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A/N:
I will be taking a 10 day break from updating.
I hope you guys are safe and please enjoy this chapter.
Lots of love,
Blaksalt
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Wuxian loved silent moments like this. He had his head on Wangji's shoulder and his arms around the taller man's waist. Wangji hugged him back and placed small kisses on the side of his neck and shoulder as they stood in their room, preparing themselves for this eventful day. Wuxian loved how warm his soul-bond is, how emotionally giving and mentally accepting he is. Everything about Wangji feels like it was there for Wuxian's sake and he feels his soul sings in joy every time they're in each other's embrace.
The Archery Competition was restructured to fit in one day.. today. Many people have traveled to join the competition which surprised Wuxian. He thought people hated him since most of them still view him as the Yiling Patriarch rather than the Divine Oracle. A soft knock on the door forced Wuxian to lean back and break the prolonged embrace. Wangji fixed a few of Wuxian's stay hairs and whispers: "Whatever happens, don't let go of my hand."
Wuxian smiles at him and nods.
Liang enters the room and asks: "Are you ready?"
Wuxian swallows hard and takes Liang's extended hand..
'They found themselves at the edge of the city this time. Liang looks around but doesn't know what he's searching for. Wuxian felt his eyes wander to a man sitting at a restaurant table a few paces away from them. He tugs Liang's hand and they approach the stranger. Wuxian stares at the man for a few seconds then whispers: "That's him. That's Biming." Liang takes a closer look and says: "I haven't seen this man before. I don't think it's a face of a city resident." Wuxian watched the faceless man eat in silence: "He probably took advantage of the amount of people flooding the city and used a stranger's face to blend in without a hassle." Liang nods, trying his best to remember every inch of the man's new face. When he feels the hand in his start to shake, he immediately lets go.'
Wuxian lost his balance and was about to crash to the ground but Wangji caught him and supported his weight until he regained his bearing. Wuxian takes a few deep breaths and says to Liang: "Good luck."
Liang smiles at him: "Don't worry. We will get the job done."
Wuxian watches him leave then he turns to Wangji: "We haven't even left the inn yet and I'm already tired."
Wangji puts his arm around Wuxian's waist and guides him outside the inn. Everyone else already left to set up a secure area for Wuxian during the competition or to set up Liang's house to receive the faceless man. Wangji held his soul-bond close all the way to their destination and after a brief speech from the town council leader, the competition began. Leader Ziyang had his disciples watching Liwei as he posed as the fortune teller. They kept sending butterfly messengers with updates and he would inform them of any changes. A few hours into the competition, Biming showed up and the plan was on.
Wuxian squeezed Wangji's hand so hard that the older man felt his fingers go numb. He leaned and whispered to his mate: "Calm down. Everything will be alright. They have good backup and Liwei will do a good job."
Wuxian took a few deep breaths and tried his best to concentrate on the competition before him. Half an hour later, a butterfly messenger arrives signaling that Biming has left and that they have the prophecy book. Wuxian let out a long sigh as the tension in his body left and he smiled at Wangji: "It worked."
Wangji nods at him: "I had no doubt. You make the best plans."
The competition was almost over with three people at the lead: Taiho lost first then another rogue cultivator who traveled from afar and that left one man standing.
Lan Jinhai was announced as the winner and he smirked at Wuxian when he nodded to him. Since Wuxian cannot formally ask him to join their clan especially with his shady background, gaining his trust and having him permanently on their side was the next best thing. Jinhai is now officially his disciple.
The Slayer approaches his new teacher and bows. He asks: "Why did you do this?"
Wuxian pats his shoulder, still hesitant with being familiar with this violent man: "Those who can smell my comforting scent believe in me. They are rare and far in between. Since you decided to put your faith in me, the least I can do is give you hope and someone who believes in you too."
Jinhai frowns: "Aren't you scared of me?"
Wuxian chuckles awkwardly: "I am. But I'm sure I will get over it. I only need you to give me your word that you will not kill anyone unjustly."
Jinhai: "What constitutes a justifiable killing?"
Wuxian thinks for a second: "I guess that's why you're my disciple now. I get to teach you morality and how to be a proper cultivator, not a slayer."
Jinhai nods and moves a little bit closer to Wuxian to take a deep breath: "I will follow your lead. Don't let me down, Divine Oracle."
He walks away after that and Wuxian is left with so many doubts. He can't tell if his rash decision was the best choice or the worst choice he will ever make. At least he knows that Jinhai is as strong as Biming from his last vision and that his father will definitely kill him when he finds out. But, having someone that strong in your lane shouldn't hurt their chances of winning this war.
Wuxian hurried back when the competition was over. He wanted to see for himself that everyone is ok and that they truly had the book. The first thing he saw was Liwei standing inside their room, covered in red and he freaked out. He ran up to him and started patting him for injuries: "What happened? Are you hurt?"
Liwei chuckled at his dramatic reaction and said: "Calm down, it's just the dye I used to color my hair."
Wuxian sighs loudly in relief then punches the finder's arm: "Don't scare me like that!"
Liwei rubs his hurt arm and says: "Why are you hitting me? And how are you this strong? My fingers are more meatier than your arm!"
Wuxian tsks at him: "Have you seen my disciples? They're a handful. I get regular exercise while disciplining them."
Yuxio enters the room and runs towards him: "COMPENSATION TIME!"
Liwei saw Wangji unsheathe his sword and catch the running woman before she reached Wuxian. She tries to free herself: "Get off! I earned this!"
Wuxian covers his face with his hands and sighs: "I knew I would regret this."
Yuxio points a finger at a glaring Wangji: "You don't get to complain! We had a deal. I steal the book and protect this weirdo and get a 3 minute UNINTERRUPTED hug from Master Wei!"
Wuxian turns to look apologetically at his angry soul-bond: "We did agree to this."
Wangji sheathes his sword and says in a threatening voice: "Three minutes."
Yuxio squeezed the soul out of Wuxian when Liwei lets go. She took the deepest breaths a human can take and nuzzled her face in his shoulder: "Oh my GOD! You smell so good! This should be a sin!"
Wuxian pats her back, trying to survive whatever this is: "What you're doing is a sin, pervert."
Yuxio milked her three minutes to the last second: sniffing, snuggling close and throwing comments that made Wuxian almost puke. When her time was up, Wangji coughed loudly and she leaned back, holding Wuxian by his shoulders: "Your hugs are like.. the definition of heaven on earth."
Wuxian stares blankly at her: "Save it for your future husband.."
Yuxio smirks at him and before anyone can react, she places a kiss on his forehead and flees.
Wuxian wipes his forehead frantically and screams at the direction she fled to: "WE DID NOT AGREE ON THIS, PERVERT!"
Wangji throws his sheathed sword. It flew away, following her and they heard a painful yelp before it returned. Wuxian smiles at him: "Nice.." Wangji nods at his approval.
Zewu Jun enters the room frowning: "Why is Yuxio rubbing her bottom?"
They all stared at him blankly so he moved on: "I have the book."
He hands it to Wuxian and he gently opens it and starts reading..
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