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[bringingdowndisaster]

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[bringingdowndisaster]

Xue Yang nods, feeling reassured by that. He eventually starts eating again, more for Xingchen's sake than his own.

He's thinking about Song Lan too and once he's finished his meal he broaches the subject again.

"Do you... want to see Song Lan?" he asks, hesitantly.

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"I...want to check on him." Xingchen admits, "If he can sense me even a little bit, I want him to know our plan."

It feels...fair. To be honest. But he is scared and it shows as his forehead furrows above his bandage.

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"I don't know how... how aware he is," Xue Yang admits. He kind of hopes that he's not too aware, because that'd be pretty awful for him. Being trapped in his own body like that...

He reaches out and takes Xingchen's hand again, trying to offer some sort of comfort.

[gentledawn]

"It's alright." Xingchen murmurs, holding onto Xue Yang's hand and forcing himself to breathe evenly, "He's strong. Holding him to your will as long as you have has depleted your power. Releasing him will be good for both of you. But I won't take chances with him killing or hurting you."

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Xue Yang shakes his head. "I'm not using my powers to control him. I did at first, but a while back I came up with these... nails. They can be pushed into the skull of a strong fierce corpse to control them. The Jin wanted me to control Wen Ning, the Ghost General, for them, but I couldn't get it to work on him, only on corpses I raised myself..." he explains.

Despite everything, he can't help but to be a little proud of his own work, though he makes sure not to let that on since he's sure that would just be off-putting to Xiao Xingchen.

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"Xue Yang..." his expression falls. Nails? His stomach churns and he shakily pushes himself onto his feet.

Zichen isn't just trapped, he is in horrific pain! How could he not be? And yet...

They can't do anything today. Maybe not tomorrow either. He grips onto Xue Yang's hand.

"Why didn't you raise me like that?" he is certain the other man could have.

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Xue Yang swallows and looks down at the table. "I... I tried to raise you the normal way at first, but it didn't work because your soul was shattered... The soul has to be intact or there'll be nothing to power the body."

He'd really become desperate then, but he'd never experienced anything like it before and didn't know how to fix it. In the end, it seems as though Xingchen had repaired his own soul.

[gentledawn]

Shakily, he strokes over Xue Yang's hair and listens to him. Some good news at last. Zichen's soul is intact. He bends down and kisses the top of Xue Yang's head.

"Where is he? You are welcome to accompany me, but I understand if you don't want to."

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"I'll come with you," he says and stands, still holding onto Xingchen's hand. "I've told him to patrol around the coffin home. I... worried that A-Qing might get cultivators to come here."

He leads Xingchen outside and looks around until he spots Song Lan coming from around the corner. "Zichen, come here," he says. "...He responds the best when I call him that," he explains. "Maybe... maybe he'll respond to you too."

[gentledawn]

Xingchen keeps a firm hold on Xue Yang's hand, using the contact to give himself courage. His heart hammers when he hears Zichen's footsteps and then it begins to ache.

"Zichen..." he lifts his voice as much as he is able, "I'm sorry I took so long." and, "I'm so sorry for...for everything. Let me help you now."

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Maybe it's a bit of a blessing that Xingchen is blind and can't see the state that Song Lan is in. His eyes are completely black and there's black veins crawling like tendrils up his neck.

It takes a moment, but Song Lan's head slowly turns, fixing pitch black eyes on Xingchen. A groaning sound leaves him, like he's trying to communicate, but of course - he can't, not without a tongue.

"He's looking at you," Xue Yang says softly.

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"Zichen..." Xingchen reaches out with his free hand and finds the other man. He lightly touches Zichen's chest and then his face.

"My poor Zichen..." he moves suddenly, pulling Xue Yang behind him as he removes the nails. The process makes tears run down his cheeks, but he feels no remorse.

Those nails do not belong in his soulmate's head!

Yet he is clearly protecting Xue Yang too, pale and resolved.

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Xue Yang lets out a surprised gasp to suddenly be shoved behind Xingchen. He then realizes what he's done - pulled the nails out.

Song Lan staggers back, one hand clutching at his head. He sags against a wall, dropping to his knees. His eyes remain black, but he's clearly starting to recover.

"He'll... he'll be fine in a little bit," Xue Yang murmurs from behind Xingchen.

[gentledawn]

"Just stay with me." Xingchen speaks to Xue Yang over his shoulder, "You won't be harmed."

Then he carefully moves closer to Zichen and cradles the man's face between his hands.

