[ Xue Yang looks genuinely thoughtful at that, turning it over in his head. He's dealt with more than one clan head or sect leader who tried to bargain and fight and do all sorts of things to get their group spared and still none of them came out like Wen Ning... but maybe the circumstances were different? Did Wen Ning still have hope, which these people completely lacked by the time they were finally killed? Or could it be another factor?
Something to try messing with, once he gets out of here. ]
Do you think civilians could make for strong fierce corpses?
[ He hasn't worked with many since Jin Guangyao started supplying "resources" for his operations. ]
[ ... He doesn't want to answer this question because if it's no, Xue Yang will ask why. If it's yes, Xue Yang will hurt civilians. There's no good option here. Damn.
So, he tries to make up some bullshit. ]
Depends. I think the strength of the fierce corpse depends on how they've lived, cultivator or not. It'd be a bit hard to tell how someone would turn out when I don't know them at all before their death.
[ ... Yeah, okay, he'll go with that as an answer. ]
[ He says it more to himself than Wei Wuxian, though it's still plenty audible.
He considers it for a few more seconds before turning to look at Wei Wuxian again. ]
What was your first experience raising corpses? I got the idea from hearing about you, so I messed around in a graveyard full of cultivators from the war. Just one of 'em was enough to scare off half a town so I kept working on it after that.
[ Ahhh. He's going to try... it? Try what? Getting to know someone and then turning them into a fierce corpse? That's — that's not great. But Wei Wuxian doesn't know what to do to steer him away from that direction. Why is this his responsibility?!
At the question, he's given a bit of pause. What was his first? Wen Ning was his first real successful resurrection but he'd made puppets before that. After killing Wen Chao, he went a little crazy with flinging the dead at the Wens during the Sunshot campaign. But his real first time was in the Burial Mounds. Experimenting with what worked, what didn't, what would save him from being stuck there. He was consumed with resentful energy, driven mad with it. The things he did in the Burial Mounds... ]
Mm, during the Sunshot campaign. There were a lot of corpses, not a lot of soldiers. I put two and two together, tried something out and threw it at the Wens.
[ This is a lie but he's not telling Xue Yang what he did in the Burial Mounds. Demonic cultivation has always been about survival to him, not the same as it is for Xue Yang but he doesn't want to share that with him. So, he'll be what Xue Yang wants him to be, for now. ]
[ It's his responsibility because he's the senior! Congratulations; I'm sorry that happened to you! ]
That makes sense. If one person can fight like one thousand, you can do way better than just filling out ranks.
[ There's no question of why the Wens didn't try to fight poison with a poison; Xue Yang of anyone else knows that it takes talent to actually be good at demonic cultivation. It's why the Yin Tiger Tally was so coveted.
It seems to be a satisfying enough answer because Xue Yang moves on without questioning deeper. ]
[ He thinks back to the Sunshot campaign. To the Wen puppets being thrown at them instead. The difficulty of keeping up with it, his intention to hide the Yin Tiger Tally as long as he could. He always knew their puppets would be nothing to them but it took some time before he could prove it.
What a difficult time that was.
Then the question comes, the obvious one, and he grimaces. ]
No.
[ But it's clear he doesn't want to answer beyond that. Looking instead to the fish, to see if it's almost finished. ]
... I don't want to talk about the Yin Tiger Tally.
[ He doesn't know if Xue Yang will respect that but he's going to try anyway. ]
[ Nope, Xue Yang's curiosity is way more important to him than paying attention to the big glaring flags up to and including being outright told not to ask further.
He never really understood Wei Wuxian's decision to try to destroy the Yin Tiger Tally. Xue Yang had always assumed it was something like Wei Wuxian recognized he was going to qi deviate soon, and didn't want there to be anyone stronger than him in the future. Which seems stupid when there's a chance you could still come back to life, but maybe he didn't have enough confidence in that to risk it.
