Backlash Part 1

Chapter 85: Unlike You

Wei Wuxian was missing.  Lan Wangji felt like his heart stopped beating as his breath froze in his lungs.  Apparently Jiang Wanyin had convinced Wei Wuxian to leave Lotus Pier and accompany him into town. Lan Wangji was furious.  Wei Wuxian would only leave without telling Lan Wangji if Jiang Wanyin said something that made Wei Wuxian feel guilty. Otherwise Wei Wuxian would have asked Lan Wangji to come with.  At minimum Wei Wuxian would have told Lan Wangji he was going to leave for a while.

"You left Wei Ying by himself?!" Lan Wangji's voice was quiet, but dripped with rage.

"I didn't leave him!" Jiang Wanyin protested. "He freaked out and ran off somewhere." Lan Wangji's fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. Lan Wangji could feel his body shaking slightly, like there was too much anger building inside of him for his body to remain still.

"You are here. Wei Ying is not." Lan Wangji said slowly, his accusatory gaze boring into Jiang Wanyin's skull.

"How is that my fault?!" Jiang Wanyin shouted into Lan Wangji's face. Lan Wangji did not even blink as Jiang Wanyin attempted to invade his personal space.

"You made Wei Ying leave with you alone." Lan Wangji said flatly. Jiang Wanyin seemed surprised.

"I-I didn't make him do anything." Jiang Wanyin attempted to sound firm despite the initial hesitation in his voice.

"Wei Ying has not voluntarily gone into town since we arrived. Wei Ying has not gone anywhere without me of his own volition." Lan Wangji said with complete certainty. Jiang Wanyin frowned.

"You've had him glued to your side since you came back. In two weeks I haven't even been able to have a proper conversation with him. I asked him to come into town with me. He could have said no." Jiang Wanyin exclaimed. Lan Wangji raised an eyebrow at Jiang Wanyin.

"Of course I am always at Wei Ying's side. Unlike you, I don't leave Wei Ying alone when he needs me." Lan Wangji said with obvious disdain directed towards Jiang Wanyin. "Where did you see Wei Ying last? What direction did he leave in?"

Only two things were holding Lan Wangji back from doing physical violence onto Jiang Wanyin. The first was that Wei Wuxian would not like it. That first reason was very quickly losing its strength. The second reason being that finding Wei Wuxian was more important than punishing Jiang Wanyin.

"You!" Jiang Wanyin raised his voice, clearly about to begin shouting at Lan Wangji.

"A-Cheng." Jiang Yanli's quiet voice stopped Jiang Wanyin's words. "What matters right now is finding A-Xian. Where did you last see him?" Jiang Yanli asked gently.

"We were leaving the main pier. Someone's dog got loose, but instead of hiding like he usually does, Wei Wuxian took off in the other direction." Jiang Wanyin explained.

"Which direction?" Lan Wangji asked in a commanding tone.

"East, but I already looked. I couldn't find him." Jiang Wanyin spoke the last words to Lan Wangji's back since the Second Jade was already walking away.

Lan Wangji was on his sword before he even approached the gates of Lotus Pier. It was considered rude to be flying low over crowds like this, but Lan Wangji hardly cared. This was not a time to worry about being polite. All that mattered was finding Wei Wuxian. Lan Wangji focused his search east of the main pier. He circled the area from above three times before continuing his search on foot. Wei Wuxian was nervous in crowds so Lan Wangji focused his search on the edge of town and outwards.

'Wei Ying often curls up and pushes himself into corners or small spaces when he is scared.' Lan Wangji thought back to times that Wei Wuxian had woken from his nightmares or times that he seemed to be pulled into his memories. Over time Wei Wuxian had gotten better at calming down on his own. Often Wei Wuxian would go to Lan Wangji either when it was too much to handle on his own, or simply because he wanted to.

In the beginning, however, Wei Wuxian would often retreat. He would make himself as small as possible and press himself into corners or beneath furniture when available. This was why after a few passes from above Lan Wangji knew he would need to search by foot. Wei Wuxian could be somewhere that Lan Wangji would be unable to see from the sky.

