Fate

Ch. 26

"So, are you okay to tell us the rest of your story?" Xiao Zhan asked Wuxian.

"Well, where I left off, I had just ran into Wen Qing. She was asking me to help find her brother Wen Ning. Wen Ning is a shy, nervous young man, and suffers from a stutter. He was like Yubin, as he looked like Wen Ning. Yubin didn't have a stutter though. Wen Ning has a strong sense of honor, kindness, and loyalty. He is profoundly grateful to me for encouraging his archery skills, and as a result, he risks his life to save me and Jiang Cheng after the fall of Lotus Pier.

I went to Koi Tower to ask Jin Zixun, Jin Zixuan's cousin, about him. During a night-hunt investigating an eight-winged bat king in Ganquan, Wen Ning and several of his family members encounter Jin Zixun. Jin Zixun attempts to force them to act as bait, and despite Wen Ning's attempts to reason with him, many of the members of the Qishan Wen Clan are taken to work for the Lanling Jin Clan at Qiongqi Path.

I witnessed the labor camps. There were non-cultivators, elders, and even A'Yuan was there. Wen Ning was allegedly killed when he fell from a cliff, though I noted that the bruises on his body indicate he was more likely beaten to death. Wen Qing and I then rescue the surviving Wen remnants and escape for the Yiling Burial Mounds, taking along Wen Ning's Fierce Corpse.

Wen Ning's fierce corpse is kept surrounded by Talismans in the Demon-Quelling Cave. To soothe the disconsolate Wen Qing, I promised her that he can return Wen Ning's consciousness, though I did not know how. Wen Ning eventually breaks out of the seal of talismans, prompting me and Lan Zhan who was visiting at the time, to play spiritual melodies to suppress his resentful energy. As they play, Wen Ning's consciousness slowly awakens, as he recognizes me and Wen Qing."

"So you basically brought back someone from the dead," Xiao Zhan said, "that is impressive."

"That's what happened?" Xichen asked, "A'Yuan was really at a place like that?"

Wuxian nodded, "he lived in the mounds for a while too."

Xichen sighed, "I am sorry for not getting involved the proper way."

"It is okay," Wuxian said.

"So do you have more to say?" Zhan asked.

Wuxian sighed, "around the time of my demise, Wen Ning and I were on our way to Jin Ling's full-month celebration, we were ambushed by Jin Zixun and about a hundred subordinates at Qiongqi Path. Jin Zixun mistakenly believes that I placed the Thousand Sores and Hundred Holes Curse on him, and threatens that if I do not remove the curse, he will kill me to save himself."

"Jin Ling?" Yibo asked.

"He is my Shijie's son," Wuxian replied.

"Oh, so his name is Jin Ling," Xiao Zhan said.

"His birth name is Jin Ling. His courtesy name is Jin Rulan...Shijie...asked me to pick out a name," Wuxian said.

"Rulan?" Xichen asked, "You picked it?"

"Jiang Cheng argued with me about the name. He was like, you make it sound as if he is from the Lan Clan. I told him, what's wrong with the Lan clan? Aside from all the rules it's not a bad place. Lan means orchid which is the gentleman of all flowers. Shijie liked the name anyway," Wuxian explained.

Wangji smiled, "thanks for saying something nice about the Lan Sect."

Wuxian sighed, "yeah yeah."

"So, going back to the ambush?" Xiao Zhan asked.

"I saw that Jin Zixun did not believe my denials, so I attempts to use Demonic Cultivation to fight, but Jin Zixun informs me that he has removed all corpses from the area. With few other options, I then use Wen Ning to fight the cultivators while I dodge Jin Zixun's attacks. Jin Zixuan arrives to intervene, demanding that I call off Wen Ning's assault. I refuses, afraid that Jin Zixun's men will immediately kill me. After Jin Zixun breaks the gift I made for Jin Ling, my rage consumes me and he accuses Jin Zixuan of being part of the plot to kill me. He tried to deny it.

As a result, the unconscious Wen Ning interprets Jin Zixuan as an enemy. He kills Jin Zixuan by punching a hole through his chest, before strangling Jin Zixun...I was so in shock that I passed out. I didn't know what happened. I never told Wen Ning to kill either of them, just to protect me. Next thing I know, my Shijie's husband and his cousin are dead."

"What I never managed to tell Wei Ying was that I spoke to Wen Ning before they took him. He said he heard a second flute that altered Chenqing's order," Wangji said.

Wuxian was crying, "can we stop here for a moment. I need a minute to recollect myself. What happens next is a lot to talk about. I need to calm down for a moment," he said.

"It's alright, just take as much time as you need," Xiao Zhan said.

Wangji pulled Wuxian to his lap and held him close to comfort him. He started humming to him to help relax his mind too. Wuxian wasn't sure he was ready to talk about the last part of his story. The group decided to give Wuxian the rest of the day to work through his thoughts. He was going to talk about something very difficult and he wasn't sure he was ready to talk about it. He was currently sitting in his room he shared with Wangji snuggling close to him.

"I have been preparing myself to talk about the situation at Nightless City. There was a lot of pain and death that happened and I have to talk about her again. I blame myself for her death, even though I was not the one who held the sword. She took it for me, and when she died, more of me died too," Wuxian told Wangji.

"It was not your fault for her death," Wangji said, "I am not trying to make it sound hurtful but she was the one who ran onto a battlefield unarmed. Even if someone brought her there, she should have been a bit better about her thoughts on what she was doing. I am sorry you lost her but it was not your fault."

"I know, but no matter, it will always be the memory I will never forget. No matter how hard I try," Wuxian said.

"Try not to think about it right now. I know it will be hard to talk about it, but I am here to support you," he said. "Do you want to try to meditate? It might help?"

Wuxian sat up, "help me?" He asked.

Wangji tapped Wuxian's nose and took out his guqin, "remember what I told you?"

Wuxian nodded and sat in lotus position. He then closed his eyes and focused on the spot on his nose that Wangji touched. He was soon in a deep meditation. Lan Xichen heard Wangji playing and decided to see what was happening. He was surprised to see Wuxian meditating.

Wangji grinned at his brother, "surprised?"

"I heard he has trouble focusing to meditate. How did you do it?" Xichen asked.

"Tapped his nose and told him to focus on that spot on his nose as he calmed his thoughts. It seems to work," Wangji explained.

"I'm impressed...but what were you playing?" He asked, "It wasn't something I heard before."

"I wrote it for Wei Ying," Wangji replied, "Wangxian."

"Wangxian?"

"The song's name," Wangji said.

Xichen grinned, "as always, your actions are louder than words."