"Wanyin, don't talk while eating." Lan XiChen orders in a tone the exudes confidence and refinement. It makes the younger wonder what was cooking in the latter's mind.

"Is the food to your liking?" XiChen enquires as soon as Jiang Cheng tastes the dishes that don't look like anything he remembers eating when he was a student here all those years ago.

There is something unreadable in Zewu Jun's eyes that Jiang Cheng has never seen before. It makes him feel out of his element. He looks at the closed door and back at the man in front of him. 'Don't talk while eating.' The words come back to him, and he nods, making the latter smile.

The two men finish their meal in silence, and XiChen removes the trays gesturing the younger man to sit in front of him. 

Lan XiChen pours the tea in the bowls in complete concentration, Jiang Cheng continues to feel anxious. 

 Finally, Lan XiChen speaks. His voice calm and steady, "Wanyin, is the charm still in place?"

"Yes." As soon as the words are out of Jiang Cheng's mouth, XiChen pulls him towards himself and captures his mouth. The younger man gasps, giving the Lan clan leader a chance to lick into his mouth.

The shock wares off soon enough, and Jiang Cheng gets onboard. The kiss, just like the others before, is less than perfect, but it lacks urgency. They kiss for what feels like ages; till both run out of breath.

"Wanyin, I like you." Older Jade confesses. He pulls Jiang Cheng into his lap and leaves a trail of kisses from his jaw to the collar of his robes. Jiang Cheng remains silent. He had not expected Zewu Jun to accept him, let alone make the first move.

"I want you." He continues embracing the younger man, kissing his neck, stroking his back.

"Me too." Jiang Cheng finally voices returning the embrace, "But it's not easy for us to have this." He adds; XiChen nods, "I am afraid that is the truth." XiChen's arm drop to his sides, and he leans away, cupping the latter's face, "That's not the only thing." He hesitates, "I don't know if I will be any good at it... I have never been with anyone." His face colors. "But I don't want to let you go either."

"What are you trying to say, Zewu Jun?"

"Honestly, I don't know. Before I saw you at the mess, I had decided that I will deny myself this," Lan XiChen's hand moves to his heart, "The way I have been feeling, since we...kissed." He pauses and closes his eyes, sighing, "But as soon as I saw you, I...I realized that I wanted to be selfish just this once." He takes a deep breath, "I don't know what the future holds, but right now, I have decided that I want to be...Mh! His last words get drowned as Jiang Cheng crushes their lips together. Unprepared, Zewu Jun loses balance; his back hits the ground. 

 He pulls Jiang Cheng with him. Jiang Cheng mirror's the things Zewu Jun had done just moments ago, making the latter squirm under him.

Zewu Jun's hands wander over to the younger clan leader's hips, and he reverses their position, unexpectedly pinning Jiang Cheng's hands over his head. Their chest heave as they stare at the other's spit slicked lips, "Wanyin, frown for me." Zewu Jun orders, pulling at the belts holding Jiang Cheng's upper garments.

 Heart pounding with anticipation, the Jiang clan leader enquires, "Why?"

"I love it when you frown. I like the way your eyes narrow and blaze. It's beautiful."

Jiang Cheng blinks, dumbfounded, but before he can say more, the older pushes his outer robes to a side; his long slender fingers gently caress the latter's neck and collar bone, "Please," He urges, and Jiang Cheng finds it impossible to refuse. He frowns, and a moment after that, finds himself rid of his top garments entirely.

XiChen was surprisingly good for a man who didn't know anything about love and who hadn't been with anyone; For, the older Jade did manage to both excite and take care of Jiang Cheng as his heart and mind guided his hands and mouth. And just like his younger brother XiChen was a fast learner. Soon, he had learned all the ways to make Jiang Cheng moan and squirm under him.

*Lan XiChen's Jingshin*

After the physician leaves, Lan Zhan redresses Wei Ying's wounds after applying the herbs the physician had brought over that morning. After which, he urges the latter to sleep while he meditates as the physician had suggested.

A few hours later, Lan Zhan hears a knock on the door and opens it to reveal Yun. 

 "Hanguang Jun, Elder Bao has said that the medicine must have taken effect by now. You can proceed with the next step."

After Yun leaves, Lan Zhan transfers his spiritual energy to Wei Ying, who opens his eyes, "Lan Zhan, I am fine. I don't need it."

Lan Zhan ignores him and continues to transfer his energy into his husband, "Silence." He states emotionlessly, making Wei Ying pout, "Lan Zhan, how rude! Just wait. When I am well, I will not let you touch me. I will not let you- Mph!

 Lan Zhan captures Wei Ying's lips with his own and sucks on his bottom lip, giving it a nip before letting go. "Stop. Pouting. Or else once you are all better, I will go into seclusion to work on my cultivation."

