. "Surprisingly well, ZeWu-Jun. Surprisingly well. His vital signs are strong and stable. His Qi is circulating freely and his Meridians are in good shape. The energy in his pathways is regaining balance by the minute. Yang is finally circulating and balancing with the Yin. By tomorrow morning his energy should be in good balance and his Core will have turned to recovery of the body. So tomorrow, or perhaps the morning after, I will lift the stasis. If all goes well, I would expect him to be able to return to his residence and within a very few days resume his duties."

Lan XiChen breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Healer Zhang. Thank you for all your efforts. For getting Uncle into stasis so quickly. For thinking of the Cold Cavern and tending him so carefully. Gusu Lan owes you a debt of gratitude."

Healer Zhang waved off his thanks with a dismissive motion. "I did nothing more than I should. It is a Healer's duty and calling to help those who are ill. Any thanks should go to Master Wei. He is no healer, but he solved this crisis and took the consequences on himself." The Healer's face grew grave, considering his other patient.

"How is WuXian?" asked Lan XiChen.

"I'm not really certain," replied Healer Zhang. "He is injured, too – there is a gaping slice as well as further piercing injuries to his body. The piercings are like the wounds I treated on the Grandmaster, but the other..." he sighed. "It's a serious slice, but his Core has developed to the point it should be able to handle that without undue strain. What concerns me is that the resentful energy I felt in the Grandmaster now appears to be present within Wei WuXian. I can't check on his Core and I dare not check too closely into the resentful energy."

The Healer looked at the Sect Leader for a moment, then folded his hands, before continuing.

"I need more information. Can you tell me about the injuries? Why did the Grandmaster have those piercings on his torso? Why is Master Wei injured so similarly?"

Despite his wish to keep the information limited to as few people as possible, Lan XiChen realized that yes, here was one more person who needed to know the true situation, if he was to help.

"I'm sorry, Healer Zhang. Things developed so quickly and in such an unexpected manner there has been no opportunity to keep you informed of our discoveries. And..." Lan XiChen hesitated, before plowing on. "We also felt the need to keep things as quiet as possible to avoid starting a panic."

Healer Zhang quirked an eyebrow at the Sect Leader, waiting patiently for more.

"I can best help my patients if I know what the true cause of their state may be," he offered.

Lan XiChen nodded.

"The Grandmaster was poisoned by Yin Iron."

Healer Zhang paled, hands flying up then dropping back to his lap. "What?" Shock and disbelief showed on his face and in his voice.

"WuXian discovered that the Grandmaster had been poisoned by powdered Yin Iron, given to him disguised as medication. The Yin Iron was so finely ground it collected in his system and drew resentful energy to it, anchoring it within the Grandmaster. This is why it stayed in his body and had the opportunity to interfere with his Qi and prevent his Core from balancing his energies. To save my uncle..." Lan XiChen stopped a moment. He closed his eyes as he saw once more the ghastly events as they had happened in the Cold Cavern, heard again the piping notes of ChenQing as it managed and directed the Yin Iron and resentful energy, saw the red cloud gather above Lan QiRen, before it burrowed within Wei WuXian. Lived it over again...

Healer Zhang gently shook Lan XiChen.

"Sect Leader? ZeWu-Jun, are you alright?"

Lan XiChen swallowed, then reopened his eyes. "WuXian managed to free the Grandmaster by removing the Yin Iron and resentful energy. He has not been conscious to tell myself or WangJi, but I know what I saw and... I believe he was able to control the Yin Iron by taking it within himself. It... he... the Yin Iron was lifted from Uncle's body and then it drove into WuXian's. Their injuries are from the Yin Iron itself, in all its tiny particles. The Yin Iron is now inside WuXian."

Despite retiring as usual at 9:00 PM, there were many who did not sleep easily nor well that night.

Lan WangJi dozed, curled at the top of his husband's sick bed, one hand on his chest, the better to be reassured he still lived.

Lan XiChen tossed, sleepless, as he turned events over in his mind, never finding anything that should have been done differently than it had, nor any new ideas to bring resolution to a world suddenly threatening once more.

Healer Zhang turned the Grandmaster over to his Senior Apprentices for the night, only to go to the Library and begin reading on Yin Iron.

The Council of Elders all prayed, long and hard, that their juniors might be spared what had been endured a scant generation before.

And Wei WuXian? He kept running...

The light was so much closer... so much larger than he'd realized... the Gold so much brighter.

Gold.

He wanted Gold.

All he would ever need was with Gold. Ever want. Ever desire.

Gold was the answer to everything.