After the fight, because of Wen Ning’s brutally gruesome performance, a somewhat unfortunate nickname was given to him. That, however, would be a story for later. Although he was stabbed in the stomach by Jiang Cheng, Wei WuXian wasn’t concerned at all. He stuffed his intestines back into himself and like nothing ever happened, he even got Wen Ning to hunt down a few malign spirits as he bought a few large bags of potatoes.

When he returned to Burial Mound, Wen Qing bandaged his wound and scolded him as fiercely as possible, because it was radish seeds that she told him to buy.

"Now, we're back. That's good." said Jiang Cheng

"Bet it was only Wen-guniang who can scold him like that." said Nie Huaisang.

"That's because he doesn't listen." said Wen Qing.

"But, potatoes are more better than radishes. No offense to you, my little radish." said Wei Wuxian as he smiled at his son.

Wen Qing could only shoke her head.

After this, there came a number of ordinary days, when everyone lived in peace with one another. On Burial Mound, heading fifty-or-so of the Wen Sect’s cultivators, Wei WuXian planted vegetables, repaired houses, refined corpses, and made new tools. Every day when he was free, he played with the toddler Wen Yuan, son of Wen Qing’s cousin. He either let him hang on trees or buried him in the ground, fooling him that he’d grow faster if he was watered and bathed in sunlight. Then, he was scolded by Wen Qing again.

"How could you treat a kid like that?" asked Jin Zixuan.

"That's how you define fun. If you don't enjoy such play then your childhood us very boring." said Wei Wuxian.

A few months passed like this. Aside from how the world’s comments on Wei WuXian worsened even more, there was no progress.

Wei WuXian couldn’t go down the mountain often. Since he was the only one who suppressed all of the dark beings of Burial Mound, he couldn’t venture too far or too long. Yet he was born an active person who couldn’t stay in one place for an extended amount of time. He could only roam around the town time after time, his excuse being to purchase necessities. With how long Wen Yuan had been on the mountain for, Wei WuXian felt that they couldn’t lock a child in such a place to play with mud all the time, and so one day, when he was shopping down the mountain, he took him along as well.

"Does the people around Yiling doesn't recognize him?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"Maybe, since they don't even fear him every time he was there." said Jingyi.

"Something is going to happen, a memorable one." said Nie Huaisang.

"What could it be? asked Jin Zixuan.

"He's going to lose the child." Jiang Cheng chuckled.

Having been to the town so many times, Wei WuXian was already familiar with it. He found his way to the vegetable vendor. Suddenly, he grabbed one and bristled, “Your potato is sprouting!”

The vendor seemed to have encountered a great enemy, “What do you want?!”

Wei WuXian, “How about a bit cheaper?”

"Guess, you did for a lot of times already, making the vendors be wary if you." Jin Zixuan did.

"Hmmph, those vendors are selling the potatoes at such a hugh prize when it doesn't even look good." Wei Wuxian said.

"That's business, if they want to earn for a living then they have to raise a prize. Its hard to grow potatoes to begin with." said a female cultivator.

"He will earn more if he sell it on a low prize." said Wei Wuxian.

"Just buy if you want and if you don't then don't. But, the vendor should really lower the prize. The potato already sprouted." said Nie Huaisang.

In the beginning, Wen Yuan was still holding onto his leg. Wei WuXian walked back and forth, picking out potatoes and bargaining. Hanging on his leg, Wen Yuan felt tired just a while later. His short arms were sore, so he let go to rest for a bit. Yet, in just a few moments, the rush of the people on the streets made him reel left and right, losing his sense of direction. His line of sight was quite low. He walked here and there, but couldn’t find Wei WuXian’s long legs and black boots. Everything in front of his eyes were pants so grimey that they were the color of dirt. He grew more and more petrified. As he spun around dizzily, he bumped into someone’s leg.

The person wore a pair of white, immaculate boots and was walking slowly to begin with. Having been bumped into, he immediately stopped.

Wen Yuan looked up, jittering. First he saw a jade pendant hanging from the person’s waist, then a sash belt embroidered with patterns of drifting clouds, then neat lapels without a single fold in them, and finally a pair of eyes as light as stained glass, as cold as winter frost.

Face solemn, the stranger looked down at him. Wen Yuan suddenly felt scared.

"Oh, is that Lan Zhan?" Wei Wuxian asked.

"What is he doing there?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"Maybe because he wants to visit me that's why he is there." said Wei Wuxian.

"Wanna bet?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"About what?" asked Nie Huaisang.

"If the kid will cry or not." said Jiang Cheng.

