[Lan Wangji's POV]
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It was another long and dreadful nightmare for him. The scene currently displayed in Lan Wangji's view was his greatest fear. In front of him, Wei Ying was losing his grip and in dire crisis. He could not do anything to help or say anything to calm him down. Wei Ying could not see him, touch him, or hear him, as he was invisible. He could only watch in despair as the person he loved went through a torturous event alone.
"Wei Wuxian, you are losing control," the whispering voice said.
Wei Ying tried to shoo the voice away, screaming at the wisps of black smog that tried to enter his head and take over his control. "Get lost! Get lost!
"Let us out. Let us help you." Multiple voices kept swirling around Wei Ying, who was on the verge of breaking. The air was thick with resentment and wretchedness. His face was pale, the rims of his eyes were reddish, and his pupils quivered.
"Get lost! Leave me alone!" He desperately attempted to chase away the invisible evil tongues that were taunting him as he grasped onto the small bits and pieces of sanity he had left. His body wavered as if he were standing on a rocky boat in a violent, stormy sea.
The temptation persisted. "You can only rely on..."
"Go away!" cutting the voice mid-sentence, Wei Ying yelled at the top of his lungs. He was just a step away from losing himself, and he bolted out of the woods without looking back, trying to escape from the wicked beings that danced around him with every step he took and latched onto him without his consent. His breaths were ragged and short, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
After he sprinted down the mountain, he stood amidst the shrubs, catching his breath. Bent down, he propped his hands against his knees for a long while before he stood up straight again. With a vacant expression, he started to walk wherever his feet took him. Lan Wangji kept up with his speed and halted when they reached a familiar landscape. He scanned the fortress gate that stood in front of him. It was the same place Wei Ying and he had been surveying just a week ago, the Nightless City.
"Sect Leader Jin said the Four Clans will hold a mobilization meeting in Nightless City." A group of cultivators were gossiping. "They will display the Wen Clan's corpses for three days and scatter the remains of the bandit chieftains as a demonstration of justice.
Lan Wangji saw the hanging bodies of elderly men and women, and it was clear as day that those lifeless people were not cultivators. He wanted to lecture some sense into the group of people who seemed proud of their deliberate display of plain brutalities.
Wen clan's corpses? Which part of this was justice? These people were normal citizen.
"The Ghost General suddenly went crazy. He claimed to ask for punishment but suddenly went berserk and killed many people in Koi Tower again," said one person.
"Luckily, I wasn't there that day," another cultivator in a cream-colored robe spoke.
"He was indeed the dog trained by Wei Wuxian. Why did Wei Wuxian create something he couldn't control? He didn't even think of chaining that fierce, mad dog. Sooner or later, it will backfire on him. With this trend, I can say that that day is not far off."
Why are they talking about Wei Ying? Ghost General?
Wei Ying crept silently behind the group that was badmouthing him. He heard every word and continued to stand motionless at the back. He looked up at the dead bodies dangling, and his eyes lingered on the faces he recognized. He tried to swallow the grief written all over his face.
"The Jin Clan of Lanling is truly unfortunate."
"The Lan clan of Gusu is more unfortunate. Over 30 people were killed in Qiongqi Way. More than half of them were from the Lan clan. They were just there to help repress the trouble."
What? Wei Ying, what did you do...
The muscles on Lan Wangji's face and fingers twitched slightly. A frightening thought emerged from the depths of Lan Wangji's heart. He studied the expression of this person who had allegedly killed more than fifteen people from his clan.
"At least we finally burned the Ghost General. Otherwise, the thought of him haunting us all day long truly makes me sleepless. This ending serves the Wen clan right."
Someone spat, "The Ghost General and his sister have been burned to ashes. Now Wei Wu Xian knows who's boss. All clan leaders made it clear that tonight's meeting is to discuss how to deal with Wei Wuxian."
"What a relief!"
One of them reveled, as though he had contributed to this, "It's for the best if from now on, he hides in that barren hummock and behaves himself. It would be wise of him. But if he dares to come out again, once he comes out, then-"
The longer Wei Ying listened, the colder his expression grew. He lowered his head, his body trembling and boiling with anger. His fists were tightly clenched, the surface turning pale white. When Wei Ying lifted his chin again, his eyes were bloodshot and filled with murderous auras.
