A Means to an End (WangXian)

Don't Drop Me!

The water was eerily silent. Not even an un-steadying wave reached their sampans. For a lake that is meant to be swarming with ghouls, it was quiet. Jiang Cheng felt a chill run down his spine. He knew, just like everyone else there, that something was wrong.

Lan Xichen stayed on guard, peering into the muggy water cautiously, expecting a ghoul to appear out of no where.

The only person that seemed to know what to expect was Wei Wuxian. He kept glancing at Lan Wangji's boat, waiting for the infamous draft that told him something was attached underneath.

Lan Wangji noticed his strange gaze and watched the boy from the corner of his eye. He couldn't help but wonder why Wei Wuxian stared in his direction so intensely.

Is it because of last night? Or perhaps this morning? Lan Wangji pondered in his head.

However, he couldn't think much longer about it before Wei Wuxian shouted, "Lan Zhan! Look at me!"

Quick to turn and question the boy, Lan Wangji caught Wei Wuxian splashing water in his direction. To avoid getting soaked, he jumped off his boat and gracefully landed on his brother's. "Frivolous!" he declared.

Wei Wuxian laughed. "Sorry!" he said and flipped the boat over, revealing a hidden secret beneath.

Everyone, including Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen were shocked. No one had expected to find a water ghoul attached to the under part of his boat. Wei Wuxian quickly took it out.

"Wei-gongzi. How did you know there was a water ghoul there?" He was fascinated that the boy had noticed it before anyone else did, including himself. Normally, he would consider himself observant, but he saw no signs of the water ghouls presence.

"Easy! The draft of the boat was off. It sunk deeper than it normally would if there was just one person on the boat, so there had to be something underneath."

"Impressive," Lan Xichen praised. "It turned out to be a good decision after all to bring you and your brother. You both are very knowledgeable."

Wei Wuxian found this strange. He didn't recall Lan Xichen ever saying that to them, but he took the compliment regardless. He then glanced at Lan Wangji and laughed nervously. "I'm sorry, Lan Zhan. I would have warned you, but water ghouls are very tricky and if I hinted I knew, it would have escaped," he explained.

Lan Wangji pursed his lips, but nodded.

Wei Wuxian also took note how this was a different reaction from before. He began worrying if he's been changing the plot a little too much too soon. Last time, Lan Wangji had completely ignored him and Wei Wuxian desperately tried to gain his attention.

As Wei Wuxian was lost in his own thoughts, so was Lan Wangji. He started piecing together how odd it was for Wei Wuxian to be watching him so intensely, only to realize there was a ghoul beneath him. Lan Wangji had the strange and sneaking suspicion that Wei Wuxian knew what would happen and was merely waiting.

"Something moved in the net!" A disciple called.

All attention was drawn to where the disciple pointed. Sure enough, the nets began jerking and everyone instantly went on the alert.

"It's here!" Wei Wuxian shouted.

What looked like long black hair darted around the boats and pale hands clawed at the sides of the sampans. Wei Wuxian watched Lan Wangji unsheathe his sword and cleanly sliced off a handful of wrists on the side of his boat.

A red glare passed Wei Wuxian as he too unsheathed his sword and sliced the figures zooming across in the water.

All went quiet....