Lan Wangji looked closer, noticing his own mannerisms in the boy. Perhaps he ended up being a teacher or mentor to Lan Sizhui.
"- Our priority is summoning spirits and eliminating zombies."
"Summoning spirits?" several people demanded, speaking simultaneously with Wei Wuxian's thoughts.
"Please make sure all the villagers close their windows and doors tonight, and avoid the backyard. Do not break any of the seals."
As he spoke, the crowd was brought outside to watch a seal be set up. Wen Ruohan stared at the unrecognizable talisman with interest.
"Has anyone seen something like this before?" Madam Jin asked with interest.
"I'm afraid not," Lan Xichen responded. "And I don't believe there are any records of such a thing. Perhaps the spirit doesn't have a great understanding of modern cultivation practices."
Wen Chao, meanwhile, seemed to not understand the significance of the invention and rolled his eyes in disgust. This was wasting his time.
All the while, Wen Ruohan studied the symbol drawn and committed it to memory. It was similar to the spirit-repelling talismans they already had, but would still have taken quite a bit of work to develop. If it was even remotely real, whoever invented them was truly brilliant.
He wanted them.
In the backyard, Wei Wuxian washed his makeup-covered face in a small stream. Setting his hands down, he observed the face Mo Xuanyu left him with intrigue.
"Ho. I'm not looking too bad. Why do you always look like a corpse? Although, looking like a lunatic is alright. What should a lunatic look like?" Trying out several different angles to watch his reflection, Wei Wuxian began stretching and squeezing his face into different shapes.
Jiang Cheng would have joined Jin Zixuan and Nie Huaisung in laughing if he wasn't so caught up in the shock of seeing the uncovered expression. Mo Xuanyu was shorter than Wei Wuxian had been, and there were traces of Jin in his features, but he otherwise looked nearly identical to Wei Wuxian — even down to the nearly-silver eyes. If he changed Mo Xuanyu's hairstyle from the odd bun, they could pass as brothers.
Though he hadn't seemed similar when they saw his body with Mo Xuanyu's soul. Perhaps it was Wei Wuxian's smile and personality that made them look identical.
Losing his laughter, Wei Wuxian pulled forward his left arm to observe the numerous cuts.
"But this forbidden ritual should have been lost. Where did Mo Xuanyu learn it? And why did he choose to summon me? Although I have a bad reputation, I did no evil nor took any revenge. Am I that fierce of a spirit?"
That was true. The ritual had apparently been written by Wei Wuxian, but if he was as infamous as he seemed to be, there should have been no reason for a destroyed, failed cultivator to have access to his notes. How had he found them?
Illogical things like this and the demonic cultivator's proclaimed innocence were helpful; if they didn't pay attention to them, they might get lost in the realistic scenery and forget it was a spirit's illusion.
Calmly, Wei Wuxian began walking back to his hut, before suddenly halting mid-step. Large black flags coated in red energy had been lain out through the courtyard.
"Oh, the blackwind flag? All the clans wanted to kill me, yet they use my inventions all the same," Wei Wuxian observed.
"What?" Jiang Cheng shouted, and even Lan Wangji felt his eyes widen in surprise. Wei Wuxian had not only created an entirely new branch of cultivation, but had also invented things used thirteen years later?
He knew Wei Wuxian was brilliant, but-
Right. It was fake. It had to be.
Jin Guangshan looked at the flag with interest. He knew it wasn't real, but if it was….
How much money would Wei Wuxian have gotten from the invention? Judging by his reputation as the Yiling Patriarch, it must have been quite a substantial sum. The boy wasn't present now, but would he be able to replicate it once they got out? There must be a reason he was the subject of the vision.
Wen Chao turned his head and laughed. "If someone like that idiot made those flags, it can't have been too hard! He was, what, twenty one when he died? It seems the Lan Clan has fallen quite a-"
He cut off, seeing his father's narrowed eyes turn on him with disapproval. Wen Xu followed along, copying Wen Ruohan without entirely disagreeing with his brother.
Wen Qing held back a sigh, disgusted by the people she was related to.
'The flags use living Qi as bait," Wei Wuxian thought to himself. 'Looks like those Lan disciples plan to use themselves to lure the zombies and spirits here in order to take them out.'
"Leave," a voice commanded, and the watchers turned to see Lan Jingyi staring down at Wei Wuxian. "You shouldn't be here."
However, rather than running off, Wei Wuxian jumped forward and snatched one of the flags, pulling it down with him.
Lan Qiren scowled further at the disorderly behavior.
"Freeze! You're not supposed to take that!" Jingyi shouted in vain.
Wei Wuxian turned to face him, then whined "No, I'm not returning it!"
"No? I'll beat you up!"
"No! I want it!"
Lan Qiren knew it was unbecoming of a Lan disciple to threaten a civilian in such a manner, but he couldn't help internally sympathizing with the boy. Wei Wuxian disobeyed every common curtesy known to mankind.
"Jingyi, forget about it. Just get it back politely," Lan Sizhui advised, grabbing his friend's arm before a fight broke out.
