Wei Ying POV
A thin trickle of blood trailed from Wei Ying's lips. He spat the coppery taste from his mouth and wiped the remaining droplets away with the back of his hand. Looking up at the man who watched him with a hungry gaze, Wei Ying imagined all the ways he would kill Wen Rouhan.
He traced the pad of this thumb over the slightly pink mark on the inside of his wrist. It was in the shape of his fish charm on his bracelet. Wei Ying hadn't noticed it until he had woken up that morning. It worried him that he couldn't remember his charm flaring up.
It must have been when the choker first activated. Wei Ying had felt nothing but searing, blinding pain when the jewels dug into his skin. It was no wonder he hadn't felt the burn of his bracelet alerting him to Lan Zhan's situation. Yet he still felt guilty.
His beloved jade was in danger. Or at least had been. Was he still in trouble? Was Lan Zhan hurt? Dying?
Images of his beautiful husband-to-be injured, bleeding, crying out for him flashed through Wei Ying's mind. He had been so stupid to run off, to leave Lan Zhan behind with no one to help him. It was all his fault they were separated and both in peril. If he hadn't acted so irrationally, Wei Ying would be with his jade right now. They would be in each other's arms, safe at his grandmother's along with his parents.
He hated himself.
Unfortunately, there was no time for self pity and blame. If he had any hope of reuniting with the man he loved, Wei Ying had to push those useless thoughts away. He had to think, anticipate, and concentrate to pass whatever tests the Wens had in store for him and live to see another day.
And that's exactly what he was going to do.
Today's tests didn't seem to involve living things. Apparently, the Wens wanted to see how he would survive if subjected to natural trials.
First, he was chained and weighted with a large boulder before being thrown into a giant wooden tub of water. What his enemy didn't know was that Wei Ying could hold his breath longer than any Jiang Clan member. Swimming with Jiang Cheng and wrestling with him in the lakes of YunMeng for so many summers gave Wei Ying an unexpected advantage.
While the guards wrapped his still half naked body in heavy chains, Wei Ying never broke eye contact with Wen Zhuliu. A half-cocked smile was the last thing the Wen general saw before the two men on either side of Wei Ying were ordered to push him in.
A small drum began to beat slowly as the Wens watched the now quieting pool of water. Wei Ying could not hear it, but he did listen to his heartbeat. It slowed as he relaxed his body. His lungs held in the precious air needed to sustain him until he freed himself.
Even though his eyes were closed, Lan Zhan's face smiled back at Wei Ying in the dark. And not just any smile.
It was the one that said, Show them what you can do, my love.
80 beats.
120 beats.
Wei Ying placed all of his focus on his core. The dark energy swirling inside was finally given permission from its master to come forth. It flowed through his body like a flooded spring stream in Cloud Recesses. The chains around his body began to burn brightly, the intense light radiating inside the pool like a red sun.
Onlookers gasped as the once calm surface of the water boiled with spurting bubbles. Wisps of black smoke poured over the edges, spreading like thorny vines over the wooden planks. The elders and heads of military rose to their feet, unable to contain their excitement.
Wen Zhuliu glanced at the clan leader sitting next to him. Wen Rouhan was now fully engrossed at the pool of what now looked like blood boiling in the center of the arena. His dark eyes watched intently as Wei Ying unleashed his power and sent it spiraling above the pool. Wen Zhuliu couldn't stop the thin smile of satisfaction from sliding across his lips as he, too, felt the young Wei heir's energy sizzle in the air around them.
Somewhere around 200 beats, the mallet hitting the drum stopped mid strike. Now the only sound within the arena was the splintering of wood. The iron bolts holding the boards together creaked as they were slowly pushed out of the holes they had been pounded through.
The man still submerged flexed his muscles, the water and pool flexing with him. Like molten lava, the chain links melted away and the boulder holding him down snapped free. Wei Ying could feel his energy calling to him. It whispered to him in voices long dead. With a final forceful push, he released it in an explosion that shattered the thick boards and sprayed water on those closest to the arena floor.
