What Really Happened in Incense Burner

I keep seeing people misunderstand what is actually happening in the Incense Burner chapters over the years. Today I saw multiple comments again that misunderstand how these chapters actually work. POSSIBLE SPOILERS

Okay first of all originally these chapters were called Incense Burner 1 and Incense Burner 2 so that is how I will also refer to them.

In Incense Burner 1 both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji witness each other’s past dreams (Wei Wuxian’s cottage core fantasy and Lan Wangji’s very naughty dream).

These dreams never actually happened in reality. The Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji we see here are just dream figments. The real Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji can only watch these old dreams unfold they can’t interact or change what happened.

Also an aside I see people mistakenly say there is blood as lube in MDZS. That is never a thing. The only time we see any blood mentioned during a sex scene in MDZS is in this dream Lan Wangji had, so again only between the dream figments- sorry this misinformation bothered me so I had to point it out.

What happens in the second Incense Burner with Bichen (and earlier the rabbit scene) is entirely different. This is not just a dream that Wei Wuxian or Lan Wangji had. It’s an extremely lucid experience between the real Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji where they can interact with each other in the dream. In this case the dream can be manipulated. It also seems like although it’s a dream they can physically feel what is happening during the dream.

Technically speaking Incense Burner 2 started off as Lan Wangji having a normal dream that Wei Wuxian comes into or invades. In this part Wei Wuxian was aware he was in a dream but Lan Wangji wasn’t. He thought he was his 17 year old self and acts accordingly. But it’s still the real Lan Wangji not a figment. I would argue the dream is just like their usual real sex play with Wei Wuxian provoking Lan Wangji and paying the price in the end. What happened to Wei Wuxian at the end with the spanking was definitely not Wei Wuxian’s fantasy that was all Lan Wangji lol!

Technically Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian also had this same lucid experience in the first incense burner dream too. While they are witnessing Lan Wangji’s dream the real Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are having sex in the background with Wei Wuxian in his original body. In this case however they are both aware they are in a dream together unlike the second Bichen dream.

Also how much what happens in these lucid incense burner dreams impacts them in the real world is unknown. However after the first Incense Burner dream where the real Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian had sex when Wei Wuxian wakes up in the real word it says his legs couldn’t stop shaking all day.

I am too tired to pull up quotes but I can if anyone has any questions.