"Sizhui, I didn't hit him! And look! He's messed up our flag array!"
Laying on the ground, Wei Wuxian, gleefully observed the flag he had stolen.
'Correct strokes, complete spell, no mistakes in use,' he analyzed.
Wen Ruohan lifted an eyebrow, not having expected such a stark disconnect between the exterior act and the boy's internal capabilities.
"Young Master Mo, it's getting dark. We'll capture the walking corpses soon. Please go back to your room before night falls," Sizhui requested.
'Due to the insufficient experience of the drawer, this will only attract evil beings from within twenty-five hundred meters-'
"Only?" Nie Huaisang asked.
'Still, it can work.'
"This flag," he spoke, then flung it onto Sizhui. "It's just a flag, what's the big deal? I can draw a lot better."
"What a lunatic!" Jingyi hissed as Wei Wuxian ran outside the pavilion. Sizhui's disapproving gaze stalled further comments, but the boy's eyes continued to scream insults at the supposedly-insane Mo Xuanyu. Sizhui directed them into replacing the flag and finishing the array.
'Well organized and well cultured. That boy is going to be quite a celebrated hero someday. I wonder who in a place as dull as the Lan clan can bring out someone like him.'
Lan Xichen laughed slightly at the backhanded compliment, knowing his uncle was internally screaming over how such a promising young man was somehow involved in the spirit which trapped them there.
Wei Wuxian stretched and walked off, not noticing that, some ways behind him, the official young master watched with an enraged expression.
"Lunatic," he hissed. "Tonight you'll die."
Jiang Fengmian frowned at the words and tone, disliking his helplessness both now and during whatever happened to turn the world against his best friend's son.
Later, in the ashy dusk of night, voices rang out in frenzied shouts.
"Get in and drag him out!"
"Report to the magistrate!"
"Don't bother! Beat him to death!"
Inside the building the men had encircled, Wei Wuxian dozed lightly from his seated position.
"What did he do this time?" Jiang Cheng grumbled with a half-laugh, broken up with nerves from the merciless and undeserved words shouted by the men.
(But could Jiang Cheng really say they were undeserved? He didn't know Wei Wuxian — not anymore.)
(No, not him. It was fake. It was fake.)
Waking up slowly, Wei Wuxian rubbed his eyes and turned his gaze toward the intruders, wondering "What? Could it be that the flag array went wrong?"
Jiang Cheng relaxed slightly at his shixiong's ignorance, but Yu Ziyuan maintained her glare. The brat was always causing trouble somewhere, whether he meant to or not.
The door slammed open with a bang and the perpetrators who kicked it open barged in.
"Drag the lunatic to the hall! Let him pay with his life!"
Wei Wuxian only blinked, not bothering to resist as people who had clearly stated their intention to kill him dragged him away.
"What I invented can be fatal if not used properly, but the young man drew it right," he thought to himself.
Nie Huaisang knew that group of men would have no chance of killing a cultivator — especially one as terrifying as the adult version of his friend was reputed to be — but he couldn't help reaching to clutch his brother's sleeve to fend off his nerves.
His hand passed right through, of course, but seeing Nie Mingjue turn his powerful gaze to him calmed Huaisang down a little.
In the east yard, a large crowd gathered around a body which lay unmoving on the ground. Upon closer inspection, it proved to be the corpse of the village's young master, sucked empty by malevolent spirits.
Clutching his head tightly, the boy's mother sobbed uncontrollably.
Jiang Cheng looked away, suddenly feeling awkward. He might have hated them for how they had treated Wei Wuxian, but he couldn't imagine losing a member of his family so suddenly.
Yanli looked down, wiping away tears and sending a silent prayer to the family even knowing they were being shown the future. Jin Zixuan lifted his hand, trying to comfort her, but remembered the no-touch rule and quickly put his hand down before someone noticed, cheeks flushing in embarrassment.
Wei Wuxian was brought before them, and the Madam turned a hateful glare towards her nephew. For, where her son's arm should be, there was only an empty stump.
"Try stealing from me again!" Wei Wuxian had shouted only hours before. "I swear, I'll cut off his arm!"
"But he-he wouldn't actually-" Jiang Cheng protested, but found himself unable to continue.
"That man is no longer the boy you once knew," Lan Qiren lectured, and Jiang Cheng looked away in shame. "If he was willing to turn to — to create — demonic cultivation, there's no telling what his limits are. Especially now, with the binding contract his summoning created."
"Not that he had many limits to begin with," Yu Ziyuan muttered, ignoring Jiang Fengmian's disapproving glare.
Wen Ruohan chuckled, "If any of this is true."
All three flinched slightly, realizing that, despite their earlier confident claims, they had indeed forgotten that this was just a spirit's illusion. Wen Ruohan found their reactions extremely amusing.
"It was you!" the Madam shouted. "You killed him!"
Taking staggering steps closer to Wei Wuxian, the Madam's resentment and rage built up to dangerous levels.
