Chapter Text
Strolling through this camp Li Xing, it's hard to ignore the various volumes of gossip. The topic of conversation circles around the Wens, naturally, but also about the lack of genuine support from the Jin Sect. It didn’t surprise him all that much, given his years of wandering to familiarize himself with this world’s Cultivation level and its social structure, in his opinion, the reason for the lack of support was that Jin Guangshan was hedging his bets on which side would win.
This wouldn’t be his first Cultivation War and, given the level of Cultivation of these Daoists around him, will not be the last of such conflicts for him to witness nor take part in. This world’s rating is on the low end in both the quality of the Daoists that are birthed and, in their society, that they had built for themselves since whatever happened to the School System fell apart. In Li Xing’s eyes the current society was coming to a dead end, likely won’t see half a thousand years after this so called Sunshot Campaign.
A few of those walking past Li Xing sport looks of contempt at him with a few making comments to their friends walking with them about another poor ‘Rogue Cultivator’ looking for a ‘handout’. Which amuses him but wasn’t that surprising, given few Daoists of this world seem to care about Cultivation level, its focus has shifted to blood ties and material wealth. Sadly, the display of wealth is still a cornerstone outside of this society and world.
He finds a Nie Disciple manning the recruitment table. Li Xing takes a second to school about his expression before approaching this Demonic Cultivator. The Nie Sect’s Cultivation differs slightly from normal Demonic Cultivation in that instead of the Daoist consuming the stolen Qi, they have their sabers do it instead. Which leads to the creation of Demonic Saber, not that the Sect seems willing to acknowledge what gets created from their Cultivation Path, given they hide the result in castles with restless corpses lining the walls.
Once they went through the polite formality passed, it's time for registering his joining. “Name?” The Nie Disciple asks him. “Li Xing. Li for Dawn and Xing for Fortunate.” Li Xing replies and watches as his name is put down.
Soon enough, he’s given instructions on where to report along with a belt token to signify his inclusion to the cause. Once he tied the token to his belt, Li Xing gives a shallow bow before walking away from the table. Ignoring the side eyeing as he walks towards his assigned location, it hardly surprises him that it's the one closest to the latrines along where those who are not Daoists are also meant to sleep.
It wasn’t hard to find a spot that he could claim; what did take a bit was waiting for people to be elsewhere before pulling out what he needed to set up one of his tents. Once his chosen tent has been spread out, Li Xing gives a final look around before activating one of the Spiritual Arrays upon said tent and once it has been constructed, he sets up a few Arrays to alert him if anyone is trying to enter, keep anyone that’s not him from entering, and then altering the shape and size of the space within the tent to one that he wishes it to be so that he has a private bathroom, study, bedroom, and living room.
He didn’t see any reason to include a kitchen as the army should be supplying him with meals, nor does he plan to invite anyone into his space, so he doesn’t need a space to entertain anyone or give the illusion that his tent was mundane like the others were. Li Xing enters the tent and begins to set up the various rooms to his liking. It takes him about two hours to do so and checking the time, heads out to go mingling with his neighbors to gleam details about who it is he’s to report to and what kind of duties he can look forward to.
Nearly Over Three Months Later
With a Full Moon shining down, Li Xing feels the usual hum of energy flowing into him and the typical restlessness creeping throughout his mind. That familiar sense of that energy just wishing to burst out of his skin, his skin itching under his robes as though they were irritating his skin. All of that was something he’s overly familiar with and had plenty of experience putting up with.
What’s different and unusual has to do with the haze of Qi hanging around the area. The feeling reminds him of Yiling’s Burial Mounds when he walked to the edge of said location and then around the edge until he made a full circle. The difference between that experience with the Burial Mounds and what he finds tonight is how new, or fresh; this haze feels compared to that one that hangs around the Burial Mounds.
The second has to do with the simple fact that, one man engineered it while the other came about naturally on its own over centuries of being left alone. As he comes up behind the pair of leaders of the group, Jiang Wanyin and Lan Wangji, Li Xing finds someone he knew upon first sight, was wasted on this world. The name of the man is Wei Ying, which comes from Lan Wangji while Jiang Wanyin names the man Wei Wuxian.
While he doesn’t sense what passes as a Golden Core in this society within Wei Ying, he doesn’t mistake him for being weak because of it. Li Xing has visited many worlds and has met various people with different kinds of fortune and there’s no way he can not realize the presence that flares out from Wei Ying’s very being. The favor of the Heavens comes in many forms and ways, but the core of such remains pretty much the same, and Wei Ying is in possession of such.
With just a thought, a list appears, one that only he can see. The list is of various Bounties that he’s accepted, and he’s sure that Wei Ying fits one of those Bounties. Sure enough, one of the oldest Bounties he has left, one of five, does list a Son of Heaven needed, with a preference of one that’s of compassionate nature.
The list fades away as Li Xing focuses on how Wei Ying acts with the pair. While Lan Wangji scolds Wei Ying for his ability to work with the dead, it is Jiang Wanyin that he focuses on and studies as Wei Ying, Wei Wuxian, had been a member of the Jiang Sect and likely continues to see the former heir now ‘Sect Leader’ as someone to answer to. As he does so, he mentally recalls what rumors he’d heard before the fall of Lotus Pier and smiles ever so slightly as things begin to fall into place.
There it is. Such a weak man! Or should I say, what an insecure woman that Madam Jiang was! And her son takes after her, huh? Li Xing can already see how this pair will part; it won’t be until after this war and if he leaves Jin Guangshan and his supporters alive... The parting will be far more permanent to boot as the weak one between this pair is easy to see and led by rumors, all thanks to the example his mother shown him and the resentment had nurtured within him towards Wei Ying.