"ChengCheng, we won't bet. See that smirk of yours? You'll clearly going to win besides, my Lan Zhan is good-looking enough for a-yuan to cry." said Wei Wuxian.

Jiang Cheng just scoffed.

On the other hand, Wei WuXian picked and chose for a long time before finally deciding not to buy these sprouted potatoes. He might be poisoned if he ate them, but the vendor still refused to lower the price, only giving him a contemptuous humph. Turning around, though, he realized that Wen Yuan was gone. He almost turned pale, searching for the toddler all along the streets. Suddenly, he heard the wails of a child, and he immediately rushed over. Somewhere not far away, a group of nosey passerbys gathered into a bustling circle, pointing at something and chattering among themselves. He shoved through the crowds, and his eyes lit up at once.

Lan WangJi, clothed in white and carrying Bichen on his back, stood frozen amid the crowd’s encirclement. He even seemed somewhat at a loss. When he took another look, Wei WuXian laughed so hard that he almost tripped over himself. A little kid sat collapsed before Lan WangJi’s feet, bawling his eyes out. Lan WangJi could neither stay nor leave, neither reach out nor talk to him. With a serious expression on his face, he seemed to be thinking about what to do.

The four laughed at Lan Wangji's expression.

"Mean." Lan Wangji muttered.

"How did he get to raise a child when he don't how to make the kid stop crying?" Jiang Cheng asked while laughing.

"Yeah, yeah, can you imagine him holding a child while stopping it from crying?" Nie Huaisang asked.

"Sizhui grew up well, didn't he?" asked Lan Wangji.

"It might be Lan Zhan's first time in that situation. Don't worry, I'll teach how to raise kids." said Wei Wuxian.

One of the passerbys spoke up, nibbling on melon seeds, “What’s happenin’ here? The young’un cried so hard it scared me to death.”

Someone commented assuredly, “He was definitely scolded by his dad.”

Hiding in the crowd as he heard the words ‘his dad’, Wei WuXian almost exploded with laughter. Lan WangJi immediately looked up, denying it, “I am not.”

The four laugh loudly again together with the juniors.

"Poor Wangji-xiong." Nie Huaisang laughed.

"Lan Zhan became a dad at such an early age." laughed Wei Wuxian.

"Well, it's true." Sizhui mumbled.

Wen Yuan didn’t know what the people were talking about. When children were scared, they always called out to those they were close to.

And so, sobbing, he called, “Dad! Dad…”

"Lan Wangji, pick your son up." said Jiang Cheng.

"Hanguang-jun, are you not scared that he might have difficulty on breathing because of how hard he cried?" asked MianMian.

"A-xian, you should really intervene now. Look, both son and dad are problematic." said Jiang Yanli.

"Wangji should learn how to handle kids." said Lan Xichen.

"Leave that to me, brother-in-law." Wei Wuxian grinned.

"Stop embarrassing him now, he would learn how to do it in the future." he said.

A passerby spoke up at once, “Listen! Told you he’s his dad!”

Some felt that they had good eyes, “Definitely his dad. Their noses look as if they’re carved out of the same mold. There’s no doubt!”

Some were sympathetic, “How poor. Look at how he’s crying. Was he scolded by his dad?”

"I will never scold a kid." Lan Wangji defended himself.

"He just cried himself, I didn't do anything." he added.

"Look at your face, what kind of kid will not cry after seeing that?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"As if you yourself aren't one." said Jin Zixuan.

"Did Lan Yuan cried the first time he saw me?" asked Jiang Cheng.

Some were confused, “What’s going on over there? Could you move? My carriage can’t go through.”

Some scolded, “He doesn’t even know to pick the child up and make him feel better! So he’s just letting his son cry on the ground? What a dad!”

Some showed their understanding, “Look at how young he is. First time being a dad, huh? Back then I was like this too. I didn’t know anything. He’ll get it after his wife bears him a few more. We all had to take our time…”

"Yeah, his wife will bear him a few more." laughed Nie Huaisang making Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian blushed a dark shade of red.

"Do you have siblings, Lan Sizhui?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"No, I don't. Soulmates who are both men are only blessed with one child unless it will be twins." Sizhui answered.

"Wei Wuxian can adopt more." Jin Zixuan laughed.

"Adoption will do if he can't bear a child anymore." said Jiang Cheng.

Some tried to comfort the child, “Good boy, don’t cry. Where’s your mom?”

“Yeah, where’s the mom? The dad doesn’t do anything, so where’s his mom?”

