Restart | Xue Yang

Chapter 22

Disclaimer: Mo Dao Zu Shi and The Untamed do not belong to me. The settings, characters, and plot belong, respectively, to Mo Xiang Tong Xiu and the screenwriters of The Untamed. Here, only the plot of this fanfiction and my four OCs, Huang Minghui / Lan Minghui, Lan Biyun, Li Xingsi / Wei Xingsi, and Bai Yilian / Nie Yilian, are my creations. And an important reminder that this ISN'T REAL; please value your lives and do not try to get hit by a car to get this sort of adventure.

Constantly shifting between the battle fronts at Hejian and Gusu was taking a toll on Lan Minghui. Add Jiangling, the most recently established battle front of the war, to the mix, and she was sure she was going to collapse with exhaustion any time.

But it was a voluntary choice. Gusu, after all, was her home, but she wanted to check in on Nie Yilian, who served in the medical tents of Hejian. She couldn't forget Wei Xingsi either, who was stationed at the Jiangling front along with Jiang Cheng, newly recruited disciples of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect, and disciples of smaller sects near the area.

Almost three months had passed since they attacked and retrieved the confiscated items from the grasp of the Qishan Wen Clan. At the moment, Lan Minghui was busy on the battlefield of Hejian, Huari and Daiyi's attacks flying left and right. She was perfectly aware of the long gash running across her back, but it was shallow enough to be ignored. She weaved through the mass of people, landing attacks on Wen cultivators and lending a hand to other cultivators on her side as she went.

Every time her eyes caught sight of someone dressed in red, Lan Minghui could nearly feel a hand squeezing her heart, scared. Feeling exasperated as the memory rose to her mind, she made a worlds-different mental comparison of the battle she was fighting to playing games during Physical Education class from her past life.

As the days passed, Lan Minghui's memories of her past life gradually blurred with them. Sometimes, Lan Minghui forgot that she even had a past life. Since she had lived in this world for twelve years, it meant that she had been dead in her original world for twelve years. What had happened since then? How did her family and friends react to her death? Did anyone still remember her?

Snapping back into the moment, Lan Minghui panicked as she realized that her mind had slipped out of focus and that the sword of a Wen cultivator was lunging for her heart!

There was a flash of silverish-grey as a saber pierced through the cultivator's side, causing her to fall to her knees in pain. With a slash of Huari to the throat, Lan Minghui dealt the final blow to her.

"Everything okay?" the Nie disciple called as she resummoned her weapon.

"Thanks!" Lan Minghui said.

Focus, shit-minded fool, she berated herself as she fought back-to-back with Lan Yuxin. You almost got yourself killed!

***************

Thankfully, Lan Minghui survived the battle. Despite both sides suffering casualties, the Wens had retreated when Nie Mingjue managed to kill and behead Wen Xu, resulting in a victory for the participants of the Sunshot Campaign.

Along with the crowds of injured cultivators, Lan Minghui made her way into the medical tents. Her right hand and sleeve were dyed red with blood, not to mention that there were small, narrow tears on her robes, revealing a gash on her back and a light cut near her shoulder.

Lan Yuxin, who she'd been fighting alongside for the most part of the battle, was in a hardly better state. Her brown hair was damp, reeking of the metallic scent of blood, and her once-pristine white robes were dirtied with earth, blood, and footprints left from kicks.

The most severe casualties were the ones that were to be treated first, meaning that Lan Minghui would have to wait a while. She sat down outside the tents, trying to regulate her qi and breathing while she waited.

A few days later

The atmosphere was visibly tense as Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng, Lan Biyun, Wei Xingsi, and Lan Minghui walked through the silent supervisory office, not just because of the eerie silence and gruesomely-killed people. Disciples of the Gusu Lan Clan rarely had arguments, but Lan Minghui knew well enough that at least two of the people had earlier conflicts.

Lan Wangji picked up a talisman, examining it thoroughly.

"There are additional strokes. Written in blood, too," he remarked quietly. "The talisman's effects have been reversed."

Jiang Cheng strode over, taking it from him. "Additional strokes?"

Lan Wangji nodded, tracing the marks that were not supposed to be there. "Indeed. Talismans are naturally used to repel malicious spirits and resentful energy, but the additional strokes have changed its purpose. The talisman is now attracting evil."

Lan Biyun and Wei Xingsi, who had been searching the rest of the supervisory office, rejoined the group.

"Wen Chao and Wen Zhuliu are nowhere to be found," Wei Xingsi announced. "They seemed to have escaped."

***************

Following the few leads they had on possible whereabouts of Wen Chao and Wen Zhuliu, the group of five found themselves at the door of the Yiling supervisory office. With a spring, they leapt onto the roof of the structure, silently walking across the tiles.

Wei Xingsi nearly fell down a hole in the roof of the house when she didn't watch where she was going. As she yelped in shock, Jiang Cheng grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her up.

"Watch yourself," Jiang Cheng snapped.

"Not my fault you walked so close behind me!" Wei Xingsi retorted, wrenching her hand out of his grip.

"You—"

Lan Biyun glared at them. "Quiet, both of you! Are you looking to get us discovered?"

Jiang Cheng and Wei Xingsi quickly stopped arguing, silently stepping apart.

Suddenly, a faint noise from below caught Lan Minghui's ear. She lowered her head towards the opening in the roof, listening.

It was none other than Wen Chao and Wen Zhuliu. Wen Zhuliu was trying to coax a cloaked, pathetically injured Wen Chao into eating some food and taking his medicine, while Wen Chao struggled and panicked.

As memories of the Cloud Recesses burning rushed back to the front of her mind, Lan Minghui smiled grimly, feeling a sense of dark satisfaction wash over her. She did not have to look at any other of her companions to know that they felt the same.

A tall, thin figure stepped into the room, dressed in black and red, an ominous-looking black dizi surrounded by dark energy in his hand. As he smiled vengefully at Wen Chao, Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng let out gasps of shock. Lan Minghui, however, did not need to see his face to know who he was.

Wei Wuxian was back.