Chapter Text
The last notes of Inquiry slowly faded as the spirit left and passed on peacefully, the final concerns of their mortal life settled and cared for. Lan Wangji gently placed his fingers over the vibrating strings, letting them come to a complete stop before he began to collect up both his qin and the letter the man had requested he return to his family. It would be no trouble to assist in this final wish. “Make sure he receives the proper rites,” he said to the others gathered around. “There is no need to burn his body to avoid illness.”
“Then… you are certain it is not a plague, Hanguang-jun?” the healer standing across the table from him fretted. “He presented all the symptoms of it.”
He paused for a moment, then shook his head. “A curse may manifest as sickness, to disguise itself. No one else that he has encountered has fallen ill.”
The man had been very helpful, using his limited energy to answer all of Lan Wangji’s questions to the fullest. He had been returning from visiting family off in Lanling and had fallen ill on the road back to Gusu, with neither medicine nor doctor able to alleviate the malady that brought him down in a manner of days.
He had been traveling with a small group since after he reached Gusu. If someone else during this time had begun to show symptoms of illness, Lan Wangji might have considered it the culprit, but they were all hale and shocked that the man had collapsed so rapidly. The leader of the group had said he seemed perfectly normal and had suddenly collapsed upon entering the town.
His suspicions had already been raised when he first heard what had happened, but upon speaking to the spirit and clearing the faint traces of resentful energy clinging to him, it seemed more than obvious that he had been cursed.
"The source of the curse may be earlier in the journey," he determined. He looked at the group leader again. Unfortunately, while the victim himself had been cooperative, he had run out of energy and could no longer respond, so Lan Wangji had to rely on secondhand information for the rest of his questions. "Did he set off from his family with you, or did he join you later?"
"He did join us later, in Huai'an," the group leader eagerly replied. "He said that the previous caravan he'd joined was headed there, so he was looking for a new one to travel with to Gusu."
Huai'an was roughly halfway between Linyi, where the man's family lived, and Gusu. It therefore seemed likely that he encountered the curse somewhere between Linyi and Huai'an.
"Do you know with whom he traveled from Linyi to Huai'an?" Lan Wangji asked next.
"A cloth merchant's caravan, I believe. Surname of Tang. I'm afraid none of us inquired beyond that."
Lan Wangji inclined his head. That was enough to start with.
He made his farewells and assurances of investigating. He would have to go to Jin territory to further search for the curse and should inquire with them as to whether they had encountered anything similar. He did not have strong expectations of results, however; a curse like this was easy to disguise as an illness, which was generally not under cultivator purview.
He was determined to pursue this curse, though. If he was correct in his estimations, this was the third victim he'd come across. Who knew how many others had also been afflicted with no one to help them?
Such curses could be easily broken by destroying the source from which they sprung. There was no option left to him but to go and seek it out, then destroy it before it could kill again.
With his goal in mind, he took his leave to return home for an evening. His brother had requested that he stop by and see him when he came back to Gusu from his wanderings for a time. As the sect heir who would be stepping up as leader once he’d married, it was more difficult for Lan Xichen to go out wandering with him, although they did attempt to night hunt together when the opportunity presented itself.
Fortunately the Cloud Recesses were not a long flight from where he was currently. He landed at the base of the great stairs perhaps a shichen before sunset, the waters of Biling Lake turning a vivid gold as the sun began to sink towards the horizon.
He sheathed Bichen and started up the long, winding stairs towards home, nodding politely to the watchers at the entrance. They were used to Hanguang-jun appearing and leaving with little fanfare and simply bowed politely as he passed by.
As he walked up the white stone steps, he took the time to consider what little he knew of the curse so far, though there was indeed very little to know beyond that the curse seemed to imitate a sickness and strike down travelers along the road. He would have to investigate further soon.
First, however, he had to greet his family.
Lan Qiren was preparing to go to the dining hall for dinner. "Wangji," he said, smiling as Lan Wangji approached. "You're back. Come eat with me. Are you staying?"
Lan Wangji obligingly turned to accompany him to dinner, but he replied, "Not long. There is a hunt I am beginning. I happened to be nearby right now."
Lan Qiren nodded. "The resources of the Cloud Recesses are open to you."
His uncle rarely inquired into the details of his hunts. He was proud that Lan Wangji had grown to be so well-known, but Lan Wangji suspected he also thought most of those hunts were not worth his time.
This was a common opinion in the jianghu, even amongst the Lan, but it did not deter Lan Wangji.
