.
He gets closer and whispers: "Wen Ning?"
The kids were shocked when Wen Ning suddenly opens his eyes to reveal nothing but black then without warning seizes Wuxian by the throat and lifts him off the ground.
Wuxian grabs the hand strangling him and tries to loosen it's hold.
Linao was the first to react and yells at the rest to surround Wen Ning: "Cousins we must do something! I will try to distract him enough to let go first then we will all fight him together."
Linao rushes over and with her sword tries to slash Wen Ning. Before she can get close, a set of pointy chains whips towards her and she's pushed flying back a few paces into the ground.
Qiao takes out a talisman to summon a rope to bind the chains but his spell is blown back when Wen Ning opens his mouth and yells, unleashing energy all around him. Wuxian was starting to lose consciousness. He drops his flute and loosens his grasp on the hand choking him. Lijian, the closest to them, yells in distress: "We need to act fast! He's going to kill Master Wei!"
They all look at each other and with a shared nod rushed in at the same time with aiming swords. Wen Ning sees their approach and drops an unconscious Wuxian on the ground and strikes them all with his chains. It took two swings but the cousins were all left on the ground cradling their injuries and struggling to get back up. Wen Ning lets out another angry yell then jumps up the hill and disappears from view.
With the threat temporarily gone, Morui was the first to recover and rushed over to check on Wuxian: "His breathing is labored! What should we do?"
Lijian, the only cultivator between them with medical training, comes closer and checks Wuxian's pulse: "His pulse is weak but I think he will be fine." He checks his throat: "This will be painful when he wakes up but I don't see any permanent damage."
Qiao starts to freak out a little: "His Excellency is going to kill us all! Did you see how protective he was of Master Wei before we left?"
Linao shushes him: "That's not important now! We need to figure out a way to get out of this predicament. We need to return Master Wei to be examined by a healer but we cannot guarantee that we won't encounter Master Wen, or whatever that was, on our way back."
Morui looks at her older cousin: "You're right, we need to figure out what we're dealing with."
Lijian hums and says: "I think Master Wen was possessed. Did you see his black eyes?"
They all nod in agreement and Qiao shivers in fear: "Do you think he's possessed by the evil warlord spirit we talked about earlier?"
Mingyi scoffs: "Since he is originally a fierce corpse himself, I am not surprised if he is."
Before any of them could comment more, a moan is heard coming out of Wuxian as he slowly starts to wake up. He opens his eyes to see five worried looking youths looking down at him. He opens his mouth to ask what happened but his throat burns with pain. He swallows painfully and brings his hand to knead his aching neck. Lijian pulls his hand away and says: "Master Wei, your neck and throat are severely bruised. Do not speak or it will worsen your condition." Wuxian blinks his eyes and nods.
Linao helps him into a sitting position and explains what happened when she sees the look of confusion in his eyes: "We decided to take you back to get treated by our clan healer. Can you walk?" He nods but when he stands and starts to sway, they set him back down to rest for a few minutes before they try again.
Linao: "While Master Wei rests, we need to come up with a plan in case Master Wen blocks our return. Any ideas?"
Qiao: "Master Wei can control fierce corpses with music. Maybe he can stop Master Wen so we can escape?"
Lijian shakes his head: "His throat is too damaged for him to play Chenqing. He's barely breathing with the swelling."
They all look back at Wuxian struggling to breath, trying to stay upright. Mingyi was not happy: "Cousins, we still have a test to finish. I suggest we divide into two groups, the youngest will accompany Master Wei back and the rest can continue the journey. I'm sure Hanguang Jun will deal with Master Wen so we don't have to worry about him."
Morui looks angrily at Mangyi: "Cousin! How can you be so callous! We need to bring Master Wei to safety first!"
The other cousins all agree with her, causing Mingyi to huff in frustration and relent. Linao looks at her cousins with determination and says: "Lijian, you stay close to Master Wei to keep an eye on his health and help him walk. Morui and Qiao will walk at the back to guard our tail. Cousin Mingyi will walk a few paces ahead to look out for Master Wen or any hidden traps still laying around. All we need to figure out now is how to stop Master Wen if he blocks our way. Any thoughts?"
Lijian: "If our main goal is to return Master Wei, I suggest that if we encounter any obstacle that we divide into two groups. One will hold off Master Wen long enough for the second group to accompany Master Wei back and bring reinforcement."
Lijian feels a hand grabbing his arm and looks down to see Wuxian shaking his head. He pulls his palm to write on it: "Stay together."
