[In the future WWX saw through the mullet, XiCheng never met SL because XXC's soul never shone, in turn SL and WN never became humans. NHS was chased by cultivators who hated the idea of giving JGY a proper grave. LGY died while fighting gonggmu. LSZ died when his blood was offered. JL died when he confronted his sect. JC committed suicide. And LWJ died in agony, making LXC go in seclusion again till his last breath. The chapters you have read, is the version where wwx already had begun to set things in motion.]

"How did you two die, mother?"

Wei Wuxian was barely 6 years old when his parents died. He did not recall how, all he knew was that he was alone all of a sudden. A 6 years old child couldn't even think for himself yet he was left to survive in the world. Wei Wuxian had always been extremely grateful towards, Jiang Fengmian. He gave him a home, not just any home, a life of a royalty. He could not forget how much care his Shijie put into raising him and how much support his Shidi gave him while growing up. If it weren't for Jiangs, he was sure, he would be begging in the street till he died. But then everything turned into chaos. He was blamed for the deaths of his foster family, he couldn't protect the Wen Family and he begun to blame himself for his birth family.

"A-Ying, our death was not your fault, if anything you saved us." Emotions of a child cannot stay hidden from a mother. She tried to sooth him with her gentle voice.

"After your father's soul replaced mine and sealed the gate. I replaced the seal with gonggong shell, Xiang Deities blessed us with. But that was just a temporary solution, little extension of time which I was running out of. Your father kneeled before Sect Leader Jiang and asked to travel with me. To search for the solution, to search for Immortal Dalou. Jiang Fengmian gave us his blessings and we were wed in the halls of Yunmeng with the canopies of Lotus flowers." Cangse Sanren recalled the happy moment of her wedding. She was against the marriage; she knew she would die sooner or later and it was not her wish to tie another person with her cursed fate.

Wei Changze was the stubborn one. He refused to leave her side and even broke his promise to A-Mian, just to protect her.

'I have already deflected because of you, now take responsibility.'

Wei Changze scolded, he was the man of action and he proved it time and time again. Their journey for few years was both successful and failure. There was no sign of Dalou but there were remedies to extend her dissipation. Wei Changze picked up dizi, wanted to learn the scores from the verses in Toshokan.

'I never knew, humans were capable of sounding this horrible.'

Cangse Sanren had teased. Even though his music was broken, it was healing to her soul. Many years with no result, they begun to lose hope. Cangse Sanren's health wasn't any better.

'I wish to give you a family.'

She had said, but her un uttered words were heard. I wish to take away your fear of being the only Wei. Wei Changze was reluctant at first, but persistent Cangse Sanren managed to persuade him.

'Think of it as my dying wish.'

They settled down temporarily in a residence in Yiling and stayed there until their bundle of Joy was born. It took a great toll on Cangse Sanren's body and soul but the moment Wei Wuxian opened his eyes in the world all of her pain disappeared. As if the boy, brought a cure with him.

The couple was happy after many anguish years. Their journey continued on, from one night hunt to another, they had save countless people. Even having an infant child with them, they were strong enough to hold on their own.

But they were running against time, With each passing day Cangse Sanren was losing control of the Heavens Gate. The Gui's begun to set free and Wei Changze spent a great effort dealing with all of the fierce spirits.

'Chang Chang, I can not hold it anymore. You have to take A-Ying and run away before I lose control.'

Wei Changze was left with a bitter choice; he can't abandon his wife but he couldn't put his child in danger either. He knew when the spirits take over her body, he would be the one to suppress them, or the guis would roam the mortal Realm and many lives would be lost.

After bitter thought, He made the choice and decided to turn to his friend to raise his child, he sent a brief message to Jiang Fengmian. Although he received the message but it took him three years to find Wei Wuxian.

"A-Ying, papa and Mama has to go somewhere, you will have to be a good boy and wait for uncle Jiang to come."

"Where are you going?"

"To help the world."

"Can't A-Ying come with you?"

"Not this time, A-Ying."

"When will you be back?"

Cangse Sanren picked her baby up and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. Wei Changze held both of his beloved in his arms for the last time. Wei Wuxian was put to sleep through her spell, it was hard for them to lie to him and say good bye.

The two battled for the world silently and left the world without anyone knowing.

"The Heavens Gate was not supposed to be opened; Wen Mao sealed it with conviction that it would bring chaos but Baoshao Sanren opened it with resolve to save her loved ones. Both paid no heed to Lan Yi's words and both suffered their own loses because of it. Ever since then it had been bound to my soul. And it will forever be bound to my soul. So no more sacrifices are needed to be made." Cangse Sanren concluded.

