The three men sat together, the Twin Jades' eyes on Wei WuXian, amber eyes full of polite curiosity while gold emanated reassurance.
Wei WuXian took a deep breath... this wasn't going to be easy. Will Lan XiChen try to understand, or lock me away as a madman? What if Lan XiChen thinks I'm crazy? He certainly felt he could be insane... nothing like resentless energy had ever come up as even the most remote of a possibility in any of his studies, or any of the literature he could recall in the various libraries he'd explored in his travels. I couldn't ever have imagined something this... this... incredible, unbelievable, mystifying... Wei WuXian struggled for a description, even in the privacy of his own mind. This was truly unprecedented and all he could do was hope Lan XiChen would hear him out.
Wei WuXian swallowed. "So, uh... I had a nightmare. Every night. The same nightmare, over and over, night after night... all the time. It was intense and... I'd have to say creepy. I didn't know where I was, didn't see anyone else, but I wasn't exactly alone. I couldn't see very much around me but there were voices talking to me. I couldn't understand them at first but they got clearer over time. It turns out they are the voices of what used to be resentful energy. Lan Zhan helped me to get into a really deep state of meditation where I was able to communicate with that energy. We talked and they said they waited for me in ChenQing while I was dea...ummm, while I was gone." Wei WuXian hadn't missed the pained wince on Lan WangJi's face at the mention of his death. That was probably never going to change, no matter that he was here now. Wei WuXian looked at Lan WangJi, then back at Lan XiChen. Yes. It was time to give him everything. Wei WuXian couldn't keep weighing his words or second-guessing what Lan WangJi had or had not told his brother. Wei WuXian steeled himself to continue.
"Aiya, okay, here it is. So. I created Demonic Cultivation to save my life and protect the Wen remnants, as you know. It's similar to the orthodox Cultivation I was trained in, which uses spiritual energy, but without a golden Core I was forced to use resentful energy – I had to, it was all I had to work with, after all. One of the hazards is that it is always going to be in me, to some extent. On the other hand, I studied and worked to understand it. During my travels I specifically sought out every practitioner or Cultivator with even the rumour of knowledge regarding resentful energy. I begged, pleaded and worked so they would share that knowledge with me. I already knew I had it in me and it collected over time. I can disperse it regularly and it doesn't have to be a problem. But now I have Yin Iron in me, too. And the Yin Iron constantly draws more resentful energy within, so the amount and strength of it always grows, versus the somewhat passive remnants I was used to keeping in check. So I have to disperse it a lot more. I have no idea why, but since we went to Nightless City it's become an even greater resentful energy draw so I have to disperse it more and more frequently. Plus, it turns out that resentful energy can actually change!" Wei WuXian gave a short bark of humourless laughter.
Lan XiChen shared a look with Lan WangJi, clearly puzzled. Lan WangJi simply nodded to acknowledge his brother's confusion, and indicated he should keep listening as Wei WuXian continued to disclose what he had discovered to the Sect Leader.
"I've no idea how long it takes – many centuries at least, I'm sure – but if resentful energy is around long enough for the resentment to be lost, for all living memory to be lost, it just leaves energy behind... and I somehow picked some up when Wen Chao had me thrown into the Burial Mounds. Actually, maybe it's more like it picked me up. It's what chose to save me when I broke apart on hitting the ground and, it... ah... it decided it wanted to stay with me. It stuck around in ChenQing while I was gone and migrated back into me after she was returned by Jiang Ch-, Jiang WanYin." Wei WuXian winced at that small slip. Remembering his ShiDi considered them unallied and unrelated was a wound still open and unhealed.
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WangXian Untamed Together
FanfictionSequel to WangXian Untamed. Two souls bonded beyond death into a second life. They will do whatever it takes to protect their world, their loved ones and each other. Anything - as long as they're together.
