Ninety percent certain.
In reality, he was one hundred percent certain that the lips that had spat poison at him and the hands that had struck him down were not those of his uncle since the image of Jiang Cheng had suddenly disappeared before his very eyes.
But as he lay there on the cold ground, Jin Ling was only ninety percent certain that the real Jiang Cheng would not have done similarly.
And as it turned out, that high degree of certainty mattered very little.
He still curled up in the grass like a wounded fawn. His fingers still ached. Every breath practically shredded his lungs. And he still feared that his secret would (if it hadn't already) see the light of day.
In fact, he was maybe even more afraid of that than he had been before.
His certainty stemmed from logic and circumstance alone. Even without having seen Jiang Cheng magically disappear, it had all felt a little too perfectly set up to distress him. Bringing up the topic of the Lans while they were trying to escape a miasma that was even more sinister than the one in Yi City seemed a little too foolish for Jiang Cheng, no matter how angry he might be.
But that ten percent… that ten percent of uncertainty came from an understanding of Jiang Cheng. The way he'd looked at him, the disgust in his tone, the horrible storm of energy around him – it was everything that Jin Ling had feared might happen. And it seemed like something his uncle might do. It sounded like him. It felt like him.
Regardless, he knew it wasn't real. And it had all been very… staged.
Now, Jin Ling could, to some degree, own up to some of the qualities that people accused him of having – stubbornness, an irascible nature, and even a lack of maternal guidance. But, he would not accept being written off as stupid. And even though they had entered the city assuming that there was no mystery to be solved there, Jin Ling had just come to realize that they may have jumped to conclusions too quickly.
Everything, from the set up of the Not Wei Wuxian decoy to his bumping into Jiang Cheng and racing through the city, was so carefully choreographed. It was the work of a master.
And it was work that he recognized.
After all, it was a stage that he'd spent his entire life standing on, not realizing that there had been a director in the shadows, guiding him all along.
But that was the first time.
He had gathered enough evidence not to be played for a fool a second time. He could more easily recognize the second work by that same master director who had led him once before.
Jin Ling knew the huli jing was Jin Guangyao. He just had no way to prove it.
So, when a storm gate opened beside him and Wei Wuxian was kneeling by his shoulder, asking if he was all right, Jin Ling answered with a mere, "Yes, I'm fine," rather than struggle to explain it all to him.
"Great," Wei Wuxian said. "Let's go. I need to get you back to Jiang Cheng so I can round up the others."
Jin Ling tensed. Strangely, Wei Wuxian seemed to notice this and his expression softened.
"Look, Jin Ling, I know-"
Crack!
Lan Xichen and Jingyi appeared in a whirl of dust. And just like that, everyone was crowding around him as if Jin Ling were a child who'd fallen from his horse during his first attempt to ride.
"Are you all right?" Jingyi asked, crouching down beside Wei Wuxian.
"Yes, I already said so."
Taking this to mean that he was completely unharmed, Jingyi reached over to grab his hand and pull him to his feet. Jin Ling's dislocated fingers were not eager for the assistance.
"Ah! No! Stop!"
Jingyi dropped his hand as if it were as hot as a fire iron.
"Perhaps you're not as fine as you would have us believe," came the calm even voice of Lan Xichen.
"A few injuries," Jin Ling said dismissively. "It's nothing."
"Why are you talking all stiff like that?" Jingyi asked.
"Like what?"
"Like that! You're barely moving your mouth! And your jaw is bruised!"
Suddenly, Lan Xichen was kneeling beside him as well, assessing his wounds. Wei Wuxian, however, started to back away.
"I'll let you two take over," he said. "Take him to Jiang Cheng in the Scorching Sun Palace. You'll all be safe there. I'll meet you there."
"The Scorching Sun Palace?" Lan Xichen repeated quizzically. "But isn't that-?"
Crack! Whoosh!
Wei Wuxian departed as quickly as he'd arrived.
Lan Xichen and Jingyi exchanged puzzled looks. But when Jingyi shrugged his shoulders, Lan Xichen returned his attention to Jin Ling.
"I have some experience channeling qi for healing," he said. "If you show me where you're injured, I can tend to you more quickly."
"Isn't it dangerous to do that?" Jin Ling asked. "What if I was an illusion?"
"The storm gate wouldn't take us to an illusion," Lan Xichen said. "Though it requires very little energy input as compared to a transportation talisman, it still links to your life force specifically. It wouldn't link to a shadow of you."
Jin Ling dropped his gaze. "Maybe it's best if you don't… waste your energy on me."
"What's this? Where's the entitlement? The young mistress is selfless now?" Jingyi heckled. "Guess this evil place is good for something."
Lan Xichen shot him a stern look. Jingyi muttered a half apology.
"What's this about, Jin Ling?" Lan Xichen asked softly.
"Nothing. I just think it's better if you save your energy for the fight."
He didn't believe him. Jin Ling could see it in his pitying expression. It was the same look that Wei Wuxian had had.