"How could you, you wretched bastard! He-he was just a child…. Why couldn't you die, you bastard?" she shouted, running forward intending to choke the boy who shook his head and declared his innocence.
The Madam jerked to a stop, someone preventing her attack while shouting at her.
"Let go of me!" she hissed at them. "I'll avenge my son! Let go of me!"
"Avenge him? I didn't kill him," Wei Wuxian declared.
Jiang Yanli wanted to relax, but knew full well how skilled her brother could be at lying when he wanted to.
"You-What did you say?"
"Madam Mo, your son's flesh and blood have been sucked dry," Lan Sizhui explained. "It must have been evil spirits."
"This lunatic killed him!" the Madam declared again despite evidence to the contrary. "You all heard him today. You heard him threatening my son, saying that he would cut off his arm. I… I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
Wei Wuxian paused, thought for a moment, then panicked.
"Don't kill me!" he begged, arms flailing.
Nie Mingjue huffed a laugh at the over-exaggerated reaction, though Lan Qiren disapproved of the improper conduct occurring before them.
"Help me!" he shouted, running towards Lan Jingyi for protection. On his way, he clumsily tripped over the young master's body, flinging his outer robes open.
Lan Sizhui gasped, recognizing the talisman hidden in the young master's robes. It was one of the spirit attraction flags they had set up earlier.
"A blackwind flag," Lan Sizhui declared.
"Idiot boy," Yu Ziyuan hissed, and no one wanted to ask if she was referring to Wei Wuxian's act or the stupid young master Mo.
"Though, if the flag is really powerful enough to cause something like this, it's certainly worth noting," Lan Xichen pointed out. Wen Ruohan and Jin Guangshan looked closer, briefly considering how much productivity would be increased by having access to such an invention.
If the flag was real, it would change the entire cultivation world.
"What?" the Madam asked. "Why is that here? Why would that be on him?"
In the back, Wei Wuxian sat back onto the railing, relaxing as the young disciples began examining the clues he laid out for them.
"Well, at least he knows how to step out of the spotlight when he has to," Madam Jin observed, her tone tinged with approval. Jin Zixuan's cheeks flushed as he looked away, but Jin Guangshan easily ignored her.
"Mrs. Mo, I believe I know how your son died," Lan Sizhui declared calmly. "This is used to summon ghosts and evil spirits. Your son carried this flag, and, in doing so, he made himself a target. The ghosts this flag summoned killed your son."
Lan Qiren gazed with approval at the boy's conduct, and Lan Xichen smiled at Lan Wangji, silently conveying his overwhelming satisfaction with the future of their sect.
"Mn," Lan Wangji responded. As they learned more and more, it was difficult to remember this was only a vision.
"Nonsense! It's just a worthless piece of fabric!" the Madam declared through her tears, ripping it up. "How could it… how could it…."
She cut off, only able to sob out her son's name in her crushing sorrow. Wei Wuxian watched the scene with a surprisingly solemn expression.
"Perhaps he isn't as changed as we feared," Lan Xichen suggested, hoping to ease the worry in the Jiangs and Nie Huaisang. "He was apparently 'set up.' We should get more information before we make any serious decisions about what actions we'll take."
"Mn."
"Careful, that hope is skirting on the edge of naivety," Wen Qing responded sharply. If the Jiang family thought this Wei Wuxian could possibly be the one they knew, it was possible this wasn't completely a spirit-made delusion. However, there was no reason to be so willingly ignorant about the gravity of the demonic cultivation Wei Wuxian had apparently invented.
Wen Chao jumped, his boredom at the story had allowed his mind to drift away until Wen Qing stern reproach startled him. When Wen Ruohan glared at him, and he paled to a pasty white. His father might not be able to do anything while they were trapped in the simulation, but long-learned fear was difficult to ignore.
The Wen sect leader silently wished he had an heir who leaned closer to the competent side of the scale, and wondered how either of his sons — one useless, and one lacking in ambition beyond following his orders — could be considered to have his blood.
Looking down at his left arm, Wei Wuxian's eyes widened in realization.
"Only two wounds left," he observed. "Three wounds refer to three lives. Mo Ziyuan got himself killed by stealing the flag, but the flag was created by me. In a sense it was me who killed him."
"A bit of a lax definition of responsibility for a ritual," Lan Qiren said, frowning.
"I'm not surprised if that boy made it," Yu Ziyuan scorned, ignoring how unprecedented such an inventions was. Jiang Fengmian sat back thoughtfully. Thinking about the careless, lazy genius Wei Wuxian was made it seem almost possible for Lan Sizhui's explanation to be true.
They knew it was idiotic to believe this was actually the future, but some part of him couldn't help but think that if anyone could do it, it would be him. Against her wishes, Madam Yu felt the same.
That only made her scowl more ferocious.
"You worthless fools!" the Madam screached. "Talking about cultivation and demons! You can't even protect a child. What good are you to me?"
Jin Guangshan huffed in disgust. "Cultivators aren't there to serve you."
The statement wasn't technically correct, but the sentiment was close enough that no one objected to it.
