Burial Mounds was known as a haven of walking corpses and vengeful ghost. It still is yet the mountain beside it was full of different herbs. After the events with the previous chief cultivator of the Jin Clan and the revelation of all the hideous secrets, some travelling physicians and metchants attempted to gather herbs eventually making the village's business grew rapidly. Four months ago, the place has been buzzling with so many people coming in and out. In one full moon night, fierce copses started to show up. It killed several people including cultivators from other sects who happened to be in Yiling and heard about the incident.
The cultivators who have tried to exorcise them failed and said there was something wrong with the corpses. The villagers decided to put a warning at the foot of the mountain and sent a letter to the Jiang Sect however there were no response from the clan.
Jiang Cheng clenched his fist, asking himself how it was not brought to his attention. He glared at his disciples but all of them have the confused look on their faces.
A Jiang disciple spoke, "This is absurd! Someone tried to ruin our sect's reputation."
"Let's not go on about that for now. You can deal that later." Wei Wuxian told them. "While it is true that the resentment in that mountain is heavy. I still wanted to try controlling them which I wasn't able to do earlier."
"You cannot do that, Senior Wei." Jingyi immediatelt stopped their plan. "Those resentments are different from the one you knew. It will only agitate them."
"Is there someone who is controlling them?"
"But the Stygian Tiger Seal has long been destroyed and sealed inside Jin Guangyao's coffin."
"Wei Wuxian!"
"It's not the Stygian Tiger Seal."
"This is getting out of hand. I know they abducted our kids for a ridiculous ritual and offering but it looks like they are trying to ruin the history by killing the people who were not suppose to die yet."
"If this are the deeds of those evil demons then Master Rin An would surely do something about those lives."
Making comments like that, some disciples were confused and threw one question to another. It flew back and forth but F. Jingyi never answered any of them.
"Kidnap our kids? What are you talking about?"
"Jingyi, this is not the time to say some weird things and who are these people you've been with?"
"And who is Master Rin An?!"
Jingyi saluted to the inn's owner and asked him and his employees to leave the room for the time being.
"You, Lan kid, have so much explaining to do." Jiang Cheng impatienly said.
However, Wei Wuxian grinned and said calmly, "You are not the Jingyi we knew, right?"
"Yes and no. I'm still the same Jingyi you knew but I'm not the Jingyi from this timeline. Same goes with Sizhui and Jin Ling you met earlier. The kid in your arms was named Lan Yanli. Please don't be surprised if she called you A-Niang. You are her mother. You gave birth to her."
"W-What?!"
Lan Wangji, "Ridiculous!"
"Stop making up things or you'll—" Jiang Cheng's glare was terrifying but his words was stopped by the clang of the swords outside.
It was beginning to grow dusk when they arrive at the inn earlier and now that the villagers was wary of the things happening at night, they avoided going out when it hits four in the afternoon. According to the inn's owner, they usually hear strange noises and screams from the mountain. Afraid of corpses that may try to barge in, they kept their doors and window closed until sun shone brightly.
The inn's owner including two of the servants went back to check them. Shivering from fear, they told them that they will be hiding in the cellar for the moment if they decided to open the door and deal with the noises outside.
"You can sleep comfortably in your rooms. No need to worry." A man in white appeared in the middle of the room along with several disciples in hand.
"Sizhui!" (F) Jingyi exclaimed. "Does the entity's outside has been dealt with?"
"Mm." (F) Sizhui answered as he drop his past self in the hands of his martial brothers.
"Shige!" "Shidi!" "Sect Leader Jin!"
Disciples from different clans exclaimed as they saw all the others being dropped in the floor of the receving room of the inn which includes (P) Sizhui, (P) Jingyi and (P) Jin Ling.
"Are they the same entity from what we have fought in the previous timeline we've been before this?"
"Indeed."
"Where are the kids?"
"I asked them to stay in a room but A-Li does not want to let go of Senior Wei and slept in his arms."
Sizhui threw them a glance then he faced the inn's owner who was still shock from their sudden appearance, bowing respectfully.
"My apologies for the intrusion. Can you please prepare food for everyone?"
"But the kitchen is–"
"No need to worry. We will be accompanying you in the kitchen." Jin Ling said and pulled Wen Yang and Jingyi.
"What the– The 'we' is us?!"
"Stop complaining and just come with me." (F) Jin Ling turned his gaze his husband and gave a meaningful nod.
The unconscious disciples of each sect started to wake up one by one, groaning in pain.
"A-Ling?!" (P) Sizhui cried when he remembered what happened the moment his eyes open. He looked around and his cheeks flushed red upon seeing his martial brother's staring at him. However, his eyes still looked for Jin Ling. When he saw him beside Jiang Cheng and a word from one the Jiang's disciple saying he is okay, he sighed with a relief. He relaxed himself but as soon as he realized they were inside of an inn, he started bombarding some questions. "What happened? How did we ended up here? I remember we all collapsed outside the cave."
"Did you all acquired a room?" The question remained unanswered. (F) Sizhui instead asked a question with a firm tone. "Please take a rest. We will have you called once the food is ready. The night is still young and there are so many things we have to deal with until dawn so grab as much as many strength you may get."
"Aren't you going to start explaining things to us?" The zidian fizzled and Jiang Cheng was running out of patience.
"What's going on? Why is there to Lan Yuan?" (P) Jin Ling confusedly asked while his hand is on his throbbing head.
(P) Lan Sizhui bravely walked towards his lover and held his hand. "Who are you?"
"I am you."
"Are you kidding?!" (P) Jingyi groaned when he felt a throbbing pain in his head. "My head still hurts." He complained.
(F) Sizhui wrote a character in the air, it lightens as he is activated it with his spiritual power and push it towards the disciples who has been complaining of their headaches. "You should be fine by now."
"Yeah, I feel so light now."
"Yeah, me too."
(F) Sizhui, "You still need to rest. I just healed the pain but not the fatigue."
"Don't go telling us something so absurd. Who are you?" Jingyi asked. He cannot believed that someone tried to copy his friend. He found it unacceptable especially performing so new to him.
"I am the person you've known for quite a while. Just that, I do not belong to this timeline." (F) Lan Sizhui walked towards Wei Wuxian who was holding his sister and attempted to take her from him but the kid tightly clung on to Wei Wuxian.
"A-Li, it's Dage."
The young child whimpered. "I want A-Niang."
"I'm sorry, Die. Can you, please, bear with her until she wakes up. She is more comfortable with your scent. She just got sick from the previous timeline we came from so she's still a little unwell."
"Lan Yanli." Wei Wuxian had a sadden expression as he utter the child's name. "We were told by the other Jingyi we just met that her name is Lan Yanli."
(P) Jingyi's ears perked up as he heard another 'unbelievable' word.
(P) Jin Ling was a little shock hearing her mother's name. Jiang Cheng scowled. "How disrespectful! To use my sister's name to name someone's child."
"It is indeed her name. That is the name you gave her, A-Die and Sect Leader Jiang annoyingly agreed to it."
Wei Wuxian held his laugh. "To use such word, SiZhui, you sure grown up a lot. If it's really true that you came from a different timeline though it really sounds unbelievable, I guess we don't have any choice but to trust your words for the meantime."
"Wei Wuxian, you are being reckless again!" Jiang Cheng shouted angrily.
Wei Wuxian turned to Lan Wangji and smiled mischievously. "Lan Zhan trust my judgement, right?"
"Mm."
Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes irritably. "All of you, brats, go to your room and rest." He yelled as he eyed (F) Sizhui as if telling that he owe them some explanation yet the latter seems not to mind his actions which aggaravates him more.
