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In This Life or Any Other - Chapter 9

FIC RATING: E WORD COUNT: 63482 (total) RELATIONSHIPS: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian WARNINGS: Graphic Depictions of Violence TAGS: Eventual Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Canon-Typical Violence, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Trauma, Politics, Intrigue, BAMF Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Angst and Humor, Additional warnings/tags in chapters as needed

SUMMARY: When his reconnaissance mission makes it clear that the Qishan army is marching on Cloud Recesses, Wei Wuxian knows they don’t stand a chance on their own. He reports in requesting military support, but instead of the backup he hoped for, all Wei Wuxian gets is an order to return home. He doesn’t actually know anyone from Gusu, really, but they’re still people. With destruction inevitable and every kingdom turning a blind eye, Wei Wuxian makes a choice. The only choice, as far as he’s concerned. If no help is coming, Wei Wuxian will just have to save them himself. Fooling Wen Ruohan’s soldiers into arresting him so he can stage a prison break? That’s definitely on purpose. Setting events in motion that could reshape the world as they know it? That… might have been an accident.

Read on AO3 here

(Warning for this chapter for death and graphic description of injury. The version on AO3 has indicators of what parts to skip and a summary of those scenes at the end of that kind of content makes you uncomfortable <3)

At least now he knows, Wei Wuxian guesses, that Wen Chao chose practical instead of petty.

He arms himself with smooth, practiced motions, clinging to what parts of the job he was prepared for that he can accomplish uncontested. He can put on armor with his eyes closed, but battle plans might crumble when faced with a real enemy. An attack is a possibility he’s trained for since he could hold a sword, but no one’s ever truly tried to do it.

In the chaos, Wei Wuxian reluctantly sets aside his previous intention to send Lan Zhan a message. There’s no time now, what with an army bearing down on them. It’s not as if they’d even committed to anything or the sort. Which is… also the reasoning he’s been soothing his concerns over Lan Zhan’s silence with. There’s probably a lot to do returning to a home that was burnt to the ground.

None of that stops the creeping sort of guilt that settles in the pit of his stomach at the idea of leaving Lan Zhan in the dark, but Wei Wuxian pushes it aside for the time being. When it’s over and Lotus Pier is safe, he’ll send a message. If he’s lucky, maybe Jiang Cheng will be too tired to laugh at him about it.

Holding onto that thought, he joins everyone else who has spilled out into the hallway to congregate in the throne room. Normally, the times the palace comes alive like this are joyful, celebratory events. Now, though, every face Wei Wuxian sees as he passes is more grim than the last.

He runs, weaving his way through the crowd until he finally hears Madame Yu’s voice over the background noise of too many conversations to keep track of. Whatever else might be true about her, she is in her element here, giving orders so confidently that you’d never know she was commanding an army that has rarely had to fight for anything more dire than bragging rights. Wei Wuxian skids to a halt a few feet away to make himself known. He says nothing for once, but he thumbs anxiously at the facets of deep red stone embedded in the hilt of his sword while he waits.

“You,” she says sharply as she turns her attention on him. Wei Wuxian doesn’t flinch, but it’s a near thing, an instinct that simmers just under the skin. There’s an accusation teetering in the space between them, but the vitriol Wei Wuxian braces himself for never comes. Madame Yu only jerks her head towards the stairs cut into the wall behind the throne. “Make sure that contraption of yours works.”

That, at least, he can do. Wei Wuxian hurries past her and takes the steps two at a time to the top where they let out onto a large terrace. He may never have the opportunity to be good at magic, but he is good at science, and this is… well, it’s a bit of both, really. The contraption she referred to, his latest invention, sits on a pedestal in the middle, a tangle of lenses and metal limbs, all anchored to a crystal at the device’s center. On its own, the device is useless, but with a little help, it will become a focus, combining the magic of a group of mages to create a barrier far more impenetrable than they could hope to make on their own.

Theoretically. It’s never been tested under their current circumstances for obvious reasons, but it’s going to work. Partly because he’s too confident in his own cleverness to entertain any other notion, but mostly because it has to. Looking out at the river, it becomes clear that Wen Chao is counting on numbers, and that he has them. If the army gets through, Lotus Pier will be overrun. So they can’t get through.

Already, a handful of mages wait restlessly at the perimeter of the device, watching critically as Wei Wuxian jumps in to make adjustments. He’d feel bad for not knowing their names, but in his defense, he hasn’t really gotten the chance. His lack of magic means they rarely give him the time of day. Even now, with only them standing between Lotus Pier and disaster, most of them them only notice him with respect to the work they’re impatiently waiting on him to complete.

“Are you sure it’s going to work?” One of them asks, so Wei Wuxian supposes they aren’t ignoring him entirely. The man, old enough to be Wei Wuxian’s grandfather, looks woefully unprepared for a fight. He’s wrapped in deep purple robes so heavy and ostentatious, it’s a miracle he got up here without tripping.

“Of course!” Wei Wuxian lies cheerfully. Well, in his defense, there’s a decent chance it’s not a lie. He hopes it’s not a lie. When too many robes guy opens his mouth, he looks ready to argue though, so Wei Wuxian jumps back in, mostly for the pleasure of cutting him off. “Why? Did you have a better idea?”

That earns Wei Wuxian a comically sour expression that he just barely manages not to gloat about. Before he can say anything counterproductive, Wei Wuxian returns his attention to the device, squinting through one lens after another to make sure they’re pointed as intended. “That should just about do it.”

Whatever elitism keeps mages from bothering with anyone else is less pervasive in the generations closer to Wei Wuxian’s age, so he’s not entirely surprised that the woman who thanks him for building this only looks to be a few years older than he is. “Should we… Are we waiting for something or do we just go for it?”

“Any time. Actually, probably right now. If they get in firing range before we get this barrier up, then we’re already in trouble.” Wei Wuxian smiles, trying to soften how fraught the situation is in some small way. He steps back, giving the mages room to work.

Much later, Wei Wuxian will come to the horrible realization that this is both the first and last thing that goes the way it’s supposed to, but that will come later. For now, he smiles so hard his face hurts as he watches his invention come to life in all its glory. One mage after another directs their spell at the device until the crystal all but overflows with magic. Pale, yellow light explodes heavenward like a beacon before scattering down in every direction to form a dome over the entirety of Lotus Pier. And none too soon. The shield comes down just as the first attack reaches the pier. Flaming, pitch covered arrows that would have sent the boardwalk up in flames instead hit the barrier and bounce uselessly off into the water.

The beauty of it is that the shield should hold out indefinitely. The device leaves room for one mage to replace another when fatigue might make them falter, and the crystal magnifies the spell so that it is all but impenetrable. He doubts Wen Chao came prepared to hunker down for a siege, so it should be as simple as waiting them out.

It should be.

When he runs back downstairs to report his success, the room is already empty, which probably makes sense. Whether she trusts Wei Wuxian’s genius or not, it would be foolish not to have a backup plan. Everyone combat ready is stationed near the pier, so Wei Wuxian follows the clamor of it all and takes his own place alongside them.

It’s… well, it’s good to be ready. This is always where he was supposed to be. The shield was only a detour. These are all the correct things to note about where he’s standing, a few feet from Jiang Cheng with Suibian drawn more for show than anything.

The less correct, but far more satisfying thing to notice is that this is the best vantage point in all of Lotus Pier. From here, he can nearly make out the frustration on Wen Chao’s face in the flickering torch light as he fails to breach the boundary. Blades don’t create so much as a crack in the barrier, and whatever magic is being cast out there on the river only flickers and bounces off like a poorly designed light show.

The minutes stretch out, out, out until the moon is high overhead, just barely visible through the shield, but nothing changes. Wei Wuxian stretches his arms over his head, Suibian and all, and nudges companionably against Jiang Cheng. “Do you think Wen Chao will be too offended if we tell him he picked a really boring way to keep us all up past our bedtimes?”