"I think it would be better to have you in fighting shape," Lan Xichen said. "Your jaw, your hand – is there anywhere else that you're hurt?"
"I said I'm fi-!"
"You're barely saying anything!" Jingyi bit back. "Your jaw is so swollen! At least let him heal – actually, on second thought, don't heal his face. This way it's much harder for him to mouth off."
Lan Xichen shot another quelling look at him. But this time, Jingyi merely grinned in response.
Taking advantage of their momentary distraction, Jin Ling tried to sit up on his own. It was painful, but he managed it despite Jingyi's insistence that he couldn't.
Lan Xichen watched him for a time. Then, he leaned over, pressed two fingers to the underside of Jin Ling's jaw, and before he could protest, he channeled healing qi into him. Jin Ling's jaw was warmed. He could actually feel the swelling shrink.
"Hey!" he cried as Lan Xichen sat back, "I said not to – OW!"
He had raised his injured hand and yet again, Lan Xichen had seized the opportunity presented. This time, though, it hadn't been so pleasant. He'd grabbed his fingers and with one quick pull, had popped them back into place. A quick infusion of qi afterwards helped ease the sting a little, but Jin Ling pulled his hand back before he could finish.
"I told you not heal me!" he said indignantly. "Who do you think you are?!"
Lan Xichen flashed an easy smile. Jingyi, however, was not amused.
"What do you mean who does he think he is?! You should be thankful for Zewu-jun's help!"
Although still indignant, Jin Ling came to his senses a little bit. He shouldn't have spoken to another clan leader like that.
He bowed his head and muttered an apology.
"We're all on edge," Lan Xichen answered gently. "Your frustration is understandable. I'm sorry to have gone against your wishes, but I also cannot allow you to punish yourself at a time like this, especially when you are not deserving of punishment in the first place."
Not deserving of punishment? What did he think Jin Ling was punishing himself for?
"I will take you back to your uncle," Lan Xichen said, pushing back his sleeve to reveal his bloodied arm. "Wei Wuxian already went to help him and I imagine he and Wangji will have collected Sizhui by now and gone to the palace too."
As he began to trace a mandala pattern with his own blood, Jin Ling found himself hesitant to go with Jingyi and Lan Xichen.
Jingyi was shooting worried glances at him every now and then but strangely never said anything. It was unlike him to keep his mouth closed when he had something on his mind.
Crack!
White lightning arced around a dark circle. Jin Ling squinted at it through the violent gale, but he couldn't see Jiang Cheng – or anyone for that matter.
"Go on," Lan Xichen said, waving Jingyi through.
Jingyi looked back at Jin Ling one more time before getting to his feet and walking obediently through the gate.
Though uncomfortable, Jin Ling was able to stand without assistance. What he couldn't do, however, was make his legs walk forward.
Lan Xichen watched him with an inscrutable expression.
When they had stood facing one another long enough for the storm gate to begin to shrink in size, Lan Xichen took it upon himself to guide Jin Ling. He glided over and very delicately took his arm to pull him along.
With his help, Jin Ling made it to the threshold where at last he was close enough to see Jiang Cheng waiting for him. His feet stopped suddenly as if they'd been nailed to the flagstones beneath them.
Jiang Cheng seemed confused. Lan Xichen bent at the waist slightly to whisper into Jin Ling's ear.
"What happened to you," he said, "and what you saw – it has nothing to do with him. That was not your uncle. He wouldn't do that to you."
Jin Ling's blood ran cold. Zewu-jun had seen what had happened. And if he'd seen, who else had?
Now he really couldn't make himself walk forward. The portal was shrinking by the second.
"A-Ling?" he heard Jiang Cheng say. "What are you doing? Come here."
Ninety-five percent sure now, and still, it was the five percent that haunted him. No matter what Lan Xichen said, there was no way that he could really know what Jiang Cheng was capable of.
"I don't want to push you," Lan Xichen said. "If I promise you my protection, will you go?"
Jin Ling wrinkled his brow and looked up at him. "You would do that?"
Lan Xichen nodded.
"But you hardly know me."
"As a cultivator, it is my job to protect a lot of people that I don't know," he said. "And I know you better than most of them."
"That's different. Fighting corpses isn't the same as fighting another clan leader."
"Regardless, you have my protection, if you need it. But I don't imagine that you will."
Dumbfounded, Jin Ling stared at him.
Lan Xichen cleared his throat and gestured toward the storm gate. Jin Ling snapped out of it. With trepidation, he turned, squared his shoulders, and marched through the gate, shivering a little at the sound of the crackling lightning in his ears.
"Are you hurt?"
The faint smell of blood and sweat and the sound of those three words were the only sensations that Jin Ling registered before his uncle had seized him by the arm and pulled him forward to inspect him. Try as he might, Jin Ling couldn't conceal his fear. He flinched when Jiang Cheng grabbed his chin to turn his head either way for evaluation. But Jiang Cheng didn't seem to notice.