Wen Zhuliu's eyes widened at the view before him. Wei Ying's body was glistening with water. His long black hair, although still soaked to the roots, danced around his head in waves of inky tentacles. Red eyes pulsated with the power surging through the young man's body.
Cheers from the crowd rose all around Wei Ying. Fists pumped the air and hands waved seeking his attention. Even the elders were applauding his success. Turning his head slightly to the left and the right, he scanned the mass of strange faces.
Something tugged at his soul. He felt a tender warmth wrap itself around his heart. The familiarity of the feeling had Wei Ying longing for more. Red eyes flickered back to silver.
Lan Zhan?
For a fleeting moment, Wei Ying thought he felt the presence of his soulmate. But that was impossible. There were too many Wen soldiers here. And Wen Zhuliu was front and center with a full view of everything. Lan Zhan wouldn't take that risk.
Would he?
With a quiet huff and shake of his head, Wei Ying decided his jade would take the risk. How did he know? Because he would do it himself. He would risk everything, his own life to save Lan Zhan if need be.
And, if Lan Zhan was here, Wei Ying wouldn't let on that his soulmate was somewhere here in the crowd. Keeping all the attention on himself was the only way to ensure his beloved's safety.
And what better way to do that than to be his cocky self?
"Is that the worst you can do?" he taunted.
It sounded like a good plan. They always did in his head. And then....everything usually went to hell. So why would today be any different?
He watched guardedly as four Wen cultivators entered the arena. Each one held a hand out, palm up, in front of them. With a red spark, a small ball of fire appeared hovering over each of their outstretched hands. As they moved closer to Wei Ying, the insignificant balls quickly grew to the size of a coconut. On Wen Zhuliu's signal, all four sent their still swelling balls of flame towards the man in the middle of the circle.
Instinctively, Wei Ying coccooned himself within a thick cloak of resentful energy. He could feel the heat of the Wen fire surrounding him. Sweat poured out of his skin, soaking his hair and burning his eyes. The anger he felt at being treated like an animal, of having his loved ones threatened, and not knowing what had happened to Lan Zhan fed his demonic energy until it consumed the fiery flames swirling around him.
Wei Ying roared as he flung his arms out. The four men standing around him were thrown backwards, their bodies slamming against the walls. Resentful energy spread like giant black phoenix wings from his body. His silky hair danced around his naked torso, caressing his tanned skin. Flecks of red glinted within the inky black strands, smoldering with pulsating demonic energy.
Before he could unleash his wrath on his enemies, the next tests of wind and cold were inflicted upon him. His body was pushed to extremes he had never suffered before. Each time, Wei Ying thought only of getting back to his Lan Zhan in order to withstand the pain and torment inflicted upon him.
He swore to heaven and hell that if his soulmate was hurt in any way, if there was even the tiniest scratch on Lan Zhan's perfect skin, the Wens and anyone else responsible would pay dearly.
When no other red and white robes entered the arena, Wei Ying thought the trials for the day were over. At least he hoped they were. His level of exhaustion was at its limit. However, he knew he couldn't show any weakness to his enemy. It was a simple law of nature. And one that had been drilled into him since he was old enough to walk.
Wen Rouhan nodded at his right hand man.
"Well done, Wei-gongzi. You certainly know how to entertain us." Wen Zhuliu said with a tiny bow.
"I do love to entertain. But, if that's the best you can do, I'm afraid I'll be taking my leave now."
Wei Ying turned to walk away but instantly froze when he saw his next test being paraded into the arena.
Children.
So many children.
Were these ones the Wen's had stolen from villages they raided?
What had they done to them?
There must have been twenty children ranging in age from eight to fifteen. Their robes hung in tatters, their feet bare. All of them wore looks of terror, emptiness, and hopelessness on their dirtied faces. Each young innocent child looked at him as if they knew this was the end.
Wei Ying spun around, his hands clenched in rage.
"Let them go!" he shouted in rage.