“Since when do you have a bedtime?” Jiang Cheng retorts, the annoyed tone of it utterly ruined by his mouth quirking up at the edges.

“I could have a bedtime. You don’t know.” Wei Wuxian interrupts his own protest with a laugh and redirects. “I will absolutely invent a bedtime for myself if it makes them give up and go home. Are they out of arrows already? That at least looked dramatic, but they’re not even firing anymore.”

“How should I know? Do I look like I’m taking inventory for them?” Whatever else Jiang Cheng might say gets lost, but the particulars don’t matter so much. Standing together, Wei Wuxian can put what Madame Yu called him out of his mind entirely. It’s hard to take it too much to heart in the moment when this feels so much like home.

They devolve into familiar banter, only nominally in their assigned places. It’s that back and forth that keeps either of them from noticing right away when the formation of boats beyond the shield changes. By the time they look over, Wen Chao is nowhere to be seen. Instead, a lithe, masked figure stands on the boat beside the barrier, presumably a mage of some sort given their lack of a visible weapon.

Jiang Cheng pauses at Wei Wuxian’s side to watch and shakes his head as the figure steps closer. “They really don’t know when to quit, do they?”

“Maybe Wen Zhuliu got tired and someone else thought they could get credit for breaking through.” Wei Wuxian watches with no shortage of amusement as the figure examines the shield, their body language looking for all the world like a curious child. Maybe it’s all they are even, under all the red and gold they’re wrapped up in. Maybe the mask is meant to hide how horrifically young they are. The mask forces them to adjust their entire stance to look at the shield from a different angle, as if they truly believe they’re going to find a weak spot if they just stare at the wall hard enough.

“Okay, I love this part,” Jiang Cheng admits, but no one is paying enough attention to the two of them to make him retract the admission. And it is admittedly kind of funny. This is at least the fourth person Wen Chao has sent to investigate, and each time a new mage approaches, they’ve watched another failure right along with the whole army of Lotus Pier.

Not that any of said mages seem very inclined to learn from each other. Every time they ignore their predecessors’ experience and try and touch the shield anyway. Every time, the barrier tosses them back like a rag doll.

This new person reaches out just like all the rest, and Wei Wuxian waits for the inevitable embarrassment he and Jiang Cheng can laugh about together every time they tell this story for the rest of their lives. He holds his breath, stifling the laughter that’s trying to loose itself even as the mage’s fingertips brush the barrier.

And there, the laughter dies. For a moment, nothing happens, which is worrisome enough. It’s different, and as much as Wei Wuxian appreciates variety, in this case, different is bad. The mage isn’t thrown into the water or even back on the boat, much to Wei Wuxian’s concern. The real horror comes a few seconds later when the barrier flickers, an anemic stutter, convulsing somewhat sluggishly under the mage’s palm. And then it’s gone. For a second, the whole world seems to go still, Lotus Pier bathed in a newfound darkness.

It’s not a disaster, not at first. The mages maintaining the shield should be far enough removed to bring it back up in an instant, but that instant never comes. The barrier doesn’t reappear when the mage looks up at the empty air now surrounding Lotus Pier. It doesn’t spring back into place when they step out of the boat onto the pier. It remains inert even when the figure reaches out, weaponless and unarmored, for the soldier unfortunate enough to be nearest crumpling right there on his feet. Even as the soldier crumples under the mage’s impossible magic, the shield stays down.

So, it’s just like this that Lotus Pier is lost.

Oh, it doesn’t happen all at once. They fight for all their worth, making sure every step of progress costs Wen Chao dearly. And it does. The boardwalk runs red, and at first it seems like they’re winning because very little of it belongs to anyone who calls Lotus Pier home.

But it isn’t Wen Chao’s army that’s the problem. It’s the other person (mage? Monster? Hard to say.) that brings ruin with them in every step. With their robes so thoroughly covering their feet, they seem to float across the pier and onto solid ground, avoiding the conflict all around them, not even seeming to notice it. It’s impossible to say with the mask, but their body language is utterly impassive, ignoring the din of combat and the screams of the injured and dying.

They look directly at no one, only absently reaching out to touch the soldiers who come to stop them. The contact is almost a caress, like a saint offering their blessing in the shape of a gruesome death, all the more eerie as the fires the barrier was stopping begin to catch. This must be the weapon that allowed Wen Chao to decimate an entire village so thoroughly.

Even with Suibian, Wei Wuxian doesn’t stand much of a chance against them in a fair fight. Reckless, but not pointlessly suicidal, he focuses on the fight he can win, cutting deftly through the Qishan soldiers still trying to storm Lotus Pier.

That Jiang Cheng is at his side makes him miss Lan Zhan for the brief space Wei Wuxian allows himself to think about it. This is worlds better than most mages he’s partnered up with, the ones who dismiss skill with a sword as too pedestrian to matter. He and Jiang Cheng aren’t at cross purposes, which is excellent. Only they don’t really fight together either. Not the way he and Lan Zhan had.

It’s perhaps that lack of cohesiveness that keeps Wei Wuxian from noticing at first when they’re physically separated. One moment, there’s a welcome flash of purple amidst the spreading smoke at the periphery of his vision. The next, he’s alone amidst the enemy, driven back slightly towards the palace.

Fear makes no appearance as Wei Wuxian quickly gets his bearings. He’s not afraid of being isolated, trusting in his own skills to get him through. It is, however, terribly inconvenient.

“You.”

At first glance, Wei Wuxian doesn’t see Wen Chao at all, only hearing him somewhere beyond the soldiers closing in on him. He’s shocked, really, that Wen Chao would put himself in harm’s way. Shocked, but grimly delighted. He doesn’t have a solution yet for the real danger, but he knows exactly what to do with a monster like this.

Now, if he can just get the timing down. Wei Wuxian ducks and weaves between fighting soldiers, glancing down only long enough to retrieve the array he’s after without being seen. The lines light up just as they should, masked by the fires blazing all around them. With any luck, if he couldn’t see Wen Chao, then Wen Chao couldn’t see him either. Committing fully to the part of overwhelmed refugee, Wei Wuxian smiles to himself just briefly before stumbling dramatically from the fray.

Judging from the way Wen Chao smirks, he buys Wei Wuxian’s startled, fearful expression.

“Ah…ahaha. Fancy meeting you here,” Wei Wuxian stammers, clutching Suibian in both hands like he’s not quite sure what to do with a sword. He trips and stumbles as he backs up along the boardwalk, appearing to flee and waiting for Wen Chao to take the bait.

“You’re a little far from home, aren’t you?” Wen Chao taunts. He takes a step closer and then another, and Wei Wuxian swallows down a smile. Just a little further.

Wei Wuxian shakes visibly, backing up towards the end of the pier. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I don’t understand what you mean.”

As much as he worries he’s laying it on too thick, Wen Chao appears all too happy to be fooled by the act. “What? You thought you could just put on some new clothes and no one would notice that you’re somewhere you don’t belong?”

Laughter might not be the most prudent response, and it definitely isn’t in line with the fearful, inexperienced mage act he’s trying to pull off, but the whole thing is too on the nose for Wei Wuxian to do anything else. Wen Chao glares trying to get the upper hand, completely failing to take note of Wei Wuxian’s careful shift to line himself up with the trap that’s been set, so maybe it was a good response after all. “What the hell is so funny?”

“Just that I already did that,” Wei Wuxian replies vaguely, managing to sober up. Just to make sure Wen Chao gets drawn in, forced to juggle conversation with everything else, he adds, “It turns out I’m pretty good at it.”