A soft whimper drew Lan Wangji's attention. It was a small sound that vanished so quickly Lan Wangji thought he might have imagined it. He moved in the direction he believed the sound had come from. He had been looking for Wei Wuxian for close to an hour. Every minute that he failed to find Wei Wuxian made the panic within Lan Wangji grow. The longer Lan Wangji couldn't find him, the longer Wei Wuxian would be alone.

There was a small vacant dock jutting out from the shore. Some of the wooden planks had rotted through and Lan Wangji saw no signs of boats having been there recently. Lan Wangji stepped onto the creaking wood and caught the faint sound of a sob from somewhere below. Immediately Lan Wangji jumping onto the muddy embankment. Carefully crouching down, Lan Wangji was able to look into the small gap beneath the pier, beginning even before the pier entered the water. Possibly from years of erosion, or perhaps the water levels were simply low enough right now to create the small muddy space that Wei Wuxian was now occupying.

"Wei Ying." Lan Wangji called softly. There was no response. Lan Wangji moved closer and gently placed his hand on Wei Wuxian's knee. Wei Wuxian didn't move. Carefully Lan Wangji let his hand reach further, finding the softness of Wei Wuxian's hair just beyond the knee. From the awkward angle Lan Wangji managed to gently stroke Wei Wuxian's hair.

"Wei Ying." 'Wei Ying. Can you hear me? Do you understand that I am here?' Lan Wangji couldn't tell, and he didn't want to leave Wei Wuxian crouched in the mud. From what Lan Wangji could tell, Wei Wuxian's clothing was damp and the air was growing steadily cooler. Lan Wangji desperately wanted to get Wei Wuxian warm and dry.

"Wei Ying. I am going to pull you towards me." Lan Wangji said slowly, hoping Wei Wuxian could hear him. Somewhat awkwardly Lan Wangji managed to wrap one of his arms around Wei Wuxian's waist. Using his other arm to protect Wei Wuxian's head Lan Wangji began to move backwards.

Lan Wangji honestly expected something to happen. In the Jingshi Lan Wangji did not usually need to move Wei Wuxian until after Wei Wuxian was responding to him. This time Lan Wangji could not bear to wait. Wei Wuxian had been under this pier for over an hour. Lan Wangji did not actually know how long it was between Wei Wuxian's disappearance and Jiang Wanyin seeking out Jiang Yanli.

Furthermore the places in the Jingshi Wei Wuxian had hidden himself were all more accessible than this small muddy ditch along the waterline. Lan Wangji could do very little to help Wei Wuxian in this position. This made Lan Wangji's decision to attempt to move Wei Wuxian a surprisingly easy one. Lan Wangji felt the distinctive chill of resentful energy stir in the air around them. Lan Wangji continued what he was doing, fully expecting to be attacked. Lan Wangji determined it would be worth it. He was willing to accept some level of injury in exchange for getting Wei Wuxian out from under the pier.

Once he pulled Wei Wuxian out, Lan Wangji dragged Wei Wuxian on top of the old wooden pier. The resentful energy was swirling around them in thick black tendrils of smoke. Lan Wangji felt them brush against him, but there was no pain of them attacking him. Lan Wangji was amazed that so much resentment was swirling around them, but not attacking them. Granted he did not expect it to attack Wei Wuxian, but Lan Wangji was not certain if Wei Wuxian could recognize who was touching him right now. It would be reasonable in Lan Wangji's mind for Wei Wuxian to attack anyone trying to touch or move him.

Lan Wangji decided to move forward and do what he had done many times in the past. Sitting on the dock, Lan Wangji gathered Wei Wuxian in his arms and brought Wei Wuxian into his lap. The tension in Wei Wuxian's body remained unchanged. Wei Wuxian's face hidden firmly behind his knees. Wei Wuxian's arms hidden, likely pinned between Wei Wuxian's chest and thighs. Lan Wangji pulled Wei Wuxian against his chest and began running his fingers through Wei Wuxian's hair.

"Wei Ying is safe. I'm here." Lan Wangji began to whisper soothingly.