A Means to an End (WangXian)

Burn

Fires burned brightly. Flickering and filling the area with thick and dense smoke. The land was encased with fire, some feeling as though it burned hotter than the sun, but darkened the sky like night. 

There were screams, terrified, filled with agony.

Swords clashed, setting off sparks of violence. Blood spilling, splattering on the ground, slowly seeping into the dirt. Their bodies fell heavily to the floor, lifeless.

Wei Wuxian's defenses were working, but only to an extent. Informed about what happened in the Cloud Recesses, taught many of them the type of defenses that Wei Wuxian could make. It did not help that while Wei Wuxian was away, Yu Ziyuan took the liberty of destroying some of the talismans, leaving his defenses weakened to attacks. 

However, that became less of a concern as the battle continued. They had the majority of the Wens cornered exactly where he wanted them. They fell like deadweights to the ground. Wen Chao only became enraged by their lack of advances, demanding his men to stop acting cowardly.

Wen Chao also demanded that Wen Zhuliu to do something about this turn of events. At first, the man simply joined the fray, protecting Wen Chao as he did so. However, it quickly came to his attention that he needed to strike the top. By taking down Yu Ziyuan, it would leave the Jiang Clan startled long enough for the Wens to overpower them.

None of them expected that the true mastermind behind it all was a young disciple. Even though Wei Wuxian led the charge, Wen Zhuliu mainly focused on trying to take on the head of the sect, choosing to temporarily ignore the young disciple, though Wen Zhuliu knew he needed to take care of next.

It didn't help that the young master of the Wen sect demanded that he would be the one to bring down Wei Wuxian. He wanted to make the leech suffer an excruciating death at his own hands.

As the fighting continued, the Wens only became more desperate. They were cornered, surrounded by three different enemy sects. Their advances kept shrinking and panic began to set in the hearts of many.

But desperate people will find any means of survival, losing their sight as they fought tooth an nail, shouting chants of 'I will not die!'

It only made the battle bloodier.

Wei Wuxian watched for a moment, surveying the grounds. He could feel his heart racing in his chest. Part of him wanted to turn away from the battle. He knew he couldn't save them all. However, that did not mean he could handle the last cries of the disciples he once taught as they were cut down.

Already, Wei Wuxian was aware that they were winning. The defenses he put up played a nice role, but their numbers were larger than what they saw in the Cloud Recesses, so it only helped at keeping a certain number of them at bay.

Wei Wuxian kept his eye out for Jiang Wanyin, who had joined the battle, despite his mother's protest.

Yu Ziyuan was fighting as well. She seemed aware that they were winning as well, but that only left a sour taste in her mouth as she knew it was only possible because of the assistance of the Lan and Nie Sects.

It was then that Jiang Fengmian had returned. Ushered away by his daughter, not aware that the Wens would strike so soon. He was aware of them preparing an attack, but was informed that it would be at least a few more days before they made the first move.

There was a bitter taste in his mouth as he realized that he was lied to. For the first time, it made him realize what kind of person Wei Wuxian was. Too calculating and hypervigilant. He knew how to play all the right cards, got all the right people involved. He even convinced Jiang Yanli to play a vital role in getting her two parents separated in order to spring the perfect trap for the Wens.