And the wind blew violently. Dust rose up around them, causing Wen Zhuliu to look around wildly in shock. It was chaos. Xiao Zhan stood unfazed in the middle of it with his hands raising his flute to his lips and his head tilted to face forward, a smirk still evident on his face. His expression was calm and collected but the air around him was dense with energy forming thick vines of black smog which soon becoming a swirling maelstrom of darkness. A short sharp note rang throughout the area. A heavy silence followed it for a couple of seconds before dark clouds formed rapidly overhead and the air started crackling with red charges.
When Wen Zhuliu's vision got clearer, he saw many silhouettes lining up behind Xiao Zhan like he was their respective master. Their faces were all distorted in anger and malice. They were not humans.
"What are those things?" Wen Zhuliu wondered to himself before he froze in place when he saw the crimson eyes in front of them staring back at him. He stepped backwards, "What are you??"
Xiao Zhan didn't bother to answer him. Instead, he spoke in a low voice, ordering his undead army, "No one in Wen uniforms shall leave this place."
Then he blew into the black ghost flute once more, feeling like some malevolent energies was bursting out from his center, fueling his body with endless power and emitting intense killing intent as he played an eerie piercing melody that caused goosebumps to erupt over the skin of those present. The ground shook in fear and there were several loud rumbles that signified that cracks were forming beneath the earth itself. From the hole in the ground, something resembled skeleton hand slowly clawing out and grabbing on the ankle of those dressed in attire with Sun motifs, digging into their flesh and preventing them from escaping.
Among the shadows, there was a female vengeful spirit cladded in crimson Hanfu which gave out an ominous battle cry. The rest of the spirits responded to her piercing shrieks and started attacking the group of people who couldn't run away and now begging for their lives. The lady in red giggled creepily as she led the massacre, her long fingernail slashed a deep cut and drawing blood with every strikes. Some spirits were tearing their prey's limbs like pulling a doll limb out of the sockets. Some used their teeth and gnaw deep into the meat before pulling away leaving craters.
Xiao Zhan's mind was clouded with the amount of resentful energy that coursing through his veins and flooding through his senses that he was no longer rationale nor humane. He felt enthralled and comforted even as his fingers moved to cover and uncover the holes on the flute and creating shrill of beautiful but deadly melody with his breath. Aside of that, he couldn't hear anything else but the screams of agonizing death and the thuds of fallen bodies or limbs. The blood pooled and the smell of it reeked, penetrating his nose. But he didn't care about all that as he lost himself to the desire to slaughter his enemy and his bloodlust was overpowering his moralities. He who used to shudder at the thought of blood or the one who got scared of flying cockroach now didn't even blink at the sight of floating ghost slicing and dicing human beings to their end until they were just stacks of meat, bone and spilled organs at this point. It was brutal, cruel and gruesome.
As he stood there unmoving, many of Wen soldier had fallen and those who still alive, were struggling to fight with everything they got as those creatures kept coming at them. The battle was one-sided to say the least.
".....Ying! Wei Ying!" A voice he recognized was finally registered in his ears. A feeling of tight grips on both his shoulders stopped him from blowing into the flute. It's like the veil over his eyes was lifted up and he saw a worried face decorated with a white ribbon on his forehead.
"Wei Ying, stop now." Lan WangJi said, looking at him pleadingly. His hands on Xiao Zhan's shoulder were squeezing firmly.
Xiao Zhan could feel the tremble of the pair of hands as if the shaking was meant to wake him up. For a second, he just stared at the person in white robes blankly before finally saying the name, "Lan Zhan. You're finally here."
"I was too late." Lan Zhan whispered, looking extremely guilty, "I'm sorry, Wei Ying..."
Xiao Zhan lowered his flute, his mind still reeling with excess adrenaline and violent emotions that rampaging in his mind. He closed his eyes and sighed, "It wasn't your fault. You must've been held up by something."
"You're hurt-" Lan WangJi insisted, noticing the blood stain on the corner of his mouth.
Xiao Zhan shook his head and opened his eyes, "It's fine."
"Are you sure?" Lan WangJi inquired, sounding unconvinced.
Before Xiao Zhan could answer, he heard a swooshing sound coming from behind Lan Wangji, coming in towards their direction. His heart skipped a beat and he gasped, "Lan Zhan! Look out!"
Lan Wangji turned back to see a figure in armored red white and red uniform charging towards their directions with sword pointing sharply with killing intent.
