23 Uncovering The Darkness

Lan Wangji

He was taking care of a few corpses inside the forest, not that far from Wei Ying when he felt his lover's energy completely nullify. He immediately stop in his track and looked toward the way he had felt Wei Ying's energy before it was gone and dashed his way like never before, pushing himself to his limits as his heart sank with deep fear.

"Bichen, do you feel Suibian?" Wangji asked, hopefully.

"No, Master Zhan. Our link got lost at the same time you lost yours with Wei Wuxian, there was also a very tainted energy right after they were gone." Damn it! Wangji cursed as he ran even faster.

He didn't have a clue of what that meant, as Wei could manipulate dark energy like no one else and just thinking him of losing to those weaker corpses was pretty much impossible and outrageous. Wei Ying was strong and so was Suibian who would had acted if his Master was knocked out and in danger.

"Damn it!" He coursed, as he ran as if his life depend on it, stopping only when he reached the last point he had felt Wei's energy. He desperately looked around, trying to find any sign of Wei Ying or had even a tiny glimpse of his energy, but found no trace of him or Suibian.

"Wei Ying! Wei Ying!!!" Wangji yelled, as he urgently moved around, but there was nothing that could point him in the right direction. He casted an emergency signal up, that shined like fireworks, resembling the cloud logo of his Clan, a call for help, as Bichen passed around the warning, that there was something else going on aside from corpses.

With the biggest fear he had experience in his life, so close to the border in where both of his parent had been killed, he keep on blindly looking, until he heard the sound of fighting and also the feeling of that dark concentrated energy that Bichen had felt before.

He ran that way, finding two people fighting to death in a cleared area of the woods. A young man dressed in dark gray using a double edge sword and a woman, dressed in black and red, giving the man no room to get close to something in the ground.

"Wei Ying!" Wangji yelled, looking as his lover was knocked unconscious and covered with a tick mist of a dark red kind of energy. He didn't knew what was taking place there, not the man or the woman, but he knew Wei Ying was in danger and only death will keep him from reaching his lover and take him away. He ran toward Wei Ying, but the man, manage to avoid the woman's attack and moved to intercept him. Their swords met, clashing with power of two opposite's energies colliding.

"You are not taking him back!" The man yelled, but only over his death body he will allow anyone to take Wei Ying from him, so he fought back with all his might, in order to protect the one he loved.

"Leave him to me! Take Wei Ying back to the island!" The woman yelled as she also joined on his fight. Having a fast glance at her and with only the light of the shining barrier above, she deeply resemble Wei. However, he had no time to duel on it, as he trusted forward, wanting to take the head on the one who had hurt his lover.

"Lan Wangji, take Wei Ying back, now!" The order was absolute and even desperate, which take him back from his own rage, letting the woman resume her previous deadly dance. He gave her a glance and assented, blindly trusting the woman that was also fighting to save his lover and rushed to pick him up.

"Bichen, take Suibian." Wangji said, as he kneel to take Wei Ying on his arms, ignoring the wicked energy oozing around him. He looked paler than he should and was barely breathing, so he wasted no time to have him back to his arms, feeling him cold to his to hold. Just what that cursed man had done to him? Wangji looked back to the man he presumed had taken down Wei Ying and wanted to kill him, but Wei's safety came first. As he stood, someone else showed up, Xiao Xingchen, that had Shuanghua by his side.

"Xue Yang!" Xiao yelled, as Shuanghua go back to his blade, so his Master could join the fight. Seen himself outnumbered and exposed, Xue cursed, then used a teleporting talisman to get away. Immediately after, the woman came close to Wangji and put a pouch over Wei's chest.

"You need to remove the energy from him and seal it away in this pouch. Take him to the Crystal Lake and let the white energy neutralize the black. Take care of my son, Lan Wangji and I will owe you my life." The woman said, right before she also teleported herself, leaving him twice as surprise.

"Lan Wangji! Wangji, are you alright?" Xingchen asked as he ran to him, but he had not time for explanations.

"Take care of the corpses, I need to treat Wei Ying." He simply said, as Bichen draw an emergency symbol of the Lan Clan that took all three of them back to the islands. Her teleporting was an emergency one, so it only reached the Clan entrance, but Xichen was there, giving orders to the hunters as he had seen the flare.

"Wangji." His brother moved to meet him and seen Wei Ying in such a bad state, he looked at Wangji.

"Please brother, the Crystal Lake..." Wangji said instead and hearing desperation in his voice, Xichen simply took out a talisman and put a hand over his shoulder. As soon as they teleported back to the lake, Wangji walked in a hurry, with Wei still on his arms, toward the warm water.

"Lan Zhan..." Wangji stooped in his track as he heard the voice coming from his arms, but as he looked down, he saw red eyes.

"Xuanyu." Wangji whisper.

