Lan Zhan takes Wei Ying's hand in his, "It was the night we captured Xue Yang. Do you remember it? Do you remember our stay at the inn?"

 Wei Ying shakes his head. "Lan Zhan, my memory has never been good since I was a child, and I had forgotten about this as well, but strangely, when you left me in the in-between realm, I dreamt about it."

Lan Zhan's brows crease, "Why that incident?"

"I did something that I needed to face, I guess. Anyway, what about it?"

"Oh." Lan Zhan lowers his eyes, "That time, " Lan Zhan hesitates, "that time I... we. The rumor about the cultivators, do you remember it?"

"Yes."

"That was us. The young girl was talking about us. That day, when I went... "

"Wait." Wei Ying interrupts, "How do you know that she was talking about us?"

"I... I remember."

"That's not possible. You said you hadn't heard about the rumor!"

"I had lied back then." Lan Zhan confesses, tips of his ears turn red.

"So what if you remember? You were not responsible for what happened there. You didn't know that the pool could affect your thoughts and actions."

Lan Zhan's eyes narrow, "The enchantment never worked on me completely. It just made me overcome my inhibitions. It was because of the headband." He elaborates before adding, "When you entered, you got affected immediately, and we... I... "

"I pushed myself closer to you and kissed you till you relented and kissed me back. My hands roamed over your body as your lips moved over mine. I don't know how and when you got rid of my clothes, but then you touched me." Wei Ying finishes. 

Lan Zhan's eyes widen, "But you... You remember!?"

"I never lost consciousness. I was pretending. I was embarrassed and feared that you would distance yourself from me. Your friendship was precious to me. So I acted like that. The man had said that it made you do things against your nature. But all I felt was happiness. It felt like even if I were to kiss you, touch you, it would be alright."

"You only lost your inhibitions." Lan Zhan observes.

"I guess you could say that. Then when you were dressing yourself- I erased that incident from my mind. Lan Zhan, it was you who applied the paste, dressed me up and tucked me in bed that night, and the one who had kept the bowl to wipe myself in the morning. Am I right?"

Lan Zhan's ears turn scarlet. He nods without looking at Wei Ying, "Mn. I hurt you. I had vowed to protect you, but I hurt you again." He replies dejectedly.

"That time, it was desire in your eyes, wasn't it. My words, they were turning you on, weren't they? Lan Zhan, I was stupid. I thought you hated me and my guts. I read your eyes wrong."

"But I hurt you." Lan Zhan repeats, begging Wei Ying to see his flaws, but the latter shakes his head, "I hurt you worse. I was scared that you will kill me. Have you forgotten? I used my spiritual energy to push you away."

"I... It didn't hurt." Lan Zhan lies.

"You are a horrible liar, Lan Zhan. I could see you wince when we were riding our horses. Why did you not heal yourself?"

"I deserved it. I did not want you to be the only one hurting." Lan Zhan finally comes clean.

Wei Ying loses control of his feelings. Tears fall on his white nightwear, and he shakes his head, "Lan Zhan, why are you like this?"

"I don't know."

Wei Ying intertwines their fingers and places it over his heart, "Ok. It's fine if you don't know." He rests his head on Lan Zhan's shoulder, "We will find the answer together." He kisses the latter's cheek and continues, "Now tell me why you think I am here against my will, that I am doing this because of some reason other than love."

Lan Zhan sighs. His grip around Wei Xian's fingers tighten a little, "That day, I couldn't bring myself to face you when you woke up. But I was still apprehensive about what had happened the night before, and I wanted to make sure you were alright, so I..." Lan Zhan looks at the later, "I spied on you."

Realization dawns on the Yiling patriarch, "The clothes, they had a faint sandalwood fragrance. You used the fragrance information spell. I thought the innkeeper had left them for me. Hehe. That was smart."

Lan Zhan keeps silent, and a moment later, Wei Ying's eyes widen, "You heard everything I told Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang!"

"Mn."

"No..." Wei Ying mutters under his breath, "Lan Zhan, I didn't mean that."

"Wei Ying, you were disgusted when you heard about the rumor. It angered you enough for you to walk out without even having your breakfast."

"Lan Zhan, is that why you brought spicy meat buns for me?"

"Mn."

"Lan Zhan, I didn't know my heart then. When the girl was talking, I got scared. I had already wiped my memories, but you had told me that I had followed you and fainted there. I was scared that someone might suspect you. So I got defensive."

"But you said that you were not a cut sleeve. That you would only be with a man if it were a life and death situation." Lan Zhan reminds the latter, feeling hurt, hopeless.