"Then what?" His voice was soft, but there was nothing gentle about his tone. Wei Ying's cold eyes flickered with killing intent as he gripped Chenqing tightly. Raging fire burned brightly within his heart. The flute emitted thick, dark smoke of resentful energy. The ground beneath him shook.
The gossipmongers who were in the middle of mocking him immediately paused and turned around. They were shocked at first, and then fear flooded their minds as they swung their swords, pointing the polished metal toward the man in black and red attire. The cocky person from earlier now shook in fear when he saw the flute with the bright red tassel in his hand, and he announced, "It's Chenqing! It's Chenqing!"
Someone shouted panickily, "Report to Sect Leader Jin, quickly!"
Wei Ying placed Chenqing's blowhole under his bottom lip. His eyes sparked with a crimson light as he played the black flute expertly. The resentful energy thickened and began pouring out of Chenqing, enveloping his body. The haunting, loud, and shrill sound was a command to attack. The formless tendrils whooshed toward each of the Cultivators, slamming them forcefully onto the ground that instant. Dark, bloody spirits gradually took form on those people's backs, pressing them down incessantly with such immense strength that the floor began to crack. None of those people could get up again. A few immediately became motionless, and some writhed like worms, making noises like slaughtered animals.
Wei Ying stopped playing his music as he regarded the people he had knocked down without needing to lift a finger as if they were just bugs. The voice that came from his lips lacked its usual brightness and was instead monotonous. "Why did you stop talking? How do you plan to deal with me? Huh, what's wrong? Weren't you all quite the cultivators when you were talking about me behind my back? Why is it that now that you're in front of me, you can do nothing but lie on the ground?"
"Wei Ying! If you're truly capable, then go the pledge conference and compete with the clan leaders there! Bullying low-ranking, defenseless cultivators like us doesn't prove your capabilities!" The arrogant man still dared to spout nonsense.
This was the second time Lan Wangji had witnessed this ability, the first being when he rushed to save Xue Yang that night. Wei Ying's speed was unnatural. He moved from the back to the front in less than a second. His hand wrapped tightly around the neck of the person who still dared to provoke him, and the sound of bone cracking was audible. The man's voice was hoarse as he pleaded with his dying breath, "Don't kill me."
"Low-rank cultivators. Should I tolerate you just because you're low rank? If you dared say those things, you had to dare shoulder the consequences. If you knew that you were insignificant pieces of scum as filthy as ants, how come you didn't know to think before you speak?! What kind of hatred do you have for me?" Wei Ying's face turned cold and impassive; more bones were crushed under the sheer force of his fingers. "But you are right about one thing. Every injustice has its perpetrator. I shouldn't waste time on you."
The man was finally silent, just as his heart was. Wei Ying stood up apathetically and did not spare even a glance at those people who had passed on to the world of the dead and soon would be. As he moved forward, he did not retrieve all those dark spirits. Lan Wangji was stunned to see Wei Ying kill someone without blinking and injure many. The deadly calm on his face made him look even more dangerous.
On the wall, there was a large announcement bulletin. Wei Ying paused to read it. At the top of the announcement was the words 'Pledge Conference'. The contents stated that the four leading sects: the LanlingJin Sect, the Qinghe Nie Sect, the Yunmeng Jiang Sect, and the Gusu Lan Sect, were going to scatter the ashes of the Wen Sect's remnants atop the ruins of the Qishan Wen Sect's abandoned residence, the Nightless City. At the same time, they would take the pledge that they would forever oppose the Yiling Patriarch who had occupied Burial Mound.
Lan Wangji saw his own clan's name on the list. He reminisced about what he had heard from Wei Ying before: "The world turned its back on Wei Wuxian, and he died thinking he was alone." Did he allow this whole thing to happen? He closed his eyes momentarily, trying to soothe the ache in his chest.
