Chapter Text
Begins final battle between Wei Wuxian, Hanguang Jun, and Song Lan against Xue Yang.
"Wei Wuxian, you are relentless!" Cries Xue Yang. Projecting images of himself into the fog in all directions. Wei Wuxian and Hanguang Jun fight with the illusions until they all fade. But still no sign of Xue Yang. Tap, tap, tap. They hear through the fog. Wei Wuxian glances at Hanguang Jun and they rush towards the sound. Wei Wuxian produces a talisman and tosses it into the air. The fog thins for them to see enough to realize where they are. They are back by the coffin of Xiao Xingchen. Jing is tapping furiously on the coffin, her fingers gripping the edge of it trembling.
Wei Wuxian sighs. "We know, Jing that Xiao Xingchen is here."
She taps more furiously.
"Wei Ying," Hanguang Jun says in his unchanging monotone voice.
Wei Wuxian looks down into the coffin to see Xue Yang. He is laying on top of Xiao Xingchen's body to the side, gripping the pale corpse' chest with one hand and holding his bleeding stomach with the other.
"Stupid girl I should have killed you," he grinds his teeth.
Wei Wuxian immediately pushes Jing behind him. Hanguang Jun draws his sword to strike inside the coffin to end the delinquent as he trembles gripping the long-lost man in his bleeding fingers.
Bichen bounces off and returns to Lan Wangji's hand. He glances at Wei Wuxian.
"Using a dead man's coffin as a shield. You really are shameless," says Wei Wuxian tossing his flute up into the air and catching it again.
"These talismans will be difficult to crack," says Xue Yang hoarsely. "I made them to protect him. It will take weeks to break into this."
"Why don’t we just put the lid on and lock you up in with him and let you starve or die from that wound? You don’t think you can actually escape death with silly trick like that?" Says Wei Wuxian walking over to the coffin lid.
"Wei Wuxian, you are mistaken. I'm not here to escape death I've simply chosen my coffin," replies Xue Yang.
"You want to die in a worthy man's coffin? You are unbelievable!" Says Wei Wuxian.
"Wei Ying," says Lan Wangji approaching the coffin closer. Wei Wuxian moves nearer to Lan Wangi. The spirit pouch that held Xiao Xingchen's last breath is back in Xue Yang's hand. Wei Wuxian checks himself. "That clever thief!" He exclaims.
"Years on the street taught me to be a good pickpocket," says Xue Yang still holding onto Xiao Xingchen's motionless chest.
"His spirit will go into that pouch with Xiao Xingchen's. Can that poor man ever be rid of you?!" Exclaims Wei Wuxian. "He killed himself just to get away from your twisted games."
"Aaah!" Xue Yang screams and grips the corpse tightly.
"Wei Ying. Can you break it? Can you break it before he dies?" Asks Hanguang Jun.
Wei Wuxian focuses carefully on every talisman lining the edge of the coffin. The barrier goes around the coffin and inside of it acting like a lid and walls even if both are destroyed. Wei Wuxian closes his eyes and pulls a talisman out. He pushes it onto the barrier. It trembles a little but doesn’t break. He creates more, tossing them in rapid succession towards the barrier. Its invisible until its hit and becomes a black shadowy wall. Xue Yang starts to shriek uncontrollably seeing his expert barrier weakening faster than he predicted. Wei Wuxian bites his lip to keep blood from coming out as he becomes fatigued. Lan Wangji notices before he can hide it and moves to catch him before he falls.
Xue Yang’s shrieks become deafening. Jing covers her ears. An uncontrolled chaotic spiritual power is released within the small space of the coffin. The stygian tiger seal spills out from his clothes and lands on Xiao Xingchen's chest. Its black energy rising out from the seal that had kept it contained. It latches onto Xue Yang's wild spiritual energy and starts to suck it up. Xue Yang's shrieks become pitiful wails as if his very life is being sucked out of him. "Xiao Xingchen," he weeps pulling the dead man's once clean white clothes towards his face. "Please, please..."
He reaches to take the seal with his weakened fingers. His finger touches the seal and he shakes like he'd been shocked. He takes the seal in his hand one more time, his hand too weak to even leave Xiao Xingchen's chest, and he exerts a final shriek and release of his spiritual power to seal up the coffin securely with the seals power.
But the seal was not made to make coffins secure, this one, in particular was specially crafted by Xue Yang to resurrect a dead man.
Xue Yang loses consciousness. The spirit pouch splits open in the chaos releasing Xiao Xingchen's last breath. The black seal spreads across Xiao Xingchen's body as his fragmented spirit hovers over, unsure where to go or what to do. Song Lan reaches the edge of the coffin. He grips the sides punching at the barrier desperately trying to get in and save his friend from whatever evil Xue Yang intends. Wei Wuxian stands to his feet and tries again to crack the barrier. Hanguang Jun is by his side holding him up. Jing is standing behind Wei Wuxian her hands over her ears still.
Just a breath but enough to take one, then perhaps another, then one more after that. The fragment of his broken soul longs to touch these people he knew, these people he loved. Slowly it settles down comfortably into Xiao Xingchen's head and with a little blue flicker of light enters back in. The seal's black tentacles reach around Xue Yang's unconscious body and pull out burning red strands of his spiritual power and life. Then, just as that line is about to end it snaps. Xiao Xingchen takes a breath.