People were all too happy to assign whatever reasoning and motives they wanted to to Wei Wuxian, Xue Yang included. After all, guessing is all you can really do with things dead and buried. But Wei Wuxian is here, the subject is right in front of them, and the avoidance seems really weird, so Xue Yang has asked. ]
[ He doesn't expect Xue Yang to get it. The Yin Tiger Tally was too dangerous for anyone else, no one had the good sense to use it without harming others, which is his fault. Why craft a sword if it isn't to kill? The same logic is there for the Yin Tiger Tally.
So, he destroyed it. Broke it into pieces, made people fight for it, knew they would never be able to truly harness its powers again. What he didn't expect was for Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao to find pieces of it, put it back together. Still not as strong as the original but still very dangerous. ]
I shouldn't have made it. It was too powerful, and too many people wanted it. I knew they'd fight for it, but I underestimated how greedy people would get.
[ A shrug. On one hand, he probably couldn't have survived the Burial Mounds without making the Yin Tiger Tally. On the other hand, was that worth the cost? Should he just have died in the Burial Mounds instead, like he was supposed to?
That's why you kill them. Anyone who would try to take it from you should know what's coming to them. They can try to fight all they want, but you're the one who made it; you can kill them and keep it for yourself.
[ Unless you die. That part kind of sucks, but you just need to not do that. Or come back to life again afterwards. Either way, the point of a weapon is to use it. Is it really such an issue to use it once in order to use it again? ]
[ ... Yeah, he doesn't know why he expected Xue Yang to even slightly understand. His eyes close and he takes a breath, counts backwards from ten in his head before opening his eyes again. ]
I think the fish is done. You should eat some.
[ He'll even grab one for himself, taking it off the fire so it can cool down first before he goes for it. He uses his fingers then to gently pick off a piece and eat it, making a soft mm as he does. It's not bad. Could use some salt.
His mind is still going over the questions Xue Yang has asked. They're all things he expected from the man but it's been hard to keep up the act of trying to please him so he doesn't fly off the handle and keeping his own integrity intact. He doesn't know when it's going to happen but he's sure that eventually his answers will stop satisfying the other man. ]
[ Luckily Xue Yang doesn't want to continue the conversation so much that he's unwilling to be distracted by food. Xue Yang grabs his own fish and pokes it a few times to test the temperature as it cools. He could just eat it right away, but burning his tongue is annoying.
He turns Wei Wuxian's words over in his head a few times before deciding he's still not understanding and setting them aside. It's not worth dwelling on, especially when the Yin Tiger Tally isn't even here.
A few bites into the fish, he speaks up again. ]
So we've got food and shelter. If we stick the bucket under the faucet it might give us enough water eventually as long as it's not gonna run out or anything. That's most of our needs covered for now, right?
[ Wei Wuxian is not expecting something so reasonable from Xue Yang when he speaks up again but it is a pretty good assessment of the situation and Wei Wuxian nods around his bite of fish. He chews after and then considers what next. ]
They wouldn't stick us in here to die, so I think the resources we need are here, we just have to be smart about it. If we can solve it before nightfall though, that would be ideal.
[ They need to double up. What the hell does that even mean. But it's something Wei Wuxian won't let defeat him because he does not want to spend that long in here. ]
[ Xue Yang survived on the streets for fifteen harsh years before being taken in by the Jin Sect. Especially once he began actively making trouble, he needed to know how to survive and what to prioritize. Murder is no substitute for getting away with stealing from wells. ]
Any new ideas now that we've had some food?
[ Because Xue Yang is still drawing blanks on it. Maybe he'll have more inspiration once he's finished eating his portion of the meal. ]
[ There's one thing he thought of but it seems so stupid for it to be the answer ... except the hotel is just Like that, so maybe it would be the answer. So, Wei Wuxian feels a little cranky about having to suggest it but he also wants to get out of here soon. ]
I think it's the bed.
