Backlash Part 1

Chapter 28: The Jingshi

The resentment filled air felt thick. It stung Wei Wuxian's throat and made his lungs ache painfully with each inhale. Dragging his broken body forward through that air was like trying to walk in waist deep mud. The Burial Mounds were so dark that he couldn't distinguish clearly between night and day. Instead his world was divided into more dangerous times and less dangerous times. However, even these didn't seem to have regular intervals between them. So Wei Wuxian truly was at a loss to how much time had passed since he was thrown into this nightmare.

Wei Wuxian's strength faltered. His legs gave out from under him when he was just a short distance from the cave entrance. The entrance was so close that it felt like a taunt. He actually wondered if it was there at all, or if it was some image conjured by the resentful energy to torment him. The resentful energy had long since ripped its way through his body. Pain poured through him like it had replaced his blood. Biting and cutting him from the inside in circuits of blinding agony. The resentment was bitterly cold. Wei Wuxian's body felt frozen and stiff. Every joint felt like it was encased in ice. Even bending his fingers felt like he had to try and break something to complete the task. He wanted to give up. Death could not be more painful than this. Surely nothing could be more painful than this.

'Wei Ying.' Wei Wuxian tried to find the owner of that familiar voice. He scanned the desolate area desperately.

"Lan Zhan?" Wei Wuxian's voice was rough and cracked. Would Lan Wangji even recognise that voice if he heard it?

'Wei Ying.' Wei Wuxian wasn't sure if what he was hearing was real or not. It didn't make sense. Lan Wangji could not be here, but that was his voice. Wei Wuxian dug his fingers into the coarse earth and dragged his body toward the cave. Wei Wuxian closed his eyes against the horrible pain assaulting his senses, but he continued pulling himself forward. Suddenly he couldn't dig his fingers into the earth anymore. He tried harder. Trying to get to the voice. Trying to get to Lan Wangji. It didn't matter that it didn't make sense. He didn't care that it didn't make sense. He just had to move. He put everything he had into trying to get his grip into the ground so he could move forward.

'Wei Ying.' Wei Wuxian cracked open his eyes.

"Lan Zhan." Wei Wuxian's voice came out as a plea. His vision was blurred with tears. Eyes refusing to focus. He finally managed to at least focus on his hand. He saw a smear of red on his dirt caked fingers. Finally he recognised what was under his hand. It was stone. He hadn't realized there was stone under his hands now. He pulled himself forward on his elbows until he was fully inside the cave. The small relief of finally finding something resembling shelter was quickly washed away as the resentful energy in his body surged with excitement. It felt like he was being ripped apart from the inside. He was so cold that it burned. His vision was filled with black spots. The pain became too much for him to hold in and he screamed.

Wei Wuxian's eyes flew open in panic.

'Where am I? What's happening? Who is here?' His eyes darted around as the fog of sleep still stubbornly clouded his ability to think. He was seeing his surroundings, but his brain was refusing to process it properly. He couldn't get from what he was seeing to the point of recognizing what the things he was seeing were. Slowly he forced himself to calm his breaths. He needed to be calm to react to what was happening. If there was anything dangerous he needed to be calm. As he inhaled a soothing fragrance filled his nose. With each breath this scent flooded and began to chase back the tension and panic in his body.

'Lan Zhan.' Wei Wuxian's mind began to clear. This was in Cloud Recesses. This was the Jingshi. Lan Wangji's residence. 'Lan Zhan.' Just thinking his name helped soothe Wei Wuxian. 'This is Lan Zhan's residence. I'm safe. I'm not in Burial Mounds. I'm safe.'