"Good," his uncle said at last. He released his face, but still held his upper arm. "That's good. Good."
They stood like that for a while. Jin Ling waited quietly for Jiang Cheng to let him go, afraid that if he requested it, his concern for him would evaporate and he'd fly into a rage like the illusion at the city gate. Jiang Cheng continued to scrutinize him, though. He opened his mouth as if to ask something but closed it again without a word.
Then, just when Jin Ling was sure he was finally going to be free, Jiang Cheng pulled him forward and wrapped both of his arms tightly around him.
It wasn't very often that he hugged him, and Jin Ling was pretty sure he'd let out a tiny squeak of terror in the moment before he knew what was happening. But again, Jiang Cheng seemed oblivious.
"Thank the heavens," Jiang Cheng breathed.
His ribs protested, but Jin Ling didn't make a sound.
He realized then that the odor of blood and sweat he'd noticed before was, in fact, coming from his uncle. Even beyond that, Jin Ling could sense that there was something very wrong with him.
His usual presence… like the feeling of watching a torrential storm in the distance and knowing at any moment, it might unleash its full force… it was gone. When he tried a little harder, he could sense some spiritual energy emanating from Jiang Cheng, but it wasn't much.
As soon as Jiang Cheng loosened his hold, Jin Ling stepped back. Lan Xichen and Jingyi were standing a few feet away, talking quietly to one another, but it was easy to tell by the stiffness of their posture and how their heads were tilted ever so slightly in his direction that they'd been paying attention to the interaction between uncle and nephew.
"You're going home," Jiang Cheng said sternly. "You too," he added, locking eyes with Jingyi. "And when the other boy gets here, he's going with you. Leave this to the rest of us."
You don't get to make that decision for me anymore, Jin Ling said… or rather, that was what he wanted to say.
But as he stood across from Jiang Cheng, he found that he was unable to meet his eyes, let alone talk back to him.
Jiang Cheng finally seemed to notice that something was wrong. "What? No temper tantrum this time?"
Jin Ling tried to find the words to answer, but they wouldn't come. They were caught in his chest, too afraid to leave.
"I agree," Lan Xichen cut in, much to Jin Ling's relief. "Once Wangji and Sizhui meet us, we should send the boys to safety. Where are they, by the way? Is Wei Wuxian with them?"
Jiang Cheng, with apparent reluctance, finally looked away from Jin Ling.
"Yes," he said. "He stranded me here to go and help Lan Wangji. He should have been back by now."
"Stranded you?" Lan Xichen repeated mildly. "What was to stop you from following?"
His eyes drifted over to the open desk drawer in which were stashed many ink wells and brushes. Jiang Cheng followed his gaze and folded his arms.
"Someone had to stay here, didn't they?" he said. "How else would we have found the palace again?"
Right! The Scorching Sun Palace! That was where they were!
Curiosity lifted the weight of fear from Jin Ling as he began to mill around the darkened room, squinting at the details that were lit only by the struggling lantern on the desk.
The elegance of Jinlintai could be rivaled by none in Jin Ling's opinion, just as the beauty of Lotus Pier had no equal. But as much as the name of Nightless City revived a deep hatred in his heart, Jin Ling could not deny the magnificence that was the Scorching Sun Palace.
Everything had its place and that place was designed to maximize the power of the room. Some of the lighter objects had been thrown by the storm gate, but most things had remained where they were supposed to. Energy hummed all around them – a promise of peace with a lingering whisper of violence – one wrong move here, and Jin Ling was sure it would be their last. From the largest vase in the corner to the smallest jade paperweight on the desk, no item was inconsequential.
He'd learned about the Scorching Sun Palace, of course. He knew that all rooms were built in accordance with the rules of feng shui, just as any building was meant to be.
But the Wens had done more than that. The very walls were infused with spiritual energy. The palace itself was a nexus designed to amplify the strength of the Wen bloodline.
With power as old as that surrounding them, there was no way the huli jing would dare to come inside. He would instantly be recognized as a creature of yin and would be destroyed.
That being said, if they weren't careful navigating the palace, they might meet the same fate. And, since none of them were of the Wen bloodline, they would enjoy no enhancement of their power.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jin Ling saw Lan Xichen lightly take the other end of a brush that Jiang Cheng had started to grab from the drawer.
"Give it time," he heard Lan Xichen say. "You are in no condition to lend aid, Sect Leader. If they're not back soon, I will go."
Jiang Cheng looked very much like he wanted to argue, but he didn't. He simply handed the brush over to Lan Xichen and walked away sullenly. What he'd expected he'd be able to do anyway, Jin Ling didn't know. It wasn't like Jiang Cheng could link to any of their three missing companions.
Jin Ling had just started wondering how Lan Xichen intended to protect him if he was going to be leaving when something cool brushed against the back of his hand. He looked over to find Jingyi next to him, his finger still hesitantly and discreetly reaching for him.
