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Bhao always thought that his size was the worst quality he possessed. People always assumed that he was a tough guy or mean simply by looking at his stature. They called him names like 'giant' and 'mountain'. His mother taught him how to meditate to let go of his resentment so the bullying never affected him.
With that said, stealth is not a word that can be associated with his name. His big awkward body made it hard for him to move quietly or fast. It's been an hour since Wuxian's lesson started and he's been marked 5 times with ink blotches all over his robes. He really tried to avoid detection from the sea of birds covering almost every inch of the sky but the moment a part of his gigantic body was shown, he was hit with an ink dropping. Those damn birds have no mercy over his disadvantages. The only Hail Mary left is finding one of the stones.
He was hiding under a tree when he saw Jingyi crawl from under a bush and inch his way towards the Orchid Room. Apparently, Jingyi shared his thoughts over searching enclosed areas before risking the search out in the open.
Wuxian wasn't specific on where the stones might be hidden so they will not exclude any location within Cloud Recesses. He was hit with another ink pouch as he made his way towards the door as closely to the wall as possible. Who was he kidding? The birds could probably spot him from the moon. Before he enters the door, he trips over the steps and lands near it. While rubbing his aching knee, he sees something odd under the steps. He reaches in and grabs it. His eyes widen when he realizes that he found the first stone. A smile spreads over his face, dimmed only by another ink splashing from the sky directly at his head.
Bhao sighs loudly over his weird luck. He leaned forward to heave himself off the floor and was pushed before he could fully stand. A blur flashes before him and he looks down to see that his hand is empty. He shouts at the running figure: "YOU CHEATER! GIVE ME BACK MY STONE!"
Jingyi pokes his head from the Orchid room when he hears Bhao's loud scream and looks at the two running figures as the birds dump more colors on them both. He shakes his head: "Amateurs.."
He is about to return to his search inside the room when he sees a shadow between the bushes. Initially, he thought it was one of the other students trying to be stealthily until he notices their weapons. His eyes widen and all interest in finding the stones is forgotten.
Wuxian was stuffing his face with whatever Mianmian puts in front of him. She has never seen a man eat as voraciously as Wuxian is doing right now: "Where does it all go?"
Ran chuckles: "Certainly not where it's supposed to.."
Wuxian glares at the two women after he washes down the big bite he took from the rice ball with warm water: "I am not that skinny!"
Both of them stare blankly at him. Ran reaches over and holds his delicate wrist up as proof. He sighs: "Fine.. I'm that skinny. Now let go before Lan Zhan sees this as a transgression."
She lets go so fast.. one would think his skin was actually on fire. He will never get tired of using his soul-bond as a threat. He reaches over to grab an apple from the spread of food before him when his hand suddenly grasps at air..
'He sees someone lying low under some bushes. Wuxian moves to look around to figure out where he is. A loud eagle cry distracts him and he looks up. The sky was filled with all kinds of birds that were dropping ink pouches everywhere. The reality of seeing such a short notice vision kickstarts his panic. He looks around frantically trying to figure out what he's supposed to see. The figure moves some branches to get a better view of what he's stalking. Wuxian walks around him to see more clearly. The man was wearing black robes but what stood out was his weapon. He was carrying a spear and watching Wuxian and his two companions through the Treasure Room window. A rustle of leaves grabs both their attention and they turn to see Jingyi going in to subdue the intruder. Unfortunately, the young man was not as strong or as fast as the man in black robes. Blood paints his student's robes instead of colored ink.'
The moment reality crashes back around Wuxian, he's out of his seat and on his way out. The two other women follow suit without question. The golden-hair man tackles the hidden intruder before he even has the chance to settle in for his surveillance of the Treasure Room. Wuxian wrestles around with the man and sees Jingyi approaching from between the bushes. Wuxian gets distracted for a second as he puts his hand out to stop the young man by screaming: "STAY BACK!"
That moment of hesitation costs him plenty. He found himself under the mercy of the armed man, held at bay by the tip of his spear grazing his side. Wuxian tries to fight his way out of the man's hold and only succeeds in lodging a part of the spear into his side. He gasps when the pain finally overpowers his will to be free and he stops struggling. Mianmian and Ran were both holding their swords, waiting for an opening to attack the strange man and free Wuxian.
Jingyi disappears into the bushes as blood starts to spread over Wuxian's side. Ran grits her teeth seething: "Who are you?"
The stranger takes a step back, dragging Wuxian with him: "He is an abomination! The freak must die!"
Wuxian tries to breathe as evenly as possible, fearful that if he takes a deep breath the spear will go deeper into his body. He whispered: "Why do you want me dead?"
