Pure | | Lan Sizhui, Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian

Is This Reality? | Three |

Sizhui woke up in a pitch-black room. His head throbbed and so did his legs and arms. It felt like his whole body was battered and bruised, but he could not see them in the dark. He felt around him. It did not feel like he was in the cave anymore, which was the last thing he remembered before waking up here. He saw the creature's eyes flash a bright pink and then nothing.

He felt around him. It was soft bed sheets and a pillow. He moved around a bit more attempting to distinguish more of his surroundings without light. It smelled of sandalwood, the smell was familiar to him. It was also chilly in the room once he removed the blankets off his body. As he sat up, he noticed something else was aching him, also. It was his anus and his stomach and that was particularly concerning to him. He placed his hand on his lower belly and breathed, feeling the odd sensation in his rectum. What the hell? He then placed his hand on his throbbing head and noticed that his headband was gone. His long hair was sprawled all over his head, running down his back. He began to panic. Did I lose it in the cave? Exactly what happened? Did we even finish the mission?

He was so out of sorts and wanted to continue panicking, but as Sizhui was about to rush out of the bed to find some kind of answer, he froze. He heard soft breathing on the side of him. That was when he noticed that there was another body in the bed with him. He went complete still from shock for about two minutes trying to decide what to do. His heart was racing. Was this person or thing beside him the reason he was feeling battered and bruised. Did the Lurer catch him and bring him into her home. Why was the home so, so ...put together? He needed light, so he decided to rip a piece of his clothes to use it as a talisman, but wait . . . his clothes. In the dark room, he could barely make out the shapes on his sleeve, feel the pattern embordered on them. It felt familiar to him while he was examining it, when suddenly –

"You're awake, Sizhui," the voice said, crisp as ever in the dark.

Sizhui was startled and relieved all in the same moment. Immediately tears burst from Sizhui's eyes. "Wei Qianbei," he blurted, wet faced and terrified. He was afraid to ask the next question, but he managed anyway. "What happened?"

Wei Wuxian sat up in the dark, then embraced Lan Sizhui into a hug. Those arms felt so strong, so comforting at the moment and Sizhui needed that badly. He was shaking. "Don't cry; you did good." He placed his hand on the back of Sizhui's head, holding the younger close to him tightly. Sizhui didn't know what Wei Wuxian meant by 'you did good' . Why didn't he remember anything and why was he waking up in a bed with Wei Wuxian?

"Obviously not, because I don't remember getting here in this bed. I don't even know where we are." Sizhui's voice was so shaky, so unsteady. "Is everyone alive?"

"The only person in our group that was hurt was you, Sizhui." Wei Wuxian held Sizhui, rubbing the length of his back to sooth him. He could feel the boy shaking and Sizhui could feel the vibrations as Wei Wuxian spoke. "And Jingyi told us how you threw yourself in front of him when the monster was attacking; you completed the final blow. She was defeated. You did amazing, Sizhui." Sizhui was relieved that no one else had gotten hurt.

"Good." He was satisfied with that news, "I got her head?"

"Decapitated - We took her to Yunmeng to examine her remains," Wei Wuxian informed.

Now that the Lurer's body was taken care of, it was time to review the extent of his own injuries. "Wei Qianbei," Sizhui began to move his arms and legs while still in Wei Wuxian's arms. "my arms and legs hurt. And my head. And stomach. And my -" Sizhui stopped in his tracks. He did not want to divulge too much information, especially regarding that area. He deemed it inappropriate, even though that area hurt as severely as the other areas on his body. But why did it hurt if he managed to defeat the Lurer? Surely, she didn't give him the injuries, did she?