“You’re really not that good. I picked you out right away,” Wen Chao stalks closer like he honestly believes he’s the predator in this equation, which just might be the most hilarious part of this. He watches Wei Wuxian dance just out of reach of his hands towards the edge where only rushing water awaits, offering a self-satisfied smirk as Wei Wuxian feigns dismay at being trapped. “Tell you what. I’m not unreasonable. Go ahead. Open a portal to Cloud Recesses, I’ll let you take your last breath there.”

“Generous offer.” A smile tugs at Wei Wuxian’s lips as Wen Chao reaches for him. He ducks deftly out of the way, forcing Wen Chao to take a step closer.

He waits a beat, weaving in the other direction, before he teases. “I’m afraid I have to decline.”

The face he makes, one would think Wen Chao never heard a 'no' before in his life. “You can’t protect them.”

Trying to balance keeping up this ruse long enough to spring a trap with observing what Wen Chao is doing exactly, Wei Wuxian makes a production out of answering. “What? Oh. Oh no it’s not that. It’s just, well, hmmm. Wow. This is so awkward.”

“Spit it out.” Apparently, Wen Chao doesn't appreciate the theatrics, which, rude. He put effort into that. It was funny. It was funny for Wei Wuxian anyway.

“Yup. Yeah, I can… sure do that," Wei Wuxian immediately agrees, holding his hands up in a placating gesture, sword and all. His mouth twitches a little despite his best efforts. "It’s just that, well, you missed a couple of teensy tiny details.”

Wen Chao doesn't reply in words, but he's watching Wei Wuxian expectantly as they continue down the pier. “I’m not from Gusu.”

Not waiting for a response, Wei Wuxian smiles as he dances out of reach and adds, “I’m not even a mage.”

The edge of the illusion shimmers, and Wei Wuxian neatly steps over the gap. “Do you know what I am?”

There. Wei Wuxian cackles at Wen Chao’s wide eyed expression as he finally steps into the makeshift trap. Like all of Wei Wuxian’s arrays, it’s a small, innocuous thing. It’s a tiny illusion, just the appearance of a flat surface rather than the broken plank Wei Wuxian had noted earlier. Wen Chao stumbles forward before managing to right himself, but that slight misstep is all the opening Wei Wuxian was waiting for.

In one smooth movement he shifts his grip on Suibian and drops down, swinging the blade in an outward arc and catching Wen Chao’s calf with the sharp edge of it. It's not that deep, but Wen Chao wails like he’s been run through, losing his balance, and Wei Wuxian follows that teetering motion just as effortlessly. It’s almost too easy to sweep Wen Chao’s feet out from under him with a well placed kick, and within a few seconds, Wei Wuxian is on his feet and looming over his prone opponent. Suibian’s black metal blade glints in the firelight as he holds the tip of it against Wen Chao’s throat. “Faster than you.”

“I’m going to kill you,” Wen Chao snarls, to Wei Wuxian’s amusement. There’s little to be afraid of so long as he keeps clear of Wen Chao’s hands, and really, he’d like to know how this guy has any power of his own when the damage Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan attributed to him was so clearly the work of someone else. Maybe it was all some kind of illusion, but that’s a puzzle for a later Wei Wuxian who isn’t busy trying to put an end to an assault on his home. “You’re going to die.”

“Is this supposed to be different from some other version of things where I didn’t embarrass you and you were… wait, no. You were still trying to kill me.” He punctuates the question with a slight press of the sword against Wen Chao’s throat. “I like this one better, and I think what you meant to say is that you’re going to call off your soldiers before my hand happens to slip.”

“You’ll never get the chance,” Wen Chao hisses, squirming away from the tip of Wei Wuxian’s sword.

“What was that? I don’t think I quite-” Wei Wuxian’s words are cut off on a sharp cry as he’s tossed to the side, his shoulder blades hitting one of the pier posts with a heavy thud. Breathless, Wei Wuxian fights not to slump to the ground, and promptly loses.

There’s so much smoke from this angle that it clouds his vision. Shouting and the clang of metal upon metal drowns out anything else. He’s woozy, so thrown by the attack that he doesn’t realize what he’s seeing emerge from the fight until the masked figure is nearly on top of him.

Up close they appear as fragile as spun glass, a waifish figure in thin silk that billows out as if made of the smoke they seem to glide right through. Delicate epaulets of chains and gemstones drape about their shoulders, hanging from an ornate choker. Along with the mask, it all glitters in the firelight, so bright and delicate that Wei Wuxian has difficulty reconciling it with the destruction they’ve caused.

The movement is sluggish, but he rolls to his knees and lurches upright, just as the mage reaches him. He parries their outstretched hand with the flat of his sword just in time, but it’s not enough to protect him from the power they’re wielding. Taking advantage of his distraction, they reach with their other hand, fingers brushing over his knuckles where he clings to Suibian’s hilt, so subtle that it could be a caress.

Well, it could be if not for the agony. He’s felt it before, at Wen Chao’s hand, but this is so, so much worse. Wei Wuxian’s jerky, disjointed steps aren’t enough to keep him from feeling like his organs are being turned inside out, and though he grits his teeth against the sensation, he can’t quite stifle the pained sound that wrenches its way free.

Too slow to save himself, he’s only spared because the mage jerks their hand away as abruptly as they’d reached out. His ears are wet, and something drips like teardrops down his face, but when he wipes the back of his hand against it, his knuckles come away bright red. Definitely the same magic, then. That seems bad in a whole new way he hadn’t considered.

“Wei Ying?” The mage interrupts his frantic thoughts. Their head tilts to the side, but there’s no telling what they’re trying to convey. Only the glow of their red, red eyes is visible through the mask’s blank veneer.

Great. That’s just great. They’re in his head too. It doesn’t feel like they’re in his head, but they said his name, his birth name, and he certainly hadn’t introduced himself. Shaking off the muddled feeling as best he can, Wei Wuxian squares his shoulders, looking for an opening to take advantage of.

“Wei Ying,” The mage whispers, more a movement of their lips than a sound at all. They shudder as they move, like they’re… It almost looks like they’re fighting against their own body. A lurch forward, a shaky step back. An outstretched hand to attack. A shaking fist to avoid touching Wei Wuxian at all.

Wei Wuxian adjusts his grip on Suibian. “Do I know you?”

“Wei Ying.” A little louder this time, and he… he knows that voice, Wei Wuxian thinks, if he just had a moment to place it.

Not that he gets a moment to do anything of the sort. They draw close enough to touch him and he can do nothing to stop it. His feet won’t budge despite his best efforts. His body refuses to flinch away as they close in. He can’t even tremble when they reach for him.

They could kill him here, helpless and frozen, so it is an unexpected act of mercy that the hand the mage presses to Wei Wuxian’s chest only serves to throw him violently backwards. He lands amidst the smoldering ruins of a shed, coughing as he tries to catch his breath. At least his limbs are doing as they’re told again, for all the good it does him sprawled amidst the wreckage.

He tries, really, but by the time Wei Wuxian sits up, it’s already too late. A handful of guards are already closing in on him with Wen Zhuliu among them. He must have been occupied when Wei Wuxian was going toe to toe with Wen Chao, but he certainly isn’t now. Even having had some distance and a few days to recover, his body associates Wen Zhuliu with the compulsion spell Wei Wuxian had suffered through and responds accordingly. Heart racing, Wei Wuxian blindly grasps for Suibian. “You again.”

Wen Zhuliu doesn’t even have the decency to reply, stalking closer with the same bored expression he’d been wearing every other time Wei Wuxian encountered him. Wei Wuxian staggers back to his feet, tipped dangerously forward as he tries to regain his balance.

Look, Wei Wuxian is an optimist. He’s resourceful to a fault. But, he also knows when he’s beat. No matter how he fights - and he will - there’s no escaping this. Panting with the effort it takes to be upright, Wei Wuxian shifts his grip, readying an attack. He might be going down, but he’s taking them with him.

