Everyone in Mo Family Village was dead; now, only members of the Lan Clan remained standing there. Wei Wuxian took off his mask and looked up at the figure on the roof: dressed in white robes patterned with scrolling cloud motifs, with a forehead ribbon bound across his brow and hidden in his hair, possessing handsome features and pale, glazed eyes filled with pristine detachment.
As he watched, Wei Wuxian smiled. Then, a smiling, melodic voice drifted down into everyone's ears, causing a look of joy to flicker across the icy visage on the roof—a sight that left everyone dumbfounded.
"Still a little Gusu Gown-wearing stick-in-the-mud," Wei Wuxian said.
"You lunatic, what are you saying?!" Lan Jingyi blurted out.
On the roof, hearing Wei Wuxian's voice, Lan Wangji looked down. The familiar face came into view, and he swiftly leapt down from the roof, gathering Wei Wuxian into his embrace.
"Wei Ying," Lan Wangji murmured.
A single tear slid down Lan Wangji's cheek and slipped into the crook of Wei Wuxian's neck. The damp sensation made Wei Wuxian's heart ache fiercely. He raised his arms to hug Lan Wangji back and softly said, "Lan Zhan, don't cry. I'm back."
The surrounding Lan disciples were already stunned dumb by this scene, standing there blankly, looking at one another in utter bewilderment.
"Sizhui, who is this person? Did I see that right? Hanguang-Jun is hugging him?" Lan Jingyi whispered.
"I don't know either, but I feel a great sense of affinity with him, as if I've met him before," Lan Sizhui replied.
Lan Sizhui did not remember anything from before he was three years old, but the very first time he laid eyes on Wei Wuxian, he had felt a sense of profound familiarity and warmth.
Lan Wangji held Wei Wuxian for a very, very long time—so long that Wei Wuxian began to feel somewhat embarrassed. Giving a slight cough, Wei Wuxian patted Lan Wangji on the back and said, "Lan Zhan, there are still people here. If you keep holding me like this, your Lan disciples are going to lose their minds."
Hearing this, Lan Wangji finally remembered that they were not alone. The tips of his ears slowly flushed with a hint of red. Releasing Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji recovered his customary icy composure, except that in his eyes there remained a tenderness and deep affection that even the night could not conceal.
"Lan Zhan, long time no see," Wei Wuxian said.
Lan Wangji's eyes had never left Wei Wuxian. Hearing him say "long time no see," Lan Wangji's expression suddenly turned somewhat aggrieved, his voice laden with sorrow. "Wei Ying, it has been sixteen years. I searched for you for thirteen, but you never answered my call, nor would you let me see you."
Wei Wuxian understood Lan Wangji's heartache; some things could only be told to him slowly in the future. Changing the subject, Wei Wuxian said, "Lan Zhan, won't you let me see A-Yuan?"
Lan Wangji turned and looked at Lan Sizhui. "A-Yuan, come here. Pay respects to your father."
The word "father" once again shocked the Lan disciples, and took Wei Wuxian aback as well.
"Lan Zhan, call me what?" Wei Wuxian asked.
Lan Wangji nodded resolutely. "Mn. He is our son. He calls me father, so naturally he calls you father as well."
Looking at the stubborn Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian smiled and raised a hand to beckon Lan Sizhui over. "Very well. A-Yuan, come here and let your father have a look at you."
Lan Sizhui looked at Wei Wuxian, then at Lan Wangji, his face a mask of confusion.
"A-Yuan, go ahead. Don't be afraid," Lan Wangji encouraged him. "You haven't seen him in sixteen years, so you might not remember him, but he is truly your father, and he has missed you very much."
Uncertain, Lan Sizhui walked over to Wei Wuxian and bowed. "Father."
Catching the child he had often carried around when he was little in a warm embrace, Wei Wuxian was overjoyed. "Good boy, A-Yuan."
Lan Sizhui felt that Wei Wuxian was immensely approachable, and seeing how affectionate he was, plucked up the courage to ask, "Father, where did you go all these years? Why didn't you come back to see me and Father?"
Wei Wuxian stroked the top of Lan Sizhui's head. "Matters were far too complicated. I will tell you when there is a chance in the future."
"Hanguang-Jun, this is...?" Lan Jingyi asked.
"You may address him as Senior Wei," Lan Wangji instructed.
"Senior Wei," the gathering Lan disciples chorused, bowing in salutation.