.
Healer Shi was curled up outside of Wuxian's room. She convinced herself that it's a short break to rest her eyes but in reality she was desperate for a few seconds to rearrange her thoughts. It's been two days since Wuxian ended up in her care and things have been going downhill for the fragile man.
For the last couple of days, things have been hectic. Shi made sure that Wuxian was sedated to give his wrist time to heal without movement and control his level of pain. She knew the internal bleeding would've been hell if he was awake enough to feel it. She also made sure that the people attending to him were all women: Yuxio, Mianmian and herself. She didn't know how affected Wuxian would be over the public loss of control and humiliation the evil man put him through and she wasn't willing to take a chance in making him uncomfortable for now. Women are less intimidating and always a go-to when it comes to dealing with this type of situation.
Zewu Jun and the young disciples have made a camping rotation outside Wuxian's room. She didn't have the heart to shoo them away. Wen Ning was a constant presence and was the most helpful. At the end of the day.. none of this mattered. Wuxian was slowly declining into what she dubbed: the red zone. She was a cultivator healer. Not a basic "using herbs and remedies" type of doctor. Doubt is starting to color her thoughts with ugly shades and she's losing her confidence as Wuxian's abdomen bruise is starting to spread. She was too scared to admit it but.. little rabbit is going to die if they don't do something soon.
Yuxio was currently with Wuxian. Her heart ached fiercely over what happened to her grandmaster. She was a firm believer of karma, but the sick man before her did not deserve this type of treatment or the pain he's in. When she saw the damage done to her grandmaster's body, Fu Shi almost had to sedate her to calm her down. This is not fair and she vowed to herself that someone will pay even if it's the last thing she ever does.
Shi ordered Yuxio to dip a clean cloth in hot water and use it to wipe Wuxian's extremities to clean and warm him up. The small man was cold beyond normal from the blood loss and the shock he went through a few days ago. He might enjoy calling her a pervert but when push comes to shove, she would put her life on the line to protect this man. Her loyalty is rare and she never fails the ones who deserve it.
She looks up to see Wuxian fully awake for the first time in many days. Yuxio warmly smiles at him and whispers: "You're awake."
Wuxian tries to speak but from the vivid bruise on his neck and the wince that graced his face, she can assume that he won't be able to for a while: "It's ok. You don't have to talk. Just rest and let us take care of you for a while."
Wuxian blinks tiredly at her then focuses his gaze at something behind her. She turns her head and sees Bichen leaning on the wall. No one had seen Hanguang Jun since he left in a fit of rage a few days ago. Sect Leader Nie assured them that he will return after he cools off. Healer Shi made sure they all know the lie they're going to feed the hurt man in their care.
As predicted, Wuxian weakly shows her the Lan Clan headband in his hand in a silent question about his soul-bond's whereabouts. She plastered on her best fake smile and said assuredly: "He just stepped out for a while. He'll be back soon."
Wuxian stared at her for a while then scrunched his eyes shut. He weakly taps her arm to get her attention: "What's wrong?"
Wuxian points to his side. Yuxio tenderly smooths his hair back and says: "It hurts?"
Wuxian nods frantically and continues to point at his side. Yuxio knows that Healer Shi fed Wuxian painkillers regularly. This shouldn't be happening. She places her hand on his forehead to calm him down: "Alright, I'll go find Healer Shi. She will help."
She didn't have to go far. Healer Shi was still curled up outside the door: "Fu Shi, he's awake and in pain."
Healer Shi jumps into action and goes in to check on her patient: "Little rabbit, you're finally awake!"
Wuxian's eyes were filled with desperation and pain. He grabs her hand weakly and places it over his side with urgency. She looks sadly at him: "I know.. I know.. It must hurt, huh? I'll give you something for the pain in a few minutes. Just hold tight."
They both helped him drink the potion Shi made to ease his pain and once the pain lines started to fade from his face, Shi grabbed his arm to get his attention before he returned to sleep: "Little rabbit, you need to stay awake for me. Do you mind if Zewu Jun and Wen Ning come in and visit you?"