After the Qishan Wen Sect was destroyed, the main palaces of Nightless City had become magnificent yet empty piles of ruins. Before them, the tallest structure was the Palace of Sun and Flames, and in front of it was a wide plaza. They landed on the rooftop of the palace. Wei Ying sat down with his back leaning on the beast statue that made up the end of the ridges, quietly watching the spectacle that was unfolding right before his eyes. That night, square arrays of sects, both large and small, filled the entire plaza. The crest-embroidered flag of every sect fluttered in the night wind. In front of the broken flagpoles was a temporary altar.
Lan Wangji recognized most of them at the grand gathering. Jin Guangshan appeared to be the host of the event as he stood at the front facing the crowds. The man with the black hat who assisted the Jin clan leader was unfamiliar. That unfamiliar man presented each of the leaders of their respective clans with a cup of drink. His eyes darted towards his brother, who looked as though he did not want to be there. Then, there was Jiang Wanyin with his usual sour expression.
"Whoever they are, whichever name they bear, this cup of liquor represents my respect for our past heroes!" Jin Guangshan toasted. He turned around and faced the altar. "Your spirit is everlasting. May you rest in peace."
Everyone lifted their cups and echoed Jin Guangshan. The sect leaders raised their cups high and poured them onto the ground, wetting the floor. The porcelain shattered into pieces as the leaders smashed their cups. The ritual of honoring the dead comrades was complete.
"Wen Qing, Wen Ning, bandit chieftains of the Wen Clan. I'll scatter their remains." Jin Guangshan took a metal box from the unknown man and, with some incantations, sent forth his spiritual energy, breaking the box that floated above the empty space between him and the rest of the cultivation clans. The iron box broke into pieces, and white dust drifted alongside the cold wind. Ashes of remains scattered all over the place. A series of cheers erupted from the crowd. "Great!"
Lan Wangji's brows bumped together in a scowl at this unsightly event. There were so many levels of wrong in this spectacle. He understood now why Wei Ying insisted on meeting the Wen siblings and saving them from this tragic and disrespectful end.
Jin Guangshan was smug and proud as he listened to the incited crowd. He raised his hands, signaling for the people to be quiet and listen to him speak. When the cheers slowly died down, he continued, raising his voice, "Tonight, it is the two bandit chieftains whose remains were scattered here. Tomorrow, it will be the rest of the Wen Clan's last dregs. And also, the Yiling Patriarch, Wei Ying!"
Lan Wangji stiffened and clenched his jaw at the sight. He glanced at Wei Ying, who scoffed at the mention of his given name. He turned his attention back to the crowd to see their reactions as well. His older brother closed his eyes and swallowed hard, probably due to regret. While Jiang Wanyin looked a little restless, his lips set in a grim line.
Suddenly, a laugh interrupted Jin Guangshan's grand speech. There was no humor in that laugh; rather, it was full of sorrow and disdain. The laugh was too untimely, sounding both stark and jarring. It was obvious to Lan Wangji that Wei Ying could not keep his silence anymore.
In unanimity, the crowd turned to look at where the sound came from. Everyone brandished their weapons and pointed them towards one person. Jin Guangshan was yelling with both shock and hatred, "Wei Ying! How dare you show yourself here!"
The corner of the black clothing dangled down from the roof, swaying softly. What came out was indeed Wei Ying's voice, but he spoke in a strange tone. "Why should I not dare to show myself here? Do you people here even add up to three thousand? Don't forget that back in the Sunshot Campaign, let alone three thousand, I fought against five thousand on my own before. Besides, my presence here is just what you all want, isn't it? It saves you the effort of finding my den and burning me tomorrow."
Him alone against that many?
Lan Wangji felt like his blood had been drained out. He remembered what Wei Ying had told him before about 'how he was capable of slaughtering thousands with the power he held'.
Nie Mingjue spoke coldly, "Arrogant lout!"
Wei Ying smirked, his hands fiddling around with his black flute, "Sect Leader Nie, haven't I always been arrogant?"
Wei Ying fixed his frosty gaze on Jin Guangshan, scorning the two-faced, greedy man. "Sect Leader Jin, how does it feel to have slapped yourself in the face? Who was the one who said he'd let the matter go if the Wen siblings went to Koi Tower and gave themselves up? And who was the one who just said he'd scatter my ashes and the ashes of the rest of the Wen Sect's remnants tomorrow?"
