Lan Xichen: "Sizhui, this is your father. Go on!"
Lan Wangji stood by the cold spring. Opposite him stood a little boy wearing the Gusu Lan Clan uniform, looking at him with joy on his face. It was none other than A-Yuan, now known as Lan Yuan, Lan Sizhui.
Lan Sizhui: "Father."
"Good boy, A-Yuan." Lan Wangji knelt down to hug the little boy, his eyes holding a gentleness that had not appeared there once in the past three years.
Releasing Lan Sizhui, Lan Wangji stood up and bowed to Lan Xichen. "Brother, I need to go down the mountain. I will pay my respects to Uncle upon my return."
Lan Xichen: "Wangji, where are you going?"
Lan Wangji: "The Nightless City cliff."
Lan Xichen: "Wangji, why must you be like this? Three years ago, all the cultivation sects searched down there. Young Master Wei is already dead."
At these words, Lan Wangji did not speak, but his expression grew even colder.
Lan Xichen: "Sigh, go then. I will speak with Uncle."
Cupping his hands in a salute, Lan Wangji left swiftly.
At the foot of the Nightless City cliff, Lan Wangji played Inquiry over and over again, receiving no response each time. His face was filled with anguish. "Wei Ying, where are you? Why won't you answer me?" The melody of his zither shifted, and the deep affection of "Wangxian" rang out.
After a long while, Lan Wangji rose, left Nightless City, and returned to the Cloud Recesses.
Ghost Realm -- Paradise Manor
Ever since coming out of Copper Furnace Mountain, Wei Wuxian had been living here, drinking day after day. Aside from when Hua Cheng and Xie Lian were around—when he would speak—he rarely uttered a word on ordinary days.
On this day, Hua Cheng and Xie Lian returned from the mortal realm once again. Before coming back, they had passed by Nightless City.
Hua Cheng: "Wei Wuxian, guess what we saw today when Brother and I passed by Nightless City?"
Wei Wuxian: "What could there be to see? Aside from dense resentful energy and a bunch of ghosts, could there possibly be a beauty?"
Hua Cheng: "You guessed right. There truly was a beauty—dressed all in white, extremely handsome, only a bit cold. He played the zither without stopping, and later on, he even cried."
Hearing this, Wei Wuxian's eyes flared brightly, and a familiar name slipped softly from his lips: "Lan Zhan."
Wei Wuxian looked at Hua Cheng and Xie Lian with burning intensity. "Hua Cheng, was he performing Inquiry? Did you hear what he asked?"
Hua Cheng: "Mn. He asked, 'Is Ying here? When will you return?'"
Hearing Hua Cheng's words, Wei Wuxian smiled.
Cloud Recesses
Pine Wind and Water Moon
Lan Wangji bowed. "Uncle."
Lan Qiren: "Wangji, Xichen told me that you want to register that child under your name. Are you certain?"
Lan Wangji: "Yes. I ask Uncle to grant this."
Lan Qiren: "Very well, let it be as you say."
Taking out the family registry, Lan Qiren turned to the page belonging to Lan Wangji and picked up his brush to write: Lan Yuan, courtesy name Sizhui. From that moment on, A-Yuan officially became a direct-line scion of the Gusu Lan Clan and the legitimate son of Lan Wangji in the eyes of the world.
Watching Lan Sizhui's name fall beneath his own, Lan Wangji thought to himself, *Wei Ying, I will raise A-Yuan well. When will you come back?*
Lan Xichen: "Wangji, why did you choose the name Sizhui?"
Lan Wangji: "To yearn for you is a pursuit without end; as I think of you, when will you return?"
Hearing Lan Wangji's words, both Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen let out a sigh.
Lan Wangji took Lan Sizhui back to the Jingshi. He personally taught him to write, taught him the sect rules, taught him the Gusu Lan Clan swordsmanship, taught him Inquiry, and taught him the String Assassination Technique. Over a dozen years passed, and Lan Sizhui grew to be the most outstanding among the younger generation of the Lan Clan, becoming a role model for the juniors of all the cultivation sects.
Over those dozen years, Lan Wangji would leave for a period of time every now and then. Whenever he heard of evil spirits anywhere, he would go there in person, asking for nothing in return. His fine reputation echoed throughout the entire cultivation world, and people called him "Hanguang-Jun."
Lan Xichen always smiled it off. He knew that his younger brother was merely searching for that person.