"Come with me?" he asked. "Leave the planning to them. They'll be kicking us out soon anyway."
"I don't know…"
He didn't feel like it was such a good idea to be spending time alone with Jingyi. Lan Xichen definitely knew about them now, but that didn't mean that Jiang Cheng did. And Jin Ling was prepared to do everything in his power to keep him from finding out.
"Why?" Jingyi said. "We're still friends, aren't we? Don't you trust me?"
Jin Ling stared hard at his feet for a time. Then, he nodded and followed Jingyi across the room.
"Where are you two going?" Jiang Cheng asked behind them. Jin Ling froze.
"Taking a look around," Jingyi answered bitingly. Jin Ling winced, preparing himself for Jiang Cheng's retort. "Got a problem with that?"
"As a matter of fact, I do," Jiang Cheng growled. The sound of footsteps behind him made Jin Ling shrink down further. "This place isn't safe. You two can't gallivant around as you plea-"
"Sect Leader Jiang?"
The footsteps halted at Lan Xichen's voice. But Jin Ling didn't dare release the breath that was caught in his throat.
"They've been through a lot," Lan Xichen said. "Surely we can give them a moment to collect themselves?"
The silence that followed seemed to last forever.
Eventually, Jiang Cheng said, "Very well. Stay close."
And then they were free.
He followed Jingyi out into the yawning maw of the hallway without a word. There, he exhaled at last and, keeping one hand on the wall, Jin Ling trailed behind him, depending on his ears to guide him.
Once they'd gone a respectable but safe distance from the study, Jingyi paused.
"Are you all right?"
Jin Ling jumped a little at the sound of his voice. He was closer to him than expected.
"I'm fine," he said, hating the tremor in his words. "Why?"
"Why did you… look like that when your uncle greeted you?"
"What are you talking about? Are you investigating me now?"
"Of course not. I'm worried."
"Well don't be."
He was quiet for a time, so Jin Ling thought the conversation was over. He turned to head back toward the weak flickering lantern light.
"Who hit you?"
Jin Ling stopped but didn't answer.
"Who hit you?" Jingyi asked again.
"The huli jing, you idiot. Who else?"
"Yes, but that wasn't really what I was asking and you know it."
Jin Ling balled his hands into fists, wincing a little as he curled his newly realigned fingers.
"Why do you care? Why does it matter? It wasn't real."
"It was real enough to you," Jingyi said firmly. "Whatever happened, it was real enough that you're still afraid. Talk to me. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."
Jin Ling sighed, sending a wave of pain up his ribcage. "Can't you mind your own business?"
"Friends look out for one another," Jingyi retorted. "Sometimes that means minding your business instead of mine."
"Goodness, I don't… I just don't want to talk about it. Stop pushing me."
"Fine," Jingyi said sharply, then repeated in a gentler tone, "fine."
"Fine."
Jin Ling started off back down the hallway.
"Wait!"
"Seriously?!" Jin Ling cried, stopping once again.
"I have a pretty good idea of what happened anyway."
"Oh really? Think you're so smart?"
"Stop being rude," Jingyi snapped. "I know because you haven't looked at me since and you're terrified of your uncle now. It's not that hard to figure out. Don't act like you're all mysterious."
"Tch."
"Anyway," Jingyi went on, more kindly, "I wanted you to know that I'll fight him for you."
"You'll what?"
"I'll fight him for you – your uncle. I'm not scared of him. Give the word and I'll drop him to the ground. If he even breathes in your direction a little too hard, I'll beat him up."
He was so confident! Lan Jingyi, a junior disciple of the Lan Clan of Gusu, was one hundred percent certain that he could defeat the leader of the Jiang Sect, who had earned many honors slaying yao beasts in night hunts and many more for his feats during the Sunshot Campaign.
It was as endearing as it was hilarious.
Jin Ling couldn't help himself. He burst out laughing.
"What?" Jingyi said, sounding put out. "I mean it!"
"I can tell!" Jin Ling said.
"Don't think I can do it, then? Is that it?"
"I know you can't!"
"I could!"
" Really."
"Yeah! If there were like – I don't know – a lot of corpses around that would only attack him."
Jin Ling laughed harder.
"Maybe Wei Wuxian would help me!" Jingyi said hopefully. "The two of us could do it for sure!"
"I think he'd prefer to watch you struggle."
"Yeah probably," Jingyi said.
Jin Ling chuckled a little. Somehow, in the near absolute darkness, Jingyi could see well enough to clap him on the shoulder.
"Feeling better?" he asked.
"Sure," Jin Ling said.
"I really would fight him, you know. Even if I would lose."
"You're stupid like that. Of course I know."
"Good. Ready to go back?"
"Let's go."
They walked side by side this time back down the hallway to the study. Jin Ling quickly wiped his face just before they rounded the corner.
Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng were seated on opposite sides of the room when they entered. Odd, since they'd seemed fairly friendly for most of the journey to Nightless City.
