Chaos controlled the battlefield. Everywhere Lan Zhan looked, bodies had fallen on the ground, swept away by the resentment energy that flowed like water from his beloved's fingertips.

Swords clashed, warriors screamed, and the stench of death pervaded the air like a storm, lashing out against anyone who stood in her way. Above it all, the sound of Chenqing rang deep and true, the notes a shrill scream of pain and suffering.

Wei Ying, so dark, so terrible and mighty, a veritable God among these worthless creatures who had dared to invoke his wrath, and now they were paying the price for their impudence. He stood high up on the jagged crevices still too far away from Lan Zhan, his black robes fluttering with the force of his power, lethal and yet restrained because despite public opinion, his Wei Ying was in perfect control.

Pale and beautiful, nay, stunning in his glory, Wei Ying was the beacon to his soul, as he commanded the ghost army to annihilate those that dared to oppose him.

But Wei Ying was mad with grief, his actions only a blur in his mind even as he wept; his sister's body still lying there on the ground by his feet, and his so-called brother swearing vengeance.

Lan Zhan had seen it all, watched it happen while he was too far away to stop it, to interrupt this madness, because there could be no rhyme or reason to why this was happening.

Why did Wei Ying have to suffer any more?

Why did the people surrounding him, especially those under his protection end up dying anyway?

Wen Qing. Wen Ning. All of the last remaining peaceful civilians of the Wen clan, Uncle Four, Wen Popo...even little A-Yuan. And now Jiang YanLi.

Perhaps it was better that she was dead, because then she would be saved from witnessing this barbaric display of strength against her beloved brother, since each and every soul here wanted him dead. Except for Lan Zhan.

It wasn't fair.

Lan Zhan felt his heart breaking every step of the way as he chased after Wei Ying, knowing he was going to do something terrible, something so awful, it would put a stop to this wickedness, permanently. He could see it in the twist of his lips, still red from the blood that had spilled in this cursed place.

Wei Ying was too pale, too weak now, though no one else noticed.

His feet faltered, moving as if there was a weight attached to his ankles and he was wading through thick currents holding him back.

Lan Zhan was so distracted as he ran, he didn't see the sword coming at him until it was too late, but some instinct had him turning his body so it missed his torso and any vital organs to slash at his arm, a long cut that bled profusely.

Lan Zhan didn't waste a second to dispatch the interruption, too worried about Wei Ying as he chased after him, and in his heart of hearts, he knew why Wei Ying was climbing up.

Lan Zhan watched as Wei Ying flung the Yin Hufu up into the air and clenched his fist. Closing his eyes, Wei Ying summoned the great forces of the ghost armies back towards himself, cutting off their clamours for revenge and once the resentment energy was trapped, in one fell swoop, he burst the dreaded weapon into pieces, fragments of the explosion raining down on all those who stood fighting nearby.

There was no time to lose; with a last bit of energy, Lan Zhan propelled himself up that mountain, and saw Wei Ying not care any more. The light died from his beautiful eyes and he turned around to face the catastrophic battlefield below him, unseeing.

"WEI YING!" Lan Zhan shouted, but the noise behind him was too great; but even if Wei Ying heard him, it was clear to see that he just did not care.

Lan Zhan saw him step back off the ledge, and he knew. This Wei Ying had given up now.

He was going to die!

Lan Zhan flung Bichen as far and hard as he could, jumping off the same ledge as Wei Ying, exactly where he had been standing only a moment ago, and saw his faithful sword waiting just a few feet under Wei Ying; who now looked shocked as he saw Lan Zhan following him down.

Lan Zhan's momentum had caused him to fall at a greater speed than Wei Ying, and he easily caught his beloved around his waist as Bichen came up to slide under his feet - they were safe, but only momentarily.

Lan Zhan knew his spiritual energy was fast depleting, and this way of travelling was hazardous at best, and disastrous at worst - there was no way he could sustain a long flight to save them both.

He had to find shelter, and find it fast, before the crazy mob found them.

Nightless City stood atop a range of desolate mountains, the regurgitated remains of a massive volcanic blast hundreds of years ago. Wild animals and the forces of nature had worn away at the unrelenting stone to create caves in the most unexpected of places, and Lan Zhan spotted one close by as Bichen shook under his boots.

