Wei Wuxian sprinted across the rooftop, ignoring the shaking in his legs and the stickiness in the front of his trousers. What the fuck had just happened? He felt a wild, uncontrollable bubble of laughter forming in his chest, and fought it down. He had to get the fuck out of there, and laughing out loud like a madman would only get him caught.
What had he been thinking ? Taunting not just any alpha, but one of the highest ranking members in the Lan triad. One who would, undoubtedly, be wanting to kill him once he realized Wei Wuxian was involved with the death of Su She. Whether Lan Wangji attributed it to the Yiling Laozu or 'Mo Xuanyu', it would still mean the Lan sect was going to be gunning for him, one way or the other.
He was nearing the edge of the roof. He accelerated, taking a running leap and jumped onto the roof of an adjacent building. He needed to get to his backpack and laptop before the Nei guards were able to start hunting for him. The street cameras would be useless at tracking him, since he was above them, but that didn't mean they wouldn't start a street-by-street sweep momentarily.
The Nie owned this town, and the whole city would be on lockdown in a matter of minutes. Going to the airport or train station would be impossible.
Wei Wuxian sprinted across another rooftop, leaping onto the fire escape of another building. He climbed halfway down, finding his backpack right where he left it. He should have put it on the roof, instead, but he hadn't quite imagined he would have been taking the escape route he ended up with.
He climbed rapidly back up to the roof, then kept going. He needed a safe place to hide for the next day or two, one where they wouldn't be searching.
An idea struck him. It was one of the thoughts that had Jiang Cheng's imaginary voice shouting in his head, but Wei Wuxian was long used to ignoring that. He pulled out his phone, typing the address into it to see how far it was relative to his current position. He looked out over the city, mapping out the best way to get to the hotel that would minimize his time on the ground.
He quickly changed into his nondescript, loose jeans, sweatshirt and baseball cap, jamming the ruined server uniform into his pack, then took off again.
It looked like he would be taking Hanguang-Jun up on his invitation, after all.
Wei Wuxian placed the small electronic device against the key card reader at the hotel. The light flashed green, and the door opened easily. Wei Wuxian loved the higher end hotels that used the electronic locks rather than traditional ones. It made entry so easy.
No one had even looked at him as he walked through the lobby wearing his face mask and cap pulled low. Wen Ning had already hacked the hotel system and found out which room Lan Wangji was staying in, as well as where the cameras were.
He would have at least half an hour before the alpha would be back, and that assumed he wouldn't participate in the hunt for the Yiling Laozu. That gave Wei Wuxian a bit of time. He would find an empty room to spend the night in. They would be combing the city, looking for someone trying to get out of town by train, bus, plane or car.
Wei Wuxian would lay low in the upscale hotel, then head out in a couple of days when the manhunt had subsided. He hoped he'd remembered to pack at least some dried fruit in his pack. If not, he might be hungry, but it was better than being captured.
Lan Wangji's hotel room only held the faintest scent of the man. He clearly hadn't spent much time in the room. Wei Wuxian pulled on a pair of latex gloves and methodically searched the room.
As expected, there wasn't much to look at. Lan Wangji didn't travel with his laptop, and his suitcase contained no documents. Lan Wangji was not stupid like Wen Chao. He fingered the silk pouch that was nestled in the middle of the suitcase, curious as to what an alpha like Lan Wangji would carry in such a bag. He opened it, immediately recognizing the collar and jade token. He'd studied it extensively before making his own replica.
Lan Wangji had brought the collar. To give to Mo Xuanyu? Wei Wuxian felt his belly tighten at the idea.
"Ah, Hanguang-Jun! How shameless you are, mixing business with pleasure."
Wei Wuxian took it out of the pouch, bringing the soft leather of the collar to his nose. There was no scent other than Lan Wangji's. This band had not been worn by any other omega. A flare of dark possessiveness coiled through him.
Wei Wuxian's grip tightened on the token. This was meant for him . If he had come to Lan Wangji's room under other circumstances, the alpha would have placed it around his neck.
Wei Wuxian felt a tug of something he didn't want to identify as he slid the collar in his pocket. He also refused to think about the fact that taking it meant Lan Wangji couldn't take it back with him to give to some other omega.
"Hm. I should say thank you."
Wei Wuxian sat down on the pristinely made bed and pulled out his laptop. Lan Wangji wasn't ruled by his dick the way Wen Chao or Jin Guangshan was. But he also seemed to be willing to… bend, slightly, for Mo Xuanyu.
Having all four major families actively hunting the Yiling Laozu was going to be a pain in the ass. The Nie already should know that Wei Wuxian wasn't the one who killed their man, but they were playing it close to their chest. If the Lan openly announced that the Yiling Laozu had now also killed one of their men, it would only make things harder for Wei Wuxian to get Wen Chao alone. Wen Ruohan might put him on lockdown.
The files from the Wen had a lot of dirt on a lot of people, including some within the Lan and Nie. Wei Wuxian wasn't totally sure how he wanted to play it. If he just turned over all the files he had, it would hit not just Wen Ruohan's organization, but almost all of the Chinese underworld. That was a lot of enemies to make all in one go and have any hope of survival.
The Wen and the Jin were so tied together in their human trafficking networks and drug trade that it would be nearly impossible to take one out without the other. An enemy of one was the enemy of both, and Wei Wuxian knew that he was currently number one on both organizations' hit list. He had gone into his hunt with his eyes open, and fully accepted those risks. He had been sure he would be able to bring them down, and protect Wen Ning, Wen Qing, and A-Yuan while doing it.
Taking on the Lan and Nie at the same fucking time had not been part of the plan. He needed to find a way to at least keep them neutral. It would be even better if he could get one or both on his side, but that would be a stretch. Wen Ning and Wen Qing, and A-Yuan deserved better than to be hunted down for their association with him.
Wei Wuxian rubbed the bridge of his nose. These sorts of games were always tricky, and Wei Wuxian was often too reckless to be truly good at subtle strategies like this. Wen Ruohan had collected enough information on the Nie and Lan to damage them, but not take them out. If Wei Wuxian came out directly and told the Nie and Lan that he had dirt on them and would keep quiet as long as they left him and his family alone, all he would be doing was painting a giant fucking target on his back.
They couldn't know how much he really knew.
