The moment he first heard the familiar sound of a guqin, a confirmation of the one Senior of those little Lans that he had hoped wouldn’t be the one to come, Wei Wuxian turned to run.
He had done what he needed to do, marks healed now that all the targets were dead, and the Lan Juniors were safe. He, on the other hand, was not. It wasn’t just that three corpses had been fighting with that left hand, something that was not a betrayal in itself, but enough of a clue.
It also was because he still felt off, darkness coiled in his body despite his conscious release of the resentful energy he had used. But, no, Wei Wuxian knew: this was different. This was deeper, darker, full of emotions and if he dared to say it, it felt more ancient.
There was something in him that was had not been within Mo Xuanyu’s before, that followed Wei Wuxian’s soul, similar yet different to resentful energy and yin energy.
If Lan Zhan were to see him, to feel him... At the very least, he would know he was facing a demonic cultivator.
So, despite the part of his heart that wished to catch a second glance at Lan Zhan, he had forced himself to turn and leave in the shadows of the bulldings. Or, at least, that had been the plan.
Except, he barely made a few steps before the darkness in his body grew, a sharp twist that felt like heat under his skin, blurring his sight and making him stumble and collide with the wall. In the next moment, a violent pain pulsing like a squeeze around his forehead, a mean headache that made a gasp leave his lips and the instinctive need to press his hand against his face.
Wei Wuxian could not move, though at least he was still upright, one arm against the wall and the other used to keep some pression on his temple. He had to force his breathing to relax, both due to the pain, and because he really needed to make this dark energy behave in some manner.
He knew it would not help, not when he could pick the bright, familiar energy that had gotten closer, not when he knew his own body radiated dark energy, but the dark feeling in his chest had turned more alert toward Lan Zhan and this would not do.
I don’t care what you are, Lan Zhan is not someone you will hurt.