Flipside

Chapter 30

Wangji's breath came out in short, ragged wheezes as his head spun. He was just about aware that he was lying down on what he assumed was a wooden floor. Could he still be at HuanYi? No, that didn't make any sense. He remembered fighting Uncle and getting hit, and then Wei Ying... No, he sealed his core and then—

Wangji's eyes shot open, wild and bloodshot. His body was screaming with pain, but that didn't matter. The first thing he saw was a plain and mundane-looking ceiling. Plain. Mundane. No. Oh god, no.

Summoning every ounce of strength left in his battered body, Wangji pushed himself up, his hands trembling as he gripped the wooden frame of the bed. With a grunt, he propped himself against it, his eyes darting around the room. His worst fears were confirmed: he was in the Gusu Lan Sect.

The room was one of the guest disciples' quarters—small, bare, and cold. Hah, his uncle wouldn't even allow him the dignity of being in the Jingshi. He probably suspected he'd have some sort of trick or escape plan in the Jingshi. He'd be right.

Pain throbbed through his body, his ribs aching with every breath, blood seeping from wounds that hadn't been tended to.

"That bastard," he spat, his voice low and venomous. He was stuck here indefinitely, bleeding out in a room that felt more like a prison cell, and he had no idea what had happened to Wei Ying.

A surge of fury bubbled up inside him, overpowering the pain. His breathing grew erratic, almost as if he was on the verge of hyperventilating, and his hands clenched into tight fists.

But, what the hell was he going to do? He could barely move, and the after-effects of concealment decided to kick in after all these years. He could feel his consciousness slipping from him, but he knew he needed to move. Pushing himself, and ignoring the pain in his broken left leg he tried to stand only to blackout.

Wangji woke to feel a weird sensation on his lips. Wangji half hoped that Wei Ying was giving him a soft kiss, but that soon proved not to be the case as he heard his beloved pet's unmistakable obnoxious-sounding meow.

Wangji opened his eyes to see Cotton prodding at his chest, and licking his face.

"Cotton?" Wangji's voice came out in a hoarse cough. Cotton just meowed back, as she stepped back a little. Wangji was only a little bit surprised that Cotton was here, truth be told, he always knew that Cotton had almost the same level of intelligence as him.

"Silly cat, now we're both stuck in Gusu." Wangji scratched her behind the ears. He swore that Cotton had a sad look on her face, the look showed quite well with her little off-white eyebrows cast downwards.

"Don't worry, girl. I'm not de...I'm not dead yet." Wangji took a shaky breath. The last thing he needed was to have a little crying fit.

Cotton dropped something in his lap. Surprisingly, it was an osmanthus cake.

"Look at that, you've learned how to cook." Wangji briefly joked, before he took a bite of it, his stomach gurgling as it finally received some much-needed sustenance.

He briefly wondered why his face was so wet, and why his eyes stung, but kept on chewing as Cotton licked the tears that fell down his face.

"I'm fine, girl, really." Wangji wiped his eyes but winced as his face stung. Well, he figured he would have some sort of facial injury.

Both Wangji and Cotton pricked up their ears at the approaching sound of footsteps, on high alert. Cotton didn't need to be told to hide and quickly went behind a screen.

"I thought you were too prim and proper to sit on the floor." The sound of Su She's nasally voice brought his blood up to boiling point.

Wangji looked up to see Su She looking smug with a small tray of bland-looking food in one hand.