Wen Zhuliu eyed him coldly. "Or what, young master? What can you do? My gift ensures your obedience and the talismans ensure your loyalty."
Wei Ying shook with anger and frustration. "I'll do whatever you want, just let them go."
This time it was Wen Rouhan that spoke. "You're already doing whatever we want."
The sound of the clan leader's voice wrapped itself around Wei Ying's pounding heart and squeezed it until he couldn't breathe. He looked back at the children who were now being pulled away from each other. One by one they were led by an armed soldier until they stood surrounding Wei Ying along the outer edge of the arena.
"Wei-gongzi," Wen Zhuliu called. "I have already seen you save yourself and have heard stories of your bravery when you saved Hanguang-Jun from the scorpion creature. Now I want to see how many lives you can save at one time."
Wei Ying glanced frantically at the children standing around him. Their tiny bodies were held securely by the unforgiving hands of the Wen soldier standing behind them.
With glistening silver eyes, he turned to face his captors. "Please. Don't do this."
"Would it make you fight harder to know that each child you save will be allowed to return home?" Wen Zhuliu asked flatly.
"How do I know you'll keep your promise?"
Wen Zhuliu raised his head higher and stood straighter. "I am a man of my word, Wei Wuxian. Of that, I swear on my clan's name."
Every small head turned towards Wei Ying. Eyes brimming with tears, now looked at the man in the middle with flickers of hope.
Wei Ying gulped. "I...I don't know if I can. I've never....not this many."
Wen Zhuliu stepped down a few rows and stood at the edge of the crowd. He pulled the artifact from his chest pocket and held it out.
A brilliant green round tourmaline gem was centered in a shining metal setting. Thin veins of copper traveled like streaks of lightning throughout the dark iron. The artifact was as large as Wen Zhuliu's hand and glowed faintly.
"That's where this comes into play. You have done very well, Wei-gongzi. Better than we expected. But we also know you must be tired. That was the other reason for so many tests today. We needed to know how far we could push you before you started to falter."
Wei Ying let his shoulders drop. The Wens had planned for everything. They forced him to exasperate his energy so he would have to accept their help with the artifact. Wei Ying hated being manipulated. He hated being controlled. And that hate rippled through him, feeding his resentful energy until he felt himself succumbing to its darkness.
"If you feel yourself weakening," Wen Zhuliu explained. "I will provide you with the power you need to succeed. We will start slowly, of course. We don't want you unleashing your full potential in the middle of Nightless City and killing innocents. Wouldn't you agree?"
When Wei Ying failed to respond, Wen Zhuliu continued, unbothered. "I suspect it will take a few tries to get it right which most likely means not all of these children will survive. But I hope to have the correct balance by the end."
Wei Ying clenched his jaw. "Wen....Zhuliu."
A quiet huff left Wen Rouhan's lips. "I like those odds. Don't you, Wei Wuxian?"
Resentful energy gathered in waves around Wei Ying. It shifted and danced to his anger. He turned slowly, meeting each terrified child's pleading eyes.
"Don't be afraid. I won't let them hurt you. I promise."
He kept his voice calm and steady. His face smiled at them with a confidence that was slowly building inside him. Every obstacle life had thrown at him he had conquered and survived. This one would be no different. If the fates believed he could save these children, then that's exactly what he was going to do.
A part of him believed Wen Zhuliu. The Wens wanted him to succeed. They wanted him to master his power. Right now, it didn't matter to Wei Ying that the only reason they were helping him was so they could use him as a weapon. Right now, the only thing Wei Ying cared about was saving the children.
One by one, the soldiers standing with their small prisoners released their grips. He had hoped the children would run away from their captors and come together in one large group that he could easily defend. However, he quickly realized that was never going to happen. The snaps of metal shackles echoed throughout the quiet arena. Each child was cuffed to the wall by one arm.
There was no way for them to run to safety, no chance for them to escape.
Before he even had a chance of breaking their chains, the next test began.