And so it begins. Wei Wuxian’s body protests every move, but he meets the soldiers closest to him blow for blow. A clever change in footwork sends one tumbling into the other’s sword, and from there it’s quick work to take them both out.

The next fare no better, succumbing to his own blade this time. Wei Wuxian pushes and pushes, knowing he’ll pay for it later if he survives long enough for a later to come. That’s a pretty small price for said survival. One by one the soldiers fall, and for a second Wei Wuxian thinks he might come out the other side of this after all.

He very well might have succeeded if not for Wen Zhuliu, muttering words that mean nothing to Wei Wuxian. All he knows is that one moment he’s turning on his heel to lunge at Wen Zhuliu. The next, with a flick of the man’s wrist, Wei Wuxian stumbles, sent sprawling backwards onto his back once more.

There are many things Wei Wuxian dislikes about Wen Chao, but his voice might be the worst. Somewhere above the cacophony of battle, there’s a high, nasally cackle, like Wen Chao thinks Wei Wuxian’s impending doom is for his own entertainment above all else. No matter how Wei Wuxian struggles, the spell that had knocked him from his feet keeps him pinned as Wen Chao appears overhead.

“Hold on. That mark. That’s- That must make you the stray Jiang Fengmian took in.” In all the confusion, Wen Chao’s comment sparks no recognition until Wei Wuxian realizes it’s his armor being pointed at. The lotus stamped into the hardened leather spaulders had meant so much at the time, the closest anyone ever came to telling him he belonged here. Now, it only serves to egg Wen Chao on. “After everything you pulled, you’re not even important? Just some glorified servant that doesn’t know your place.”

Are you done? Wei Wuxian tries, and fails to say. He can’t even interrupt Wen Chao’s monologue, as close to paralyzed as he is. Somehow, that’s so much worse than not being able to move.

Wei Wuxian hadn’t entirely expected to live through the night, but going out at Wen Chao’s hand of all people is just insulting. He struggles uselessly against the spell that’s holding him. When Wen Chao reaches for him, Wei Wuxian refuses to flinch just on principle (not that his body would do it anyway), though the village is still fresh in his mind and he knows what’s coming. Instead, he smiles, more a baring of teeth than anything. With far more effort than is fair, he finally manages to speak. “But you still can’t beat me in a fair fight.”

The blow Wei Wuxian expects never comes, interrupted by a burst of light and sound that creates a barrier between him and Wen chao. It’s not so different from the one that had surrounded Lotus Pier, forcing the soldiers cornering him to flee or be crushed under the phantom weight of it. It curves protectively around him to keep them from returning. That’s… unexpected. In all the smoke, he can’t find a source for the magic, but only barely manages to lift a hand, confirming he’s in control of his body again, before the answer comes to him instead. Madame Yu scowls, but for once her anger doesn’t seem directed at him. “Get up.”

In his defense, he does try to do as he’s told, despite the residual energy from Wen Zhuliu’s spell leaving him wobbling like a newborn colt. She doesn’t give him time to regain his balance, grabbing his elbow the minute he gets precariously upright. With no word of explanation, she drags him away from where he’d fallen.

She drags him away from… everything.

They’re nearly back at the palace before Wei Wuxian realizes they’re escaping the chaos rather than wading further into it. Despite the battle taking place outside, the halls are still empty and uncomfortably silent. It makes sense that they’d go this way if she means to have him repair the shield, but Wei Wuxian doesn’t think that’s what it is. With the enemy already in Lotus Pier, it’s much too late for that to be of any use. There’s nothing else she’d acknowledge he’s especially good at, so he waits for some indication of why she’d want him to waste his time on it, but they reach the entry to the throne room and keep right walking past it, Madame Yu glaring resolutely ahead as she takes him deeper inside.

“Don’t you… want me back out there?” he asks, trying to adjust his pace to match hers, but Madame Yu doesn’t bother to answer him. Dread twists in the pit of his stomach as she leads him further and further from his post. It’s the plan. That’s always been the plan. Things must be going poorly if she, of all people, is deviating from her own orders, but Wei Wuxian doesn’t realize just how poorly until they reach their destination.

“What are you talking about? I’m not just leaving. My place is right here,” Jiang Cheng is protesting as they walk in, but the anguish splashed across his features doesn’t match his bluster.

Jiang Fengmian opens his mouth to reply, but Madame Yu speaks up first, shoving Wei Wuxian roughly into the guest bedroom they’re hidden away in as she does. “It wasn’t a request.”

Wei Wuxian has never once heard Jiang Cheng talk back to his parents. Not until tonight. Even now, the argument between Jiang Cheng and Jiang Fengmian is mostly lost when Madame Yu roughly jerks him off to the side, forcing him to look in her direction.

“Whether tonight had anything to do with you or not…” That Madame Yu pauses is uncharacteristic enough to draw Wei Wuxian’s attention. She must have heard Wen Chao and realized this attack had nothing to do with him, then. It’s not an apology, nor an outright admission that she was wrong about him. He’d sooner get water from a stone than get either of those from Madame Yu, but Wei Wuxian doesn’t begrudge it. He doesn’t need her remorse. It’s enough to know that she realizes his choices weren’t the betrayal she thought they were.

He must smile at her, because Madame Yu’s expression abruptly sours further. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that right now you do as you’re told. If you can’t follow orders for once, what happens to Jiang Cheng will be your fault.”

It’s a low blow if there ever was one, weaponizing the ease with which Wei Wuxian takes the blame for things, but she isn’t wrong, per se. Fleeing Lotus Pier runs counter to every fiber of his being, opposite everything his deep seated sense of loyalty shouts at him to do. But he glances at Jiang Cheng, still arguing fruitlessly with Jiang Fengmian, and nods once at Madame Yu in something like agreement.

Satisfied with Wei Wuxian’s promised compliance, she turns her attention away, beginning to pull Zidian from its resting place on her wrist. He’s never seen her without it. He’s also never seen her express anything resembling affection, so Wei Wuxian quickly turns away when she drags Jiang Cheng into her arms. It’s an intimacy not intended for him.

A hand on Wei Wuxian’s shoulder startles him into looking up at Jiang Fengmian, who’s expression is remarkably calm all considered. “You have to go collect Jiang Yanli. She’s not safe there.”

“Not safe… with her fiance?” Wei Wuxian has no complaints about an excuse to see Jiang Yanli and no love at all for anyone in the Jin household, but not safe sounds a little extreme. Well, more accurately, it sounds a little extreme coming from Jiang Fengmian.

“After this, there will be no avoiding a war,” Jiang Fengmian hedges, letting Wei Wuxian come to the conclusion he desires without ever saying anything impolitic. Just like Cloud Recesses. There’s not even anyone to hear, and no possible consequences worse than what’s happening, so Wei Wuxian assumes it must just be habit.

And just like Cloud Recesses, Wei Wuxian does work out what isn’t being said, finishing the thought Jiang Fengmian carefully did not. “And Jin Guanshan will do what’s good for Jin Guanshan, so there’s no telling which side of things he’s going to come down on.”

It must be what he wants Wei Wuxian to say about Lanling because Jiang Fengmian pivots away from politics with no further comment. Glancing Jiang Cheng’s way he lowers his voice. “You’ll look after them, won’t you? They’re going to need you.”

I’ll need them too, he thinks, but Jiang Fengmian gives no indication of wanting his vulnerability, so Wei Wuxian keeps that part to himself. “Of course I will.”

If Jiang Fengmian replies, Wei Wuxian doesn’t hear it. Wen Chao’s men have breached the palace itself, it sounds like, indecipherably shouting echoing down the hall beyond this room.

Abruptly, something curls around Wei Wuxian and yanks, forcing him to stumble backwards. Before he can even try to fight it he’s pinned back to back with Jiang Cheng, who is still protesting. Not that either of them can do anything about it. Looking down, they’re held by Zidian’s length wrapped around them, and the more Wei Wuxian struggles, the tighter he’s held.

