Hanguangjun- The Waiting

Windfall

It was a rough weekend. Wei Ying never completely recovered from the incident in the car. The entire weekend he ate silently in his room without venturing into any interaction with Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan allowed him the time he needed to come to terms with his sexuality. Even when Wei Ying went back to his fiancee, Lan Zhan stood passively to the side without sparing a word.

It was almost bed time when Lan Zhan's phone started ringing. It was Lan Yangyang. "Hanguangjun, please check the news. Something is happening, " She urged.

Hanguangjun turned on the television to a scene of massacre and death.

'Attack of the Zombies' the headlines read. Lan Zhan saw lines of walking corpses attacking a market full of people unaware of their nature. Some ran for their lives. Others took out their mobiles to shook pictures. The flashlights irritated the corpses, used to darkness of death. They charged behind those taking pictures often tearing limbs, smashing skulls.

A man in a yellow raincoat stood amidst the July rain holding a black umbrella. "Just as the sun set this evening an incident happened in the Suzhou city Morgue. Rows of corpses were reanimated and walked out on their own. What was perceived initially to be a miracle was later realized to be the start of a zombie apocalypse. The zombies are unresponsive and violent. Please stay off the streets. There is no precedent worldwide. " He narrated.

The camera focused to a studio room where a man in a suit continued to analyze the news feed. "Thank you Luo Chang. There have been other reports of Zombie risings coming from all over the world right now. This has been causing mass hysteria in Venezuela, San Francisco and Milan. The casualties of the Zombie apocalypse are highest in Syria where the walking corpses are known to cause the greatest havoc. The Syrian Zombies are known for the black fumes coming off their skin. Coming from CCTV live we have a message from the government. It says do not and I repeat DO NOT engage with the zombies. If you notice them, run. Do not leave your house unless absolutely necessary, " The man said.

Lan Zhan had seen and heard enough. He boarded the elevator and went down into the basement. The Stygian Tiger Seal lay on the floor like a piece of junk.

Lan Zhan picked up his phone and dialled Wei Ying's number. There was no response. He then dialled Lan Yangyang. "I am going to find Wei Ying, " He informed. "Prepare the juniors, " He instructed.

At that very moment Wei Ying sat with a knife plunged into his stomach as he witnessed the blood gush out from him. He closed his eyes as the world darkened around him. If the police were to investigate they would find his own fingerprints on the handle of the knife.

When Lan Zhan reached the apartment the door was unlocked and the place empty. A TV reporter continued to narrate the rampage of the walking corpses. Inside the living room papers were strewn all around. Lan Zhan picked it up to find a resignation letter addressed to him.

A foreboding drew Lan Zhan to the bedroom which too was empty. The closet was open and vacated in a hurry. Half a pair of stockings and lingerie were littered around. There was a tiny balcony at the North end of the bedroom, opposite the bed. As Lan Zhan approached the balcony the metallic smell of blood assaulted his nostril. He slipped and fell on his way and noticed the bloody footprints. Blood pooled on the side of the bed opposite the door and a trail led to the balcony. At one end of the balcony lay Wei Ying crumpled into a ball, the knife still protruded from his stomach.

The next couple of hours were a blur. Lan Zhan found himself being shaken to his senses by a distraught Yangyang.

"Hanguangjun, Hanguangjun, " She cried out!

"Yanger, " He finally responded.  The only thought going through his head was this-his soup's intact. It won't be such a long wait next time. "What's the status?" He asked after a pause.

"His heart restarted on the fourth try. I know we should give up after three tries. But I know that he is important to you, " Yangyang  expressed.

Lan Zhan blinked. "Wei Ying is alive? " He asked incredulously.

"Yes Hanguangjun. But Wei Ying has lost a lot of blood. His body needs to heal. We have given him sedatives. Also a part of his liver was damaged but we have managed to salvage more than half of his liver. The rest should naturally restore itself. " Yangyang reported.

Lan Zhan nodded. "About the walking corpses, I mean zombies, can you put it all on hold? " He requested.

"Of course, Hanguangjun. There's another thing to report. The artefact is missing. " She informed.

Lan Zhan looked up. "How is if missing? What does the surveillance footage say? "

Yangyang nodded. She brought up the surveillance footage on her phone. She focused on two time slots. Once it showed that the artefact stopped spinning and fell to the ground. Another footage showed that the artefact disappeared from the ground into thin air. The time stamp on the second footage showed five minutes ago.

"Where's Wei Ying? " Lan Zhan asked.

"He is in the VIP ward, the same cabin as last time. " Yang yang replied!

Lan Zhan bent his head. "Are you sure? " He asked.

"Of course. He is injured and heavily sedated. " She replied.

Lan Zhan rushed to the room where Wei Ying was being kept. When he arrived the bed was empty. The only window in the room was open. Wind rushed in ruffling the white curtains. In front of the curtains stood a man in blue hospital scrubs. His hand was bleeding from where he had ripped open the IV channel. He was halfway through the window, his buttock resting on the window sill. One of his hands was raised, palm facing upwards and over it hovered the spinning Stygian Tiger Seal.

The man looked down from the fiftieth floor and shivered.

"Wei Wuxian, " Lan Zhan called out.

The man stumbled and fell from the window. He looked behind and a tremendous relief coated his pale face, "Lan Wangji?" He recalled before collapsing in exhaustion.

Lan Yangyang rushed in with two other doctors. They checked in on Wei Ying, re doing his stitches and putting him under a stronger dose of sedatives. Yangyang didn't ask Hanguangjun any question. She brought him a change of clothes. Only then did Lan Zhan notice that his clothes were drenched in blood, Wei Ying's blood.