"It's all because of your stupid flag, that my son is now dead!" she continued, shaking Lan Sizhui's collar. "You should pay with your lives!"
Sizhui clenched his fists, but both junior cultivators were careful to not respond violently to the distraught civilian before them.
"You famous Lan courtesy isn't very useful now, is it?" the now-focusing Wen Chao asked with a smirk. "And to think all the non-cultivators commend your clan's righteousness! It seems all they mean is that it's easy even for the powerless to push you down!"
All three Lans felt their expressions darken at the tone, but knew better than to respond. A discomforting parallel between the watching Lans and the juniors in the simulation formed.
Wei Wuxian huffed, watching the hysterical mother order the cultivators to bring her son back.
"All these years, and Lan Clan still hasn't changed. Why bother being so polite. Hilarious!"
Lan Qiren barely resisted growling at the words, already having been mocked by Wen Chao.
Getting off the rail he sat on, Wei Wuxian approached Lan Sizhui and Madam Mo, shouting "For shame!"
"Hm?" Lan Wangji asked his brother, wondering what the Jiang's former head disciple was doing.
Lan Xichen tilted his head uncertainly, hoping the demonic cultivator wouldn't do anything to the to-be juniors of their sect.
"A child? How old was your son? He was at least 17, right? But he still wouldn't listen. They said again and again to not break any of the seals. Your son snuck out at night. Is that my fault? It's his fault!"
Lan Xichen relaxed, grateful the Yiling Patriarch didn't seem inclined to attack his sect's disciples. He was slightly surprised Wei Wuxian was willing to turn the Madam's anger onto himself to help them, but was grateful nonetheless. Lan Qiren felt similarly, but made an effort not to show it.
"And why did my son have a Blackwind flag on him?" the Madam demanded. "It was you! It must have been! You killed Ziyuan, you little bastard. You snuck that flag into his pocket! It must have been you!"
Several cultivators turned, feeling a presence coming from behind them.
There was the sound of motion in the grass, and the servant who had helped Young Master Mo attack Wei Wuxian earlier turned toward the noise.
He tried to scream, but the noise was cut off as the being disguised in shadow attacked.
"What was that?" Nie Mingjue asked with a shout, but apparently none of the spirits whose memories created the simulation had been able to see it, so the image was fairly blurry. Even with their senses enhanced by cultivation, no one could tell what it had been.
"You, give my son back, you filthy bastard!" the Madam shouted, this time grabbing Wei Wuxian's collar. "You're just as repulsive as your mother, you-"
"Be quiet," Wei Wuxian ordered, paying the Madam little mind and instead focusing on the malicious power gathering before them.
Offended by the command, the Madam continued, "What? Who do you think you are, giving me orders?!"
But, following Wei Wuxian's line of sight, the watching cultivators realized there were more important issues than one woman's pride. Behind the gathered servants, a figure moved with sudden jerks of speed and power, erratically mimicking the movement of a human.
A fierce ghost.
"Oh, no," Jiang Yanli whispered, and Nie Huaisang watched the scene with growing worry.
With a crazed groan, the corpse jumped over the watching servants to attack Madam Mo and Wei Wuxian. Having seen the corpse already, it was child's play for Wei Wuxian to push the Madam and himself out of the way.
The corpse landed in a broken position, but, feeling no pain, quickly righted itself without hesitation, seemingly being led by its left arm.
Lan Wangji frowned as he watched, trying to determine the reason for the corpse's odd movement.
"Run!" the servants screamed, fleeing the scene. The body turned toward Wei Wuxian, who watched the dangerous monster with an amused smile.
The creature attacked, but Wei Wuxian dodged instantly, easily maneuvering his way around the attacks with the skill expected of the head disciple of a major sect.
"Help me!" Wei Wuxian cried, keeping up his defenseless act.
"He obviously knows the footwork taught by the Lotus Pier," Lan Qiren observed. "Though I hope those screams aren't common practice there."
Jiang Fengmian smiled in calm amusement, and Jiang Cheng blushed at the implied reproach. On the other hand, Lan Xichen frowned, feeling like the stressful situation didn't excuse the near-blatant disrespect his Uncle exhibited. With Sect Leader Jiang's easy acceptance, however, pointing the rudeness out would only spark conflict, so he remained silent.
The simulation followed Wei Wuxian as he ran behind a row of shrubs, crying for help as he went. In an instant, an arm reached through the shrubs, but Wei Wuxian dodged the corpse easily.
Behind his back, two fingers glowed an unnatural red.
Wen Ruohan smirked in anticipation.
Before any action was necessary, however, a gleaming silver blade attacked the corpse. Lan Sizhui floated through the air elegantly, re-summoning his sword for combat.
The ensuing battle easily displayed Sizhui's combat prowess and skill as he defended against the corpses attacks. The moment he got an opening, he slapped a talisman on the corpse's head, freezing it momentarily.
Resentful energy poured out of the corpse, until it finally collapsed as the talisman burned away.
"Not bad," Nie Mingjue commented, excited by the prospect of getting to watch a fight.