Jin Guangshan scoffed. "Those are two different things! Let's consider things as they stand! At Qiongqi Path, you slaughtered over a hundred of the Lanling Jin Sect's disciples. That is one thing. You let Wen Ning commit murders at Koi Tower. That is another."
Wei Ying curled his lips with icy contempt and did not hide the scorn in his voice when he spoke. His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Then let me ask you, Sect Leader Jin, at Qiongqi Path, who was the one being ambushed? Whose death was wanted? Who was plotted against? And who was the one that came to provoke me first? And please tell me, how can I control Wen Ning to commit murders in Koi Tower from miles away?"
A brazen disciple shouted from a distance, "Even if Jin Zixun was the one assaulted first, you shouldn't have been so heartless and taken so many lives there!"
Wei Ying inhaled a sharp breath and laughed bitterly. His laughter contained not even a sliver of joy in it but rather, it felt heavy and full with grievance. "Oh, I understand now. If you want to kill me, you can do whatever you want. But if I wanted to protect myself, I must be careful about not hurting this and that person? If I die, it will be my own bad luck. In conclusion, you all could ambush and pull a siege on me, but I'm not allowed to fight back, am I right?"
Wei Ying....
Sect Leader Yao raised his voice. "Fight back? Those over a hundred people and the thirty on Koi Tower were all innocent. If you were fighting back, why did you have to involve them?"
Wei Ying's face angrily retorted the unjust statement. He yelled back at the older man, "The fifty cultivators on Burial Mound are also innocent, so why do you have to involve them?"
Someone else spat, "Just what great kindness have the Wen dogs given you? To have you be on those scum's side like this."
"In my opinion, there isn't any great kindness at all. He thinks he's a hero fighting against the entire world. He believes he's doing an act of justice, that he himself is quite an impressive person, risking everyone's condemnation!"
Lan Wangji gritted his teeth. Wei Ying had just pointed out that they were going back on their words, and that he had done what he had done only to defend himself when he was ambushed. Yet, no one listened to his reasons, and those people only cared to justify their own wrongdoings.
Hearing this trash-talking about the Wen remnants that became his family, Wei Ying's face turned scarlet with uncontrollable rage. His breathing got harsher, and his eyes sparked with burning inferno.
Jin Guangshan took his chance to shine through the chaos, "Wei Wuxian! Do you think that being against all clans makes you a hero or a martyr? Do you think daring to do what's forbidden will make you a great person?"
Wei Ying drew deep breaths and still listened unresponsively to the endless accusations and verbal attacks hurled at and against him. He leaned back against the statue, twirling Chen Qing with a seemingly cavalier expression. Lan Wangji, however, noticed the welling of tears in Wei Ying's eyes and the hard swallowing of resignation. He could feel his hopelessness, futility, and distraught. Nobody stood up for him, not even Jiang Wanyin, who was supposed to be his brother.
The crowd mistook his lack of response as their winning sign and became more daring. "When it comes down to it, you were the first to place such a dark curse on Jin Zixun!"
Being wrongly accused of something he never did, Wei Ying spat out his words harshly. "May I ask you, just what evidence do you have to prove that I was the one who placed the curse?"
The one who asked the question was at a loss for words at the unanticipated reply. He stammered, "Then do you have any evidence to prove that you weren't the one who placed the curse?"
Wei Ying snickered at the preposterousness, "Then let me ask you again. Why couldn't it have been you? You don't have any evidence to prove that you weren't the one who placed the curse either, do you?"
The person was both shocked and enraged, "Me? How could I be the same as you? Don't you mix the black and the white! You're the most suspicious. Do you think we don't know? You and Jin Zixun have held enmity toward each other ever since a year ago!"
Lan Wangji was perplexed by how unjust and biased their judgments sounded. Wei Ying lowered his eyebrows, propped his body forward, and his voice dripped with ice. "Just who is the one mixing the black and the white? That's right. If I wanted to kill him, I would have done it a year ago. I didn't have to keep him until now. Little characters like him, I already forgot his existence in just three days. Much less say a year."