Wei Wuxian pulled out a thumb drive. It had a copy of a program he'd written called Lil' Apple. He could break the encryption on any Apple device with it, which made him smirk because even the American government hadn't been able to manage that.
It was risky. But it would also be a significant asset to the Lan. They didn't have any real abilities to get any of the data off Su She's phone. If Wei Wuxian simply told Lan Wangji he had killed Su She for good reasons, there was no way the man would believe it. He needed to give him proof.
It would serve the dual purpose of distancing the Lan from the Jin, and also making a gesture to apologize for killing one of their men. Maybe it would be enough to make them hold off taking out a hit on him for Su She's killing.
It was a bit of a gamble because Wei Wuxian didn't really know what else was on Su She's phone, since he was only able to get part of it. Lan Wangji would see the info about the hit on the Jiang, but that was not necessarily a bad thing. If Su She, a known Lan agent, had taken out Jiang Yanli, it could have had some fallout for the Lan.
Lan Wangji might know about the Jiang hit, but he wouldn't necessarily tie that to Wei Wuxian. There were many reasons an asshole like Su She could find himself on the wrong end of a blade.
And if part of him wanted Lan Wangji to know that Mo Xuanyu had been someone with status on the same level of Lan Wangji… well. It's not like Lan Wangji could find him just because he knew the name Wei Wuxian. Jiang Cheng had been looking for years.
Wei Wuxian grabbed a piece of the hotel stationery, breathing out a laugh as he wrote detailed instructions at a level A-Yuan could follow. He checked his phone, noticing the time. He needed to leave. He took a deep breath, finding the scent of sandalwood oddly soothing, considering it belonged to a man who likely wanted to kill him for more than one reason.
He went to close up the suitcase, and noticed the bag of laundry (carefully folded, who the hell folded their dirty clothes?). Wei Wuxian hesitated. Leaving the thumb drive was an acceptable sort of gift to give a potential… ally was a strong word, but he was going to go with that. Attempt the impossible, after all.
He pulled a perfectly folded white button-down out from the bag. The scent of sandalwood was stronger on the fabric, having been worn against the man's skin for probably an entire day. Wei Wuxian briefly considered replacing it with the torn ruined pants he'd worn back at the gala, but decided that would be too over-the-top.
He was going to put the shirt back in the laundry bag.
He put it in his backpack, instead.
It wasn't peak tourist season, so there were many empty rooms in the hotel. Including the room right next door to Lan Wangji's. Wei Wuxian smirked as he let himself into the empty room. It made him smirk to imagine Lan Wangji's reaction if he found out that he was literally right next door while his men turned the city upside down looking for him.
Wei Wuxian automatically searched the room, even though the probability of two people breaking into the same room on the same night was pretty much zero. He had grown up on the constant edge of death and violence, and currently had an entire city and four major crime families hunting him, so he cut himself some slack for being a bit overly cautious.
After he cleared the room he set his backpack on the desk. Even though he'd changed out of his soiled waiter's outfit, he was still uncomfortably sticky. He listened at the door, then took the chair from the desk and wedged it under the room door handle to prevent anyone from opening it from the outside. Sometimes he found the low-tech solutions much more reassuring.
He turned the water on in the shower, and stripped out of his clothes. The noise of the water made it impossible for him to hear footfalls in the hall, or even doors opening and closing, but he would hear the chair being broken, and he was tired of the sticky feeling of the lower half of his body. The adrenaline high was wearing off, and he was exhausted and hungry. The hunger he couldn't do anything about, but he was hoping to force himself to get at least some sleep. If he could get his brain to shut off, or at least quiet down a little bit.
Sometimes, scalding hot water drew enough blood out of his brain and into his muscles to allow him to rest, which he really needed to do if he was going to keep his head in the game over the next few days. He stepped into the steaming hot shower, letting his eyes drift shut as the water pounded over his skin. He grabbed the small bottle of hotel body wash, his nose wrinkling at the scent of it. He realized he was wanting it to smell of sandalwood, and rolled his eyes at himself.
Getting scent drunk off some alpha was one of the stupidest moves he could make at the current moment. He couldn't believe how much his instincts were telling him to go climb into Lan Wangji's bed next door and wait for him to return.
Luckily, Wei Wuxian had at least some sense of self preservation. (Wen Qing and Jiang Cheng could talk shit about him all day, but the fact that Wei Wuxian was in his own room proved he was right.)
He dried himself off, then - after a moment's hesitation - he pulled out the shirt he'd stolen from Lan Wangji's bag and pulled it on. The fabric was an extremely high-end cotton, tailor made, judging by the label. It slid fluidly over Wei Wuxian's skin, just big enough on him to make a fairly comfortable sleep shirt. It was a compromise with himself. The sandalwood scent settled his nerves in a way that Wei Wuxian did not care to examine, but right now he needed to be able to sleep. And If wearing Lan Wangji's shirt helped, then that's what he'd do.
He pulled out his phone, taking a selfie that went from his jawline down to his waist, showing the shirt he was wearing as well as the corner of the hotel stationery on the desk. He would post it to his profile once he was safely out of town. So, yes, maybe Wen Qing and Jiang Cheng were still right about his self preservation instincts but Wei Wuxian was still alive.
For the moment.
He shot a text off to Wen Ning, letting him know he was safe but still in Qinghe, then made himself lay down in the bed to try to rest his body and his eyes, even if he couldn't manage to actually sleep. He'd have to remember to hack into the hotel records to make it look like a guest had stayed here, or the housekeeping staff would get in trouble for leaving a room dirty when the next guest checked in.
He had only been laying down a few moments when he heard the door to Lan Wangji's room open. Wei Wuxian froze, listening. It was several moments before he heard the door close, which meant that Lan Wangji had instantly known someone had been in his room. Wei Wuxian smiled, imagining those golden eyes narrowing, taking in the details of the room and scanning it for immediate threats.
Wei Wuxian shifted his legs slightly further apart, feeling his blood stir slightly at the thought.
He heard the room door close, then the muted sounds of the closet door opening. Lan Wangji had evidently decided to enter without backup, even after knowing someone had been in his room. He would have noticed the bag on his bed by now. Wei Wuxian looked over to his backpack, where Lan Wangji's jade token was carefully packed away. He slid his hand down over the hard, flat plane of his stomach to rest just above his groin.