"Lan Zhan, please believe me." Wei Ying stops abruptly, "You were not affected much. And neither was I. None of us lost consciousness either. As far as I can tell, both of us were almost in full control of our actions, but only you had the headband. You said that you did not get affected because of the headband, then why wasn't I affected?"

Lan Zhan shrugs.

"How do you know that you were unaffected because of the headband?" Wei Ying enquires, and Lan Zhan contemplates for a moment, "The innkeeper told me."

"Oh. Did the man not tell you anything else?"

 Lan Zhan shakes his head, "That's all..." He starts but stops, "Wait, he also mentioned... " Lan Zhan trails off. 

 The inn keeper's words come back to him, 'Only two types of people would be partially affected: people with sacred objects on their person or those who are already in love.'

"Wei Ying, were you in love with Mianmian at that time?" The light bearer enquires, his eyes widen; the feeling of guilt intensifies tenfold.

"En?"

"Have you been in love with her all this time?" Lan Zhan continues with unshed tears in his eyes.

"Are you fucking crazy, Hanguang Jun! Who is Mianmian?" Wei Ying asks, shaking his head.

Lan Zhan remains silent and looks at the latter's chest, and a moment later, Wei Ying mutters, "Ah! That Mianmian." The Yiling patriarch sighs, "Lan Zhan, if I hadn't known that you were in love with me, I would have thought that you were in love with her. Think about it, have I ever mentioned her? Heck, I had to think about who you were talking about just now. Lan Zhan, why are you asking me this?"

"Then who were you in love with when we were young? Because the innkeeper said that only two types of people would be partially affected: people with sacred objects on their person or those who are already in love. Wei Ying, who were you in love with!?" Lan Zhan asks, feeling restless, 'He did not want to return to Gusu with me when he returned. He wanted to leave Gusu. Did he perhaps want to go back to her, the girl he was in love with?' Lan Zhan guesses. Tears roll down his cheeks, 'What have I done!?'

He is still lost in thought when he feels warm breath caress his cheek, "Hanguang Jun, look at me." Wei Ying whispers in his ear, "Look at me. Please."

*Physician's waiting room*

Zewu Jun pulls Jiang Cheng closer by the waist, just like the latter had, moments ago, and caresses his cheek, "Frown." He demands in a voice that is commanding yet gentle.

"Why, Zewu Jun?"

"I like it. It's childish yet- Will you frown for me, please?"

Jiang Cheng feels irritated all of a sudden, 'Shouldn't he be asking me to smile!?' He wonders, frowning.

In an instant, Zewu Jun's lips land on Jiang Cheng's, and the latter is not irritated anymore. The two men hold each other in a tight embrace, not knowing what more to do or how else to move forward.

They kiss like first-timers: shy and hesitant at first. But soon, the shyness ebbs away, and confidence replaces it. The two men become braver; their hands wander lower, both taking in the feel of well-toned muscles clothed by royal silks. When they finally break apart, their chests are heaving, and their lips, swollen. There is slight redness at the corner of Zewu Jun's eyes.

Their eyes meet and hold. None knows whether what they had done was the right thing to do, but the moment was theirs, and no one would be able to take that away from them. Each is trying to read the other's eyes, not willing or wanting to let go just yet.

"Zewu Jun, your eyes," Jiang Cheng wants to know why there is redness at the edge of the older's eyes, but before he can say more, there is a knock on the door, "Zewu Jun, your uncle has sent from you. He wants to see you right now at the council hall. Zewu Jun, are you there?"

The two men break apart and fix their clothing.

"Yes, I am here; I was resting. I will go and meet uncle right away; you may leave." Zewu Jun replies. Sighing, he closes his eyes and purses his lips.

"You look worried. Do you know why your uncle wants to see you?" The younger enquires.

"I am not sure, but I have some idea about what uncle might want to say." Zewu Jun looks at Jiang Cheng, "I will get the guest room ready for you. Please stay in cloud recesses for as long as you want." He pauses when Jiang Cheng's eyes narrow, "I will try to visit you tonight... I- want to know more. I still don't know if what I am feeling is love, but I know that I want to be with you." With that, XiChen leans in and kisses Jiang Cheng's forehead, "Wait for me, alright?" He requests, and tying the headband around his forehead, he walks out of the room, leaving a very flustered-looking Jiang Cheng alone to mull over what had just happened between them.

{Note :- That's it for this update.
The events referred to in the beginning of the update have happened in the previous two special arc chapters.

It's my goal to finish this book at the earliest so that I can give my full attention to my other ongoing stories. Thus, after I update Mine in the coming days, I will update TLB till it's done. I will update faster. So,  please bear with me.

Apart from my health troubles, some personal problems have come up which have left me dejected. I hope you understand and continue to support my stories.

Thank you for reading.
Have a nice day.}