Way too untamed, way too wild

A piece of the puzzle

Upon hearing the woman's introduction, Lan Wangji had a hard time to not flinch nor step back from her. Of course he had heard about places rich in spiritual energy taking on a kind of spiritual cognition, sometimes even manifesting as physical objects or creatures, but he had never heard about the same concerning places abundant in resentful energy.

Although it was probably not all that uncommon, there were places which attracted resentful creatures, some of them could have perhaps been a manifestation. But to have a human form, that was unheard of. Then again, they were talking about the Burial Mounds, the place where resentful energy accumulated in even greater quantities then spiritual energy in the Cold Spring in the Cloud Recesses.

It was all now making some twisted sense. How Wei Ying was able to so masterfully control the resentful energy, how the Burial Mounds had a habitable place inside of them, how the children were not affected by the resentment. If what the boy had just said about learning directly from the woman, from the Burial Mounds themselves, then that could not have anything in common with demonic cultivation as he knew it. There was no such case ever reported, not even in any historical books Lan Wangji had ever read, Wei Ying was truly one of a kind.

It was even possible that since the boy had been living in this place for years now, he had gotten used to the resentful energy and vice versa. Despite Wen Qing saying that controlling the resentment was taking a toll on him, Lan Wangji supposed that it could be the same as if an untrained cultivator tried to achieve something he was not used to. Perhaps with some proper instruction and cultivation, Wei Ying could even be able to wield the resentful energy the same way as everyone else did with spiritual energy.

Before Lan Wangji could finish thinking about all the possibilities and consequences this revelation brought with it, the Burial Mounds spoke inside his head again: "Yes, A-Ying could finally be out of danger if he was to learn proper methods. I taught him how to control the resentment only because it was the only way he could survive out here.

People are thinking that I am evil, but what about them? A-Ying had always been such a sweet child and they had just chased him out because they did not like him begging for food in the streets. I was watching him, sure that the resentment would just devour him as it did to anyone who tried to enter the mountains. But for some reason, A-Ying survived. He even stayed alive after a long time and I got curious. That is why I had let him see me and then taught him the ways to survive.

I like how lively it is when he and the children live here. The resentment which had been haunting these mountains for centuries had even thinned in response to all the life which is now here. But it is not enough. A-Ying and the children are not really prospering here and I cannot help them, the resentment is still too thick to grow any trees and fruits here. I can tell they are dying, one at a time, all too young to be able to say that they had lived a good long life...

I do not want them to go, but they have to. I have seen in your thoughts that you want to help them, just as I want. And A-Ying trusts you. You have to take the children and him out of here, the sooner the better. There had been disturbances as of lately. A demonic cultivator had gotten inside the barrier and he is bending the resentment to his will. He is coming closer; I cannot stop him anymore... Hurry..."

The Burial Mounds' speech was interrupted when Wei Ying tugged at Lan Wangji's hand and turned his adorably pouting face towards him: "Hey, Lan Zhan, you cannot have Big Sister only for yourself. She promised to teach me how to make my music even prettier when I will play with you."

Lan Wangji immediately knew what the boy was taking about, he had been purposefully imbuing his songs with spiritual energy, trying to help Wei Ying recover at least the tiniest bit and alleviate the burden controlling the resentful energy brought with it. He had never heard about a demonic cultivator actually using musical cultivation, but he supposed they could try, it was Wei Ying after all.

Suddenly, the boy's head snapped to look back at the Burial Mounds and he seemed to be listening to something attentively. Lan Wangji could not hear any voice at the moment and he went back to what the woman had just said in his thoughts.

She just warned him there was some other demonic cultivator here in the Burial Mounds. Although Lan Wangji had no proof, he had a hunch that he knew who that was. It must have been Xue Yang, the only other known demonic cultivator who had escaped after the Sunshot campaign. If that villain was indeed somewhere nearby, Lan Wangji had to inform all cultivation sects about this lurking danger. It seemed, at least it appeared to be the case according to the Burial Mounds' words that he was getting stronger too.

As the woman said, if he was here, then Wei Ying and the children were not safe anymore, he had to convince the boy to allow him to take them away. He had to do so as soon as the Burial Mounds stopped talking to Wei Ying. He would give him and the children some time to grab their belongings and then they would leave. He would take them outside of the Burial Mounds and would then send a message to his brother and uncle, they would surely hear him out and send help.

Only at that moment did Lan Wangji realize that he had completely forgotten to report to his brother and uncle for more than a week already. They must have been so worried about him by now! Perhaps they have already sent someone to check on him too. He had to go back to the town immediately, before that someone would assume he was no longer in the land of the living, especially with Xue Yang lurking somewhere nearby. Who knew what could happen.

He decided that it was risky to remain in the Burial Mounds for a second longer and he took hold of Wei Ying's hand. The boy startled, apparently he had been in a deep conversation with the Burial Mounds. He was now looking at him with a slight reprimand in his eyes. He opened his mouth, probably to ask the Second Jade to let him finish talking to his Big Sister.

Lan Wangji however knew there was no time left and he urged the boy: "Wei Ying, we have to go."