"It burned. Everything burned. Children died. There were twenty-nine disciples left alive. Brother, you barely escaped; Uncle was badly injured."

He stares at the Yin Iron. "I was not there when the attack began. I saved too few."

He closes his eyes. "We have an advantage, now. More will be saved."

He should ask who survived, and who didn't. He should want to know. Perhaps he should want to know who he saves whom he didn't save last time, who he fails whom he didn't fail last time. 

He doesn't ask. Instead, "Were you hurt, Wangji?"

"I gave myself up so they would not slaughter the rest. They took me to Qishan."

That sounds like he was hurt. But Wangji doesn't want to tell him and Xichen doesn't want to ask again. He will simply have to prevent all of this.

He takes some time to process. Plays a mourning melody on his xiao.

Once his mind is sufficiently clear and calmed enough to be practical, he bids Wangji to continue. There must be more information of strategic import that Wangji should impart to him right away? His brother will know this better than Xichen knows what to ask.

There are many important things.

In the future-past, Master Lan Yi gave him the task of gathering all the Yin Iron fragments and sealing them away safely. He has already sworn to the current Master Lan Yi that this would be his goal.

Wen Ruohan's one shard of Yin Iron is already enough for him to snatch people's spirits away, turning them into puppets, and enough for him to raise the dead. Wen Ruohan was able to seal some of the Yin Iron's power inside a dire owl.

The dire owl served as a spy for Wen Chao. He could also use the bird to turn people into puppets, even without the actual Yin Iron nearby.

The only other piece with an established location is in the home of the Lady Florist, outside of Tanzhou. Wangji has the date for that, but it's likely that Wen Chao only discovered it after tailing Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian.

More information about the massacre of the Yueyang Chang Sect, more information about Xue Yang. Information on Xue Yang is considerably limited.

The Wen Indoctrination: everyone was there, the heirs of all the main clans. Each clan brought about a dozen additional disciples except for Wangji. Everyone else had come voluntarily, for all that that could mean when they were all under threat of obliteration. (It probably meant that their legs hadn't been broken. It probably meant that they weren't chained in their quarters at night, alone. Wangji can think of a lot of things that it probably meant, to not be explicitly a prisoner of the Wen Clan, but he will not indulge himself in self pity.)

Wen Chao, being an idiot, took all of his hostages and marched them off to kill a deadly monster, somehow, without any of their swords. A fight broke out deep in a cave, which turned out to be the dwelling of Xuanwu, Black Tortoise of Slaughter. Wen Chao, being an idiot, fled and abandoned his hostages, specifically sabotaging their exit. Everyone was able to escape except Wangji and Wei Ying, who had to be rescued later. Xuanwu was killed, it's probably not important how. 

Wen Chao, being a sadistic evil war criminal in addition to an idiot, massacred Lotus Pier. The carnage was horrific; Lotus Pier houses many more families and young children than does the Cloud Recesses. The orphaned Jiang siblings and Wei Ying escaped. 

Then, months of war. Xichen's new friend Meng Yao infiltrated Wen Ruohan's court, passing maps and information to Xichen. In the end, Meng Yao stabbed Wen Ruohan in the back while Wei Ying distracted him, it's probably not important how.

The war was won and the Lan were safe, but atrocities did not end. Jin Guangshan happily instated himself as leader over all clans in the absence of the Wens. Then, surviving Wen civilians were rounded up, hurt and enslaved and hunted for sport. Everyone but Wei Ying allowed this to happen. Wei Ying stood up for the Wen survivors and defected in order to bring them to safety; it's probably not important how.

And then nothing else of note really happened for a while after that.

It's unlikely that nothing of note happened in six entire years after the war, but honestly this is already more than enough information to cope with at once.

Xichen will think about this, and confer with their uncle. They will send warning to other clans hit the hardest, Yueyang Chang and Yumeng Jiang, and probably also Nie Mingjue, whom Xichen considers a trustworthy friend and a valuable ally in times of war. Meanwhile they will fortify their own defenses. Once they have a stronger footing on mitigating as many described disasters as possible, Wangji can be sent out on his Yin Iron mission. Preferably with companions. (Xichen has not missed that Wangji calls Wei Wuxian Wei Ying, now).

In the meantime, he would prefer for Wangji to continue attending the lectures, despite having already done so, so as to not alarm the other students or cause suspicion. Since it seems like the Wens are watching them closely, they should all behave as normal as possible for as long as they can.

He will do that.

