"Zhan Ge!"
Xiao Zhan felt a firm squeeze on his hand. He knitted his eyebrows. It had been so long since he had heard the deep voice call his name like that. His real name. Not 'Wei Ying'.
Hmm? Lan Zhan never called my real name before. Wait? Zhan Ge?
"Wang Yibo?" He muttered. Xiao Zhan struggled to part his eyelids.
"Zhan Ge! Xiao Zhan, wake up!"
The bright light entered his retinas, and the glares of the sun's rays overwhelmed his sight. He pinched his eyelids together again before opening them slowly so that his eyes could readjust to the ambient light. He saw a blurry figure looking at him.
"Yibo? What are you doing here?" It took a little too long for his vision to register the person's face. The person's hand was on his shoulder, gently shaking him to wake up. He propped himself up on his elbow and squinted his eyes to take a closer look.
"Wei Ying."
"Oh, Lan Zhan. It's you." Xiao Zhan finally saw the owner of the face, sitting at the edge of the bed.
Lan Wangji looked dejected at his reply, but he still helped Xiao Zhan to sit, not that he needed it. Xiao Zhan rested his back against the headboard.
Lan Wangji's fingers tightened around his shoulder. "How do you feel?"
Xiao Zhan recalled the last memories he had before waking up. He winced at the remembrance of the disturbing noises; he could still hear a faint, constant ringing in his ears. "I feel fine. Did I pass out?"
Lan Wangji nodded. "You were out for the whole day."
Xiao Zhan studied his face. Lan Wangji looked tired, worried, and glum. He could feel the tremors from the hand that was still on his shoulder. He sighed.
Why is he always like a scared puppy? Did he even rest?
He took Lan Wangji's hand and sandwiched it between his hands. Rubbing the knuckles with his thumb, he said, "Sorry. I troubled you a lot."
Lan Wangji stared at their joined hands but did not attempt to pull away. He shook his head. "No, you did not."
Xiao Zhan gave him a warm smile. "I don't know what I would do without you, Lan Zhan. Thank you."
Lan Wangji shook his head lightly before saying softly, "Between us, there is no need to say 'thanks' or 'sorry'."
Xiao Zhan took a sharp breath upon hearing that. He remembered reading the line in the novel. He lowered his gaze as he said, "Still, I am grateful."
"You need to see this," Lan Wangji said. With his free hand, took out Xiao Zhan's flute from his sleeve. The once brown bamboo now resembled the infamous ghost flute and the only thing that was missing was a red tassel.
"Chenqing? How did this happened?" Xiao Zhan gasped. Letting go of Lan Wangji's hand, he examined the flute carefully and thoroughly. He clenched it , trying to feel the difference than the former form.
The flute emitted a faint wisp of black smoke as if it were greeting him, and he could feel the ominous spirits within it. In the novel, Wei Wuxian created it to increase his control over the resentful energy, even though he could do it by snapping, clapping, or whistling. Like an amplifier for his commands, the shrill whistling tones could reverberate to cover a larger perimeter, hence reaching more spirits and raising more corpses. Just like a loudspeaker.
The novel never really explained the origin of Chenqing. Didn't Wei Wuxian play another bamboo flute after his resurrection? Ah, whatever! This must be the scheme of that Being since I only used the flute for pacifying spirits instead of summoning them. Nothing goes as planned!
"It was already black when I got to your side." Lan Wangji looked desolately at the dizi. He was the one who had given it to Wei Ying, and he felt guilty. He had seen how the dense smog had oozed into the instrument that night, and he recalled how terrifying and dark the power had been. It was an ability beyond his imagination and expectations, one that could turn the entire cultivation world upside down. He was genuinely scared now. He was afraid that he had already seen Wei Ying temporarily lose control once, and he did not want the power to corrupt the heart and mind of someone he loved. He asked, "Chenqing?"
"It's the name of the flute. Or was it? Maybe? I'm not too sure anymore. Let's just call it that." Xiao Zhan kept the flute aside, putting an end to the discussion about the musical instrument. He racked his brain to make sense of the entire fiasco.
They were currently at Yang Ping, which he had never read about before, but the novel was not too detailed about the locations. He tried to remember the map of his country from the modern world, but he was not a fan of geography or history. Even if he was, he never really paid too much attention to the map since he had his smartphone for navigation purposes, and he did not drive that much either. He knew that Yiling was a real district in Yichang, the neighboring county of his hometown, Chongqing. He was too lost in his food journey that he forgot to ask the person who might know the map better than him.
"Lan Zhan, how close is this town to Yiling?"
"We are at the border northeast of Yiling."
"Oh, damn it. This was my miscalculation." Xiao Zhan scolded himself in his mind. "Looks like we accidentally went to Burial Mound, huh?"
"Mn."
I guess I am that Yiling Patriarch now.
They had been moving westward for the night hunt for a few reasons. Firstly, for surveillance. The Art of War emphasized the importance of knowing the enemy to win a battle. That was precisely what they were planning to do. They needed to gain insight into the Qishan Wen headquarters, gather information on their security level, and assess their strength and skills. With this data, they would devise a plan to breach and infiltrate for their next move.
First, he wanted to recruit Wen Qing and Wen Ning. It would be hard to explain if he only sent a letter, plus the pair of siblings might assume it was just a prank of a madman. Hence, he needed to meet these two face-to-face. Perhaps, he could convince them to join him and, at the same time, save the rest of the Wen remnants as well.
