This time he didn't even catch me

Wei Wuxian threw himself on the bed the very moment he entered the room, and buried his face in the blanket. He was shivering. Lan Zhan covered him with something.

"I'll order a bath and dinner", Lan Wangji stated. Wei Ying only nodded though his heart screamed to beg his beloved to stay.

When the door closed, there was no means to contain the vision of Jin Guangshan. Wie Wuxian curled on the bed trembling. He was freezing, but the blanket seemed to be restraining. The girl's torment and his own attacked him with a new strength. He bit his hand to remain silent.

I need to escape. I need to kill him. I need…

I don't deserve…

Lan Zhan, why have you abandoned me?!

Lan Zhan!

The Yling Patriarch realized with dread that he's defenseless without Chenqing. His fingers panicky searched for any kind of weapon, but found none - only a dizi crafted by Lan Zhan in Yunmeng for him. He squeezed it in his hand.

There were approaching steps on the stairs leading to the rooms. Wei Wuxian desperately bit his finger to get some blood, drew a talisman on his palm, and activated it when the door opened.

Lan Wangji froze in the door. The room was empty. The bed lining left in disarray and with a few drops of blood.

"Wei Ying!", the Second Jade tried to remain calm, though his heart was racing.

Should I have sealed the door?! No, I don't believe anyone came here. The windows are closed. Could Wei Ying close them from outside?

Lan Wangji opened the window and looked outside into the dark night. There were no lights. If anyone wanted to hide on the roof it would provide a good shelter.

"Wei Ying?", he asked again and summoned some light. The roof seemed deserted. Lan Zhan stood hesitantly as he had no idea what to do. Where Wei Ying could have gone and why? Obviously it had taken a few minutes to arrange the dinner and the bath. It was possible that his betrothed simply left the inn unseen.

Lan Wangji did not want to ask Jiang Cheng, but if Wei Ying was not with him, they needed to look for him. He methodically closed the old weary window and turned to the door.

And then he saw it! A blurry silhouette was curled on the bed. Its contours were unclear, foggy. But there was no smoke or mist in the room.

"Wei Ying?", he asked again.

The silhouette was becoming more visible, still monochromatic, as the spell was wearing off.

"Lan Zhan…", a whisper.

"May I touch you, Wei Ying?", he asked with difficulty. A shadow of a smile appeared on the bloody lips and the ghostly image materialized completely.

Lan Wangji slowly extended his hand, as if he was approaching a scared rabbit. He smiled when Wei Ying, in an exactly rabbit way, nibbled his fingers and then pressed against them with his cheek.

"Have you invented a new talisman?", Lan Zhan asked gently, caressing his bethroted's face.

"Yes! It makes me become invisible!", Wei Ying sounded enthusiastic, but a drop of blood slowly fell down his face.

"It costs you a lot."

Wei Wuxian closed his eyes.

"I heard steps and… and… I realized I had no weapon… so I decided to hide myself. I am sorry. Lan Zhan... I… don't know, why… I cannot believe it! I don't want to believe it! Why does it hurt so much? Why can I not remember Nie Huaisang words?! Why do I feel so awful?! So insecure?! He has never been a good cultivator, was he? Lan Zhan?", he was pleading with tears in his eyes.

Lan Wangji felt an awful relief when he understood the sense of Wei Wuxian's teary words. He allowed his beloved to hide his face in his arm, regardless of the blood which would stain the pristine white of his clothes.

"Why is it important how good a cultivator was Jin Guangshan?", Lan Zhan asked intrigued. He could understand how distressed Wei Wuxian, but he was not sure why his beloved was paying attention to some facts more than to the others, "He died as a weak one", this information may have been significant to Wei Ying as he did not witness the continuous degeneration of Jin sect leader, which preceded his death.

"I am not sure. I have all the knowledge I used to and my spiritual possibilities are pretty the same. However, I did not have a golden core and now I have one, though weak. It's difficult to compare… well, he died with his golden core… but you say - a weakened one… he was summoned and he has his knowledge, his spiritual power is supported by his host core… is he a steady part of his awareness or only the source of information? No! He's aware, he feels his new body!", Wei Wuxian suddenly curled in himself, hugging his knees.