Now, an unspoken awkwardness lingered between them. Jiang Cheng was stony-faced. Lan Xichen seemed vaguely pained.
"How long has it been?" Jingyi asked.
Lan Xichen looked up solemnly. "It's almost time for me to go. They should have been here by now."
Jiang Cheng didn't say a thing. He stared at the wall, thinking hard. He didn't look over as Jin Ling put his back against the doorframe and slid to the floor.
Jingyi did, though. He almost seemed afraid to look away from him, as if at any moment he was going to keel over.
At least Jin Ling could rest a little easier knowing that he would have someone else looking out for him once Lan Xichen had gone, even if it was someone who didn't really stand a chance against Jiang Cheng.
But he didn't actually have any reason to fear Jiang Cheng… did he?
"It's better if I go," Jiang Cheng said suddenly, rising from his chair. "You can stay here with them. I'll grab the others and come straight back."
"We discussed this," Lan Xichen said evenly. "You're in a weakened state. It would be better to send me."
"Weakened state?" Jin Ling asked. "Why? What happened?"
"It's no business of yours," Jiang Cheng replied without turning away from Lan Xichen. He resumed his conversation with him as if Jin Ling had never spoken. "That was before you… now that I… it would be better if you stayed here with them."
Lan Xichen knit his brow. "It will be all right. I'll only be gone a moment."
Jiang Cheng didn't budge. His expression was trying to communicate something more than his words had, but Jin Ling wasn't sure that Lan Xichen knew him well enough to translate it.
"It'll be all right," Lan Xichen said again.
Next to him, Jingyi muttered under his breath, "Since when has he been so eager to come to Wei Wuxian's aid?"
It was a good question, but maybe not the most relevant in this situation. Jin Ling couldn't help but notice that Jiang Cheng had gone from overbearing concern for his well-being to now paying him very little mind in the span of one short hallway conversation.
Though he'd been having a lot of bad luck when it came to jumping to conclusions, it was hard for Jin Ling to come up with any other explanation for Jiang Cheng's behavior.
Lan Xichen must have said something to him.
But Lan Xichen had offered his protection. And more than that, it went against Lan Clan teachings to gossip behind the backs of others. So he shouldn't have said anything... he wouldn't have said anything... probably.
As it turned out, it didn't matter very much whether Lan Xichen or Jiang Cheng would be the one to fetch the others. The others found them first.
In the quiet of the palace, the thunderous crash of the storm gate was jarring. Jin Ling jumped. Jingyi let out a short yelp.
A person dressed in white – no – two people dressed in white, one carried on the back of the other, ran toward the gate. Someone was shouting, but over the howling wind and the racket of items being thrown around the room, it was hard to hear what they were saying.
Only once they'd halfway crossed the threshold did Jin Ling make sense of those jumbled words.
"We can't leave him!"
Wei Wuxian had known what to expect when he went to check on Jin Ling. He'd seen everything that had happened.
Sizhui, however, had been just out of sight while he'd been trapped in the array configuration. Suffice to say, he was not prepared for what awaited him on the other side of the storm gate.
He could faintly see through the heavy mist that Lan Zhan was doubled over on the ground. At first, Wei Wuxian thought he might have been injured.
When the storm gate closed behind him, he called to him as he hurried over, "What's happened? Where is A-Yuan?"
Lan Zhan didn't answer except to sit up. He was indeed a little injured, but that wasn't what stopped Wei Wuxian dead in his tracks.
Deep gashes crisscrossed Sizhui's back, crimson bloodstains glistening in stark contrast to his pure white robes. Surely that was what made it look so bad, right?
Wei Wuxian stumbled dazedly the rest of the way over to them and dropped to his knees across from Lan Zhan. Now that he was closer, he could hear the tiny noises coming from Sizhui's throat at the end of every breath, and he could see that the severity of his wound was no illusion. Those cuts went deep, through muscle layers and some must have been very close to reaching bone.
"Can you hear me, A-Yuan?" Wei Wuxian asked softly, running a finger along his sweaty brow.
"Yes."
His answer was hardly even a whisper.
"What happened?" Wei Wuxian asked, looking up at Lan Zhan.
With an expression that bore a mixture of sorrow, pity, and contempt, Lan Zhan replied only with, "Discipline whip," but Wei Wuxian understood.
"Oh Sizhui!" Wei Wuxian cried, taking his hand gingerly in his own. "Was it some sort of Lan Clan punishment? You know they would never go to such extremes with someone like you! This is the sort of punishment they dole out to traitors! Don't worry! We'll heal y…"
He trailed off, suddenly remembering a different but similar latticework of scars – an old injury that Wei Wuxian had come to know like the back of his own hand.
Lan Zhan didn't meet his gaze when he looked up at him. His only focus was Sizhui.
"I'm sorry," Sizhui moaned, his eyes fluttering open at last.
Wei Wuxian squeezed his hand. "Don't be sorry. None of it was real. Well, all right, the blood is real enough, but whatever scenario for punishment – that wasn't real. You shouldn't feel guilty."
