this changes everything. ⟲ wangxian

11. To Track Brother Wei

Jingyi grabs Ah Yuan by the dark cloak covering his head and yanks him out of the back-doorway of Cloud Recesses. Ah Yuan gasps in surprise, stumbling ungracefully to his friend's will. Jingyi stares intently at him, mouthing shhh. Ah Yuan scowls back. The night cloaks his annoyed features.

"What was that for?" Ah Yuan brushes dust off his arms.

"Don't you know what shhh means?" Jingyi says. "You step too loudly. We're going to get caught before we even make it to Gusu."

"No way," Ah Yuan assures, his mouth slinking into a proud smirk. "Hey—you see any guards around? All of them have been relocated to stations closer to Hanguang Jun; they're on edge because of his sickness. They won't even notice we're over here."

"Don't jinx it."

•••

Daybreak starts a few hours after Ah Yuan and Jingyi escape Cloud Recesses on feather-light footsteps. They carry bags of food and coin and arm themselves with whatever they need, covered in dark cloaks. They spend breakfast at a quiet teahouse on the outskirts of Gusu—just far away enough that it feels safe.

Ah Yuan sighs. He stares hard at the tracking device in his hand. To properly find someone, it needs a piece of their natural condition, for example: a strand of hair, or something with their smell on it. That's how the device works... the trouble is, they don't have anything on them that harnesses Brother Wei's smell. Why would they? When was the last time he touched something of theirs, anyway? Nearly four years ago.

Ah Yuan doesn't realise Jingyi is eying him skeptically until he scoffs faintly, "Does that thing even work?" He gestures to the device that Ah Yuan is contemplating over.

"Rule 504. Do not sneer for no reason."

Jingyi clears his throat, "Forgive me... but, seriously. How do you know that thing works?"

"Because I invented it, you bastard."

"Rule 333–Do not be miserly!" Jingyi points out ecstatically. He grins coyly. "You broke another rule, Lan Sizhui."

"Ah, g*ddammit!" Ah Yuan glares at him for a long moment. "You. It's because of you. You're a horrible influence, you know that?" He sighs heavily, turning back to his device. "I know it works because it's my own invention. Obviously, I'm aware of its faults. It's a little lacking in location accuracy, but direction is always right."

"Yes, but how do you know?"

"Because I tried it out when I helped Brother Wen Ning find his sister."

Jingyi's eyes widen. Ah Yuan watches as his friend chokes on his tea, but ends up composing himself well, his brows furrowed. Jingyi wipes his mouth and stares at Ah Yuan, dumbfounded.

"Ghost General Wen Ning? Seriously?"

"Yes," Ah Yuan's eyes glaze over. He lowers his device to the table, suddenly lost in thought. "It was the first time I ever dared to use one of my own inventions. Brother Wen convinced me, saying it was the only thing that could help him—I thought at first he was just trying to install confidence in me, but I really ended up helping him... my invention really brought him to his sister, who he hadn't seen in decades." A smile blooms on Ah Yuan's face. "It was nice. I don't think I ever saw Brother Wen so happy."

"I didn't know Master Wen had a sister," Jingyi picks at his plate of tofu. "What's she like?"

"She is... kind. Very kind. And strong too," Ah Yuan whirls to face his friend, his expression suddenly bright with intensity. "She has a big dark scar down the side of her face."

Jingyi's eyes widen, "Really? Seriously?"

"All the way from her eye to her jawline!"

"But she's a lady."

"It looked like the work of an animal.... I don't know. To be honest, I feel sorry for her," Ah Yuan wedges a piece of tofu into his mouth, eyes downcast. "I bet she was pretty before she was scarred. She seems like it. Brother Wen told me she's a healer."

"A healer?" Jingyi repeats. "Hey—do you think she'd be able to look into Hanguang Jun's illness, then? I mean, obviously Wei Wuxian is first choice with his crafty tricks. But... I mean, you know..." he throws Ah Yuan a resigned look. "Life just doesn't go the way you plan. You know what I'm talking about."

Ah Yuan laughs, "You sound like an old man."

"What are you talking about? You're older than me."

Lan Sizhui sighs, already lost in deeper thought, "Anyway. I hope Brother Wen and Sister Wen are doing alright... I hope they're safe. I haven't seen them since I witnessed their reunion 2 years ago."

A comfortable silence hushes the table. Ah Yuan turns back to his device, remembering the matter at hand—what are they going to do about finding something that Wei Wuxian left traces of himself on? Where can they find an object that will let the human tracking device help them? Across the table, Ah Yuan vaguely registers Jingyi finishing the last of the tofu.

What should they do? What can they do? What was something Brother Wei touched before he took his leave...

"What are you thinking about, anyway?" Jingyi mutters, sounding bored. He puts down his chopsticks. "Let me help you. I'm smart too, you know."

Ah Yuan casts him an annoyed look. He informs quietly, "The tracking device doesn't work without a piece of the missing person's natural condition. Like a strand of their hair, or something with their lingering scent. That kind of thing."

"Ahhh, I see..." Jingyi drawls. His brows furrow doubtfully. "I don't think there was anything that Master Wei left behind."

"No?"

"I don't know. I didn't see if he carried everything with him on that smelly donkey he rode away on. He might have left something. It's been so many years, anyway... where would he put stuff that he left behind? He doesn't even have a home, right?"

"Right..." Ah Yuan's heart swells a little at the mention of this. He brushes nostalgia aside. "You're right. If he were to leave anything behind, I'm sure he would have left it with his closest friends—like Hanguang Jun!"

Jingyi's eyes widen, "In Cloud Recesses?"

"Well, maybe. Who knows?"

"Hang on—doesn't Master Wei also consider the Jiang Clan Leader to be his close friend? Like, almost brothers?"

"Not almost brothers. They were brothers," Ah Yuan realises. "Sworn brothers! Brother Wei grew up in the Jiang Clan with the clan leader practically all his life."

"In Yunmeng?"

"Directly in Lotus Pier. He stayed with Master Jiang Cheng and Lady Jiang Li for over twenty years...." Ah Yuan trails off. His own words register. It seems like Jingyi and Sizhui have the exact same thought at the exact same time—their gazes lock, both their eyes as wide as saucers. Ah Yuan nearly launches to his feet in his excitement. He exclaims, "That's it! His home!"

"Lotus Pier was his home!"

"Hey... don't you remember? Now that I think about it, after the issue with Jin Guangyao, I remember it was Clan Leader Jiang Cheng who took back Brother Wei's old sword, Suibian. Because he's the only one who can unsheathe it."

Jingyi gawks, "No way."

Ah Yuan is so happy he laughs, "Yes! Suibian! It's in Lotus Pier! And do you know what the best part of this whole situation is?"

"How many rules you've broken in the past five minutes?"

Ah Yuan's face drops into a scowl, "No." He recomposes himself. He can hardly contain the rushing excitement through his veins; nor the relieved, grateful grin across his face. "Jin Ling."

Jingyi stares at his friend for a blank moment, puzzled, "Huh?"

"Jin Ling."