The only problem concerning fulfilling the Bounty has to do with Wei Ying himself. After all, forcing the issue won’t work, not if Wei Ying isn’t willing. Which means he’ll likely have to make use to various Treasures in his possession or seek out entities with information that could aid him swaying Wei Ying to follow him out of this world. But for now, I’ll just observe and observe him to get a good hold of what his character is. For all I know, the solution could be something coming up in the future.
Given evidence and what kind of night it is, it's best for Li Xing to keep out of sight of this Necromancer less glimpses his not so human nature that’s straining to be let out. He didn’t think to have his usual items on him this night has there hasn’t been any need for them as nobody in this world seems to home their Spiritual Senses to the point they can see unmanifested Ghosts or Spirits.
The group peels apart between Jiang Wanyin and Lan Wangji, with one leading those willing to follow him back to the makeshift camp while the other begins to work on clearing up the site, beginning with the restless ghost lingering behind now that Wei Ying had left. His gaze lingers on the two dead men, one had been a coward at the end, and the other had continued to try to fulfill his duty as the bodyguard. It was obvious who earned a slight measure of his respect before turning to head back to the campsite.
He had thought he’d need to do some work behind the scenes to aid the side he chose to win but with a Necromancer on their side his subtle aid won’t be needed. Even the war’s aftermath that he had nebulous plans for, he discards. With the need to lure Wei Ying to leave this world and receiving the reward for the Bounty, him hiding out in this world for a few centuries is unneeded as well as arranging things to suit him for the duration of those centuries.
After all, the world that’s involved with this Bounty, even in its ruined state, has plenty of Treasures and Cultivation Manuals he can add to his collection. Or even books detailing the world’s beasts and flora could be bartered for things he might need or want. That world does have various parallel ones, but few of those sibling worlds were a match one-to-one to one another. Depending on what managed to survive the reign of and death of that particular version Son of Heaven, Fortune’s Favored Child, or to use a very different title, the Protagonist.
Years Since that Night
With everything prepared, Li Xing only needed to wait for the star of the show to finally arrive. Unlike himself, Wei Ying and Wen Qing couldn’t fly to this death camp which gave him time to set up the Spiritual Array. Having done plenty of information gathering among the population of this world, particularly with those who live in Yunmeng about the character of Wei Ying throughout the years, he is confident that Wei Ying would take him up on his offer.
Moving to the spot he had selected as having the best view of what’s to come and the death of those working as guards of this death camp. This camp is just one of the outcomes he figured would come about with those in power, particularly given the Jin Sect likely feeling the need to be harder on the defeated Wen Sect than those who fought on the battlefield against them. The Sects truly believe in the philosophy of ‘fear the strong and bully the weak’.
Too bad they knew Wei Ying’s character won’t have him oppressing them and thus feel emboldened to disregard his strength. Li Xing thinks to himself as his gaze flickers to the massive open grave. The reason why he refers to this camp as a death camp.
Under an hour since he finished his Array, the pair he’s been waiting for finally make it their way to this death camp. Those guards didn’t seem to realize that anyone has arrived as the pair approach an elderly woman with a battered Wen Sect flag with a toddler about her legs. Within minutes, Wen Qing is running towards the main group of workers calling for her dead brother’s name while Wei Ying takes in the slowly gathering tainted Qi, Qi tainted with the final emotions of those who died at this camp.
As the events unfold among those below, Li Xing begins to move once the guards are dead, and Wei Ying begins to organize the prisoners to leave this location. “You know they’ll approach Sect Leader Jiang about what you did here. That he’ll try to talk you into returning them to this camp.”
The group of prisoners look rather apprehensive at his simple statement as they glance at Wei Ying, who’s seated on a horse with that toddler in his arm. Said man presses his lips together with flint in his gaze at Li Xing, as if he’s just a speck of dust for him to walk over. “You know Sect Leader Jiang won’t accept you bringing trouble to his gate.” He adds while hearing the prisoners do their best to remain silent.
“And what business is it of yours?” Wei Ying asks in a flat tone, clearly realizing that Li Xing is up to something, which he expected. “I don’t think I recall your name.”
“Li Xing is my name, and I know of a place where they and you yourself will be out of reach and danger of this Sects.” He tells the group. “And yes, there is a string attached to this, but I feel the need to inform you that where this is, you could find the means to resurrect Wen Ning.”
There’s a sharper look in Wei Ying’s gaze now while the prisoners shift uneasy. Li Xing remains unfazed under this look while still focusing on Wei Ying. Waiting for the man to ask what that string is. “And what is this... string attached to this offer?”
“You’ll be fixing up a realm from the hideous mismanagement of the former Emperor of the Realm.” Li Xing states bluntly and knows that none of those present would understand just how encompassing the term realm is in this context. It's likely they thought of some small kingdom or stretch of land in need of being fixed up instead of a whole world, from the Dragon Line to the people who survived the downfall of said Emperor.
The look that he reads as ‘that’s it’ flickers over Wei Ying’s face for under a minute before the man recovers. “And why don’t you do so? Why put this offer before us?”
“I don’t fit the requirements and you, Wei Ying, courtesy name Wei Wuxian, do.” Li Xing states in a matter-of-fact tone. “You are what’s called the Favorite of the Gods, and I sensed it the moment I was in your presence. You have what it takes to fulfill this task, to undo what the former Emperor, who was also another Favorite of the Gods, did to the realm.”
A look of skepticism lingers on Wei Ying’s face as he thinks over what he just said. Privately, within his own mind, Li Xing chuckles as he can look forward to the look of disbelief upon realizing he was not just serious but what he said being true, about himself and that such a thing is an actual thing instead of just some fancy title that society is eager to given out like candy to whoever had high enough standing or wealth.
