05.30am Sunday

Lan Zhan hoped that Wen Zhuliu had reached Wei Ying in time, and hopefully Wei Ying would know what to do. His venom was working to fix the gash on his arm but other than that, he was relatively unscathed.

Wen Chao was dead, and while that was satisfying, Lan Zhan thought it would make him feel better at last, but there was only a hollow feeling inside him.

Why?

He had come to terms with his new life now, slowly adjusting to all the minute changes, and it wasn't really a bad life, all things considered.

Having Wei Ying and being part of a family in a more rounded way was perhaps ninety eight percent of making being a vampire worthwhile, but if he was honest with himself, he had expected to feel something more than just this empty feeling.

At the very least, he hoped getting rid of the vermin that was Wen Chao would prevent him making vampires out of ordinary folk, innocent victims of his greed.

Lan Zhan was just turning around when a screech hurt his sensitive ears, and at the same time, he felt a sharp pain on his chest. When he looked down, he was startled to see a barbed taser latched onto his chest, in the shape of a flower. The barbs dug in, and emitted a strange substance, weakening his knees, and Lan Zhan collapsed.

He was fully alert but unable to move.

The screaming hasn't stopped, and when he lifts his face to see who dared to do this to him, he sees their feet first, followed by the furious face of Wen Xu.

"You killed my brother?" He snarls, kicking Lan Zhan's stomach once, and then a few more times out of frustration.

Lan Zhan can't feel a thing, something he's glad about.

Whatever they've given him, it has rendered a complete numbness in his whole body, and yet all of his senses are unusually sharp.

And there's something to be glad about in a petty way, because the more Wen Xu takes his anger out on Lan Zhan's body, and the more Lan Zhan maintains his perfectly calm demeanour outwardly, the more it's pissing Wen Xu off.

Lan Zhan is rather smug about this.

When feeling returns to his body, no doubt he's going to experience pain on another level, but for now, there is something to be enjoyed about the utter disbelief on Wen Xu's face.

"You're just lucky they want you alive!" Wen Xu kicks him one more time, before digging his hands into his hair and letting out a scream.

Lan Zhan is aware of more people coming into the room, the ground trembling with vibration from their feet. He can hear the mourning cries from a distraught Wang LingJiao close by, probably next to Wen Chao's dead body.

"Take him!" Wen Xu finally says, and Lan Zhan's vision rises, as he is raised up. He can see arms on either side of him, and knows that two people have pulled him up, and he's now being dragged to an upright position.

His mind recalls the film that Wei Ying made them watch: The Princess Bride. Near the end, the hero had been brought back to life after being almost dead, and the cure was taking a long time to work; in many ways, Lan Zhan understood what he must have felt like, because his situation is very similar. He can't even raise his own head, and it lolls to one side helplessly.

"Why are you still awake?" Wen Xu shouts, huffing angrily. "No matter, our orders are to take him down."

Lan Zhan does his best to memorise the way, but it's really hard when he can't see past the walking feet in front of him, and other than the grey concrete floor, there's not much in the way of distinguishing features he can use to differentiate between one corridor and another.

And then they're in an open elevator, the kind that's used on building sites.

He cannot help but compare this mediocre parallel subterranean place to the one he's used to.

Lan Zhan feels a wonderful pride in the way that Baoshan Sanren has completed her underground fortress, it's so safe, classy and perfect, the epitome of comfort and beautiful to look at, instead of this substandard nonsense. If his mouth worked, Lan Zhan would have used it to antagonise Wen Xu more, but whatever they've done to him, speaking seems to be out of the question.

The good thing is, he can feel his venom actively working against it. Survival is paramount to his wellbeing, and he's glad that his system hasn't shut down altogether. He can feel that it's just a matter of time before he will be back to normal, and be able to fight properly.

They step out of the elevator and walk for a bit, before a cage door is opened and they throw Lan Zhan inside.

He can feel himself rolling to a stop and while it might hurt tomorrow, right now the numb feeling is a blessing.

"I hope you rot in there!" Is the last thing he hears, before there's the sound of receding feet.

The barred door clangs shut, and for a few seconds, there is only the sound of silence.

But then, there's a choked sob, and then an all too familiar voice says, "oh no! If they have you, then that means Wei WuXian isn't far behind."

It's Wen Qing.

*************

Wei Ying grabs Wen Zhuliu as soon as he's able, still shaking with power.

It's a lot to get used to, a powerful surge of thrumming electricity setting his system on fire in the best way.

Suddenly he knows exactly what to do.

"Take me to Lan Zhan! Now!" He says to the zombie-like man.

But Wen Zhuliu doesn't do anything, staring back at him unseeingly.

Wei Ying glares at him before turning a pleading gaze towards his grandmother, and she nods, understanding what he wants immediately.

