Chapter Text
Lan Xichen struggled to open his eyes. He felt tired, exhausted – how could he not? He didn’t allow himself to get a proper rest for weeks now. Ever since his little brother was taken, he didn’t rest and he wasn’t going to rest, not until he would find him and bring him back home. Lan Xichen wasn’t going to rest until he’d bring Wangji back to Gusu. There was no other option.
Lan Xichen blamed himself for this – if should’ve known that the trip was a bad idea. His uncle was trying to warn him, but the two of them still decided to make the trip. Lan Xichen was of the opinion that it was worth making that trip. It was just a two-day trip, but he soon found out that it was just an excuse to get rid of him and his uncle for the time being. They needed to get them out of Gusu, because when they returned back home, both exhausted after a long journey, Lan Wangji was missing, and he had been missing for weeks now.
However, Lan Xichen was getting closer to getting answers. As the leader of the sect, Lan Xichen was needed in Gusu, but for the time being, he gave his uncle the needed authorities to run things while he was out, seeking for Wangji. Feeling responsible, Lan Xichen wasn’t going to stop. He had combed through so many lands, searching for his beloved little brother, but luck wasn’t on his side. Even so, Lan Xichen never lost hope – no matter how treacherous the path was going to be, he was going to bring Wangji back home.
This was his fault, all of it.
Wangji did warn him – he tried to, at least, but Lan Xichen didn’t listen. He had gotten too careless and now he was paying the price. Of course, Lan Qiren wanted to go on the journey with Lan Xichen, but someone needed to stay behind and lead their sect. They had already dealt with the traitor hidden among their sect, but the traitors wouldn’t give away too much. They had to be working for someone powerful as the traitors rather faced a severe punishment than telling them the truth. The traitors were punished by banishment, of course, and having their cores sealed, but it wasn’t enough in Lan Xichen’s opinion. And that just angered him more.
Still, after being on the road for so many weeks, Lan Xichen managed to make one connection – The Yiling Patriarch. His brother was supposedly seen in the company of the Yiling Patriarch. Lan Xichen didn’t know how reliable the information was, but it was the only lead he had for now.
People feared the name. Truthfully, it was a name that Lan Xichen feared as well, but if he needed to face him to bring his brother back home, then so be it. It made no sense, why would the Yiling Patriarch want to mess with the Lan sect. It was known that the man didn’t really seek out trouble, mostly because others tended to avoid him. Even so, the stories about the man made even the bravest hearts tremble with fear and Lan Xichen was no different.
Yiling Patriarch used to reside in Yiling in the past, that was how the nickname stuck to him. Lan Xichen tried searching for Yiling, but to no avail. It was as if the whole land was swallowed up as a whole. Lan Xichen spent way too many precious weeks seaking for the land that ceased to exist.
After quite a while, Lan Xichen was able to gather some information. The Yiling Patriarch was last seen in Yunmeng according to the information Lan Xichen was able to gather. A terrible place, infested with vengeful ghosts and fierce corpses. It was a trip that Lan Xichen wasn’t looking forward to, but it was a small price that he needed to pay for his stupidity.
Perhaps if Lan Xichen offered to trade places with Wangji... As the sect leader, Lan Xichen would be far more valuable, wouldn’t he? Lan Xichen didn’t truly intend to make the way back home, but he wished that at least his brother would be able to be saved from the evil demonic cultivator. The wicked ways that he used; Lan Xichen knew that he needed to be quick. He needed to move fast.
The story about the Yiling Patriarch was quite a tragic one. Many, many years ago... Hundreds of years ago, he was once a promising cultivator. Living in Yunmeng, at the Lotus Pier, with his two siblings, Yiling Patriarch used to live a happy, carefree life. His future was bright, but that didn’t last for a very long time. The Jiang sect was betrayed by the other cultivator sects, leaving the land to be completely swallowed by the darkness.
In the midst of betrayal and darkness, the Yiling Patriarch used vengeance to deal with the pain. Losing completely everything - the man lost his ways, allowing the lust for revenge to swallow him completely. Wielding demonic power as cultivators was frowned upon. It was dangerous, the darkness not only clouded your judgement, but your heart as well. And that was how the Yiling Patriarch sank deeper into the darkness.
He wasn’t the only one.
His siblings followed him as well. They allowed the darkness to completely swallow them, the once bright and happy land of Yunmeng transforming into a land of nightmares. The trio avenged their sect, oh, they didn’t spare any soul that had betrayed their sect.