Linao looks like a Wuxian: "Master Wei, it's a good plan. We are stronger than we might seem. I am sure we can hold off Master Wen long enough for reinforcements to come and assist."
Wuxian shakes his head and writes on Lijian's palm: "Stronger together."
Mingyi glares at him: "My cousins don't want to say it out loud but your presence will only burden us and create a distraction if we have to fight. Let us handle it."
Linao smacks her cousin's head: "You disrespectful brat. Master Wei is a guest and senior. We have to protect him as well as listen to his guidance." She looks back at Wuxian: "We will respect your wishes and fight together. Do you feel well enough for travel?"
Wuxian nods and with help from Lijian, gets up and they start heading back.
Mingyi was furious at first and refused to fall into the agreed formation. Linao walks next to him and tries to gain his favor: "Cousin Mingyi, you're the oldest and most experienced. If we allow anyone else to scout ahead we will be in deep trouble before we have the chance to fight back. You're the most qualified to lead our group to safety so please help us return Master Wei before the sun sets."
Mingyi smirks with pride and walks ahead of the group. Wuxian smiles at the crafty Linao and silently laughs when she winks back at him.
They had to stop a few times for Wuxian to rest. When they spot the city at a distance, they hear a loud angry yell and hear Mingyi scream: "HE'S HERE. HELP ME FIGHT!" Linao forces Wuxian to sit near a rock and instructs Morui to stay and guard him as she, Lijian and Qiao run ahead to help Mingyi.
Morui grabs Wuxian with one hand and draws her sword with the other. With a fierce look, she declares: "Master Wei, I will protect you with my life. Don't be afraid."
The fight gets closer by the second and within a few minutes, Morui and Wuxian can see the four cousins struggling to contain Wen Ning. Wuxian turns the hand in his, and writes on Morui's palm: "Shield talisman. Stop attack." Morui nods and yells what she was told to her cousins. Mingyi shrieks back in frustration: "THAT'S NOT HELPFUL!"
Qiao: "I think he wants us to use a shield talisman to trap Master Wen instead of protecting ourselves. Cousin Lijian, do you have any shield talismans with you?"
Lijian nods and Linao says: "Qiao and Mingyi, I will distract him while you try to grab his chains so Lijian can place the talisman on him!" With the plan in place, they were able to create a shield around Wen Ning and trap him for the time being.
They all slump down with relief and after getting their breath back, walk towards Wuxian to check on him. Linao grabs his hand for comfort and whispers: "Thank you Master Wei. Now that we have him in restraints, what should we do to remove the evil spirit possessing him without harming Master Wen."
Qiao pitches in: "We cannot leave him here. He might escape and hurt others."
They hear music from a distance and turn around to see Wangji land with his zither. With a sweep of chord assassination pulse, he breaks the shield talisman holding Wen Ning in place. The cousins all stand up, holding their swords and ready to assist Wangji in fighting Ning.
Wangji just turns around and heads towards Wuxian and helps him up. Wuxian claps his hands and addresses the youth who are looking back at them with confusion, still holding their swords and ready to fight. Wuxian takes a deep breath then addresses them: "You all did well. I honestly expected at least a few of you to run away in tears."
They all look speechless until Wuxian takes pity on them and calls out: "Wen Ning, did you have fun?" Ning walks over and bows to Wuxian: "They did good. I got a few shots in but they didn't hesitate to get back up and fight."
Mingyi is the first to recover and shouts: "YOU TRICKED US!"
Wangji stands in front of Wuxian and glares: "The test is complete. Lower your voice."
Mingyi was embarrassed. He tilts his head down. The cousins all faced Wangji and Wuxian and bowed in respect: "Thank you your Excellency. Thank you Master Wei. Thank you Master Wen."
Qiao asked: "What about the Warlord's fierce corpse? Was that story real?"
Wangji nods: "We located the angry spirit while I was setting up the test and sent Young Master Zizhen to take care of it. The rumors were exaggerated. It was just a vengeful spirit."
Lijian spoke up: "Your Excellency, Master Wei is injured and I recommend that we escort him to see a healer as soon as possible."
Wuxian laughs and uses his sleeve to wipe his neck: "Don't worry Lijian, it's just paint transferred from Wen Ning's hand when he pretended to strangle me."
Linian frowns: ".. but I took your pulse. It was weak. I checked it twice."
Wangji turns around and glares at Wuxian who scratches his head and tries to change the subject: "Anyways.. You all impressed me with how well you worked together. Since the test is over, let's head back and rest before we speak with your elders."
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