Solstice Souls

Seeking Judgement

Wei Ying POV

The voices were too loud. The lights, too bright. Wei Ying's head was pounding like a giant drum and his skin burned like ice. His shivering was violent enough to make everyone stare at him. All he wanted right now was to be with his parents. His mom who was now in a coma and his father who sat dutifully by her side.

Instead, Madam Yu had brought him to Swords Hall along with Hanguang-jun and the others. A small crowd had formed outside the door with some of them filtering inside to get a better look. Considering she did not order them out, Wei Ying knew an audience was exactly what Madam Yu wanted. Her voice was deviously accusatory and not towards him, for once. This time, her anger was aimed at the Lan's. Lan Wangji to be more specific.

What he couldn't understand was why. The Second Jade had saved him and his mother from the Duoji. If it was not for him, Wei Ying and his mother would be dead. So why was Madam Yu questioning him like he was on trial?

He felt Jiang Cheng and Yanli on either side of him, supporting his weight which felt too heavy to keep standing. Sleep. Why couldn't he just sleep? If he slept, then when he woke up all this would be nothing but a dream that ended when his eyes opened.

He tried listening to Madam Yu but his mind kept wandering back to his mother. Were they taking good care of her? Did he hurt her more by dropping her in his fear induced panic? Would she ever wake up? Did his father blame him for not getting her back sooner?

Wei Ying heard the many voices around him getting louder but nothing made sense to his cloudy mind. It was all just a multifaceted din that hummed inside his ears. Jiang Cheng's caring voice forced him out of his stupor. He felt Jiang Yanli pull him closer with the loving arm she had around his waist.

He answered the questions that were asked of him, his voice flat as if in a trance. His dull eyes looked over at Wangji who looked at him with concern and.....pride? The jade's cheeks were slightly flushed and Wei Ying suddenly became concerned that the young man had also fallen ill because of the storm. They both still wore their soaking wet robes that were covered in mud and blood.

The haziness around him deepened. He could no longer understand what Madam Yu was saying, only that she sounded angry. And that meant only one thing.

Wei Ying must have done something wrong.

He could already feel the strike of Zidian cutting into his back, his body flinching at every word spoken by the woman in purple. Wei Ying could see the tiny sparks from her ring as she turned it with her spider-like fingers and his skin twitched . Yet he knew that if he had hurt his mother in any way, he was more than willing to accept whatever punishment they deemed adequate.

He tried to stand taller, the Jiang siblings helping him to do so. He raised his head, glanced at Hanguang-jun, and then locked eyes with Madam Yu.

"I believe the Lan Clan won." Zewu-jun claimed assuredly.

Wei Ying realized he no longer cared about the stupid night hunt and the deal made between their clans. The Lan Clan could search their treasury all they liked. They would find nothing.

"Not so fast." Madam Yu said with a sneer.

Wei Ying turned towards her. He recognized that look on her face. And he knew nothing good would come of it.

"Since it has yet to be determined whether or not Hanguang-jun is responsible for Lady Sanren's current condition, I suggest we call the contest a draw."

"Outrageous!" Lan Qiren snarled. "Wangji won fairly and killed two beasts to defeat Young Master Wei as per the rules you stated earlier."

Madam Yu smiled darkly. "He may have also killed a good friend of mine and poor Wei Wuxian's mother. Time will tell. For that, there must be retribution."