The sword clattered to the ground as they nearly fell, both severely weakened by what they did on the battlefield, and Lan Zhan had to take a moment to collect himself. He picked up his trusty sword and they staggered into the dark cave, finding solace in the quiet coolness of this refuge.

Lan Zhan helped Wei Ying sit down on a boulder, the young man too tired to even open his eyes.

Too quiet, Lan Zhan thought. Wei Ying was always a hive of activity, always in motion whether it was by his feet or his hands, his body was always in harmony with his thoughts. Quick, light and graceful, a stark contrast to this mere shell of the man Lan Zhan had fallen in love with.

But in order to pass him any spiritual energy, Lan Zhan had to replenish his own first.

As a first class Cultivator, he always carried a gourd of water and dried fruit and nuts, trail mix to sustain inedia if there was no recourse. He split the water with Wei Ying, tilting his head back so the water slid inside his mouth. He had to do it three times and then command Wei Ying to chew while he did the same.

Now he had to meditate to recover his energy.

Usually, in cases of severe depletion like now, it would take Lan Zhan a good few hours of intense meditation to replace his store, enough to jump start his golden core into finishing the job.

But here, in this deep, dank cave brittle with dry air, there was no telling how much time they had.

The best form of action would be to cultivate until their time ran out, and then they would have to make a break for it. There was no sense in fighting, not when they would be so heavily outnumbered.

He who runs away, lives to fight another day, Lan Zhan thought to himself bitterly, as he closed his eyes to meditate.

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

Loud voices wake him from his retreat.

"They're not here, I tell you! I bet that Second Jade flew him back to Cloud Recesses!"

"What about that cave? They could be hiding!"

"What? The Great Hanguang-Jun? The Yiling Laozu?" Several voices started laughing, drowning out the protests from that single intelligent individual.

"I bet he's been bewitched by that Nefarious Charlatan! The Yiling Laozu is a dangerous predator, tearing babies apart with his teeth!"

"I heard he keeps any woman foolish enough to venture into his lair: there's no telling what that shameless ruffian won't do."

The voices fade away and Lan Zhan takes a deep breath, lowering his tense shoulders.

It is time to go.

Wei Ying is in no fit state to stand by himself, so Lan Zhan picks him up into his arms, noting with satisfaction that it's not as hard as he assumed it would be. Though whether that's because he is a little recovered in his strength, or because Wei Ying weighs so very little now.

He won't let himself think about that, because if he let himself, that grief, and all the regret he has buried inside himself will overflow from that deep place, sure to drown him.

As he headed towards the mouth of the cave, he listened out for more clues, to make sure no one saw them. Silence greeted him and Lan Zhan uncovered Bichen and took flight.

Since those cultivators assumed Lan Zhan would take Wei Ying and go back home to Cloud Recesses, it only made sense to go in the opposite direction.

And there was only one place Lan Zhan knew for sure that other cultivators thought twice about going to: the Burial Mounds.

A place so terrible, its reminder made grown men quake in their boots. Mothers scared their children into submission by the mere mention of it, and people stayed far, far away from there. Going to the Burial Mounds would buy them valuable time to recuperate and re-energize.

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

A/N

Dear Beautiful Readers,

I must warn you that even though there's a definite happy ending to this fic, Lan Zhan is going to stretch his rebellious muscles and behave a little out of character. Things are going to get bad before they get good, but I promise lots of fluffiness sprinkled in between.

If it's not for you, then I completely understand, and you shouldn't read this. Please look after yourselves first, that's a heartfelt request.

Secondly, I'm thinking to myself, Charlie, what the fuck are you doing??? (I hardly ever swear, so I know I'm serious!)

You have your niece's wedding in three weeks, no outfits ready, not to mention jewellery, and you just started writing the fabric shop modern WangXian book, less than a week ago. How did you think launching yet another book is a good idea???

I don't know...(*cries into my cereal)...but I have now, so deal with it.

Thank you for reading, and all my love,

Charlie.

P.S. I'm telling myself that I'm gonna look back on this message years from now and laugh about it. Maybe.