The resentful energy went wild, doing as it pleased with the bloody corpse of one Xue Yang. Black tendrils of poison spread across his limbs, up his throat and onto his face. The color pools in his eyes and he gasps, dragging air into his lungs. Consciousness returns slowly and it takes him half an hour to lift himself off of the dirt. After noticing that he feels unbalanced, he realizes that he is missing his arm.

Oh. It's there.

Well it won't do him any good now. Clutching the still open wound, he walks slowly through the sea of coffins. Jiangzai is sheathed at his hip and he doesn't know what awaits him.

Or who awaits him.

"I told you I sensed something! Tie him up, Wen Ning."

That is Wei Wuxian's voice. Xue Yang turns only to feel chains wrapped around him, tighter than any embrace.

"Huaisang isn't going to like it, but that's the best place to put him."

The Unclean Realm. He remembers it. For the journey, he is dragged by a chain, treated like a dog. He doesn't feel tired like he would usually and he presumes that has something to do with his current state. But why bother fighting anything?

Days later, he looks up from his feet to see Wuxian speaking directly to Nie Huaisang, who looks...uncertain. Maybe fearful? He feels Jiangzai removed from his person and his brow furrows.

"He needs to be locked up for good. Can you manage it, Huaisang?"