As Wei Ying controls his expression, he glances towards the prisoners with him before giving a glance to the toddler upon his arm while the other holds the reins of the horse. “If this is a trick...” Wei Ying states upon looking right back at Li Xing.
“I’m pretty sure in less than a shichen, you’ll wish I was merely pranking you.” Li Xing states with a hint of amusement along with a smile upon his face. “Follow me, the Array I set up isn’t far.” With that, he walks to where he set up the Array that will cause them to exit out of this world.
About three minutes later, he hears the train of Wei Ying and former prisoners follow him. Twenty minutes they arrive, and Li Xing crouches down. Within a minute, the Array activates fully as the gate leaving this world appears as a tear in the air with rainbow lightning dancing around the edges with the remains of the Array gets converted into Qi. Getting up, he walks right through the gate of space and time.
About ten minutes later, the first people finally entered the gate before moving out of it. Soon enough, the rest of the group crossover with Wei Ying being last. The tear remains as the space begins to act up, now that there’s nobody waiting on the other side of that gate. An icon signaling that the System is loading appears before the group.
Then a series of scans happen once the icon flashes thrice, causing the group to tense up and murmurs of concerns erupt, but they quiet down after realizing nothing else is happening and, perhaps, due to him remaining calm while this was happening helped. Once the scanning has been completed, the System messaging screen appears. [Greetings Li Xing! Greetings to the Son of Heaven, Wei Ying, courtesy name Wei Wuxian! Welcome Wen Remnants!]
There’s plenty of gasps at the appearance of said message along with the contents as there’s no way that the System should know who they were more likely than the title it gave to Wei Ying. “Greetings System, I’m here to complete the Bounty you offered.” Li Xing speaks out loud. “One Son of Heaven as requested.”
“You said Favorite of the Gods.” Wei Ying states and he chuckles while the System replies, [Son of Heaven and Favorite of the Gods are just ways to explain an individual such as yourself. It just means you are a special existence that often has the world bending itself to aid you in your pursuits among other things.]
There’s a sound of disbelief, and Li Xing adds, “Yes, that includes going through hardships and discrimination. They say that hardship builds character.”
[Indeed! Li Xing has fulfilled the Bounty’s requirements and thus the reward is his.] And then there’s a private screen offering to transfer the reward to his account, which he accepts without haste. The reward can be spent at the System Shop or shops affiliated with the network that is Systems, which he knows a few locations and had ways to find others if said locations have closed.
“But this doesn’t look like a realm...” One of the former prisoners' comments. [The world has been put under a temporal seal which also serves to prevent plunders from invading it in its current state of ruin, pushing it into destruction.]
[This is a port of entry. Once the gate leading out closes, I will transplant those within this space to a secure location within the realm. If you do not wish to settle down in the realm in its current state, you may leave through the gate that brought you here.] The System in charge of this world informs the group.
“You can’t expect us to go back to die!” Exclaims one of the former prisoners. “Nobody is forcing you to go back but it's likely you never will return to that world if you remain here.” Li Xing explains as he finally turns to look at those behind him. “Going forward, you likely won’t find a lot of safe spots to rest undisturbed, I would be lying if I do, but you won’t be hunted due to being relatives to Wen Ruohan or being former members of the Qishan Wen Sect.”
[Correct! The world is in an unstable state, but that state is fixable! If it were not, then I would not have been charged with sealing this world or issuing a Bounty for a Son of Heaven to aid in stabilizing this world.] The System adds.
“Are you... a god?” One of them asks, and the System replies with a negative. [No. I am an assistant of sorts to the greater multiverse known as a System.]
“Think of the System as a Spirit that a god Cultivated.” Li Xing decides to say. “Like how Daoists Cultivate a Spirit within Spiritual Tools or Weapons.” It's not as if they need to know what a System is as they don’t have any idea what a computer is nor what a program is in relation to a computer. It's unlikely that outside of Wei Ying or himself, any of them will interact with the System beyond this singular encounter.
While the group is unconvinced, no one seems inclined to go through the gate to return to their world. Although a few seem to be crying, likely realizing that they never will encounter those that remain in that world or, perhaps, in relief over not having to deal with the Sects that had imprisoned them and their loved ones. A mournful look sent towards the gate likely means that they wished to go back to fetch others to join them but, likely knew it's an impossible wish to do so.
“What happened to unstable an entire world?” Wei Ying asks before remembering something else, “And is it true there’s a way to resurrect Wen Ning?”
[That is correct! On this world and its siblings, there are ways to resurrect the dead. Two of which are cornerstone pillars of the world. You will find references in the hidden libraries and within the former Emperor’s Palace.] The System replies and then there’s a few minutes before the System answers the first question, which he knows can be found in the form of a novel known as Proud Immortal Demon Way, which version he doesn’t know.
In nearly two hours they wait for the gate to close; the System has done its best to give the true events of the world they were going to enter and answer the questions asked, which also gave Wen Qing time to recover from her fainting and to become involve, which means that a lot of questions in regards to the health problems that could arise from any methods of resurrection that the world offers before going onto what kind of sickness and injuries she could expect to deal with, as she is the doctor of the group.
Given the state of the group, Li Xing sets up a food shack to feed both humans and horses. It was mostly clear broth for the group while the horses got fodder and water. Those that ended up needing to relieve themselves; he directs them to the washroom that’s connected to the side of the small building. He designed it to be familiar with the group instead of for his comfort.
A few would settle near the front of the shake and end up napping. The excitement wearing off and exhaustion taking hold. As he clears up the site when a countdown of fifteen minutes appears within his sight. Gently waking those about the porch and checking the washroom before sending the shack back to his building storage device. Then he turns his attention to the horses, checking to ensure he didn’t miss anything they may have left behind as he didn’t want to get charged a cleaning fee by the System regarding their leavings.
