"Did you hear about the recent scandal in the Gusu Lan Clan?"
"I did!"
"It's awful, isn't it? Poor Lady Gu!"
"It is; I can't say I'm surprised, though. What else can we expect from the Yiling Patriarch? He might've done the same to others and worse."
"Hanguang Jun will surely not let that scoundrel get away with this."
"Hey!"
The two Lan Clan disciples, seated under an oak tree in the middle of the campus, glance up to see Lan Jingyi march right up to them.
"Jingyi! What brings you here?" The first disciple inquires.
"Your incessant gossiping, that's what! Don't you know it's bad omen to talk about other people behind their backs? What, do you have nothing better to do with your lives?"
"Well, what's it to you if we talk about Wei Wuxian?" The second disciple snaps.
"I've met Master Wei a few times now, and I can guarantee he would never do such a thing, even if he was paid!" Jingyi snarks. "And need I remind you that you're currently violating Rule 492–Talking behind other people's back is prohibited."
"Well you're breaking Rule 201–Do not mix public and private interests."
"I'm following Rule 2021–You can refute Rule 201 if you see others being nosy assholes."
"That's not even on the Wall of Discipline!"
"It might be. Why don't you guys go check for yourselves? Go on, shoo! Get outta here."
"You—well, er... I... whatever! Come on, Liwan. Let's go."
The disciples stand up, gather their materials, and stomp away, their heads held high.
"Jerks," Jingyi grumbles.
He looks around, observing the campus: Lan Clan disciples fill the wooden gazebos and the Library Pavilion, hunched over books and paperwork; the oak tree sits unoccupied in front of him; the Lan Clan elders usually surveying the disciples are nowhere in sight. Jingyi smiles mischievously. Making sure no one's watching, he grabs a branch and quickly scales up the tree. Its leaves twist and curl around him, shielding him from view.
He leans back against the trunk, closes his eyes, and drifts off to get some much needed sleep.
•••
The sun is beginning to set when Jingyi wakes up. He yawns, stretches his arms—and tumbles out of the tree with a startled yelp. He lands on his backside with an unsavoury whump!
"Damn," he mutters, rubbing his sore backside. He's about to rant out loud how much his butt hurts when he catches sight of Zewu Jun's study room. The doors to the study have opened, and a cloaked figure steps out. Jingyi scrambles behind the tree and peeks out. Xichen has also emerged at the doorway. He appears to be speaking to the hooded figure. Then he ducks back into the room and slides the doors shut.
The silhouette scours the campus, and removes its hood. A woman's face appears in place of the dark coif. She's petite, slender. The bottom half of her face is swathed in a red veil, but she has big eyes. Big eyes. Like the Ghost General. Like Sizhui.
Sister Wen.
Jingyi's brows furrow.
What is she doing here? How long has she been in Cloud Recesses? And why was Xichen with her?
Sister Wen strolls towards the front gates of Cloud Recesses. Jingyi debates whether or not to follow her alone, or find Sizhui and alert him. But as she wanders farther and farther away, Jingyi waits until she's far enough...
He stalks after her.
•••
For hours, Jingyi trails behind, far enough to duck behind the thickets if she turned back but close enough so that he wouldn't lose sight of her.
After some time, Sister Wen reaches a small hut at the borders of the town, enclosed by tall trees. The hut is plain and quaint. It overlooks an ancient bridge arched over a babbling brook, its grassy banks sprinkled with flowers. Jingyi leaps into a bush.
When he emerges keenly, peering between the leaves, Sister Wen is nowhere in sight.
Jingyi curses, "What? Where—"
Something cold and sharp pricks his neck. Jingyi freezes. Slowly, he turns to look over his shoulder.
"Don't move," an icy female voice mutters. "The needle is enchanted with a vicious poison that will guarantee you a slow, painful death."
You had me at 'Don't move'. Jingyi doesn't dare utter it out loud.
"Stand up."
Jingyi rises steadily to his feet, swallowing the tight lump in his throat. The needle remains poised at his jugular, prepared to slit open his throat at a moment's notice.
"Now... who are you? And why have you been tailing me?"
Jingyi clears his throat nervously, "M-my name is Lan Jingyi. I am a disciple of the Gusu Lan Clan. I swear, I didn't mean any harm—"
"Bullshit."
The needle tightens against his skin. Jingyi's eyes widen.
"Wait—wait! Please don't kill me. I know Sizhui—no, Ah Yuan! Wen Yuan!"
Hearing that name, Sister Wen pauses. Silence engulfs the two shadows for a long moment.
"Wen Yuan?" she repeats.
"Yes!"
"You lie."
Quick as a flash, Sister Wen's needle raises up and is just about to strike when a third voice shouts, "Ah Qing, no!"
Jingyi and Sister Wen swing in the direction of the voice.
Jingyi gawks. "You!"
•••
"You imbeciles!"
It is now the dead of night. The five major Clans have gathered in the Yujing Gu Clan's residence, the Jade Alcazar, to discuss what to do next about Wei Ying. The five men stand in a circle on the edge of the courtroom, behind a podium for each Clan Leader. Wei Ying kneels in the middle of the circle, restrained by uncountable amounts of charm-proof chains, head bowed.
