Chapter Text
“This is my self-created talisman!” Wei Wuxian explained with a grin and a mischievous glint in his eyes. “It can keep people within four metres! How about it? Is it fun?”
Lan Zhan levelled him with an unimpressed stare, then turned away not entertaining Wei Wuxian’s shenanigans further.
The other remained as jovial as before, continuing to talk – thinking aloud: “What should I name it…?
Lan Zhan: “…”
“Should it be “Binding”?” – he tugged on the string connecting them but Lan Zhan hardly budged – “Or should it be “Bonding”?”
Wei Wuxian tugged again. This time the other at least took a visible calming breath but – again – didn’t react further than that.
“Mm…” Wei Wuxian continued his musing, “Maybe neither… How about calling it…”
At last, Lan Zhan had had enough. With one mighty tug he now was the one to make Wei Wuxian stumble forwards, then turned to stride away, dragging the other along and finally stop his ridiculous jesting.
“Boring!” was the last thing he said on the matter before the Yin Iron (thankfully) made them focus back on their important quest ahead, forgetting all about that talisman for a while.
---
It only came up again, once they had made their way to Yueyang and entered the cursed Chang manor, coming face to face with the daredevil Xue Yang.
Wei Wuxian was truly glad to have come up with that talisman then, as it came in very handy when he used it to disrupt Xue Yang’s escape attempt. Yet, even that remarkable display of its advantageous usage had been enough to impress his dear Lan Zhan… Mpf…
However, unexpectedly, he did find a “buyer” in his martial uncle Xiao Xingchen.
As opposed to Lan Zhan, Xiao Xingchen was genuinely amazed by his nephew’s invention and asked him to teach him the qi sign for it. As he and his cultivation partner Song Lan did not take up their offer to escort Xue Yang to the Unclean Realm – stating that after chasing the delinquent for so long, they wanted to see it to an end themselves and deliver him to Jilintai instead – he wanted to use the talisman to make sure Xue Yang would not escape them again.
Thus, Xiao Xingchen, who was burning with self-assured righteousness, eagerly drew the talisman sign and directed it at Xue Yang.
(Regrettably, in his eagerness, not noticing the slight change in lines he’d made, ultimately altering the talisman’s function subtly yet significantly – making the binding and bonding literal)
---
Xiao Xingchen should have already noticed that something was amiss, when the signature blue glow of the bond only lit up once to connect them and then vanished (as if seeping beneath their skin).
He should have also instantly grown suspicious when his whole body had started to tingle and shiver as if struck by a sudden cold and fever spell. After which he’d suddenly felt the weird, inexplicable urge to get closer to the delinquent… and initiate some kind of… contact…(??!!)
And maybe he should have also looked at and listened more closely to the delinquent who'd frowned at the disappearing string around his wrist and then stared at Xiao Xingchen long and intently before stating: "I think you just made a big mistake..."
The ultimate point of no return in which he at last had to concede that something had gone severely wrong was when, after the three of them had stopped at an inn the next town over and he’d wanted to leave Song Lan to guard Xue Yang so he could get them something to eat, he had not even made it halfway down the stairs towards the dining area when he was overcome with a stabbing pain all over his body, making him double over.
As soon as he’d left the room, he’d already felt a pang in his chest and a slight headache but thought it was just the stress of the long day getting to him.
But this? This couldn’t be ignored.
Especially, after Song Lan came running after him, initially to inform him the delinquent was qi deviating (so Xingchen could help him as Song Lan was obviously loath to touch him). But seeing that Xiao Xingchen was similarly affected, he, instead, quickly helped him get back to the room, at which instance the pain suddenly vanished as if nothing had happened.
Leaving Xiao Xingchen and Xue Yang to stare at each other in mounting horror. And Song Lan looking at the scene with equal amount of distress as well as fury.
“We have to find Wei Wuxian again. He has to know how to reverse this!” Song Lan eventually was the first to find his voice again.
Xue Yang in the meantime just started laughing. Intermittently gasping out “Splendid!” ; “Oh you fucking ridiculous holier-than-though cultivators!” ; “Finally getting your due!” ; “No need to reverse it yet! Let’s have some fun first! Find out what else about this talisman you fucked up, eh Xingchen?”
“Shut it!” Song Lan seethed. No less because of the overly familiar way the delinquent kept talking to them.
Xiao Xingchen was looking close to tears, burying his head in his hands: “What have I done? This was not supposed to happen!”
“You shouldn’t have been so eager to trust this Wei Wuxian… even if he is your shizhi… These inventions of his are not proven yet and he seems to come up with them on a whim… We should have expected something could go amiss…” Song Lan reasonably grumbled. And it wasn't as if he hadn't tried to talk Xingchen out of it, voicing similar concerns before… with no success, as could be seen…
“For once, I agree with you Song lump!” Xue Yang snorted. The moniker earning him a death glare from the black-clad cultivator, which he answered with his signature smirk, flashing his canines.
Xiao Xingchen sighed – the picture of despair (it made Xue Yang want to bully him some more, he really looked too good like that): “I know, Zichen… I’m sorry… I am such a fool…”
“That you are indeed…” Xue Yang snorted. And that comment suddenly had a fist connecting with his face.
Blood immediately started spurting from his nose and he grimaced at Song Lan with hardly veiled murderous intent, only for it to morph into first shock then glee when he heard the pained gasp and afterwards saw Xiao Xingchen starting to bleed as well.
“Oh my… how interesting!” he grinned.
Song Lan, by then, had forgotten all about Xue Yang and instantly rushed to Xingchen’s side, apologizing profusely and trying to treat the injury.
“So, it’s not just distance that causes pain… when we get out of the four metre radius… but we actually are physically connected now… made to feel the other’s pain… taking the same injuries…” Xiao Xingchen gasped out, connecting the dots.
“All the more reason to quickly locate Wei Wuxian!” Zichen darkly surmised.
“Yeah… Wouldn’t do to deliver me to Jilintai now to be executed unless you favour your cultivation partner headless, too.” Xue Yang laughed.
Song Lan glared at him: “Trust me, as soon as we get rid of that bond this cursed talisman created, I will personally relieve you of your head, beast.”
“If…” Xue Yang merely replied, staring back at the other with a dark foreboding look.
Song Lan really didn’t want the delinquent to get to him, had tried his best to ignore his constant quips and god-awful chatter so far, yet that one word instantly caused him to spiral into dreadful twisted future alternatives… of what they’d possibly do if Wei Wuxian couldn’t fix this… if there was no reversing that talisman… if they were forced to drag Xue Yang along with them for the decades to come… unable to stray further than a few metres away from him… unable to ever get rid of him… as it would affect Xingchen too…
(Of course, Song Lan was free to go, not bound by that talisman after all, but he’d obviously not ever leave Xiao Xingchen behind! Though, ever self-sacrificing Xingchen eventually asked him to and after a heated back-and-forth only accepted his oath to stay with a heavy heart...)
“This is going to be so much fun!” Xue Yang chuckled darkly, not reassuring at all.