There was the muffled sound of drawers being opened and closed, then more silence. No voices, so Lan Wangji hadn't felt the need to call for backup. Surely he must have realized by now that "Mo Xuanyu' either was the Yiling Laozu, or at least was connected in some way. Nie Huaisang would have figured out what had happened by now, and - even as closed fisted as the man was about his secrets - he had probably confronted Lan Wangji about him.
It was some time later when Lan Wangji's shower turned on. Wei Wuxian closed his eyes, feeling relaxed somehow knowing the alpha was going through his nighttime routine just as Wei Wuxian had. He wondered what the man had made of Wei Wuxian's gift. If he would use it or not.
What Lan Wangji thought about 'Mo Xuanyu' now that he knew at least part of who he was.
Wei Wuxian was used to keeping on guard when he slept. He drifted off, the scent of sandalwood lulling him to sleep despite the danger it signified.
Wei Wuxian woke early in the morning to the sound of Lan Wangji's hotel door closing. He listened, but no voices came from the other side of the wall. Lan Wangji was probably headed back to Gusu to deal with the Su She situation.
Wei Wuxian's stomach growled, but he knew he had to wait probably another day before it would be safe to leave. He quickly checked the hotel reservation systems, making sure that no one had been placed in the room he was in, then went back to sleep
He woke again around noon, feeling much more refreshed. The soft buzz of his phone had him reaching for the device, and realizing he needed to charge it.
It was a text from Wen Ning.
Look outside.
Wei Wuxian froze, then carefully pulled back the curtain covering the sliding glass door to the small balcony. There was a food delivery bag sitting on the floor. A small drone was flying up to the roof, after having delivered the food.
Wei Wuxian opened the door, grabbing the bag of food. He could smell the rich, spicy scent emanating from it before he even opened it. His stomach growled even more.
He texted Wen Ning, despite the urge to eat first.
If anyone saw you, they're going to question you
Plus I told you not to come to Qinghe
Wei Wuxian ripped open the bag of food, considering the relative risks. Wen Ning was too smart to be operating it from street level, but the small, personal drones like the one he'd used didn't have a very long range. Inside the bag, on top of the food, were two burner phones.
Wei Wuxian had just opened a carton of what smelled like extra spicy Dan Dan noodles when Wen Ning replied.
Someone else was flying this. I just hacked it. I don't think anyone noticed it, since I kept it above the street cameras
And you said I couldn't come WITH you to Qinghe. You never said I couldn't follow you later.
"Little shit," Wei Wuxian muttered as he shoved a large bite of the noodles into his mouth. He moaned softly, closing his eyes in pleasure as the chili oil, dark soy sauce, and pork flavors hit his tongue. Gods, he was so fucking hungry and Wen Ning was both an angel and the devil. But Wen Ning being in town meant Wei Wuxian would probably be able to get out a lot sooner. He just hoped no one had recognized Wen Ning.
Are you in the hotel? Wei Wuxian asked.
Wen Ning replied, No, I'm in the building across the street. Meet me in the hotel parking garage tonight at 7. The search is starting to wind down. They think you're out of the city already. I'll shut the cameras off at 6:50.
Wei Wuxian continued wolfing down his food, feeling his body slowly start to come back into equilibrium now that he had slept and was getting some food into him.
His phone buzzed again.
You're a very popular man. JieJie wants you home where she can keep an eye on you for a day or two.
Wei Wuxian grimaced. Now that his blood sugar wasn't crashing, he opened his laptop to see what Wen Ning was talking about.
It looked like Jiang Cheng was back to looking under every rock to find him, and so was pretty much every major crime family in China.
Wen Xu had given him his number and asked him to call him in the morning. If the alpha had thought Mo Xuanyu was just a regular omega, he would have found out by now that wasn't true. There was no point in calling him and trying to play dumb about it at this point. But it didn't matter. He had everything he needed on the Wen.
Nie Huaisang had left a few more messages for him in the chatroom. Basically wanting to talk and offering various ways of doing so. Wei Wuxian wasn't sure how much to trust it, but eventually he'd need to make the call. But before he dealt with any of that, he had to give Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli the heads up about what was going on. He quickly typed a note back to Wen Ning.
Thanks for the package. I'm going to use one for JC. Not sure about the other yet. I'll see you tonight. Text me if you run into any trouble.
Wen Ning replied almost immediately. I am not the one who keeps running into trouble.
Wei Wuxian laughed, as he walked over to the bed, stacking the pillows up against the headboard so he could lean against them while he worked. He didn't feel like changing out of the shirt he was wearing. Because it was comfortable. And staying in bed gave him an excuse.
He launched the app that allowed him to generate a call that would look like it was coming from the number on the phone Jiang Fengmian had given him. Jiang Cheng would definitely answer a call from that number, no matter what else he might do.
Jiang Cheng picked up on the first ring.
"Are you fucking serious right now!?" The familiar, angry voice came from over the line. It had been nearly three years since he'd last heard it.
"Aw, A-Cheng! Did you miss me?" Wei Wuxian tried to laugh, but his voice came out constricted.
Whatever had gone down between them after the massacre, Jiang Cheng was the closest thing to a brother that Wei Wuxian had ever had. Having the man hate him cut Wei Wuxian up inside.
" You asshole! You disappear for years and then all of a sudden I get that message from you, like I'm supposed to TRUST you after all the shit you pulled! And now you're running around killing people again, and they're coming after A-Jie because of you!"
Wei Wuxian flinched, but also felt a spark of anger at the man's words. In the background, he could hear a woman's voice but he couldn't make out the words.
"I disappeared because you told me to. And I would never betray the Jiang. You can think whatever else you want of me Jiang Cheng, but you know better than that."
" Do I? Do I really? Because instead of staying and helping fight, you took us and left A-Niang and A-Die and everyone else to die. You always knew everything that was happening, Wei Wuxian. You always seemed to see things coming. You knew this was going to happen!"
"Jiang Cheng. I didn't, I -," Wei Wuxian began, but Jiang Cheng cut him off.
"Fuck you! You knew! You had to! You took the time to wipe out all the evidence of your own existence before they came, but you didn't do fuck-all to save anyone but yourself. You think I'm grateful for having you drag me away instead of being there to help my own parents? You think that sending A-Jie some pity money makes up for losing our parents? Are we supposed to fucking thank you? How fucking dare you say that you wouldn't betray them! How fucking dare you! It's your fault that they're all dead!"
