(END)Wei wuxian is back but something is wrong

what next?

Wei Wuxian raised his flute to his lips, ready to play the first note, but before he could, the red figure vanished, dissolving into the mist as if it had never been there.

— Lan Zhan, did you see that? — he asked, turning to Lan Wangji.

— Mhm.

Wei Wuxian frowned. Despite his light tone, a sense of unease settled in his chest. The fog was thicker than it should be, and the cold that surrounded them wasn’t natural.

— Do you think it’s a ghost? — he asked, rolling Chenqing between his fingers.

Lan Wangji didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he unsheathed Bichen and made a swift, precise cut through the air. The space before him trembled, as if he had sliced through something unseen, and for a brief moment, the mist parted.

For the fraction of a second, Wei Wuxian saw it—a pale face, dark eyes, and… a smile.

Then it was gone.

— Whatever it is, it’s toying with us, — Wei Wuxian said, lowering his flute.

Lan Wangji glanced toward the ruins.

— We go.

Wei Wuxian followed, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being led here on purpose.

The ruins of the Burial Mounds were silent. Too silent. No signs of life, no sounds of nature. Just dead stillness and the unsettling feeling of being watched.

Wei Wuxian stopped near a fallen pillar, running his fingers over the worn stone.

— It’s strange being back here after all these years… — he murmured.

Lan Wangji looked at him but said nothing. Instead, he continued walking, as if something was pulling him deeper into the ruins.

Then, they heard it.

Laughter.

Soft, echoing laughter, drifting through the air like a whisper from the dead.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji reached for their weapons simultaneously.

The laughter came from the heart of the ruins, its eerie echo bouncing off the stones.

— Okay… this is getting really weird, — Wei Wuxian said, though his eyes gleamed with excitement.

— Be careful, — Lan Wangji reminded him.

Wei Wuxian grinned.

— With you by my side? Always.

They stepped forward, ready to face whatever was waiting for them in the ruins of Yiling.