Phoenix

Chapter 18*Revised*

                 The holy springs in Baoshan's mountain were interesting. Unlike a normal spring, the waters were a vibrant green. They all had to meditate separately from each other for the first part of the training. The only ones who were getting extra guidance in their meditation were Jiang Yanli and Wei Wuxian. It was decided that Wen Li would work with Jiang Yanli to tap into her new power correctly. Baoshan was guiding Wei Wuxian since he had to find two distinct power sources in his body and then combine them. Only then would he be allowed to meditate with his mate. 

              They were not even allowed to return to their dwelling until the first part of the training was completed. The new husbands were depressed that they could not see each other at all right after their marriage. They understood it was best to keep themselves apart for everyone's safety. No one wanted a repeat of the power incident on the husbands' wedding night. They were too close to their friend's housing for them to survive without barriers from Lan Junjie. It didn't mean that they enjoyed the idea of being parted.

               Wei Wuxian had always struggled to stay still. He had struggled with meditation ever since he was a child. The spring he was led to had a small waterfall. Baoshan made him meditate halfway under the heavy flow of water. He was to meditate while his body held itself up against its raging current. 

             He doubted that it would work, but it was surprisingly efficient. He managed to focus inwardly, easily falling into meditation. The effort of having his body struggle against the water helped his mind settle. He could sense the vein of power that now occupied his body but he needed to go deeper for anything specific.

                The first power he encountered in his search was the resentful energy he was used to. It had a new shadowy feel to it. The energy felt almost like he would be able to disappear into any darkness. This shadow power, though blended with resentment, seemed to playfully wrap around him like a child wanting the attention of their parent. It had a cool, gentle feel, unlike the resentment energy's normal biting chill. The shadow seemed to be eagerly tugging him deeper into the resentment. The energy seemed like it was excited to have him there. He couldn't help smiling at the energy that reminded him of his small shidis.

                 It was different. The farther in he got, the more the resentment around him seemed to try to attack him. The shadow faithfully shielded him from all its attacks. For a bit, it got so bad he couldn't really see the way to his own core. He was just trusting the shadow not to lead him astray. He arrived at what looked like a blood pool. 

                The liquid lifted and rushed towards him, making him flinch as it wrapped around him. It went down his throat, and he could feel his entire being pulsing. Wei Wuxian was scared and tried fighting it. He heard a small whisper that sounded like a child telling him not to be afraid. Panicking, he glanced over to see the shadow that led him. 

              It now looked like himself when he was around 6 or 7 years of age. Even the tattered clothing was the same as when he was living on the streets. "Please don't fight it. This is your power. You will need it if you want a chance to meet him on the other side." The shadow then rushed towards him and disappeared into Wei Wuxian's body helping to ease the pressure the liquid had been creating within him.

                  Now that Wei Wuxian was thinking about it, it was strange that, as a vampire, he had only needed to feed on animals to satisfy his thirst. Even then, it was only once a year. Could it be that even his vampiric blood was being kept at bay by the Jiang's cursed seal? Now thinking about it without the fog of the seal. It made sense for them to try to seal his nature away. They had feared his mother's blood within him.