Excitement bubbles like frothing waves between them, as Wei Ying opens this, the last mysterious link to his mother.

It's not a letter, much to his crushing disappointment.

There's a drawing.

And by the looks of it, it is another puzzle.

The whole piece of paper fits within the space of his palm, soft, barely there, it's so light. Like one last kiss from someone no longer able to give them.

The edges are raw and jagged, as if it was a last thought. Something hurried, over and done quickly because there wasn't enough time.

No one ever had time for him.

Tears fall from his face, landing on the threadbare carpet under his feet, and Wei Ying dashes them away in frustration.

Lan Zhan cannot take this distance any longer, nor the grief he can sense through the smell of Wei Ying's blood, and he puts the items aside, wrapping his arms firmly around the young man.

Wei Ying whimpers, just feeling so terrible about this latest discovery.

"I thought, I-I thought, one last message. To remember me. You know, their kid." He sounds so heartbroken, Lan Zhan feels his own throat closing up.

So he speaks his mind.

"Wei Ying was loved then, and is loved now. I have no doubts that your parents loved you very much." He can sense that Wei Ying is listening intently, so he carries on. "They gave you the locket as a gift, something to remember them by, but when they left you, they did not know it was going to be the last time they would ever see you again, and I am sure that had they known, they would have said fuck you to Jin GuanShan." Lan Zhan is desperate enough to convey his meaning through crude language, knowing that it was what Wei Ying needed to hear.

At least he's stopped trembling.

Lan Zhan kisses the top of his head.

"Yeah." Wei Ying sighs, suddenly. It's a deep one, as if he's letting go of something. "Yeah, I know you're right. It's just...I began to hope, you know? And I didn't realise how much I wanted to talk to them. Just to hear their voices. To have them actually say it, even written down, that they didn't mean to leave me alone. That's all." He sits up, then. "I'm just being silly."

Lan Zhan shakes his head.

"It is NOT silly. It is perfectly natural to want to have contact. Especially because you were so young. A child does not have the capacity to parse through the trauma of being left behind, no matter how unintentionally. The act still remains, therefore the pain of suffering is valid, regardless of circumstances." Lan Zhan hugs him tightly. "Wei Ying matters."

Wei Ying wipes his eyes once more, for the last time. He needs to toughen up, he tells himself.

"Alright, now?" Lan Zhan looks at him anxiously.

Wei Ying nods.

"Ready for another mystery?"

"Mn."

Lan Zhan watches him take the piece of paper up from beside them, wishing he could take away anything that would hurt this lovely man. Even those feelings that threatened to upset him, manifesting through people who could no longer refute his fears.

"It's a circle. And there are more Glyphs."

Wei Ying's voice brings him out of his reverie.

With his finger and thumb wrapped around Wei Ying's wrist, he brings the paper in between them, and studies it.

It is indeed a circle. There's a line at an angle drawn from the centre and passing out from the diameter of the circle.

"At first, I thought it was a compass, because of where the Glyphs are drawn. Four compass points. But again, it might not be anything like that. We should ask F4keSt0ries about these, or Grandmother. She might know." Wei Ying murmurs this, captivated by the runes at the four junctures on the outer edge of the circle.

"There's nothing else?" Lan Zhan asks him, taking the proffered message.

He turns it around and over, this way and that, but nothing more comes to light.

"We could ask Uncle and Da Tuzi, too. Someone must know where this came from, and what it could mean." Lan Zhan says.

Wei Ying stands up, anxious to get a move on with the day. They have an agenda to get through, and he's all jittery with it.

"We should tell your grandmother that we are going to be a little late today." Lan Zhan mentions it, as he goes into the kitchen to help PoPo with the cleanup.

Wei Ying shoots off a quick text to both Uncle XingChen and his Grandmother, before going through the usual routine with the children, checking if they've got all their homework with them, the lunches that Lan Zhan has packed, including bunny shaped apple slices as a special request.

A-Yuan had told him that the other kids were jelly of his food.

It made something warm glow in his chest, hearing that, because Lan Zhan had contributed to making someone's day better, and it was important to them.

Then after waving bye to PoPo, they were off.

There was too much traffic on the roads with the Friday rush hour, people struggling to get to work quickly, and haggard parents trying to get to school on time.

Wei Ying felt as if someone had wrapped an elastic cord around his body, and every time he moved, it pulled tighter and tighter. When it was time to leave the children in the playground, Wei Ying felt more emotional than normal and held on to both of them longer than necessary, kissing their cheeks and the top of their heads.

A-Yuan gave him wet kisses back, giggling at the faces Wei Ying made at him in return, and JingYi ducked and dived, playfully trying to dodge the onslaught of love.

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan waited until they stood in line with their classmates and walked into the actual school building, before turning around to leave.

