"When have you last come here?"

"A few months before classes started." 

"Do you have family here?" Surviving family.

"Yes. Not our parents, but - broader family."

"Most of the village is extended family in some way." 

Slow nodding. "You have a place where you normally stay in the town?"

"Yeah. We visit when we can, and--well, nobody needed our parents' house for anything else." 

“I’m sorry about you parents, Wen-guniang.”

"I'm sorry about your dad too." 

“Yeah.”

They reach the Wen’s home on Dafan mountain about an hour before the sun sets. Lan Zhan won’t personally initiate any conversation before they get there.

There is an elderly woman sweeping a shrine in view as they reach the village. 

"Granny!" Wen Ying calls out. The woman looks up and Wen Ying runs forward to hug her. 

“Granny!” He bounces over to join the hug. 

Wen Qing follows them, smiling fondly but not running.

The old woman hugs her younger grandchildren, pressing a kiss to each of their foreheads and then holding out her arms to Wen Qing when she reaches her. 

She hugs her tightly. “Granny, have you been well?”

"Well enough. Things have been quiet since your last visit. How have you been? Who are these ones?" she asks, nodding to Nie Huaisang and Lan Zhan. 

“These are A-Ying’s friends, our classmates from the Lan lectures. Lan-guniang, Nie-gongzi.”

“It is an honor.” Bow.

“Hi, Wei-guniang’s grandmother! It’s nice to meet you.”

She gives them a cautious, lopsided smile back. "The Lan lectures? That sounds like a story." 

"Sect Leader wanted us to steal something but instead we did not. The situation is complicated but, uh--Lan Zhan, it doesn't feel nearby, right?"

Headshake.

“We might not be able to stay in town very long, Granny, but I’m glad we get to visit. Overnight, at least.”