There’s no real chance to resist, and nowhere to go like this, but Madame Yu still grabs him roughly by the arm until Wei Wuxian looks at her.

“You protect my child, Wei Wuxian. With your life, if it comes to it. Do you understand?” Even now, with each second drawing closer to the last time they ever see each other, the words are sharp. He’s not sure if she’s just like that or if she intends to wound with an announcement of what Jiang Cheng is to remind him of what he is not. He can’t bring himself to blame her for it. When he doesn’t reply right away, she shakes him. “Do you understand?”

At the edge of his field of vision, a portal springs to life in the darkened room, promising escape whether he wants to or not. Out of words for once, Wei Wuxian nods, because of course he’s going to. Nothing less had crossed his mind.

Presumably satisfied, Madame Yu shoves them both through the portal with no warning at all. They fall in a heap in the woods somewhere Wei Wuxian doesn’t recognize. Far away, probably. Tree branches crowd out the stars overhead, leaving the world around them dark save for the slightly incredibly muted light from the portal. Not even light so much as less intense darkness.

He suspects they’re both equally unwilling to abandon Lotus Pier, so Wei Wuxian tries to get up and hopes for the best. As he flounders, trying to get his feet under him, Jiang Cheng has the same idea, and with a great deal of cursing and leaning against a nearby tree, they almost manage.

Not that it does them any good. Somewhere in the midst of their struggle the portal blinks out of existence, taking every trace of the home they left behind with it. Everything, that is, but each other. Robbed of a way back, there’s not much point in continuing, so with an aggravated sigh, Jiang Cheng slumps back against him.

“Wait. You could just portal us back, couldn’t you?” Wei Wuxian asks as he tests the binding around them. It still doesn’t budge.

“I could if there was enough slack to move my arms the way I need to.” Once, Wei Wuxian would have mistaken the tone as Jiang Cheng being angry with him, but he knows better these days. In all fairness, right now Jiang Cheng is probably angry at everything.

There’s nothing he can say on the matter that’s likely to help. Zidian will let them go eventually, but that’s not much of a comfort when everything they love is falling apart somewhere out of reach.

---

It might be hours or only minutes, but it certainly feels like a long time before Zidian begins to loosen around them. Discomfort has long since set in from being forced to sit still in one position, so when Wei Wuxian finds he can move, even a little, he’s quick to take advantage.

“I’m going back,” Jiang Cheng growls the moment they begin to make progress on getting free, and the words twist miserably under Wei Wuxian’s breastbone. There’s no winning. He can’t protect Jiang Cheng if they return to Lotus Pier. Jiang Cheng will never forgive him - he’ll never forgive himself - if they don’t.

It’s so much easier to make these decisions when the only life Wei Wuxian is putting in harm’s way is his own. That he should stop Jiang Cheng lingers at the back of his mind. He’s supposed to, isn’t he? It’s what he promised.

But it’s not right.

“No.” Wei Wuxian wriggles his way out of Zidian’s grip finally. Without him taking up space, the binding collapses entirely, and the whip snaps back into the bracelet that houses it. With a murmur of relief that he can finally move, Wei Wuxian hauls himself to his feet and holds out his hand to Jiang Cheng. “We’re going back.”

It’s not a smile Jiang Cheng gives him exactly, too flinty to be anything of the sort. Jiang Cheng takes his hand though, just long enough to stand upright. Even as he lets go, he’s murmuring a spell Wei Wuxian is beginning to recognize. The landscape that opens in front of them is close enough to Lotus Pier to be familiar, a tucked away bit of land along the river bank where they shouldn’t be seen.

Standing here beside Jiang Cheng with home just a few steps away, Wei Wuxian can almost believe their stubborn determination is going to be enough.

---

It’s not enough. They both recognize that much from the moment they get their bearings and spot the silhouette of Lotus Pier on the horizon. The sky is just beginning to lighten, a dull gray backdrop, just light enough that the smoke billowing from what’s left of their home rises in stark contrast. Flames no longer lick at the walls of the palace, and the world around them is all but silent, devoid of all the signs of life they’d expect to hear by now. It’s the eerie calm of an aftermath promising that the worst is over. No fight waits for them. It’s not the reassurance it might be, only announcing that they’re too late to do anything that matters.

There’s no one left to save in there. He knows it. Jiang Cheng knows it. Wei Wuxian bites down on the words anyway, and they both obstinately press on.

Much like things had gone for Wei Wuxian in Qishan, it’s almost laughably easy to sneak back into Lotus Pier. No one is expecting anyone to try to enter a place they should be fleeing, so not a soul notices the two of them slip in through the most out of the way entrance. After all the years the two of them spent horsing around and getting into trouble, they know the city by heart, even with much of it in ruins. It’s not such a difficult thing to find their way to higher ground to stay out of sight. They walk along the rooftops of the houses that yesterday surrounded a lively marketplace, offering some measure of cover as they make their way towards the palace grounds.

It was over long before they even found their way back to Lotus Pier from where Madame Yu had dumped them. That abstract knowledge does absolutely nothing to prepare Wei Wuxian for what’s left. He catches the scent of it before he sees it, the point at which the smoke is more nuanced, where it begins to tell a story. It smells of something other than old lumber that he can’t stomach thinking about. But refusing to give it a name doesn’t mute the horror any. Even then, that awful warning can’t quite silence the awful hitch of his breathing when he sees the palace courtyard for the first time in hours.

The worst of the fighting had been between the palace and the river. Qishan soldiers are in the midst of clearing the bodies from the boardwalk… and everywhere else. Mostly, they’re wearing familiar armor, but a closer look stands as a sickening testament to their lack of mercy. Among the soldiers are just people. Unmistakably civilians, the most vulnerable and defenseless among them, cut down for the misfortune of living here. He drags in a ragged, grieving gasp when he spots even the children he’d played with just hours ago, still in their sleep clothes as if dragged from their beds.

Wei Wuxian looks up at the quiet shuffle of footsteps beside him on the roof to find Jiang Cheng creeping closer. Jiang Fengmian and Madame Yu had not been visible among the dead, but that doesn’t mean anything good. Wei Wuxian hurries hoping maybe he could at least protect Jiang Cheng from that.

The thought comes too late to be of use, because the answer to the question they hadn’t dared to ask lies in view at the far end of the roof they’re already on. From here, they can see the terrace, Wei Wuxian’s invention shattered and two bodies side by side, bled out unmistakably against the pale tile.

There’s really no blaming Jiang Cheng for the choked sob that escapes him, but consequences care nothing at all about blame. Wei Wuxian hastily clamps one hand over Jiang Cheng’s mouth, using the other to drag him into a haphazard embrace that’s meant to be comforting, but feels painfully inadequate. It isn’t making him feel any better, anyway. It’s not fast enough to keep two of Wen Chao’s men from looking up in search of the noise.

With a great deal of effort, Wei Wuxian manages to drag Jiang Cheng out of sight before they’re spotted, but someone below is shouting orders to search the area, so they can’t stay here. They flee the way they came and then beyond, unable to afford opening a portal with the enemy so close behind them. The echo of it would remain too long to allow them a clean escape.

They both knew, bound by Zidian and staring at empty air, that there was only one possible outcome. They knew, but distance allowed for denial, hope lingering so long as they didn’t confront the truth. There’s no more pretending now though, no pushing away the dread now that they’ve seen everything they were afraid of with their own two eyes.

Wei Wuxian loses track of how long they run for. They do until all that surrounds them is wilderness. Until their lungs all but give out. Until they lack the energy to do anything but collapse in the tall grass with their grief.

