Once upon a lifetime

Bound - Part three

Revised 06/05/23

Don't look at the date, don't look at the date, don't look at the date...

Did any of you see the coronation today?

***

Wei Wuxian woke up to the unpleasant sensation of ice encasing his entire body. His arms were alight with tremors; goosebumps besmirched the pale skin and violently stretched all the way up his spine. He made a conscious effort to pull himself up, but when his palm slid on some sort of liquid, he slipped right back into the frigid water.

"Are you alright?" asked a soft voice. Wei Wuxian glanced to his left, only to see Lan Wangji with his lips pursed impatiently as he attempted to correct his forehead ribbon. He was already standing and looked at Wei Wuxian with what he thought was sympathy. "Would you like a hand?"

"I'll be alright," said Wei Wuxian, pushing himself up once more. He slipped a second time, and it was only then that he gratefully accepted the offered hand. "Thank you."

Once he had finally righted himself and pulled all of the frozen hair out of his face, Wei Wuxian painfully bit down a cough and forced out, "Lan Zhan, where are we? And... why is it so cold?"

"I assume we are beneath the cold pond," replied Lan Wangji. "From what I've seen, there don't appear to be any exits nearby."

"So... we're trapped here?" said Wei Wuxian, carefully enunciating the word "trapped." Really, his acting is so great, he should be given some sort of award!

"I'm not sure." Lan Wangji began to walk forward, beckoning Wei Wuxian to follow. "If we were brought here, it must be for a reason. Let's look around."

"Hold on, Lan Zhan, wait! You're going to leave me behind!"

They trekked on through the cave for what felt like hours, with no sign of an exit to be seen. The air was musty and stale, and Wei Wuxian couldn't help but feel a sense of unease, despite having been there before. The air grew colder as they went deeper, and Wei Wuxian was sniffling by the time they turned the corner through a small opening in the wall. "Lan Zhan, I'm so cold!"

"Wait," Lan Wangji's abrupt stop startled Wei Wuxian. He was staring far ahead at an intricately carved guqin that lay on a large stone like some sort of pedestal. It was a faint white-blue in colour, and a ray of lustre shone inside from above, enhancing its enrapturing beauty. "It's a... guqin?"

"A guqin?" said Wei Wuxian curiously. "Lan Zhan, do you think you were brought here on purpose? And look, there isn't even a flute for me! Does that mean I'm the accident or the inevitable sacrifice?"

"Neither," Lan Wangji chided, and he quickly began to walk towards the guqin. "There must be some kind of message left behind by my ancestors—" He was interjected by a loud yelp followed by a splash that occurred just behind him. A loud thrum of music followed, with a fluorescent blue hue being emanated by the guqin: it had attacked Wei Wuxian.

"The chord assassination technique," Lan Wangji murmured thoughtfully.

"You know what that— that murderer instrument just did?" Wei Wuxian cried, hauling himself to his feet. "Lan Zhan, you could have told me it was more than an ornament! I almost died!"

"Don't be so dramatic." Lan Wangji looked at the instrument curiously and then at Wei Wuxian. "There must be something it recognises in order to let me through. Could it be blood? My sword?"

"Aiya, no, none of that," Wei Wuxian waved his hand dismissively. "I bet it's this." He gestured to his head, and Lan Wangji merely frowned in confusion. "You know, the ribbon you Lans protect with your lives? Yeah, that one."