This was a bad idea. Jiang Cheng wasn't going to listen to anything Wei Wuxian had to say. He disconnected the call, his breath coming in short gasps, his heart racing. He pushed the laptop off his legs onto the bed and put his head down between his knees, breathing slowly. Jiang Cheng was right. He should have known. He should have known! He had been so sure that it was just going to be a raid, or that they were going to try to hack into the systems.
He should have known that Wen Ruohan never did things halfway. When Jiang Fengmian had ordered him to take Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli and get them somewhere safe, he had thought it would be so they wouldn't be caught up in the raid and arrested.
He should have been smarter. Everyone always told him how clever he was, but Wei Wuxian knew deep down it was all just a lie.
Talking to Jiang Cheng had been a mistake. He had hoped… Well. It didn't matter what he had hoped. Jiang Cheng hated him. He wasn't going to let Wei Wuxian help, not in the way he wanted to. Still, he needed to at least let Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli know what they were facing. If they wouldn't let Wei Wuxian near them, then at least he could protect them from afar.
His hands were shaking as he grabbed his laptop. His fingers flew over the keyboard as he collected the screenshots and files of everything he knew about the hit ordered for Jiang Yanli. Including some of the recent exchanges about the death of Su She, so at least they would know that Wei Wuxian had eliminated the immediate threat.
He printed it all into a pdf, then uploaded it onto one of the burner phones. He'd send it just before he left Qishan. He could text it to both Shijie and Jiang Cheng, in case Jiang Cheng was too mad at him to open the attachment.
He laid back in the bed, his stomach churning on the food that - moments before - had tasted so good.
Maybe after Wen Chao was dead and Wen Ruohan was ruined, he would finally have peace.
Wei Wuxian spent the rest of the afternoon looking through the files, trying to figure out what he wanted to send to the press and the authorities after he'd killed Wen Chao. Given the swirl that Su She's death had stirred up, he was going to need to move quickly. Everyone was on guard. In a way, killing Su She had helped because none of the families felt like the Yiling Laozu was targeting them specifically . But there was still concern about a mysterious enemy who seemed to be completely comfortable taking on the entire Chinese criminal underworld all at once.
Wei Wuxian was able to monitor all of Wen Chao's communications now that he had access to his accounts. His daddy had him on lockdown now that Su She's death had been leaked. That meant that Wei Wuxian would have to take him out in Qishan.
He began looking through the Wen properties, trying to decide exactly how and when it would happen. His phone buzzed, and he looked over to see Wen Ning was calling him.
"Hey," Wei Wuxian said, pinning the phone to his ear as he kept typing. "You ok?"
" Yeah. But we might want to head out sooner. They've called off the search ."
Wei Wuxian nodded, relieved. "Ok. Sounds good."
"If we can leave in the next half hour, I can get us to the train station two cities over and we can catch the train to Yunmeng ." There were no high speed trains to Yiling… it was too small. But it would cut their travel time in half to take the train rather than drive the whole way.
"Ok. I'll be ready."
There was a pause, then Wen Ning spoke.
" Lan Wangji is searching through the archives of every orphanage in Yiling and Dafan, looking for the names of male children that would now be between the ages of twenty and twenty-four. He's also trying to dig up info on the Jiang family from before it was destroyed ."
Wei Wuxian gnawed on his lip. It was only a matter of time before Lan Wangji knew who he was. Especially if he was now in touch with Nie Huaisang.
"Even if he knows my name, he still has to be able to find me," Wei Wuxian said, ignoring the curl of something in his stomach that should be worry but was actually something else. "I'll just have to return the favor. It will give me something to research while I'm on the train."
" How did the call with Jiang Cheng go?" Wen Ning asked.
Wei Wuxian made a noncommittal sound, not really feeling up to talking about it.
Wen Ning paused, reading more in Wei Wuxian's tone than he had tried to express.
" Sorry. Are you ok?" Wen Ning asked.
Wei Wuxian shrugged, even though he knew his friend couldn't see him.
"He didn't say anything he hasn't said before. It's fine," Wei Wuxian lied. "I'm going to just send them the files directly. If he doesn't want to talk to me, that's fine."
He wanted to call Jiang Yanli. She would at least listen. But then it would cause problems between her and Jiang Cheng, and - in the end - Wei Wuxian was only going to bring trouble to her if she interacted with him. It was better this way. He'd been stupid to think otherwise.
"I'll meet you down in the garage in twenty." Wei Wuxian ended the call, scrubbing his hands through his hair before throwing the blankets off and getting out of bed.
He typed in Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli's cell numbers, attached the file, and hit send. Once he was sure the message was delivered, he pulled the SIM card out of the phone to make sure there was no way to track him.
It was time to go.
The train ride was longer than it had been from Gusu. Wei Wuxian had not really spent time researching the backgrounds of the Lan family. He'd never had a reason to, But if Lan Wangji was going digging for information on Wei Wuxian then he would return the favor.
Unlike Wei Ying, who didn't exist in any official records, the Lan family had things like birth certificates, drivers licenses, and passports. Sometimes they had multiple of those things. But if one dug diligently enough through hospital records, one could find out their real name.
Like most syndicates, members did not use their real names once they joined, both for fear of reprisals against any family members outside the organization, and to make it that much harder for the legal system to catch up with them.
Wei Wuxian? Who's that? My name is Wei Ying. You've got the wrong guy.
But the Lan family held both legitimate and illegal operations, so they had to exist on paper.
It took a few hours of digging, and a bit of educated guesswork, but he was pretty sure that Lan Wangji's real name was Lan Zhan. And that his uncle, Lan Qiren, was most likely the Dragon Head of the Lan family. Lan Zhan wasn't just a regular enforcer. He was likely in line to become the next leader of the family, right after his elder brother, Lan Huan. There were conflicting stories about what had happened to their parents, but the death reports were filed.
If Lan Zhan was that high up, he might have even more influence than Wei Wuxian had thought in terms of calling off the hunt for the Yiling Laozu. He really hoped that the alpha made use of the 'gift' he'd left him.