---

Wei Wuxian wakes to the first fat drops of rain from an incoming storm splattering against his face. For one blissful moment, the only thing he feels is confusion about why he’s asleep out here, but the relief is only momentary. As he sits up, Jiang Cheng’s prone form fills his field of vision, and recollection of the night before along with it.

They’re well and truly lost now. Not physically. He has some sense of where they are in the world. But there’s no home to go back to and nowhere to take refuge. Even detouring to Lanling is out of the question because what good is it to steal Jiang Yanli out of harm’s way only to put her back in it? At least with the Jin she’s got a roof over her head.

Jiang Cheng lies so still that it’s startling to look over and find him watching Wei Wuxian. Sort of. His eyes are open and pointed in Wei Wuxian’s direction, but he doesn’t seem to be seeing much of anything. Unable to stand it for very long, Wei Wuxian tries to reach him, asking, “Where do you want to go?”

At first, Jiang Cheng says nothing, continuing to stare blankly. He looks just about how Wei Wuxian feels, so it would be horribly uncharitable to point out that they can’t just stay here out in the rain indefinitely. They can’t though.

Just as he’s working himself up to prod a little further, Jiang Cheng blinks, focusing a little more specifically on Wei Wuxian. It’s not relieving the way it might have been, not when the reply is a miserably cracking whimper. “Home.”

Wei Wuxian had been doing so well (by some definition of the word), successfully refusing himself the space to mourn. He’s been teetering on the knife edge of it though, and that single word undoes him. Jaw trembling, Wei Wuxian looks heavenward, willing away the dampness suddenly beginning to collect in the corners of his eyes. “Me too.”

For a while longer they linger, anchorless and adrift. He made a promise though, and eventually that cuts through Wei Wuxian’s misery enough to make him get up. With no more idea of where they’re going to go than he’d had a moment ago, he holds out his hand just as he had the night before.

This time Jiang Cheng just stares at it, hovering in the air outstretched. Wei Wuxian waits, even though it appears pointless to do so. What else is he supposed to do? Patience keeps Wei Wuxian in place, or perhaps just apathy about his own comfort. Either way, it’s eventually rewarded by a shuddering breath and Jiang Cheng’s hand in his.

“Where are we going to go?” he asks when Jiang is standing once more, hoping to provoke some kind of input.

If there’s an answer to be had, it doesn’t come in words. Jiang Cheng shrugs, but he does start walking, and Wei Wuxian decides it’ll do for now. Maybe for now one foot in front of the other is the best they can hope for.

---

Their escape is so aimless that Wei Wuxian is genuinely surprised when they spot another sign of life. The village is smallish, mostly just a collection of houses. It’s probably not wise to stop anywhere for long, but Wei Wuxian’s stomach growls, reminding him that they haven’t eaten for probably an entire day now, and the trip isn’t going to get any easier. Deciding the risk of stopping for a meal is a necessary one, Wei Wuxian grabs hold of Jiang Cheng’s sleeve and drags him towards the village.

And towards danger in the process.

By the time the two of them are close enough to see the soldiers, they’re also close enough for the soldiers to see them. They dart between buildings for cover, but even before they reach the furthest one, Wei Wuxian realizes they’re only delaying the inevitable. There’s nowhere to go. Not with Wen Chao’s men closing in, cutting off each escape route one by one.

The furthest few buildings form somewhat of an alleyway, so he drags Jiang Cheng to duck into it, hiding as long as they can. It’s pouring again, and Wei Wuxian has rarely been so grateful for the rain as he is right now. It’s miserable to stand in, but it covers their unsteady breathing as they press against the wall of a building as if to become a part of it.

None of the possible outcomes are good ones. If they’re lucky, they just die here. They can’t run fast enough to elude everyone. A portal is all too easy to follow if the soldiers see it before the echo disappears. If they split up, the best case scenario is that one of them escapes, and there’s no real way to make sure that one is Jiang Cheng.

Unless there is.

The solution is pretty straightforward when Wei Wuxian lands on it. It’s a bit of a gamble, but he’ll take any chance at all over inevitable failure. Jiang Cheng looks exhausted and grief stricken in a way Wei Wuxian can’t hope to fix. He smiles anyway, pushing a damp strand of hair out of Jiang Cheng’s face. “I’m going to draw them away and then you have to go.”

“Like hell I will. I’m not just leaving you here with them,” Jiang Cheng argues, eyes widening in horror at the prospect. It’s the most life Wei Wuxian has seen out of him since they woke up.

“I promised to protect you,” Wei Wuxian points out because it’s the only reasoning that might be palatable to Jiang Cheng. Admitting that he’d do this anyway, that he cares too much to do anything else, would only make Jiang Cheng reject his input entirely.

Even the answer he gives out loud makes Jiang Cheng huff irritably at him. “That’s not protecting me, Wei Wuxian. That’s suicide.”

He’d expected Jiang Cheng to argue, but they don’t have time for it. Swallowing down his fear, Wei Wuxian teases, “I’ve snuck into the palace in Nightless City right under their noses. You really think I can’t get out of here? I’m just buying time. I’ll catch up.”

Jiang Cheng scowls, probably sensing how likely it is that Wei Wuxian will give himself up. For the first time in years, Wei Wuxian wishes Jiang Cheng didn’t care enough to bother knowing him this well. “We go together or not at all.”

It’s a reassuring sentiment, and Wei Wuxian is incredibly grateful, but there’s no time. Panic begins to creep in around the edges because he promised to protect Jiang Cheng. He promised. He can’t fail at this too.

Somewhere in the midst of all the noise in his head, Wei Wuxian grasps at another answer. There’s a peculiar sort of peace in that, despite the particulars being anything but peaceful. Jiang Cheng may never forgive Wei Wuxian for this, but that’s an acceptable risk. Better that Jiang Cheng hate Wei Wuxian forever if that means he’s alive to do so.

“Okay. Okay, together, then.” Wei Wuxian lies, hoping the rush of water around them hides the faint catch in his voice. “Open a portal.”

Jiang Cheng shakes his head in agitation, glancing in the direction of voices drawing nearer. “We already talked about this. It won’t dissipate fast enough to keep them from following.”

“I have a plan.” He’s a hair’s breadth away from begging, desperate to make this work before the option is snatched out from under them. “Trust me?”

“I…” Jiang Cheng scowls, but there’s a familiar bent to it and Wei Wuxian knows he’s won. Maybe, if he’s very, very lucky, this won’t be the last time he ever sees it. “Where to?”

It’s a dangerous gambit, handing Jiang Cheng off to anyone with no way to ensure they don’t just turn him over to Qishan to save themselves. Lanling is entirely out of the question, and no matter how close Nie Huisang is, Wei Wuxian doesn’t know his friend’s brother nearly enough to trust the man with his own. So, Wei Wuxian picks the only option left, the one place in the world right now where there’s someone whose intentions he’s certain of. “Cloud Recesses.”

“Of course,” Jiang Cheng mutters, rolling his eyes in a way that’s so familiar, he almost looks like himself. There’s no argument though, no delay before he lifts his hands to begin the spell, and the air before them begins to ripple.

It’s a different thing to see this sort of magic in the rain, the way the water spreads and drips away, like the nothingness before them is a physical object. If every hammering heartbeat wasn’t bringing their doom a little bit closer, Wei Wuxian might let himself be awestruck by how eerie the shimmering edges are as they take shape against the bleak backdrop of a rainy alleyway. As it is, he’s too busy shuffling through the handful of arrays he pocketed before they ran, looking for the one that will let him complete his plan. There are few he hasn’t spent, but the spell he’s looking for is among them much to Wei Wuxian’s relief.

Just as the portal solidifies, peeling away to reveal the quiet woods framing the stairs to Cloud Recesses, Wei Wuxian picks up the unwelcome cadence of a familiar voice and his heart all but seizes in his chest. It’s muffled by the wall behind him, but there’s only a building left between them and far too many soldiers to fight off.

