...perhaps. ( But then — ) Why return at all?

( He frowns, forlorn, fickle. A force unto himself, typically weaponized for brutality, now steered closer to investigation. Wei Ying would be at right to laugh: Lan Wangji fumbles more than most, divorced from simple conclusion. So often he questions himself that easy answers cannot come now, uninvited.

He considers, mutely, carefully. Then: )

Perhaps something detains or abducts her.