Wei Wuxian had been dozing in the train seat when his phone chimed with a message from the hook-up app. He had programmed it to only notify him if it was from Lan Zhan's account. He opened it, wondering if this meant the man had been able to successfully search Su She's phone. Hopefully the alpha would know better than to talk about it directly on the app, since the messages were stored by the company and could therefore be searched fairly easily by anyone with decent hacking skills.
You have something of mine.
Wei Wuxian looked at the message. It was not what he had expected. Wei Wuxian had just killed one of Lan Wangji's men, then escaped from him in a fairly public way. And Lan Wangji was asking about the token? Or… maybe it was the shirt. Wei Wuxian typed out a response, wondering what Lan Wangji's game was.
I told you if you wanted it back, you'd have to ask nicely.
I don't think this is asking nicely.
Besides, you took something of mine, first.
Wei Wuxian smirked, wondering how the alpha would respond. He didn't have to wonder for long, as Lan Wangji's message pinged on his phone.
There are implications to taking my token. Are you prepared for them?
Wei Wuxian bit his lip. He had a feeling that if Lan Wangji actually wanted him dead, he wouldn't be fucking around on the app like this. That must mean he'd accessed Su She's phone. If Lan Wangji wanted to play this game, Wei Wuxian was willing. He still had an hour left on the train. He wondered just how far he could push the alpha before he snapped. He realized he hadn't uploaded the photo of himself in the hotel room. The reception on the train wasn't great, but he would upload it when he got home.
I was prepared in the gallery. You were the one who opened the door.
Wei Wuxian waited to see how the man would respond to the blatant taunt.
You were the one who created the situation that required it.
Ah. There it was. Confirmation that Lan Wangji knew that 'Mo Xuanyu' had killed Su She, and was therefore likely the Yiling Laozu. Wei Wuxian looked at the message, wondering how to respond. Lan Zhan knew who he was now, or at least what he was. And since there was no way Nie Huaisang wouldn't have found out about Mo Xuanyu's escape, it was likely that Lan Wangji already also knew that Mo Xuanyu was Wei Wuxian. Before he could decide how to respond, Lan Wangji had sent another message
We have unfinished business.
Given his note before, this could be read as either a threat or an offer for sex. Wei Wuxian might as well find out.
Hm. I know you definitely didn't get to 'finish'. Is that the business you're referring to? Or is it the business that came knocking at the door?
Lan Wangji responded.
I already answered you. Both.
That had been an ok answer when they were in the breakroom and drunk on each other's scents, but now, with Lan Wangji knowing he was texting with the Yiling Laozu, it seemed… less likely. Hanguang-Jun was a man who was famous for not mixing business with pleasure. Wei Wuxian wasn't vain enough to imagine himself to be an exception.
So what is er-gege asking?
Lan Wangji replied.
We should meet. My token will allow you entry into the club.
Wei Wuxian breathed out a half laugh. How dumb did the man think he was?
I'm not stupid, gege. If I walk into your club, we both know I'm unlikely to walk out.
Lan Wangji replied.
Given your reputation, most would say I was still the one taking the risk. Neutral territory, then?
Wei Wuxian replied, though he was already realizing this was a bad idea. If he was going to communicate a meet, it needed to be on something a lot harder for other people to get ahold of than the chat function on a dating app that many people knew Hanguang-Jun used.
My reputation? Are you saying you know who I am now? Then I have even less of an incentive to meet in person.
He should switch to the burner phone before things went too far.
Perhaps not so neutral ground then. What if I were willing to meet you in Lotus Pier?
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Wei Wuxian had not expected Lan Wangji to actually use names of places or people on this app. What the hell was he doing? Wei Wuxian quickly deleted his profile, before anything else could be said.
Nie Huaisang knew the 'Yiling Laozu' was Wei Wuxian, but he had never been an enemy of the Jiang. The Lan also had no past conflicts with the Jiang. But if the Jin or Wen found out, they would not hesitate to use the Jiang siblings as a way to force Wei Wuxian out.
Wei Wuxian hoped that neither of them had decided to monitor Lan Wangji's 'dating' communications.
He definitely needed to accelerate the timing on Wen Chao. He would be able to take down a lot of the Jin with them, with the files he had. Hopefully that would give the Jin something more serious to worry about than taking out Jiang Fengmian's daughter.
And it would buy Wei Wuxian time to figure out who was calling the shots, and why Jiang Yanli had become a target.
He'd figure out how to deal with Lan Zhan later.
"Xian-gege," A-Yuan murmured sleepily as he nestled in Wei Wuxian's lap. "I'm so glad you're home."
Wei Wuxian brushed his fingers through the child's hair as the boy drifted off to sleep. He hadn't let go of Wei Wuxian since he'd arrived back in their small home outside of Yiling several hours ago. Wei Wuxian knew that it was hard on the boy when he was away. Hopefully, soon, things would stabilize. If he made it through the next week, things would be ok.
He carried A-Yuan to his room and put him down for his nap, then returned to talk to Wen Qing and Wen Ning.
"You're pushing yourself too hard," Wen Qing said, eyes narrowed in an assessing way as she looked over his form.
The baggy T-shirt and sweatpants that he often wore around the house were definitely hanging a little more loosely than usual. His eyes had dark circles under them that one night of decent sleep hadn't been able to erase.
"It's almost done," Wei Wuxian said. "I just need to figure out what to do with all the information and evidence that Wen Ruohan has collected on the other families."
Wen Qing nodded. "The Jin and the Wen are already hunting you, and us. But it would be better if the Nie and Lan weren't as well."
Wei Wuxian nodded. There were too many options. Too many variables. He didn't know Nie Mingjue well. And a childhood friendship with Nie Huaisang wasn't really something to bet his life on, much less the lives of his family.
Lan Zhan was... well. It would be different if Lan Zhan was the Dragon Head of the Lan triad. But that was unlikely, given how young he was. So Lan Zhan would have influence, but not the final decision authority.
"Fuck. I was never good at political bullshit. I don't really know how to play this," Wei Wuxian admitted.
Madam Yu had been the one who had run the intelligence network for the Jiang. She would probably have had a much better sense of which plays were likely to blow up in his face.
"You don't need to decide right away," Wen Ning offered.
"He's right. All you need to do is release enough on the Wen and the Jin to get their operations shut down and Wen Ruohan and Jin Guangshan arrested. You can decide what to do with the rest of it later."