Lan Xichen beamed, proud of the disciples despite never having met them.
"Flesh and blood… all completely drained. It seems…."
"Yes, exactly the same as Mo Ziyuan."
Wind continued to blow, snuffing out lights all throughout the courtyard.
"Ghosts…. It's true," Madam Mo spoke, trembling with fear as she backed up.
"Mrs. Mo, stay there!" Lan Jingyi ordered as Sizhui prepared three additional talismans. Hitting their mark, the three talismans created a protective array above the center of the courtyard.
"A ghost repelling barrier?" Wei Wuxian observed. "Impressive for someone this young."
If excessive displays of emotion weren't forbidden and unbecoming, Lan Qiren would have preened.
"It was set up before, but it wasn't damaged," Lan Jingyi noticed. "Maybe, it wasn't a fierce ghost?"
"Eh? How are they so sure?" Nie Huaisang asked. Even his brother had no answer.
Lan Sizhui nodded. "Yes, one victim in seven days, it could be an unsuppressed fierce ghost. It's the standard set by the Yiling Patriarch."
Every watcher immediately turned to look at the simulation of Wei Wuxian, who lounged comfortably against the wall as he observed the juniors' deduction.
"A new, standardized system still used 13 years after his death," Lan Xichen summarized to his uncle. Lan Qiren wanted to write off the accomplishment, but no one could deny how many of Wei Wuxian's inventions had been appropriate for the everyday assignments cultivators had.
He might be an uncouth monster who fell into madness, but it seemed unquestionable that he was, at the very least, a mad genius.
That, or the vision was just nonsense the spirit who trapped them enjoyed.
"But this thing has killed three people in a row," Sizhui continued. "It's far more ferocious than a fierce ghost."
"This is tricky. What should we do?" Jingyi asked.
"Send the signal."
"Even if we send the signal now, if there's no one nearby to back us up, then we…."
"It's our only option. As members of the Lan Clan, we can't let these people die. Even if we're to die, we must wait for backup."
"Exemplary students," Jiang Fengmian acknowledged, bowing slightly to the twin jades and Lan Qiren. Lan Xichen smiled and all three bowed back, pleased that, even with two wars supposedly occurring, the Lan Clan had not fallen short. Lan Qiren hoped that meant the Gusu Lan sect was not heavily involved in the conflict.
The signal was shot into the air, and the firework exploded into the sect's symbol.
"Huh? Is my luck that bad?" Wei Wuxian asked. "What if my old friends show up…."
"He has friends in the Lan Clan?" Jin Guangshan asked, wondering how the Jiang sect's head disciple had come to know them.
"Not as far as I know," Jiang Fengmian answered. "But, given that this occurred right as they were about to leave for Gusu, I assume they haven't met yet in our world."
Lan Wangji stared at Wei Wuxian curiously, trying to guess who the man was talking about.
"Jingyi, let's look around again."
"Okay."
Wei Wuxian huffed, "Forget it, let's just be quick. Before I fulfill the summoner's wishes, I can't leave even if I want to."
However, when he lifted his arm to look at the marks, he jolted back in surprise.
"The two wounds are gone?"
Jiang Yanli squeaked in worry.
"Wait, Mo Ziyuan and that servant have been killed. Why did the deepest cut also disappear? Unless… Mrs. Mo… has already died? And the thing that has possessed her…."
The Madam's corpse's eyes blinked open.
Nie Huaisang turned toward his brother, desperate for comfort.
"What now?" he asked. "Will those kids be okay?"
Nie Huaisang, Jiang Cheng, Lan Wangji, and Jin Zixuan were probably younger than the two Lan juniors before them, but the knowledge that they were older in that time made the disciples appear to be children regardless.
"Depends on how much Wei Wuxian is willing to interfere. There's no way to disguise a cultivator's involvement, so if he wants to keep his identity hidden the kids'll be on their own."
"Wei Wuxian wouldn't do that!" Jiang Cheng protested, but Jin Zixuan disagreed.
"It's pretty obvious that he'll be killed if he's found. He could pretend to be just adequate, but I'm not sure whatever's attacking can be stopped without his full power."
Lan Xichen frowned, feeling a wave of concern for the young disciples he would one day have.
Inspecting the servant's body, Lan Jingyi felt along until he noticed the suspiciously missing limb.
"Left arm! The servant lost his left arm, too!"
"Hold on. Just now he used the left arm to attack."
Behind the boys, the Madam's corpse stood up, groaning as resentful energy filled her body.
"I knew it," Wei Wuxian muttered, then, watching the two attack, continued, murmuring "Those two are pretty good at this."
Then, he messed up his hair further, bringing tears to his eyes.
"Ah! Don't leave me alone! I'm scared!"
"Wei Wuxian!" Jiang Cheng hissed despite knowing he couldn't interfere, burying his head in his hands in embarrassment.
Jiang Yanli laughed at the silly act, and Lan Wangji surprised himself with the pleasure he felt witnessing Wei Wuxian's obvious, carefree enjoyment in life as he played around with people's reactions. Wangji's expression remained unchanged from its stern disapproval, but when Lan Xichen looked over he noticed the change in his brother's mood.