The countdown grows large for the final five minutes, much to the confusion of the group, but they seem to get the drift that something was about to happen. It likely helped that he, Li Xing, was getting prepared for something to happen. As someone nudges Wei Ying after bringing him a horse, which has the Necromancer a bit startled as it’s clear, he’d been engrossed in his own thoughts while witnessing the Q&A between Wen Qing and the System.
Wei Ying notices him and as there’s under two minutes to go, asks, “Shouldn’t you move along? You got your reward for my Bounty.”
Li Xing gives Wei Ying a bemused smile as he says, “You need all the helping hands you can get and as a bonus I'm someone who’s familiar with are Demons, Demonic Cultivators, Demonic Beasts, and Demonic flora.” It’s clear that Wei Ying isn’t sure he should trust Li Xing, and that’s fine. After all, it’s not like Li Xing has any plans to lay bare at all his secrets or the secrets of others that he’d either been entrusted with or cursed with.
“I’m a Demonic Cultivator.” Wei Ying points out, and he snorts before cheeky replying, “The Nie Sect is a Sect of Demonic Cultivators who create Demonic Sabers, so no, you are not what is known as a Demonic Cultivator. A rare Cultivation Path it might be, but you don’t consume the Qi of those you kill to advance your Cultivation or that of some weapon.”
Wei Ying isn’t the only one to flinch at the mention of the Nie Sect, but Li Xing is sure that Wei Ying will have remembered what he said. Particularly given that there are plenty of documented Demonic Cultivation practices in Proud Immortal Demon Way for Wei Ying to read through to expand his own knowledge. It also means that Wei Ying could figure out how to Ascend without people hounding him or degrading him.
The group of former prisoners and Wei Ying will soon have something of a clean slate. Looking past the group, Li Xing watches as the gate closes. The once rainbow lightning now is just simple purple colored lightning. Seconds later, blinding light engulfs them all and as his vision returns, Li Xing takes a deep breath before beginning to take in the landscape around them.
A ruined world that could still be salvaged, and Li Xing is likely the most powerful Daoist in this world right now. Even with his messed-up Cultivation, which should have killed him long ago, Li Xing finds it hard not to let the excitement of this situation show upon his face nor in his actions, be it whistling or moving with a bounce in his step. As the others begin to take in their surroundings, Li Xing is already moving to begin scouting out the patch of trees.
In PIDW, plants can be deadly, even this patch of forest, which is likely filled with trees in ill health. Among them could also be a few Demonic flora or Spiritual plants besides the odds of animals themselves. Perhaps there’s a rare hybrid of a flora or beast to be found near this landing spot. Or a hidden Treasure in the form of a scroll or tool of some sort. Either way, there’s likely something valuable to find here since the System chose this location as a good starting point for Wei Ying’s journey in stabilizing this world.
There’s no worry in Li Xing about his safety; most things in this world are likely to be ill, be it physically or spiritually. He trusts that Wei Ying will be far too busy to act on his suspicious towards Li Xing and by the time Wei Ying has the time to act, he’d have earned a measure of trust. After all, between this broken world and the one that birthed Wei Ying, he’d prefer this one, hands down. The people here know better to judge one by their appearance or how they present themselves, if they didn’t then they either learn or they end up dead.
Decade Later
Entering the room, Li Xing lets out a soft sigh at the sight of Wei Ying still at his desk. Taking in the state of the room before moving behind the busy man, ensuring his steps don’t disrupt the items upon the floor, moving as stealthily towards the back of Wei Ying. Without a second to pause, Li Xing puts the other man into a hold.
“Hey! Let go! I was just about to finish this section!” Exclaims Wei Ying as Li Xing floats the book from Wei Ying’s hands before gently placing it upon the desk while hauling the weakly struggling Wei Ying out of the chair.
“Wen Yuan reported that a quarter of a shichen ago.” Li Xing states in a dry tone. “And if Wen Qing wasn’t still dealing with a sudden rush of patients, she’d be the one to find you still not ready to go and you recall what she did last time, don’t you?”
Wei Ying’s body goes slack, which makes it easier for Li Xing to get him away from the desk. “I think it’s time to create a study for you, so you’re not distracted in your own room when it comes time to get ready for important dates.” Li Xing remarks as he begins to summon various robes from various locations along with jewelry while physically holding Wei Ying in place.
“I don’t see why I must get dressed up when it’ll just be settlement celebrating tonight.” Wei Ying grumbles while finally deciding to cooperate with Li Xing as he removes his own robes, leaving Li Xing to deal with styling Wei Ying’s hair as he finishes selecting the formal robes for Wei Ying to dress in, which are autumn theme with the base being a red with orange being the next dominate color with yellow and hints of brown being the primary embroidery designs of leaves about the sleeves and collar.
A wooden Guan crown to hold the hair up, the design of which sporting bare branches which go along with the theme of the robes he had picked out. “What’s wrong with my usual gray and red with a ribbon?” Wei Ying grumbles and Li Xing states, “If you want to pick your robes out, then you should have gotten dress on your own, on time.”
Once Wei Ying finishes fastening up the outer robes, Li Xing moves around Wei Ying before giving himself a satisfied nod at Wei Ying’s appearance. Moving back, he gestures Wei Ying to take the lead, and the other gives his desk a final yearning look before finally walking towards the door, picking his way through the piles of organized chaos that is Wei Ying’s own room. Before Li Xing leaves the room, he turns the panel of the closest Night Pearl which closes the other lanterns hung about the room, leaving darkness within the room as he closes the door behind him.
