*Warning: this chapter may cause discomfort to certain people, especially those who are eating.
After a pause, Wei WuXian added, "But even if it was hibernating, it didn't need to sleep for four-hundred-years, did it? You said that the Xuanwu of Slaughter eats live humans-just how many has it eaten?"
Lan WangJi, "The book records that back then, whenever it appeared, the number of humans consumed ranged from hundreds to entire villages and cities. From the handful of times when it rampaged, it consumed at least five thousand alive."
Wei WuXian, "Oh, so it overate."
The beast seemed to enjoy taking the entire person into its shell, perhaps fond of hoarding humans to savor them slowly. It was possible that four hundred years ago it hoarded too much food into its shell at once, and even now it hadn't digested everything.
Lan WangJi didn't acknowledge him. Wei WuXian continued, "Speaking of eating, have you practiced inedia? Those like us can probably last three to four days without eating or drinking. But if after a few days, nobody comes to save us, our energy, strength, and spiritual power will probably start to drop."
It wouldn't be so bad if Wen Chao and his people chose to stand by and ignore them after they had fled. If they waited for three to four days, the assistance of other sects could potentially arrive in time. What they were afraid of was that not only would the Wen Sect's people not provide them with assistance, but instead add to the fire. The YunmengJiang Sect and the GusuLan Sect would be the only 'other sects'. If the Wen Sect hindered them, the time of 'three to four days' might have to double.
Wei WuXian took back the branch and sketched out a map on the ground, linking a few places together, "From Dusk-Creek Mountain to Gusu is a bit shorter than from Dusk-Creek Mountain to Yunmeng. It's probably your sect's people who will come first. Let's just be patient. Even if they don't come, the most that we'll have to wait is one or two days before Jiang Cheng arrives at Lotus Pier. Jiang Cheng is quite clever. The Wen Sect's people won't stop him. There's nothing to worry about."
Lan WangJi's eyes were downcast. He seemed worn out as he whispered, "They will not come."
Wei WuXian, "Hm?"
Lan WangJi, "The Cloud Recesses has been burnt down already."
Wei WuXian probed, "... Is everyone still there? Your father, your brother?"
He had thought that even if the leader of the Lan Sect, Lan WangJi's father, was heavily injured, Lan QiRen and Lan XiChen would probably still be there to take control of the situation. Yet, Lan WangJi's voice was monotone, "Father is almost gone. Brother is missing."
The branch that Wei WuXian was scribbling on the ground with froze.
When they were going up the mountain, the disciple said that the Lan Sect's leader was heavily injured, but he never thought that the injuries were so heavy that the leader was 'almost gone'. Maybe Lan WangJi himself just found out about it in the past few days, receiving news that his father was dying.
Although the Lan Sect's leader was practicing secluded meditation most of the time, minding nothing out of his own world, he was still Lan WangJi's father. And, combined with the fact that Lan XiChen had gone missing, it was only natural that today Lan WangJi was especially gloomy and easily-angered. Wei WuXian immediately felt a sense of awkwardness and didn't know what to say.
Yet, as he turned around amid the muddle, Wei WuXian felt his entire body become paralyzed.
The glow of the firelight reflected against Lan WangJi's face as though he was made of warm jade. It illuminated, with utmost clarity, the tearstreaks that ran down his cheek, as well.
