If the Yiling Patriarch really wanted to attack- who would be able to stop him?

~JIANG CHENG'S POV~

Whispers drifted through the air, much to Jiang Cheng's displeasure. He glowered at them, face turning down in an irritated frown. "Will you shut up?" he barked, glaring them into silence. 

"B-But Sect Leader that-"

"Yes I know who that it. Does it look like I'm blind? You dimwits. Who did you think that was? Hm? Who else could be this obnoxious and stupid?" Jiang Cheng interrupted, cutting off the stammering disciple. 

"Hey! Cheng Cheng!" Wei Ying pouted, "That's rude!" He jostled his lover, "Right Lan Zhan?" 

"Mn," Lan Zhan grunted in conformation. 

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. "Did I not tell you to shut up?" he growled, scowling at the nickname. 

"Cheng Cheng! You're so mean to me," Wei Ying whined, dramatically wiping away the alligator tears that trailed down his face. 

"Shut up." 

"Fine then!" Wei Ying stuck his tongue out at him, "Such a mood killer..." 

Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes, "Xichen, can you place one of your silencing spells on him?" 

"Wanyin," Lan Xichen murmured, "That's probably not a good idea..." 

"Please? I'll kiss you?" he offered, seeing Lan Xichen's resolve waver. 

"Well I-" 

"Shameless!" Wei Ying cut him off. "Cheng Cheng! What did you do to my little sister?" 

Jiang Cheng didn't answer, only giving a pointed look towards his lover. The latter contemplated, his brows furrowing slightly. "Alright," Lan Xichen said at last, giving an apologetic look to his brother. 

"What! This is bribery! How dare yo-" Wei Ying's eyes widened as he tried to speak. "Mmph! Mmph!" he called, his voice muffled. He grabbed Lan Zhan's sleeve, looking pleadingly up at him. "Mmph! Mmmphh!" 

Lan Zhan shot him a sympathetic look, but made no efforts to lift the spell. "Brother cast it," he said as way of explanation. 

Wei Ying huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Hmph!"

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. "If you're quite done with the dramatics, care to explain how we lost our spiritual energies?"

At his reminder, several clan leaders piped up. They had forgotten about the problem at hand, too engrossed in the exchange between brothers. It was baffling how Jiang Cheng had tolerated this man- this unusually childish man. They had always thought of the Yiling Patriarch as a force to be feared, a demon of the dark. But looking at him now, they felt almost a strange sense of fondness for him. He was so immature, and foolish- nothing like the Yiling Patriarch the world knew. Hell, had it not been for Jiang Cheng- they probably would've thought of this as a fluke! 

"Yes yes! Come here!" the Baling Ouyang Sect Leader gestured frantically at a physician. "Is my spiritual energy fine? It's not permanent is it?" 

"No Sect Leader, it's just blocked. There's no permanent damages to your golden core, so the effects should wear off in around four hours." 

Jiang Cheng let out a breath of relief at the young man's words. To have his core ripped out for the second time- it would've surely killed him. 

"FOUR HOURS?!" Jingyi screeched, horror in his voice. "But this array won't hold four hours!" he panicked. "Oh what do we do?! We're going to die here aren't we? There's way too many corpses around! If we leave, we're doomed! We're-" 

"SHUT UP!" Jin Ling yelled, done with Lan Jingyi's theatrics. "AT LEAST DO SOMETHING TO HELP!"

Jingyi narrowed his eyes. "Why should I shut up? It's not like you're helping! You princess! You-"

"MMPH! MMPH!" Wei Ying cut them off, narrowing his eyes at Jiang Cheng. "MMPH!!" he yelled, pointing at his sealed lips. 

Jiang Cheng gave a huff of annoyance. "Xichen?" 

His lover immediately complied, lifting the silencing spell off Wei Ying. 

Wei Ying glared at them. "You know it's really rude to just silence me right? Especially since I was trying to explain what happened!" 

"You know what happened?" Jiang Cheng asked, arching an eyebrow skeptically. 

"You don't have to act so surprised!" Wei Ying muttered defensively. "Of course I know! I was the one that performed Empathy on Chuan Han's corpse!" 

Giving one final huff, Wei Ying smirked, slithering off the steps of the cave before stopping in front of Sect Leader Su. The temperature in the room dropped, and everyone shivered in fear. The man in front of them was every bit the Yiling Patriarch the world feared. The difference had been so drastic, it left them all in shock, mouths gaping at the change.

"Sect Leader Su, why don't you tell us what happened?" Wei Ying asked, a smug smile on his face. 

Su She's brows furrowed, a thunderous expression on his face. "How should I know? Are you saying this is my fault?" 

"Oh you don't? My my, Sect Leader Su! Here I was- thinking you were an idiot. Turns out, you're far smarter than I gave you credit for! Really, how do you even manage it? How do you wake up in the morning and even be able to look yourself in the mirror? Don't you feel even a tad bit guilty? Aren't you ashamed of yourself? I mean truly, being able to kill an infant? Not only any infant! But Lian-Fang Zun's own child! I mean granted he was the one that ordered you to do so- but still! To be able to hide it for so long? My my, you don't have any shame do you?" Wei Ying retorted, a smug grin on his face.

A collective gasp echoed through the cave, and whispers immediately started up, "What is this?" the Baling Ouyang Sect Leader asked one of his disciples. "Lian-Fang Zun killed his own son?" 

