Wei Wuxian was lucky they had found him in time. Otherwise those bandits would have taken everything from him. Yiling Patriarch? Jin Ling almost laughs out loud, amused. He watches as Sizhui and Jingyi hobble off with the renowned Yiling Patriarch, setting him in a blanket of shade to rest.
Jin Ling drags the annoying donkey after them.
"Hey! Idiot!" Jin Ling shouts to that Lan Jingyi. Jingyi shoots him a glare over his shoulder, as if saying what do you want? "Take this donkey."
"No. Sizhui entrusted it to you."
"Why do we always do everything Sizhui says?"
Sizhui shouts from out of sight, "I heard that!"
Jin Ling sighs.
Jingyi slides into the shade of a tree and pulls a water pouch from his bag. He takes a swig, before tossing it over to Jin Ling. Jin Ling catches it one-handedly and and drinks it without a word. The sun grows hotter. Violent, prickly rays burn incessantly into Jin Ling's back, and, irritated, he swiftly finishes tying the donkey reigns to a branch and hastes back into the shade of the tree, taking a seat next to Jingyi.
"What a long day," Jingyi mutters. "Can't believe it's only noon."
Jin Ling sneers, "Can't believe we fought a bunch of thug-bandits first thing in the morning."
"How many did you pin?"
"Seven. You?"
Jingyi smirks, "Eight."
Jin Ling scowls, "Whatever! I stabbed the leader in the side. He counts as more than one because he rules them all. So, technically, I pinned ten."
Jingyi snorts, "Bullshit."
Jin Ling glares at him, "Why is that bullshit? It makes sense!"
"No. I mean you're bullshit."
"You—"
•••
The Starlight Ritual is no easy process. It takes at least an hour or two before the effects are in full—but it's the only way to ensure stability to a fading life.
It was Hanguang Jun who taught Ah Yuan how to do it.
Ah Yuan's two fingers channel the energy of the Starlight Ritual as he holds them against Brother Wei's forehead. Brother Wei is just staring at him as he does this, his eyes half-closed, almost unconscious. Like he's fighting it. He gazes at Ah Yuan with an expression blanker and deeper than is fathomable.
The junior mutters through grit teeth, "We're almost done, Brother Wei. You'll be fine."
"Doesn't your arm ache?" Brother Wei asks. His words are slurred. The Starlight Ritual has this side effect—it tries to put you to sleep. Sets you in a daze, and often times you don't remember what happens in these moments. They say it's as good as getting someone drunk.
Ah Yuan replies to his senior's question, "A little, yes." A lot. "But I'm fine."
"I always wanted to ask him that," Brother Wei pauses. He laughs, finally tearing gaze away from Ah Yuan. "Ah Yuan... you're so much like him now."
"Like who?"
"Lan Zhan."
There's a beat of silence. Ah Yuan stares at Brother Wei, unsure of the right answer. At the same time it's hard to multitask while doing the Starlight Ritual.
"He used to sing this song, you know. Or, at least once he did."
"Would you like me to sing you one too?"
"No, no... no. You wouldn't know the right one, anyway. It's-it's not something in the book of your Lan Clan Clarity airy-fairy Songs.... it's something else. Actually," Brother Wei laughs. "I don't know if I should tell you this. But I'm going to anyway! Lan Zhan composed the song himself."
This throws Ah Yuan offguard.
"Really?" Ah Yuan says finally. He is still stunned. "I... didn't know Hanguang Jun composed music."
Brother Wei laughs louder, "I don't think he does! But he sang me something in that Tortoise of Slaughter cave... what a load of crap. How could he have composed that song himself?"
Ah Yuan recovers his focus.
"Almost done, Brother Wei."
"In that cave—that Slaughtering pottery Tortoise cave—it was just the two of us. Alone. Of course, we'd been alone together before. We found the Cold Pond Cave together and all... but... this was different. In that cave. I touched his headband, did you know that?"
Ah Yuan nearly loses the Starlight Ritual energy entirely.
"You did?" He exclaims. "You touched Hanguang Jun's.... but.... but only certain people are allowed to touch—"
"I used it to tie his leg, heal it. After that, he kind of stared at me for a very long moment. That Lan Zhan. He looked at me like that... just, not saying anything... really, he looked at me like that. And that was the first time I realised how I felt...."
Brother Wei is drifting to sleep now, unable to fight the side effects of the ritual any longer. But Ah Yuan wants him to continue. He wants Brother Wei to keep talking, to finish the thought.
"Brother Wei? Brother Wei, what—what were you saying?"
"...that's when I realised..." Brother Wei's eyes flutter closed. "...that I was in love with him."