"Entertained?" he whispered.
"Ridiculous," Wangji responded.
Xichen laughed.
"Forgive us," Lan Sizhui requested as he and Jingyi circled around the Madam and pinned her to the ground. She groaned slowly, sounding every bit as inhuman as she was.
Wei Wuxian quickly crouched in front of her, giggling.
"Wow! You got her!" he said as he reached a hand forward and began playfully shaking her hair. "Let's see you try to beat me again!"
With a sudden movement, the corpse's mouth snapped at him.
"Oh my goodness, she's moving! Help!" he screamed, running away as the two baby Lans sighed in disapproval.
Nie Huaisang snorted, and his brother frowned. Nie Mingjue knew his brother was close to Wei Wuxian — proving the boy had some redeemable qualities — but he couldn't accept anyone who chose to cultivate with resentful energy. Why was he so obsessed with power that he couldn't simply put the hard work in to cultivating normally? It wasn't as if he wasn't talented enough.
The boy he saw in the simulation before him was plenty charismatic, but that didn't excuse choosing to cultivate with the demonic path. Nothing did.
Lan Sizhui pulled out a talisman, but, right as he activated it, the corpse beneath them reacted as the arm forced itself out of their hold and attacked Sizhui.
With a quick turn, Wei Wuxian back kicked Jingyi forward, putting him between the corpse's extended arm and Lan Sizhui.
"What is he doing!" Lan Qiren demanded, raising his voice above the standard the Cloud Recesses kept to. Wen Ruohan smirked in amusement at the reaction.
However, rather than damaging Jingyi, the corpse's hand made contact with his robes. With a golden glow, the protective enchantments were activated and the arm was surrounded by a blue, spiritual fire. The corpse reared back as it was encompassed in the light.
Lan Qiren very pointedly made no further comments. Jiang Cheng wanted to demand an apology on behalf of his shixiong, but had enough respect for the elder's position to remain silent. Besides, with Yu Ziyuan present, there was no way he would get away with making a scene.
"You lunatic! Why did you kick me?" Jingyi demanded. "You almost got me burnt."
"It wasn't me!"
"The spell on the clothes works," Lan Sizhui reported. Lan Jingyi turned away from Wei Wuxian, and both moved to put their new knowledge to the test, using their robe's spell and their blades to create an attack against the being they faced.
It wasn't enough.
With a terrifying pulse of resentful energy, the corpse broke the seal, leaving the Lan juniors with few other options.
"She broke out?" Wei Wuxian calmly observed.
"What do you think he'll do?" Jiang Cheng asked his sister, subconsciously turning to her for guidance like he had when he was young. The layer of calm indifference in the face of such a battle was widening the divide between the boy he knew and the demonic cultivator before him.
As the gap grew larger, it transformed into a terrifying abyss of possibilities.
She tried to send a reassuring smile towards her brother, but could only bring herself to say "I'm sure A-Xian will think of something!"
"Will he?" Wen Qing countered, not faltering even under the glare Jiang Cheng sent her way. "If he uses power beyond what the disgraced Mo Xuanyu holds, he'll likely have to face questioning. I doubt he'd risk execution for a couple of strangers."
Jiang Cheng continued to glare, but a glance back from his mother kept him silent.
However, instead of attacking with righteous cultivation, Wei Wuxian calmly walked towards the abandoned corpses lying on the ground. Picking it up by the collar, Wei Wuxian leaned close to whisper in his ear.
"Still sleeping?" he asked, his eyes flashing red.
Numerous cultivators jumped at that, and even Wen Ruohan narrowed his eyes at the echoed tone.
With the groan of a fierce corpse, the body stood up.
"Oh, A-Xian," Jiang Yanli whispered, heartbroken.
Another corpse followed soon after, and the two turned to face the one the junior cultivators were fighting.
"Nice and powerful. Good," Wei Wuxian spoke calmly, showing none of the insanity he had been playing up earlier in the day. "Do you see that left arm on your Mom?"
The corpses focused in on the arm that was engaging in combat with the two juniors, holding them off easily.
Once again, Wei Wuxian's eyes sparked with red light.
"Go get it."
The two corpses blasted towards the Madam, instantly fighting her with far more power than they should have had as new fierce corpses. They worked together, focusing only on attacking the arm — on following Wei Wuxian's order to strike.
"Demonic power!" Lan Qiren hissed.
Jin Guangshan shivered at the unprecedented ability being shown before him, while Wen Ruohan trembled with excitement. Most everyone else was too shocked by what they saw before them to form a full opinion on the power; they could only watch in awe.
"Just three words? A few seconds and a few words, and-and he could take on a huge number of disciples."
"And he's trying to stay hidden now! What if he was willing to show his power?"
"Wait, is there anything we can do to stop him from attacking if he wants to? What-what about the Lan silencing spell? That'd work, right?"