[ There's only one bed, Xue Yang said. And Wei Wuxian has read plenty of fiction in the library at this point that makes use of that trope a-plenty. He hopes they don't have to fuck, but if they share the bed to sleep, maybe... that'll be good enough. ]
I think we have to share it, to sleep. And we'll wake up in the morning with the ability to leave. There's other ways too, probably, but this is the most straightforward solution I can think of.
[ Xue Yang gives Wei Wuxian the look of a man torn between deciding that's the stupidest or most brilliant thing he's ever heard.
Maybe it's both. ]
So that's what the warning is? If people are scared they'll stick together. Scare them enough and they'll share close quarters. Influence them enough and they'll even fuck.
[ Wei Wuxian did not mention the fucking, but this is still the hotel (somehow). Xue Yang isn't looking to steer it that way himself but it's the logical next step here, and if they're going to be in close quarters Wei Wuxian better be mentally prepared for at least the possibility that whatever is "dangerous at night" is dealt with through sex. ]
Alright, seems like as good a plan for tonight as any.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ Xue Yang looks genuinely thoughtful at that, turning it over in his head. He's dealt with more than one clan head or sect leader who tried to bargain and fight and do all sorts of things to get their group spared and still none of them came out like Wen Ning... but maybe the circumstances were different? Did Wen Ning still have hope, which these people completely lacked by the time they were finally killed? Or could it be another factor?
Something to try messing with, once he gets out of here. ]
Do you think civilians could make for strong fierce corpses?
[ He hasn't worked with many since Jin Guangyao started supplying "resources" for his operations. ]
no subject
So, he tries to make up some bullshit. ]
Depends. I think the strength of the fierce corpse depends on how they've lived, cultivator or not. It'd be a bit hard to tell how someone would turn out when I don't know them at all before their death.
[ ... Yeah, okay, he'll go with that as an answer. ]
no subject
[ He says it more to himself than Wei Wuxian, though it's still plenty audible.
He considers it for a few more seconds before turning to look at Wei Wuxian again. ]
What was your first experience raising corpses? I got the idea from hearing about you, so I messed around in a graveyard full of cultivators from the war. Just one of 'em was enough to scare off half a town so I kept working on it after that.
no subject
At the question, he's given a bit of pause. What was his first? Wen Ning was his first real successful resurrection but he'd made puppets before that. After killing Wen Chao, he went a little crazy with flinging the dead at the Wens during the Sunshot campaign. But his real first time was in the Burial Mounds. Experimenting with what worked, what didn't, what would save him from being stuck there. He was consumed with resentful energy, driven mad with it. The things he did in the Burial Mounds... ]
Mm, during the Sunshot campaign. There were a lot of corpses, not a lot of soldiers. I put two and two together, tried something out and threw it at the Wens.
[ This is a lie but he's not telling Xue Yang what he did in the Burial Mounds. Demonic cultivation has always been about survival to him, not the same as it is for Xue Yang but he doesn't want to share that with him. So, he'll be what Xue Yang wants him to be, for now. ]
no subject
That makes sense. If one person can fight like one thousand, you can do way better than just filling out ranks.
[ There's no question of why the Wens didn't try to fight poison with a poison; Xue Yang of anyone else knows that it takes talent to actually be good at demonic cultivation. It's why the Yin Tiger Tally was so coveted.
It seems to be a satisfying enough answer because Xue Yang moves on without questioning deeper. ]
Is that when you made the Yin Tiger Tally?
no subject
What a difficult time that was.
Then the question comes, the obvious one, and he grimaces. ]
No.
[ But it's clear he doesn't want to answer beyond that. Looking instead to the fish, to see if it's almost finished. ]
... I don't want to talk about the Yin Tiger Tally.
[ He doesn't know if Xue Yang will respect that but he's going to try anyway. ]
no subject
[ Nope, Xue Yang's curiosity is way more important to him than paying attention to the big glaring flags up to and including being outright told not to ask further.
He never really understood Wei Wuxian's decision to try to destroy the Yin Tiger Tally. Xue Yang had always assumed it was something like Wei Wuxian recognized he was going to qi deviate soon, and didn't want there to be anyone stronger than him in the future. Which seems stupid when there's a chance you could still come back to life, but maybe he didn't have enough confidence in that to risk it.
