Backlash Part 1

Chapter 191: Around the Rule

Wei Wuxian pulled Chenqing from his lips. His eyes were wide in panic. Before any sound left Wei Wuxian's mouth Lan Wangji's eyes suddenly widened and he pulled Chenqing from his lips. Lan Wangji followed Wei Wuxian's gaze and saw Jiang Wanyin stagger.

"Jiang Cheng!" Wei Wuxian's voice held a desperate edge to it.

"Wei Ying." Lan Wangji said from Wei Wuxian's side. 'I'm here. Stay calm. Stay focused.'

Wei Wuxian's grip tightened around Chenqing and his eyes darted anxiously back and forth. He could tell Wei Wuxian was trying to think rapidly. He could see the panic, the flicker of different emotions. Wei Wuxian's posture was tightening, taking on ll the body language of a trapped animal. Lan Wangji quickly cut down the cultivators that had been closing in on them before returning to Wei Wuxian's side.

"Wei Ying." Lan Wangji gripped Wei Wuxian's arm, hoping to ground Wei Wuxian with his presence.

"Lan Zhan... I..." Wei Wuxian's eyes looked dazed, slightly lost.

"Wei Ying. What do you need?" Lan Wangji asked calmly. Wei Wuxian swallowed nervously.

"I... We need me to... do more? Don't we? I... I can't..." Wei Wuxian took a stuttering breath. "I can't make decisions. I am using the Yin Hufu, and I can't make decisions while I am using it. That's my rule isn't it? It's important?"

Wei Wuxian should have been able to say firmly that this was the case, but right now it seemed that this rule was little more than a flimsy notion. Something immaterial and half remembered. Something he told himself was important, but could not remember why. Without remembering why it was important, it was difficult to remember if it was true that it was.

"That is your rule. It is important." Lan Wangji affirmed.

Wei Wuxian frowned, appearing more troubled rather than less. His gaze darts back across the battlefield. It darts towards Jiang Wanyin's direction in particular. Their relationship is not good, and Lan Wangji in particular has not forgiven Jiang Wanyin for the tears Wei Wuxian cried because of his supposed shidi.

"Tell me what to do." Wei Wuxian says turning to Lan Wangji. "If you tell me what I am doing is enough I will believe you. If you believe I should do more, then tell me what to do. I trust you."

Wei Wuxian's expressions are not quite the same while he used the Yin Hufu. There was always something vague and distant, like his attention was half on things that no one else could hear. Lan Wangji can hear an echo of the tone Wei Wuxian would be speaking in were he not currently using the Yin Hufu. Earnest, anxious, afraid but trusting Lan Wangji.

Those things are all still there, but they are muted under a coldness that colours Wei Wuxian's every expression while he wields the Yin Hufu. The Yin Hufu is full of resentful energy. Full of anger and pain. Fear fuelling a desire to lash out. It made Wei Wuxian sound and appear cruel, where Lan Wangji knew cruelty was not truly in Wei Wuxian's nature.

"Wei Ying." Lan Wangji steadied himself. "Summon more. Corpses and spirits. I will tell you when to stop." Lan Wangji said in a quiet firm voice.

As soon as Lan Wangji said the words, Wei Wuxian followed them. Resentful energy flooded out from him. It covered the ground in an ankle deep fog that chilled to the bone. More corpses rose. Lan Wangji had forgotten that Wei Wuxian had previously avoided raising ally corpses.

Ever since Dafan Wei Wuxian had exclusively raised QishanWen sect cultivators to fight. Wei Wuxian turned them into fierce corpses and allowed their deceased allies to remain where they fell. Lan Wangji had not considered a need to specify. He hoped Wei Wuxian would not be too upset after the fact.