Wei Ying let his mind pick up all the changes from his old age as he walked. The trees were younger; many of the plants were not the same as before ... or rather later. With a loving smile he stopped and picked a flower by the trail and smiled as he remembered Lan Zhan picking one and placing it in his headband many years ago on their tenth anniversary and then on every anniversary after that he would do the same. After they married, Wei Ying had started to wear white but with black and red trim until their fifth anniversary when he went to the full GusuLan Sect outfit. His headband was where Lan Zhan would place the flower with a loving smile.

Yes, over the years together, Lan Zhan had learned to smile and laugh when his heart told him too and also the man had grown so much that he would also kiss Wei Ying anywhere, anytime not caring who watched. He had told Wei Ying that if he felt like kissing his husband, he would do it. In fact by the time they had been together for five years, people had become accustomed to Lan Zhan's affection for his husband. It got to the point where people could just walk past the kissing couple without even giving it a second glance.

Wei Ying lifted the flower and breathed in the scent. There were two scents he would remember no matter what. The first was Lan Zhan mingled with sandalwood; the second was this flower with its honey sweetness. Lan Zhan had told him it reminded him of his wife after a bath. Heaven help me, that man knew how to make me blush and my heart melt.

'That is a lovely flower A-Xian. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it before.' YanLi walked up to him with a smile.

'That is because they only grow here in the Cloud Recesses now. This flower is the way this sect chose their colours. The pure white and the three tones of blue.' He lifted the flower to the hight that Lan Zhan's head would be with a smile. The first time he had placed a single flower in that man's forehead ribbon and was rewarded with deep pink ears and a growl. Four hours later, he learnt that to his husband, that was an invitation to make love in the forest ... he kept it for special occasions, when no one was around. 'You see, the founder of GusuLan sect scattered the seeds the day the sect was formed as a vow to his sect and the following generations. They have never grown anywhere else since that day as if the gods were blessing his oath.'

As Wei Ying spoke while standing just off the pathway, behind the bushes, unseen and unheard, sat two men, and at the words of Wei WuXian, they peeked through the bushes to see who was talking. For almost four years now, the pair had sat there to hear for a few hours a day, listening to what others said as they entered the Cloud Recesses. This time it was a young man and woman dressed in the lavender of Jiang Sect and a young man, who held the flower, dressed in black with red trim.

'A vow of what?' Cheng asked as if not even thinking of believing a single word that was to come. However, something in Wei WuXian's eyes and voice as he spoke about the flower ... he almost wanted to believe.

Wei Ying kept his hand high as in his mind he pictured Lan Zhan smiling at him as he recited the words. 'I give my oath to follow all the rules I lay before my disciples to follow and will never ask of them something I can not do myself first. I give my oath to protect the sect and those under my care ... and eventually my partner who will walk beside me in this life. For all this, I give my oath and if I fail to uphold this oath, I will give my life as payment.' He remembered reading that just days after he married into the Lan sect and those words resounded in his very soul. He had in fact silently given the same oath after reading it for every lantern he and his husband released. However he never realised that Lan Zhan also swore the oath every time until his husband had told him a few years before they died.

The two listening behind the bush didn't stop their mouths falling open. The young man in black spoke with such reverence that they could almost not believe it.

'Where did you hear about that? I think you are just making it all up?' Cheng glared at him. 'Are you gathering sayings or such to try out on girls?'

'I would never squander such pure and honest words on a mere female Cheng. Some words are even too precious for any woman.' He suddenly realised, he and Lan Zhan would be almost the same hight as he was in his original body and was not as short. 'That might be a bit of fun to play with.' He lowered his hand to what he thought would be Lan Zhan's height now, then chuckled cheekily.

'What will?'

'Hmm?'

'XianXian, you just said something would be fun to play with ... are you planning something?'

'No dear YanLi, I'm not planing anything, or at least, nothing you need to worry about.'

'Then where did you hear that oath?'

'Hmn ... Oh ... Um ... I must have read it in some book after I found out we were coming here.' He smiled sadly as he tucked the flower into his robe where it could lay directly over his heart, and walked further into the Cloud Recesses. Even through the robe, he could still smell its sweet aroma.

The two men behind the bush were dressed in pure white and ice blue robes and white forehead ribbons that held the drifting cloud design. They looked at each other after the young man had tucked the flower into his robe then walked away. The pair stayed silent until the sounds of the visitors cultivators vanished from sight.

'Is that really written in some book people from outside can get their hands on?' GusuLan Sect leader, Lan XiChen, frowned as he looked at his uncle.

'Not likely. The only written affirmation of his words is in the hidden library and only the direct family and their partners are ever shown it.'

'So how did that young man know?'

'I don't know. I don't recognise his face so he is not a visitor who I have seen here before.' He stopped as the third arrived.

'Uncle, brother.' The tall teenager dressed in the purest white sat and waited as he placed Bichen, his spirit sword, on the grass beside him.

'I think he might be rather interesting to watch over.'

'Why?'

'Uncle, he just said words no one outside of us three knows about, and I'm sure WangJi has never told anyone.'

'...?' WangJi looked between the pair and waited.

'Someone was telling two others about the flower of our sect.' He pointed to the delicate flower that grew right in front of Lan Zhan, who picked it with his long elegant fingers.

'Impossible.' Lan Zhan inspected the delicate flower.

'I heard it and he said it almost word for word.'

'There was nothing almost about it uncle; he said it as it is written.'

'Spy?' Lan Zhan placed the flower in the folds of his robes without knowing why ... even his brother glanced at him when he did it. This was one scent that could calm his mind when he became even slightly worked up over someone breaking the sect rules. However, this had only started three years ago as he walked past a few growing. He had been so angry at a guest breaking a rule he asked for him to be punished, as he left he passed the flowers and suddenly, his heart calmed as he picked one. Now, he know if he felt stressed, he only had to find one of the flowers and he would be calm.

'No. I saw him through the bushes and one of them was the heir from Lotus Pier Jiang Cheng, they have no interest in spying on us. Even though one was in black and red ... I do not get any kind of threatening feelings around him, unlike when we are around some of the direct Wen sect.'

'Which.'

'It was the disciple who spoke the words, if I remember correctly his name is Wei ...'

'Wei WuXian.'

WangJi looked at his uncle when a glare appeared on his face.

'Well, I have heard he is loud, over active, boisterous, breaks rules, holds no respect.'

'Uncle lets give him the benefit of the doubt.' XiChen looked to his baby brother with a smile. 'WangJi since you are old enough, you can join the classes and keep an eye on him.'

'Hmm.' He looked at the ground then back to his brother. 'Must?'

'Yes. You need to learn to talk to others. Make friends. Maybe this Wei WuXian? When I heard him talking, he seems a happy person and very outgoing.' he smiled when his baby brother almost growled. 'WangJi, I want you to have others you can confide things in, make some friends your own age. If I am honest, I want to see you smile and laugh with someone you care enough about to show that side of yourself. To hear you say more than just the bare minimum of words.'

'Hm.' WangJi really didn't want to bother with other people.

Suddenly on the breeze a joyous laughter drifted to them, the oldest and youngest frowned disapprovingly and the middle, GusuLan sect leader, Lan XiChen smiled at the thought of those two being friends. The overly loud and the overly quiet. Maybe somewhere there was a middle ground they could meet.