Sect Leader Yao scoffed, "Wei Wuxian, Wei Wuxian, today, you've truly broadened my horizons. I've truly never seen a villain as unreasonable as you are. Even after you killed the people, you have to shame them with words. Don't you hold any empathy or conscience?"
The crowd hurled curses at him, but Wei Ying appeared to accept them all. Lan Wangji felt anger bubbling in his chest.
How dare they talk about conscience when they hung the bodies of innocent elderly for display? Didn't they just cheer for the scattered ashes of the Wen siblings?
One of the cultivators who stood in the front rows commented bitterly, "Wei Ying, you disappoint me so much. There used to be a time when I admired you and said that at least you were someone who founded your own sect. Now that I think about it, it's almost repulsive. From this moment on, I'll forever stand on the opposite side of you!"
Hearing this outrageous and silly declaration, Wei Ying exploded with laughter. He leaped to the center of the roof and continued laughing. Tears of laughter seeped from the corners of Wei Ying's eyes from a bad mix of anguish and hilarity, "You admired me? You said you admired me, but why haven't I ever seen you when you admired me? And as soon as I'm loathed by everyone, you jump out and wave your little flag?"
His melancholic tears dripped as he continued his frenzy of cackles. He spoke up with derision, "Your admiration as a bit too cheap, isn't it? You said that you'll forever stand on the opposite side of me. Very well. Does the fact that you're standing on the opposite side of me affect me at all? Both your admiration and your hatred are so, so insignificant. How could you be so shameless as to flaunt them in front of others?"
No!
Recognition dawned on Lan Wangji's face, and his eyes widened in horror. Before Wei Ying could finish speaking, a fletched arrow embedded itself in the center of his chest, cutting off his sentence. He looked down to see the arrowhead buried between two of his ribs and gazed toward the direction from which it had come. Lan Wangji etched the image of the attacker into his brain. He would never forgive this young cultivator who had shot it. Lan Wangji could tell that the arrow tip had originally been aimed at Wei Ying's heart.
Everyone around the person who shot the arrow had their eyes wide open, staring in shock and even fear at the disciple who had done such a thing.
Darkness veiled Wei Ying's face. He pulled out the arrow that was embedded in his body and tossed it back with force. The young cultivator who had launched a sneak attack on him was hit directly in the chest with the same arrow.
A boy next to him wailed, "Brother! Brother!"
The crowd was straightaway thrown into pandemonium. The sect leader pointed his finger at Wei Wuxian, "You! Y-You are so cruel!"
Wei Ying was attacked first, and he retaliated in kind. That was fair. Why did they call Wei Ying cruel and ignore the attacker's crime?
Wei Ying languorously put some pressure on the puncture wound in his chest, momentarily stopping the bleeding. His voice was indifferent, and his expression dulled, "What does cruel mean? If he dared shoot the arrow at me when I was off guard, he should've known what would be facing him if he failed. They call me the cultivator of the crooked path, anyways, so you can't possibly count on me to be generous and not bother with him, can you?"
Jin Guangshan shouted in a wide and exaggerated gesture, "Set up the battle arrays, set up the battle arrays! We won't let him leave here alive no matter what!"
At that point, Lan Wangji could see the ugly truth of the society in which he stood. Even then, Wei Ying still tried to point out that he had been attacked first and demanded to know why they accused him just because he defended himself. Not only had he been attacked first, but they had also attacked him when he was trying to reason with them. They conveniently ignored his logical argument and followed the Jin sect leader's orders to prepare their battle arrays and attack. Those people declared that they would fight and kill Wei Ying then and there. They had already portrayed him as an irredeemable evil bearing sole responsibility for this conflict.
Wei Ying slowly tilted his head, intently examining the faces of those who were adamant in demanding his death. He appeared utterly in control, but these deliberate movements betrayed his true state. He had relinquished all restraints and disregarded the consequences as if he had nothing left to lose. With a bitter smile, Wei Ying twirled Chenqing and placed it on his lips. The black flute howled an eerie, lethal tune, and pale hands broke through the dirt as corpses began to crawl from the depths of the soil. Some mounted their swords and attempted to flee the scene, but they were immediately struck back by the vines of black wisps that whooshed through the air. Amid the notes of the flute, glowing blood-red eyes lit up, contrasting sharply with the night sky. They gazed down at the thousands of cultivators from various clans who were fighting to their deaths against his battalion of the underworld. All sects were in disarray, and each sect leader rushed to protect their disciples.