Lan Xichen met them in the dining hall, and his face similarly lit up to see Lan Wangji. He did appropriately wait until the meal was over to speak to him, but after they'd said good night to their uncle, he pulled Lan Wangji away.
"I know you enjoy traveling, but I'm always glad to see you back," he said as the two of them walked to the jingshi. "Are you staying long?"
Once again, Lan Wangji had to shake his head. “I have another hunt. But Xiongzhang, you might help. I have encountered three people who died of a curse masking itself as an illness. Its source seems to be in Lanling. Could you inquire with the Jin about similar cases?"
"Of course." Lan Xichen frowned. "However, the Jin are proud, and I am not well acquainted with any of them. They may not be helpful."
Lan Wangji inclined his head. "If they solve the curse, what matters is that it is solved," he said. "And if they do not, I will be there to investigate. We should ask, but it is no matter if they do not help."
The frown washed away from Lan Xichen's face, replaced by his habitual smile. "As you say. Will you wait until I hear back from them?"
Lan Wangji shook his head. "I should not. But my next destination is Huai'an, and you may write to me there."
His brother nodded calmly. “I shall do so as soon as I have any answers for you.”
They came to a stop in front of the jingshi, with only the soft breeze and fading birdsong to keep them company for the moment. Lan Xichen seemed to have more to say, but for whatever reason he seemed hesitant to say it. “Wangji,” he began, smile drifting away slightly. “A curse that masquerades as illness is the sort that is difficult to track and easy to miss. I know that nothing will stop you from pursuing this, but please do be careful. You are my only brother.”
Lan Wangji dipped his head and smiled slightly. “I always strive to be careful, Xiongzhang,” he said in response. “Even so, I will remain aware of any slight changes.”
“And you will return should something happen?” Lan Xichen pressed slightly. “You will not needlessly risk yourself?”
He shook his head just barely, only enough for his brother to see it. “Of course I will.”
Lan Xichen nodded in response, summing up a smile that nearly concealed the worry in his eyes. “I will meet you before you leave tomorrow. I am certain that Fuqin would be happy to allow you access to the treasure rooms should you wish to bring along additional implements of protection.”
Lan Wangji nodded. "I will remember. For now, all I need is to replenish my supplies."
While their father would not leave seclusion, since they had come of age, very rarely he would pass along simple messages for them, or offer them access to resources otherwise meant to stay within the sect when they, or truly mostly Lan Wangji, left to hunt. While they had gone out together more often when they were younger, since Lan Xichen had come of age, he rarely seemed to have the time to go on hunts further than a few miles away these days.
He often found himself grateful to be the younger of the two of them. The mantle of leadership seemed one that would not suit him to wear, certainly not as it did his older brother. He preferred to spend his time out in the jianghu, where he could both help people more directly and learn and hone his skills in practice, rather than sitting within the Cloud Recesses either deep in study or meditation.
He loved his home, but he could do more good out in the world, and he liked it better that way.
“Perhaps when this is finished, you would be willing to come and stay for some time?” Lan Xichen asked, looking up at the darkening sky. “It has been a while since you have stayed for more than a day or so.”
Lan Wangji bowed in acknowledgement. “Once this is resolved, I believe that will be possible. A xun, at least.”
“A xun it shall be.” Lan Xichen laughed fondly. “Then I wish you well in your endeavors, that we might see each other again soon.”
--
He spent a little time with his family again in the morning before he left. While Lan Xichen continued to smile, Lan Wangji could see the underlying wistfulness in his eyes.
Perhaps, when this journey was done, he and Lan Xichen could go hunting together again. His brother was busy now, but not so much that he could not spare any time to hunt.
But in the meantime, Lan Wangji continued to travel alone. He much preferred this to hunting with others, on the whole. While his clan was well aware of his tendency towards solitude and did not usually disturb him when he hunted with other Lan disciples, being alone in a group of people still left him standing awkwardly apart. It was even worse when they tried to include him.
He had never met anyone who could match his personality and his rhythm. Lan Xichen was the closest, but they could no longer hunt together often.
Still, it was what it was.
The current hunt did not seem urgent enough to exhaust his energy through riding the sword, but he also did not think dallying would be wise. He brought a horse from the Cloud Recesses's stables, a mare as white as his robes. With her, he made good time to Huai'an, and though he looked, he found no other indications of the curse along the way.
The first thing he did once he reached the city was locate the post station. He did not think his brother would have had enough time to hear back from the Jin and write to him, but he needed to check just in case. The post station was also a good place to begin inquiring about this cloth merchant surnamed Tang.
