WangXian - I am always with you

4: Hurry

A chill went through Lan Wangji. He felt something had gone terribly wrong. Not long ago, he'd sensed Wei Ying's energy battling the creature, but just now it had... faded. As though he'd died. Lan Wangji refused to believe it. Not Wei Ying. Not again. So he sped up, determined to get there and find his Wei Ying. A faint red barrier crumbled away over a small valley, so Lan Wangji headed for that, flying as fast as he could on his sword.

Lan Sizhui didn't know what to do when he saw his father collapse. It scared him: he did not want to lose Wei Wuxian again and who knows how his other father would react. Jin Ling, who had been watching intently next to him, raced forward when Wei Wuxian fell, and Lan Sizhui followed closely behind.

Cresting the slope, Lan Wangji felt his heart stop. Wei Ying was lying on the ground with Lan Sizhui crouched over him, frantically feeding him some spiritual energy, while Jin Ling held up his sword, as if that could ward off the massive beast flying around them.

The Zhuque, Lan Wangji thought in mild horror. Lan Wangji strummed his guqin, turning the Zhuque's attention away from his beloved. He couldn't allow himself to fear: not until it was defeated. But if Wei Ying hadn't defeated it, there wasn't much chance that Lan Zhan would. Regardless, he would try.

Dropping down next to his son, Lan Wangji used his spiritual energy to guide Bichen, cutting and hacking with the ice cold blade. The Zhuque squawked in outrage, swooping low for another speed attack.

"It's did this before!" Jin Ling yelled. There was no reason for you to yell, Lan Wangji thought tiredly. He straightened his guqin and strummed, a wave of blue light flying out and hitting the Zhuque. The vermillion bird did seem to be taking damage, but too slowly. Lan Wangji gritted his teeth in frustration. He needed to tend to Wei Ying!

The massive collision of two demonic energies had been felt throughout the mountain range. Lan Xichen knew that this beast was no ordinary one, that it could stand up to Wei Wuxian's demonic cultivation.Jiang Cheng seemed to agree.

"Huaisang, would it be acceptable to let me and Sect Leader Jiang go to assist?" Lan Xichen asked politely. Nie Huaisang sighed behind his fan.

"You're gonna go regardless, so I won't stop you," the tired Sect Leader sighed. Lan Xichen bowed in thanks, then took off after Jiang Cheng, who had gone as soon as Nie Huaisang had said yes.

The Zhuque was hurt, but Lan Wangji still couldn't keep it back for much longer. Wei Wuxian's breathing had become laboured and erratic behind him, and Lan Wangji's heart was burning with worry. It took all he had just to not turn around and take his Wei Ying away, but he couldn't abandon Sizhui or Jin Ling. He refused to. Placing his fingers on the guqin, Lan Wangji prepared to attack again when the notes of a familiar xiao (vertical flute) met his ears. Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng flew over on their sword, his brother playing a calming song on Liebing. Reaching the ground, Shuoyue and Sandu attacked. Lan Wangji was confident those two could keep the Zhuque busy, so he turned to Wei Wuxian. His pulse was getting slower, and he was very pale. Sending spiritual energy into his husband, Lan Wangji felt it get blocked by some sort of poison. Panic welled up in Lan Wangji. He would not lose him. Not again.

"Didi! Take him away!" Lan Xichen said, rushing towards them. Lan Wangji nodded at his brother in thanks and picked Wei Wuxian up, bridal style, and took off on Bichen.

Ok so, the contest isn't really going well. But that is to be expected, Lan Jingyi thought. Just as he'd climbed high enough, he'd felt that strange energy. Then Wei Wuxian had flown overhead. So something big was going on. Lan Jingyi, being insatiably curious, followed behind Wei Xiong, only to fall off his sword because of a strong wind. Right now, he was picking his way through the bushes. He had a bad feeling about this monster, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. A white cloth slipped down his forehead, and Lan Jingyi stopped for a moment to tighten his headband.

It must've come loose when I fell, he thought. A squawk echoed through the trees and Jingyi jumped.

"What the fu-."

Lan Wangji flew over him, carrying a comatose Wei Xiong. Jin Ling and Lan Sizhui were following close behind, but only Jin Ling noticed him. Rolling his eyes, he flew down.

"I heard you. You broke another rule," Jin Ling said rather too gleefully.

"What happened?" Lan Jingyi asked, ignoring the young mistress. Worry and fear were apparent on Jin Ling's face.

"How about we follow them back, and I'll explain on the way."

The two junior cultivators boarded their swords and took off after the comatose man in black and the frantic man in white.

Wei Wuxin felt... strange. It was like his body wanted to be awake, but couldn't. He could feel a foreign substance blocking up his dan tian, Mo Xuanyu's weak golden core trying desperately to repel it. He wasn't in pain, exactly: it was just really uncomfortable. Shifting about in the darkness, pain suddenly sliced through his arm.

How the hell does it hurt this much in a dreamscape?! Wei Wuxian thought, hunching over the invisible wound. When the pain settled enough for him to stand up straight, Wei Wuxian noticed something that hadn't been there before. A mythical beast on the same level as the Zhuque and Xuanwu.

Here we go again, he sighed. 

Hey guys, I didn't have too much motivation for this chapter, so it's a bit shorter than usual. Anyway, I'm sorry if it's not up to my usual standards!