NO MORE

23 : Hope

Outside lay a small price of bricks and mud, looking as though it was freshly broken down. Wei wuxian noticed this and narrowed his eyes. The three of them ventured further into the suspicious cave. Wei wuxian gritted his teeth and continued on his way, trying to ignore the pounding in his head. Jiang Wanyin and Lan Wangji glanced at him from time to time while staying in guard.

What baffled them the most was the heavy amount of resentment in the air.

Jiang Wanyin spoke and he approached the room covered in dust and webs, "The nie clan had been dwindling in power after Nie mingjue's death. I'd always thought that Nie Huaisang seemed a bit too cowardly for an heir before and now as a sect leader, but to think he was experimenting on resentful energy....." He moved towards the tombs and brushed off some of the dust. Lan Wangji moved closer towards him and the two of them opened the tomb.

"Mn. Could also be storage of resentful entities and items." Lan Wangji said as the second the tomb was opened, the resentment seemed stronger.

"Storage? Yeah, possibly." Jiang Wanyin looked inside the tomb with contained a saber. Confirming his suspicion on the Nie sect since they were the only sect to use sabers.

At that moment, Wei wuxian spoke up, "No, the Nie sect has always been like this."

The other two snapped toward him on hearing his voice. Wei wuxian was looking towards the walls of the cave while furrowing his eyebrows. There was something in there that rubbed him the wrong way.

"What do you mean always?" Jiang Wanyin questioned.

"There was always a layer of resentment surrounding those of the Nie sect. Without any proper knowledge of how to use both spiritual and resentful energy, the sect stayed like useless brutes with no brains. Perhaps if Huaisang had used the saber enough to know how to cultivate with it, he could have done some research....."

Wei wuxian approached the sabers and looked at them blankly. He then craned his neck just slightly towards the other's and smiled, "There's a reason why Nie cultivators die young, mostly due to qi deviation."

Before anyone could say anything, barks echoed throughout the cave.

Fairy, Jin Rulan's spritual dog was near the entrance barking loudly. It couldn't step into a place filled with resentment and barked to gain their attention. Wei wuxian immediately stiffened up but did not move a muscle.

Glancing at lan wangji and giving him a signal to stay with his brother, Jiang Wanyin went toward the hole they made. After a little bit, he soon came in after sending Fairy away.

He looked pale and angry. There was fear all over his face and his hands were gripped tightly, making his knuckles turn white.

"What's wrong?" Wei wuxian asked. There was only one reason Fairy would be there without her owner. Something had happened to Jin Rulan. Seeing Jiang Wanyin's expression only confirmed it.

Sighing deeply, he said, "That idiot nephew of mine came here. Even though I told him to scram...."

Lan Wangji unwrapped his guqin and began to play inquiry. It was the right decision since Wei wuxian had said that it was loud only meant that there were many spirits in the cave.

He found one willing to talk. He questioned it on the whereabouts of Jin Rulan and had received an answer.

"Well? What does it say?"

Lan Wangji looked towards Wei wuxian and nodded, "From your position, take a step at every note. It will guide you to young master Jin."

"Alright. Tell them to go ahead."

"Mn." Playing a few more notes, lan Wangji began to observe as the spirit of the helpful ghost guided them, toward the wall?

Wei wuxian knocked on the surface if the wall. Feeling it to be quite hollow, he looked at Jiang Wanyin, "Break this. Be careful though." He walked towards the wall and using his sword, broke it down.

Gasp!

Jiang Wanyin immediately went towards the wall and moved the chunks away. Jin Rulan was laying unconscious and was somehow trapped inside.

Placing his hand on his chin Wei wuxian mumbled, "I see....."

"Mn?" Lan Wangji said, curious about the soft words spoken by the love of his life. He looked towards Wei wuxian as he wrapped up his quqin.

"I suspect that Jin Rulan broke down the wall outside. The resentment within this place was what dragged him inside and used him as a substitute for the body that was lost." He turned his head and looked at the walls, pointing at his with his head. "There are plenty more corpses within as well. The spirit you spoke to was likely to be one of them."

Gripping onto the boy a little tighter, Jiang Wanyin whispered, "Then the tomb robbers........" Connecting all the information he had gathered prior to coming here. He lifted Jin Rulan up and out of the tomb. Wei wuxian and lan Wangji following him. The Jiang sect leader placed him on the ground and seated comfortably. Lifting his arm and placing the other on the boy and began sending a steady stream of spritual energy. Just then, they heard rustling of leaves from behind. Snapping their heads in that direction they saw a figure running away. Wei wuxian nodded at Lan Wangji and the white robed man went after their mysterious tail.

Sighing, Wei wuxian seated himself on the other side of Jin Rulan and lifted his arm in a similar manner. Except that instead of releasing spritual energy, he spread a thin layer of resentment instead. Jiang Wanyin tensed and watched him like a hawk, but didn't saw a word.   A gentle dark mist surrounded the boy, enveloping his entire body which making it hard to distinguish any features. Slowly, the rentment began to gather towards his leg. Glancing at Jiang Wanyin, Wei wuxian moved towards Jin Rulan's leg and tore the cloth.

Well. "I suppose it's best you take him to Yunmeng and give him lots of spritual energy concentrated in his leg. With multiple healers working it would only take barely two days to heal it."

"Alright. What are you going to do now?"

"Find the missing body parts I suppose." He shrugged. That wasn't completely true. He was only doing this because it seems as though it would lead him to finding out a bit about what had happened all those years ago.

Jiang Wanyin scrowled. "Why are you even doing that? It's the Lan's problem, isn't it? Why are you cleaning up their mess." Because really, all of this wasn't any of Wei wuxian's business in the first place. At dafan mountain, he had already found out that Wei wuxian was the one who helped the Lan's. He had no duty to continue helping them.

"According to lan Wangji's own words, they didn't have any seniors in hand and needed my help in finding this man's missing body." Wei wuxian smirked, laughing a little about the ridiculous excuse he had gotten back then. He was almost sure that the both of them knew his identity, but he was in no way going to reveal it to them.

The sect leader scoffed. "Heh, what nonsense. As if the Lan clan has any decrease in number. Being one of the four great sects, the Lan's have a good inflow of newcomers. They also did not have all that many casualties during the war and after when compared to the Jiangs." Shaking his head, Jiang Wanyin lifted his nephew once again and took out his sword and stood on it. He turned his head towards Wei wuxian with a small smile and opened his mouth to speak one last time.

"Well meet again, i have a lot of things to say to you after all." Perhaps it was the gentle but determined gaze the man held, perhaps it was the desperation he had felt all throughout their travel. Or perhaps it was his own selfishness of wanting to be close to the man he considered his brother and family no matter how the other hated him. Wei wuxian didn't say anything, but he nodded firmly. His action gave Jiang Wanyin hope that perhaps, he could fix things just a bit.

After all, Jiang Wanyin was prepared to go his whole life with Wei wuxian never forgiving him, a chance like this was a miracle.

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Did i really just go almost a year without updating??

Ehe