But Sizhui just shook his head a little and said, "I'm so sorry, Wei-qianbei."
"You had better stop apologizing."
"He gave permission to the huli jing," Lan Zhan said, voice strained. "That's why he's apologizing."
Sizhui nodded, still careful not to move too much. Tears began to roll down his face.
"Hey, hey," Wei Wuxian murmured, "it's all right. You're not the only one who did that, you know."
"I'm not?"
"Nope. Sect Leader Jiang did too. It's not a big deal."
"Really?"
"Really."
He seemed relieved for a moment. And then his face grew maudlin once more.
"It's not appropriate to measure my failures against others," Sizhui said. "I should have done better. It doesn't matter what anyone else did. I should have done better."
Wei Wuxian gave Lan Zhan a bewildered look. "What have you been teaching these kids?!"
"I haven't blamed him," Lan Zhan said coolly. "He's not the one at fault."
"Hear that?" Wei Wuxian asked, nudging Sizhui's leg with his foot. "Hanguang-jun doesn't mind either. So I'd better not hear one more apology out of you."
"Okay."
Wei Wuxian reached into his qiankun pouch before remembering that it had been emptied by Jin Guangyao. All he had now was the brush and inkwell that he'd taken with him.
He made to rip off a part of his sleeve to use as a dressing for Sizhui's wounds, but Lan Zhan caught his arm.
"Don't," he said. "He isn't bleeding much. That may cause more harm."
Though he hated doing nothing, it seemed Lan Zhan was right. The lacerations on Sizhui's back were only oozing now. There was hardly any blood loss to stem. Putting cloth into the wounds now was just going to mean he would have to yank it back out later, reopening every single scab again.
"All right," Wei Wuxian said with a sigh, "but we can't just sit here. We need to go. Why haven't you carried him yet?"
"He's in a lot of pain," Lan Zhan said. "It's difficult."
Sizhui mumbled out another 'I'm sorry'. Wei Wuxian flicked his forehead, garnering one more apology for apologizing. When he flicked him a second time, though, Sizhui seemed to get the picture and fell silent.
"Are you ready to try again?" Wei Wuxian asked him. "Now that I'm here, you two have some extra help."
Sizhui nodded. Lan Zhan seemed concerned.
"Where will we go?" he asked. "Where did you take Sect Leader Jiang?"
"The Scorching Sun Palace."
Lan Zhan's expression grew icy. "We shouldn't go there."
"Why not?"
"It's a dangerous place with very old power that has yet to be fully dismantled."
"That's exactly why we should go there," Wei Wuxian said brightly. "The huli jing can't get into any other central clan residence. He's unlikely to be powerful enough to get into this one either. Plus, A-Yuan will probably feel a lot better in there."
Lan Zhan frowned. Then, he opened his mouth to answer, but the answer was in a different voice and came from somewhere behind Wei Wuxian.
"That would be a brilliant strategy were you not still trapping yourselves here."
He turned around in time to see a man with benevolent features, sharp eyes, and long tidy hair bound loosely behind him step out from the mist. He smiled at them – something that felt more like a formality than a genuine greeting.
"Done masquerading as your friend, then?" Wei Wuxian asked Jin Guangyao. "Why the switch?"
"No point keeping it up," he said with a shrug. "I've eased you all into the reality of your situation as gently as I could."
"Or maybe you just realized that Huaisang isn't coming."
"Maybe."
So no need to hold any of us hostage, right? Wei Wuxian thought.
The clear ring of Bichen being drawn from its sheath didn't travel far. It was swallowed by the fog more abruptly than was natural.
Lan Zhan looked as though he would like nothing more than to come to the rescue, putting himself between Wei Wuxian and Jin Guangyao. But, for some reason, he remained kneeling exactly where he was, sword drawn and pointed directly at Jin Guangyao's heart (if indeed demons had hearts).
"Leave," Jin Guangyao said calmly, looking between Lan Wangji and Sizhui. "You two are not needed here as I already tried to tell you before Wei Wuxian showed up. None of this concerns you. If you leave now, I will let you go, but this is the only chance you'll have. If you run off to the palace where the rest of your friends are hiding, I'll kill all of you... or at least most of you."
Wei Wuxian laughed. "We all come marching in here, you mess around with us for a little bit, and now you want us all to leave?"
"Not all of you. Just Hanguang-jun and his disciple."
"Why them specifically?"
"It's not them specifically," Jin Guangyao said. "There are others here that don't need to be. I imagine Er-ge and Sect Leader Jiang are already busy sending them home."
"We've established that Huaisang isn't here," Wei Wuxian mused. "Why do you still need any of us?"
"I need some of you more than I need others. It's nothing that you should be concerned about."
"Contrary to what you might think, I am actually very concerned. I like to know my worth in scenarios like this. Who among us is most – wait."
Lan Zhan spoke up before Wei Wuxian could finish asking which of them was most valuable to him.