"It wouldn't be hard to wipe their systems of the things you want to hold back," Wen Ning said. "I could have it done in a couple of days."
Wei Wuxuan nodded slowly. "Ok. We have backups of everything. If I kill Wen Chao, and it takes a day or two for them to find his body, I can release the information after they do."
"You could also send just enough information to the Nie and the Lan to let them know that the Wen were keeping tabs on them," Wen Qing said. "In case Wen Ruohan tries to ask them for a favor when it all blows up."
Wei Wuxian thought about what he'd read on the train ride back. "Yeah. I think I know what to send them. Now I just need to figure out how to get it to them in a way that doesn't tip our hand too soon."
"Lan Wangji has booked a room at the Jiang hotel in Lotus Pier," Wen Ning said. "That's got to be an invitation, right?"
"Shit," Wei Wuxian cursed. He should have known the alpha wasn't going to just sit around and wait. "Asshole is trying to force my hand."
Wei Wuixan drummed his fingers on the table. "I'm going to cancel his reservation. And I'm going to let him know what happens to people who try to force my hand."
Wei Qing frowned. "You're going to to after Hanguang-Jun?"
Wei Wuxian shook his head. "No. But I'm going to give him a front row seat for what I do to Wen Chao."
Wei Wuxian sent the invitation links out for the encrypted live stream using the two burner phones. He wasn't sure if Jiang Cheng or Jiang Yanli would even want to know what he was going to do, but he had promised them vengeance when it had all happened. They deserved closure if he could bring it to them.
And Lan Wangji needed a warning of what happened to people who crossed Wei Wuxian's family.
Wei Wuxian adjusted the cameras, and re-checked his equipment, ignoring the muffled cursing and grunting from Wen Chao. The man might be making a little bit of noise now, but it was nothing compared to the screaming he would be doing shortly.
Having access to the man's phone and schedule, it had been ridiculously easy to lure him out. A text from an unknown number claiming to be an omega that he'd fucked in the past, along with an image downloaded straight from a porn app. Wen Chao had sent a note cancelling his meetings for the rest of the afternoon and gone directly to the address Wei Wuxian had given him.
Wei Wuxian had left the bodies of the two guards in the trunk, and driven Wen Chao's car out to the one of the currently unused warehouses at the edge of town that Wen Ruohan used for larger-scale drug trades. The crimelord had also used it to interrogate potential moles. There was a large drain in the middle of the room, as well as a working shower in the back office for clean-up.
He checked his laptop, ensuring that the encryption and location scrambling programs were both running. Wen Ning would be managing things remotely, ensuring that nothing could be screen recorded or hacked. Still, just in case someone figured out a way to capture part of the stream on a second device, Wei Wuxian kept the silver half mask on that covered his eyes. It was the same one he had worn at Lan Wangji's club.
They would have an audience of three. For two of them, it would bring closure. For the third it was meant as a warning. The app showed that two laptops had already joined the broadcast and were waiting in the virtual lobby. It was time to go.
Wei Wuxian leaned forward, and opened the video link.
"Let's get started, shall we?" he asked. "I have someone here who you all probably know."
Wei Wuxian pressed the remote which changed which video feed was being broadcast to a camera that was focused on Wen Chao.
"Wen Chao. Where are your manners? Say hello to our guests."
The man in question twisted and strained against the thick ropes that were coiled around his upper arms and torso, as well as his thighs, tying him to a chair that was bolted to the concrete floor.
"Oh, sorry. That's right. I forgot to take this off." Wei Wuxian removed the gag from Wen Chao's mouth, which was immediately followed by a long string of curses and threats.
"You're a fucking dead man! Do you hear me?! When my father finds out you kidnapped me, he's going to cut you in pieces so small even the dogs won't eat them! You're dead! Do you have any idea who I am?!"
Wei Wuxian's smile was cold and dark as he walked slowly around the man.
"Wen Chao. I think of all the people involved, you are the one who is the least informed about the consequences of your actions," Wei Wuxian said, leaning down to speak directly in the man's ear.
The warehouse windows were high and dirty, causing the streams of the early evening sun to come through in a brown hue, cutting through the motes of dust that hung in the air.
"You don't seem to recognize me," Wei Wuxian said smiling with all teeth. "I'm hurt. You seemed so interested in me back at the club in Gusu a week ago."
Wen Chao's eyes widened.
"You're Lan Wangji's omega?" he asked, part in disbelief and part scoffing as his eyes roved over Wei Wuxian's form. He was wearing a loose black sweatshirt, and black combat boots. His black jeans were tight, but worn and ripped.
Wei Wuxian drew his knife out from the sheath he had at his hip. He slid the tip of the blade along Wen Chao's throat, enough to give the threat but not enough to break the skin.
"Ah. ChaoChao. I don't belong to the Lan. If you had waited a few days when you attacked the Jiang, we would have had a chance to meet in person way back then."
Wei Wuxian stepped back, putting his knife back in the holster. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. This sweatshirt is new. I don't want to get it dirty."
He reached down to the hem of his shirt, pulling it off over his head. The purple lotus tattoo on his back rippled with the sinuous movement of his shoulders and back muscles. But it was the purple mountain and black sword tattooed over his left pectoral that drew Wen Chao's attention.
"You… you're…," Wen Chao's eyes were wide. All traces of smug arrogance were gone from his face when he recognized the mark of the Jiang top enforcer. The acrid scent of fear poured from the alpha's body.
"Cat got your tongue, Wen Chao?" Wei Wuxian said, moving with lightning quick grace to grip Wen Chao's jaw.
The force of his grip at the pressure point in the joint forced it to open. Wei Wuxian slid the knife in, tilting the blade at an angle, leaving a long, deep cut along the man's tongue.
"You were messy," Wei Wuxian said, drawing the knife slowly out. He released the man's jaw with an abrupt flick and stepped back. "You didn't take care of the loose ends. It turns out that I am a very dangerous loose end to leave unattended."
"You're… Wei Wuxian!"
Wei Wuxian smiled, walking forward and stretching his arms over his head, letting Wen Chao see the way the lean muscles worked under his skin. The jeans rode low on his hips, showing the full strength of his torso. "It's not very impressive that you only figured it out when I showed you."