“A cloth merchant that passed through here a few days ago?” The young man at the window brushed at his chin thoughtfully. “Ah, I do believe I know who you’re talking about! They came in on the Yanhe river with a small caravan, along with some other merchants and travelers together.” He grinned widely, showing a broken canine tooth. “They split up after they got here, since we’re at the crossroads, but the cloth merchant headed off towards Yunmeng. Were you looking to get in touch with them?”
Lan Wangji shook his head. “That is all I needed to know,” he said, tucking away the information in his mind. “I will return shortly.”
He sat down in a teahouse, mulling over the possibilities in his mind. The roads were decently cared for, but there were stretches between Gusu and Lanling where merchant caravans could be ambushed and robbed easily without sufficient protection. The Yanhe river took a less direct route, but many merchants preferred it for being more difficult to rob without the robbers failing due to goods sinking to the bottom of the water.
It was possible the curse lay along the river, but running water was difficult to curse without there being such a thing as a waterborne abyss or something equally malevolent lurking within its depths. Still, it was a possibility, and he did not dismiss it out of hand.
He sat and listened to the conversation around him as he sipped his tea, considering how best to phrase his letter to Lan Xichen about his discoveries and where to forward any letters to while he traveled along the Yanhe.
It seemed unlikely that anyone here had heard of either the curse itself or any illness; the conversation was light and easy, and people sat together without any fear of sickness. It perplexed him still, how the curse moved and whom it chose.
Every person that he was certain had been cursed so far had been traveling. The traveler he’d met earlier, a fur merchant who’d come from Qinghe, and an erhu musician who had collapsed suddenly in front of him while they were both in Yunmeng. None of them came from or went to the same place.
Just what did they have in common, then? Where had their paths crossed that every one of them fell ill from the same curse?
And if it were a taint in the Yanhe river, how far then did it go?
Still, while the curse being carried in the water was a possibility, it should not be his first priority. Even when diffused, diseases spread through water traveled quickly and affected many people, and the same principle generally followed for curses.
The only exception was if the curse meant to latch onto specific targets.
Could it be that these people had not encountered the curse in the same place, but instead matched its intended target? On first look, the only thing they seemed to have in common was their gender. Age and occupation varied, as did their personalities -- the ghost of the fur merchant had been curt and impatient, while the musician was timid, and the latest traveler was eager and helpful.
But this was also not likely to immediately be a fruitful path of inquiry. It was too late to get more information about the victims, so he could not determine if they had any commonalities beyond traveling. He should first investigate the more solid connection.
Lan Wangji finished his tea and stood up. Huai'an was a bigger city -- just because the curse did not seem to have stricken anyone in this area did not mean no one here was affected. He would first see if there were any other clues here before moving on.
His first day in Huai'an was therefore spent seeking out local doctors and apothecaries to ask if they'd seen any signs of a mysterious illness. By the time he returned to the inn where he'd stabled his horse, he'd covered almost a third of the city and made no progress. No one had encountered an illness with which they were not already familiar.
On the second day, however, a doctor in the north of the city looked at him in amazement as he described the curse and its symptoms. "Strange that you should ask about that, young master. In fact, I have seen something like what you describe," she said. "Two cases. One was about a xun ago. I didn't know quite what it was, but I prescribed some medicine that should boost his yang and give him more energy. I haven't seen this patient since then. The second person I saw just this morning."
Lan Wangji straightened just slightly. Someone who she’d treated this morning might still be in a state where he could find out if there was a commonality with him and the others he knew of. “Did he mention how long he had felt unwell?” he asked, keeping his voice level.
The doctor frowned in thought. “She said she’d first felt it maybe three days ago, before she arrived in town. She came in from Baizao, along the main roads.”
Lan Wangji paused as he tried to figure out what to ask next in order to see if he could meet the patient without coming on too strong. The doctor seemed to understand his predicament and stepped in. “She is staying at the inn next door with her brother, surname of Qiu. She did not mention a first name when she stopped by, but seemed reasonably alert still.”
He bowed deeply in gratitude. “My thanks to you, good doctor.”
She nodded perfunctorily, returning to her work as it became clear that their conversation had come to an end. “Good luck in your hunt, young master,” she said. “Illness that can’t be cured would spark a panic should it become widespread.”
He nodded in agreement and left, already planning on speaking to the young master Qiu the moment he could find him.
Once outside it was easy to find the inn the doctor had mentioned, with several people sitting outside and drinking. She had mentioned that there were two to their party, brothers. Surely it would not be difficult to find them within.
