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?"
Huaisang toys with his fan and pouts when the situation is explained. "Really, Wei-xiong, it's almost my birthday, this is what you arrive with as a gift? And where's the rest of him?"
The situation isn't anything Huaisang wants, but he can deal with it. He tells his guards to take Xue Yang deep into the dungeons, to a cell fit for holding especially powerful fierce corpses, until he can be moved to a permanent location. When he has a chance later, he sends some of his more capable and skilled cultivators who are good at handling affairs quietly to go track down the arm and bring it back. He knows what the arm of a fierce corpse can do if left unattended, and that piece is important for what Huaisang has in mind.
Days pass while Huaisang entertains his friend, enjoying the time spent with Wei Wuxian and the festivities of his birthday. Only once his guests are gone does Huaisang finally descend into the dungeons to where his new responsibility has been put. It's quiet in the cell, but Huaisang still keeps a safe distance away from the bars. "Xue Yang?"
Darkness encloses his mind - he doesn't need to eat, sleep or drink - and time seems to pass oddly. The days tick by without him really noticing or caring. He is alive for the most part, though a part of him remains in the dirt of Yi City, and he barely struggles against the chains binding him. Yet a small, flickering light returns to him when he hears that voice.
Why would he come himself?
"I'm here." he shifts and the chains clank against one another, cold and hard, "What do you want, Huaisang?"
His brow furrows with remembered pain and he forces himself onto his feet, walking heavily to the bars.
Huaisang's eyes widen when Xue Yang responds, standing and addressing him with calm familiarity. He'd been told that Xue Yang was completely non-responsive, ignoring or not hearing any attempts to communicate with him. Having a fierce corpse responding in full sentences is the last thing that Huaisang expected to encounter here. He thought that they'd be dealing with a mute, hollow thing, mostly unresponsive but with a risk of lashing out.
Whirling out his fan and fluttering it lightly between them, Huaisang half hides behind it while he re-considers the situation. "You... talk? You know me?" He's seen Xue Yang before, long ago, but the two of them have never talked before, so he's especially surprised to be addressed as Huaisang.
He had chosen not to answer, finding the effort disagreeable. He is tired in a way nothing can touch and his heart aches despite it not beating. But, yes, he remembers the cute young Nie. The one he had peeked at and studied whenever he was close enough to see him properly.
"You're hard to forget." his lips quirk and he stretches his neck, the black lines retreating from the skin, "I don't feel like using titles anymore. I'm dead."
"I didn't expect you to be.. lucid." From what Huaisang knew of the fierce corpses of Wen Ning and Nie Mingue, it usually took significant, patient effort to awaken them. But Xue Yang was a remarkably powerful demonic cultivator, second only to Wei Wuxian. Perhaps he was able to awaken himself.
Huaisang feels fear rise in his heart as the black lines retreat from Xue Yang's skin. Perhaps this has all been a trap, and Xue Yang has only been biding his time. Huaisang's grip tightens nervously on his fan, but he stands his ground. "Yes, this is where you'll stay. At least for the time being."
"Too bad for you." Xue Yang mutters bitterly, noticing where Huaisang is looking. He would touch his neck, but the chains prevent that sort of movement.
"Are you frightened of me? There's no reason for you to be unless you plan on keeping me like this." he turns his back to the bars, the chains dragging, "Tell Senior to stop playing around. I'm sure he can break this spell."
And then he can sleep. Or cease to be. Both sound acceptable and he craves that blackness more than candy.
"Wei Wuxian has traveled on. I don't know when he'll visit again. What spell do you mean?" Huaisang's heart wavers a little at the threat. Of course he plans on keeping Xue Yang like this. He's far too dangerous to release, and Huaisang's already nervously rethinking his plans now that he's found out Xue Yang is lucid.
He should probably write to Wuxian and tell him. It's important for his friend to know the situation, since it could so easily slip out of Huaisang's grasp. And yet he's reluctant to hand over his control of Xue Yang. Just like the other sect leaders before him who had kept Xue Yang in their dungeons, except when he was useful.
He glares at the floor, his fingers curling on one side. Fierce Corpses are ridiculously powerful - with one arm or two - and Xue Yang hates it. Swallowing his fury, he decides to try a new tactic.
