Wei Ying
Thunders resonated inside the temple, flashing away the night with intensity as Wei Ying unconsciously remember all the things that happen because of the Hundred Holes Curse. First Wen Ning going on a rampage, killing both Jin Zixuan and Jin Zixun, then Wen Qing deciding to surrender herself and her brother to the Lanling Jin Clan, to save and spare him of further actions from the Clans against him for those her brother had killed.
Wen Qing had use a paralyzing needle on him, knowing he will try his best to stop them from sacrificing themselves for a lost cause, because even if they gave the Lanling Jin Clan their lives, that would not had stop them for going after him later on, yet the pain, the broken heart, his pleas to Wen Qing to not go, had almost break him for the second time, after the tragedy on his own Clan.
Three days... she had make him sleep for the longest three days of his life and when he had wake up, with his heart beating faster than ever, knowing he had once again lose all he had in the worse possible way and went out of the cave in a hurry, stumbling all the way out of the Burial Mound, he had found it completely empty. What happen after that was history and his loses only escalated in the battle at the Nightless City, for which he had decided to end it all, leaving Lan Zhan mourning and searching for him for the next sixteen years.
All those tragedies, triggered by a single curse he had nothing to do with and that was probably planned in order to change the cultivator's chain of command, because with Jin Zixuan and Jin Zixun gone, then killing Jin Guangshan, it open the position of Chief Cultivator to Jin Guangyao and all the blame fell on him, when the only thing he did was trying to protect the weak, as he had sworn a very long time ago.
Wei Wuxian begin to laugh almost hysterically, as tears fell down his cheeks, unable to resist the bitterness in his heart, because of the unfairness committed over him and his people that did nothing to harm anyone, living a peaceful life of farming in the worse environment and circumstances. Seen this, Lan Zhan had stood in front of him, putting one hand over his shoulder to make him focus back to reality.
"Wei Ying..." Wangji's voice was soft and caring, so Wei look at him while calming himself down. He owed Lan Wangji what was left of his life, not only because he genuinely loved him with his body and soul, but also because this was the one man that had care and love him in both of his lives and going as far as to defying the Clans to help him, never leaving him in his own.
"Wei Ying... I'm here..." Lan Zhan added in a softer whisper he could barely hear, while gently wiping away his tears, the same way he had done with Jiang Cheng. His tenderness was as beautiful as his loving expression that only he could see, with Wangji giving his back to the rest of the presents. So Wei Wuxian smiled to him, sighing all his bitterness away, for Lan Zhan's sake and no one else.
"I know, Lan Zhan... I know." Wei whisper back, feeling quite tempted to kiss him, but he restrained himself, as Jin Ling was still among them and he didn't want to scare him off, just when their relationship was beginning to develop in a more friendlier way. Behind Wangji, in the middle of the temple, however, a heated discussion was taking place and Wei, focus back on it, taking Lan Zhan with him, gently pulling on his robe sleeve.
"Jin Guangyao! It was because of you that everything went downhill after Zixun and Zixuan were killed! After everything you had done, killing your father, your brother and son and even trying to get rid of all of us back in the Burial Mound, you can't possibly deny that what happen at the Qiongqi Path, was also your doing!" Jiang Cheng yelled in rage, feeling guiltier about the things he had done to Wei Wuxian, including giving him his back to his sworn brother, in the moment he was the most vulnerable...
All because he had blamed Wuxian of killing his sister husband out of hatred and resentment, when in fact, he had been ambush and declared guilty of something he knew nothing. Lan Xichen, for the other part, was yet again shocked, but he moved to confront the Chief Cultivator, because this time he felt like been used to give birth to an evil purpose.
"So this was the reason you ask me to invite Wei Wuxian? Because you knew Jin Zixun was itching for revenge on the curse and planning to kill the Yiling Patriarck, who he believed was the one cursing him? Because you knew that Jin Zixuan will also go there, perhaps by your doing too?" Xichen asked, already too emotionally distress, after receiving a blow after blow without stop for hours. Just how much evil could a pair of men bring to so many innocent people? And how could he had been so blind, to the point he didn't believe Wei Ying when he first told him about the Clan Leader Jin's wicked doings, including killing his older sworn brother in such a despicable way.