His attention is drawn back by Jiang Cheng roughly shaking his shoulder, the portal holding steady. “We have to go!”

“Right behind you.” Perhaps this is the last lie he’ll ever tell someone who matters to him.

Just as Jiang Cheng turns his back, he strikes. Wei Wuxian presses a paper between Jiang Cheng’s shoulder blades and magic flares to life before he can even react to the contact. It’s a harmless thing on its own, a sleep spell silencing Jiang Cheng’s angry protest before it makes it past his lips, leaving him wobbling dangerously, the portal already flickering as he loses his hold on it.

Before it can disappear entirely, Wei Wuxian pushes Jiang Cheng through the dissipating magic, catching only the barest glimpse of him landing safely beside the nearly endless staircase. And then it’s all gone, a terrible loss and a relief all at once. By the time Jiang Cheng wakes, perhaps he’ll have the sense not to go back for Wei Wuxian.

One can hope.

All that’s left is to make sure Wen Chao never realizes what happened, keeping away anyone who might be able to trace the magic before the echo of it disappears entirely. The surest way is to make sure they have no reason to come looking at all, so Wei Wuxian steps out into the open, whistling all the while. He waves at the soldiers like they’re old friends, like there’s nothing threatening about them immediately beginning to close in around him. “Looking for me?”

---

It’s not hubris to say that Wei Wuxian is the best at what he does. He hasn’t lost a fair fight in years. Even utterly exhausted and resigned to the fact that he won’t be escaping this, Wei Wuxian is confident that he can make catching him costly.

And he does, after a fashion. He’s cut down four Qishan soldiers before one of them finds an opening, striking him at the base of his spine with something heavy and blunt. It wouldn’t be enough to take Wei Wuxian out under other circumstances, but he’s so badly outnumbered that they have him on his knees before he can recover. Suibian is kicked viciously from his grasp to settle in the mud beside him, and reality reasserts itself. It was exhilarating while it lasted, but there’s no version of this, Wei Wuxian is pretty sure, that ends with him alive.

It’s okay, though. No one has said anything about a portal, so Jiang Cheng is likely safe. Whatever the price of that is, it’s worth it.

“You’re a really aggravating person to hunt down. It’s not like you were ever really going to be able to save yourself. This would have been so much more efficient if you’d just stayed put,” Wen Chao complains, looking pointedly at Wei Wuxian, as if he’s owed an apology. Wei Wuxian refuses to give that pest the satisfaction. Even when he gets a boot to the center of his rib cage, knocking the breath from him, he says nothing. This isn’t even about Lotus Pier, Wei Wuxian realizes, abstractly delighted to be enough of a thorn in Wen Chao’s side as to make this personal. He could do without Wen Chao looming over where he’s been forced to kneel though. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s rude to waste people’s time?”

Wei Wuxian snorts, unperturbed by Wen Chao’s posturing. He half expects Wen Chao to lean on his minions to finish the job, but Wen Zhulio and the peculiar masked mage stand silently off to the side, doing nothing to interfere. The rain pouring down forces Wei Wuxian to squeeze his eyes shut in an attempt to clear his vision, so he only hears the slide of metal on dirt as his captor picks up Suibian.

It’s clumsy, the way Wen Chao brings the sword up, useless if Wei Wuxian weren’t stopped from fighting back by the soldiers and the need to protect Jiang Cheng. Clumsy or not, Wei Wuxian can feel the threat of it when the sharp edge of Suibian nicks his throat as Wen Chao growls, “I asked you a question.”

It’s going to be like that, then. Well, there are worse ways to go. At least it’ll be quick. Smirking at Wen Chao, Wei Wuxian holds his head a little higher, baring his throat just a little bit more. “I had places to be. No one invited you, so if you decided to take it upon yourself to come along, that’s on you.”

Anything else Wei Wuxian might have said is cut off. He’d been bracing himself for Wen Chao to slit his throat, but suddenly the sword leaves his neck entirely. There is no elegance to the way Wen Chao jerks the blade downward instead, like a child playing with a toy, but one hardly needs to be an expert at such close range. Suibian runs Wei Wuxian through, a screaming sort of pressure that builds and builds until it breaks free, the hilt sticking menacingly out from his abdomen.

Wei Wuxian takes it back. This is an awful way to die.

Not that he can do anything about it now. Every move, no matter how small, jostles the injury, and it’s all he can do to keep the scream that wants to break free behind his teeth. Even if this particular injury takes its time, even if he could stagger his way to a healer, even if he could find Wen Qing, there’s no coming back from damage like this.

So, there’s really nothing left to lose.

There’s blood on the back of his tongue, which is a concerning but not unexpected turn of events, but Wei Wuxian smiles anyway, sharp edged and vicious. “Is that the best you’ve got?”

The affronted sound Wen Chao makes would be hilarious if Wei Wuxian could bear laughing about much of anything. It’s… actually, it’s a little funny anyway. As clever as the line is probably intended to be, he can’t take it seriously. “I’m just getting started.”

Great. That’s wonderful. This is hardly the company Wei Wuxian would have chosen to take to his grave.

To Wei Wuxian’s surprise, Wen Chao turns away from him entirely, addressing the soldiers instead. “Let’s go.”

“And him?” Wen Zhuliu asks, some of the only words Wei Wuxian has heard from the man that weren’t a spell.

“Bring him.”

---

It all goes sort of fuzzy after that. They drag Wei Wuxian back to Lotus Pier, a nightmare now without even the darkness of pre-dawn to hide it. The boardwalk is charred black in places. Whole buildings are burnt to the ground. But those are just things, and things can be replaced. People are another matter entirely, and the bodies he’d seen that morning remain, illustrating how thoroughly Qishan has decimated Lotus Pier.

Wen Chao walks ahead of him, gesturing widely at the carnage like an artist showing off their work. “I wanted you to have one last look, while you’re still conscious enough to recognize it.”

There are no tears this time. Just an angry snarl that looses itself from Wei Wuxian’s throat. “You’re going to pay for this.”

“Who’s going to make me?” Wen Chao leans until his face is only a few inches from Wei Wuxian’s. “Didn’t you bother to look? There’s no one left.”

“Then I’ll haunt you myself,” Wei Wuxian replies, unsure if there could be any truth to that. Ghosts are too rare an occurrence to know for certain, but it’s the best outcome he can hope for, so hope he does.

“Already making plans? Here I thought you’d at least beg me for your life.” Wen Chao turns his head long enough to tell Wen Zhuliu to open a portal… somewhere. Wei Wuxian loses the thread of conversation before he hears where, bowing his head where he stands. Sort of stands. Mostly, that’s an overly generous word for his sagging stance, held upright by a couple of soldiers. Roughly, Wen Chao grabs Wei Wuxian’s chin and jerks his face back up. “Go on. Beg.”

As if there’d be a point beyond Wen Chao’s gratification. Just because he’s dying doesn’t mean he’s willing to be pathetic about it. “Or what? You’ll kill me?”

“You think you’re so funny, don’t you?” Wen Chao asks, reaching down between them to twist Suibian’s hilt. The pain is so overwhelming that Wei Wuxian can feel bile rise in his throat, not that he can do anything about it. Curling in on himself the way the agony makes his body want to would only make the sword cut deeper.

At least Wen Chao doesn’t demand an answer, but that’s probably only because he’s content to watch Wei Wuxian nearly bite his own tongue to stifle a scream. It’s almost a relief when the portal springs to life at the end of the pier, just a few feet from the place Lan Zhan sent him back to. At least if someone is leaving, Wen Chao might let him die in peace.

Apparently not. Wen Chao berates Wen Zhuliu like he has any ground to stand on, like there’s anything remotely superior about him. “Are you an idiot? This isn’t the dungeon. It’s not even Nightless City. That’s… Oh wait, is that the Burial Mounds?”