Before Xiao Zhan take action to protect his love, another figure came to their defense. Qingheng-Jun landed in front of them and pushed them both several feet away from harm as he took the Core Melting hand hit in their stead. It took only a few second and he could feel his golden core shattered into pieces and its fragment slowly disintegrated into nothingness but ashes on the spot. The world seemed to move in slow motion as the couple watched in horror when Wen Zhuliu charged at Qingheng Jun again and swung his blade in a straight line with a high powered punch and plunged his sword through the elder's back with such force that the tip was sticking on the other side.
"Father!" Lan Wangji cried out at the sight.
A cold chill ran down Xiao Zhan's spine when he realized exactly what happened. He yelled, "Sect Leader Lan!"
Lan Wangji rushed forward with Bichen in his hand which prompted Wen Zhuliu to pull his sword out, letting Qingheng-Jun's body collapse to the ground. He swung his sword, letting a bright blue sword glare out which Wen Zhuliu blocked with the blade that was covered with his father's blood, pushing the man back slightly and allowing Lan Wangji to go to his father's side.
Xiao Zhan's eye flashed in fury as he commanded to surround Wen Zhuliu at once as he ran towards the father and son.
Wen Zhuliu was forced to retreat further backwards while holding his sword up to defend himself against a horde of fierce ghouls that appeared out of the blue and swarmed him. The rest of his surviving subordinates were already overwhelmed by another group of Xiao Zhan's vicious summons so no one was able to provide any assistance to him. He cursed as he fought them off but it seemed like there wasn't much effect as their number kept increasing without pause, the ferocious corpses continued coming in droves. Even his dead subordinates that were already killed by the creatures returned back to life and submitting to Xiao Zhan's will, attacking him with renewed vigor. He was getting overwhelmed by the amount of enemies surrounding him which made it increasingly difficult to use his spiritual powers effectively.
With Wen Zhuliu trapped and occupied with the the relentless attacks from Xiao Zhan's summoned ghoul minions, Xiao Zhan was free to rush to Lan Wangji's side, kneeling down next to him. He looked at the gravely wounded man in his lover's arms, his heart clenched painfully in his chest as he watched Lan Wangji cradled his father's head in his lap as he tried his best to stabilize the bleeding wound as much as possible.
"Father..." Lan Wangji's voice was shaky, not wanting to lose one more parent in this world.
His father weakly smiled up at him and cupped his face with his right hand. His voice broke as he coughed up a bit of blood, "Ah, I'm so glad that I came just in time, Wangji."
"Please... do not speak now, father..." Lan Wangji urged, there was no mistaken of the panic in his eyes.
"Wangji... Listen... I may not have much time..." Qingheng-Jun raised his hand to cup his youngest son's cheek, "I am so proud of you and Xichen... I am sorry for not being there for you both when you two were growing up. I really am." He paused as another wave of cough came; his other hand fished out something from the fold of his robe and revealed his jade token and a pouch. He handed it Lan Wangji, "Please give this token to your brother and tell him that he will be a great leader... And the pouch is for you..."
"Father, please do not talk anymore." Lan Wangji pleaded, desperately trying to hold back tears as he held tightly onto Qingheng Jun's hands.
"Wangji, you have grown to be a fine young man who has a bright future ahead. You are going to save countless innocent souls, I know it..." A coughing fit racked Qingheng Jun's body. Blood spurted from his lips.
"Father... Please... Save your energy..." Lan Wangji pleaded, a single tear rolled down his cheek as he took the items and set it down to his side. He tried his best to keep his father's bleeding to a minimum with spiritual energy transfer but with Qingheng-Jun now missing his golden core and a critical wound on his chest, it was clearly not enough. It was a futile effort.
"Continue doing what you think is right, son... Don't let anyone tell you otherwise..."Qingheng Jun uttered as another cough came out. He then turned to look at Xiao Zhan who had tears in his eyes, "Young Master Wei. I'll leave Wangji in your care..." he said as he smiled weakly, "I wish that I can be there to witness the day you two are married with my own eyes..."
Xiao Zhan shook his head, "No... don't say things like that, Sect Leader Lan. Let me help you-"
"Son-in-law." Qingheng-Jun cut him off, "I... wanted to call you that at least once. And... if you may call me 'father-in-law' for once..."
Xiao Zhan didn't hesitate to grant him his wish. "Father-in-law..." He called softly, trying his best to control his sobs.
