This is Xue Yang?
Wei Ying studies him, noting from the way Lan Zhan's grip on his hand has tightened, that he's aware of who this person is as well.
Back in their first life, coincidentally also on a fact-finding mission, Lan Zhan and Wei Ying had learned at a tea house that there was unusual activity at the Chang clan manor. The residence appeared to be haunted, with shrieks and wails being heard inside, but the doors were warded to prevent entry. Upon investigation, they learned that Xue Yang had lured evil spirits inside to kill off the inhabitants.
At the time, Jiang Cheng, Lan Zhan and Wei Ying had helped to catch Xue Yang, with the assistance of Song Lan and Xiao XingChen.
Xue Yang had become a psychopathic delinquent, murdering people on a whim for the slightest offences.
But isn't it true that one's behaviour is a result of how one has been treated? Although Xue Yang is still a child, he doesn't look more than six or seven years old. He's smart enough to have stolen or acquired a weapon, and for the most part, is doing alright. It's not the best of lives, but neither is it the worst. Also, he has taken on the responsibility of looking after another street kid, one in a worse situation than himself. Her eyes are freaky, and Wei Ying imagines that she also hasn't seen much kindness in her life up until now.
"So...what do you want to know?" Xue Yang asks them.
"Shufu wants to know if anyone needs our help. They have gone to help the farmers with the fierce corpses." Lan Zhan says, limiting the information he's giving him.
"There's no point," Xue Yang shrugs disdainfully. "You could kill a hundred of those things and more will turn up the next night."
"Where are they coming from?" Wei Ying asks him sharply.
"We don't know where exactly," A-Qing replies, pointing to behind herself where a low ridge of mountains spread across the horizon. "But they're coming from that direction. Dafan mountain range."
They lie directly opposite the Burial Mounds, shrouded in darkness and shadows. The contrast between the two is so clear: one light and beautiful, the other mysterious and foreboding.
"That's where we are going," Wei Ying murmurs.
"Mn. Qishan lies beyond them. The Wen conference begins the day after tomorrow." Lan Zhan adds.
They look at each other.
"Don't go there," Xue Yang tells them urgently. "It's dangerous."
"Have you been there?" Wei Ying asks him.
"I found my sister there," Xue Yang says, pulling A-Qing to his side. They appear to have a silent conversation, each looking into each other's eyes with emotions fleeting too fast for outsiders to comprehend.
It is similar, if less nuanced, to the way Lan Zhan communicates with his brother, often enjoying secret conversations of their own in utter silence that not even the most devoted Lan Elder can dispute or contest that they're breaking any rules.
A-Qing wins, because she starts talking and Xue Yang makes no attempt to stop her.
"We ran away from a patrol of soldiers. They were harassing a bunch of homeless men, and we got caught in the middle. We weren't travelling together then. I used to pick pockets for a living. I didn't mean to end up on the streets, but I got lost one day and forgot how to get home."
"I left my home," Xue Yang says proudly. "My father was sucking up to that Wen pig," he makes a face, "and somewhere in that, he made a deal with him to send me there to learn something. But I hate rules. I detest them. So I ran away. Not going back there ever," he finishes, a different look in his eyes.