People were all too happy to assign whatever reasoning and motives they wanted to to Wei Wuxian, Xue Yang included. After all, guessing is all you can really do with things dead and buried. But Wei Wuxian is here, the subject is right in front of them, and the avoidance seems really weird, so Xue Yang has asked. ]
no subject
So, he destroyed it. Broke it into pieces, made people fight for it, knew they would never be able to truly harness its powers again. What he didn't expect was for Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao to find pieces of it, put it back together. Still not as strong as the original but still very dangerous. ]
I shouldn't have made it. It was too powerful, and too many people wanted it. I knew they'd fight for it, but I underestimated how greedy people would get.
[ A shrug. On one hand, he probably couldn't have survived the Burial Mounds without making the Yin Tiger Tally. On the other hand, was that worth the cost? Should he just have died in the Burial Mounds instead, like he was supposed to?
Wei Wuxian goes quiet again, lost in thought. ]
no subject
That's why you kill them. Anyone who would try to take it from you should know what's coming to them. They can try to fight all they want, but you're the one who made it; you can kill them and keep it for yourself.
[ Unless you die. That part kind of sucks, but you just need to not do that. Or come back to life again afterwards. Either way, the point of a weapon is to use it. Is it really such an issue to use it once in order to use it again? ]
no subject
I think the fish is done. You should eat some.
[ He'll even grab one for himself, taking it off the fire so it can cool down first before he goes for it. He uses his fingers then to gently pick off a piece and eat it, making a soft mm as he does. It's not bad. Could use some salt.
His mind is still going over the questions Xue Yang has asked. They're all things he expected from the man but it's been hard to keep up the act of trying to please him so he doesn't fly off the handle and keeping his own integrity intact. He doesn't know when it's going to happen but he's sure that eventually his answers will stop satisfying the other man. ]
no subject
He turns Wei Wuxian's words over in his head a few times before deciding he's still not understanding and setting them aside. It's not worth dwelling on, especially when the Yin Tiger Tally isn't even here.
A few bites into the fish, he speaks up again. ]
So we've got food and shelter. If we stick the bucket under the faucet it might give us enough water eventually as long as it's not gonna run out or anything. That's most of our needs covered for now, right?
no subject
They wouldn't stick us in here to die, so I think the resources we need are here, we just have to be smart about it. If we can solve it before nightfall though, that would be ideal.
[ They need to double up. What the hell does that even mean. But it's something Wei Wuxian won't let defeat him because he does not want to spend that long in here. ]
no subject
[ Xue Yang survived on the streets for fifteen harsh years before being taken in by the Jin Sect. Especially once he began actively making trouble, he needed to know how to survive and what to prioritize. Murder is no substitute for getting away with stealing from wells. ]
Any new ideas now that we've had some food?
[ Because Xue Yang is still drawing blanks on it. Maybe he'll have more inspiration once he's finished eating his portion of the meal. ]
no subject
I think it's the bed.
[ There's only one bed, Xue Yang said. And Wei Wuxian has read plenty of fiction in the library at this point that makes use of that trope a-plenty. He hopes they don't have to fuck, but if they share the bed to sleep, maybe... that'll be good enough. ]
I think we have to share it, to sleep. And we'll wake up in the morning with the ability to leave. There's other ways too, probably, but this is the most straightforward solution I can think of.
no subject
Maybe it's both. ]
So that's what the warning is? If people are scared they'll stick together. Scare them enough and they'll share close quarters. Influence them enough and they'll even fuck.
[ Wei Wuxian did not mention the fucking, but this is still the hotel (somehow). Xue Yang isn't looking to steer it that way himself but it's the logical next step here, and if they're going to be in close quarters Wei Wuxian better be mentally prepared for at least the possibility that whatever is "dangerous at night" is dealt with through sex. ]
Alright, seems like as good a plan for tonight as any.