"It's my brother," he said.
Jin Guangyao turned sly eyes on him instead. His mouth, his eyes, his body – none of it had really changed, but there was a new feeling in the air. Rather than the mild, almost friendly unspoken threats that clung to Jin Guangyao's fancy golden clothing, he now exuded a dark, sinister energy. Every ounce of pretend geniality had evaporated in that simple shift of attention.
"And if it is?" Jin Guangyao said. "Is that going to stop you from leaving?"
Lan Zhan scowled but still didn't stand to fight him.
"You've let him disappear before," Jin Guangyao went on, taking advantage of Lan Zhan's silence. "Once was back when you were a child, so I suppose I can't put too much blame on you for that. But what excuse do you have now for leaving him to wallow in his grief?"
"Are you referring to Zewu-jun's seclusion?" Wei Wuxian asked, alarmed. "How does that have anything to do with Lan Zhan? That was a decision that Zewu-jun made on his own. And it isn't as if Lan Zhan doesn't go to visit him. Not that it's any of your business."
Jin Guangyao gave no indication that he'd heard a word of what Wei Wuxian had said. His gaze was locked in place.
"Tell me honestly," he said to Lan Zhan – a request that Wei Wuxian couldn't help but snort at, "do you love him equally? Would you put him before the rest of your family? Because I don't think you would."
"What would you know about any of that?" Wei Wuxian demanded. "You never put anyone before yourself."
Still, Jin Guangyao ignored him. Wei Wuxian was starting to take it personally.
Lan Zhan was barely restraining himself. Though, without knowing him very well, it would have been easy to assume that he was unfazed. His only tell was the miniscule upward tilt of his chin.
"He is family," Lan Zhan said. "I will fight for him."
Jin Guangyao smiled unpleasantly. "That's not what I asked though, is it?"
He had hardly finished his sentence before Wei Wuxian felt something cold press into his throat. His hand flew toward Chenqing on instinct, but that frigid edge bit him as it pressed deeper.
"Nobody moves," Jin Guangyao whispered into Wei Wuxian's ear.
Although he'd spoken quietly, Lan Zhan could apparently still hear him just fine. He didn't budge an inch.
Good thing too. Normally, Wei Wuxian would risk it and try one of his many quick and clever maneuvers. But he also wasn't a complete idiot. He couldn't match that speed even at the height of his power, and speed was what he would be relying on most.
He would just have to play along for now. He could always use his back up plan once he was sure Lan Zhan and Sizhui were safe.
"I wonder," Jin Guangyao said in an annoyingly offhanded tone, "how you would prioritize them – your family, I mean. Who would come first? Certainly not your brother or your uncle. You hardly see them anymore.
"No, I think the answer is here. It's the lover or the son, isn't it?"
Lan Zhan didn't answer. He seemed to be trying to break Jin Guangyao into a million pieces with the thought alone.
"You don't need to be so angry, Hanguang-jun," said Jin Guangyao as he pulled Wei Wuxian back a few paces with him. "I'm not asking you to make that choice. As long as you do what I say, you'll have both of them and neither will ever have to know who's most important to you."
"This is ridiculous," Wei Wuxian said. "Why don't you-?"
"I don't need your input," Jin Guangyao said tersely, pressing the blade deeper yet. "Be quiet or I'll sever your head from your shoulders faster than you can blink."
He wasn't exactly scared. After all, it was clear that they had options other than death to choose from. But he knew better than to assume Jin Guangyao was bluffing. So, as much as it pained him to do so, Wei Wuxian kept his mouth shut.
"Good," Jin Guangyao said before returning his attention to Lan Zhan. "Now, you will open a portal back to the Cloud Recesses and take the boy with you. As long as everything else goes according to plan here, Wei Wuxian will return to you unharmed later. But if you come back here, I will kill all three of you slowly, even if it means tracking down the Wen boy later."
Lan Zhan didn't speak. So, Jin Guangyao went on.
"If you decide to run off to the palace with the others rather than going home like I asked, you'll be leaving this one behind." He tightened his hold around Wei Wuxian. "I'll kill all of you, and I'll start with him."
Through a break in the mist, Wei Wuxian caught sight of the city gate. They were a long way from the palace. No way that Lan Zhan and Sizhui were going to be able to run there. They were going to need to use a storm gate anyhow.
Jin Guangyao was setting them up perfectly to be able to get away.
Resourceful, clever, talented – these words were practically synonymous with Lan Zhan's name. And yet, Wei Wuxian could sense his weakened resolve. It seemed like he might actually do what Jin Guangyao had demanded.
Oh, how he wanted to shout 'Lan Zhan! Think about it!' or 'There's something more going on here!'… but he couldn't. Between the sharp blade against his throat and the venom in the threat that had been whispered in his ear, he knew he needed to be careful if he wanted his head to remain attached.
But there really was more going on!