Wei Wuxian tilted his head to the side as he looked at Wen Chao. "Nothing to say for yourself?"
"Why… why am I here? You want money? I can give you money!"
Any hint of humor vanished from Wei Wuxian's face.
"You killed everyone in Jiang Fengmian's organization. You would have killed his son and daughter except I'd already gotten them out an hour before you arrived. There's not enough money in the world to pay restitution for that."
"You can't prove that!" Wen Chao yelled.
The scent of the man's fear was thick in the room.
"Actually, I can," Wei Wuxian said, his voice deadly calm. He picked up a file folder that he had set on the table with one of the cameras.
He opened it, walking back towards Wen Chao with a deadly grace.
"You were bragging to your daddy about it."
He held up photo after photo, letting them fall to the floor as he listed off the names of the dead.
Wen Chao's face went even whiter. "How did you… how did you get those?"
"You gave them to me. You're a stupid motherfucker. Keeping everything on your phone. So horny and drunk you don't even notice when someone hacks into it and downloads all your information."
He stopped, looming over Wen Chao as he threw the rest of the papers into the man's lap.
"Pathetic."
"I… I'll tell you anything you want. Just ask me anything! You want names? I have names! I can get you anything!"
"I don't need anything from you, Wen Chao. I didn't bring you here to interrogate you," Wei Wuxian said.
This time, when his knife flashed out, it cut a deep gouge across the man's chest. The alpha screamed, straining against the ropes in a fruitless effort to avoid Wei Wuxian's blade.
"You're only here as a message to your daddy to find. The Wen massacred the Jiang. I'm returning the favor, and making sure you don't have the chance to do it to anyone else. I know about your secret alliance with the Jin."
He could smell the desperation in the man as the Wen heir's sweat soaked through his shirt.
"All this for Jiang Fengmian? All this to avenge the man who killed your parents?"
Wei Wuxian froze at the unexpected words. Jiang Fengmian and Madam Yu had never liked to discuss Wei Wuxian's parents. There were rumors that people believed Wei Wuxian was Jiang Fengmian's bastard, but Wei Wuxian had never given them much credibility. The circumstances of their deaths had never been discussed.
"What, you didn't know?" Wen Chao said. Some of his boldness came back as he sensed Wei Wuxian's hesitation. "How pathetic." He threw Wei Wuxian's words back at him.
"What did Fengmian tell you, that he took you in and made you his right hand just out of charity ? And you believed it? Which one of us is the idiot now, Wei Wuxian! Jiang Fengmian killed your parents, then took you in because he owned you. He couldn't have your father, so he took you instead. And you fell right in line, like a good little soldier. Working for the man who murdured your parents and made you into his slave. Pathetic ."
"You're lying ," Wei Wuxian said, his voice cold but his hand trembled. "You're wrong. Jiang Fengmian would never do that."
Wen Chao laughed, which ended up in a cough. He spat out the blood that was in his mouth.
"Your father was Wei Changze. He was Jiang Fengmian's top enforcer, until he fell in love with some rogue assassin," Wen Chao sneered. "And left. Come on, Wei Wuxian. You're not that dumb. People in positions like that can't just leave . There are consequences for disloyalty. There weren't many people who could have taken your father out. It was done by someone he trusted. Didn't you ever wonder why there was never any retribution for whoever killed him?"
Wei Wuxian felt almost light headed. No. He didn't believe it. It couldn't be true. Wen Chao was just trying one last ditch, desperate attempt to save himself.
"The only way you could know something like that was if your daddy told you," Wei Wuxian began, trying to make his brain stay focused. "And I've been through all the files he has, on every crime family and every political figure or business leader in China."
Wen Chao paled, and Wei Wuxian smiled.
"That's right, ChaoChao. You were so sloppy . Leaving all those passwords and access files on your phone. What would daddy think?"
Wen Chao looked like he was going to be sick. The realization likely had finally sunk in that - even if Wei Wuxian didn't kill him - Wen Chao was a dead man.
"Wen Ruohan might be willing to overlook your incompetence in getting caught. But he'd never overlook you putting his entire organization at risk. So you can stop with your head games. Even if I let you go, you'll be dead before you get back to your fancy penthouse."
Wei Wuxian circled around him, feeling some of the jitteriness leave his body as he got his mental footing again. "If Wen Ruohan had information like that about me, or the Jiang, it would have been in the file. Shit, he probably would have had someone try to turn me before the hit even went down."
Wei Wuxian leaned down, whispering in a stage voice in the man's ear. "I'm very good at killing people, you know."
"It… it's true!" Wen Chao said, desperately. "It might not be in the fucking file, but my father was looking for you. No one knew what you looked like. He had been planning on showing you the evidence. Offering you a position!"
Wen Chao was desperate. Wei Wuxian told himself that the man was simply grasping at straws. It couldn't be true. But even if it was, it didn't matter.
"I would never work for a man who would do what Wen Ruohan did."
"Didn't you, though?" Wen Chao spat. "You think the Jiang were any better? You're fooling yourself, Wei Wuxian. We're all the same. My family is just better at it than the family you chose to align with."
Wei Wuxian's knife slashed, leaving a jagged gash across the man's chest. Jiang Fengmian had saved him. His whole life had been spent trying to pay back that debt. What Wen Chao said couldn't be true. It couldn't.
"We're done talking."
There was no evidence.
With every slash of his blade, he told himself that, shutting out Wen Chao's words and screams.
It was just the words of a desperate man.
The sharp edge of his knife easily parted skin an muscle, scraping against bone.
Wen Chao had to be lying.
Blood pounded in Wei Wuxian's ears, and also splattered warm against his skin.
Over and over, his knife lashed out, placing cut after cut over Wen Chao's body until the man's screams stopped.
He wished the voices in his head could be silenced as easily.
Wei Ying knew he was fucking up. He should be on his way out of Qishan. The whole fucking city was going to go on lockdown when Wen Chao's body was discovered. He had a little time, though. Wen Chao was often late, usually when he was either to drunk to show up or off fucking some omega. Or both. They wouldn't really worry about him for another several hours.
Wei Ying had been monitoring the texts from the alpha's phone. It wasn't escalating yet.
He had burned the photos in the warehouse, and showered to wash the blood off, packing up his laptop, cameras and the tripods into his duffle bag. He'd driven Wen Chao's car into the river a few blocks away from the warehouse.
