When We Meet Again (The Untamed Sequel)

Chapter 20 - Helpless

"Must helpless man, in ignorance sedate, Roll darkling down the torrent of his fate?"
-Samuel Johnson

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Wei Wuxian

"Wei Ying, stop it." Suddenly Lan Zhan says, pulling my arm and turning me to face him.

"Huh?" I ask, unable to figure out what he meant.

We were on a deserted road that leads to the next city since we decided to walk half of the way and then fly by the sword since my body could handle using too much if spiritual energy. At times like this, I miss my old body, which I trained for excessive use of power, so much that it could handle the power of the Stygian Amulet.

Lan Zhan sighs. "You're distracted."

"I'm always distracted Lan Zhan, and you're the biggest one," I say trying it cheer him up.

"If so, what distracts you when I'm next to you?"

So caught...

I sigh. "I don't know."

At once, I feel something snap, like a change of energy.

You came.

I scan our surroundings.

"The spirit?" Lan Zhan asks and I nod.

A man appears out of the woods to the road a bit far from the place we stood, with the same faraway eyes.

"Let's see what you want..." I tell myself with a smile. "Lan Zhan I can sense dark energy in all the directions. There should be fierce corpses around. Take care of them until I deal with him."

Lan Zhan nods and unsheathes Bichen, and we approach the man together. Just as I pull Chenqing out the corpses immerge and race towards us.

Lan Zhan inhales, in the same way, he always does before starting to fight.

I start playing. It was easier this time, the spirit obeyed me with a little reluctance.

And when I was just about to complete the process, the man does something that sends chills down my spine.

He grins. And I knew that something was very wrong.

Impulsively, my eyes search for Lan Zhan. But he is all right.

Which meant...

A pain shots through my back, and I hear my voice screaming. My legs give out and I feel the impact of my body hitting the ground. My vision darkens...

Lan Wangji

I hear a scream and my blood turns to ice.

"Wei Ying!" my voice was almost a roar.

I desperately look for Wei Ying while standing amidst the raging corpses, and find him lying on the ground curled into a ball. The man collapses next to him. I feel a sharp pain in my arm when a corpse attacks me while I was distracted. I summon Wangji and hit a chord turning all the corpses to dust.

I rush towards Wei Ying, who was groaning in pain, hugging himself so tight that his knuckles turned white.

"Wei Ying!"

I kneel next to him to take him in my arms, but at the instant my hand touches him, I'm thrown backward by a force that was emitted from his body.

I quickly get on my feet and run to him. I try to touch him again. This time I collect spiritual energy in my hands, bracing myself for the push I'm about to face. But it only pushes me back even further. Once again, I'm back on his side in no time.

I can't touch him.

Various energies were dwelling around his body, like another layer of skin, first black dark energy, then glistening with spiritual energy and then dark energy again.

"Lan Zhan..." his voice is weak, and he was not conscious.

Once again he cries out, curling into a ball, clutching his arms.

"Lan Zhan..." he pleads.

"I'm here," I tell him helplessly.

"Hold me..." he says and something inside me rips apart.

"I can't..." My voice cracks and I feel hot tears pouring down my face, but he didn't seem to hear any word I uttered.

"Lan Zhan."

"Wei Ying! Hold on." I say holding down my sobs. "I'm here." I keep on chanting.

Didn't I say that I'll hold you close whenever you're in pain? But here I am, helplessly staring at you when you're screaming and begging me to hold you.

I'm sorry...

I'm...

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Get ready for some angst!

This is a bit of a shorter chapter that the others. I hope you wouldn't mind. Anyway, more interesting parts are coming.

Till next time...