WangXian: The Arrangement ✔️ [Untamed Fanfic]

9-Thirsty Boys

Wei Ying hopped up onto his sword and glided slowly over the heads of the oncoming mob. The symbols he'd drawn on his chest started to glow red, and the corpses sniffed the air and began to follow him.

***

"We can't just leave him," Sizhui said when they'd recovered their wits enough to follow the pack of corpses now trailing Wei Wuxian.

Lan Zhan could see them up ahead, combining into a swirling, black mass with their red eyes the only thing marking them as individuals. The right fork, the one that led to the village, was clear. "You two go back," he ordered. "See to Jinling's arm. Ask the innkeeper if you need help. I'm going to Wei Ying."

"Just--"

Sizhui slapped his hand over Jinling's mouth and dragged him away. "Leave them," he told the other boy. "They can handle this. We can't."

Satisfied that Sizhui and Jinling were on their way back, Lan Zhan turned left. He was drawing his sword at the back of the pack when he felt the air ripple around him. A warm wind blew past, rushing toward Wei Ying. He saw Wei Ying clap his hands together, saw his lips move, and then he pushed his hands and all the air around him forward.

A band of white light surged through the pack of corpses, stilling them all at once. It went through Lan Zhan, too, harmlessly, but he felt the power behind it. Lots of power.

Wei Ying met his gaze across the sea of bodies. Lan Zhan saw his lips move. Then he held out one hand, and the wave of light came back to him. This time, as it went through the corpses, they turned to dust and fell into mounds of earth where they had previously stood bloodthirsty and strong.

Wei Ying waited for the dust to settle, then walked toward him. His gaze was hesitant, his gait halting.

"You practice incantation," Lan Zhan said. He tried to keep any judgment from his tone. In truth, he wasn't sure how he felt about it. He knew it was frowned upon, but it wasn't inherently bad. Wei Ying had just done a lot of good with it.

"You would have found out sooner or later," Wei Ying said. "I... I know its unorthodox, but, as you saw, I'm kind of a natural."

Lan Zhan nodded. "Let's go back."

Halfway back, a big raven swooped low over the path, and Wei Ying stopped short.

"Wen Ling!" he called out. "Wen Ling, you get back here!"

Lan Zhan watched in shock as the bird wheeled about and came to hover in the middle of the road in front of them. Then, its wings became arms, its feet became legs, and its head became that of the oldest Wen son.

"Wen Ling, what have you done?" Wei Ying asked.

Wen Ling laughed. "Did you like my little farewell present?" he asked, his light eyes glowing with a cold fire. "If I'd known what short work you'd make of them, I wouldn't have bothered coming back."

"All those people, Wen Ling. How could you?"

"You already know the answer to that," he said. "Or you've guessed. Don't worry," he said, feathers and wings starting to sprout once more. "I'll do better for my wedding present." He glared at Lan Wangji. "If it comes to that."

***

Back at the inn, Lan Zhan went to check on Sizhui and Jinling. Wei Ying went into the room Lan Zhan pointed him to farther down the hall. 

He made straight for the Emperor's Smile, guzzling some straight from the bottle. 

Lan Zhan entered carrying two cups. He set them down on the vanity table.