Taking roots after the misty rain

Ch-10

He was fighting for breath. His collar was held from the behind as he dangled in the air. Beneath him, all he could make out through the swirling black fog were sharp jagged rocks. He prayed against hope that approaching future will not be the same as his traitorous thoughts. It was.

Mere moments later, he was suspended in the air. What happened between then and now was all a flurry of words to him. All he knew now was the feeling of falling into an endless abyss, mentally and physically. He couldn't seem to summon Suibian at all. Just a few inches above the ground, he stopped, for real. He was being held up by a mass of black smoke, which disappeared as soon as he realized what it was doing. At least it comforted his fall in the end, and even though it still hurt, he had survived. For now.

*-*-*

She put down her tea cup on the table. Smashed would be more fitting as cracks appeared throughout its body, yet it managed to hold its shape. She couldn't believe this, the nerve of some people. To do such a thing, was he even human? She knew the answer to that question years ago, didn't she? But then again, she was the one who prayed that he wouldn't be as vile as her thoughts. He was.

All she remembers next was her golden robes swirling around her as she furiously walked down the corridor of marble. She tried to calm down so as to handle the matter properly but no amount of meditation could quench her wrath tonight. Her fury seemed to know no bounds as it threatened to break through her any time and shatter the golden cage around her. She tried her best to calm down as much as she could, perhaps she did succeed. For now.

*-*-*

He got up, struggling and failing to do so as a result of his numerous wounds and bruises. He crawled to a boulder and and sat up with his back resting against it. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. True to fame, the Burial Mounds were indeed nothing but a wasteland brimming with Resentment that no one could cleanse. He could hear the sound of flowing water, there must be a river nearby. He would go and look for it later. Presently, he needed to rest and heal his wounds. Whatever little spiritual energy remained in his meridians which although could not regulated, but could still heal his wounds to some extent. Fatigue took over him and he fell victim to sleep.

When he woke up, he had no way of determining how much time had passed since he had fallen asleep. Ii must have been quite a while since he was starting to feel hungry now. His wounds had started to healing, and he had the strength to stand up and walk. He lets his hearing guide him to the river, but his sight showed him its's black polluted state. The water was looked no better than poison. But he also saw bamboo growing over the place, which means that even if the water dirty, but he wouldn't die from drinking it. He attempted to set up an apparatus to boil the water and warm himself as well. But the grey smoke amongst raven spiral was surprisingly striking. Mere moments later, he heard the sounds of heavy footsteps and when he looked up, he was surrounded by fierce corpses.

Wasting not even a second, he picked up a wooden troch from the fire and waved it in front of the corpses, seeking to drive them away. But, it had did not have the desired effect on them. Rather, when he waved off the corpses in front of him, the ones behind him would attack. He tried to wave multiple corpses at once, but he was circled by them rapidly. He almost had no space to make any big movements. Which meant that he couldn't escape from here.

A senseless corpse knocked out the torch from his hand, leaving him vulnerable to their attacks. He pushed the corpse in front of him, wanting to topple it. But he couldn't even make it budge. He moved back, but tripped over a broken hand. With the corpses nearing him and no way to escape, he decided to resign to his fate and shut his eyes.

"Wei Wuxian, promise me this. Promise me that you will protect A-Li and A-Cheng with your life!"

"A-Xian, protect them. Don't leave them to fend for themselves."