There were boats on the river that he had been planning on using to escape. And he would. But first, he had needed a fucking drink. The thought of being stuck in the cargo hold of some ship alone with his thoughts was overwhelming.
Which was how he found himself sitting in a dirty Qishan bar, drinking shot after shot. He didn't need to be sober to lay still on the floor of a ship for hours. In fact, the drunker he could get, the better. It would hopefully keep him from screaming, or smashing everything apart.
Fuck Wen Chao for getting inside his head with his stupid fucking lies.
Wen Ning had texted him to ask if he was ok. Wei Ying had lied and said yes. He was not ok. Killing Wen Chao was supposed to have made things better. It was supposed to have given him some closure, made him feel like he had finally been able to avenge Jiang Fengmian, and repaid the debt he owed to the man who had saved him.
'You're not that dumb. People in positions like that can't just leave.'
Wen Chao's voice snaked through his thoughts. He took another drink, and motioned the bartender for another.
' There weren't many people who could have taken your father out. It was done by someone he trusted.'
Wei Ying closed his eyes. Wen Chao was a liar.
'Didn't you ever wonder why there was never any retribution for whoever killed him?'
He felt untethered.
Wei Wuxian downed another shot.
If he wasn't the right-hand man of Jiang Fengmian, who even was he?
No matter how much he drank, his thoughts wouldn't settle. Wen Chao had still deserved to die. No matter what Fengmian did or didn't do, there were a lot of people Wei Ying cared about who had died at the alpha's hand.
Wei Ying stared at his phone. He could call Wen Ning. But Wen Ning couldn't really help. He wouldn't understand. Wen Ning and Wen Qing had never worked inside the family the way Wei Ying had. They both had lives outside of their uncle's empire. Wei Ying's entire existence had been tied to Jiang Fengmian. The food he ate, the bed he slept in, the jobs he did. The people he'd killed.
Even his name.
When he'd first been brought into the family, and first realized what was being asked of him. Wei Ying had struggled. Jiang Yanli had comforted him then, been patient with him as he adjusted. But he couldn't call her now. Not with his thoughts so unsettled.
His finger hovered over another number. One that, even as drunk as he was, he knew he really shouldn't call.
He pushed the button anyway.
"Who is this?" Lan Wangji's deep, controlled voice came through Wei Ying's phone.
"Lan Zhan," Wei Ying said, his words slurring. "Lan Zhan. I don't know what to do."
There was a pause. Wei Ying hazily realized he was not supposed to have used the alpha's real name. He vaguely remembered that knowing it would likely get him killed. He had been going to save it as a card up his sleeve.
" Wei Ying ," Lan Zhan's voice replied. " You have been drinking. "
Wei Ying let out a soft breath at the sound of Lan Zhan saying his real name. It felt right, somehow. Lan Zhan had found him. No more 'Mo Xuanyu'. No more Wei Wuxian.
"Yeah," Wei Ying said, swallowing down another shot.
" No more drinking, " Lan Zhan said, his tone hard.
Wei Ying laughed. "Ah, Lan Zhan! I'm not in your club. I'm not wearing your collar. I can drink as much as I fucking want to."
"Your boyfriend giving you a hard time, sweet thing?" an alpha asked, sliding into the seat next to Wei Ying. Wei Ying realized he had washed off all his blockers when he'd showered, and not put any new ones on. "You've been sittin' here all by yourself for almost half an hour. You look like you could use some company."
"Not yours," Wei Ying slurred, spinning his empty shot glass for blearily before signaling the bartender for another.
" Who is speaking to you ," Lan Zhan's voice was cold as ice.
Wei Ying snickered. "Ah, don't be jealous. He's just offering to buy me another drink."
"No more drinking, Wei Ying," Lan Zhan repeated harshly. "You need to get out of there."
"I can handle myself," Wei Ying said, annoyance flaring up in his blood.
Lan Zhan was somewhere else. He didn't understand what the inside of Wei Ying's head was like, how much he needed something to just make it all go quiet, just for a little while.
"Why don't you hang up with your boyfriend and you and I can go find a private place to get better acquainted?" The alpha next to him said.
Wei Ying wrinkled his nose at the man's unpleasant scent. With the man sitting so close to him, listening to everything he said, he couldn't keep talking to Lan Zhan. Wei Ying disconnected the call and stood, stumbling slightly before he caught himself.
The alpha reached out to put his hand on Wei Ying's hip, but Wei Ying caught his wrist in a crushing grip before he could make contact.
"Touch me and I will cut your hand off," Wei Ying said, his voice cold and hard. Without his blockers on, the pure killing intent was likely radiating loud and clear from his pores.
The man's eyes widened, and he backed away. Wei Ying's phone started buzzing, and he looked down to see it was Lan Zhan calling him back. He needed to get to someplace quiet before he could talk, so he didn't bother answering.
Wei Ying pulled his hoodie up and grabbed his duffle bag. He'd find someplace quiet and call Lan Zhan back. Something prickled under his skin at the thought. The world was spinning too much, and his thoughts were too loud inside his head.
He stumbled down the narrow, dirty street. The sun had set but it wasn't very late. He was somewhat surprised at how few people were out. It wasn't a great part of town, so maybe that was why. It also might have explained why there had been no other omegas in the bar.
Wei Ying hadn't gone more than a block or two when he felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck. Someone was following him.
He was upwind from them, so he couldn't catch their scent. Had he waited too long in the bar? Wei Ying cursed his alcohol-slowed reflexes. Well, even drunk, there were few people who would be able to take him out.
Wei Ying turned into a narrow alley, then ducked behind a dumpster. He stayed perfectly still, listening for any sound of his pursuer.
They were good, he'd give them that.
Wei Ying carefully set his bag down to avoid making a sound that would give away his location, and drew the blade he kept stored in his boot.
The wind shifted, swirling through the channel between the buildings. It carried with it the unmistakable scent of sandalwood. Wei Ying shifted the blade in his hand. It looked like he was going to find out sooner than he expected if the Lan Triad had a hit out on him or not.
Lan Zhan was in the alley with him, somewhere. The thoughts in Wei Ying's head went quiet as he waited for the alpha's next move. Whichever way it played out between them, Wei Ying was ready.