The inside of the inn was quieter than outside, with a waiter busy washing teacups and a man and woman sitting silently together in a corner. The only other group in there were a small group of cultivators in tan and green robes, the colors of one of the smaller sects around the area. They too seemed oddly pensive and kept glancing over at the couple.
The stairs to the rooms upstairs were roped off to prevent others from going up before the inn chose to open them to guests.
“Ah, good afternoon, young master, is there something I can help you with?” a voice said at his elbow.
Lan Wangji turned to see the innkeeper and bowed slightly. "I am seeking a person who arrived here recently, surname of Qiu. I believe he is traveling with his brother."
The innkeeper looked him up and down before deciding to answer. "We've got two sibling pairs surnamed Qiu here, but only one currently present." He jerked his head at the man and woman in the corner. "Are they who you're looking for?"
Lan Wangji had assumed the doctor's patient was a man because all the other victims so far had been, but that might not be the case. And now that he looked closer, the woman did seem pale, her face glistening with sweat. He inclined his head to the innkeeper. "I will ask. Thank you."
As he approached the pair in the corner, the group of cultivators turned away even as the man and woman looked up at him. Keeping his voice low, Lan Wangji took the lead in saying, "I am looking for someone named Qiu who saw the doctor next door this morning."
The man frowned. "Why?" he asked, unfriendly.
Lan Wangji looked around. The cultivators seemed to be listening, but there was no one else in the vicinity. He could speak with the cultivators later, and in the meantime, open discussion seemed unlikely to start a commotion.
"I am investigating a curse that presents as a strange illness," he replied. "When I inquired with the doctor next door as to whether she had seen signs of this curse, she pointed me towards you."
The man opened his mouth again, but the woman put her hand on his arm. "Curse?" she said, voice shaking slightly. "Are you sure? I feel sick, sure, but I don't know how I could be cursed."
"That is what I would like to determine," Lan Wangji replied. "If you will permit?"
Squeezing her brother's arm, she nodded. Her face seemed even paler.
Lan Wangji retrieved a simple detection talisman from his sleeve. There were many options for discovering a curse, but this was one of the most discreet. He activated it...and saw it start to glow from the presence of resentful energy.
"What does that mean?" the brother hissed. "Is Xiao Lihua cursed?"
Lan Wangji let the talisman burn to ash as both siblings watched. Now that they accepted his presence, he took an empty seat at the table. "Yes," he said simply. "I will be able to dispel the curse. However, I first have several questions to ask to determine the source of this curse. Miss Qiu, have you noticed any new markings on your body?"
She paused and considered it seriously, her breathing slightly ragged. “A marking? Like a stain or something drawn on? There’s nothing I can think of, and the doctor would have told me if there was something on part of my body I couldn’t see.”
Her brother’s face fell, hope draining with color. But Qiu Linhua had not finished her thought just yet. “There is a rash on the bottom of my foot, but that didn’t seem to be out of the ordinary. We recently traveled a long way on foot. The doctor gave me a salve for it and told me to rest it for a few days.”
Lan Wangji glanced down at where she sat slightly improperly with one leg gingerly twisted so that the bottom of her foot did not touch the ground. When she noticed his glance, she turned her foot so that she sat properly, manners overriding comfort and a doctor’s orders.
He would not have said anything about it. She was not the first person he’d met injured in some way. But it was too late to reassure her now. “When did you first notice this rash?” he asked, looking back up at her and silently hoping that she would shift back to a position that did not cause her pain once she no longer felt like she was being judged.
She smiled somewhat thinly; it made the layer of sweat on her face stand out even more. “I’m not sure, perhaps four or five days ago? I only noticed it when it began to hurt.”
“Daozhang, who would do such a thing? Who would curse my sister with a deadly illness?” her brother interrupted, his face twisted in pain. “My xiao-meimei has never done anything to anyone. She’s a gentle soul, everyone loves her!”
“I do not know,” he said honestly. “I cannot say why some people do what they do. But I will save your sister’s life.”
He could not reasonably ask to see the rash, so there was no point delaying further. He pulled his qin out, placing it on the table and setting fingers to the strings. Without any further ado, he began playing Eradication.
Through the music, he could sense the curse's resistance. It was not weak -- no curse that could drain the life out of so many people could be weak. However, it was also not as strong as Lan Wangji feared. It was possible that its strength continued to build over days and xun until it could finally claim its victim's life.
At this stage, it was no match for Lan Wangji. Eradication finally destroyed it.
"It is done," Lan Wangji told the siblings, putting his qin away again. "Miss Qiu, do you feel any different?"
"I -- yes." She blinked, her hand drifting down to touch her foot before she drew it away. "It doesn't ache anymore."
