Past is set in stone, only your feelings may change

Musical magic

Wei Wuxian was standing atop a palace in the Nightless City and looking down at all the gathered cultivators from all different sects who came to celebrate the death of Wen Qing and Wen Ning. He was heartbroken. He had tried his best to save them but he had failed in the end, his family died on him yet again. He had never been in this much pain.

And the cultivators below were apparently not about to do this any easier for him. He just needed a little time to mourn those closest to him, but they just wanted to attack him. Perhaps he should give himself up and be done with it? He did not know if he had any strength to go on like this. He had tried his best and yet it still was not enough, he just wanted to crawl into some dark hole and suffer there alone; what did they even want from him anyway?

No, that was a dumb question, of course the cultivation world wanted to take the Strygian tiger seal from him. They wanted power, always only more power. He would perhaps be willing to give it to Jiang Cheng or the Gusu Lan sect for safe keeping, but that would just put whomever had the Strygian tiger seal in their possession in a dangerous position. And he did not want that, he could not let either the Yunmeng Jiang clan or Lan Zhan's family suffer because of his mistakes.

He had already caused them enough pain as it was. Jin Zixuan was dead because of him and it was not as if Wei Wuxian could bring him back, even in the same way as Wen Ning. Now his Shijie and Jing Rulan would be left all alone in the world. And it was all his fault, like so many more things.

He was heartbroken and in mourning but the cultivation world apparently was not about to let him be. Still, he had the rest of the Wen remnants that he needed to protect. They were innocent and they did not deserve to die just for their surname. And A-Yuan was still only a child, he deserved the best in life to grow up strong and healthy. He needed all that Wei Wuxian could not give him.

"Wei Wuxian, why should we listen to you?" answered the cultivators below with their own question.

Yes, indeed, why should they? He had done so many terrible things just because he had decided to uphold justice that none of them saw. They all hated him because he had saved a group of innocent non-cultivators from certain death and hid them in the Burial Mounds. They hated him for protecting them.

Wei Wuxian's eyes searched between the figures on the ground and finally found Jiang Cheng. He hoped that his brother would at least be one to look at him properly, he had after all seen the inhabitants of the Burial Mounds and how they did not pose any threat to the cultivation world. If at least one of the great sects' leader would say something, perhaps the rest of them would be amendable to listen to him.

What broke him completely was the fact that Jiang Cheng was looking at him with bothered eyes full of pity. And was there also some part of him which was trying to tell him he was sorry he could not help? Wei Wuxian was fighting against tears. He had already known that he would most probably not receive any help, but it still hurt to have this confirmed so clearly.

He turned his gaze away, he could no longer bear to see how much hatred there was in the cultivation world.

He put his flute to his lips, he just wanted to get out of here and go back to the Burial Mounds to take care of the rest of the Wen remnants and A-Yuan. He wanted to leave this power thirsty world behind him. If even Lan Zhan had turned against him now, there was nothing for him anymore. He blew air into his flute and started fighting his way out.

He was so distressed that he had thought the sound of a second flute which his ears were picking up was solely his imagination, or perhaps the echo of his own music. The only thought which remained on his mind was to go back to A-Yuan and never step out of the Burial Mounds again. A tear escaped his eye, this battle melody was not the one he wanted to play, he had another song in his heart, the one he always played to A-Yuan as a lullaby. He wanted to play it again.