Wei Wuxian didn't know what to feel, he was frustrated, that his mother had been keeping the mortal realm safe for many years now. He felt hurt, that his father's sacrifice didn't even make it into the history scrolls but he was happy that his parents were so selfless and pure.

"Thank you, mother and father." Wei Wuxian smiled his hearty smile. Lan Wangji bowed in gratitude for a long time.

And with that, the two finally left the Heavenly Realms.

.

.

.

"Mo-Xiong, why are we here?" Nie Huaisang had been pulled by the younger to a desolate place. It was filled with dark energy and screams which nobody liked. It was the first time, Mo Xuanyu had stepped in such a place. In all honesty, he wanted to see the place where Yiling Patriarch was born, although the place didn't have its formal glory but it still had traces of Yiling Patriarch.

"Where else would Yiling Patriarch appear if not in Burial mounds?" The younger shot him a look, which translated into, are you really that stupid, Sang-Xi?

If possible, Nie Huaisang would say that he was stupid and go back to Qinghe. He didn't like to increase his chances of death.

The two were deep in the Luanzang hill when they spotted a figure in white. It was perfect contrast to the grim surrounding. His long ribbon fluttering with his sleek hair. He stood amidst the scream as if they could never bring him any harm.

A big flash of light shone against the full moon, like a spark from the hell itself, the sky tore into two, and amidst it all, Yiling Laozou came in the view.

The chaos had engulfed the world like a plague, there was death and destruction yet everything was vague, a score or a tune could be heard in the daze. One by one, everything was in a state, a shocking reveal of how he had changed their fate.

Corpses that fought the Ghouls joined the sky like the shining night stars. The ghouls could not attack when the Oracle of Moon was slashed. Before the tassel of his flute could swing a full circle, the surge of black wave that had eaten the sky vanished into the void.

Each had fought a battle of its own, a fight for self or fight for their home. The souls that he had freed, aid them without them knowing. And once, their goal was met, they silently disappeared.

None of them expected to see the man again, who stood tall and high as he cleared the den. The calamity that befall them no longer could be seen, he took control and set them all free.

"Wei Gongzi?!" Wen Ning was the first who spotted him, when he landed like a monarch, bringing the spring.

"Ah! So, that's why I couldn't summon you. Wen Ning you are a human again." He smiled as he braced the scene before him, one after another, his eyes landed on them.

"Wangji!" Lan Xichen would have jumped had he not been holding Jin Ling in his arms. Relieved to see, his brother alive.

"XiongZhang." Lan Wangji acknowledged his brother, before he went inside the pavilion to look for his son.

"Wei Wuxian." Wen Qing called from a distance, reminding him for the things that are still needed to be seen.

"How is he?" Wei Wuxian asked, Jiang Cheng was still unconscious and Wen Qing was replacing his core.

"He'll live." She said.

Wei Wuxian, joined Lan Wangji and brought the broken pieces of the Oracle in his palm. He flashed a brilliant smile and said,

"It's over now."

. . .

Nie Huaisang, being the chief cultivator and leader of Qinghe Nie sect took the position to deal with after war damage. Sects like Moling Su sect, Yingchuan wang sect and Yao Sect were lost completely. Meishan Yu sect nearly experienced extinction but with the help of Yunmeng Jiang Sect, it was beginning to rise again. Leiling Qin sect and Baling Ouyang sect were able to recover when Lan Ling Jin sect and Yunmeng Jiang Sect offered their support. Gusu Lan sect recovered, not from the attack of enemy but from the voice of Lan Jingyi.

Guanyin had blessed Wen Qin's soul and until she could sustain herself, she helped aid the wounded along with her brothers. At first, many cultivators wanted to protest and cause another disorder about Lan Shizui being a Wen. But they saw it with their own eyes, that he was the one who broke the Moon Oracle, with his Qi String, allowing Yiling Patrirach to strike the killing blow.

They couldn't help but appreciate what Wen Qing was doing for them, even after death, she saved people, not kill.

Finally defeated, they understood why many years ago, Yiling Patriarch deflected the world to save these Wen Remnants. These were innocent people, and he was the only one among the entire cultivation sects to see that. Each cultivator had a different reaction which benefited them. Some were ashamed of what they did, some apologized while others refused to let their pride get topple over.

But for Wei Wuxian, it didn't matter anymore. He was able to clear the name of Yiling Wens and that was the promise he made to his son.

"Wen Qing, I have never really said such things to you but there are indeed a few things I should say." Wei Wuxian had been foreseeing everything not from a distance but up close. It was the last bit of her soul that was flickering to be return to Earth.

He regretted that night when he couldn't save them on time, like all the other regrets but now it was finally time to let go of the pain and say goodbye.