His own robes are sporting the theme of the full moon and the night sky. Most of the settlers chose to wear white for mourning and a sun belt ornament to symbolize the sun that once symbolized the Qishan Wen Sect instead of robes styled after the old Sect’s uniform. It's also likely they will have unannounced visitors for this anniversary celebration as well, though Li Xing hopes that what they wear will be subdued.
In its own way, the day had become one of mourning those that died at that Jin Sect Death Camp. “Say... I always mean to ask, why do you stick to the address of Daoist instead of Cultivator?” Wei Ying asks, disrupting Li Xing’s thoughts about what this day represents to those he aided in coming to this world.
It took a few seconds to realize what it was that Wei Ying asked him. After a few blinks, Li Xing answers, “It’s because when I hear the title Cultivators, I can’t help but think of farmers. You know, people who cultivate crops and animals for food. Someone who develops something for everyone to get a share of and Daoists, what they promote the growth of can’t be rightfully shared, not like a bag of rice or basket of eggs.”
It reminds me of Timeless Grace of Immortal Divinity. Li Xing looks past Wei Ying, doing his best to push recalling the game he once played and the confusion of his early years of learning to deal with his new nature along with the world similar to the game he had played but oh so different that he found himself Transmigrated to, the changes to his Character’s history and thus Profession that’s different then when he’d been playing the game, save for the name which is the same.
“Huh... That’s... huh.” Wei Ying was clearly speechless in the face of Li Xing’s answer to his question. It’s clear that the other man doesn’t know what to make of such a reply and Li Xing is fine with that.
“You know, I am curious, do you now agree that the Qinghe Nie Sect were a Sect of Demonic Cultivators?” Li Xing inquires; it's been a good nine years since they talked about the differences in Cultivation Paths that Wei Ying’s birth world practiced and this world. While he can’t see Wei Ying’s face as they near the entrance that leads out of the manor that Wei Ying, Wen Qing, Wen Ning, and himself live in.
“You might be correct, but I can’t totally agree as I never paid much mind to their sabers and thus, I can’t confirm without having examine one of those sabers on my end.” Wei Ying admits as they finally exit out of the manor and onto the street that sports lanterns light up the much-improved settlement. “And it's unlikely I’ll never get the chance to examine one of them.” Wei Ying admits with a sigh.
“It's not like you would have had a good time with it, after freeing them. You knew Jiang Wanyin wouldn’t admit them into his territory and would have demanded you turn them in, including Wen Qing and Wen Ning despite the debts he owed to them.” Li Xing points out.
Yes, a drunk Wen Ning had once shared the events of how he retrieved the bodies of Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan along with taking the surviving Jiang Sect Disciples to Yiling, where his sister was stationed. Which lead to Wen Qing admitting to giving medical aid to the ungrateful man-child. Li Xing knows something more likely happened in Yiling but didn’t give it much thought as it wasn’t really his business.
Wei Ying doesn’t have a rebuttal to his statement. And they arrive to the site of the celebration in silence. “Xian-gege!” Wen Yuan calls out from the group of teens and preteens, a few were Demons or possess Demon lineage.
As Wei Ying walks over to enjoy the company of the younger generation, Li Xing heads over to where Wen Ning is standing. It's clear that Wen Qing hasn’t finished up with those last-minute patients, or she would be standing when her younger brother is. Even though it’s been seven years since Wen Ning’s resurrection, she still worries over his health, though in Li Xing’s opinion, she should be more concern over Wen Ning’s love life as he’s got two admirers in the form of Hong Shanhu, a self-taught Daoist, and Wang Yajin, whose grandfather had been a horse Demon trying to be a merchant and is who’d raised her from age ten, when her final parent died.
Although it might be hard for her to realize her younger brother has grown into a decent man, prime husband material to boot. Li Xing muses to himself as he notices He Jin, the grandfather of Wang Yajin, talking with Uncle Four, seriously this is the name he prefers over his real one, likely about this year's harvest or the latest batch of wine. Uncle Four’s wife approaches with a tray with a jug of wine and cups.
“Was he...” Wen Ning trails off and Li Xing hums in a positive manner. Wen Ning sighs while Li Xing states, “If he had his way, he’d be wearing his working robes instead of something more formal.”
Wen Ning lets out a short giggle before likely catching sight of Hong Shanhu, who’s wearing soft green robes with a light blue undertone. Li Xing gives a side look toward Wen Ning to get his reaction to the sight. There’s a touch of daze as Wen Ning’s eyes follow Hong Shanhu greeting the apparently oldest member of the settlement, Wen Popo.
“You know... They both do get along, and it wouldn’t be that unusual for someone to have two wives...” Li Xing gently points out and Wen Ning blushes rather brightly while lowering his eyes. Li Xing looks away after a minute, studying the various people in attendance as of this moment.
It wasn’t just Wen Qing that isn’t here, nor did he sense five others without the immediate area. Those he doesn’t see but sense within range are more than likely helping with the cooking. In time, Hong Shanhu approaches where Wen Ning and Li Xing are standing.
“Greetings Master Li! I hope the day has treated you well.” Hong Shanhu addresses him before giving Wen Ning a bright smile. “A-Ning, have you seen the pigs that were brought this morning for tonight’s meal? I swear they must have had a bit of Acorn Speckled Boar Belly blood in them given their size!”
“Good to see you Maiden Hong and I see Ling Xue has brought out some wine. I think I’ll go help myself to a cup.” Li Xing says, more than willing to leave the pair to each other’s company, at least until Wang Yajin joins them or Wen Qing even. There’s a pair of farewells from the couple before he fully strides away from them, heading toward where He Jin and Uncle Four, who are enjoying the wine that Ling Xue brought them.
