Backlash Part 1

Chapter 190: The Battle of Nightless City

Nie Mingjue wasn't certain there was going to be anything he could do to reduce Wei Wuxian's burden in Nightless City. He might have given up on trying to find a way to do so, if he didn't know just how worried Lan Xichen was. Lan Xichen had not been talking about those concerns lately, but Nie Mingjue knew that was not because those concerns had lessened.

Lan Xichen seemed to be in pain, or possibly ill. Nie Mingjue wasn't certain what was wrong exactly. Lan Xichen visited the healers appropriately, and Nie Mingjue had checked with the healers. They insisted Lan Xichen was fine. They were wrong. Nie Mingjue had been friends with Lan Xichen for a long time. The tightness in Lan Xichen's expression and the way he seemed to deliberately shorten conversations was not normal.

It was something of a relief when Lan Xichen came to him, breathless with excitement in a way Nie Mingjue had not seen since they were both still children. It was a bit of an odd sight given their circumstances. Until Lan Xichen showed Nie Mingjue why he was so excited. A detailed map of Nightless city. There were patrol routes and schedules. Detailed information about quantity and location of troops.

This sort of information was a dream. This information would let him pick the best approach. The best time to attack. The best locations for troops. Lan Xichen's spy had truly outdone themselves. Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen spent the evening overhauling the strategy for taking Nightless city. By morning they would be ready to brief the troops.

Entering Nightless city is strange. The last time he was here, in his first life, Wei Wuxian had found all the sects gathered together in organized rows. They scattered Wen Qing and Wen Qionglin's ashes. Wei Wuxian remembered feeling that it was bitterly ironic. They loved to talk about how Wei Wuxian disrespected the dead. Scattering Wen Qing and Wen Qionglin's ashes was an act of disrespect they did not deserve.

Wen Qing and Wen Qionglin did not deserve to die in the first place. Wei Wuxian hated that he failed to save them. It would have been fair to go to Nightless city for retribution. That wasn't why he had gone to Nightless city. Wei Wuxian had already failed to save them, but he could at least claim their remains. He could bring them home to their family. He could make sure they were put to rest properly.

Wei Wuxian arrived just in time to see their ashes scattered to the wind. Too late, but just in time to hear Jin Guangshan begin to rally the sects. Wei Wuxian doesn't remember what was said anymore. The insults and accusations had long since blurred together, and much of that night was a haze in Wei Wuxian's memories.

Even being unable to claim the ashes of his siblings, Wei Wuxian still didn't plan vengeance. If Jin Guangshan had kept his mouth shut, Wei Wuxian might have slipped back to the Burial Mounds. Except Jin Guangshan wasn't just repeating the same insults.

Jin Guangshan was rallying the sects into a fervour. He was calling on them to join him in laying siege to the Burial Mounds. Taking Wen Qing and Wen Qionglin from this world wasn't enough. They wanted to rid the world of the elderly doctors turned farmers, little A-Yuan, and of course Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian took a slow breath to keep himself calm. He hadn't died in Nightless city, but he might as well have. Jiang Yanli died taking a sword that was meant for Wei Wuxian. It remained one of Wei Wuxian's worst memories. Wei Wuxian had lost it after that. He couldn't even remember half of what happened, or how he managed to leave there alive.

Another slow breath and Wei Wuxian was focused once more. The sects were not here for the Yiling Laozu. They were here for Wen Rouhan. They were here to shoot down the sun.

The first note to ring out from Chenqing always seemed to echo. No matter if the battle had begun or not, that first clear tone felt like it was breaking through silence. Wei Wuxian had asked for three days. Wei Wuxian never asked for as much as he needed, but Lan Wangji could not fault him this time.

Wei Wuxian had asked for the bare minimum. What he felt he could get, and would be enough to get him through Nightless city. Lan Wangji wasn't thrilled, but he understood the need. This was the last battle. After this Wei Wuxian could rest and heal. Lan Wangji would be by his side. Wen Qing would hopefully be healthy enough that she could confirm exactly what needed to be done to ensure everything healed.

Lan Wangji knew that the Yin Hufu was hurting Wei Wuxian every time he used it, but the damage was not irreversible. Lan Wangji had to remind himself of that frequently. He hated Wei Wuxian being in pain. He hated Wei Wuxian being injured. He loathed that both continued to happen.

The Yin Hufu floated in the air beside Wei Wuxian as he played. His black robes blended with the black resentful energy swirling around him. The effect was breathtaking. It made Wei Wuxian appear to be almost half formed of midnight black smoke. The flash of red from Wei Wuxian's under robe imitated the crackling red energy interspersed in the clouds of resentment.

Lan Wangji stayed close to Wei Wuxian's side. He slaughtered anyone who came too close to his betrothed. Meanwhile Wei Wuxian's ruby glowing eyes focused on the battlefield as he controlled his army of fierce corpses. The first thing to signal to Lan Wangji that something was wrong, was the narrowing of Wei Wuxian's gaze.

Lan Wangji had been fighting at Wei Wuxian's side through countless battles. He had been beside Wei Wuxian every time he used the Yin Hufu in this life. Most of those times had been planned out well in advance. In the last two battles it had not been planned.

Wei Wuxian had intended in those battles to only use the amount of resentful energy he could control with Chenqing. Part way through, as they were overwhelmed, his eyes narrowed into a particular expression. A tense line appeared between Wei Wuxian's eyebrows. His lips pressed into a firm determined line as Wei Wuxian glared at the battlefield.

Lan Wangji allowed his focus to spread from the immediate area to the battlefield at large. That was when he realized what Wei Wuxian already must have ascertained. The enemy soldiers were not where they were supposed to be. A few were, but the bulk of Wen Rouhan's forces were not. Those forces had come from their flanks and had now surrounded them.

Unlike the other battles where things had gone wrong, Wei Wuxian was already using the Yin Hufu. His eyes remained narrowed, but he didn't say or do anything differently for the moment. Lan Wangji frowned out at the battlefield and pushed harder. It was not a positive turn, but the battle wasn't over.

They fought for what felt like hours, but might have only been minutes. The disadvantage they found themselves in had grown more pronounced. Wei Wuxian remained cold and calm in a way he only was while using the Yin Hufu. Either because of his other emotions being swallowed in the onslaught of the resentful energy, or because Wei Wuxian needed to focus in order to control the strength of the emotions the Yin Hufu poured into him. Lan Wangji wasn't certain if Wei Wuxian would actually be able to tell him even if Lan Wangji asked.