Promise and Betrayal: A Mo Dao Zu Shi (the Untamed) Story

Chapter 12

The city looks decidedly worse. Ashes coats everything. Wooden chunks of building crunch underfoot. No people crowd the streets, only cultivators from various clans that were demolished. Our only companions as we approach the castle are our thoughts and our footfalls. We have no escort.

The door swings open before we knock. The inside of the palace reflects the city outside: deserted, silent, coated in ash. A servant rushes from somewhere to greet and escort us. He gestures to the right, to the war room. We have interrupted a war meeting, then.

Gathered in the war room are several important figures: Lan Xichen, leader of the Lan Clan; Nie Mingjue, leader of the Nie Clan; Jin Guangshan, leader of the Jin Clan; and the respective heirs, Nie Huisang and Jin Zuxian.

We exchange bows in greeting. "Huanguang Jun," Jin Zuxian says. "Xiao Shelan. Where is Wei Wuxian? The three of you chose to stay behind. Shouldn't he be with you if you've escaped?"

"He has accompanied Jiang Cheng back to Lotus Pier," I say. "We parted ways shortly after we escaped." Jin Zuxian nods.

"Wangji," Clan Leader Lan says, walking to Lan Zhan. He rests his hands on his younger brother's shoulders, his relief evident. "I would've helped, but I wasn't near enough. I didn't know soon enough."

Lan Zhan inclines his head. "We had other help," he says. His older brother pats a shoulder, then returns to the map they are gathered around.

"Come to think of it," Nie Mingjue says, "how did you escape from that cave? The stories the others told sounded as if you could not escape unless you had help or killed the monster."

"We have slain the monster, Clan Leader Nie," I say. "It was no easy task. Wei Wuxian struck the killing blow."

"Is now the time to be discussing monsters in caves?" the leader of the Jin Clan interrupts. "We have more pressing issues on our hands. We should fill in the young masters on the situation." He beckons the four of us to the table.

Dots scatter the model of the landscape showing the mountain of Qishan and its immediate surroundings, including Qinghe and the Unclean Realm. The dots are thicker near the caldera of the volcano and the metropolis of the Unclean Realm.

"Their forces are still concentrated near the Scorching Sun Palace," Nie Minjue says. "They will move their army soon. The best way to attack is to cut off their passage down the mountain. Keep them in Qishan. Prevent the spread."

"They have other forces on our land, though," Clan Leader Jin says. "They may flank us."

"We have no other choice," the Lan Clan leader says. "It is the fastest and most efficient way, even if we must wait for them to make a move. They will consider it an act of war if we attack first. We must respond only in self-defense or they will turn against us."

"They have already turned against us!" bellows Clan Leader Jin. "Each outcome will be the same."

"Be that as it may," Clan Leader Lan says, "we must not forget our morals. Or we are as bad as them. My statement stands. If we agree, we will not attack unless attacked first."

"Agreed," Clan Leader Nie says.

"Agreed," chorus the heirs. We look expectantly at Jin Guangshan. He inhales deeply, likely warring between his logic and his desire for revenge.

"Agreed," he says at last.

"It is settled, then," says Clan Leader Nie. "We will wait until they make a definitive move. Then we will confine them to Qishan."

The war conference disperses. I find myself, once again, alone with Lan Zhan. He does not seem to mind, but I have no idea what to say to him, if anything at all. We walk the grounds, him lost in thought, me attempting to think about anything but starting a conversation.

Eventually, he knocks out of my reverie.

"You appear to want to say something," he says, stopping. I look at him, startled.

"I..." Apparently, despite all the thinking I have done, I am at a loss for words. "I..." I sigh, collecting my thoughts. "We seem to end up together quite often, but we have never had...a proper conversation. I was trying to think of what to say."

"Mhm," is his response. He says nothing else. I internally slap myself. Since when have silences bothered me? I am not a talker, either. I should be appreciating Lan Zhan's affinity for silence. Instead, I am the one making it awkward for both of us.

We do not say anything after that, and I sense that I have finally reached a point where I am content to walk in silence with him, observing his gait, his pauses, his choice of objects to observe. He likes to stop and look at any animals we see, even if it is only a flash of movement or a dash of color, and he frequently looks at the sky.

"It was under a night sky similar to this one," I say, while he is gazing at the sky, "that Wei Ying's and my spiritual energies encountered each other for the first time." I study the stars, my mind drifting back to that night when I felt the connection, the jolt of energy as our eyes met for the first time. It was, indeed, quite similar to this one; only this time, I am with the other man of the story.

Lan Zhan lowers his gaze, sparkling with curiosity. He wants me to continue. "It was unexpected but...exhilarating, like I had finally found someone who knew me, who understood me on a spiritual level."

"You are his brother," he says.

"Yes. But before you two told me that night, I had been an orphan. I did not, and still do not, know how having family feels. We have not dared to walk that route yet."

Lan Zhan studies me, but I pay him no mind, my thoughts with the stars and the moon. I have yet to tell either of these men my secret, and I have yet to traverse the stretching canyon that separates me and Wei Ying. He has made no move yet either. We have danced along the edge, timid, weary of the other party, afraid of the drop.

"He values you," Lan Zhan says at length. "He respects you."

Those two statements surprise me enough to tear my eyes away from the stars and my head from the clouds. "He respects you as well," I say. "You are the Huanguang Jun, the Harbinger of Light. A Twin Jade of the Lan Clan." I return to looking at the stars. "I am an orphan, from a clan of wanderers. People expect little of me because of my background, and the only respect I can gain from them is with my swords. And those are with the Wen Clan now."

"What you say is true," Lan Zhan says. He pauses. "But are you a sword?"

That elicits a chuckle. "No." He does not respond, likely sensing that I will say something more. "But I am a wanderer and a stranger."

"Are we not all wanderers and strangers?" he asks.

I look oddly at him. This new side of him, coupled with his cryptic words, is puzzling to piece together. I cannot deny what he says, though. It rings with truth. "The land belongs to no man," I say softly. "And a man can never fully understand his brothers."

"You are not alone, Xiao Shelan," Lan Zhan says. "You would do well to remember that." His gaze lingers on me before he walks away, leaving me in quiet contemplation. I remain staring at the stars for a great while, mulling over Lan Zhan's short yet thoughtful responses. His words ring in my mind like a gong.

It is the early hours of the morning when I finally retire, my mind no clearer.