Amid the flooding noise, Lan WangJi’s expression grew stranger and stranger.

"The mom is laughing at the side." said Jiang Yanli.

"Enjoying the misery of his husband." MianMian added.

Wei Wuxian pouted at them.

How unfortunate that he’d been a chosen one ever since he was born. Everything he did was more righteous than righteous, more exemplar than exemplar. He’d never been put in a situation where everyone was pointing at him. Wei WuXian had already laughed to his death, but as he saw how Wen Yuan was crying so hard that he was almost choking, he could only step out.

Pretending that he only just saw the two, he spoke in a surprised tone, “Huh? Lan Zhan?”

"Poor child." said Nie Huaisang.

"So this is where the two of them meet again where Wei-xiong treated Wangji-xiong for lunch?" he asked.

"Mn." Sizhui answered.

"We're going to watch them having a date with their little one." said Nie Huaisang.

Lan WangJi looked up with force. The two’s eyes met with each other’s. Wei WuXian himself didn’t know why either, but he averted his gaze quickly. Hearing his voice, though, Wen Yuan got up at once. Dragging two long, flowing trails of tears behind him, he hung onto Wei Wuxian’s leg again.

The crowd went on, “Who is this? Where’s the mom? Just where on Earth is the mom? Which one is the dad anyways?”

Wei WuXian waved his hand, “It’s over, it’s over.”

"A-xian is the mom." Jiang Yanli teased.

"You should not let him out of your sight again." said MianMian.

"Yeah, if something bad happened to my nephew, you're the only one to be blamed." said Wen Qing.

"Not my fault. It was a-yuan who let go of my leg." Wei Wuxian defended himself.

Seeing that their fun had ended, the passerbys finally scattered slowly. Wei WuXian turned around and smiled, “What a coincidence. Lan Zhan, why are you at Yiling?”

Lan WangJi, “A night-hunt. I passed by.”

"You could lie more better than that." Jiang Cheng said.

"What do you mean?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"Is it really just a coincidence that he was night-hunting in Yiling where we all know that Burial Mounds is in Yiling?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"He might be expecting to see you." Nie Huaisang added.

"Really?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"Mn, a-die wants to see you so he was there, hoping to meet you." said Sizhui.

"He could just simply visit me in Burial Mounds." said Wei Wuxian.

"That's impossible. People will talk." said Jin Ling.

"Well, f*ck them." Wei Wuxian cursed as Lan Wangji hugged him.

Hearing that his voice was no different from before, without any sense of hatred or enmity, Wei WuXian finally felt a part of him relax. He suddenly heard Lan WangJi speak up, “… The child?”

Wei WuXian’s mouth moved on its own as soon as his heart was settled, lying, “Mine.”

Wei Wuxian laughed.

"Guess, that will make Lan Wangji think that if it was his or not." laughed Jiang Cheng.

Others agreed with him, knowing how the great Hanguang-jun gets jealous easily when it comes to his lover.

Lan WangJi’s brows twitched. Wei WuXian laughed, “Of course I’m joking. He’s someone else’s. I took him out to play. What did you do? How come you made him cry?”

Lan WangJi’s voice was indifferent, “I did not do anything.”

Wen Yuan hugged Wei WuXian’s leg. He was still sobbing. Wei WuXian understood. Although Lan WangJi’s face looked pretty, such a young child was still unable to tell the beautiful from the not. He could only tell that this person wasn’t friendly at all. In fact, he was cold and seemed to be quite strict. Frightened by the bitter expression, it was only natural that he felt scared. Wei WuXian picked Wen Yuan up and played with him for a while, turning him over and over, and said a few comforting words.

"Even if you didn't do anything, he still did cry because of you." Jiang Cheng said.

Lan Wangji glared at him.

"Lam Zhan, you should change your expression when it comes to kids." said Wei Wuxian.

"Will try." said Lan Wangji.

Wei Wuxian kissed his cheeks.

Suddenly, he saw that a street vendor was still laughing as he looked at them, so he pointed at the colorful things in the baskets that he carried on two ends of a pole, asking, “A-Yuan, look over here. Aren’t they pretty?”

Wen Yuan’s focus was shifted. He sniffed, “… Yeah.”

Wei WuXian, “Don’t they smell nice?”

Wen Yuan, “Yeah.”

The vendor quickly added, “Looks pretty and smells nice—Young Master, buy one, won’t you?”

Wei WuXian, “Do you want one?”

Wen Yuan thought that he was going to buy one for him. He spoke embarrassedly, “Yeah.”

