Honor and Cultivation (WoH×MDZS)

We're Being Followed!

Wen Ning woke Zishu and Wangji up the next night.

"The guards've left their posts," he whispered. "I think they're changing shifts. It's our chance!!"

"Where's Sizhui?"

"He said he'd sneak in and find the array first- he still has the communication sigil, he can tell us which room it is once we're there."

Sure enough, once they were close to the dungeons entrance, the communication sigils tucked around Wangji, Zishu and Wen Ning's waists started glowing barely enough to see.

Wangji held the sigil firmly in his hand, the pattern pressing against his palm. He heard Sizhui's voice echo in his head, I'm in the big room on the left side, the 3rd layer down!

Wangji sent his acknowledgement and led the way, knowing enough of the layout from his morning escapade in to make his way to the 3rd layer.

As they walked, Zishu noticed Wen Ning clenching his fists. The pendant around his neck was also starting to glow- it was a Lan creation similar to the Clarity Bell of the Yunmeng Jiang. It played a calming tune, 1 only the wearer could hear. Wangji had handed it to Wen Ning right before they wemt in, considering his earlier... reaction.

He whispered, "You good?"

Wen Ning seemed startled, but whispered back, "I'll be okay, thanks Young Master Zhou."

They soon found the room Sizhui had directed them to- they knew it was the right room because of the white sword sheath propping the door open.

The trio opened the door and went in, the last of them, Wen Ning, removing the sword sheath after himself.

"Oh thank god, you made it," Sizhui greeted. He had been looking at something behind the curtains, which he now pulled open. "Look."

If this array was in the shape of a regular polygon, it was pretty big- about tall as 2 people stacked on top of each other. Lines crossed in the center to form odd shapes and spaces, the edge lined with a smaller version of itself. Words were carved into the smaller spaces, so tiny none of them could read them. The energy- Wangji didn't recognize it, it wasn't light or resentment- made Wangji flinch.

Zishu and Wen Ning didn't notice, but Sizhui had grown up under Wangji's care after all. He frowned and checked, "Hanguang Jun? Are you okay?"

"The energy is weird."

"What energy- and in what way?" Zishu added.

Wangji nodded at the array and explained, "Unfamiliar."

"...hm." Sizhui looked at the array again. "Good to know it's not just me... Hanguang Jun, do you think-"

Before Sizhui could finish, Wangji moved forward. He ushered Sizhui away from the array silently, behind Zishu and Wen Ning.

Then he pulled the curtains all the way open, revealing all of the array- and the nails set into the edges of the polygon.

Wangji took out the thin blue threads in the pouch tucked into his robes. He sent them out so each locked onto a nail and tugged.

As the nails on the wall were moved, 18 stubs rose from the ground, forming the same polygon shape as on the wall. As things stood, Wangji was standing in the middle of it, Zishu was between 2 nails, and Wen Ning and Sizhui were outside the shape.

They hastily moved inside.

Once they did, Sizhui flinched, but he shook himself to clear it. He began muttering a spell under his breath, closing his eyes.

"Sizhui?" Wen Ning questioned.

"It's strong. He'll be okay after we activiate it," Wangji replied without a pause. "Help him."

Zishu looked to Wen Ning, and when the fierce corpse nodded to signal he had it covered, Zishu stepped away. He took 1 of the 18 strings in Wangji's hand, checked which nail it was connected to, and began tying it to the coresponding spot.

Once Zishu had taken the last string, Wangji took out a slip of paper. He took a step closer to the array, flinching from the increase in that mysterious energy that was neither light nor resentful, but definitely clashed with the Lan Sect's training methods in some way-

"Young Master Lan!" Wen Ning called, letting the arm around Sizhui's shoulders fall. "Let me- it's best if you don't get closer if it's hurting you."

"They might need a living person."

"Then let me," Zishu offered, holding out a hand for Wangji to hand him the paper. "I don't feel weird from it."

Wangji hesitated, but let him have it and joined Sizhui and Wen Ning at the edge of the shape. He put an arm around Sizhui's shoulders, half protective half comforting.

Zishu moved right up to the array on the wall and put a hand on an empty space in uts lower half- a space that fit the size of a human palm perfectly. He read the words on the paper.

"I call upon the Nexus of Worlds to grant me safe passage to the space between this world and the one marked within this array."

A gust of wind filled the chamber and knocked half the shelves over, the boxes on them flying everywhere. Wangji noticed 1 of them had landed upside down, revealing the name carved into the bottom.

Wei Wuxian.

At the same time, a swirling mess of golden, silver and black light appeared in front of the array. The strange energy that had been making Wangji and Sizhui uncomfortable vanished abruptly, allowing Sizhui to open his eyes and stop the spell he had been casting, taking in what was happening.

Wangji summoned the upside down box to his hand and cracked open the lid to see burned pieces of fabric.

He tucked it into his robes.

At the same time, a shout came from outside.

"THEY WENT THIS WAY! COME ON!"

"I thought you said the guards had gone!" Zishu exclaimed.

"...oh no," Sizhui realized. "Senior Zhou, you were right to be cautious. It was a trap- they saw you go in and went to get their boss! They wanna catch us before we can go through the portal!"

"Come on!"

Wangji didn't wait for a response before grabbing Sizhui's wrist and pulling him through the swirl of light.

"Wen Ning, follow me!" Zishu called as he jumped through after them.

Wen Ning followed, his head passing through at the same time as Zishu's feet. By the time the Jin disciples had hurrird over, the light had mostly faded, the last of Wen Ning's chains vanishing into the wall.