"I'm here. I know it hurts, but you're strong. You've been waiting this entire time." his cheeks are bloody from his tears, but he doesn't care, "Rest. You're not trapped anymore."

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Song Lan's body relaxes when he feels those warm, gentle hands on his face. Not a touch he shies away from because he knows Xingchen. He always will.

It takes a couple of minutes for the black to disappear from his eyes. If he could, he'd cry at the sight of Xiao Xingchen. Alive! He doesn't know how it's possible, but he slowly lifts his hand to take Xingchen's, drawing the characters of his soulmate's name into his palm.

[gentledawn]

He feels Zichen fighting to return and he smiles faintly. His soulmate is so strong and resilient! While he waits, he strokes Zichen's cheeks and murmurs comforting words.

Then he feels his hand taken and he tilts his head, focusing on what Zichen draws on his skin. Xingchen's smile grows and he bows his head, kissing his soulmate's hand.

"It's me. I'm here. Xue Yang convinced me to come back."

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The mention of Xue Yang makes his gaze darken a bit, though he also feels conflicted. He's been mostly entirely aware this whole time, and he'd seen Xue Yang's grief for himself and been forced to acknowledge that Xue Yang had genuinely loved Xingchen.

He gives Xue Yang a sharp, warning glare that seems to make him shrink a little where he's hiding behind Xingchen.

With some effort he then writes, Are you alright? into Xingchen's hand.

[gentledawn]

Xingchen relaxes upon realizing that Zichen isn't just filled with...rage. No one could blame him if he was! But he's his Zichen; just how he remembers him. His kind, thoughtful soulmate. Leaning close, Xingchen rests their foreheads together and focuses on what the other man writes on his palm.

"I'm weak, but that will pass. I'm more worried about you. Let's get you inside where you can rest, hm?" he slips an arm around Zichen to steady the poor man.

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Song Lan's first priority is and always has been Xingchen. He's too tired for anger right now anyway. So he just hums his agreement and lets Xingchen help him to his feet again.

Xue Yang follows anxiously at a bit of a distance. Song Lan hadn't immediately tried to kill him so that's... something.

[gentledawn]

Xingchen is ready and willing to carry his Zichen inside. He will never be too weak for that. Somehow.

"Take it slowly. I've got you." he turns to Xue Yang, "Come with us, A-Yang. Does he...eat?"

He really doesn't know much about Fierce Corpses.

[bringingdowndisaster]

"N-No. He, uh, doesn't need to eat, drink or sleep. He can, but he doesn't need to." And without a tongue, he'd probably not be able to taste anything anyway.

Song Lan stiffens a little, jaws clenching at the reminder of just how changed he is. How dead. He can tell that Xingchen is not a fierce corpse like him, no, everything about him tells Song Lan that his soulmate is alive. He's just not sure how.

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"Sleeping would feel nice." Xingchen thinks anyway. Zichen's soul must be exhausted even if his body isn't. He hugs his soulmate a little tighter and leads him inside to a chair.

"Are you wondering about me?" he asks softly, sensing Zichen's confusion, "I refused to abide by Xue Yang's magic. Somehow. I brought myself back."

For Xue Yang. For Zichen. For A-Qing.

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Song Lan does feel exhausted. In body and soul. He sits heavily on the chair and gives Xue Yang a somewhat questioning glance after Xingchen's explanation. He doesn't think Xingchen is lying, but he may not know the whole story.

"I tried to repair his soul," Xue Yang explains in a low voice, barely looking at Song Lan, "but... he could only come back if he wanted to."

[gentledawn]

No matter that Zichen doesn't need water, Xingchen brings him a cup anyway. Throats can become awfully dry even if someone isn't speaking. Then he kneels at his soulmate's feet and listens.

"I was too broken... I didn't know how to pull my soul back together." he touches the bandages around his neck, "But I knew I was needed and so I kept trying."

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Song Lan does appreciate the gesture and takes the cup. He brushes his fingers over Xingchen's knuckles in quiet thanks. He drinks the water and puts the cup away as he listens to Xingchen explain. Once he's finished Song Lan takes his hand and writes, I'm glad you are here.

At least it feels more real now. With Song Lan awake, he can't really dismiss this as a dream or his crazed imagination. Xue Yang lets out a trembling sigh. Seeing the gentle affection between the two old friends (or had they been more?) makes an ugly sort of jealousy well up within him, but he tries to push it down.