They walked back to the car hand in hand, until Lan Zhan growled, an audible, dangerous noise. His nose twitched in agitation, and he looked around anxiously, smelling something not at all usual or normal in the air around their vehicle.

"My love?" Wei Ying was immediately alarmed, also looking around, but nothing seemed out of place.

And then they saw it.

A post-it note, in highlighter yellow, stuck to Lan Zhan's windshield. The bottom of it flapped in a futile resistance to being trapped, the single noise easily picked up by Lan Zhan's super strong hearing, even as he tuned out the other normal sounds of the last remaining parents leaving with them.

Lan Zhan pushed Wei Ying still attached to his hand behind him and tore it off, the rumble in his chest picking up speed and depth. He glanced at it again, beyond angry.

"Nice kids you have!" It read, and a heart shape surrounded the text.

Wei Ying gasped and would have taken the note from him, but Lan Zhan folded it carefully and tucked it away into his pocket.

"Act like nothing is wrong. They may be watching us, wanting a reaction, and we're not going to give it to them." Lan Zhan said, leaning forward as if he was kissing Wei Ying's ear, but the action was supposed to hide the movement of his lips so that what he said couldn't be lipread.

Wei Ying nodded shakily, and got inside Lan Zhan's car as they would normally. He was trembling so much, Lan Zhan turned on the heating at full blast, as he got in, secured their seat belts and pulled out of the parking spot.

"Let's go see Uncle. Will Wei Ying be alright until then? Or shall we make a pit stop at home?" Lan Zhan asks him, his voice curt and to the point.

In truth, he can't believe whoever was responsible for the note to be so bold! To threaten their kids in broad daylight, and since it was super difficult to kidnap kids from schools these days, this simple plan to scare them was just to get a rise out of them.

A threat, nonetheless.

"Uncle, please." Wei Ying's teeth have stopped chattering at least, though the bone-deep cold hasn't left him yet. He sits on his hands to keep them from shaking noticeably.

Lan Zhan calls his brother as soon as they hit the open road.

"Xiongzhang, can you please arrange plain clothed security guards at school? They have to be discreet. I'll explain when we get there."

"Sure, Didi. I'll call MingJue now." The line goes dead as XiChen hangs up.

"I really like that about you and XiChen-Ge." Wei Ying gestures towards Lan Zhan's phone and him. "It's so direct and to the point." He's talking about something ordinary to keep himself grounded, because the alternative doesn't bear thinking about. And his voice only wobbles once.

Lan Zhan lets his hand rest on Wei Ying's knee, squeezing it to comfort him. All the while, trying not to break any road regulations and speed limits.

He doesn't trust himself to speak.

He's so angry, that a part of him wants to drive straight to Wen Laboratories and tear Wen Chao apart, him, his father, and his brother.

Teach them a real lesson.

So far, he and XiChen hadn't done anything about Wen Chao and his architectural dreams, leaving him on the periphery of their business. It was not the Lan family's fault if random (and lucrative) customers came to see them with blueprints approved by the Wen brothers, only to have Lan Zhan explain each and every flaw in their design, in a matter of minutes.

Of course the customers switched companies like they changed clothes, instantly, and it was no one's fault except the Wens.

Hence their surprise when Wen Chao contacted them out of the blue, and arranged a meeting, in the aptly named Love Bites bar.

In fact, the more Lan Zhan thought about it, the more it made sense.

Given all the information that was coming to light so far, especially in the last few days, everything was pointing to Wen Rouhan and/or his children. They were being reckless with creating more unstable and new vampires, but when they attacked him, had they wanted to kill him?

Lan Zhan thinks about the crusted blood on his clothes, when Wei Ying had found him. The congealed, slimy red mess under his body. What if Wei Ying's feet hadn't led him into that alley? Would Lan Zhan have actually died?

The thought made him shiver.

They needed proof.

That was paramount to the beginning of bringing them to justice.

But Lan Zhan had his doubts about that. If Wen Rouhan controlled the media, and if the insinuation against the police was also true, then it wasn't a reach to suspect that Wen Rouhan had judges in his pocket, too.

So they were going to have to think of an alternative way to deal with the Wens, the vampires for sure and, whether or not that included Wen Qing and Wen Ning, remained to be seen.

Lan Zhan hoped, really hoped, that somehow Wen Qing had a plausible explanation for her actions, because otherwise, she was going to hurt Wei Ying no matter what.

Maybe it was time to sit down and talk it out with her, get some answers. Lan Zhan was confident enough of his own ability to know if she was lying or not. The only thing that worried him about that scenario was if she was taking some kind of drug to stop him from detecting the truth.

The alternative way to dealing with anyone who was a threat to his family was ... distasteful, but necessary, if they couldn't rely on the law. Lan Zhan kept these thoughts to himself for now, and made a plan in his head to talk to XiChen about that as soon as possible.

