"I warned you Chuan Han. You can't blame me if you didn't listen..."

"WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Jingyi screamed, his voice shaking. "WHY ISN'T THE LUNATIC WAKING UP?!" 

"WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME?" came the equally panicked reply of Jin Ling. "DO I LOOK LIKE I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED?" 

"WELL THEN DO SOMETHING!" Jingyi shrieked, gesturing hopelessly at Wei Ying. 

Their senior had been unwittingly sucked into Empathy, and had blacked out from the pressure. His fingers twitched slightly, but his body was slack in their arms. Jin Ling was frantically shaking his shoulders, but to no avail. 

Jingyi gulped. It wasn't that he particularly cared for the man, just that he was pretty sure Han-Guang Jun would skin them alive if anything happened to him. "Please wake up..." he muttered, "I really don't want to die yet." 

"SHUT UP!" Jin Ling scowled. "STOP BEING SUCH A BABY ABOUT IT AND ACTUALLY HELP ME!" 

"WELL WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!" Jingyi whined, pointing a finger at the limp form of Wei Wuxian. "He's so pale, he's practically a corpse!" 

"Jingyi," Sizhui frowned, "Don't say that. When you say it like that, it sounds like Senior Mo is already dead." 

Jingyi spluttered, "W-Well if he doesn't wake up soon, he's as good as dead!" 

A cough sounded behind him, "That eager to see me die Jingyi?" 

Jingyi gasped, turning back round. His face glowed with joy and his eyes light up in relief. "Oh thank god you're not dead! Han-Guang Jun would've minced us into rabbit food if we came back, handing him a cold body." 

Wei Ying let out a weak laugh, the sound rattling from his chest. "Help me up." 

Jin Ling immediately offered his hand and helped their senior to his feet. He wasn't exactly fond of Mo Xuanyu, but he wasn't cruel enough to see his uncle die in front of him. "What did you see?" he asked, unable to keep the curiosity from his voice. 

Wei Ying's eyes immediately hardened. A scowl twisted itself upon his face. The juniors all took a step back as loathing etched itself into his eyes. They were all taken aback by the sudden change Jin Ling's words seemed to have sparked in their senior. Wei Ying had always been carefree and easygoing, often teasing them with a small smirk on his face. Even when you couldn't see his face, his voice would always held a hint of laughter to it, as if he found amusement in everything. 

This man standing in front of them though... he was a stranger. A stranger who's eyes glinted with the promise of vengeance; a man who became so cold and distant from the world around him; an alien whos body was stiff and tense as he breathed deeply, in an effort to control himself. 

This was not the meek and shy Mo Xuanyu of the past. This was a man who's very presence awed those around him into a state of submission. The juniors gulped. They had only seen this look once before. 

Perhaps Han-Guang Jun and Senior Mo weren't such a weird match after all. 

--------

Wei Ying's eyes narrowed as he took in the scene before him. He had left the juniors to their own devices after securing their promises of good behavior. Now as he gazed at the battle before him, Wei Ying felt a surge of fury rush through him. 'How dare that Jin Guangyao! How dare he kill Shijie and blame it on me. How dare he frame me. Does he not know who he's dealing with?' Wei Ying scoffed. 'The Yiling Patriarch is not someone you should mess with. I'm going to kill him. I'm going to make him die a such miserable, miserable death.'  

"XUE YANG," he called, voice still brimming with outrage. "Show yourself you rotten bastard!"

"Why if it isn't Wei Wuxian! So glad you could join us." Xue Yang leered. "What an honor it is to have both Han-Guang Jun AND the Yiling Patriarch! It must be my lucky day!" 

"Well I suppose if you consider dying- lucky, then yes, it is your lucky day."

"Ha! Are you sure senior is up for the task?" 

"Oh I'm not," Wei Ying reassured him, "But Han-Guang Jun is." 

"Senior is far to humble! You happen to be one of the most feared figures in history! If the Yiling Patriarch can't even kill me, then who can?" Xue Yang sneered, somehow still dodging all of Bichen's attacks. 

"Fuck," Wei Ying murmured, "This kids lasting longer than I thought."

"Ha! Truly an honor senior! To get praise from the Yiling Patriarch himself!" 

"Oh would you just shut up already?" Wei Ying grimaced, grumbling under his breath, "Lan Zhan, please hurry up and kill the little delinquent. He's getting on my nerves." 

"Senior Wei! Why in such a hurry? Why not talk a little more?" 

"Fuck it," Wei Ying muttered, "What should we talk about then?" he asked, thinking to himself, 'Lan Zhan's probably stabbed that wretch a hundred times by now... how does he not feel any pain? Oh well. Looks like I need to keep him talking.' he paused, letting out a long insufferable sigh. 'Lan Zhan better hurry up. This prick is pissing me off...'

"Xue Yang?" he called, arching up a brow. 

Nothing. 

Wei Ying frowned. Surely he wasn't being ignored, now was he? "All that praise for me and you still ignore me," he huffed, rolling his eyes. 

Nothing. 

"Xue Yang?" 