"Thank you, my son-in-law." Qingheng-Jun's lips curved upwards, showing off the dimples in his cheeks, his smile brightening up his entire features. He took each of their hand and put them together in his hand, "Take care of each other... Be happy..." The expression on his face was soft and calm, almost peaceful. "Please tell Xichen, I love him..." he whispered as life slowly ebbed from his eyes and he breathed out his last. His body went limp and fell onto Lan Wangji, and his chest stayed still.
Lan Wangji stared at his father's lifeless form with wide eyed disbelief before he pulled him close to his chest, "Father... " He cried brokenly, tears dripping down his cheeks.
He squeeze his eyes shut as sorrow flooded his senses, he muttered, "Father-in-law..."
When he opened his eyes and saw Lan Wangji holding onto his father's body, hugging him tightly, the grief inside him turned into rage. He turned his gaze at Wen Zhuliu, who was still fighting with his undead armies, with such hatred that it started to leaked out of his bones, his eyes were filled with pure venom. His crimson irises glowed brightly as he clenched his fist, mumbling, "This... This is all his fault! That bastard deserves to die!"
"Wen Zhuliu!" In a flash, he lunged forward towards Wen Zhuliu, grabbing him by the collar and lifting him up in the air. "How dare you!" The veins in his temples pulsated as his demonic energy started to surge forth, threatening to overflow and take over. The ground formed a crater with his emotional burst, causing dust clouds to fly everywhere with a loud rumble, wind arose from where Xiao Zhan stood, whipping around him.
Wen Zhuliu was stunned by the ferocity of Xiao Zhan's aura and how the young man's raw power skyrocketed and increased in intensity. The power the youth was unleashing were ten times if not stronger than he initially saw. And that was with a sealed core.
"You will pay for what you did!" He seethed as black smoke came out of his fingers. With that said, Xiao Zhan's hand sunk into Wen Zhuliu's solar plexus to grab on his golden core and forcefully ripped it out from the man without hesitation, causing the latter to scream in agony.
Wen Zhuliu's eyes bulged as he saw Xiao Zhan crushed his Jindan right before his eyes. It dissipated in the air like ashes and just like that he was rendered powerless.
"Wei Ying..." Lan Wangji whispered in fear from where he was as he saw Xiao Zhan's eyes were filled with fury and madness as his demonic energy continued to rise exponentially.
Xiao Zhan didn't seem to notice or respond anymore as he continued staring at Wen Zhuliu dead in the eyes. He had lost all sense of self control again; his heart was filled with such intense rage that he couldn't even think. All the rage, resentment, sadness and despair erupted from the deepest corner of his mind, boiling over. The entire world became gray as his emotions blinded his senses. He then tossed Wen Zhuliu to the ground like a ragdoll and growled lowly, "I told you that you will die." He put his flute close to his lips, commanding resentful spirits nearby to, "Rip him apart."
Wen Zhuliu screamed in excruciating pain as he struggled violently in the midst of the malicious spirit attack, but the resentful spirits had no intention of stopping their assault. His screaming was heard throughout the entire area. They tore at him relentlessly, ripping his flesh apart and shredding him to pieces until only the last few bits of flesh were left clinging onto his bone. Blood pooled everywhere from all the wounds inflicted upon his mangled and dismembered body, making the scene look grisly.
As the melody continued to play, the rest of his undead army around the field roared in response with bloodlust and they went berserk, wanting nothing more than to maul their victims to death.
When Xiao Zhan finally stopped, he stared emotionlessly at Wen Zhuliu's remain and his eyes slowly dulled until they were back to its usual state. He lowered Chenqing to his side as he took note that there was no longer fighting going on. Every Wen soldier had died a horrific death.
"Do not lose yourself to your cultivation." That was what Qingheng-Jun had told Xiao Zhan once and he broke his words today. Twice.
"I'm sorry..." Was all Xiao Zhan could whisper as went back to Lan Wangji's side again. He looked down at Qingheng Jun's corpse and his own chest constricted painfully as he thought of how the elder treated him kindly before. It broke his heart to see someone he swore to protect, died in front of him and his lover's devastated face made him feel like he had failed him. He felt even more guilty when he heard Lan Xichen's voice approaching them. His heart ached for them, knowing well how devastating it would feel to see your loved ones like this.
"Father!" Lan Xichen shouted when he caught sight of his father's body in his brother's cradle.
There were a group in white clothing trailing behind the First Jade and Xiao Zhan could register their horror on their face and the imminent shock of seeing those pieces and slabs of what used to be human. He felt a lump in his throat as he tried to suppress his urge to vomit. He hated the fact that he was responsible for this atrocity.