The Rise of the Divine Oracle

Chapter 179 - Wraith Brethren

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Suzhui sat next to his father's bed.

Wuxian has been running a fever for the past few days, waking up at random to scream for him. He couldn't leave his side if only to soothe the delirious man.

After Wuxian turned Biming's sword into something darker and more sinister, the evil man disappeared. Wuxian went into a panic mood, barely able to write the ruins for the golden leaf to cure his son. After clutching Suzhui for almost an hour and sobbing his heart out, he passed out and has been bed ridden ever since. The stress of his decision and the lack of proper nutrition have finally caught up with him.

Wangji enters the room they rented for his soul-bond to rest in and sat next to his son as they silently watched over Wuxian.

Suzhui wrings a cloth soaked with cold water and places it on Wuxian's brow before he whispers to Wangji: "Are you mad at him?"

Wangji sighs loudly: "I have no right to be mad. I have failed you both."

Wuxian opens his eyes and hastily grabs his son's arm, eyes filled with panic.

Sizhui smiles down at him: "Father, calm down. I'm fine."

Wuxian brings his son's hand to his cheek to check if he was telling the truth. It was warm and he sighs in relief. He weakly sits up and pulls the smaller boy into his arms, letting out a soft sob. He still feels like terror is gripping his insides. Like.. if he blinks, all of this will fade away and he will return to a world where his son dies.

Wuxian looks up to see a blurry image of his soul-bond through his tears. Wangji was looking down with pursed lips, clearly disappointed with his choice.

Wuxian tightens his hold on their son and whispers: "I had no choice. He was going to kill our son."

Wangji looks up at him but says nothing.

Wuxian lets out a sob: "A-Yuan.. Our A-Yuan.."

The smaller man seems to choke on his emotions trying to justify his actions. Wangji felt ashamed. He should've been the one making these hard choices, not his soul-bond.

He moves closer to wrap both his son and Wuxian in his embrace: "You did the right thing."

Wuxian sniffs: "I don't know if I did, but I don't regret it."

Wangji rubs both his son and soul-bond's backs: "Whatever he plans to do with his new weapon, we will find a way to fix it."

Suzhui felt his heart warm when Wuxian nodded, surrendering to Wangji's reassurances. The boy knew that this is not the ending and even though no one died this time, it does not guarantee any of their safety.

It took a few more days for Wuxian to fully recover. He sat in his room, refusing to face the others, fearful that they would judge him for his emotional weakness. A knock on the door made his heart skip and he gave permission to whoever was outside to enter.

Mianmian opened the door, bowed her respect then silently sat in front of him. Wuxian swallows hard. He didn't want to face her wrath.

She ruffles through her robes and takes out a wrapped piece of cloth and hands it to Wuxian. He shakily takes it, finding ginger cookies inside.

Mianmian: "My daughter loved ginger sweets."

Wuxian ducks his head, too ashamed to look at her.

She reaches for the tea and pours him a cup: "You haven't been eating properly and I know you secretly have a sweet tooth so I made this for you."

Wuxian swallows hard as he stares at the tea she places before him.

She sighs: "No one is blaming you for what you did, Master Wei. I, of all people, know what it feels like to lose a child. I would sacrifice the world for my daughter if I was given the chance."

Wuxian's lips wobbled as he tried to contain his emotions.

Mainmain reaches over to gently take his shaky hand: "What is done is done. We need to accept the choices we made and work with what we got. You have nothing to fear. We are your followers and believe in your judgment. After all, you see what we can't. So who are we to question your motives."

Wuxian looks up to meet her gaze: "I saw A-Yuan's grave. I saw Wen Ning bury him and it was dark. His death wouldn't have changed anything.."

Mianmian pats the hand in hers: "I know.. I know.."

Wuxian: "I can't help feeling like.. I'm selfish. I don't know if saving my son will make the future better or worse but I still did it anyway."

Mianmian shushes him: "There is nothing wrong with letting your emotions guide you, Master Wei. There is a reason why the Earth Deities make you empathize with others' feelings. We will find a way to stay in the light, whether that awful man wants it or not. I have no doubt."

Wuxian nods: "Together.."

Mianmian smiles at him: "Yes, together."

Wuxian was about to pick up the delicious looking cookie when he was struck by a familiar smell of rotten corpses..

"He will never forget this smell. Wuxian didn't have to look around to recognize this place. He lived here for many months.. surviving.. hiding.. and in another lifetime.. dying. Wuxian looked around Burial Mounds, as bitter sweet memories of his past made him smile. He cried here once, he laughed here once and he even called this place home once. It was as deserted as he last saw it.. Until he spots Biming walking purposely towards him. Wuxian follows to see what he was planning to do. The darkness of this place seems to invite the unwanted as he hears the Wraith King speak: "Do you know what to do, son?" Biming ignores his father and stops in the middle of a barren field. He unsheathes his sword and Wuxian takes his first look at the creation he helped make. The once black sword was now distorted. It felt like the light around it was sucked in like a black hole, making everything around it morphed and disfigured. It was the ugliest weapon Wuxian has ever seen. Biming turns it around to look at it before he says: "This will not bring forth the darkness." His father replies: "But it will let us out.." Biming sighs, not sure if he should do this or not. Wuxian did not expect to see hesitation so he stepped closer. Biming whispers to himself: "There is no going back. This is my destiny. These are my people. I may be apart from them now but one day I will be one of them." Wuxian wishes he was there so he can convince Biming otherwise. The Wraith King urges his son: "Let us out, young Wraith. Let the army of your brethren stand by you as you lead us to salvation." Biming swallows hard then nods. He swings his sword back and forcefully plants it into the ground, creating a small black crack on the surface. Slowly.. Dark figures with melted bodies start clawing their way out of the hole, struggling to pass through to the human dimension. They kept coming until they started flowing into the sky, covering the field in darkness. Biming looked up at them, pursing his lips. Wuxian felt goosebumps cover his skin as the world around him turned pitch black and he stopped seeing anything."

The cookie fell from his limp hand as he snapped out of his vision. The first thing that pops into his head was how grateful he was to be able to see again. Mianmian notices the look of disgust on his face and asks warily: "What did you see?"

Wuxian closes his eyes for a few seconds and takes a few deep breaths to gather his resolve. He then looks at Mianmian with determination: "The Wraith are coming. We must go to Burial Mounds and send them back to hell."

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