𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐚 ⚣︎ mo dao zu shi x male reader

thirty-eight.

wei wuxian was the first to run after jin ling after the junior had taken off. 

lan y/n followed not even a second later, and wangji was the last as he said his goodbyes to the clan leader before following after the other cultivators. they kept running and running through the dark forest, pushing past crooked branches and thick bushes and leaves until they came to a clearing. well, it wasn't much a clearing since the entire area was covered with a dense amount of fog. still, jin ling entered the fog and disappeared almost immediately.

"jin ling!" wei wuxian calls, quickly following after the junior disciple.

y/n stopped in his tracks. he was just barely inside the fog, when he stopped, every fiber of his entire being, screaming at him to stop. y/n fidgeted with his fingers, as he decided on whether he should enter or not. there was just this haunting presence inside, like a bad memory about to be unlocked. he just knew it. he didn't want to go in there — he didn't want to see or know what that escaping memory was. he didn't want to risk it. he planted his feet firmly on the ground, but still, he wanted to go in and chase after wei wuxian, after his best friend. he didn't want to lose him again.

"i... a-xian..." he sucked in a breath through his teeth. "it's like my body is telling me that if i go in there, i'll die..." he whimpers quietly, talking to himself.

"a-y/n?"

y/n whipped his head around, his hair raised in a panic as he heard someone mention his birth name. but his shoulders relaxed upon noticing it was just his older brother, wangji. still, his stance gave off a guarded impression. wangji visibly frowned at the sight of this, so he was careful to approach his little brother in his current state.

"er-ge... i..."

then, from inside the fog, a loud scream echoed out, "jin ling!"

y/n looked at the fog in front of him, alarm bells going off in his head. his heartbeat rose into a panic, probably beating over a hundred miles per hour. then, he felt something warm grab his hand. he turned around, seeing his brother behind him, a gentle and reassuring expression on his face.

"we'll enter together, okay?" lan wangji tells him. "do you trust me?"

shakily, y/n nods. lan wangji carefully guides the two of them into the fog. he was always mindful of his little brother's reactions — every time he got distressed or panicked, he would grip his hand to calm him down. it didn't always work, but now, it seemed to have done the trick, and y/n was slowly calming down.

"the old lan y/n wouldn't be afraid of places like these." y/n muttered as he kept his head hung low.

lan wangji chuckles. "you're not the same lan y/n as before, that's why." he smiles. "you are not reckless anymore. you listen to your inside voice. you're more cautious. but..."

lan wangji stops in his steps and turns around to face his little brother. he gently pats him on the head. "you are still my little brother."

y/n took a deep breath before looking up at his brother. "you're right." he smiles.

together, the two continues to navigate through the fog until finally, they found wei wuxian and jin ling. the two were together, with jin ling looking around with a panicked look as his sword, suihua, was out.

"what happened?" lan wangji asks.

wei wuxian turned to look at him before he gestures to his surroundings.

"see for yourself." wei wuxian tells him.

y/n frowns as he looks around him. bodies wrapped in intertwining vines and roots surrounded them, their bodies completely static and rotting. lan wangji effortlessly pulls out his guqin. with a single, qi-powered strum, the fog cleared around them, allowing them to see more of their surroundings. they seemed to have underestimated the amount of bodies, because as soon as the fog cleared thanks to wangji, they could see bodies numbering in the fifties scattered all around them, stretching as far as the eye could see. all the bodies looked the same, even the expressions — painful and twisted in complete agony and pain.