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[bringingdowndisaster]

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[bringingdowndisaster]

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.

[gentledawn]

"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.

[gentledawn]

"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.

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"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.

[gentledawn]

"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.

[gentledawn]

He loves Zichen. Their love is innocent because they have no idea how else to express it, but the love is there - at least from Xiao Xingchen's point of view. Which is why he looks so moved when Zichen writes on his skin.

"I'll take care of you." he strokes over Zichen's hair.

Until he hears that sigh. It's a sigh that comes from the heart. Rising, he goes to Xue Yang and carefully seeks out his face, smoothing his hand over his cheek.

"Are you feeling alright?"

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Song Lan has loved Xingchen since they started growing close all those years ago, but he had never wished to jeopardize their friendship by telling him. He regrets that now. Now he has no tongue to speak those words... And Xingchen has instead fallen in love with a murderer. Not that Song Lan truly blames him since he hadn't known who Xue Yang was for most of it, but it's obvious that the love is still there between them. He just blames himself for driving Xingchen into Xue Yang's arms.

Xue Yang lets out a relieved little sound when he's touched again, and leans into the touch to his cheek. He doesn't want to sour things with his jealousy so he just nods. "I'm tired," he says. Not untrue - despite his long nap, he still feels pretty exhausted.

[gentledawn]

His heart has room for two. Somehow he will communicate that to his Zichen...to his A-Yang. But emotions are too tender at the moment, so the best he can do is care for them.

One at a time.

Xue Yang strokes Xue Yang's cheek and frowns worriedly. The answer makes perfect sense and he presses his lips to the other man's forehead, checking him for a fever.

"Will you lay down for me? I need to find a soft bed for Zichen and then I will lay down too. We...need rest."

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"We can... drag your bed into my room or the other way around," Xue Yang suggests. They had started sleeping together in Xue Yang's bed back then, and A-Qing had been given Xingchen's, but she's still hiding somewhere, and Xue Yang can imagine that Xingchen wouldn't want the three of them in separate rooms. They can figure out better sleeping arrangements later.