Above, worm number 1

Below, worm number 2

A short time before dinner, Su She walked carefully towards his meeting place. This was just another meeting with his friend so they could set something else in motion for tomorrow. He chuckled when he remembered standing, carefully hidden, and watched as Wei WuXian was getting punished. The blood that landed on the floor between Wei WuXian and HanGuang-Jun made him grin. The joy he felt watching that was something he wanted to experience again. That kid had crossed their paths when they were younger and both he and his friend had hated him on sight. Something about Wei WuXian set them both on edge and they wanted him gone. There is nothing he would not do to help his friend, Jin GuangYao, who had been so ridiculed just because of where he came from on his mothers' side. No one paid attention to the fact his father was a sect leader and one of power. He knew how it felt to be ridiculed because no matter how good he got, everyone would just tell him he was trying to copy HanGuang-Jun. Su She hated it here in the GusuLan Sect. They all pretended to be so moral and gentlemanly but in truth they were just pathetic. He knew if he was allowed, he could be far better than HanGuang-Jun. If he was only allowed to get closer to the man to prove that HanGuang-Jun was only thought to be so good because he was the sect leaders brother.

So often he had heard the words the others said about Jin GuangYao, even to his face. Yet Jin GuangYao never said anything back. Never retaliated, never asked for help. However, Su She had managed to talked him into lying to Master Lan and making sure that Lan XiChen saw his wounded smile as if trying to hide his pain. The old man believed their tales without asking for in depth details. He knew Master Lan hated Wei WuXian because of his mother as he had over heard him and Sect Leader Lan talking about it. He talked Jin GuangYao into saying he had seen Wei WuXian with liquor even though he appeared to only stay in his room and didn't talk to anyone. What was Wei WuXian playing at anyway? Everyone who had ever heard of that boy knew he was just a trouble maker so should have been an easy mark to get rid of ... but he never came out of his room?

'Lan Su She.'

'Jin GuangYao, sorry I am late. I was made to do some pathetic kitchen duty. Something that people like Wei WuXian should be made to do for punishment.' Su She looked around to make sure no one was anywhere near them.

'I agree but this sect will not make guest students do that kind of work.'

'I know ... but let's decide on our next step. I would love to spread that he has been leaving the Cloud Recesses at night but ... I don't think even Master Lan will believe that idiot can go through the gate without them knowing.'

'That is true, and if we keep using the liquor tale, even Master Lan will figure it out.'

'Yes, even as dim as the old goat is, he would soon start to think twice if we send him running to catch him but he is never there. I have thought of one thing that will make old man Lan want to kill the little bastard.'

'What is it?'

'You will tell him that Wei WuXian tried to attack you ... sexually.'

'......... seriously?'

'Yes. I was watching the way he and HanGuang-Jun were always around each other, the way he looked at HanGuang-Jun, standing so close to him and trust me Master Lan will more than likely believe it.' He smirked at the thought. 'We know we have to get that man out of here so we can do what we are meant to ... Wen RuoHan will not be happy if we do not send him details soon. He may even send Wen Chao and if he arrives and give anyone any indication we are on their side, we would both be thrown out of the Cloud Recesses. Wei WuXian is nothing but a nuisance, and even if he never comes out of his room ... I still get the feeling he is watching us closely. Even when we were kids he would keep came up to us and trying to .... Manipulate us right. You mentioned that a while ago.'

'Yes. The first time he asked if I actually wanted to move to Lotus Pier. Seriously, why would I go and live there when my father is a sect leader and all I need is to be acknowledged by him. I tried to talk to people at Lotus Pier but they all cover for him.'

'You will go and look for Master Lan tomorrow morning before breakfast and tell him ... let a few tears run if you have to.'

'I will make sure they have not seen the kid before I say anything ... no use saying something like that if it is know he was no where near where I say it happened.'

'True. Just try practicing the act before you head over to him.'

'You think I don't know how to act? I have that old man wrapped around my finger to the point he has come to me looking for information more and more often.'