And as the sun begins its descent on the horizon, Li Xing notices those five and Wen Qing have arrived as he mingles with various attendees. At some point, Li Xing finds himself in the company of Wei Ying, who seems content to hang back as the tables begin to see food being set upon them. The smells make it clear it wasn’t just pork but chicken, fish, and deer meat for him to look forward to.
“It’s been ten years and yet... We still don’t know a lot about you, Li Xing.” Wei Ying states softly and Li Xing glances toward the other man. Humming in agreement, after all, he wasn’t all that inclined to discuss his past all that much, particularly with people he’s known for a mere decade, if he wouldn’t share with people he’s known for nearly three centuries, the likely hood for decades is non-existent.
“You are hiding form somebody, that is what I’ve come to figure out.” Wei Ying states after a couple of minutes. “It's the only reason why you’d visit a world like the one we came from.”
“I could have been looking to conquer it and appoint myself Emperor.” Li Xing points out after the signal for the start of the meal rings out. “Shape everything as I see fit.”
“You were there for over two decades and in possession of higher Cultivation plus Treasures.” Remarks Wei Ying. “You could have single handedly forced a takeover, and none would have been able to match you. As for keeping order, you know plenty of ways to do so.”
Why didn’t you? This was left unsaid, but Li Xing heard it just fine. “Backlash for one.” He admits. “For another... Do I look like someone who enjoys dealing with overgrown children? I had plans to put Lan Xichen at the head of the Cultivation Society as he’s easy to handle, given how the Lan Elders groomed him to prefer the status quo.”
There’s a slight strangled sound that came out of Wei Ying. “Yes, yes, I know you have high regards towards Lan Wangji but at the end of the day, both brothers had been groom for certain roles since they were young, and your Lan Zhan wasn’t inclined towards sociability and that was encouraged so it would have been easy to insert myself within Lan Xichen’s circle.”
“My Lan Zhan?!” Wei Ying says in a slight high pitch tone which gives Li Xing a chance to give the other a flat look before once more looking elsewhere as he continues to lay out what outline of a plan he had back then, before setting his sights on a better prize. “It wouldn’t be hard to assassinate members of the Lanling Jin Sect or to bring forth various crimes committed by the higher rung of that Sect. As for Nie Mingjue and the Nie Sect, there wasn’t any need to do anything, which would have been for the best, given Nie Huaingsang.”
“Jiang Wanyin takes after his mother, and his sister was always going to marry out. The likelihood of him marrying anyone in his early reign is low. He would have kept to whatever standards he has for a wife firmly, whether you would regard that as him being stubborn or stupid is up to debate, but he would have.” Li Xing states. “Given how he was raised, he’d easily lead viva rumors or outright lies due to his resentment, particularly if they bring you up. So, he’s easy to manage at the end of the day.”
“With the void left behind by the Qishan Wen Sect, everyone would be trying to maneuver themselves and their Sect to fill it. A word in the right ear and missing message there...” Li Xing shrugs. “Misunderstandings are bound to come up and given how public those Sect are when it comes to their woes... Well, they would need someone to make judgements, no? They were already looking for outside assistance to support their side...”
“And who is better than a Lan to weigh in said matters? After all, they are oh so Righteous, no?” Li Xing had waited two minutes before telling Wei Ying.
Glancing towards Wei Ying and Li Xing finds the man looking rather stunned. It's clear that the other could see it happening. “It's likely how Jin Guangshan is operating right now, only by also throwing various banquets and throwing his seniority as a Sect Leader around.” Li Xing admits before adding, “Or should I say Jin Guangyao? After all, that one already killed one Sect Leader, one who invested plenty of time and resources into him, it wouldn’t be hard to rid himself of an unwanted brother and favorited cousin before going after the sex addict.”
“You sound sure of such a thing happening.” Wei Ying states and Li Xing counters, “He entered into a brotherhood with Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen. He had Lan Xichen backed him in persuading Nie Mingjue into taking a Blood Oath.”
For the rest of the walk towards the tables laden with food dishes, neither of them spoke. They paired, heading off to different tables to eat their meal at. Li Xing listens and adds his two cents to the various discussions that come up.
Li Xing lets himself enjoy the food, drink, and company. Enjoying the moment has been something he’d learnt to do in his long life.
Three Years Later
One moment, Li Xing was meditating and the next, he’s jerked out of his meditation, pushing himself backward while sporting a slash gushing blood upon his chest. As he crouches, Li Xing glares at the pair of zealots that were before him with his teeth bared while fighting down a growl in his throat. Loathing and disgust radiate from the pair as they already begin to flow into another attack.
Without any regard for their surroundings, Li Xing allows his form to shift while exchanging his current set of robes for practical pair shorts meant for his Werewolf form. As a sword comes within range, Li Xing’s claws go for the elbow while leveraging his own weight to throw the one zealot into the other, ignoring the bite of the sword of that second zealot, after all, the sword wasn’t one of silver not plated with the metal.
Letting out a snort, Li Xing evades the attacks from both sides from another pair of zealots. He’s sure that the fifth member is waiting in the wings, either looking for an opening to behead him or to send a report. Not that it matters as he follows the scent without his blood upon them, which is likely that fifth zealot and to their shock, bites through the throat while pressing the arms against the body.
His back gets stabbed by the other four, annoying Li Xing. With a growl finally escaping his throat, he lets the dead body drop as he slowly turns to regard the four soon to be corpses. The four do try to hack at him, which no longer breaks through his skin, let alone his brown fur. One of them pulls back, taking a defensive stance while the three cooperate with one another to use a fusion attack, not that it lands as Li Xing bypasses the three to behead the fourth with his left hand while gathering Qi about his right.
