Jiang Cheng would know, wouldn't he? He'd been even younger than Huaisang is now when his parents and sect were slain. He'd assumed his position during a war. And here was Huaisang falling apart because his brother had been murdered by someone they'd both cared for during peacetime.

It all makes him sick. Huaisang's hands clench into fists by his sides, his jaw taut as he grinds his teeth. The stare he gives Jiang Cheng is deeply pained and pitiful, his face strained with grief: for his brother, for himself, and for his lover. Or rather former lover if Huaisang can find the strength and courage inside himself to do what needs to be done for both their sakes.

"You can't help me, A-Cheng," he says, his control slipping. fists unclenching as he reaches out to touch him one last time. "We both have a duty to our sects. It's been years. We can't be together the way we both want."

Huaisang's voice breaks but he pushes on. He has to. It's the right thing to do.

For both their sakes.

"We have to let it go and move on."