this body yet survives
by Rose Thorne
Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with The Untamed, and make no money writing fanfiction.
Chapter Seven
It took a few moments for Wangji to remember where he was when he woke, and then a moment more to place what had woken him before mao shi—quiet sobs and a soft voice murmuring soothingly.
He had taken the bedding on one side of the bed, and his eyes adjusted to the dark quickly. Wei Ying was curled against Jiang Yanli, who had taken the last shift. It was close enough to morning, then.
"We're here, A-Xian, and you're safe," she whispered, then noticed him sit up. "He had a nightmare."
Wangji wished his guqin was here instead of the jingshi, that he had asked xiongzhang to bring it last night, that he could play calming music for Wei Ying; instead he levered himself to sit on the bed and hummed 'WangXian,' hoping it would remind his zhiji he was loved.
Wei Ying's trembling eased slowly, and Wangji kept his movements slow as he reached forward to take his hand, squeezing it lightly. He was relieved when Wei Ying squeezed back.
"S'going on?" Jiang Wanyin murmured blearily, sitting up.
To his credit, he immediately moved beside his sister when he realized the issue.
"Hey, hey," he murmured, trying to be comforting, patting Wei Ying's shoulder.
Initiating unexpected touch wasn't the best idea for someone in the throes of a panic attack—Wei Ying couldn't quite mask a flinch, and Jiang Wanyin's hands fluttered in a helpless way before clutching the bedsheet hard enough his knuckles turned white.
Wangji continued to hum through it, not stopping even when his heart clenched at Wei Ying's gasped apologies for the reaction.
"Not your fault," Jiang Wanyin whispered insistently, clearly trying to keep his own reaction in check for fear of hurting his brother further.
"Not yours," Wei Ying returned, equally insistent.
"Neither of yours," Jiang Yanli cut in. "Neither of you should blame yourselves."
Wei Ying's breath hitched.
"I hate it," he whispered. "I hate being afraid all the time. I hate that I can't stop."
Wangji couldn't abide him blaming himself, and paused in humming, rubbing his thumb gently across the back of Wei Ying's hand. .
"The past few days have been stressful. Too many events too quickly. Too overwhelming."
"And some were unexpected," Jiang Yanli added, clearly thinking of his talk with Madam Jin and the last minute ceremony.
"We should have just ditched the banquet," Jiang Wanyin muttered. "The food sucked. A-Jie's was better."
Surprisingly, Wei Ying giggled at that, helpless in his laughter for nearly a minute.
"Jiejie's food is way better," he said when he caught his breath.
Wangji was relieved that his voice wasn't tight and shaky anymore. The familiar joke among the Jiangs about Gusu Lan food, and particularly the food in the Cloud Recesses, had eased the panic attack.
Honestly, having enjoyed Jiang Yanli's cooking, Wangji knew they had a point.
She reached forward and smoothed Wei Ying's hair, down and mussed in a way that was unfairly attractive, then poured him a glass of water from the ewer the healer had brought before hai shi. He drank obediently, likely needing the hydration and something to rinse the taste of stale sick from his mouth.
When he finished the glass, she poured him another, and then maneuvered him until she could reach his hair. She carded through the tangles gently with her fingers before quickly braiding it and tying the end off with his red hair ribbon.
"How are you feeling, A-Xian?" she asked when she was done.
Wei Ying's eyes had fallen shut during the process, and he hummed contentedly in response.
"Better," he said after a moment.
He seemed to hesitate, as though he was about to say more.
"Wei Ying?" Wangji asked.
Wei Ying ducked his head and bit his lip.
"A bit hungry," he admitted.
He knew Wei Ying often downplayed his needs, so Wangji translated that to mean he was very hungry.
"Well, you were sick," Jiang Wanyin said, frowning. "It's like you didn't eat dinner, kind of."
Jiang Yanli tutted softly.
"You're still so thin, A-Xian. I can go ask the healer if they can provide something… Or I could go get something from our quarters."
She started to rise but was stopped by Jiang Wanyin.
"I'll go, a-jie. I wouldn't want you to go alone in the dark, and one of us needs to chaperone."
The Jiang sect heir turned to Wei Ying.
"I'll stop by your rooms and grab fresh robes for you while I'm at it," he said gruffly. "You were sick in those."
Wei Ying smiled brightly, and Wangji wanted to thank Jiang Wanyin for bringing that light to the surface through his courtesy. If he did, it would undoubtedly fluster him, and he could almost see why his zhiji enjoyed teasing people so much, imagining it.
It was near enough to mao shi, and the purpose of Jiang Wanyin's break of curfew was to help his brother and would be excused, so Wangji said nothing when he left.
Jiang Yanli fussed softly over Wei Ying after his departure, helping to straighten his sleep-skewed robes.
When he shifted on the bed, he nearly knocked Suibian off. Wangji kept the sword from falling and handed it to Wei Ying, who laid it against his thigh. The sword, he knew, was a comfort, despite having been made by the Jiang sect—it represented his ability to protect himself.
Wangji was content to watch Wei Ying as his sister doted on him, their gentle teasing—Xianxian is three; hmm, I think that's too old—and the blessed calm that had found his beloved.
Jiang Wanyin's expression, when he returned, was stormy. He placed a tray of fruits and osmanthus cakes on the end of the bed.
"A-Cheng?" Jiang Yanli asked.
He shook his head but looked at Wangji and gestured to the hall. Whatever had him troubled, he didn't want to say in front of his siblings, which was immediately worrisome.
"Someone put lotuses in our rooms," Jiang Wanyin said after the door was closed. "Ripped the petals off some and threw them all over."
Rage filled him, icy and terrifying in what it might lead him to do.
