You've Changed | Wangxian |

Chapter 8 - Shidi

Lan Xichen's POV

Wangji had been gone for several hours by the time I awoke at 5. I hoped he was okay. Although I had warned him not to do anything stupid, deep down I knew that if he wanted to do something, no one (not even Uncle) could stop him. I needed to find something to distract myself but since Sect Leader Jiang and Wangji had left, there was nobody who I could really talk to: Mingjue was away in battle, the Jin Sect and Jiang Yanli were at a separate base and Huaisang was there too. After a quick set of rounds checking the perimeter and disciples, I retired to my room to write letters and copy out texts.

I would have made plans for tactics and attacks but the information we received kept changing and it was hard to know who would be where and when. Despite all my attempts, I couldn't help but wonder what was happening at Qishan. Jiang Wanyin was very capable and Wangji even more so, but what about the disciples? All of the Jiang sect's disciples were new and unfamiliar with the ways of their sect and could easily make errors or lose formation in battle. What would the consequences be? I wondered how long it would take. They had set out very early in the morning, hours before dawn so I assumed they would be back by noon. Or maybe early afternoon. To be honest, it could be any time depending on just how bad (or good) the situation was. Hours passed when someone knocked on my door.

"Zewujun, may I come in?" asked a polite and benevolent voice.

I recognised the voice immediately and rose to welcome the guest in.

"Of course you may," I replied.

I opened the door to find her. She was beautiful, dressed in pale lilac robes accented by a sash of deep plum. Her hair was styled half up into two intricately braided buns and the rest loose down her back. She smiled courteously and excitement lit up her fatigued face. She seemed worn out by the events of this war.

"When did you get here? I didn't realise you were coming?" I said.

"Zixuan, some disciples and I came this morning. Originally we were planning to stay a bit longer at the other base, but it has been very quiet recently and we thought our services could be better used here. Also, I wanted to come see A-Cheng."

"Oh right. Wangji and Sect Leader Jiang are currently away on a mission at Qishan but they should be back soon."

"How has he been? Has there been any news on A-Ying?"

"He's been fine, a little quiet. He will be very glad to see you, hopefully he will be able to open up to you as he seems to have a lot on his mind. So far, there has been no information on the whereabouts of Wei Wuxian but Wangji and Jiang Cheng hope to find something at Qishan."

"Poor A-Cheng and A-Ying. Maybe I really should have stayed here with him."

"No, he wouldn't have wanted that - if you were here, you would feel bad about not being able to help as much."

"I guess," said Jiang Yanli.

The two continued chatting quietly, politely discussing recent events.

"How rude of me, should I show you to your accommodation? You must be tired after travelling all that distance." I offered

"That would be nice," she responded.

We got up and began to stroll around the grounds - her lodgings were next to her brothers and thus on the other side of the base. The quiet morning had given way to a beautiful day: birds sang overhead; a soft breeze cooled the air; and the sun was strong and bright. We briefly stopped to watch the disciples training on the field before continuing on our way.

Just as we were reaching the entrance area, we saw a commotion up ahead. 'It'll be nothing,' I thought, 'maybe Wangji and the disciples are back?'. Joining the crowd, I followed their gazes to see a group of people drawing nearer. 'That must be them, they're back at last.'

But as they got closer, it was clear that everything was not as it should be...

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Author's Note: Hello, I'm back. Sorry this update to a while, I have been having a few issues getting Wattpad to work. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'll try to get the next part up tomorrow. Please vote and comment if you have any feedback!