They were ruthless. Wielding dark, wicked powers had turned them immortal, feared by way too many.
Finding the Yunmeng wasn’t the difficult part, but it was entering them that made the path that difficult and dangerous. Lan Xichen had slaughtered many corpses, feeling the wicked, dark and demonic energy trying to mess with his head, trying to mess with his judgement, but Lan Xichen didn’t allow the darkness to consume him. It was tempting, the temptation was lingering, but he didn’t allow it to consume him. Finding Wangji was the only thing that he could think about, so that was what helped him with keeping his sanity... at least for now.
However, Lan Xichen could feel the crying souls. The ground he walked on was soaked with blood, the air was thick. It was hard to breathe, he wasn’t welcomed there. As he walked through the land, he could sometimes hear people weeping. But, as he turned around, there was no one behind him. He could feel their presence – the vengeful ghosts!
As Lan Xichen was trying to cross the lake on his sword, he lost his way. Tired and exhausted, Lan Xichen wasn't as careful as he should have been. He should have flown higher upon the lake, but... He realised that before it was too late. A hand reached out of the lake and pulled onto his sword. Lan Xichen lost his balance and fell into the dark lake. He struggled to swim back, but it was useless. He could feel countless arms grabbing him and pulling him under, not giving him the time to grab his talismans, he was sinking deeper and deeper, the darkness completely consuming him.
That was until...
Lan Xichen tried moving his arms, but he realised that his arms were bound behind his back. He was laying on a cold floor and he slowly managed to open his eyes, looking around. Darkness, he was surrounded by complete darkness, and he closed his eyes again, swallowing thickly, his throat burning. He took a sharp breath in, struggling to breathe and gritted his teeth, slowly opening his eyes yet again, trying to find out where he was.
This was...
A temple?
Lan Xichen shook and blinked again, his eyes slowly getting adjusted to the darkness and he swallowed thickly. It resembled something that used to be a palace. But it was in a terrible shape. There were only ruins, looking up and he could see right through the roof, his throat still burning, and he was oblivious that he was currently being watched. Through the shadows, eyes were watching him.
Lan Xichen gulped.
“Where... am I?” asked Lan Xichen and his blood turned cold when he heard little chuckles from somewhere around him. He quickly turned around, and his eyes widened in shock when he saw someone. It was a dark shadow, barely resembling a person. They were sitting. The only thing that Lan Xichen could see were a pair of violet glowing eyes and he-
Yiling Patriarch?!
“You don’t know?” asked the voice. It was cold. Lan Xichen gulped.
“T-this-” started Lan Xichen and tried to remember that he was there to bring Wangji back. If he wanted to do that, he needed to keep better composure. He still felt tired, he was still soaked, the layers of clothing sticking to his body and he- “I’m here to bring my brother back!”
“Your brother?” asked the lazy voice. “If your brother was foolish enough to wander into our land on his own accord, then he’s dead already. Probably.”
Lan Xichen gritted his teeth, feeling anger seeping into his veins.
“I will not leave, not until I see my brother!” said Lan Xichen.
“I will repeat myself again, ” hissed the voice. “We don’t deal well with outsiders. Your brother is dead.”
Lan Xichen shook his head, refusing to believe it, finally getting onto his knees, his hands still bound together, and his eyes widened when he turned around. They were bound by magic, trying to free himself would be useless.
“You kidnapped my brother,” said Lan Xichen. “I’m here to make you an offer.”
“I’m not interested in whatever little pathetic deal you wish to make,” said the voice and Lan Xichen swallowed thickly. He was playing with fire, and he was aware of it, but he wasn’t backing down. Not without a fight.
“I would be far more valuable to you than my brother, Yiling Patriarch!” said Lan Xichen, feeling bold and after a few moments of silence, he heard laughter. The laughter was deep, almost manic and Lan Xichen remembered that he was dealing with a truly wicked person.
“You hold no value to me, no matter who you think you are,” said the voice and Lan Xichen saw the person standing up, slowly coming closer to him. Lan Xichen moved back on instinct, but he hit something or someone with his back, slowly turning around and he felt chills going down his back when he saw a... A shell of what used to be a young man. However, his skin was pale, missing in some places, blood smeared all over his face, his stare was blank and-
A corpse.