Wei Ying felt the ground beneath him shaking first. Without warning, the earth under his boots fell away. Leaping to a safer spot, Wei Ying readied himself. He summoned his demonic energy, gathering it around him. Maybe he could keep whatever it was focused on him instead of the children.
And, in theory, his plan would have worked. If what he faced only had one head.
The Xiangliu slithered like lightning out of the now gaping hole in the center of the arena floor. All nine heads thrashed around as if they were caught in the spin of a tornado. Sharp tipped teeth that dripped with sickening saliva lined each snapping mouth. Its body filled almost a third of the arena and Wei Ying had trouble avoiding the slashing tail lined with spikes the length of his arm.
The children were all screaming. How was he going to protect all of them when they were so spread out? Each little body struggled to free itself from the chains binding them in place against the wall. Tiny hands clawed desperately at the cuffs around their thin wrists. Wei Ying's mind raced with scenarios while the Xiangliu's heads began searching for which target they would attack. With nine heads, that meant that almost half the children were in immediate danger of being eaten.
Wei Ying's mind was catapulted back to when Wen Zhuliu told him that armies had been placed outside the Lan, Jiang, and Wei clan's borders. Being in three places at once was impossible. Protecting each individual child was impossible.
Unless.....unless he didn't protect them.
Unless he was able to restrain the monster attacking them.
Or the clan.
Resentful energy burst from Wei Ying's outstretched hands. Thick tendrils of black smoke flew out from his fingers. Like ropes around a horse's neck, Wei Ying lassoed each flailing head and the tail. His demonic energy howled inside his head, joyous at finally being given full freedom, to taste blood.
The Xiangliu shrieked as the resentful energy tightened around its necks. It bucked wildly trying to break the black smoke bindings cinching their way around its body. Wei Ying reached into the deepest depths of his core. He pulled at the energy inside him demanding it obey him. His eyes blazed red with a fire that was consuming him. He could feel himself slipping into the darkness that threatened to take control of his mind.
But the cries of frightened children kept him grounded.
Sending out a single thin strand of demonic energy, Wei Ying ordered it to cut the chains. One by one he heard the clanking of metal falling to the ground.
"Get behind me!" he shouted.
Instantly, all twenty children scrambled to their feet and raced to huddle behind the man trying to save them. The older children instinctively placed the younger ones in the middle. Arms dirtied and bruised held onto others. One young boy on the perimeter looked up at Wei Ying. His wide eyes were filled with fear and wonder at the same time. A barely visible thin smile silently thanked Wei Ying before the boy hid his head from the horrible creature towering over them.
With steady, strained steps, Wei Ying pulled the Xianliu's heads towards him and away from the children. His arms shook with burning exhaustion. The hope of saving any of the children was slowly evaporating along with his strength. Wei Ying fought back with everything he had. The muscles in his neck bulged, his face turning red from the exertion.
For a moment, he thought he felt a burst of energy. But it was gone before he could use it. His legs shook from the weight of trying to hold the Xianliu at bay. Repositioning his feet, he dug in searching for steadier footing. His core throbbed so badly Wei Ying thought it would shatter yet he pushed himself harder.
But it wasn't enough. The first head broke free and lunged straight for Wei Ying. He screamed in frustration.
And that's when he felt it.
Power.
His drained core was suddenly saturated with demonic energy. It filled every crevice and pore of his exhausted body. A darkness blacker than black blanketed itself over every emotion in Wei Ying's heart except hate. Raw rage suffused itself with Wei Ying's mind, forcing all other thoughts out except.....
Destroy.
Instantly, the tendril that had broken reformed around the monster's free neck and Wei Ying yanked it harshly away from the children. The Xiangliu struggled fiercely against the smoky restraints. Instinct told it to fight harder or die but it was no match for the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation now high on resentful energy. Wei Ying brought his fingers inwards effectively tightening the individual nooses until the creature was strung up by all of its heads. The tail was stretched behind it leaving its thick body exposed.