'Gods, why is such a pathetic old man even still active. If we can manipulate him to the point of using the boards on a guest student, surely he should already have been made to retire in some distant little hut somewhere.' Su She was disgusted at the idea that everyone looked down on him just because he had not been born to a powerful family. His family had not even been part of the GusuLan Sect, but they had agreed to take him in, but they always looked down on him. He hated HanGuang-Jun the most. His act of being better and more powerful than everyone else made him want to tear him down also ... and one day he will ... if the war does not kill the arrogant bastard first. With a smile he pictured the once great HanGuang-Jun laying on the ground, his cloths dishevelled, his hair a complete mess, and as that once great man looked into his eyes, they would be filled with ..... his attention snapped back to Jin GuangYao when he spoke.

'Shouldn't be too much longer ... and if we fail with Wei WuXian, we can always let whispers run around that the old goat did to a guest cultivator. I would love to see Lan XiChen's perfect composed expression when he finds out.' Jin GuangYao snickered letting the idea run around in his mind. There are so many things he had learnt here and Wei WuXian had been the one to give him the best idea of all. When the time came, and his father was dead, he could just take his head and use the resentful energy that had surely built up in the man. But how can he kill him without anyone figuring out it had been him? He had to find something soon. There had been whispers about a hidden library in the GusuLan Sect but Su She didn't know where it was. There were books he had heard whispers about, music that could kill. Now that was something he really wanted to try .... And not just on his dear father. 'Hey Lan Su She, would you be saddened if GusuLan Sect was ... destroyed utterly?'

'Not even a little bit. They are nothing but a bunch of arrogant ... they look down on everyone while pretending to be the most gentlemanly sect. They disgust me. I have been thinking that I should build my own sect later, so if this one vanishes, I would not be saddened. Maybe I will build my own on top of the ashes of this one? Sounds really nice.'

'Especially since some have been whispering about you imitating HanGuang-Jun.' Jin GuangYao gave him an innocent worried expression even though he was just jabbing him where it hurt the most, kind of like pulling the wings of butterflies and then watching them squirm

'What? They dare to still say such rubbish?'

'I heard a group of the students laughing about it when they passed ... until they saw me and started on my mother.'

'..... What about your uncle? Your fathers' brother, sorry.' he looked over at the small rabbit that had poked its nose out from the grass only to run away at the sight of them.

'He is nothing to worry about. He is worthless, a good-for-nothing. He hates the sword and just walks around waving his pathetic fan; he is always fluttering around so no one will be at all surprised if he ... dies sometime.'

'Have you figured out how Wen RuoHan is making them yet?'

'I think I may ... I mean I heard a couple of the guards whispering about something called a Yin Iron and with that, he can make any dead person a puppet ... I really like the idea.'

'All the GusuLan Sect members as our puppets ... I really do like that.' Su She let his mind picture all those high and mighty men and women who looked down on him, all under his control.

That night, Wei Ying gently lay on his bed in his red undershirt after eating only a fraction of his meal ... even though someone had given him the wonderful set of dishes from town and he had eaten more because they were so good. He just didn't have any kind of desire for food. He just wanted to sleep so sleep he did, even as he thought that soon, maybe tomorrow, he would need to leave to do something rather than just sitting around as death ran him down.

Long after almost everyone had gone to bed and fallen to sleep, was yet another night where Wei Ying sat bolt upright in bed, his eyes wide open and his lips moving but no sound emanated from him. He stood up, without putting on his outer robes or shoes he opened the door even as his hand reached out and took his sword and walked out. The tip of his sword dragged on the ground as he made his way to the place his sleeping mind needed. His lips moving in silent whispers of worried words that ran around in his head.

So many times since Lan Zhan had stopped being friendly to him, during the night he had left his room only to return almost straight away; other times he made it to his destination only to stay a few minutes after preforming an act or two. Only a few times did he stay there for an hour or two. However, when he woke in the morning, he never even realised he had left his bed.