"I'm trying to keep the energy from consuming Ying... hurry... take out the tainted energy on his back." Xuanyu whisper and thus, Wangji put Wei down and open up his upper robes, removing it, to have a look at his back. Even Xichen, who was there with him was taken aback at the sight.

Right in the middle of Wei's back, there was a black and red scar that was spreading dark veins over ghostly pailer skin. Luckily, Xuanyu had contained it, creating a dark seal of his own to keep it from spreading farther. If it were to reach Ying's heart it would had turn him into a fierce corpse. So this is what Wei Ying's mother meant by taking out the tainted energy and seal it.

He took the pouch Ying's mother had given him and bite one of his fingers to draw bloom from it, following Xuanyu's instructions to write an expelling talisman over his lover's back, as he infused Wei with his own white energy. The tainted dark energy was more aggressive than Xuanyu was that first time and resisted, but Xuanyu, along with Chenqing keep it expelling it from the inside, forcing it to go out into the pouch, until it was completely removed.

"Good... now take him to the water and held him there until he comes back. Take Suibian too, he was also hit by it." Wangji looked at Bichen, which was holding Suibian in her hand and both of them enter the lake.

"Wangji..." Xichen said as he look at them inside the glowing waters.

"Go back and put the Clan on high alert, there was no breach, it was an attack." Wangji told him.

"Can I really leave you? Will Wuxian be alright?" Xichen asked and his brother slightly smiled.

"He is strong, he will come back..." Xichen assented, then he was gone.

Wangji keep holding Wei close, as he gather white energy around them and Bichen, kept Suibian sword on the surface, calling his name internally, over and over, until he finally manifest outside, as pale and tired as his Master. Bichen hugged the sword spirit tightly as soon as she could and keep him like that, also gathering white energy for him to recover faster, while whispering encouraging words to him to clean his energy from all darkness.

Two hours later, Wei Ying open his eyes, but he was trembling profusely and Wangji took him back to their room, then help him change clothes and lay him on their bed, covering him with another extra quilt. He also helped Suibian, who was equally weak and let him over his bed, to Bichen's care.

A bit after, Xichen came to ask for Wei's health, along with Lord Zheng. By then, the emergency was over, the corpses were deal with and the barrier completely restored.

"How is he?" Xichen asked, as Wei rested.

"Better, not fully recover." Wangji answer as he took the pouch from a table and pass it to his brother.

"What happen?" Lord Zheng asked.

"Someone called Xue Yang attacked Wei Ying with that energy and try to take him away." Wangji explained, the little he knew.

"I see, the rogue cultivator, Xue Yang. It's said he is an orphan child that suffered under the leader of the Chang Clan, promising to take revenge, he cultivate under the Jin Clan from most of his childhood, but he went away to carry on his revenge and eventually slaughtered the entire small Clan in the west. Those who knew him said he is a genius, yet merciless, becoming a rogue cultivator ever since." Xichen explained.

"Those rogue's cultivators, I thought them gone centuries ago, along with Rong, when he was killed by Taite." Lord Zheng said.

"Then, as Wangji had told me, it was not a breach in the barrier, but a distraction to take Wei Wuxian with him." Xichen added.

"It's seems about right. Aparently he still had his grudge and Wuxian is exactly the kind of things Rong's followers were looking for. A kid that can control dark energy, smart and mischievous, capable to bring down Clans to their knees. That energy he used on him, is quite tainted, but I believe it also had something on it to control it." Lord Zheng said, as he took the pouch and feel the energy inside.

"So, they wanted to take Wei Wuxian and make him a kind fierce corps puppet?" Xichen asked and Wangji looked down to Wei Ying, now more worry than before.

"Probably. The question is how they found about him? Only a few people know about Wuxian special case, you, Wangji and the kids from the east, that are best friends with him. None of them would had told anyone else, otherwise, Wen Ning would had also become a target. The rest of the kids form the chosen group seems to get along with him quite well, so it's also quite unlikely for them to talk about him to outsiders." Lord Zheng concluded. At that Wangji remember a face and his anger raised tenfold.

"What about Su She?" He asked and Lord Zheng pondered on it.

"He wasn't with the group when I teleport them, nor did he went down when the bells rang. He knew how Wei Wuxian worked as a leader in dangerous situations, how he went out of his way to help and that he is never alone while in the islands, unless he is fighting multiple corpses, which will separate Wangji from him." Lord Zheng admitted.

"He also hates our Clan." Wangji added.

"That too." Xichen agree.

"But there is more." Wangji told them about the involvement of Ying's mother.

"Then this is bigger than we thought. Sanren had been missing for years, presumed dead, probably killed in a night hunting gone wrong. She was known to love her son and Clan leader very dearly and she would never had leaved them, unless there was a very good reason behind it." Lord Zheng said.

