Part 5.

Weiying was aware that his punishment won't be easy, but this hard and cruel they will be with him was something unexpected for him, yet he consol that it's okay, he's been alive on the streets alone.

Thought he's a very cheerful person outside but deep down he was always broken, but he's a kind of person who always lived on hope, he always used to hope for acceptance by Madam Yu, he always hopes that someday Jiang Cheng will understand that he's not someone who he should be jealous of though Weiying knows that Jiang Cheng love's him, he's just hard in expressing his brotherhood.

Yet, he always hopes for softness and respect, which he never gets from anyone except Jiang Yanli, his only sister who understands him, love him, and cook her delicious soup for him, always pat her head when he's sad, always console him and smile at him.

She's not someone Weiying thinks of only as an elder sister but as a mother'ly figure too. The way she calls him, never treated him differently, never judged him cos of his body or origin. And this is something he finally can do for her, to save her...

He stayed silent and accepted his punishment, there's no more medical supplies will be there to treat his wounds any further, he needs to heal on his own, his wounds won't be infected and that's they make sure, but he will stay in pain and tolerate it for long till they heal.

But the wounds on his body isn't a much problem cos that can be healed after all, but the wounds of his soul can't be healed anymore, cos his Shijia Yanli is not here to heal them...

...

Time passes, it's been a month passed in seclusion weiying absolutely had no idea what's going on in the outside world, he's just too unbothered to know about the people who disowned him, he doesn't care anymore, but the only person he's still worried about is his Shijia.

And deep inside Lan Wangji is an another person he's bothering about, he's just curious about him, he's not sure about this at first why he's bothered by him in the first place, but later discovered more appropriate words for his feelings, he's in love with Lan Wangji, his husband or maybe not by heart, it's just one sided, but was it really one sided maybe or maybe not.

Wangji wasn't very different, he keeps on thinking about weiying for a long time, but later he engaged himself in sect work that he's not getting enough time to bother about these things, but that doesn't count as he's not thinking about weiying, he does but he uses work just as a shield to withdraw his thoughts.

Time passes with the same speed or maybe much slower for weiying and faster for Wangji, Weiying thought were filled with Wangji's face but encrypted by loneliness, while Wangji thought, he's not letting his mind to think much keeping himself busy with the work.

With limited supply of food and Water Weiying is struggling too much, sometimes he suffers too much while he keeps looking at the door for a glass of water, whole day his throat remained dried and body screaming for water having no strength to continue working, feeling dizzy and helpless.

The nights aren't very pleasant for him nightmares lead to attacks, his face was sweaty, pillow dripping with sweat and tears, breath uneven heartbeat faster, and ears ringing, but doesn't even have anyone or anything to calm him down, just curl up his body and hug his legs, not even having a drop of water to quench his trust and cool him down, eating a very small portion of tasteless food served to him makes him lose a weight.

Lose more than 28 pounds in 3 months, his body becomes very weak and fragile.

Weiying was acutely aware that his punishment would be difficult, but the severity and cruelty of it were unexpected. He had learned to survive on the streets alone, so he consoled himself with the thought that he could endure this too. Outwardly cheerful, he was broken inside, always living on hope—hope for acceptance from Madam Yu, hope that Jiang Cheng would understand he wasn't someone to be jealous of. Deep down, he knew Jiang Cheng loved him; it was just hard for him to express that brotherly affection.

The only person who truly understood him was Jiang Yanli. She treated him with kindness, cooking delicious soups and comforting him when he was sad. To Weiying, she was more than a sister; she was a motherly figure who never judged him for his origins or body. Now, he felt a deep sense of responsibility to save her.

Accepting his punishment in silence, Weiying realized there would be no more medical supplies for his wounds. He would have to heal on his own—his wounds would not become infected, but the pain would linger. While the physical wounds could eventually heal, the wounds of his soul felt irreparable without Yanli by his side.

As time passed in seclusion, Weiying lost track of the outside world. He no longer cared about those who had disowned him; his only concern was for Yanli. Yet, another name lingered in his thoughts—Lan Wangji. At first, he couldn't understand why Wangji occupied his mind so much, but eventually, he recognized it as something deeper: he was in love with Lan Wangji. It might have been one-sided, but perhaps it wasn't entirely.

Meanwhile, Wangji struggled with his own feelings for Weiying. Though he tried to bury himself in sect work to keep those thoughts at bay, they still crept into his mind. Time seemed to move differently for them; while Weiying's days dragged on in loneliness and despair, Wangji's passed quickly as he immersed himself in responsibilities.

Weiying faced severe challenges in seclusion. With limited food and water, he often found himself dizzy and weak from hunger and thirst. The nights were particularly tormenting—nightmares plagued him, leaving him drenched in sweat and tears as he curled up alone in the dark. He had no one to comfort him or quench his thirst, and the tasteless food barely sustained him.

In three months, he lost over 28 pounds; his body grew frail and fragile under the harsh conditions. Yet despite everything, thoughts of Lan Wangji filled his mind—his face became a beacon of warmth amid the loneliness.

As for Wangji, he remained busy with sect duties but often found himself drifting back to thoughts of Weiying during quiet moments. He wished desperately for a way to reach out and help him but felt trapped by clan traditions and expectations.

Both men were caught in a web of unspoken emotions and unresolved feelings—one longing for connection while the other grappled with helplessness. The distance between them felt insurmountable, yet their hearts remained intertwined through shared pain and hope for understanding.