Lan Wangji watched with a heavy heart as his sect was not spared, for they were all part of the army gathered to pledge to kill him. He tried to call out his name. "Wei Ying."
Wei Ying spun around and met his eyes. He spoke in a cold voice, "Lan Zhan. You've finally come."
Lan Wangji was caught off guard when Wei Ying responded to his call. He froze, unable to move. Before he could react, he received another shock.
"Lan Zhan, I knew it. One day, we're going to have a real fight." Wei Ying again placed his flute to his lips without any hesitation. However, this tune was slightly different from the one that he had heard earlier. The dark fog surrounding Wei Ying grew thicker. Right now, Wei Ying has already lost his judgment. He was half-mad, half-unconscious.
No! I'm not here to fight you.
Lan Wangji wanted to say that and tried to reach him. As he got closer, the barrier made of smoke started to attack him. He dodged it far too easily as if the mass of resentful energy had been ordered not to hurt him at all.
"Wei Ying! Stop." Lan Wangji wanted to say more, but amidst the high-pitched melody, his voice would be drowned out, and his words would not be heard. He tried again, this time pulling out Bichen. His only intention was to break through the barrier and pull Wei Ying into his arms. However, the dense resentful energy created an impenetrable shield that even his sword could not break. He was forced to move backward again until, at a certain distance, the formless protector withdrew. Lan Wangji realized that Wei Ying never wanted to harm him; instead, he simply would not let him come near.
Why won't you let me go near?
"Wei Ying! Stop this now!" Lan Wangji shouted. His voice was clearly shaking.
Perhaps his voice could still reach Wei Ying because not long after, Wei Ying dropped Chen Qing to his side. Sadness clouded his features. "Lan Zhan, do you think I have any other choice now?"
"You must trust me," Lan Wangji pleaded.
"But you didn't trust me." Wei Ying's lips trembled as tears slowly rolled down his cheeks.
Lan Wangji wanted to refute it, but he could no longer make any sound. From that point on, it seemed like the scenario was set in fast forward. What he saw next shook him to his core. His blood ran cold, and he felt a rising tide of fear from his head to toe.
Staying true to his title as the grandmaster of demonic cultivation, Wei Ying was entirely consumed by the darkness within him. He was levitating mid-air, enveloped by a black layer of prickly tendrils of smog, emitting deadly red bolts of lightning and unleashing his true power. His face was devoid of emotion, and his eyes were set ablaze in crimson. More corpses of all kinds and vengeful spirits of all forms crawled out from the underworld, obeying the Yiling Patriarch's control with the deadly whistle of Chen Qing. Wei Ying was a one-man army, but he was stronger than all of the gathered forces combined. Thousands of lives were lost in the bloodbath.
Lan Wangji's soul was drowning in the river of his grief and heartbreak. He wasn't grieving for the thousands who died under Wei Ying's hands, but rather he was mourning for Wei Ying himself. He came to the understanding that those people who died had no one to blame for their deaths but themselves. None of them were innocent, and they all got exactly what they deserved. Wei Ying tried everything he could to resolve things peacefully. Yet the entire cultivation world was determined to attack and kill him, and they wrongfully slaughtered all of the innocents under his protection. He fought back. If they hadn't all vowed to kill him and hadn't attacked him first, they wouldn't have died. They were the ones who insisted on violence. In the end, they all just reaped what they sowed.
Lan Wangji jolted awake from his slumber, and the reeling emotions still lingered in his mind. He was unsure whether it was just a dream or part of the future that Wei Ying had foretold. He had heard the story of it, but experiencing it firsthand was more disturbing and despairing than he had thought. One thing was for sure: his perspectives on certain things and certain people had changed drastically. He felt the urge to sneak into the room next door to check on the person he wanted to see right now, but it would be inappropriate.