Three, he wanted to prevent the tragedy of Yi City. Hence, they were to go to Kuizhou, which was near their final destination, to look for young Xue Yang. He had already explained that boy's existence to Lan Wangji, and the Second Jade thought it was a good idea to prevent Xue Yang from growing into a villain.
And last but not least, it was for his personal gratification. He wanted to see the ancient version of Chongqing, which was called Jiangzhou in this timeline, and of course, for the cuisines. Thanks to the overly supportive First Jade, they did not have to set a deadline for the night hunt. Therefore, they did not rush it since he needed a breather from his recent role as a drill sergeant. And since this was the first time he had stepped outside Gusu, he just wanted to explore the world a little.
"Wei Ying, do you still think you can control it?" Lan Wangji lowered his head, staring blankly at the ground. He fidgeted with his fingers, trying to conceal the slight trembling.
Xiao Zhan could feel the distress in his voice and read the trepidation on his face. He sat closer to Lan Wangji and stretched out his hand to envelop Lan Wangji's wrist, offering some reassurance. "I know what you're worried about. I lost it for a moment, but didn't you bring me back? As long as you're with me, I think I can handle it."
Lan Wangji turned to face him. "What if I am not there by your side?"
Xiao Zhan immediately pouted. "Why won't you be? Do you have someone else you wish to cling to? Do you want to leave my side?"
"No! It's not like that. I mean, what if I can't be there?" Lan Wangji reasoned. "What if you're alone at that time?"
"Then, don't leave me alone, Lan Zhan." Xiao Zhan said without thinking. "Just stay with me all day."
"Even at night?" Lan Wangji asked, gazing deeply into his eyes.
What? Isn't it too early for that? Hold on! Xiao Zhan! What are you thinking? Your body is of a teenager! You are... well, physically underage! Besides, we are not in that kind of relationship, are we?
Xiao Zhan's face reddened considerably at his own thoughts. "Err... Maybe not to that extent. I don't mean that we have to be together every minute."
Lan Wangji frowned and averted his face to the floor again, muttering, "Don't say things you don't mean."
Are you being serious right now?
Xiao Zhan backed away from their physical contact, blinking hard. "Why are you upset?"
"I'm not." Lan Wangji gritted out his words.
"Lan Zhan, you do realize that people are already talking about us right? You are fifteen and despite my body's age, I am actually much older than you thought I am."Xiao Zhan tried to knock some sense into the second Jade stubbornness.
"Didn't you say you are a thousand years younger than me?" Lan Wangji reminded him bluntly.
Xiao Zhan was stunned for a second before he shook his head in disbelief. "Wow! Did you just take my words out of context and use them against me? How witty if you, Lan Zhan"
Hah! No wonder people would lose against him in the debates and discussions. He's too clever for his own good!
Lan Wangji retorted, "Your concept of age does not apply in this world."
Not wanting to prolong this strange argument, Xiao Zhan raised a white flag, although he could not help but say in a teasing tone, "Fine. You won this round. You are older, alright? So much older! Should I call you Lan Er Gege then?"
"Shameless!" Lan Wangji said, his ears getting red again.
Xiao Zhan shook with laughter as he pointed out, "Lan Er Gege, you have no idea how much I know about you. And I know for a fact that you are far more shameless than I am."
"..." Lan Wangji pressed his lips into a straight line, his fair ivory face now dusted with pink blushes. He shifted slightly to create a little distance between them, refusing to look in Xiao Zhan's direction.
"Lan Zhan."
"..."
"Lan Wangji."
"..."
At the end, Xiao Zhan had to appease the sulky ice prince. "Okay... Okay... don't be mad now. I was just joking."
"..."
Seeing that Lan Wangji would not answer him, he thought of something. He inhaled a deep breath and blew it out slowly. When he opened his mouth again, the lyrics of the first part of the theme song glided out of his vocal cords.
Wuji. The unrestrained. Or Wangxian, as Lan Wangji would call it.
That caught Lan Wangji's attention instantly, and the golden-eyed teen stared at him with absolute disbelief.
A triumphant grin spread across Xiao Zhan's lips. "This was the song you played last night, right?"
Lan Wangji nodded slightly. "You heard it?"
"Yes," Xiao Zhan smiled. "Thanks to that, I regained control again. So, thank you, Lan Zhan."
Lan Wangji furrowed his brows in brief thought before asking, "You already knew this song before?"
Xiao Zhan reminded him, "I told you I knew the future of this world."
Lan Wangji turned away, his tone bitter and sour at the same time. "Did you sing this song with... Wang Yibo?"
"How do youâ?" Xiao Zhan's eyes went wide before realization dawned on him. "Wait. Lan Zhan... How do you know his name?"
Lan Wangji did not answer immediately. He balled his hands up into tight fists in an attempt to calm himself down. He finally managed to say, "You were calling for him earlier."
"Ah... Did I?" Xiao Zhan gasped loudly and clasped his palm over his mouth before resorting to lightly slapping his lips a few times. He tried to explain, "I had a dream, okay?"
"..."
"Lan Zhan, how can I control my dreams or my past?"
"..." Lan Wangji pressed his lips together, keeping silent. He sat still like a statue, still unhappy.
"Are you sulking?"
"..."
"Really? Aren't you going to talk to me now?" Xiao Zhan said as he tried to meet his eyes, but it was like a mouse and cat chase.
For Gods' sake, is drinking vinegar your hobby?