"I don't know! It's the Yiling Patriarch we're talking about here, so he could just be making this up. And besides, it just doesn't make sense! Why would Lian-Fang Zun kill his only child? It would leave the Lanling Jin Sect without an heir," the disciple murmured back. 

"Hmm that's true. Although I do find it a bit suspicious how the people that opposed Jin Guangyao's rule were also the ones found guilty for killing his son. It just seemed too much a coincidence, you know?" 

Su She paled as he heard the rumors flying around the room. "Do not listen to him! He's the Yiling Patriarch! How can his word possibly be trustworthy?" Su She scoffed, spitting at Wei Ying. 

Wei Ying dodged the glob of spit as it flew past him. "Oh? It's not? Then how about I explain further?" he arched a brow. "You killed Chuan Han too- Jin Guangyao's childhood friend. Then the two of you buried him in the Yi City, hoping that no one would ever come across him. To bad. I found him. His resentment was so strong- it pulled me into Empathy almost immediately. Lucky me. Otherwise, your dirty deeds would've been buried forever."

"How dare you-" 

"Oh and didn't you two plan Nie Mingjue's death as well? How creative. Chopping him up into bits and placing him in areas of strong resentment. The two balance each other out, and ward off unwanted visitors. It really is killing two birds with one stone!" 

"You-" 

"As for why Jin Guangyao killed his son- well that's because he married his own sister! Well technically half sister, but my point still stands." 

Wei Ying paused slightly, contemplating the situation. "I mean, it's not really his fault since his dad was a man-whore. So he really didn't know until the eve of the wedding, but hey! He could've just divorced her. No need to go on a killing spree!" 

"HOW DARE YOU!" boomed Su She's deafening voice. "IT'S ONE THING TO SLANDER ME- BUT TO DEFILE LIAN-FANG ZUN'S GOOD NAME? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" 

Wei Ying arched a brow. "Since you say I'm slandering you, why don't you play the song you played a second ago during the battle?" 

"I-" 

"Ah yes. You won't. Because the Lan Sect is aware this time round. Though I must admit, I never thought there would be much going on that tiny brain of yours! Turns out, you've got all sorts of nefarious plans of yours brewing up in there. Although it's not really your plan is it?" 

"Speak clearly you demon!" Su She scowled, adopting a nonchalant pose. There was a glimmer of fear in his eyes, as if he knew what was coming. 

"Am I not speaking clearly enough? Alright, allow me to clarify. What you just played was a piece from the Collection of Turmoil. I didn't realize it back in the heat of battle, but now that I think about it- you were strumming your guqin mere minutes before everyone's spiritual energy ran out." 

"Why you-" 

"Sect Leader Lan! Was the piece Sect Leader Su played back then, played correctly?" Wei Ying asked, ignoring Su She's protests. He instead turned towards Lan Xichen. 

"I don't believe so," Lan Xichen replied, frowning slightly. "There were quite a few mistakes." 

"Quite a few? The whole piece was practically wrong!" Jingyi scoffed. "As expected of the Moling Su Sect." 

"HOW DARE-" 

"Ah yes. You see, Sect Leader Su is actually not the fool everyone takes him to be. He knew that out of all the sects present, only Gusu Lan would be able to hear the difference. But the Lan Sect hated him, and would blame his errors on his lack of practice and skill. They would never pause to wonder: whether or not Su She messed it up on purpose. You see there's a book called the Collection of Turmoil. The pieces harness dark energy, and uses resentful music to harm others. Of course, it's located in Gusu's secret library- but I suppose it wouldn't pose a problem for a man as cunning as Lian-Fang Zun." 

"Nonsense! Why would Lian-Fang Zun need to steal music? He already has everything he needs! Why would His Excellency do anything to tarnish his name?" 

"Maybe because he only made his name by standing atop a mountain of corpses?" Wei Ying speculated, arching a brow. 

"Nonsense I-" 

"Nonsense? Then would you dare to play the song you just played, once more? This time in front of everyone else?" 

"I- I..." Su She stammered, face red. He knew that he was stuck. There was nothing he could say to refute Wei Ying's claims. If he played the song again, his lies would surely be exposed. 

Su She narrowed his eyes. Not knowing what else to do, he attacked. His sword glowing with spiritual energy. Wei Ying's eyes widened, unable to do anything but stand there and watch in shock as the blade came closer and closer. 

Jiang Cheng panicked. Lan Wangji was too far away to be of any help, and Wei Wuxian was just standing there like an idiot. He cursed under his breath. Fuck. Zidian wasn't working either. 

Jiang Cheng gave a low, long suffering sigh. He rushed forward, hoping to block the brunt of the attack with his own body. 

A stinging pain pierced through his abdomen as shouts sounded off beside him. In front of him, Shuoyue immediately sliced a hole in Su She's chest, as the latter collapsed in agony. 

Jiang Cheng could barely stand as Wei Wuxian's terrified voice rang through his ears. 'Fucking hell,' he thought, cursing his luck. 'That fucker. He couldn't just aim for my shoulder? I better not die. That would be far to embarrassing...' he paused. 'But still. It's hard to keep my eyes open. Maybe I'll rest for a while. Yes... sleep. Isn't that good for your body? Yep, good idea. Let's sleep...'

The last thing Jiang Cheng saw as his eyes fluttered shut, was Lan Xichen's horror filled eyes, screaming at him in despair.