Backlash Part 2

Chapter 221: Lotus Month

Wei Wuxian made the construction of the Yin Hufu sound like a labour of months. He made it sound like it was created from desperate half-delirious experimentation and some unforeseen accident. Wei Wuxian made it sound like he himself didn't really understand how he had made it.

Wei Wuxian breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that Xue Yang had failed to find any of Wei Wuxian's notes regarding the Yin Hufu. It allowed Wei Wuxian to pretend that he never had any notes. Wei Wuxian made it sound like he was experimenting with an unusual material and the Yin Hufu just accidentally spawned out of those experiments. They had nothing to confirm whether Wei Wuxian was telling the truth or not.

Unfortunately they had a lot of Wei Wuxian's other notes. From what Wei Wuxian could tell it looked like Xue Yang had picked up every scrap of paper that had Wei Wuxian's writing on it. They had gathered every discarded idea and failed experiment, laying them out neatly with every in progress or mostly complete project. It gave Wei Wuxian a small measure of joy. They couldn't tell which of his notes were worth pursuing. Which gave Wei Wuxian ways to slow them down on making progress.

The days all revolved around that now. Making just enough progress to look like he was complying. While trying to make that progress as slow or harmless as possible. It was a gamble. Jin Guangyao had made it clear that Nuan-er's life meant nothing to him. If Wei Wuxian didn't comply, or Jin Guangyao suspected he was deliberately slowing their progress down, he would immediately withdraw medical treatment.

If Jin Guangyao was particularly pleased with Wei Wuxian's work he would allow Nuan-er into Wei Wuxian's cell. Instead of only being able to look at each other through the bars of the cell door, Wei Wuxian would be able to hold her. The relief of being able to hold Nuan-er was almost enough to shatter Wei Wuxian's resolve. There was a lot Wei Wuxian would give to be able to hold Nuan-er in his arms. He hated that Jin Guangyao knew that.

Wei Wuxian's ability to keep track of the passing days was not good. He didn't know how long he had been kept unconscious in Xue Yang's body. He didn't know how long he was then unconscious in his own body while they cleansed him of resentful energy. It was easiest to track time by when Nuan-er received medicine. She received it at regular intervals, but only when Wei Wuxian was considered helpful enough.

Wherever they were holding Wei Wuxian, there were no windows. The room that held him and Nuan-er was small, barely wide enough for Wei Wuxian to be able to lay down flat across the floor. The room was divided into thirds by partitions of thick metal bars. Wei Wuxian's cell was the furthest section from the single exit.

Nuan-er was mostly kept in the middle section. Wei Wuxian would watch carefully every time the door into the room opened. Sometimes Jin Guangyao wouldn't come in any further than that. Just stand outside that first wall of bars and talk to Wei Wuxian from across the room.

Most often Jin Guangyao would unlock that first barred door to move into the section that Nuan-er stayed in. Wei Wuxian hated it. Jin Guangyao standing next to Nuan-er, Wei Wuxian's daughter, and talking to Wei Wuxian in the voice of someone having a friendly chat. Jin Guangyao used to pet Nuan-er's hair while he talked to Wei Wuxian. Rubbing it into Wei Wuxian's face that Jin Guangyao could do whatever he wanted to her and Wei Wuxian couldn't stop him.

Jin Guangyao hadn't done that in a while. Not since Nuan-er woke up while Jin Guangyao was petting her hair, and bit his hand with all the ferocity of a fierce corpse. She drew blood. It might even scar. Wei Wuxian held his breath as Jin Guangyao fought to get his hand free, terrified that Jin Guangyao might hurt her in the process. After Jin Guangyao left Nuan-er spat his blood out of her mouth and stuck her tongue out at the door he retreated through. Wei Wuxian was so proud of her.