Yet, Wei WuXian walked in the opposite direction, “Haha, let’s go.”

"What the f*ck?!" Jiang Cheng cursed while Wei Wuxian was laughing so loud.

"You can't ask him that if you won't buy him one." he said.

"I was asking, it doesn't mean I have to buy it for him." Wei Wuxian laughed.

"Buy, he's a kid, Wei-xiong. You'll just make him cry since he thought you'll buy him one." said Nie Huaisang.

"Do I have to?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"Of course. Do you want to see the kid cry again?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"Money is tight, mom can't buy toys for now." said Wei Wuxian.

"The dad is there, ask him." said Jin Zixuan making Wei Wuxian blush.

Wen Yuan seemed to be shocked. Tears filled his eyes again. Having been watching the scene unfold, Lan WangJi finally couldn’t bear it any longer, “Why did you not buy one for him?”

Wei WuXian mused, “Why should I buy one for him?”

Lan WangJi, “You asked him whether he wanted one or not. Did it not mean that you would buy one for him?”

Wei WuXian answered purposely, “Asking and buying are two different things—why should I have to buy it for him if I asked?”

"Because you asked him." said Jin Ling.

"Even Hanguang-jun was flabbergasted." MianMian chuckled.

"Don't worry, if Wuxian can't buy it for him then Wangji will be the one to do it." said Lan Xichen.

"Yeah, Lan Zhan seemed to like spoiling kids." Wei Wuxian grinned.

With such a rhetorical question, Lan WangJi was surprisingly at a lost for words. He glared at him for a long while before he turned to Wen Yuan. Due to his stare, Wen Yuan started shaking again.

A moment later, Lan WangJi asked Wen Yuan, “Which one… do you want?”

Wen Yuan hadn’t understood what was going on yet. Lan WangJi pointed at the things in the vendor’s baskets, “Of the things here, which one do you want?”

Wen Yuan stared at him in terror. He didn’t even dare let out a single breath.

"Is he that scared of him?" Wei Wuxian laughed.

"Yes, he is. The first time I saw Lan-shushu, I hid behind a-die." said Jingyi.

"Lan Zhan, be kind to kids or else we will not be able to adopt one." said Wei Wuxian.

"As if he can stop you if you want to adopt one." said Jiang Cheng.

An hour later, Wen Yuan finally stopped crying. He kept on feeling his pockets, stuffed full of the playthings that Lan WangJi bought for him. Seeing that his tears finally stopped, Lan WangJi seemed to be relieved. Yet, with a blushing face, Wen Yuan snuck over quietly and wrapped his arms around his leg.

Looking down, Lan WangJi saw the extra object on his leg, “…”

Wei WuXian laughed madly, “Hahahahaha! Lan Zhan, congratulations! He’s taken a liking to you! He hugs the leg of whoever he likes, and he never lets go.”

Lan WangJi walked a few steps forward. As Wei WuXian said, Wen Yuan clung onto his leg steadily, not at all intending to let go. The hug was quite tight as well.

"Where is this kid now?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"In Yunmeng." Jingyi answered.

"He's my gege. A-niang adopted him before the siege, I guess." he added.

"Oh, I thought Lan Zhan is the one who raised him." said Wei Wuxian.

"No, Lan-shushu raised Sizhui not gege. But, gege called him a-die though. He didn't lose his memories about this." said Jingyi.

"What about me? What does he called me?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"He called you Xian-gege or sometimes a-niang." said Sizhui.

"But, who did he really considered as his mother?" asked Wen Qing.

"A-niang since a-niang is the one who adopted him." said Jingyi.

"We were even planning to raise the Wen Sect again and make him lead it together with Wen-qianbe." he added.

"No one opposed?" Wen Rouhan asked.

"Who would dare opposed to the decision of the Yiling Patriarch and Sandu Shengshou when the of them could clearly dominate the world together with Nie-jiujiu?" asked Jingyi.

"No one dares especially when the Lan Sect supported it." said Jin Ling.

"That's great." Wen Rouhan smiled.

Wei WuXian patted his shoulder, “In my opinion, you can save your night-hunting for later. How about we get some food first?”

Lan WangJi looked up at him, his tone unwavering, “Get some food?”

Wei WuXian, “Yeah, get some food. Don’t be so cold, will you? You finally came to Yiling for once and I happened to run into you. Let’s reminisce the past together. Come, it’s my treat.”

"Guess, he have been to Yiling for a lot of times just to meet Wei Wuxian." said Jiang Cheng.

"That's possible." said Lan Xichen.

"The effort my son made just to meet my son-in-law."