Lan Xichen frowned in consideration, then shook his head. "It seemed like that was using sounds coupled with intent, rather than words, specifically. Remember the flute from the first event we saw? I have no doubt that, for something of this level, simply clapping his hands would work just as well. And that's assuming he hasn't already found a counter, given what we know he's invented."
Lan Wangji nodded once in agreement.
Wen Chao sneered at the analysis, asking "Well, then, how do you propose we deal with him?"
"You don't need to 'deal with him!' He's my-"
"Enough," Madam Yu hissed, not wanting her son to attract Wen Ruohan's attention over the boy of all things. She had always known Wei Wuxian would be the end of them. At least her son's future self had finally wisened up to that fact and went to kill Wei Wuxian.
"He has already fallen low enough to create this art," Lan Qiren agreed. "There's no saving him now. Nothing could possibly excuse using this power."
Wen Qing couldn't help but notice that none of them were remembering their shared agreement that this was simply a spirit-made illusion. It was so realistic and similar to what the Jiangs knew of Wei Wuxian that that excuse was falling apart before their eyes.
"Zombie fight?" Lan Jingyi gasped in shock. "Never seen this before."
"How did those corpses suddenly come alive?" Lan Sizhui asked, then turned a speculative glance at Wei Wuxian hiding behind a pillar. 'Could it be… but it's not him.'
"Eh? We can hear other people's thoughts too? Not just Wei Wuxian's?" Nie Huaisang asked, torn between being glad his friend was safe and worried about what they would hear.
Jiang Fengmian hummed, answering, "We don't have enough information. It's entirely possible whatever was used to create this amplified the spirit's powers or somehow connected to the time each event was taking place at. According to this, it seems like dozens of new inventions were created in just twenty years. It's possible that a more powerful form of inquiry was created too."
"It does no good to speculate," Lan Qiren argued. "It's demonic cultivation. This nefarious power should not be looked into."
Jiang Cheng's protest at the phrasing died under his mother's gaze.
With a bone-shattering crash, both corpses Wei Wuxian summoned were thrown to the side and collapsed as they rammed against the walls.
'Not even with two fresh corpses? What on earth is that arm?' Wei Wuxian wondered. 'If no backup arrives, those two boys will be in trouble. Should I use those corpses again? If I do… I could be exposed.'
Once again, those who knew Wei Wuxian as a boy were torn: saving the juniors was important, but those who knew Wei Wuxian personally didn't think it was worth his life.
The arm ran forward, lunging on the juniors, and Wei Wuxian prepared to act.
~🎵~
As the note rang through the air, earth shattered beneath the corpse's feet. The guqin's music continued, and the watchers followed the direction of the sound, tracing it back to the player.
Before them, the Second Jade of Lan stood calmly in the moonlight.
Even Wei Wuxian could only watch him in shock.
"Wangji," Lan Xichen whispered breathlessly, staring at a version of his younger brother who was now his senior. Despite barely changing physically, the long-held grief in the future Lan Wangji's expression made him appear far older than the boy Xichen knew. Even those who weren't able to read his brother's expressions could tell the man before them was different from one standing beside them.
The Jiangs had started being convinced of its authenticity by Wei Wuxian. Recognizing his brother's unique tells in the man were persuading Lan Xichen of the same.
"Hanguang-jun!" the boys shouted with relief.
"Hanguang-jun?" Jin Zixuan repeated, turning to the Lans for clarification.
Qiren frowned at the screen.
"I've never heard that title before."
"Nor have I."
"Mn."
To have earned a title like "Lightbearer" on top of his title as the Second Jade of Lan? Something must have happened in the years between them and the simulation. Could Lan Wangji have been more involved in the wars with the Wens and Yiling Patriarch than Lan Xichen hoped? Their clan was meant to exemplify righteousness, but there was a layer of grief in his brother that momentarily outweighed their civic duty in Lan Xichen's mind.
The music continued as the scene before them disappeared, bringing them back to the Cloud Recesses' garden they had been standing in during the junior quartet's explanation.
This time just Ouyang Zizhen stood before them, clearing his throat before saying "We'll give you all a short time to talk about what you've seen, and start the next segment in about five minutes."
"Okay, end scene!" was said by Jingyi, whose voice rang out despite the boy himself not appearing in the vision.
"I don't think we need to say that. The spirits will figure out what part to stop the memory at when they put everything together," Sizhui reminded calmly.
"But why can't we help out?!"
"You've been annoying them with your constant orders, idiot," Jin Ling responded. "At some point they're just going to start messing with you."
"Oh, like you can talk!"
"Enough," Sizhui commanded, making Ouyang Zizhen (the only person they could see) giggle.
For several seconds, silence permeated the grounds.
"So, what do we think?" Nie Mingjue asked.
"Pardon?"
"The Jiangs and Lans are the only ones who saw people whose behavior they would recognize," he elaborated. "So? Do you think what that Sizhui kid said was true?"
At the beginning, the adults had all been certain the vision was completely fake. However, over time, it seemed as if the Jiangs and Lan clan had been steadily won over by the familiar behavior.