"It's the work of the seer." A new voice said and both of them turned to look at Chenqing.

"Ah, her... known by many names, master of disguises and intrigue. Most had seen her as a ragged old woman, but I had the feeling she was Meng Shiyu in my time and Baoshan in this era, which will explain why Sanren had been involved as her disciple and her son at the very center of everything." At that, Xichen paled.

"She told me once that someone close to me will do great evil and if that is true, then Su She is not the one we are looking for." Xichen said.

"Then you must not tell this to even your Clan members. We must investigate this matter with the biggest secrecy and urgency. I doubt the rogue cultivators simply wanted to kidnap a talented kid. Last time they try something, the world had an era of darkness and the kind of energy they are using is extremely wicked, which means their methods are not exactly common." Lord Zheng advised.

"I agree. For now, let's leave, so Wei Wuxian can rest more peacefully." Xichen said, turning to look at his brother, who was sat by Wuxian, in his bed.

"Wangji, whatever you are in need, don't hesitate to call me and if he needs deeper healing, I will ask Wen Qing to come. She know him best." Xichen said gently.

"I will call her myself if something happens. Thank you." Wangi said standing up and bowing respectfully to him.

"There is no need to thank me, brother, just take good care of him." He said and turned to leave, while Lord Zheng simply disappeared.

"Bichen, how is Suibian?" Wangji asked. The thing that hit Wei would affect the sword spirit differently.

"He is a bit stronger now. There is no trace of dark energy on him, I'm quite sure of that." That was a relief. Wangji thought.

"Good. Let's hope both of them recover well." Wangji said, as he sat down by his beloved once again. After a while of staring at Wei Ying in the semidarkness, trying to keep him comfortable and warm, at times singing to him a calming tune, when he feel him restless. At the end, he lay down by him and keep him in his arms, feeling him relax under his gentle touch.

"I will not lose you from my sight from now on." Wangji whisper, softly kissing Wei's nose.

"Nor will I let anyone take you away from me." He keep up, kissing his forehead.

"One more... right here..." Wei Ying whisper back as he moved his hand to touch his lips and Wangji smirked. Maybe he had wake him up when he joined him in bed.

"Are you better?" Wangji asked and Wei pouted.

"No kiss?" He asked and Wangji smiled.

"Can you handle me as I am right now?" Wei Ying open his eyes to look at him, so beautiful and imposing. He saw worry in those deep eyes, fear and rage, but most of all, he saw love.

"Yes, anytime, anywhere..." Wei Ying whisper and soon, he was tasting Lan Zhan's lips over his, for longer than he thought possible. He could feel Lan Zhan's need of him, there was a hint of desperation too, but he keep the kiss gentle, once again showing him that he was always Lan Zhan's priority.

He was sure Wangji was holding back tenfold, considering he was not at his best to hold back his passion in full. He was always so gentle, so controlled, yet his actions speak of a deeper love, almost devoted. He had wake up when hearing him softly sing to him, trying his best to appease his restless dream, then he held him so softly and kiss him so tenderly, that he could not hold it back anymore.

"I love you... Lan Zhan." Wei Ying whisper and it was then, that Lan Zhan finally lose control, going deeper, showing Wei Ying his deeper feelings, charging their kiss with passion and desire, although still not in full. Nevertheless, Lan Zhan bite Wei Ying's lips, slightly sucking on it, making Wei shiver as he moaned and Wangji, guided by Wei's own desire, moved his hand down his back to explore, but then, he accidently touch the spot in where the talisman had hit him, which felt still sore, making Wei brake the kiss to gasp in pain.

"Sorry..." Lan Zhan whisper.

"Don't be..." Wei said, sighing.

"Rest. There is no need to rush." Lan Zhan told him and Wei smiled.

"Come with me to the east, when is my time to return home..." Wei offer.

"Yes." Wangji took the offer without hesitation.

"Wait, no buts? Just a blind yes... no telling me you had your brother and..." Wangji simply kiss him gently again and held him closer.

"I already told my brother." Wei laughed, then coughed as deep pain assaulted his back.

"My handsome Jade, you are precious indeed and just like you told me before, I take your word on that, there is no backing down now." Wei whisper.

"You had my word, now rest." Wangji told him and kiss back his forehead. There was still one more thing he needed to tell Wei Ying, about his mother been alive and protecting him from afar, but that will had to wait until Wei Ying recovers. Then they can investigate more about what make her leave her family and for what that bastard Xue Yang wanted him so badly.

They will find out the truth and he will make sure Xue Yang will pay for his sins, sooner than later.

AN: Thanks for reading. Somehow, the chapters keep getting longer, so I hope you guys don't mind. I will try to cut them down in future ones, I just don't want to leave the chapter with the feeling it's unfinished or rushed. Thank you for your kindness, until next time, take care. 😙😍❤💖⚘😄