The only certain truth about all of this mess was, they couldn't allow Wen Rouhan to carry on doing what he was. His children were just as irresponsible as himself, and must be brought to account.

That was going to be messy.

But first, proof.

*************

The sky was overcast and dull when they drove past the cream and gold security gates.

As they drove past the now sparse cherry blossom trees lining the drive to the mansion, Lan Zhan glanced at Wei Ying, who had been far too quiet for his liking.

Lan Zhan had been concentrating on the road, both in front of them, and behind them to make sure they weren't being followed. He took minor turns deviating from the sat navigation app on his phone, just to throw people off if they DID have company.

But now they were safe.

There was something about this place, something that Lan Zhan couldn't put his finger on. This, his childhood home, always felt safe. Sturdy and strong, built like a fortress, it represented family and peace, and shelter. Protection from the outside world.

No matter how cold and impersonal it was on the inside, the sanctuary aspect of this place remained deeply embedded in his psyche.

Lan Zhan parked the car in his usual spot.

Wei Ying was out of his seat and outside in just seconds.

But then, he sagged against the car as if he didn't know what to do next.

Lan Zhan folded himself around him, holding him close.

"I'm sorry. I had to do that at school. It wasn't safe."

Wei Ying makes a noise. It is the sound of a wounded animal.

Lan Zhan doesn't even begin to understand why or how he is so matter-of-fact about this, not unconcerned, but the predator inside himself is itching for a fight. And he's confident of victory, that too, is another certainty.

He can and is approaching this problem with a level of detachment he didn't know was possible, ready to take on any threat that came at them.

But right now, that's not what Wei Ying needs to hear.

If ever Lan Zhan was made aware of just how different they both are, it is now.

"Wei Ying." In that second, Lan Zhan remembered not to use Compulsion. He had to choose his words carefully.

Wei Ying was clutching his shirt at Lan Zhan's back like a lifeline, a fistful of cloth anchoring him to a reality he hated, because it was directly threatening his children.

When Wei Ying looks up, his eyes are red-rimmed but more importantly, dry. A quiet fire rages within his beautiful silver eyes, calm but no less powerful as Wei Ying makes the visible choice to swap out his tears, swap out his fears into the much more productive anger.

How dare anyone try to bring harm to his kids?

He had seen it before, so many times. Every single nature documentary featured carnivores attacking newborn babies because it was the easiest meal. The fastest meal, and depending on taste, the tastiest meal to feed themselves and their young.

Attack the vulnerable, soft underbelly of your opponent and victory was certain and assured through the tears of your enemies.

But Wei Ying was not going to give up without a fight.

"We're going to take them down," he told Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan had never heard his voice so hard.

"Good."

He gives Wei Ying one last squeeze and is reassured when Wei Ying does the same to him. Their hands naturally find each other and they start walking.

But again, Wei Ying feels the pull of the fountain, and tugs on Lan Zhan's hand, bringing them both to the curious art piece.

Whoever had designed it had an eye for beauty.

And it was hard to pick a favourite from either of the protagonists, because they were both depicted so masterfully.

The dragon was bearing its teeth, canines out in a snarl of anger, defending itself from the wizard, whose eyes blazed with determination; this beast was going down. His hands both held a staff, aiming for the Dragon's heart, wanting to kill it.

The dynamic was so realistic that Wei Ying could imagine the characters coming alive in between the spray of water, splashing around them and jostling the necklace of skulls around the wizard's neck.

That was a strange adornment, wasn't it?

In fact, who had overseen the placement of this beautiful family heirloom? Who had commissioned this piece? That part had to be true, because the details were so particular, so on point, that to imagine this fountain design was able to be purchased via brochure, or walking past it somewhere seemed utterly ridiculous.

"What is Wei Ying thinking about?" Lan Zhan murmurs softly.

They're standing side by side.

He cannot look away from Wei Ying if he tried.

And Wei Ying is sindle-mindedly focused on the fountain.

"I'm just wondering about the origins of this," he gestures vaguely towards the fountain and the two fighters.

"What about it?" Lan Zhan is anxious about getting back to Baoshan Sanren and telling her about the post-it note. He's hoping she has some technical wizardry to find out where this paper originated and who he was allowed to go and kill...

So he steered Wei Ying towards the front door, wanting to speed things up, but still listening carefully to him.

The old familiar Cloud Emblem shines that much clearer now, engraved in the dark wood.

"It's just, I'm thinking, you don't just walk into a store and see something like that, right? You'd have to find someone to actually make it, because it's not exactly a mass produced souvenir type thing. So who designed it? What's the significance of the whole thing? And why the creepy skulls? That addition was definitely deliberate, and I wanna know why."

Lan Zhan is just kissing his temple affectionately, when the door opened, and Da Tuzi stood there.