"I'm sorry and Thank you."

Wen Qing gave him a warm smile, the time they spent in the burial mounds. The time when they had dark days but It was worth the thousand pain.

"JieJie!!!" Wen Ning cried as he embraced the last shred of her souls. He held on to it like a precious piece of himself.

"jiejie! Don't go! Where would I go without you?"

"A-Ning, A-Yuan, keep the family motto in your heart and never fear. I will always be watching over you."

Humans are fated to be miserable.

Wen Yuan hugged Wen Ning, unwillingly the two, bid farewell to their sister. But this time, even Wen Ning had a place he could return to, this time, he made the decision for himself.

. . .

"Jiujiu!"

"A-Ling!"

"Be careful Jiujiu, you haven't recovered yet." Jin Ling had been attending to his uncle ever since he ripped out his own core, a failed plead to save his nephew. He was terribly wounded and the core transplantation delayed his consciousness.

"A-Ling! It's you! It's really you!" Jiang Cheng didn't care about his wound, he didn't care about pain, he got up and pulled his nephew into a bone crushing embrace.

"Uncle, if you are trying to kill me why bother saving me?" Jin Ling tried to joke. But Jiang Cheng had heard his un spoken words.

Why would you try to save a bad guy like me?

"If you're the bad guy then what does that make me?"

Jin Ling didn't say a word, Jiang Cheng broke the hug and caressed the cheeks of his nephew. He liked it when there was warmth in them, he had held enough cold bodies already.

"Forgive me A-Ling, for not giving you the best of life, for not protecting your parents, for making you an orphan." He was overwhelmed, his heart was quivering and his hand followed the same pattern.

"jiujiu, to me, both my mother and father had always been you. I was never an orphan and I would never be an orphan as long as you stay by my side." Jing Ling held the trembling hands of his uncle, his family, his everything.

It was the first time, the two had talked heart to heart. Wei Wuxian was standing there at the door, smiling at the family before him. He truly was lucky to have 4 families in life.

"Wei Wuxian!"

First the shock of seeing a very familiar figure dawned on him, for a moment he thought he was hallucinating. But it was Wei Wuxian after all, he would even flirt with Nuwa if he had to, to get what he wanted.

The shock turned into relieve and then ignited into anger.

Jiang Cheng leaped off the bed and ran towards the figure, casually standing by the door. He grabbed his collar and jerked him full force.

"You really are something aren't you?! Can't you live without causing trouble for once?! It hasn't been 3 years since you came back and the whole world was nearly destroyed?! Just what do you want? You come and go however you please!!

Stop playing the damn hero! If you can't think of yourself then think of your husband and son at least!! You have any idea how much suffering you caused? Huh?"

Wei Wuxian didn't move once inch, kept his eyes on his brother who was crying like a lost child. He didn't like to see him cry.

"jiujiu please!"

"Shut up!"

Jing ling tried to stop him but he was pushed away, Wei Wuxian gestured him to not interfere. It was about time the two brothers solve their issues.

"What would you have me do then, Jiang Cheng? Sit by and watch people die?"

"How great you are Wei Wuxian, always thinking about others. What about me then?? Huh?! Have you ever thought about consulting me? Have you ever thought about how I felt?!!"

His face had already become a mess, the grip in his collar loosened and he let himself crash to the ground. Like a weak child he pleaded,

"Spare me the pain...I can't bear it any more...." Like a defeated man, he let his tears run wild. He is more than aware once a person die, they would not come back. Even he had prayed to gods once, to sooth his aching heart. But they must be watching him from above and laughing at him for he had more pain to come.

Attempting the impossible, his brother came back to him but he wasn't his anymore. And then the same coldness spread through Jin Ling which took away his sister.

Just what did they want from him? Was it fun to see him suffer?

His heart was barely holding onto the last fragments, one more jolt and he would lose himself, forever. He couldn't heal if anything happens to his beloved ones. Not this time.

Wei Wuxian slanted next to Jiang Cheng and pulled him an embrace. Gently, he uttered the words, the younger longed for years.

"A- Cheng, I am proud of you."

Jiang Cheng didn't push him away nor did he struggle, he was too tired of it all, he just needed rest. His heart needed a break.

" That's what Jiang Shushu told me to say."

Jiang Cheng widened his eyes and broke the embrace to look at the elder. He carried his usual smile but it was gentler and warmer.

"W-what do you mean?"

"I met them, Jiang Cheng. Back in the Heavens."

His eyes were bulged open but the tears didn't recede. His A-Niang, A-Ding and A-Jie...

"You met them?"

.

.

.

"A-Xian?!"