Wen Zhuliu’s tone lacks inflection almost entirely, which makes it hard to hang onto any of what he’s saying, but Wei Wuxian is determined. “It appears to be. Something must have interfered with the spell. Shall I close it and try again?”

“No. No, I’ve got a much better idea.” Wen Chao motions to the guards to let go and curls a hand around Wei Wuxian’s throat until it’s all that keeps him upright. Wei Wuxian can barely focus, let alone fight back. He resists very little as Wen Chao shoves him to the end of the pier until only the balls of Wei Wuxian’s feet on the edge of the wood keep him from falling into the portal and down into an abyss. “Maybe you won’t beg, but you are going to tell me something.”

“If this was going to be an interrogation,” Wei Wuxian says sarcastically as he can manage under the circumstances, which honestly isn’t that much. By the end it’s not much more than a whisper, delivered through obstinance more than anything. “You should have planned better.”

If Wen Chao notices the attitude, he’s interested enough in the information he’s after not to do anything about it. “You’re going to tell me how a twit like you managed to beat a compulsion spell.”

Oh, that. Wei Wuxian wishes he could properly enjoy the fact that Wen Chao is still spinning his wheels over it. “And you’ll give me what? My life?”

Whether Wen Chao lacks the sense to at least pretend to negotiate or just thinks he doesn’t need to, he doesn’t bother. “Oh no. No, I’m still going to kill you. You’re just going to tell me how you managed to lie first.”

“You sure drive a hard bargain.” Wei Wuxian doesn’t mean to. Not at first. It’s just an amused huff that escapes him initially. But, he can’t help but cling to what amusement he can find facing down the inevitable. Before he knows it, he’s laughing, a wet, wheezing sort of sound, the the blood thick and viscous in his mouth. “Never be so reliant on magic that you forget the other tools at your disposal.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Self preservation has never been Wei Wuxian’s strong suit at the best of times, and there’s no no use at all for it now. On borrowed time, Wei Wuxian ditches any attempt at diplomacy. “Don’t you know the first rule of magic? It’s the first thing children learn. Oh wait. I forgot. You’re not a mage.”

“Don’t toy with me.” He’s not surprised by Wen Chao’s hand tightening around his throat, but it still makes catching his breath a little more difficult.

Laughing is harder this time too, the muscles in his abdomen clenching horribly around Suibian. Wei Wuxian chokes on it, but he still manages to grin at Wen Chao. “Or what? What more do you think you can do to me?”

“Conduit,” Wen Chao hisses, which isn’t an answer. It sounds like nonsense, except apparently Wen Chao wasn’t speaking to him since the masked mage steps closer. The energy that springs from Wen Chao’s fingers clasped around his throat isn’t new this time. The feeling that he’s being torn apart from the inside out isn’t either. But it is… different, familiar in a way that runs so much deeper than their last encounter. It’s like… Wei Wuxian doesn’t know what it’s like, exactly, but he has the wild, untethered thought that if we were hanging onto life by more than a thread, he would know how to grab ahold of this and turn it around.

“You were saying?” Wen Chao prompts. Wei Wuxian’s vision is going spotty at the edges when the sensation finally ebbs.

Red silk flutters in the breeze, catching Wei Wuxian’s attention. What little of it remains at any rate. It’s not a flutter at all, but the mage - conduit, Wen Chao had called them - trembling where they stand. And just like that, Wei Wuxian’s most frustrating puzzle is solved.

He’s not creating power at all, Wei Wuxian realizes. The conduit is. Wen Chao is just stealing it from a source infinitely more powerful than he could dream of being. He should tell Lan Zhan, and he must really be falling apart now because it takes so much effort to remember why he can’t. He can only hope someone else is brilliant enough to puzzle it out before Wen Chao destroys anyone else.

Lost in thought, Wei Wuxian forgets there was even a question. Wen Chao shakes him for his silence, and his feet begins to slip. Much more and nothing will be able to keep him from falling. “Tell me how you lied through it.”

“I didn’t,” Wei Wuxian grits out, gasping for breath. He’s only honest because it suits him, getting to watch Wen Chao’s face screw up in fury one last time.

“I can make this worse for you,” Wen Chao threatens, though Wei Wuxian can’t imagine how. The only cruelty left is forcing him to keep breathing. “You wanna know what’s down there?”

Nothing clever comes to mind, not the way he’s flagging, so Wei Wuxian says nothing. He does spit blood and saliva in Wen Chao’s face though, and it’s well worth the slap he gets for his trouble.

“Down there is where we send anything too dangerous to risk even its ghost coming back.” It’s not the revelation Wen Chao might intend it to be. He knows enough about the Burial Mounds to know it’s no place for anything living that means to stay that way. “All that’s waiting for you at the bottom is ghosts and monsters.”

“Then what are you doing up here?” Wei Wuxian asks, careful not to squirm lest he lose his footing entirely.

“Your jokes aren’t going to save you.” Wen Chao’s fingers flex around his throat, but the searing pain Wei Wuxian expects never comes.

“What? Not going to finish the job?” It’s only a whisper, barely even that, but Wei Wuxian smiles around a mouthful of blood anyway.

“Why bother? If the fall doesn’t kill you, the residents of the Burial Mounds will do it for me.”

Remaining here is a sort of torture Wei Wuxian can’t take much more of, so he readies himself to step back whether Wen Chao lets him go or not. “Definitely going to haunt you.”

“From behind the wards? I don’t think so.” Abruptly, Wen Chao jerks the sword back, free of where it had run Wei Wuxian through. Clenching his jaw does little to mask the pained sound Wei Wuxian makes. He reaches instinctively for the wound left behind, but it’s a useless effort, leaving his hands warm and slick with blood. “You won’t be needing that.”

Before Wei Wuxian can even reply, his time is up. Wen Chao releases his hold on Wei Wuxian’s throat, sending him plunging down into the depths of the Burial Mounds. He’s falling, falling, falling with no way left to save himself. Out of options, wind whipping around him, Wei Wuxian squeezes his eyes shut. The end is coming, but he doesn’t really want to see it. Anticipation won’t leave him any less dead.

Only that’s not how it goes at all. Something cradles him, slowing his descent. Cradle might be too kind a word for the way it jerks his body, slowing the velocity with which he’s falling, and it’s not nearly enough, but it’s certainly something where nothing should be. He’s moving too fast to really turn his head to look, but the pressure against his spine feels like the wind itself is resisting his descent. He can’t be sure, woozy as he is and as fast as he’s falling, but he peers up at the portal he was pushed through and swears he sees the glint of light on metal.

Maybe this refusing to look at the ground was a bad idea after all. Wei Wuxian can’t even scream when he unexpectedly crashes into the floor of the Burian Mounds, doesn’t know if anyone would hear it anyway over the crunch of broken bone. Dragging in shallow, frantic breaths, he finds he can’t even fill his lungs anymore, and maybe whatever caught him is meant to be torture because it certainly didn’t save him. The only thing it’s given him is the opportunity to drown in his own blood.

Sprawled unnaturally along the Burial Grounds floor, Wei Wuxian can do nothing but wait. Even curling his fingers is an insurmountable task, the tips of them only twitching uselessly in the barren soil. The lip of the cliff he’d been dumped over is so high he can barely even see the edge of it, not that seeing would do any good.

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. He should have said goodbye to Jiang Yanli somehow. He should have held onto Lan Zhan a moment longer. He should have… something. Something other than this.

Whatever Wei Wuxian should have done is crowded out by the emptiness that seeps into his vision. He barely breathes at all, wondering in an absent, dreamy sort of way if he’ll feel his heart stop. The sky, the cliffs, all of it fades with his consciousness, leaving Wei Wuxian a motionless heap in the dirt.

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