did it hurt more for wwx to step away, thinking that lwj would never understand why he did what he did? or did it hurt more for lwj because he was helpless save the one person who understood him, didn’t give up on him, didn’t leave him?
wangxian soulmates </3

wangxian’s story hurts so much because of all the miscommunication and sometimes the lack of communication at all. wwx would have never voluntarily told lwj about his missing golden core and would never give up chenqing, and lwj would have never truly understood why

wwx thought he could no longer truly be friends with / associated with lwj anymore because of his choices. lwj would never think this and would never abandon wwx, but clearly wwx was insecure about their relationship and the rift he made between them

best example of said rift is this particular moment. wwx is literally ready to die by lwj’s hand—this scene foreshadows what wwx will say to lwj when they part ways yet again in the rain

lwj is the one person whose judgment wwx will accept. the rest of the cultivation world can fuck off with their opinions, but if lwj wants wwx dead, wwx knows he must truly deserve it and wouldn’t fight it

this changes when lwj tells him, shows him that he deserves to live. he’s begging him to stay.

here, wwx disagrees.

and even when he comes back, he harbors insecurity about his standing with hanguang-jun, light-bearer.
“lan zhan, stay away,” he says with full conviction.

episodes 33+ focus a lot on lwj’s acts of devotion because lwj is desperately trying to show wwx that he is worth being loved

lwj carries him, worries over his wounds, stands by his side at carp tower, defends him, believes in him, seals his own spiritual energy for him and refuses to leave his side

remember how reluctant he was to leave wwx and jin ling so he could chase down nhs? he was scared—he’s said goodbye to wwx far too many times

which makes this particular goodbye so terribly heart-wrenching. despite all they’ve been through together, wwx cannot stay and lwj cannot leave.

but anyway WANGXIAN MARRIED AND HAVE A SON that’s all that matters