The smell of fear and uncertainty beings to wafer throughout the courtyard. One manages to get out of range of the Qi slashes he lets loose. Already homing in on that one as the two get hit by his slashing attack. His jaws clamp about the arm that came up to block him as the zealot ends up on the back, Li Xing’s palms brace upon the stones of path.
The smell of piss is almost overwhelming; particularly how close he is to the source of it. As Qi finishes gathering within his jaws, once more, Li Xing bites down and this time, bites through the rest of the muscle and the unharmed bone, causing a scream of pain to break out of the zealot’s throat.
Within seconds, the throat that just screamed is ripped out. Li Xing takes a few moments to breathe deeply as he struggles to control his desire to continue the blood bath. As he stands, Li Xing feels the air change as his limbs are restrained and knows that Wei Ying has finally arrived, while the pair of zealots behind him whimper, not yet dead but might as well be as they have been trained to commit suicide rather than be taken in to be questioned, particularly by Li Xing himself or those involved with him.
“What happened here?” Wei Ying asks in a very chilling tone, and Li Xing looks over his shoulder to see a trio of friends of Wen Yuan looking both distressed and confused. It's clear that Wei Ying is doing his upmost to not look in Li Xing’s direction, which is due to his Werewolf form and the others’ fear of dogs.
The story was a typical tale of a group of friendly strangers arriving and looking to speak with whoever is in charge. The trio electing to escort them along with answer what seem like harmless questions about who’s in charge and the advisors. Of course, upon hearing Li Xing’s name, they claimed to be old friends of his, after giving an accurate description of Li Xing’s appearance.
Of course, they would like to visit their old friend if he’s available. They found him mediating and how they fan out with a nod. Swords come out and they aim to attack him.
Li Xing finally feels calm enough to wrestle his body to revert. It fights him, after all. It’s been decades since he transformed and wants to spend time in this form. Yet, it reverts, even though he knows that it is only temporarily, that he’ll spend the next twenty-eight days in his portion of the manor in said form. Perhaps he’ll finally work on putting the final touches on creating that pocket dimension to run around in as a Werewolf.
“And you?” He hears Wen Qing asks him from the direction of the pair of zealots. “I was mediating and then got attack.” Li Xing states and would have shrug if his limbs weren’t still restrained.
“Ah huh, sure, yet instead of merely defending yourself, you went in for the kill.” Is pointed out by Wen Qing. “I have a history with their organization.” Li Xing states before adding, “Might want to watch out, they are trained to commit suicide after a failed to kill anyone on their to kill list.”
“And what did you do to get on this list of theirs'?” Wei Ying asks, and his reply is fairly simple one that also just happens to be the truth. “I exist. Thus, I’m impure in their eyes.”
“If that’s true, they why didn’t they kill those three?” Wei Ying asks, nodding towards the trio, whose non-human heritage is on display. “Ah, yes, Demons or with the Spirital heritage are considered pure as they are native to this region of the multiverse.” Li Xing explains.
“You see, I’m not a Spirit Wolf who Cultivated a human form nor was I born with a Demonic heritage.” Li Xing explains after thinking over how to best explain it. There’s a bit of a broken cough as though someone wanted to laugh or answer in his stead.
“Think of it as though I contracted a disease. One transmitted under certain conditions and leaves the victim alive but transformed and unlikely to have a cure. Something you learn to live with.” Li Xing explains. “It's a non-native disease to this region of the Multiverse on top of that, which is where the... ‘taint’ originates from, hence why those affected with it are considered impure.”
“And what’s the name of this disease?” Asks Wen Qing before she realizes that one of the zealots just swallowed something. She knocks the other out before working to counter the poison they just swallowed. Unlikely to realize that in knocking that one out, she likely did want they wanted, triggering whatever technique the prepared to kill them.
“Lycanthropy.” Li Xing says the name in English. “Werewolf. Man-wolf is the direct translation.”
“And the conditions for transmitting it?” Ask Wei Ying after noticing how busy Wen Qing is. Though the look in his eyes while looking is that of annoyance, it seems he noticed the suicide viva getting knocked out. “Night of a Full Moon, the transformed state, and surviving getting attacked in the transformed state.” Li Xing lists off.
“That’s the basic of basics of the Man-wolf disease.” Li Xing admits. “Most victims lose control of themselves when the Full Moon forces the transformations, leaving little to no memory of what they do.”
“You seem to have control.” One of the trio mutters as they remain in the courtyard. “I Ascended that state.” Li Xing states calmly, adding, “I can choose if I wish to pass it on while transformed while denying the itch of transforming during the nights of a Full Moon.”
Wei Ying looks at him, or more importantly, at the body that’s still before Li Xing. “Even if he survived, he wouldn’t contract it from you?” Li Xing gives a nod while saying, “I was aiming to kill, not to leave a survivor to be afflicted with it.”
He feels the restrains upon his limb give away, and Li Xing exchanging his current shorts for a clean set of cloths, ones that don’t have the slash across the breast. “I’ll be retiring for the next twenty-eight days come this nightfall.” He adds and gets a sharp look before Wei Ying shivers. Likely thinking, correctly, he’d spend it transformed.
“Damn it!” Wen Qing curses as the final zealot passes away. Li Xing lets out a sigh. After all, he warned them they prefer to die than to get questioned. Although he does wonder if Wei Ying could speak with their ghosts, if he can sense them as his Cultivation Path is rare, and these foot soldiers were unlikely to possess anything to keep him from doing so as it would likely be expensive.
“Don’t try to look through their various belongings, they’ll self-destruct.” Li Xing explains as he notices Wen Qing considering accessing their sleeves, which were normal sleeves as it’s the iron bracelets on their wrists that are the storage space devices. “The iron bracelets, so be careful when wiping the security on them. The size of the explosion depends on what the users set them up as and its likely they had time to make said explosion on the large scale.”
