Reliving Our Fears

Chapter 19: Mission Failed Successfully

Getting a sword was much easier than Wei Wuxian previously anticipated. He assumes this is partly because he has done this procedure before and all he has to do is repeat everything. He doesn't think much of it. 

By the time the sun had crept a few more centimetres in the sky, Wei Wuxian was already feeling the air against his face and his coal black hair flowing freely in the wind. A rush of adrenaline pumped in his veins, his face slipping into a smile without his consent. 

He arrived at the tip of the mountain not a minute late. In fact, he was quite early, approximately 20 minutes before the whipping would officially begin. "Perfect," Wei Wuxian thought to himself as he dismounted from his spiritual sword, "Just enough time to get this right."

Sneaking around to the back of the mountain, Wei Wuxian sighed in contentment. Slicing through a layer of his flesh as if it was nothing, blood, the colour of crimson, seeped into the forest green of the grass. Additionally, Wei Wuxian cut off an unimportant part of his robes, the fabric falling into his hands. Wei Wuxian used his blood to draw a spirit-attraction talisman onto his robes, making a makeshift flag.

Placing it onto the ground, Wei Wuxian wasn't satisfied yet. Cutting off yet another part of his already torn robes, Wei Wuxian drew up another 5 flags. Traditionally speaking, Wei Wuxian should have used more flags. However, he really didn't want his sword wound to become infected. Even if that wasn't an issue, if he cut up any more of his robe, he would start running into a... problem. 

Despite all this, Wei Wuxian was confident that 6 flags were enough. The array drawn onto the flags were done expertly, their power able to summon every being within a 10 kilometre radius. Without activating them just yet, Wei Wuxian arranged them into a shape of a circle, laying each piece of fabric as straight as he can get them.

Noticing the sun's position in the sky, Wei Wuxian was quick to act. Infusing each spirit-attraction talisman with an amount of spiritual energy, the talismans glowed a persistent red. Wei Wuxian, happy with the set up, immediately fled the scene. 

As he approached the entrance of the Cloud Recesses, he could already hear the commanding calls of Lan Qiren. Wincing at the noise, Wei Wuxian picked up his pace, eager to get into position. The Cloud Recesses were in the mountains, a lucky coincidence for Wei Wuxian. With the dense foliage of the surrounding area, it was abundantly simple for Wei Wuxian to lodge himself into a tree, overlooking the area of the punishment.

As Lan Qiren rambled on and on, Wei Wuxian internally prayed that the flags were enough. His mind raced with thoughts as time stretched on and on. What if something has happened? What if his flags were drawn wrong? What if drawing the talisman onto fabric was different from drawing it onto paper? Wei Wuxian sincerely hoped that this wasn't the case.

Just as Wei Wuxian was losing hope, a senior disciple ran up to the elders. Wei Wuxian's heart almost constricted with relief. He knew that this was a good sign. Because this didn't happen in his previous life, he knew that this event was caused by his own actions. How wonderful.

As the senior disciple conversed with Lan Qiren, Wei Wuxian strained his ears to hear their conversation, leaning forward slightly. Foot slipping, Wei Wuxian nearly tumbled down the tree, barely holding on. By the time he finally pulled himself back onto the sturdy branch, Wei Wuxian noticed the visible shock apparent on Lan Qiren's face. 

At first, Wei Wuxian did not see why he was so shocked. After all, it's not as if the Lan can't handle some puny corpses and spirits. However, Wei Wuxian was quick to see why this was the case. Swarming the Cloud Recesses, was a horde of corpses, demons, ghosts and spirits. However, that wasn't the main cause for concern. The creatures number not in the tens but in the hundreds. The Lan clan already weak from war, couldn't possibly hold back all those creatures on their own.