Jin Guangyao was exceptionally powerful – Wen Ruohan levels of power, maybe more. Wei Wuxian could feel the waves of energy that emanated from him. He had definitely tried to lead them astray earlier by pretending to be weaker than he was.
There was no reason he couldn't slaughter them all and be done with it if that was all he wanted. There was no reason why he should bother offering any of them an out. They were at a severe disadvantage and their strategy to take him down was borne of a sorry underestimation of his abilities.
He knew that. He knew all of that.
So why was he letting them go? If he just wanted to kill Lan Xichen or Huaisang, why not kill all of them?
If this was a matter of revenge, would it not bring more pain to Lan Xichen to kill his loved ones first, leaving him for last? Why let his brother go? Why let his disciple go?
This wasn't about killing Lan Xichen. But it was about Lan Xichen.
And it was about Huaisang. That was why he wanted to keep Wei Wuxian around.
"You're not going to kill us," Lan Zhan said. "You need us to live to prove your mercy."
Jin Guangyao sighed. Although his face was right next to his own, Wei Wuxian didn't feel his breath against his cheek like he was sure he should have.
"I don't need you alive," Jin Guangyao said. "But it is preferable."
"After everything, why try to trick my brother again? Haven't you done enough?"
"It's not a trick. I don't have to resort to lies anymore. Not now that I'm strong enough to keep my promises."
"Promises are kept by strength of will, not political or physical strength."
"I'm starting over," Jin Guangyao said. "I'm rebuilding myself. I can be whoever I want to be this time."
"He's not going to see it that way, especially if you kill me."
"Hm. You're right. I may have made my threats a little too broad. Let's try again." Jin Guangyao pulled Wei Wuxian back a few more paces. "You agree to return peacefully to Gusu now, or I'll kill this one and maybe your son too if I'm quick enough. I'll be sure to leave you alive though."
Wei Wuxian snorted again. How could he think that killing anyone was going to get him on Lan Xichen's good side?
"Start drawing," Jin Guangyao said.
Wei Wuxian had quite forgotten that he was still holding the brush from the Scorching Sun Palace. He was reminded as Jin Guangyao ripped it from his grasp and tossed it to Lan Zhan.
"As soon as it opens, I'll know where you're going," Jin Guangyao said. "Only the Cloud Recesses will secure the release of Wei Wuxian. Anywhere else and I'll kill him."
Lan Zhan deliberated. Sizhui watched Wei Wuxian and the huli jing in terror. If he could move, Wei Wuxian felt sure that Sizhui would have run to his aid without hesitation.
Jin Guangyao impatiently pressed the blade a little harder against his throat. Warm blood began to trickle down his neck, matching the seeping wound on his arm.
He would have to use his backup plan.
While Lan Zhan very slowly raised the brush to dip it in the cuts he'd made on his own arm (the inkwell was unfortunately still in Wei Wuxian's qiankun pouch), Wei Wuxian flexed his hand to reopen the cut on his palm.
He was careful not to bring attention to what he was doing. And luckily, this would only take one other movement. There wasn't much for Jin Guangyao to notice in the first place.
All the while, Lan Zhan painstakingly traced a mandala pattern on the cobblestones. When he looked up at him for a moment, making Jin Guangyao tighten his hold again, Wei Wuxian mouthed 'the palace' and added a quick wink for flair.
Lan Zhan understood. Sizhui, however, did not.
He'd been quiet up until that moment, allowing Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian to take whatever actions they deemed necessary. But, it seemed, he could no longer hold his silence.
"No," Sizhui whispered. "We can't leave him, Hanguang-jun. We don't know he'll keep his word. Please."
It hurt his heart to stand there and listen to him without offering any comfort, but Wei Wuxian still didn't dare speak.
"Cloud Recesses, Hanguang-jun," Jin Guangyao growled as Lan Zhan began to draw more fluidly. "No one needs to die. But I promise you, I won't hesitate. I may not reach the boy in time, but Wei Wuxian is as good as gone."
He noticed the short hesitation in Lan Zhan's tracing and the slight tremor in his hand. Lan Zhan was afraid that Wei Wuxian might not really have everything under control.
Honestly, Wei Wuxian was worried about that too.
The portal was going to open any second now. Wei Wuxian only had one more line of the talisman to complete, assuming of course that he could draw it in the right place without looking.
"I mean it, Hangua-"
Crack!
Sizhui looked up and instantly recognized the dark interior presented to him as somewhere emphatically not home.
"NO!" he screamed, trying and failing to get to his feet. He began to plead with Jin Guangyao. "PLEASE! WE'LL FIX IT! I'LL FIX IT! PLEASE!"
"There's nothing to fix," Wei Wuxian called at last to Sizhui as Lan Zhan pulled him less than gracefully through the portal without looking back. "It's okay A-Yuan!"
Sizhui's cry was cut short.
The portal closed. The air settled.
Wei Wuxian slashed the last mark of the talisman and prayed to gods he barely believed in as Jin Guangyao raked the dagger blade across his neck.