Her brother sighed in relief. "Daozhang, how can we thank you?"
Lan Wangji shook his head. "Thanks are not necessary, but more information would be helpful." He reached into his qiankun sleeve again to pull out his map of the area, as well as ink, a brush, and a spare sheet of paper. He prepared the ink as he continued, "Miss Qiu, if you could draw the shape of the rash, that might provide a clue. Otherwise, any information you noticed about it and your symptoms since noticing it would be appreciated." As she took the brush, Lan Wangji next spread out the map. "I also need to know where you were when you noticed the rash, as well as your journey before that."
--
The siblings had proved to be very helpful, drawing as exact a line as they could of the journey they’d taken, along with a simple drawing of two lines that wobbled and crossed over each other and a brief list of symptoms. They had continued trying to thank him till he’d made to leave.
On his way out the door, one of the cultivators stopped him. “Lan-daozhang, are you also going after this strange curse?” he’d asked quietly, glancing around to make sure that no one else was eavesdropping on them.
"You are also tracking it?" Lan Wangji asked, frowning as he looked at the idling cultivators.
The man grimaced. "Not us, not really. Have you heard of the rogue cultivator Wei Wuxian? He came to us asking if we'd seen a curse like this. We hadn't, but if there is one, shouldn't we look into it? But we didn't know where to start, and since you..." He trailed off.
"Lan Wangji," he supplied, guessing what the cultivator wanted.
A look of relief passed over his face. “Oh, Hanguang-jun! That's good. Since you already have more information, we won't burden you with our presence. With both Hanguang-jun and Wei Wuxian looking into this, the curse is certain to be broken in no time.”
Lan Wangji tilted his head. "Is Wei Wuxian here in Huai'an?"
The cultivator nodded. "He said he'd be staying at the Jinjiang Inn north of here for a few days if we found anything. You should be able to meet him there."
With the conversation ended, he returned to drinking with his companions.
The cultivator’s words lingered with him as he turned away from the tables. Wei Wuxian apparently was also looking into this? While their paths had never crossed, he’d certainly heard much of the eldest child of Cangse-sanren.
He often appeared in strange places, in much the same way as Lan Wangji himself, although he was known for taking on rather riskier hunts for the most part. Somewhat dismissive comments suggested that he was wasted as a rogue cultivator and would have been better off had his auspicious mother chosen a clan leader to be his father instead, while more complimentary ones mentioned that he was equally kind to all regardless of status and stood up without hesitation against those who acted unjustly.
A few people had suggested that he and Lan Wangji might be close to equals in cultivation strength, although of course as the son of a servant he could never hope to surpass Lan Wangji himself.
If what he’d heard of Wei Wuxian’s talents and skills was true, he suspected that the scales would be perfectly balanced between the two of them. He had long been interested in meeting the mysterious rogue cultivator, but strangely their paths had never crossed up to this day.
Lan Wangji was not familiar with Huai'an, but the innkeeper was able to provide directions to the Jinjiang Inn. He walked through crowded streets as the day slowly passed from afternoon into evening. By the time he reached a central square with a fountain in the middle, the setting sun painted the waters of the fountain in brilliant shades of yellow and orange.
Standing by the fountain, one foot propped up on the edge as he stared off into the distance, was a man Lan Wangji's age. His hair was tied up in a high ponytail on his head with a bright red ribbon holding it in place, and his black and gray robes looked well-made but not expensive and did not match any clan robes Lan Wangji could recognize. He wore what was clearly a spiritual sword at his waist, though, which meant he was a cultivator.
Across the square was the Jinjiang Inn. Could this be Wei Wuxian?
He seemed to be deep in thought, resting his chin on his hand with little awareness of his surroundings, but the moment Lan Wangji crossed some invisible line, he immediately grew alert and fixed his gaze on Lan Wangji, clearly aware of his presence and intent despite him not having said a word.
Something seemed to snap in the air between them, a strange sort of tension he had never felt before. The closer he drew, the more fine details of this man came into view. Pale eyes that seemed to draw their color from the surroundings, a tumble of dark hair with touches of red brought out by the sun, a trace of a smile at the corner of his lips and a sharp intelligence to his face that could not be denied.
There was something… intriguing about him. A mystery he would have to set aside for later when there were not untold numbers of people cursed with no rhyme or reason to it.
He came to a stop in front of the man he thought to be Wei Wuxian and bowed neatly, watching his face for any reaction. “Excuse me,” he said calmly. “Do I have the honor of addressing Wei Wuxian?”