Before he goes, Brother should be able to seal the Yin Iron? He did that last time with his xiao, and then Wangji got to carry it around in a convenient and stylish pouch.

Ah. Yes, he can do that.

It takes about five minutes. He hands Wangji the pouch, and then touches his shoulder. "You must be very tired. Go rest, and I will meditate on everything you've told me. We have time to figure most of this out, Wangji. Things will go better this time."

Well, they had better. Lan Wangji does not expect to survive Wei Ying's death a second time.

He takes his Yin Iron in its little pouch and goes back to his home. The Jingshi is empty, of course. Which is fine. A-Yuan doesn't sleep there every night like he used to; it's neither unusual nor a problem to be here on his own.

Except that he doesn't know if he will ever see A-Yuan again. If he will ever be A-Yuan's father again. The child has already been born, out there somewhere (Dafan Mountain, Dafan Mountain is where, Wangji could go there and find him), but he's only an infant. With parents. And with cousins whom Wangji does not intend to let die, this time. And other family, and his Wei-gege, and - Wangji would never take his son away from the people who were his family first. That would be wrong.

He will settle for seeing him again and knowing that he's safe, Wangji tells himself.

Still. It takes a long time to get to sleep.

Jiang Cheng continues with his usual activities much the way he would have the first time.  He sleeps, then wakes, then attends the morning's lecture.  There's nothing that Master Lan says that Jiang Cheng didn't learn years ago, but he's not going to skip it and get into trouble.

Once they're finally released for the day, he seeks out Wen Qing.  Carefully checking that they aren't overheard, he asks, "Have you made your decision yet?"  

"I will talk with him. Wen Ning is staying behind. If Lan Xichen shows no inclination towards hurting or imprisoning him and has questions, I'll retrieve him."

"That's fine."  It makes sense that she would be guarded. 

The two of them alone can make their way to find Lan Xichen.

He's inside the Lan Clan Mansion, deep in conversation with that servant who accompanied Nie Huaisang to the lectures. Lan Xichen looks up when Jiang Cheng enters, and smiles.

When Wen Qing follows beside him, Xichen's smile dims slightly. "Master Jiang. Lady Wen. Can I help you?"

He recognizes Meng Yao from the future.  Jin Ling's other uncle, who was helping raise him.  A decent enough person, but there's no need to involve him in this.  Not when it was going to be difficult enough for Wen Qing to trust Lan Xichen with the information.  

"Apologies for the interruption, Zewu Jun," he says, performing a bow.  "We have need to speak with you in private."

He glances at Meng Yao.

Well, he mustn't get in the way of the actual cultivators.

"That's alright, Zewu-Jun," he says graciously, already rising to his feet and bowing. "I found interest in the gardens outside anyway."

"...Lady Wen, Young Master Jiang, unless it is urgent, I would like to finish the thought that Young Master Meng and I were just discussing. We should reach a natural place to pause in just a few minutes."

"Of course, Zewu-Jun," says Wen Qing crisply. She would like Lan Xichen to not be annoyed by the very start of their conversation.

She and Jiang Cheng can wait out in the hall for a few minutes.

When Meng Yao emerges from the room at the end of those few minutes and holds open the door for them to enter in his stead, he doesn't appear even a little smug.

He's not going to stand out by apologizing to Meng Yao now when he hadn't done so earlier, but he does make an effort to look not annoyed.  That isn't too difficult.  Seeing him brings back memories of watching over their mutual nephew. 

Once the door closes, he suggests that Lan Xichen enhance the room's privacy with a barrier.  It isn't that he distrusts Meng Yao.  It just seems prudent to take precautions as long as they're available.  Wen Qing is putting a lot of trust in him and Lan Xichen, even with her contingency plan.  

Xichen can do that. He looks evenly between the two of them. “Thank you for waiting. What is it you wished to talk to me about?”

"Two days ago, I woke up with the memories of having lived eight years into the future.  Originally, I thought I was the only one, however Wen Ning also remembers events identical to my own."

“How interesting,” he says at last, steadily. “Do you believe there to be more people with the corresponding memories? Do you have any idea how this could have transpired?”

"We're the only two with future memories that I know of for sure.  I suppose there might be others." 

"Wen Ning is dead in the future, executed years ago.  I wasn't doing anything unusual the night before I was taken here, and there wasn't anything out of place from what I remembered when I first arrived in this time."

He wishes he'd had some kind of proof to bring, other than the word of two students - one of whom was a Wen.  Lan Xichen from the past doesn't know him.  He hopes that being Wei Wuxian's brother isn't making him come across as someone who would play a prank.