This confirmed those delivered to Wei Ying's quarters, the entire reason he had to spend the night in the infirmary due to the fear of qi deviation, the reason he was ill and had panic attacks… It had been intentional.
The culprit had likely expected them to take Wei Ying to the Jiang quarters in the morning, not expecting…
"I will wake shufu and xiongzhang," he said, his voice more forceful than he meant it to be. "The mess will be removed."
Jiang Wanyin let out a soft sigh, almost one of relief that it'd be handled immediately.
"I didn't go to A-Xian's quarters for fresh robes. And you might want to make sure they didn't hit your jingshi."
The rage he had felt dwarfed that which he felt now at the thought of his home being violated, the very place he had finally reached Wei Ying, whose well-being was now threatened by an unknown source.
That they had dared to harm Wei Ying… He knew not what he would do if he caught the betrayer.
"I will take care of it," he said. "Protect Wei Ying."
Jiang Wanyin blanched a bit, and he wondered briefly if his anger had shown in his face or voice, but he swept that aside, channeling his emotions into energy.
When Xichen answered his knock at the hanshi, the sleepiness fell from his expression immediately, and he knew his own expression revealed his turmoil.
"What happened, A-Zhan?"
It took him a moment to find his voice.
"Sabotage. Lotuses in the Jiang quarters."
Xichen's quick intake of air was almost a gasp, and he closed his eyes as he often did when emotionally overwhelmed.
"I will wake shufu," xiongzhang said after a moment. "Please meet us there."
Wangji tried to bow, but was kept from doing so by his brother, who instead pulled him into an embrace, one that left his eyes stinging embarrassingly, the emotions that were overcoming him threatening to escape in a way he didn't want. If he gave in to it, he didn't know if he would stop until all the grief and anger and helplessness he had felt over the last year was expelled.
It was a relief when Xichen released him.
"We will protect him, didi. We will make this right."
He could only nod, turning to walk to the Jiang quarters, glad for the dark that hid the emotions he could feel roiling within him.
The Jiang quarters were worse than Jiang Wanyin had let on, though Wangji could now see the reason behind his near-wordless rage.
A large bouquet of lotus flowers dwarfed the table they had eaten at only hours before. Lotus blossoms were strewn about the room, petals on nearly every surface, and the smell was more than could be accounted for by the blossoms. It smelled as though far too much lotus incense had been burned. It was entirely possible the scent would prove difficult to remove, that the idea of Wei Ying staying with the Jiangs would now be impossible.
Knowing now how lotuses impacted Wei Ying, the smell made Wangji nauseous in sympathy. Had he come with them for breakfast in the morning to encounter this, after his own rooms had been similarly violated…
They had been here all evening, until shortly before curfew. This had been done after they left, purposefully.
Which made it clear neither this nor the bouquet left in Wei Ying's quarters were innocent mistakes.
He dared not touch anything, lest he destroy evidence that might lead to a culprit.
Wangji felt the decorative silverwork on Bichen's hilt start to cut into his fingers and forced himself to loosen his grip. He left the rooms, standing on the small patio, breathing in the cool night air and listening to the chirp of crickets in the dark until he felt some semblance of calm.
His uncle and brother arrived shortly thereafter, and the thunderous expression on shufu's face told Wangji he had reached a similar conclusion.
"Wei Ying is being targeted," he said, knowing it was unnecessary.
"Return to him, Wangji," shufu ordered gently. "This will be investigated and dealt with, and he needs you more than we do."
Truthfully, Wangji was grateful to leave it in their hands.
He felt as though he had been contaminated by the smell and stopped by the jingshi to change lest the odor upset Wei Ying. His home was undisturbed, and he was able to change without incident. He even ran his comb, scented with sandalwood, through his hair a few times to ensure it would replace any scent that had taken root there. He took Wangji with him when he left so he could play for Wei Ying.
He stopped by Wei Ying's quarters on the way back to the infirmary and was relieved they had not been further adulterated. He selected a set of robes, one with some blue in them, then checked to be certain his hair oil had not been tampered with—still the scent of orange and cinnamon—before taking both it and the comb he had gifted with him.
Wei Ying's smile was weak when he returned, his face lined with new tear-tracks, and the Jiang siblings were hovering over him. Jiang Wanyin had not kept the discovery from him, and though it hurt him to admit, it was the correct decision. As much as Wangji wished to protect him from this, Wei Ying deserved to know, to make his own decisions.
"Xiongzhang and shufu are investigating," he told them as he hung Wei Ying's fresh robes over a chair and set his guqin down.
He handed the comb and hair oil to Jiang Yanli, though he wished he could comb Wei Ying's hair himself. It would be improperly intimate, and the courtship was important to show his value.
He did not offer platitudes, knowing it would not change the way any of them felt. That this had likely originated from his own sect rankled him, and even kowtowing didn't feel like enough. Nothing felt like enough penance. He had been unaware of negative sentiment toward Wei Ying, had been blindsided by this act of violence against him, had failed him…
"It's not your fault, Lan Zhan," Wei Ying whispered, as though he could sense the guilt he felt.
His zhiji's words, the love in his voice, saved him from the downward spiral of his thoughts. Wangji sat on the bed and took his hand.
Though he had not committed the crime, he felt responsible for his failure to protect Wei Ying again.
"We will be more vigilant," he said, in lieu of worthless apologies.
Wei Ying offered a sad smile, then shifted closer and hugged him, leaning against his chest and tucking his forehead against his neck.
Wangji brought his arms around him, held him close, basked in the warmth of his presence, and was grateful when the Jiangs said nothing against it, allowing them this simple comfort.
Life has been busy lately and it might take me longer to write. I get my second Pfizer shot on Wednesday, and I'm expecting it'll make me useless for a couple days. It's also nearing the end of the semester, so I'll be busy with that, too.