Nothing. 

Then, out of the blue, a dark figure rushed towards Wei Ying, hands reaching for his throat. A sword immediately cut through the air, Bichen blocking the corpses attack. 

Wei Ying's frown deepened, "Is that Song Lan?" he exclaimed incredulously. "How the hell-" he was cut off by the inhuman snarl that came ripping out of Song Lan's pale lips. 

"Ah shit," Wei Ying muttered, as he pulled his flute out of his sash. Raising the flute to his lips, he quickly played a tune summoning Wen Ning. 

Wen Ning appeared in a gust of black robes, and growled, low in his throat. Song Lan attacked first and the two disappeared in a flurry of exchanged threats, each desperately clawing at the other. Since both couldn't feel any physical pain, Wei Ying didn't worry about them too much. Wen Ning could handle himself. 

 Turning his attention back to Lan Zhan, he heard an exhilarated cackle. It was Xue Yang. The bastard had faded away into the background, using the heavy mist to his advantage. Laughing like a madman, Xue Yang danced around Lan Zhan's attacks like a fish in the water. "Han-Guang is indeed a master!" he giggled when Bichen sliced across his arm, leaving a deep gash in its wake. 

Wei Ying gaped at the him, a begrudging feeling of respect bubbling up inside him. Xue Yang might be a deranged maniac, but the man had spirit, if nothing else. Wei Ying cursed, Xue Yang had surprising vitality, and a much higher pain tolerance than most. 

Just as he was debating with himself what to do, the urgent tapping of bamboo, sounded amidst the fog. Wei Ying reacted immediately. "Quick! Lan Zhan, attack where the bamboo taps!" he yelled, hoping Lan Zhan would hear him through the haze. 

Bichen immediately sliced through the gloom, illuminating it with a flash of light. A grunt was heard before Bichen raced back to its master. The tip of its blade was bloody. And while it wasn't a fatal wound, it was a start. 

The tapping sounded again, this time further away. Bichen followed right afterwards. 

Left. Right. Ahead. Behind. 

A few back and forths of this, and Xue Yang finally lost it. "CHUAN HAN YOU DUNCE! YOU STILL HAVEN'T LEARNED YOUR LESSON ABOUT POKING YOUR NOSE WHERE IT DOESN'T BELONG? WELL THEN, SHALL I KILL YOU AGAIN?" he screamed, flicking a talisman towards the flickering ghost of Chuan Han. Chuan Han disappeared in a flash, the remains of his soul shattering. 

A split second later, Bichen pierced through Xue Yang's chest. 

A strangled laugh bubbled out of Xue Yang, as he pointed a bloody finger behind them. "Look likes Senior Wei's identity was supposed to be a secret," he giggled as he gestured at the juniors standing behind them. Jin Ling looked horrified, while the others quivered in fear. Only Si Zhui watched them calmly, a confused expression on his face. "Senior does indeed live up to the reputation of the Yiling Patriarch. Who else could come back alive, 13 years after his death?" 

"SHUT UP!" Wei Ying screamed, agony etching itself onto his features when he saw the betrayed look in Jin Ling's eyes. 

"Ha!" Xue Yang muttered before he closed his eyes, slanting forwards as he fell. "Xingchen..." he murmured, drawing in his last breath. "I never thought..." he let out a pained laugh, barely able to speak past the burning sensation in his chest. "Ha! to think... of all the noble and righteous cultivators out there... it just had to be you... ha!" he whispered, trailing off, "I can't believe I've actually fallen for you... you! of all people... it's you... it's you I had to fall in love with..." he breathed, a snort escaping his bloody lips. A slight smile appeared on his face as a hand reached out towards him. The hand opened and on the palm of it, there sat a piece of a candy. Xue Yang laughed, looking up at the man whose memory haunted him for so long. "Xingchen..." 

As death came for him, Xue Yang's vision blurred. A feeling of contentment wrapped around him, enveloping him in its warm embrace. A lone tear slipped down his cheek. 

 It wasn't out of fear, but of relief. Let death come, Xue Yang welcomed it with open arms. 

--------

Wei Ying stared blankly at the man lying dead on the ground. His brows furrowed. Wei Ying was only able to catch a few bits here and there. Something about righteous cultivators and Xiao Xingchen? Wei Ying frowned. Even on death's doorstep, Xue Yang was still lamenting about his uncle? 

Wei Ying was broken out of his daze with a start when Jin Ling screamed, face contorting in rage. "WEI WU XIAN! SO IT REALLY IS YOU!" he roared, the hurt evident in his voice. 

Wei Ying felt his heart breaking as he took in the sight of his nephew. The same nephew that had once looked at him with eyes full of trust, now looked at him with clear disgust. "Jin Ling..." he murmured, "I-" 

Wei Ying didn't get much further than that when a sharp pain pierced through his gut. He looked down in shock at the sword lodged in his stomach. "Jin Ling..." he whispered again before collapsing on the ground. 

The last thing he saw before his vision blurred and darkness overcame him, was Lan Zhan's panicked face.