"Wei Ying!", Lan Zhan felt totally lost. He was overwhelmed by the pace of his beloved's reactions. One moment he seemed to deal with the intellectual problem, the other he was just a complete emotional mess.

"How do you know this?", he asked in an attempt to reach the logically thinking Wei Ying.

"The girl. He enjoyed too much what he did to her…", came the calm answer.

"Mm", Lan Zhan acknowledged without an idea what to say. His beloved must have sensed it as he cast him a sad smile.

Wei Ying eventually fell asleep. He had turned down the food but accepted the bath. Lan Zhan was right, it relaxed his tense muscles a bit and also washed over the images Empathy had carved in his mind.

Wei Wuxian did not know how long he slept. He was quite surprised that the nightmares had spared him. However he woke up with a foreboding feeling. It was still early as Lan Zhan was asleep near him. Wei Ying watched for a moment his beautiful peaceful face.

How lucky I am that this man wants me to be my husband! I don't deserve him! He's so righteous and noble. He's truly the Light Bearing Lord!

A sound broke his musing. A flute?

Wei Wuxian focused on the melody. It was distant, though luring. After a short hesitation, the Yiling Patriarch put on his robe and wanted to leave the room. He cast his last glance at sleeping Lan Zhan and approached him.

I cannot leave him unaware… when I'm marching directly into a trap.

"Lan Zhan?", he whispered. The Second Jade momentarily sat up completely awoke, his hand reaching Bichen, "There is a strange melody. I want to check it."

"A melody?", the Chief Cultivator was silent for a moment, "I don't hear anything.", he stood up and readied to go out.

They were quite amazed to hear Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng still drinking in the same room where they had talked to the sect Nie leader. Both men were engaged in a discussion. Or rather, it was the Yunmeng leader talking, his voice excited.

Wei Ying smiled fondly when the vivid conversation was following them when they were sneaking out.

The village was still asleep, though the sky was grey in the east. The Yiling Patriarch led the way, his keen senses catching the strange, captivating melody. They went along the river, following the narrow trail. The bushes and high reeds limited their view. The road began soon to climb to a cliff. The river was roaring through a gorge below. Finally, they arrived at the cliff top. The melody changed abruptly - now it was a warning. And a desperate plea.

Wei Ying saw a lonely silhouette playing on…

Whatever the person was playing on, it was invisible.

"Have you seen something like this before?!", Wei Ying whispered shocked.

"No."

The silhouette turned head towards them. The hood was hiding its face. The long fingers caressing the air as playing.

"Who are you?!", Wei Ying asked.

A thrill note of warning was the only reply and then they were attacked. Lan Zhan deflected the first arrows with his blade.

The air suddenly became thick with resentful energy and Wei Wuxian drew it greedily to create a shield around them.

Lan Zhan summoned his guqin and sent a wave of energy towards the place archers may have hidden. The energy collided with something and exploded in a blinding light. Wei Wuxian had to concentrate hard to maintain the shield.

It was then when he saw it. The silhouette was still playing, chains hanging from its hands, its legs bound together. The Yiling Patriarch directed an order towards it. It lowered his palms and started to move slowly towards him. Wei Wuxian was struggling with someone's willpower to control that being. It might have been a kind of dead body.

The rain of arrows hit his shield. Lan Zhan was engaged in a fight with several enemies. They were most likely cultivators, so Wei Ying could not help him much. His shield suddenly exploded while consuming the new set of arrows. The energy pushed him towards the cliff edge. He did not lose his footing, but was aware of his precarious position. Wei Wuxian had never seen the arrow that hit him square in the chest. Involuntarily he took a step back. His foot in the air.

He heard Lan Zhan's desperate scream and with the image of his beloved trying to reach him, he fell down.

This time he did not even catch me...

A/N

Thanks to my Beta - Legate_of_Apples :)