Chapter Twenty-Two

Wei Yingyue had been separated from her two companions. Thrown into some type of subsection in the cave that the creature, despite however hard it tried, could not get into. After what seemed like hours of the beast attacking the entrance, it had finally backed off. Now that she was alone and the adrenaline had worn off, her entire body ached so much that it hurt to move. Even lifting a finger seemed taxing on her body. So, as this seemed to be the case, she sat there and closed her eyes, trying to think about her breathing and trying to cultivate energy so that she could at least dress the bleeding wound on her shoulder. As she did this, however, a hand placed itself on her good shoulder and she jumped, looking up to see her brother.

"Wei Ying." She sighed, falling into him as he wrapped an arm around her waist. He held her to him, letting out a breath of relief as he kissed the top of her head. The twins had been separated since Wei Yue had been put into Lan Wangji's rooms, only seeing each other when they were to stand in front of Wen Chao to recite the foul texts of the Wen Clan. He had noticed, despite all of his sister's attempts to hide it, that she was hurt in some way, shape, or form most of the time when he saw her. He noticed it now as she moved away, holding her back off the wall as she looked at him. "Did you take care of Lan Zhan?" She asked.

"I did as much as he would allow me to do, but he insisted that I come get you once we heard the beast quiet down." He murmured, pushing her loose hair out of her face. "So, my dear sister, let's get you out of here." The boy grabbed his sister's hand and helped her up, swiftly lifting her up in his arms as he turned to leave. Wei Yue tried to ignore the pain that was shooting through her back, legs, and her hands while her brother slowly moved to the entrance of her stone subsection in the cave. He peeked out and made sure the beast was away from them before jumping over to the shore, running as fast as he could to where Lan Wangji was laid on the ground. He looked up as Wei Wuxian can back into their hiding spot and straightened when he saw Wei Yue, her bloodstained robe drawing his attention to her shoulder.

"Wei Yue." He sat up as Wei Ying set his sister down, watching as she winced as her back pressed against the wall. Wei Ying took a packet from his robes and opened it, handing it to Lan Zhan. "What can we use for her arm?" He asked, looking at the wound that was still bleeding. Wei Yue shook her head, frowning as she looked at Lan Zhan.

"Heal his leg." She ordered but they ignored her.

"We did." Lan Zhan stated, glaring at her brother before turning towards her. "Can I move your robes?" He asked, looking straight into her eyes as she nodded. She glanced between her brother and her friend before biting her lip, nodding as she sat up before Wei Ying unwrapped her outer robe. As she felt her inner robe loosen and felt it slide off her shoulder and back lightly, Wei Yue closed her eyes as her companion's eyes landed on her bruised back.

"What the hell is that?" Wei Wuxian demanded in shock, his eyes wide as he looked over her back. Lan Wangji felt his heart drop as he realized they were from Wen Chao's mistreatment, his jaw tightening as he looked at the wound on her shoulder. "Wei Yue, what happened?" Her brother asked, kneeling down in front of her as he grabbed her hand, though she pulled away and he looked down. "Wei Yingyue, what is going on?" He asked as he looked at the bruises on her fingers.

"Leave it alone, Wei Ying." She whispered, looking away from him as he frowned, looking up at Lan Zhan.

"Do you know what happened?" He asked.

"Leave it, Wei Wuxian." He looked down at his sister as she hissed at him, frowning as she narrowed her eyes. He huffed before taking her outer robe before walking over to the fire he had made a while ago, sitting them down to dry before huffing as he sat with his back turned to his sister and Lan Zhan.

"I'm sorry." Lan Zhan whispered, his head hanging low as he opened the pouch filled with blood coagulation glass.

"Lan Zhan, it's okay. I'll be healed in no time. They will not scar, we can forget it as soon as they are gone." She murmured as she watched his eyes lingering on her bruises. "Where's your forehead ribbon?"

"Your brother used it to make a brace on my leg." He grumbled, gently rubbing the herbs onto her wound.

"Yep. And I stripped for him too!" Wei Wuxian called, laughing as Lan Zhan and Wei Yue's eyes shot to him.

"Shameless." Wei Yue muttered, shaking her head as she looked at the roof of the cave. "Wei Ying, come here." He looked over at his sister and obeyed, walking to her as she reached inside her robe. "I know you didn't take care of your wounds, I have more medicine. You know everything in there just about. Don't use it all." She explained, watching as he took the pouch, looking at the contents with Lan Zhan.

Being in the cave with Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had been awkward after the twins found out about the Cloud Recesses. Wei Yingyue didn't know how to approach either one of them, but the problem she was having was her mind constantly going to Lan Xichen and hoping that he was okay. The only time that she would have relief was when she was sleeping or meditating. Her time in GusuLan groomed her to where her sleeping patterns were instilled in her mind now. As the time in the cave passed her and Lan Zhan's wounds began to heal, he was able to meditate in lotus position with her in a relatively decent span of time. The three would scout around the pool, seeing that the Tortoise of Slaughter had pulled all of the corpses into its shell.

By the fourth day the trio had given up on trying to find the hole that Jiang Cheng and Wei Yue had swam through, but they gathered all of the arrows, bows, and iron rods that were left on the shore. Now, as they were growing desperate to get out, Wei Yue helped Lan Wangji break all of the bowstrings to make them into a giant guqin. He strum a few chords and the twins watched as a rock shattered, attacked by the Chord Assassination Lan Zhan had produced.

"Chord Assassination?" Wei Wuxian asked, crossing his arms as he looked at Lan Zhan. His sister nodded, smiling as she remembered when Lan Wangji taught her the technique.

"Breach through within." Lan Zhan stated simply, looking at the turtle shell that was in the water.

"I agree as well. We should attack from the inside." Wei Ying agreed, nodding as his sister frowned.

"But the Chord Assassination technique won't be that useful in the shell. It's too cramped of a space." She stated, the two men looking at her before she gestured to Lan Zhan's leg. "And that still hasn't healed all the way." She finished, making them both nod. Wei Wuxian's finger rubbed the tip of his nose as he thought, looking at the ground before snapping lightly.

"I have an idea." He exclaimed lightly, looking between his two companions. They followed his plan and Wei Yue tried to calm down as she helped Wei Ying set up the String Formation. He walked towards the mouth of the shell, looking back at Wei Yue and Lan Zhan. "The formation is ready." He called lightly, making the two people on the shore nod. "I'll lure the creature out of the water." He turned, moving closer to the opening of the shell.

"Be careful." Lan Zhan whispered, Wei Yue clenched her fist as she watched her twin disappear into the shell of the Tortoise of Slaughter.