"Gu Clan Leader, please understand—"
"Understand what?! I understand that my daughter's life was put in danger because of that swine! Now... you come here telling me he didn't mean to do such a thing? Without even the proper evidence? You wish me to excuse him?"
"There is a lot of evidence in favour of him being the culprit," Nie Huaisang muses.
"And nothing suggesting otherwise!" Liban adds. "It must be your affection for him that is clouding your judgement, Hanguang Jun."
"Well, I know for sure Brother Wei didn't do it!" Jin Ling bursts out.
"Jiang Clan Leader, what say you?" The Clan Leaders turn to Jiang Cheng. "Where do you stand?"
Ah Cheng clears his throat, fiddling with Zidian on his finger. "It's true that Wei Wuxian has done some... questionable things. But... I don't think he's capable of doing something like this."
"Gu Clan Leader," Wangji says. "I would swear by the Unbreakable Vow that Wei Wuxian is innocent."
There is a beat of silence.
Wei Ying doesn't lift his head, but Wangji can see the faintest smile on his lips.
"Then we shall take a vote," Xichen announces. "All those in favour of Wei Wuxian's death say 'aye.' Those who don't say 'nay.' Let's start with Nie Clan Leader."
Huaisang halts. He fans himself, thinking about his vote. "...aye."
"Gu Clan Leader?"
"Aye!"
"Hanguang Jun?" Xichen gazes at Wangji.
"Nay," Wangji immediately says.
"I vote nay, too!" Jin Ling exclaims.
"Jiang Clan Leader?"
Everyone looks at Ah Cheng. Ah Cheng hesitates. He adjusts his collar. Long silence ensues.
Why isn't he saying anything? Wangji panics. He isn't considering voting against him... is he?
"...well? Jiang Clan Leader?" Xichen prompts.
Ah Cheng's eyes wander to each of the waiting Clan Leaders, and then to Wei Ying, contemplating his choice.
"...I vote... nay."
Wangji sighs in relief, trying to maintain his expressionless poker face. He turns to see the other men's reactions: Jin Ling is smiling triumphantly; Huaisang has a surprised look on his face, his mouth in an 'o' shape; Liban is fuming.
"The majority wins: Wei Wuxian shall not have a death penalty," concludes Xichen.
"This is preposterous!" Liban bellows at last. "Wei Wuxian has assaulted my daughter and tried to harm her and worse! And you all believe he should face no repercussions?!"
"We have decided that Master Wei will live, but not unpunished."
"Then what will be his punishment?" Huaisang interjects.
"I suggest community service for six moons and 1,000 whiplashes," says Xichen.
Wangji reels in astonishment.
"1,000?!" Jin Ling blurts.
"No one has ever faced 1,000 whiplashes before," Ah Cheng objects.
Wei Ying pales and the expression in his eyes change, but other than that he shows no visible signs that the sudden decree affected him.
"Well, I agree it's a suitable punishment for him!" Liban snarls, and to two Gu Clan disciples standing guard he commands, "Whip him!"
"No!" Jin Ling cries.
"Gu Clan Leader..." Jiang Cheng starts to argue.
Wei Ying doesn't resist as one disciple shoves a gag into his mouth while the other reties him to a pillar that has been placed in the center of the room. The first lash strikes Wei Ying in the back with a sickening crack!
Wei Ying groans in pain, doubling over. Blood fills his mouth.
Wangji's senses prick. He gasps.
"Wei Ying!" the sound tears from his throat before he can stop it.
He unsheathes Bichen, and without realising it, has begun to dash forward. Around him, the clan leaders glance up, startled at his sudden drawing of his weapon. He hardly registers the yelps and exclamations of surprise and questions as he glides across the room. All he can see is Wei Ying—eyes licked with pain, staring intensely back at him with all the soul and fear in the world.
"Lan Zhan," he mouths.
Wangji makes to close the space between them, but Xichen grabs him by the scruff of his robes.
Wangji's eyes are blazing ice, "Brother, unhand me."
"He will never learn his lesson if he doesn't pay the price," shouts Xichen, stone-faced.
The Chief Cultivator is trembling. "Not like this," he growls, deep voice reverberating in the air between them. "Not like this. Now unhand me!"
He pulls away from his brother—
Swwwhhh!
Something has been plastered to his back, rooting the cultivator to the spot. A freeze talisman. Wangji tries to run. He tries to yell, but his arms are frozen in midair. His feet don't budge. His eyes are hardened to a fixed point in the room: Wei Ying.
Their eyes meet across the room. Wangji doesn't even know when he started crying, but his vision blurs. And his cheeks are hot and wet.
Wei Ying is whipped again. But his gaze remains locked on Wangji, and the cultivator is incredulous to find him smiling. As if saying "It's okay."
"Don't worry about me, Lan Zhan. Worry about yourself. You big dummy."
With each lash, the Yiling Patriarch's tormented screams pitch and soon begin to gurgle—the sound of Wei Ying choking on his own blood. Wangji can barely recognise his voice, but those screams... they are all too familiar. Like the screams in his nightmares, the ones that once plagued his mind...
With nothing else to do, Wangji stands there, helpless to drown out the lashing whip and Wei Ying's agony.