"It wasn't him!" Su hastily clarify. "The Clan Leader didn't knew about the curse! I did it on my own, using a forbidden tune from a book, to control the Ghost General and get rid of them all!" Lan Wangji freezing gaze rest on Su She, and involuntary, the man tremble under his hard gaze for a second before he looked back at him with defiance.
"What did you said? And for what reason did you curse Zixun and blamed Wei Wuxian for your doing?!" Jiang Cheng asked, too disgusted to resist the inevitable question.
"Why not?! All of you that had born from rich and noble families, only know how to look down on others, even when you claim to be righteous! What gives you the right to bully the less fortunate and talented! Why not giving them a taste of their own medicine and you even expect for Wuxian to act as recklessly! All of you wanted to spill his blood right away, with none giving him the benefit of the doubt, so you are all as guilty as I was!" Su yelled and Wei Ying, hastily placed himself in front of Wangji, before he could really strike the man that was pushing his red bottoms, one after the other.
"All of you deserved what came to you and the Clan Leader was the only worthy man to be the Cultivator's Chief. I'm glad I help him out to obtain what he deserved, because aside from him, none of you showed any respect toward me, even when I was a Clan Leader too!" Su keep up.
"You don't deserve any, nor does Clan Leader Jin! You are both scum!" Jiang Cheng shouted back. Su immediately unsheathed his sword and pointed Jian Cheng with it.
"Scums you said, then you should be even worse, right Clan Leader Jiang?" Jin Guangyao finally intervened, making Su lower his sword.
"Why acting so disgusted and offended, when you had done even more than me to your sworn brother? Let me ask you, didn't you take a big part in Young Master Wei's downfall? Didn't you declare he had betrayed your Clan and deflected, weren't you one of the forces behind the siege at the Burial Mound, didn't you cursed Wei Wuxian's name for killing your sister husband? Didn't you wanted him dead after your sister was killed by someone else other than Wuxian? Didn't you care less when he throw himself down that cliff? Were you not eager to disassociate with his name, even after death? Didn't you hated all those who even dare to say his name?" Jin asked and Cheng gave Wuxian a shy glance in his way, unable to deny the accusations.
"I wonder how things would had turn out if you had care for your brother a bit more, if you had shown us that your bond with him was unbreakable, if you had been less jealous and more supportive. Perhaps if you had stick to him, a powerful man behind your back that very few will dare to go against him when he came back from the Burial Mound to seek revenge for your family, you would have end up in a more decisive position, perhaps becoming the strongest Clan..." This actually hurt Wei more than Jiang, because at the end it was actually true.
"You son of a prostitute!" Jiang spited the words out of his mouth with as much hatred as he could.
"Clan Leader Jiang, I may be what I am, but you can't think of yourself as any better. Just look at the one you called brother once and the one behind him. Wei Wuxian give you his golden core, which was far stronger than yours and in such a selflessly way, no one can doubt his bond to you was quite strong, yet the one who support him then or now wasn't you. Whatever relationship those two had, romantical or otherwise, no one in here can't deny the fact that their bond is strong and works in both ways. After all Lan Wangji did stood up for Wei Wuxian more than once, even sixteen years ago while on the Burial Mound siege, for which he was severely punished when it was all over while you, his brother loathed him for things completely out of his control."
"What will it make you, if I told you that Wei Wuxian didn't lose control of the spirits back in the Nightless City? What if I was the one who use a forbidden tone to make them go wild, attacking even the members of your Clan that he was so obviously protecting?" This shocked Wei quite greatly, because he had indeed been in control despite everything he had gone through in such a short amount of time. At that time, when he first 'lose' control of the spirits, he had heard another flute tone playing, aside from his, but he had no idea of what was going on and never suspected it was someone else doing.