"Hehe! Lan Zhan, we are cultivation partners, remember? I will follow you and bug you till- " Wei Ying shuts up. His face colors as he realizes what he is about to say will undermine what he had just said about not letting Lan Zhan touch him. He frowns, "Hanguang Jun, this is not fair. I am injured, and you are still teasing me!"

Lan Zhan smirks, "Mn." He nods and gently picks Wei Ying up and takes him to the waiting carriage. After laying him down comfortably, the light bearer drives them to his mother's chamber.

Arriving there, Wei Ying finds that XiChen has arranged for everything that they might need to live comfortably without any inconveniences.

Wei Ying looks around the room, impressed, "Zewu Jun has thought about everything, hasn't he?"

"Mn."

"Lan Zhan, do you think Zewu Jun will accept Jiang Cheng?"

"I think he already has," Lan Zhan replies.

"What!?..Ah!" Wei Ying winces, trying to get comfortable on the bed; Lan Zhan rushes to his side, "For the next few days, I want you to relax. Let me take care of you. I will tell you everything in time." He pauses and strokes his cheek, "The trip must have tired you. Sleep."

"No. I am not sleepy." Wei Ying cribs.

"Then what do you want to do?"

"Lan Zhan, play the song that you composed for me." Wei Ying says, batting his long lashes and smiling sweetly.

Lan Zhan shakes his head, "Sleep." He commands and closes his eyes. "I need to meditate."

"Lan Zhan, Elder Bao is cruel. I am sure he asked you to meditate to keep you away from me! Lan Zhaaaan!" Wei Ying calls, but the latter ignores him, "This brings back memories. It feels like the time I spent here as a student. Remember how you used to ignore me? Even though I tried my best to befriend you..." The Yiling patriarch starts reminiscing about the times he had spent in the place all those years ago. Lan Zhan keeps his eyes closed. Eventually, after trying his best to engage Lan Zhan in conversation, the younger man falls silent, and a moment after that, he falls asleep.

That is when the light bearer opens his eyes and smiles, "I could never ignore you, Wei Ya, not then, not now." He speaks softly, and walking over to his side, kisses his cheek before returning to meditate.

As days go by, word spreads through the lands on how the cultivation partners, Yiling patriarch and Hanguang Jun, had stopped the evil Meng Yao from taking over all the sects. People became aware of how the Grandmaster had used demonic cultivation for good. They were shocked to learn how Meng Yao had fooled the noble clans into condemning an innocent man. 

Of course, Nie clan Leader, who usually knew nothing, did his best to make sure that everyone knew how brave and self-sacrificing his school friend Wei WuXian had always been. He wrote and circulated poems praising the Yiling patriarch and Hanguang Jun's heroic adventures over the years, now that he had exacted his revenge on Meng Yao and had time on his hands.

The Nie clan leader had always known on some level how Lan Wangji and Wei Ying had felt for each other, but he had omitted any mention of that in his poems, for he too knew that the cultivation world was not ready to accept their relationship yet.

Soon, everyone had started talking about how they always knew master Wei Ying to be a nice young man and started blaming everything on the evil manipulator Meng Yao. 

 Meanwhile, Su She was interrogated and had spilled the beans. The people who had help Meng Yao conspire against all the clans were brought to justice.

Even after having spent much time behind closed doors, Lan XiChen and Jiang Cheng had remained undecided about how they would work it out after the reason for Jiang Cheng's stay becomes invalid. They had, however, decided that after what they had gone through, they deserved happiness.

Things with Wei Ying's recovery had not gone according to plan. For the day after Wei Ying and Lan Zhan had moved to the latter's mother's jingshin, the old physician was asked to visit the it past midnight.

On arriving there, the old physician had found Wei Ying's face devoid of color and his abdomen drenched in blood. So profound was the bleeding that the blood had seeped into the sheets and the mattress.

"What happened!?" The Elder had demanded, but none had answered them. The old man had given up on it and done what he had come to do and announced sarcastically, "Congratulations, you just added two more days to the recovery period."

Luckily, after the incident, things had gone smoothly. After eight days, Elder Bao had examined Wei Ying and announced that his body had healed; he had once again warned the young man to refrain from all kinds of physical exertions, much to his chagrin.

The biggest miracle was how Lan Zhan had kept his distance from Wei Ying, who had redoubled his efforts at flirting with his husband. The light bearer had started visiting the cold springs every chance he got. For, even after decades of trying, hoping for cold water of the spring to take care of the difficult situation he found himself in more often than not due to Wei Ying, Lan Zhan had not given up hope. 

Nothing helped, though.

The next stage required Wei Ying to visit the cold springs every day to get rid of the still lingering resentful energy. The Yiling patriarch hated it, but cooperated, for he loved the part that came after every visit.

{Note :- That's it for today's update. Please take a look at my message board if you are not following me or if you have questions about my story updates.

Can you guess what came after the cold spring visit?

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