Pearl of Gusu

Chapter 1.1.

Prologue:

He looked below him at the battlefield and saw him immediately. Not only because he was dressed all in white as usual, but because he was always drawn to him.

What had they done to him?

He was in the middle of the battle but he was fighting against his own brother. The Twin Jades of Lan were fighting each other. Wei Wuxian was horrified and filled with pain. What had they done to Lan Zhan that he had chosen this path?

He was grabbed hard by the back of his neck and forced to look into the laughing face of his enemy. "Do you like it? Lan Wangji is under our control. There is nothing you can do!" An ugly laugh accompanied these words. Wei Wuxian was almost torn apart by the pain at not being able to help Lan Zhan. A few hours ago, they had mentally separated Lan Zhan and him, or rather ripped him out of him. Then they had closed Lan Zhan's mind and their connection ended at a mental wall that he could not penetrate at the moment without hurting Lan Zhan.

His enemy's eyes began to glint viciously, "Wei Wuxian. From the beginning, all I wanted was to destroy you. To cause you pain. Had I known earlier that it was Lan Wangji with whom you could be destroyed... oh how much fun we could have had. But now, die knowing he will never be free again, never able to make his own decisions." His filthy laughter filled the air as he pushed Wei Wuxian into the deep abyss of the Burial Mounds.

Wei Ying fell. "Lan Zhan," he cried, reaching his hand up as if Lan Zhan were standing over him and could grasp his hand. He closed his eyes and reached for the mental strand that connected him and Lan Zhan.

Wei Ying had a small amount of energy left and with the activation of his nexus he could either try to survive his fall or....

He didn't want to leave Lan Zhan, but if he did it right, the latter would be able to live freely again. Wei Ying smiled as he thought of the moments they had shared together. Tears made their way down his cheeks as Wei Ying took a deep breath and whispered, "My life for yours, Lan Zhan." He released his Spirit, and it immediately reached for his golden core, for the last remnants of his Qi and the nexus closed. Wei Ying's eyes lit up red and gold and with the last of his strength he pushed that energy through the spiritual bond and shattered the blockage.

Relieved, he felt the icy-blue power of Lan Zhan unfold again and his own Spirit tried to reach out for Lan Zhan's immediately.

Lan Zhan was free! He heard him call his name before he fell unconscious and down into the black abyss.

*

"Wei Wuxian!" the voice of Jiang Cheng, son of the Yunmeng Jiang Clan, thundered across the market. In a large wide-branched tree, Wei Wuxian, adopted son of the Yunmeng Jiang Clan, startled out of his sleep and looked around in confusion. Then he heard his brother's call again, this time clearly resonating in anger.

He leapt from the tree in an elegant arch and ran towards him, yawning.

When Jiang Cheng saw him, he pointed at him and scowled, "

Wei Wuxian, where the hell have you been again? You know very well that we are leaving today." Wei Wuxian stopped short in front of him, greeted his sister, Jiang Yanli, first child of the Yunmeng Jiang clan, and nudged Jiang Cheng's arm.

"Why are you so excited? We're just travelling from clan to clan for study purposes. And between you and me, the Lan Clan is probably the most boring of them all. I could do better things with my time." Wei Wuxian drew his sword and pretended to fight some imaginary enemies.

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes at that and took three deep breaths: "You're full of mischief, it's time you learned some discipline and restraint through the Lan Clan."