Stubborn Attempts

8 - Unclipped Wings

The journey to Biling Lake was going to take more than the whole day.
Caiyi proper was a mere 20 something miles away but they had to travel to the specific area where there were most reports and that would be another long journey. The plan was simply to find an inn at their arrival in town, closest to the lake and start the investigation very early the next day. If for whatever reason they do not make any significant progress on the day they investigate, they would need to stay longer or at least until they'd find tidbits of what it was actually about. It was a good thing everyone packed extra clothes, being that they knew they were likely to get wet.
The group consisted of all Lan disciples with the exception of Wei Wuxian who was there to offer what he knew about water ghouls. There wasn't really much to say other than they were quite troublesome spirits who'd manifested from resentment after their untimely deaths, mostly from drowning. They would be lurking in the area they had passed away and obsessively held on to some things from when they were still alive.

Wei Wuxian tells Lan Wangji and his brother all of this and about the time he and Jiang Cheng encountered a cute little water ghoul in one of the lakes in Yunmeng.

"Jiang Cheng and I exorcise water ghouls free of charge for all the residents at Yunmeng whenever we get reports of their sightings."

Lan Wangji listened attentively, urging him to continue.

"There was this one time, we found a small water ghoul, no older than the age of 13. He was stealing Lotus pods from an old man. We tried to exorcise him but we were scolded in that being the boy caused no harm and actually helped the old man with his boat, even if he took some of his pods from time to time."

Lan Xichen looked at Wei Wuxian, puzzled, but filled with wonder at the new strip of information.

"I didn't know water ghouls were capable of actually and actively helping living persons, Master Wei. Not to mention developing an attachment to them."

Wei Wuxian nodded. "They're smarter than you think. That little boy we saw kept eating lotus seeds from the pods most probably because he drowned trying to. He was then stuck in a loop of following his last wish and helps the old man because the old man rewarded him with them. They know how to engage in mutual agreement."

Lan Wangji was also enthralled by the story. The books he'd read about them were very minimal but they never mentioned any type of consciousness, let alone a capability to hold arrangements with the living. He thinks he had done well for bringing Wei Ying along.

"Do you think the ghouls we'll meet will be open to negotiation?" Lan Xichen asked with a smirk and Wei Wuxian was wholly weirded out. He did not know the First Jade of Lan was capable of humor or anything that even remotely looked like it, seeing as Lan Wangji was as straight faced as an iron board.
He knows he was joking but decided to answer it anyway, just in case he'd misread the situation.

"Ah, I don't know what to expect yet. Water ghouls are smart but this doesn't always mean their thoughts are in tact in all cases. Most of the time, they're just resentful spirits in need of a thorough exorcism. From what I've heard with the successive disappearances, these guys definitely need to go. With or without negotiation."

Lan Xichen smiled and nodded at the sound answer.

"Zewu Jun, there is something I'd like to ask you."

"What is it, Master Wei?"

Wei Wuxian hesitated for one moment before deciding it was worth knowing what the other thought of their current situation.

"I'm sure you're well aware how closely this event has happened to the spirit snatchings. If I recall, the other one hasn't even been solved yet. I have never heard of water ghouls bringing this much concern with them either. I think you see where I'm going with this. Do you think they might be related? I already guessed that the perpetrators of the spirit snatchings were still testing the waters. Who's to say that right now, this isn't them testing out the literal waters too?" He added a little pun in the end but was deathly serious at the thought.