Before the man could answer, a flash of purple thunder throws the unexpected stranger back and away from Wuxian, dislodging the spear from his wound. Wuxian lets out a deep breath as he sinks to his knees holding his bleeding side. The scene around him erupts into a fight but he is too busy staring at the blood covering his hand. At some point, someone scoops him up in a haste and he closes his eyes when the fast movement makes him dizzy. He was set gently on a soft surface and heard a familiar voice whispering: "Wei Ying?"
Wuxian opens his eyes to see the concerned face of his brother. He blinks a few times, trying to process what he's seeing: "Jiang Cheng?"
Someone presses hard on his aching side and he shouts: "OUCH!"
He turns to glare at Healer Shi as she huffs: "Such a baby. It's just a flesh wound."
Wuxian looks down and sees the blood still lazily seeping into his robes. Everything around him seems to blur out of focus: "It doesn't feel.. feel like a.. a flesh wound."
His eyes feel like they weigh a ton as consciousness leaves him.
Jiang Cheng was starting to panic: "HE PASSED OUT!"
Healer Shi shushes him: "I'm not blind!"
Jiang Cheng grabs her arm and says in a threatening voice: "You fix him or you DIE!"
Healer Shi turns to glare at him and yanks her arm out of his grasp: "Stop shouting and make yourself useful! Get me hot water and clean cloth."
The door bangs open with force as Wangji rushes in: "What happened?"
Jiang Cheng's rage floods his body at the sight of the man in white: "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HIM!"
Cheng pushes Wangji with both hands, making him take a few steps back. Wangji didn't seem like he's listening, his eyes solely focused on the blood covering his soul-bond.
Healer Shi shouts: "BOTH OF YOU, OUT!"
Zewu Jun and Jingyi rush in at the sight of the pending fight. They each grab one of the men present and drag them out. Zewu Jun pulls Cheng a few paces away from Wangji and asks: "What happened?"
Cheng punches the wall in fury: "YOU TELL ME! He's supposed to be safe under your clan's care. Instead.. I arrive to find him held hostage with a spear in his side! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HIM!"
Zewu Jun puts his hands up to calm the seething man: "Someone attacked Brother Wei in Cloud Recesses?"
Lan Ran rushes in with Minamian to join them. She says: "The intruder is dead."
Wangji was half listening, half staring through the cracked door at Healer Shi treating his soul-bond. Zewu Jun turns to face Wuxian's assistant: "Tell me what happened!"
Ran stands at attention and says: "We were sitting in the Treasure room, waiting for the disciples to complete their task when Treasure Wei had a vision. Before we could question him about it, he ran out of the room and tackled a man just outside the room hiding between the bushes. They scuffled around until the intruder had the upper hand and held Treasure Wei at spear point as a hostage. He claimed that Treasure Wei is an abomination and must die. That's when Jiang Clan Leader arrived and contained the situation."
Cheng was pacing around like a caged animal. He pointed an accusing finger at the Lan Clan members present: "If I haven't decided to arrive earlier than scheduled, my brother would be dead! IN YOUR HOME! UNDER YOUR ROOF!"
Zewu Jun sighs loudly: "Jiang Clan Leader, please calm down. The danger is gone. Wei Ying is under Healer Shi's capable hands."
Healer Shi opens the door and steps back, letting Wangji pass by her to sit next to his awake soul-bond. Cheng rushes in after him to check on his brother. Zewu Jun shakes his head over the two unreasonable men and steps close to Shi: "How is he?"
Shi rubs her neck: "I told them it was just a flesh wound. It didn't damage any organs or create any permanent damage. He just lost a lot of blood and will need bed rest for a while."
She turns to look at the two men fighting over Wuxian's attention and sighs: "I swear.. toddlers act more mature than these men.."
Zewu Jun chuckles: "True.."
Wangji's concern was not dulled by Healer Shi's assurances. Wuxian smiled at him as he sat near his bed and took his hand. The smaller man was very pale and shaky.
Wangji: "Wei Ying, how do you feel?"
Wuxian was distracted by the new arrival: "Brother! I thought I hallucinated you."
Cheng huffed: "Apparently, no one here is competent enough to protect you."
Wuxian tsks: "I'm alive, aren't I?"
Cheng uses his hips to push Wangji away and take Wuxian's free hand. He takes a deep breath from Wuxian's wrist and sighs loudly: "I missed you."
Wuxian noticed the seething look Wangji directed towards his brother and groaned. He was about to say something but didn't feel like he had the will to deal with it at the moment. He sits up with the help of his brother and whispers through the pain: "Help.. help me take off the bloody clothes before Hweiru sees them and freaks out again."
Cheng assists the struggling man: "That's the new daughter you didn't bother telling me about?"
Wuxian shivers when the cold air hits his bare skin: "Yeah.."
Wangji takes out a new robe and pushes Cheng out of the way to help Wuxian into it.
The moment he is ready, Hweiru rushes through the door. Wuxian plasters a fake cheerful smile and tries his best to mask his pain.
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