They all bowed and then he leads them inside.

"Senior Master Lan is expecting you. Please come this way." He takes them to another room this time, where another door awaits.

Wei Ying pauses, his fingers tracing the pattern of clouds engraved into the frame of this one too, but as a border all along the edge.

"That's neat," he comments, in admiration at the tiny details.

"Indeed." Da Tuzi says, with a mysterious smile. He turns to Lan Zhan, sensing the young man wanting to say something.

"If anyone could tell you about this home, it would be Da Tuzi." Lan Zhan is looking at Wei Ying.

"Oh? What would you like to know?" The older gentleman asks him, his expression one of polite interest. His eyes twinkle with bright curious mischief.

"About the fountain. Who designed it?" Wei Ying could swear he saw something flicker in his dark eyes, a spark of something.

"Of course! Perhaps we can have a cup of tea later, when you are free," he says quickly, bowing to them both. To Lan Zhan, he says, "you know where to find me."

Lan Zhan nods, a fast movement, before pushing open the door.

As it opens, there is the warm scent of sweet lilies and freesia, mingling with the incense still burning on the little table in the centre of the room. There are white leather sofas here too, but these look far more cosier than the rigid, straight back formal ones in the study.

"Welcome to my parlour," Uncle Qiren tells them, stroking his whiskers.

"Said the spider to the fly," Wei Ying follows that up by, under his breath.

From the slight quirk of Lan Zhan's lips, he knows his boyfriend heard him.

"Would you like anything to drink?" Uncle Qiren asks them.

It's an innocent question, but Wei Ying imagines him with extra legs hidden under his blanket, and he chokes back a laugh, strangling his humour.

Of course, it makes a sound like a dying cat, and Wei Ying is mortified, vowing to himself not to let his imagination get out of hand, like that.

Lan Zhan glances at Wei Ying, and his slight shake of his head answers his unspoken question.

"We just had breakfast, Uncle." Lan Zhan says, smoothly.

The layout of the room is in an 'L' shape. Uncle Qiren is sitting in a high-backed armchair, a pale blue blanket on his knees, and a book in his lap. He takes off his glasses and places them carefully on top of the book which he rests on the coffee table, before leaning back to study them.

They are sitting close to him, on the two seater sofa, with beautiful roaring fire crackling behind them.

"Very well. What can I do for you?"

Wei Ying pulls off his locket and opens it, not missing the widening of Uncle Qiren's eyes, shrewd and alert now.

That means he's seen it before.

"These are my parents. Do you remember them?" Wei Ying asks him, willing his own voice to be stronger.

He's trying not to remember that morning and his emotional outburst, his disappointment at not having anything pertaining to himself and his parents.

Wei Ying hands the locket over to Uncle Qiren. It doesn't contain the message anymore, so Wei Ying isn't worried or scared that something is going to happen to it.

Uncle Qiren holds the locket with care, gazing at the pictures of people he used to know. He's not tearful or upset, but his face is full of nostalgia. He looks sad though, and finally he nods at them.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Lan Zhan asks him. It is without any negative emotions; he simply wants to know.

"At first, I wasn't sure. Definitely not on that first day, but there was something about your name, and my subconscious kept mulling over it. And then I doubted myself," he admits, the teeniest smile on his lips. "But I am still glad to know that I was right."

The door opens and the aromatic fragrance of Jasmine tea precedes Da Tuzi carrying in a tray of teacups and a traditional teapot. There's even a plate of snacks.

Lan Zhan smiles when he sees the bunny shaped cookies, but he doesn't take one. Instead, he pours tea for all three of them. Wei Ying nibbles on a biscuit, just to give his hands something to do.

"Why did they come here? They brought me here, didn't they?" Wei Ying asks him, adding that final question at the last minute.

His grandmother had said something along those lines.

Uncle is shocked but pleased.

"Yes, to the second question." His fingers stroke his beard thoughtfully. "As for the first, Cangse Sanren came to see your mother." Uncle Qiren is looking at Lan Zhan now.

"They knew each other?" Lan Zhan is visibly shocked.

"Yes. Lan Furen grew up in Yiling, and they were friends, I think. Though they separated when Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze moved over here. My brother travelled extensively and met her on one of his trips. He fell in love straight away, he said. Though that might have been one sided..." his eyes meet Lan Zhan's golden ones and dart away, quickly.

"Tell us more about their visit. Did they meet Father?" Lan Zhan is burning up with curiosity now.

What a coincidence!

That their parents knew each other? How crazy was that?

Lan Zhan had seen the picture of Wei Changze and Cangse Sanren coming here, outside by the fountain, but this admission by his own elder somehow made it feel more solid, concrete now. But then he was disappointed all over again.

His mother's room had been cleaned out when he had returned from hospital.

There was nothing left of her in this home now, except bittersweet memories.