Wuxian was confused for a few seconds then shook his head. This was progress. He didn't hesitate or flinch from her request. With his permission granted, she allowed him to fall back to sleep.
Zewu Jun was sitting with her that night as they watched over the ailing man. Shi sighs deeply: "Zewu Jun, his condition is reaching a very critical phase. I need to intervene soon or he could die."
Zewu Jun was shocked by her statement: "Die? That's not an option!"
Shi: "I've been racking my brains for the past few days for a favorable solution but nothing comes to mind. I even allowed the city healers to come and help. They all declared him a dead man but I refused to accept it."
Zewu Jun frowns: "What are the unfavorable solutions?"
Shi looks sadly at him: "If he was any other cultivator, this would've been a walk in the park. A few needles here, an hour of spiritual energy transference there and he would be right as rain within a day. But as we both know.. he wasn't in the best of health before this happened."
Zewu Jun: "Give me options."
Shi sighs: "We only have two option: we either wait it out and there is a 30% chance the bleeding would stop and he would heal slowly from the damage. It's already slowing down but it's a struggle trying to contain the side effects. The second option is using spiritual energy transference to stop the bleeding and heal the most prominent damage."
Zewu Jun: "I thought that was not an option with the healing sessions and his energy container sealed."
Shi: "It's not ideal. It will undo the work we already did and prolong the period we initially set to finish his treatment."
Zewu Jun mulls it over for a few silent moments and whispers: "I would prefer a sick and alive brother over a dead one."
Shi: ".. but it's not our choice to make."
Zewu Jun closes his eyes in frustration: "Wangji is not back yet. Wei Wuxian is too weak and too out of it to make a decision. Tell me, who gets to make this choice?"
Shi: "We have a healing session scheduled two days from now. If Hanguang Jun doesn't show up by then, we will revisit this conversation once more."
Wangji was deep into the forest by the time night set on that awful day. He just kept on walking and walking until his frustrations flamed out. He sat near a lake and silently watched the wild life move around him. Zewu Jun probably thinks he's acting irrationally. The young disciples might think he's out for revenge and his soul-bond will probably blame himself when he wakes up and finds out he is gone. What bothered him the most was what Nie said.
Hanguang Jun has been avoiding a topic that has been circling his thoughts. Everyone knew how possessive he was over his soul-bond and most people assumed it was a byproduct of his insecurities or petty jealousy. If he was honest with himself, the main reason behind his flaws is fear. He was afraid of losing his Wei Ying and watching it happen in front of his eyes while he's helpless to do anything about it lit a fire under his deepest and most painful fear. What Nie said was right, he cannot run out while Wei Ying was vulnerable. He doesn't have enough intel on how to find this man or how to successfully defeat him.
He looked down at his reflection in the water and all he saw was the face the evil man stole to taunt his soulmate. He never experienced self-loathing until this moment.
He stayed in that spot for a day. Meditating and organizing his emotions and thoughts. He will return to his soul-bond with nothing short of emotional stability and full readiness to comfort and support his partner. Wei Ying was perfect in his eyes and he deserves only the best. Wangji was planning to stay and meditate until he was sure that his emotions were contained.. until a rogue memory invaded his thoughts. The day the Earth Deity passed it's judgement on him.. something was said that always bothered him but he didn't pay it much attention until now.
He remembers their warning clearly: 'Beware, your loved one will face hardship like no other. And just like the past, your actions will be what saves him or condemns him.'
Hanguang Jun refuses to be the reason for Wuxian's fall. He did fail him twice and both times, Wuxian ended up hurt and dead. That small man is the reason Wangji wakes up in the morning and sleeps peacefully at night. Nothing.. and no one will keep them apart.
With a heart filled with rejuvenated determination and hope, Wangji made his way calmly back to his one true love. Revenge will have to wait. It's been almost two days since Wangji saw his soul-bond and that was longer than he could handle to stay sane. It's time to make things right. Wangji needs to breathe once again.
.