"Take us to Lan WangJi now."

Wen Zhuliu pricks his thumb once more on the sharp point next to the scanner and opens the picture door once again, walking through without waiting, and they have no choice but to follow after him.

The brightness is astounding after the dim quality of lights back on the other side of the picture door. And then they see through the glass walls, all the treasures that the Wens have accumulated over decades, and stored here, where only a few selected individuals can appreciate them.

Wei Ying registers the low whistle of admiration from A-Qing and a hum of approval from Baoshan Sanren, but he's too invested in finding Lan Zhan first before anything else. His footsteps aren't all that far behind Wen Zhuliu in his eagerness to reach his beloved.

And all throughout, he can feel a power surge through his body, but he knows instinctively that there's one more step to complete before he can activate his total mastery over the HeartStone.

Wei Ying feels the weight of his grandmother's gaze on him, and as they pass by priceless antiques, he turns towards her.

"What?"

There's an awe in her silver eyes, so much like his mother's, and it's humbling.

"It's just that I don't think...I didn't think I would ever get to see what my husband created, in this capacity," she gestures towards him with a wave of her hand, "and to be a part of this...it just feels surreal. Tell me, what's it like? So I can understand."

Wei Ying stops walking and takes her hand. He lifts it to put it directly on top of the HeartStone resting against his skin.

"Can you feel anything?" He whispers.

Wei Ying is aware of everyone else continuing to follow Wen Zhuliu, and he knows it's okay; they will catch up in a bit. This is far too important to not indulge in right now.

Baoshan Sanren closes her eyes, in order to grasp what he's trying to convey.

"I can feel it humming like an engine...is that what you're feeling?" She asks him, opening her brilliant silver eyes a few moments later.

"Yep, and now add nitrous oxide to the fuel, and the power surge?"

Her eyes widened in shock.

"Exactly!" Wei Ying knows she would understand that perfectly because of the many supercars in her underground parking. "Now, imagine THAT but all the fucking time!"

Anyone familiar with illegal racing (Wei Ying loves films, it can't be helped!) And he remembers watching the Fast and Furious franchise, so he knew that adding Nitro to a car engine gave it that final burst of power needed in the last few miles of the race, a guaranteed win, if the driver knew what they were doing.

That was why and how a person with enough money to buy a really nice car, could and would appreciate the analogy.

Wei Ying tries to explain it a bit better.

"Have you watched the Wolverine films, the first one with Patrick Stewart as Professor X, and Ian McKellen as Magneto?" He beams at her when she nods and rolls her eyes.

"Well, in that one, Professor X uses his Cerebrum machine, computer, whatever, and in that, he can pinpoint the location of every single mutant, right? And he can message them if he wants?"

"You can do that?" She looks around, and then adds, "Vampires?"

"Yes! Though I can't actually communicate with them yet, I'm figuring it out as I go. My point is, this thing is supposed to control them? But I think it's targeted. I don't know yet."

"Okay well, that's good, I think." She smiles, letting go of the cold metal. "Let's go get your man."

She grabs his hand and takes off after Wen Zhuliu.

But when they get there, the only evidence of anyone being there is the dead body and Wen Chao's head a few feet away, his eyes still open in shock.

There's a funny smell in the air too, a burning noxious scent.

Baoshan Sanren takes one sniff and wrinkles her nose, glancing at Xiao XingChen. They share a nod.

"Your Lan WangJi was here, but they used something on him?" She's guessing.

"Why? What can you smell?" Wei Ying also sniffs in the air, trying to avoid looking at the mess on the floor.

"Some kind of chemical element mixed with venom. I don't know what it's for, but there's definitely the smell of burning flesh." She makes a disgusted face.

"If Lan Zhan was here, then where is he now? Did he go by himself?" Wei Ying looks around and then he spots the camera looking at them, the red eye blinking ominously.

And then he remembered what Mo XuanYu had given them, and he goes to Xiao XingChen.

"Please, can you lift me up, Uncle? I need to do something." He points at the security camera.

Xiao XingChen does exactly that, and Wei Ying peels off the protective film around the microchip and sticks it onto the side. And then, to his surprise, he sees a USB shaped hole and he fishes the flash drive out of his pocket and inserts it.

Immediately, Baoshan Sanren gets a notification on her phone.

And that's followed by everyone's phones going off at the same time.

"A-Yu has made a WhatsApp group. And he said thank you." She directs that last part to Wei Ying.

Xiao XingChen puts him down gently and checks his phone, while Baoshan Sanren types in a quick message.

When Wei Ying checks his device, he grins because she's asked him where Lan Zhan is, and Mo XuanYu has replied with a screenshot, editing it with a huge red circle around the red dot, and a word: DUNGEON.