Like a beautiful symphony, her voice alone could take away the pain. The brightest soul if he had ever seen one.

"S-shijie..."

Wei Wuxian was always ashamed of what happened to his sister because of him, what happened to her son because of him, and he knew he could face every hurdle in the world but he could not face his sister who raised him like a mother.

But not this time, he's not alone anymore, Lan Wangji held his hand tight to reassure him.

"A-Xian!"

The brightest soul, beautifully flickered with a rhythmic moment and held her brother in her embrace.

The tears of indescribable emotions broke lose. He held her closely to her, wouldn't allow anything to happen to her anymore. This warmth was enough for him to fight the world.

"Shijie... Shijie..." He cried like a child who had just found what he had been searching for years. Something to fill the hollowness in him. A piece of him that he had was lost.

Her soothing movement, made the pain in him go. Like each drop of tear carried his emotions, he was carried on like a boat in the infinite ocean.

"A-Xian, how have you been?"

He refused to let go, clinging like a 3 years old baby into her lap. Lan Wangji sat a bit further giving them the privacy but Wei Wuxian called him close.

"Shijie, do you know I married Hanguang-jun? He has been really good to me."

A smile adorned her delicate face and her soul flickered even brighter. She lowered her head in gratitude and Lan Wangji returned the gesture. For him, it was the gratitude of raising Wei Wuxian, for supporting him, for believing in him, for loving him and for protecting him.

Jiang Yanli knew her brothers' hearts like her own. She knew the suffering the two had been gone through. She never asked them anything that would bring them pain and silently did her best to protect them.

Good souls are short lived.

He laid there absorbing every little warmth that seeped from her tender fingers as she rustled his hair. They were welcomed by two other souls.

"A-Xian!"

"Jiang Shushu!" Wei Wuxian bounced straight into his uncle's arms. He never failed Wei Wuxian as a father.

"What are you doing here? Did you leave A-Cheng and A-Ling behind?" Madam Yu was fierce as ever but she was happy to see him nonetheless.

"It's nice to see you too Madam Yu." Wei Wuxian was daring, he never thought he would miss her scolding.

"I will not let you stay here." Madam Yu clarified. It was good to meet your family again but it was not good to die to come here. Not every soul could make it into heavens and risking that was not a wise choice.

Wei Wuxian smiled cheekily and hugged her as well. She kept retorting but didn't push him away.

"Jiang Shushu, Madam Yu. I want to introduce you to my husband, Lan Zhan. I hope you continue to bless us."

The couple looked at each other and later smiled at the two.

"A-Xian, you really attempted the impossible." Jiang Fengmian gave a hearty smile. He never knew his son would go this far but as long as he was happy, nothing else mattered.

"What about A-Cheng? Did he marry yet?" Madam Yu asked.

Wei Wuxian gave a smirk to Lan Wangji, the latter didn't understand what his husband was implying now.

"Of course, he will be getting married soon, right Lan Zhan."

"Mn." Unknowingly he agreed.

"Really? Which cultivation sect?" Madam Yu asked, relieved to hear the news.

"Gusu Lan Sect."

Jiang Fengmian, Madam Yu and Lan Wangji had a strait-laced face. While Shijie only smiled more tenderly.

"Tch. He really follows you everywhere, doesn't he?" Madam Yu sighed; she lost the interest to know anything further.

Wei Wuxian didn't need to tell them how their lives were after they died. Shijie had probably done that, he wasn't sure how they would react when they see him again, he thought they would curse him at least once, but none of that came, not even from Madam Yu.

Lan Wangji had told them about the Golden Core, he was the person who minded his own business but he had heard of how Madam Yu treated Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian immediately blurted

"Jiang Cheng!... he lost the core because he was trying to save me."

It was the news to them all.

Two brothers protected each other by sacrificing each other.

Fine fools they were.

"A-Xian, I'm proud of you. Both you and A-Cheng." Jiang Fengmian said. It gave him a huge boost of confidence and a little faith in himself.

The five of them talked about many things, the sects and mortal world was no longer of their concern. They each had a thing they wanted to say to the other.

"Wei Ying, thank you for keeping your promise to me." Madam Yu said. The promise she made him make, just before the Lotus pier was about to fall. He deflected from the world, so the cultivators would not blame Jiang Cheng from the things he was doing. Though from a distance, he kept his promise of protecting Jiang Cheng.

The Wei Wuxian with no care in the world, was finally smiling like before.

WangXian couldn't stay there for long, they had other commitments to go through. Just as they made their final bows, Jiang Yanli stopped Wei Wuxian,

"A-Xian, I wanted to tell you something back at the nightless city." Shijie begun, Wei Wuxian's heart already sank. He didn't want to recall that night of all days.

