Never Let You Go, Again

14: I'm the Evil One

Wei Wuxian reappeared in Gusu, amidst a cloud of blue smoke. Curiously, he had popped up at Lan Wangji's study. But Lan Wangji wasn't there.

"Where is A-Zhan? Oh, let's check the Jingshi," Wei Wuxian smiled at the memory of his beloved home and headed towards it.

Somewhere in the middle of the compound, he stopped in his tracks. He could hear shouting. "Shouting in the Cloud Recesses is prohibited!" He sniggered, stroking an imaginary goatee. He was about to turn and walk on to his home, when–

"LAN WANGJI!"

Wei Wuxian's heart skipped a beat. Isn't that Uncle's voice? Oh no... He rotated to face the direction of the Hall, where the shouts were coming from, and ran, adrenaline pumping and heart racing faster and faster with each step.

Wei Wuxian crashed through the doors. "Lan Zhan!" He shouted, looking around the Hall to find his husband some distance in front of him, kneeling. Kneeling? Not just him, Xichen-ge and his own Junior Brother were kneeling too. No... not again...

"Shifu!"

"Wei Wuxian, here you are! Just where did you run off to?" Qiren's voice was brimming with fury.

Xichen and Jiang Cheng didn't know what to do. Here was the demon's master. The cultivator of what Qiren called 'evil'. What will Lan Qiren do with him now?

Lan Zhan, on the other hand, was in no mood to let Wei Ying bear the responsibility, even if it meant getting whipped again. He was pleading with his eyes to Wei Ying, telling him to teleport away now. 

But Wei Ying never would listen.

"Shifu, what is going on?" Wei Ying's voice was threatening.

"Wei Ying, I HAVE accepted that you are a demonic cultivator, but who gave you the permission to let your DEMONS mingle with MY NEPHEWS!"

"Shifu, Lan Zhan didn't mean it, it's just that the demon you say wanted to help him–"

"NO ASSOCIATION WITH EVIL! LAN WANGJI, I've engraved it into your back do you want me to etch it into your head, too?"

"NO! Shifu," Wei Wuxian began to walk up to the furious uncle. "Shifu, back then, Lan Zhan was whipped becuase of me. He associated with me. I can accept that I am evil, but not Xiangxiang. Xiangxiang is one of my closest, and she generously helped your nephew to find me, she's a good person. If Lan Zhan ever associated with any evil, it's me. I'm the evil one. Punish me if you want to, but do NOT TOUCH Lan Zhan."

Lan Qiren stared at the younger man. Wei Wuxian had walked right up to his face, and though his voice and words were pleading, his eyes weren't. They only said one thing: if he did punish his nephew, he would probably breathe his last.

"Hmph. So this demoness has a name?"

"Shifu, since you are senior to us you obviously know the Scarlet Seductress. Xiangxiang is only a slit-throat because that what she is cursed to be. And A-Zhan only did this to find me. It's my fault. Please–"

"Quiet! I've tolerated this enough!" Qiren was about to reach the peak of his anger. His hadn't raised to signal for a whip.

"NO! Shifu, with all due respect, LISTEN to me! Xiangxiang... She healed your nephew's wound!"

Qiren stopped his hand in mid-air. "What wound?"

Oh dear, now what? I really do only know to mess things up...

But he didn't have to do much to make amends.

"Shifu, it was me. I was angry at Wei Wuxian for not coming with us, so I lost control of Zidian..." he whispered the last words. Looking up to see Qiren giving Wei Ying a once-over, he hastily continued, "But it didn't hit him..."