Wei Ying let his head fall back. The energy coursing through him burrowed deeper into his core. It was cold yet so familiar. The voices that had yelled at him before now sang his praises. His skin was humming, his heart thundering. Never in his life had he felt so powerful, so indestructible.
Yet there was a light inside him that refused to be extinguished. Its tiny glow was like that of a firefly trapped in a stormy midnight sky. Fading in and out, it struggled to stay alive.
Wei Ying saw it flickering. He felt its warmth that chased the cold inside him away. Little by little, the little star beamed brighter. It fought back against the darkness threatening to swallow it.
Lan Zhan.
His soulmate was still with him.
Wei Ying pulled Chenqing from his waistband and placed it against his lips. Using the resentful energy given to him, he began playing. Notes that were both beautiful and haunting called the darkness to him. Music fueled by his powerful emotions commanded the giant swirls of energy to do his bidding. Demonic energy spun around him, its fluid forms moving in time with the high pitched notes like a dancer.
The Xiangliu howled in pain. Blood began to drop from the tightening tendrils around its necks. Wei Ying's fingers pranced over the onyx colored flute forcing the demonic energy to do his bidding without question.
Wen Zhuliu's eyes widened in utter amazement. He had never seen Wei Ying use the flute before. He had thought it was just a normal instrument. But now...now he understood how the young man truly channeled his power. This cultivation tool was as unique as Wei Wuxian himself.
And the Wens controlled both.
With rapt fascination, Wen Rouhan watched as Wei Ying's sparkling ruby eyes blackened like ink. The young man's body rose slowly off the dusty ground until he was eye to eye with the monster. When the notes ended, so did the Xiangliu's life. Wei Ying slashed his hand through the air, instantaneously separating all nine heads from the necks of the creature.
Without blinking, Wei Ying's black eyes turned their attention to the Wen Clan leader and the man standing next to him with a smug smile on his face. His hatred for these two men was so tangible that the crowd began to disperse before the monster's body crashed to the ground. Floating towards them on a cloud of resentment, Wei Ying stared at them with a sneer.
"What do you think you're doing, Wei-gongzi?" Wen Zhuliu asked calmly.
"Killing another monster." Wei Ying answered coldly. His voice was that of the many souls swimming in the resentment coiled inside him.
"I don't think so."
Wen Zhuliu raised the artifact in front of him with a cunning smile. The green gemstone glowed brightly and the power given to Wei Ying was instantly taken back. He tried to hold onto his demonic energy but it was as futile as trying to hold blowing dust in his hand. When it was finished, he barely had enough left to lower himself safely to the ground.
Standing on weakened legs, Wei Ying looked back at the children who were being led away by soldiers. Turning back to Wen Zhuliu, he said, "Keep your promise."
The head Wen cultivator bowed. "I always do."
Feeling that the children would indeed be safe, Wei Ying collapsed to his knees. The choker around his neck glowed momentarily and nine new jewels hung from the silk wrapped around his skin. Even though they were small, the weight on his body was crushing.
"Well done, Wei Wuxian." Wen Rouhan crowed. "I'll be looking forward to watching you tomorrow."
Wei Ying looked up. "And I'll be looking forward to seeing the look on your face when I kill you myself."
Wen Rouhan huffed and walked away. Wen Zhuliu leapt gracefully to the arena floor and knelt beside Wei Ying.
"Tell me."
"Tell you what?" Wei Ying answered with a sigh.
"Tell me what it felt like? And don't lie to me. Show me the same respect I have shown you."
Wei Ying kept his eyes down. The fight replayed itself in his mind. Remnants of his hatred and fury still lingered in his core. Yet at the center was that tiny light that had grown just a bit bigger.
Lifting his gaze, Wei Ying replied, "It felt good."
"How good?"
"Like I was unstoppable." Wei Ying paused, a gleam in his silver eyes. "But it wasn't because of your artifact."
Wen Zhuliu's expression turned dark. Wei Ying smiled.
"Lan Zhan's love is my strength. And that's something you can never take away from me."