Seeing that the Jiang clan was hesitant to speak, Lan Xichen answered first.
"I think it's certainly evidence in favor of it being real. My brother has various minute details in his expressions that I recognized in the little time we saw him. I understand the doubt, but this whole situation is unprecedented. Unless someone else knows my brother well enough to replicate those quirks, it doesn't seem impossible that this is, in some way, a connection to the future. Wangji?"
"Mn. I saw nothing that could disprove the explanation we were given."
"What about the lies they said about Wei Wuxian?!" Jiang Cheng interrupted. "We can't just believe that he would use — would create — demonic cultivation! And-and even if he was willing to, there's no way he would be able to create all the inventions they said he did. It's obviously lying!"
"And what do the adults think?" Wen Ruohan asked smoothly. Jiang Cheng flushed at his words being so easily written off, but he couldn't argue with the Chief Cultivator.
Jiang Fengmian paused, then carefully answered "The ability to invent is not what surprised me. He is YunmengJiang's head disciple, and often gets in trouble for more creative and radical ideas being used for fun. I think it's possible he would be able to invent spirit attraction flags if an older version of the boy I know truly put his mind to it. As for the rest…"
"It's certainly possible," Madam Yu interrupted. "Nearly destroying YunmengJiang, creating demonic cultivation, I always told you he would bring shame upon us. And now look at what's happened."
"My Lady," Jiang Fengmian reproached, but said nothing more. He understood that whatever would be revealed through this would likely reflect poorly on everyone involved. It was simply to be expected of a complete breach in privacy like the one they were being shown, and he could not fault her for her anger. However, like always, she was directing her anger on the wrong person.
"Are we then going to treat it like this is the future — a future — until we see something that proves otherwise? We don't need to make decisions on how to act for a while, but continuing to think of it like just a hallucination could lead to us missing something important." Madam Jin interjected, dragging attention away from her childhood friend's controversial words.
"How could it be?" Wen Xu interrupted. "You can't really expect us to believe the QishanWen sect could be destroyed, do you?"
With those words, the opening narration which had been forgotten was suddenly recalled.
"I can at least believe the part where they said the Wens 'ran amok' and 'people suffered' because of them!"
"Da-ge!" Nie Huaisang squeaked as Wen Ruohan turned a blazing gaze toward them.
Everyone braced themselves for an explosion, but Wen Ruohan only hummed in consideration. It had been all but stated that the reason the so-called Sunshot Campaign was successful was because of the actions taken by the Yiling Patriarch, Wei Wuxian. If someone had truly succeeded in creating demonic cultivation, then it was not impossible for that to have changed the outcome of the war.
And, now that he knew it was possible, he could make sure it would never happen again.
"I agree with assuming what we're shown is the future," he finally said. "A better question is what we plan to do with the information we're being given. You yourselves agreed we can't confirm whether this is really true. So, how will we respond? "
"Well obviously the demonic cultivator can't be allowed to live!" Jin Guangshan began, but cut off when Jiang Fengmian turned a sharp glare towards him. For someone who never picked fights with anyone, he could be truly terrifying when provoked.
"You can't do that!" Jiang Cheng added, bowing quickly after remembering he was speaking to the Jin sect leader. "With all due respect, he hasn't done anything yet! You can't punish him for something he might do or no one would ever be able to do anything!"
"Even though he supposedly destroyed your sect?" Jin Guangshan countered.
"I apologise for interrupting, Sect Leader Jin," Jiang Yanli began, stepping forward. "But my brother deserves to be given the same chance as everyone else. I have faith that he would not act without a reason, so, if we aren't interested in attacking the Wens over what we see, and the Wens aren't interested in attacking us, we have no reason to go after A-Xian."
Jin Zixuan watched in shock, surprised by the courage such a simple, meek girl would show to defend her younger brother. After thinking for a minute, he spoke as well.
"I agree, Father."
Surprised at the side his son took, Jin Guangshan stepped back. Wei Wuxian hadn't developed his power yet, so he would be far easier to take out so long as the Jiang sect didn't back him. However, they all knew they couldn't attack the Wen sect when they got out without facing enormous casualties, and, with the knowledge that they lost, the Wen sect would most likely hesitate to attack them.
"I see," Lan Xichen spoke. "Then may I assume we are in agreement to not punish anyone over what we see, but rather to take steps to prevent the tragedies from happening?"
"It would be best to simply make sure Wei Wuxian doesn't need to invent demonic cultivation," Lan Qiren agreed. Lan Wangji remained silent, still thinking over the grief he saw hidden in his older self and wondering what had caused it to form.
"The Nie sect also agrees," Nie Mingjue responded reluctantly, wanting an excuse to go against the man who killed his father, but not willing to kill Huaisang's friend over a questionably-proven possibility. His brother gave him a blinding smile, and Nie Mingjue knew he had made the right decision.
"Jiang also agrees," Jiang Fengmian spoke, ignoring his wife's scowl.
"Wen will allow this."
"...Jin will also agree," Jin Guangshan said at last.
All there was left to do was wait and watch.
The simulation started again.