"Zewu-Jun, stop it, you're looking very blue!" Master Wei grins at his horrible pun as the clan leader stares out the window, his tunic a dark blue.
Ignoring his cultivation partner, Lan Zhan steps up to his brother and follows his gaze toward the library pavilion.
"She will be fine," Lan Zhan says softly.
"Of course, she will be fine," Lan Xichen smiles at his brother, but the smile does not reach his eyes as he resumes his seat behind the desk.
"Between two fox spirit of terrifying power and Lady Feng. You won't have anything to worry about. I mean," Master Wei paused, "Lady Gusu beat me with just her feet."
Before Lan Xichen can remark about Master Wei never mentioning his wife's feet again in polite conversation, the door to the office slams open, and Lan Sizhui nearly falls to the ground.
Master Wei catches him quickly and says, "What is it, Sizhui?"
Lan Zhan puts a hand on his arm, hovering in concern.
"The town! All the people have been imprisoned by the nag! They have been driven to the tunnels!"
The clan leader puts a hand on his arm and, in a calm voice, asks, "When did this happen?"
A strange sound emits from outside the office, and suddenly the ground begins to shake violently.
"Get down!" Lan Xichen yells, pulling Lan Zhan and Lan Sizhui to the ground.
Wei Wuxian leaps across the room and grabs Lan Zhan's hands as all three men and the boy cram under the clan leader's desk.
"What is going on?" Master Wei hisses as Lan Zhan wraps an arm around him and Lan Sizhui protectively.
As quickly as it had begun, the earthquake ceases as a loud thud strikes the door. Lan Xichen grunts as Master Wei's elbow accidentally hits him in the side.
Pushing up from under the desk Lan Xichen hurries to the window and looks out.
Nag, eyes bloodshot, rose from the ground, their claws pushing apart the soil before bursting through the surface of the earth.
Lan Xichen, Wei Wuxian, and Lan Zhan stare in combined horror as the beings covered in jellied blood emerge from the earth.
The jade twins emerge from the offices and immediately cut down the emerging nags. Their swords glistening like the sun upon the snow. Wei Wuxian throws dozens of talismans at the white and blue lanterns around Cloud Recesses. The lanterns glow brighter than before and sprout little arms and legs. The centers of the lanterns grow large fangs. The small army of lanterns drop to the ground and quickly hobble to the nag, digging their claws and biting into the snake flesh. This completed Wei Wuxian darts to Lan Zhan's side, and together they tear across the field.
Wielding both sword and instruments. They are soon joined by Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi.
As the last nag is sliced into shreds by the clan leader's sword, a screeching eldritch cry rises from the woods. Ghost serpents of every shape in size strike the barrier repeatedly. Lan Xichen grins as his wife's foxfire surges from the barrier and viciously burns through the snakes like unforgiving green lightning.
"Whoohoo, go, Mrs. Xichen!" Master Wei raises his fist.
The clan leader glares at Master Wei, but he is too happy seeing his wife's lingering presence that he refrains from commenting. So, she had been tinkering with his barriers. He files that away to tease her with later.
The ground begins to quake under the cultivator's feet as the nag's bodies slowly put themselves back together.
The cultivators stand next to each other as they watch in horror as the gooey blood reattaches the nags in strange arrangements. The surviving lanterns continue their rampage but are quickly reduced to soggy messes of bloody paper.
"Master Wei," Lan Xichen says, his voice steady as he surveys the hundreds of nags returning to life, "Any advice?"
Both jade twins and the young cultivators stare at Master Wei in expectation.
"Perhaps the combined strength of our resident fox spirits elemental magic proved to be too great, and instead of purging the tunnels, awakened the spirits with the combination of the blood and purification spell!"
A spear strikes past his head, "I could be wrong, though."
"Wei Wuxian! What have you done?!" Lord Qiren regally stomps from the dormitories. He is accompanied by the two large temple dog statues that immediately attack the nag with ferocity.
Seeing the temple dogs finally move, Wei Wuxian immediately hides behind Lan Zhan, all the while pointing, "Look, Lan Zhan, see I told you! I told you they move!"
The jade twins and young cultivators also gawk at the temple dogs in surprise.
"We are outnumbered!" Lord Qiren cries, "If we can get to the library pavilion, we can barricade ourselves in!"
The cultivators fight their way through the nag. Lan Xichen hisses as claws scrape down his back, but he does not leave the young cultivator's side as he blocks the more vigorous blows. Master Wei kicks the door in and beckons everyone in with a hurried hand gesture. When everyone is inside, Lan Xichen and Master Wei press against the doors, it would not hold for long. The glass windows were already being broken by eager bloody hands. Lan Zhan readies himself with his guqin. The guqin practically shone with spiritual energy. Lan Xichen and Master Wei throw dozens of talismans at the door. But it is no use.
"It's like they are multiplying!" Lan Sizhu cries, and Lan Jingyi has his sword out, but his hands are trembling.
"We need to move," Lan Xichen says, staring at the young boys, his heart heavy.
The other three cultivators seem to read his mind as they follow his gaze.
"This will give us maybe ten minutes. I wouldn't push for more!" Master Wei yells, looking at Lan Zhan.
"That is all we'll need," Lord Qiren says, "I will stay and head them off!"
Lan Xichen wishes there was another way, but there is not.
"We need to go then!" Lan Zhan says, reading his brother's expression.
With Lan Sizhu and Lan Jingyi in tow, the remaining cultivators run past all the shelves. Lan Xichen can hear the doors breaking as he grabs onto the latch leading into the secret archives of Cloud Recesses.
"Stay in here. You will be safe," Lan Xichen pushes the children to safety as the nag burst through the doorway.
Hopefully, the fox spirits would arrive soon. Master Wei throws a talisman upon the door, sealing it from the inside and outside. Giving the children some protection.
Master Wei slams the talisman on the hidden door, sealing it. The young cultivators were safe for now.
"Take me if it suits you, but spare the villagers," Lan Xichen reasons, putting his hands out non aggressively.
"Lock your magic," the nag hisses strangely, its eyes bulging from its scaly head.
"Produce the villagers," Lan Xichen demands calmly.
The nag produces a wounded Lord Qiren. His face is badly cut, and his body badly beaten, yet he still struggles against the five nags that held him, "Lock your magic. He will go free."
Lord Qiren struggles against the nag as one nag punches him hard in the stomach.
"Alright," Lan Xichen locks his magic, followed by Lan Zhan and Master Wei.
The nag closest to Lord Qiren flings him across the room, and before Lord Qiren can rise, three nags push a cluster of bookshelves on top of the clan leader, crushing him.
The nag grabs the cultivators as the three men struggle to get to the former clan leader, claws digging into their shoulders and arms.
"You promised," Lan Zhan grits out as he kicks out at one of the nags.
"We did release him," the nag snickers.
The cultivators try to struggle, but the nags were too many, and soon they were overcome. Blood dribbles down the clan leader's face as he loses consciousness.