"I'm...I'm here to tell you..."

To tell him what?

That it's fine?

That I don't hate you?

That everything is fine?

That I don't blame you for have killed jin zixuan?

Wei Wuxian had thought time and time again what his Shijie wanted to say that day. He didn't know it would be the last time he'd get to hear her voice, the last time he'd get to see her face.

Had he known that, he would never have made his presence known, he would have locked himself in the cave, he would have let them siege. He would have let them have their way. Anything would have been better than his sister sacrificing herself for a monster like him. The three months he spent in the burial mounds afterwards were like a torture to him. Every day, he wanted to kill himself but his sister's dying face came in front of his eyes.

He couldn't let his sister's sacrifice go to waste, he breathed everyday until he could no more.

"A-Xian, I was there to tell you, to come back home."

To come back to me, I will shoulder your pain with me. I would hide you if I have to but as long as you're safe, nothing matters to me.

If she had said those words, maybe the untamed hero would have found peace.

Wei Wuxian thought, he had lost his home, but it was always there he just forgot to look back.

.

.

.

"You have done it too, Jiang Cheng. You have attempted the impossible too."

Right at that moment, the sect which stood firm among all was none other than Yunmeng Jiang Sect. The youngest Leader who rebuilt his sect from scratch, who gathered the army of broken, who faced the mockery of the world every day, who raised an infant like his own.

"How did you...?"

Wei Wuxian didn't answer his question about how he figured out about the core, he wanted to take that secret to his grave. Wei Wuxian placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"It is from Shijie, she told me to give it to you."

Another set of tears escaped his eyes when a soothing warmth touch his shell.

"Come here, A-Ling." Wei Wuxian embraced Jing Ling the same way and placed the gentle kiss on his forehead.

"Your mother is proud of what you've become."

The fragrance of the Lotus flower filled the room, finally after years these unknown walls, felt like home.

"Jiang Cheng, we both have a new core now, let's mark this as a new promise to always stay together, the 3 of us."

Jin Ling took one hand of his Jiujiu and one hand of his shushui and joined them two in one embrace.

You, me and A-Cheng will always stay together.

The three stayed like that for a long time and Jing ling was sure his uncles would choke him with affection. While Wei Wuxian was smug that he was finally taller.

. . .

The cultivators were getting used to seeing different colors in the unclean Realm. There was more than one celebration to be held in Qinghe. The contribution in the war, the clearance of Xingule Ridge and the wedding of Sect Leader Nie.

"Are you sure, you don't want to summon your brother for this occasion?" Wei Wuxian joined Nie Huaisang who was getting nervous for the big day.

"Da-ge's soul is fixed, He can rest in peace and I can meet him now when my time comes." Nie Huaisang shook his head. This time the things didn't go the way he planned. Who would have thought he would fall in love?

"You know, they will curse you for a long time for what you did for Jin GuangYao."

"Yao-Xiong was my brother, it was only natural for me to give him a proper burial."

Wei Wuxian patted the shoulder younger,

What a disastrous weapon love is.

Wei Wuxian was about to leave the room when Nie Huaisang called.

"Wei-Xiong!"

Wei Wuxian stopped at the door, turning his face towards the younger.

"Even I cherish the youthful days, the three of us spent in the Cloud recess."

It was a statement of truce, between the Head Shaker and Yiling Patriarch. Wei Wuxian waved his hand as he exited the room.

"I wish you the best marriage, brother Huaisang. Make sure you take good care of Mo Xuanyu, we both owe him."

"Do not worry, Wei-Xiong. I treasure the people I love."

To the Heavens and Earth, to the mother and father and to each other, the bows were done and new promises were made. The hails of happiness and cheers, blessed the newly couple.

The day was about to end in it's glory when the sky roared and a huge gate appeared with a jolt. The Heavens Gate, they read only in the stories was finally presented before them.

"Now what?" Jin Ling glared.

A sudden realization hit Wei Wuxian and he begun to laugh wholeheartedly.

"Hahahahaha I almost forgot."

Every disciple and guest, were looking at him with confused eyes. Wei Wuxian made its way toward junior and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Zizhen, I sold you out to Luo Dongbin."

You What?

"He's probably here to fetch you for a poetry face off. Good luck!"

What??????

"Hahahahahahahahahaha"

Only Yiling Patriarch could laugh in the face of disaster.

-----------------The End----------------

Sorry for the errors and any sort of disappointment. I tried my best.

There is one extra chapter for the ships I intended to build but failed to do so. Those of you, who aren't interested in those ships, this is the end.

Thank You for following this journey!