With the time passes, his condition is becoming even worse, his weight is only 90 pounds (42 kg approx) once which was used to be 145 pounds (64 kg approx).

And it's been more than 5 months in his seclusion, he's in depression, now he even stopped bothering about food and water, he is not bothered about anything, passing out on the floor is something happens to him so often. He gained his consciousness itself back after so many hours without remembering where he was, what he was doing, having no strength, he wakes up and lean his body to bed for support to stand up, and passing out again on the bed, his body is very weak, but there's no one to take care of him now.

One day, Lan Wangji decide to visit him as his brother forced him to go and talk with him, he obeyed his brother and went to Weiying seclusion to talk to him.

Entering there, he saw weiying sleeping on the bed, so first he decided to leave but after thinking for a movement, he call him, 'Wei Wuxian'

No response...

'Weiying, Wei Wuxian, there's something I need to talk with you.'

No response... So Wangji went near him and shake him a little.

'Wake up, we need to talk, I wanna have some words with you' Wangji said.

Still no response...

This time Wangji shakes him little harder, but still no response, he's worried now.

'Hey! You listening!? Wei Wuxian! Weiying! Wake up! Hey, Wake up!'

He grabbed his hand and check his pulse he was scared now. He taps his face and wiggle him up, looks here and there for something, but nothing he can find, he's getting frightened now, his heart is beating very fast, he keeps on shaking him, and finally Weiying opened his eyes.

With his vision blurred, he tried to look here and there, he can't focus, he feels the presence of someone near him, 'Weiying, Wei Wuxian, you alright!? What happened!?

Weiying tried to focus on this person's voice, Lan Wangji he thought, he look at him and smile, 'Wangji' he said in low and rough voice cos his throat is very dried and he doesn't have any robustness, still he attempted to push his body up, putting weight on his elbow, he endeavoured to sit up, Wangji noticed and helped him to sit. Weiying smiled at him.

'Hanguang-Jun' Wangji heart aches when Weiying called him by his title name.

'Call me Wangji' he said.

'What's wrong with you? Are you alright, I found you unconscious here, do you want to go to healers you look very pale' Wangji said while observing Weiying face.

Weiying face was looking like a corpse, with dark circles under his eyes, hollow cheeks, lifeless eyes, with no emotions but a little shine in it, for what Wangji doesn't understand, he had no idea what makes Weiying eyes shine like that, in this condition.

Where Weiying eyes are shining with the happiness to see his love Wangji sitting beside him, it's been long since Weiying saw him, and Wangji is worried about him giving butterflies in his stomach.

'I'm okay, it's common, don't worry, you're here, do they wanna make some changes in my punishment?' Weiying asked with a low voice, he's struggling to speak and Wangji can sense that.

Common!? Wangji thought, does this happened before too? How much he's even suffering?

'How often does this happen? It's not something not to be bothered about you need to go to healers, we're going to them come with me.' He said.

'It's fine, um Wangji don't trouble yourself ' Weiying said.

'No trouble! It's something important can't be ignored, let's go to a healer' Wangji said and picked Weiying from the bed in bridal style, Weight tried to resist, but deep down he's liking it, he finally has a small smile plastered on his lips, which Wangji failed to notice.

Weiying's condition had deteriorated significantly over the past five months of seclusion. Once weighing 145 pounds (64 kg), he now weighed only 90 pounds (42 kg). Depression had settled in deeply, and he had stopped caring about food and water, often passing out on the floor for hours without any recollection of where he was or what he was doing. Each time he regained consciousness, he leaned against the bed for support, only to collapse back onto it, his body frail and weak, with no one to care for him.

One day, Lan Wangji decided to visit Weiying after his brother insisted he check on him. Reluctantly, Wangji made his way to Weiying's secluded quarters. Upon entering, he found Weiying sleeping on the bed and initially considered leaving quietly. However, after a moment's thought, he called out softly, "Wei Wuxian."

No response.

"Weiying! Wei Wuxian! There's something I need to talk with you about." Still no answer. Growing concerned, Wangji approached and gently shook him.

"Wake up! We need to talk!" he urged.

When Weiying remained unresponsive, Wangji shook him harder. Panic began to rise within him. "Hey! You listening!? Wei Wuxian! Wake up!"

He grabbed Weiying's hand to check his pulse, fear gripping him as he tapped his face and tried to rouse him. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Weiying's eyes fluttered open.

His vision was blurred as he struggled to focus. "Wangji," he whispered hoarsely, a faint smile breaking through his parched lips despite his condition.

"Are you alright? What happened?" Wangji asked frantically, observing the pallor of Weiying's face.

Weiying looked like a ghost—dark circles under his eyes, hollow cheeks, and lifeless yet somehow shining eyes that puzzled Wangji. That glimmer was a reflection of joy at seeing Wangji again, even in such a dire state.

"I'm okay; it's common," Weiying replied softly. "Don't worry. You're here. Are they changing my punishment?"

"Common?" Wangji echoed incredulously. "How often does this happen? You need to see a healer; we're going."

"It's fine. Um, Wangji, don't trouble yourself," Weiying protested weakly.

"No trouble! This is important; it can't be ignored." Without waiting for further protest, Wangji lifted Weiying from the bed in a bridal carry. Weiying tried to resist but couldn't help the small smile that crept onto his lips—something Wangji failed to notice amidst his worry.

As they moved toward the healer's pavilion, Wangji felt a mix of relief and dread. He was determined to ensure Weiying received the care he desperately needed while grappling with the overwhelming emotions that came with seeing him in such a fragile state.