"Jin Guangyao! How could you go that far to frame Wei Weuxian?!" Lan Xichen shouted and Jin Ling looked at Wei regretfully, for the injustice he did to him when he stab Wuxian, as well as for all the ones both his uncles did as well.
"You are even lower than me... so get down of your high horse." Jin said to Jiang Cheng, ignoring Xichen. "We leave now!" He continue, but...
"Clan Leader Jin... aren't you afraid?" Wei asked, before he could go out of the temple door. Jin Guangyao stoped in the act and turned to look at Wuxian.
"Afraid of what?" The Clan Leader asked back.
"Of your sins retribution. Aren't you afraid those you kill will go find you? Aren't you afraid that Nie Mingjue resentful energy will catch you off guard? You planned to turn him into a ghost puppet... what if he comes back to hunt you down. He certainly hated you enough to seek revenge on you and more so for the disrespectful way you kill him..." Another thunder resonate inside the temple, making Jin tremble while looking at the coffin.
The atmosphere was just perfect to enhance deep fears for the unknown, so Wei Wuxian begin to casually whistle, increasing Jin's fear tenfold. He keep whistling, while making echoes all around the temple, calling those spirits that had been suppressed in that place.
Jian Guangyao then, felt something extremely cold get a hold on his robes and he turned in horror to see a black smoked hand, grabbing the fabric. He tried to shake it away, but then more came, coming from different angles. Spirit after spirit begin to surround the Clan Leader Jin, striking him at times, making him fall to the floor. The other looked at Wei with a mix of horror and awe, for his supreme control over the resentful energy, even when he didn't have the proper tools to do so in full.
Wangji moved to Wei's side, carefully watching him for any sing of loss of control, but his man knew what he was doing and the Chief Cultivator certainly deserved the punishment, although in a greater degree. So Lan Zhan simply watched as Jin Guangyao, confronted his demons like a coward, scared to death with the spirit he had killed, some of who had materialize as ghouls, ripping Jin's robes.
"Stop it!" Su yelled, taking out his sword to finally strike Wei Wuxian for good, but Lan Zhan was ready and unsheathed Bichen with such speed and mastery that Wei failed to see him move it, to intercept and cut both, Su's hand off and sword in half. Blood burst out of Su's cut hand like a river, as he screamed in pain, grabbing his wrist to try stop the flow of blood, at the same that Guangyao moved to grab Jin Ling and pass a string over his neck.
"Call them back or he dies!" Guangyao shouted and Wei stop his whistling immediately, the spirits disappearing with the release of the command, however, a strong sound coming from the front door of the temple make them all look forward at the same time the heavy red door was yanked open with great force, sending someone dressed in white, all the way to inside the open temple.
"Sizhui?!" Wei yelled as he moved to help him get up, closely follow by Lan Zhan, but the sound of metal brushing the ground, make them all turn back to see the dark figure, all cover in resentful energy go inside the temple and approach the entrance one heavy step at the time.
"Senior Wei, Light Bearing Lord... I couldn't hold him back any longer." Sizhui said apologetically.
"Who?" Wangji asked.
"Big brother!" Huaisang exclaimed, pointing at the dark figure, which face could not be distinguish from where he was, yet a sabre was shining deep crimson in his hand. Perhaps he had unconsciously call more than the surprised spirits in the temple... Wei thought, or perhaps it was just the fate and repayment of the sins.
AN: Longer chapter, but I decided to cut the part of Jin explaining himself in full detail, he already said what we need to know, which is that Wei was wrongly accused of many things, cleaning his previously tainted name. Hope it was exiting enough, I cut Su's hand completely, because it kind of make sense that Bichen will cut flesh more easily than cutting metal and he honestly deserved the intense pain as punishment. Buahahhah. LOL. Thanks for reading, the next one will be quite thrilling. Take care, until next time. 😄😁😙💖❤💖