Lan Xichen didn’t dare to yell, but he tried moving away from it, realising that he was trapped. He was surrounded by at least ten corpses, all waiting for an order. All the Yiling Patriarch needed to do was move a finger and they would rip Lan Xichen’s throat out. Lan Xichen tried moving away, but then he realised that the Yiling Patriarch was now looming over him, and Lan Xichen froze.
“I’ll repeat this one more time,” said the man and leaned closer to him. He was wearing black and violet robes, lotus flowers embroidered on them. His hair was pinned back, little braids going up from the sides, reaching down to his lower back. There was a dark wicked grin upon his face as he leaned closer to Lan Xichen and suddenly took a closer look, shaking his head. His eyes were still glowing purple, dark circles under his eyes and his skin was pale.
The man was breathtakingly beautiful. His beauty was deadly. He resembled a youth, a man barely in the middle of his twenties, but it was the eyes that gave it away. He was centuries old; those were the eyes of someone that saw way too much. Those eyes were now laughing at him, and Lan Xichen gulped.
So, this was the Yiling Patriarch?
The man seemed to be distracted by someone and Lan Xichen’s eyes widened when the man suddenly cupped his chin, raising his face up. He snorted and shook his head.
“The look of defiance – I like that, perhaps there’s more to you than just a pretty face,” said the man, laughing at him and Lan Xichen gritted his teeth.
“You are not to mock me-”
“Such a shame you were stupid enough to wander here,” said the man. It was clear that the man was mocking him. Even if it was dark, however, Lan Xichen managed to notice another thing. It was – the ring. Every now and then, there were sparks emitting from it and if Lan Xichen didn’t know better... The legendary Zidian?!
But that...
“You are-”
“A-Cheng,” said another voice.
It belonged to a woman.
The man glanced up and sighed under his breath. There were slow footsteps coming closer to the two of them and Lan Xichen tried to calm down his nerves, but he was freaking out. He was going to start screaming very soon if someone wasn’t going to-
“Sister,” said the man, his voice now softer. He glanced down, bowing his head a bit and Lan Xichen turned around.
“Move,” came an order from the woman, wearing similar robes. She was just as pale as the man, her lips stained red. Much like the man, she was also stunningly beautiful. Her eyes were glowing dark violet as well and with only one word, the corpse that was standing in her way moved. She grinned and slowly came closer to Lan Xichen, who gritted his teeth, and he shook his head.
His luck was getting worse by each passing second.
“So, this is the outsider,” she commented and the other one nodded.
“Wish to have some fun with him before I take him out of his misery?” asked the man. She just chuckled and glanced at Lan Xichen.
“There’s fear in his eyes,” she commented and narrowed her eyes. “And determination. Despite everything, you’re still brave. Foolish thing,” she commented and made a pause. “As expected from a Lan.”
“Lan?” asked the other one and he didn’t seem too pleased. He sounded annoyed. “Another one?”
The Yiling Patriarch had deep hatred for the Lan sect for some reason...
“Where is my brother?” hissed Lan Xichen again.
The woman snickered. She was amused, but her brother looked annoyed.
“If you’ve done something to Wangji, both of you will pay. I swear I will-”
“Shut up,” ordered the man.
“Stand up,” said the woman and Lan Xichen gritted his teeth. He wasn’t going to listen to- “I said stand up,” she ordered again and that time around, Lan Xichen’s body listened to her. Lan Xichen was standing up against his will.
“What are you-”
“Follow me,” she ordered, and Lan Xichen’s eyes widened in horror when he stepped closer, again against his own accord.
“Yanli, where are you taking him?” asked the man and Lan Xichen gulped when he finally learned her name. Jiang Yanli.
“A-Cheng,” she said again, saying her brother’s name sweetly. It was truly eerie. “Young master Lan said that he wanted to meet the Yiling Patriarch, so he will get to do that just now,” said Jiang Yanli and her brother smiled, his grin mirroring his sister’s.
A-Cheng.
Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Wanyin, the leader of the Jiang sect .
This-
This wasn't the Yiling Patriarch, but they were going to take him to meet him. Lan Xichen was trying to break free, but Jiang Yanli’s spell was too strong, and Jiang Cheng was growing annoyed by Lan Xichen’s annoying threats. That was why he decided to use his own magic to keep his mouth closed and all that Lan Xichen could do was helplessly follow the Jiang siblings deeper into the darkness.