Various eyes look at the wrist of the zealot that Wen Qing had been attending before looking at the other wrist, which is a bit away with the arm that got sliced off. Li Xing looks around the courtyard, particularly at the various blood splatters about it. The blood on the discarded swords being his while his gaze goes to the first zealot he killed, sure enough, there was a fallen jade tablet not far from the body.
He walks over and has it float up into his hand. Studying the transmission device, he finds that nothing got sent after doing so for nearly three minutes. All the while, Wei Ying begins organizing the various people who were late to the party to get things ready to clean up the courtyard and to move the bodies to his workshop for him to figure out how to get information out of.
Sending the jade tablet to Wei Ying, Li Xing turns and walks towards his rooms, he had things to write down before evening that should, hopefully, answer any questions the others have concerning the zealots and their operations. Although, given Wei Ying’s status as the Son of Heaven, the dead zealots will answer those he could think of and more.
Point of View Switch
Wei Ying, Courtesy Name Wei Wuxian
Staring at the scrolls that were just delivered from Li Xing, Wei Wuxian can still recall what glimpses of the man’s transformed state and shivers. The thought that such a disease stirs fear within his very being, which likely counts as another reason why he should address his fear of dogs sooner than later. Taking a calming breath, holding it for a bit, he then lets it out a long, drawn out breath.
Turning, he opens the door where the five bodies plus their separated bits. Opening it, the chill within the room is enough for his breath to be visible. Wei Wuxian enters the room, being sure to close the door behind him once he puts the scrolls away in his storage within his sleeve. Only a few of the lanterns with Night Pearls have their panels open, so he has some light within this room.
Wei Wuxian strolls about the various mats that the bodies are resting upon. The injuries that these five sustained demonstrate the culprit being a beast, one able to create Qi Blades. The torn-out throats by jaws of a large beast and an arm bitten right through even the bone.
Limbs sliced off viva Qi Blades and gorging deeply into the bodies... He stops at the body that’s been beheaded and stares down at the head, who someone closed the eyes of. Wei Wuxian mutters out loud, “What a waste of life lot chose.”
There’s a slight stirring at that statement, and Wei Wuxian makes sure not to smile. It seems that they didn’t undergo any kind of Soul Calming Ceremony. In the years he’s studied various Cultivation manuals of this world, he noted that they also didn’t have such a ceremony and now this group of five. Which brings has him wonder how common the formation of ghosts and walking corpses is or how uncommon, really.
Wei Wuxian could inquire with Li Xing, the next time they are face to face but, for now, he has these five for him to question. Given that Li Xing has admitted to wandering to different worlds, it's likely that this group has also visited other worlds beside the one that birthed them. His wording suggests even if these five have only visited this one besides their world of origin, the organization they belong to have. Wei Wuxian muses as he slowly gathers up his Qi.
Pulling Chenqing from his belt, he once more begins to walk about the bodies as he twirls the flute. The gentle pulsing of his Golden Core becomes something Wei Wuxian focuses on. Minutes later, he feels the lingering spirits of the five dead. The two who committed suicide weren’t as Resentful as the other three; the one with the most is the one who had been in possession of the jade tablet that Li Xing had examined before giving it to him.
Having them in his sight, as it were, Wei Wuxian comes to a stop at the end of the group, near the middle of the room. Putting Chenqing at his lips, he begins to play, slowly entrapping the spirits of the dead as he isn’t sure if they had any means to counter what he’s doing. As he feels a connection form between himself and the weak ghosts, Wei Wuxian begins to pick up the emotions they are clinging to.
Anger at themselves for not withdrawing like they knew they should have. Shame at how weak they were to be taken out so quickly. Fear over the reactions of their superior over the news of their failure. Hatred at the fact Li Xing hadn’t been run out after killing them. Which has them feeling disgusted with Wei Wuxian and all those that have been living with Li Xing in their mist.
Having slowly fed them enough Qi to stabilize, Wei Wuxian finishes his tune before smiling, feeling satisfied with him. It wasn’t hard to get the ghosts into Qiankun Pouches, so he can perform Empathy later, when he feels more centered. Which brings him to the iron bracelets that Li Xing said were storage devices.
The bracelets remain on their respective wrists, and Wei Wuxian drifts to the nearest body, putting Chenqing back into his belt. Holding up the arm, he studies the bracelet, doing his best to keep his fingers to himself. Having been warned that they could explode, Wei Wuxian couldn’t think of any reason not to trust Li Xing on the matter.
Moving the wrist this way and that, he notices that the bracelet didn’t twist as it should. Having flipped the arm to look at the bottom of the bracelet, which has a clasp that looks simple enough to operate. Putting the arm down, Wei Wuxian brings out paper and something Li Xing gifted him that he calls a fountain pen. It stores ink in the handle instead of needing to grind it.
With it out, he brings to sketch the bracelet from different angles while he’s considering how to go about checking for the security Array upon them. Putting the drawing away, Wei Wuxian takes a few minutes to decide what kind of protection to set up before attempting to take one of the iron bracelets off the wrist. Taking the arm with the bracelet and walk to the end of the room, away from the door, he sets it down before going about setting up a Ward.
With everything prepared, Wei Wuxian lets loose a sharp whistle, stirring up the Resentment within the body that the arm belongs to. Directing the body to get up and wander over to the arm so that it can remove the bracelet behind the Ward. The bracelet comes off after the body undoes the clasp after trying to move the bracelet off by moving it over the hand, which doesn’t budge.
Deciding to wait a bit, in case there was a delay, Wei Wuxian takes one of the scrolls he received to read until he feels enough time had passed.
To Be Continued