"Huaisang..." he turns slowly and walks to the bars, "You're adorable. And smart. I much prefer you to your brother or anyone else. You know I could be more use to you outside of this cage." his eyelids lower flirtatiously, "I don't want to hurt you. If you give me an order, I'll follow it, I promise. Just don't leave me like this. Please."
It's going to take more than a little flattery to persuade Huaisang to trust Xue Yang, though he certainly enjoys being called adorable. Furrowing his brow and fanning himself nervously, Huaisang fidgets. "I don't know, I don't know... Wuxian said that I should be very careful and you're not to be trusted. I don't think I should."
Sucking on his lower lip, Huaisang frowns uncertainly. "I can write to Wei-xiong and ask if it's all right? Is that okay? Do you want me to ask him about that spell you said you needed him for?"
The spell isn't controlling him at the moment, though it is keeping him alive. Xue Yang almost prefers when his mind is blank and the magic is moving his body in some perverse form of puppetry. But the magic won't help him now.
He needs Huaisang.
"I'm not going to hurt you." he leans his forehead against the bars, "No one else gets that promise. Just you. You can write to him, that's fine, but I don't like it in here. I don't like being this way. I'm sorry I ever did this to Daozhang Zichen."
"I don't know," Huaisang repeats, pouting and fidgeting with unhappy nerves as Xue Yang tries to persuade him. "What if you hurt someone else? Then I'll get in trouble for letting you out. I'm really not supposed to." He fidgets more with his fan, backing away a little farther from the monster in the cage and looking fearful.
He can smell Huaisang. Soft scents. Scents that make him want to bury his face against the other man's robes and press his cheek to his skin. But he is moving further away and the scent is growing faint.
"Don't leave me." he whispers brokenly, "Huaisang, I'm serious. I can't stay like this. I don't want to be alone."
Huaisang hesitates, tempted by the unhappiness of the creature in the cage. He returns to the spot he'd been in before but comes no closer. Continuing his nervous fidgeting, Huaisang wrings his hands. "I really can't let you out. Wei-xiong would be so angry with me. Isn't there something else I can do? Do you want food? Wine? Books?"
His original plan had been to learn from this fierce corpse and see if he could use the information to try and revive his brother's fierce corpse. Now that was clearly useless, but he didn't know what to do instead, and Xue Yang's pleading made Huaisang feel defensive. He couldn't possibly trust Xue Yang.
"Your brother..." he breathes, the idea suddenly occurring to him, "You're thinking about him, aren't you, Huaisang?"
Xue Yang isn't a fool and he remembers beheading Mingjue. This is something he can help with; something he can barter with if Huaisang feels no pity for him.
"I remember how to do it. I can write it down for you." he glances at his shoulder, "Though that will be difficult. Did you find my arm?"
Food is useless. Wine even more so. Books...maybe. But he'll need a light to read them too.
Huaisang's breath catches and he retreats back a step, spooked by Xue Yang's correct guess. "Where can I find your arm? Aren't you careless, leaving it around like that?"
He's nervous about negotiating with Xue Yang, but he is tempted by the hope of being able to help his brother. As much as Huaisang wants to flee this situation, that hope tempts him to stay a little longer. "How do you know that it will work with my brother?"
"In the dirt in Yi City." he grumbles, "If the dogs haven't dragged it off by now."
Which is a disgusting possibility. Will his arm fight back? Huh. That's actually less disgusting. To him, anyway.
Poor dogs.
"I didn't get a chance to grab it." his dark gaze fixes on the smaller man and he smiles slowly, "Because I know the magic. I can feel it thrumming through me. It can bring your brother back and reanimate him."
Huaisang's cultivators have moved quickly, finding the arm and bringing it back before it could cause much more trouble. He has it locked in an iron box, holding onto it for now. Returning it to Xue Yang would increase his power, and Huaisang wants the option to use it as a bargaining tool.
Xue Yang's smile frightens him, and Huaisang trembles, dropping his eyes timidly so that he doesn't have to look at that intense expression. "Would he be lucid, the way you are?"
He has a feeling he hasn't seen the last of it and he can't decide if that's better or not. It's not like the arm will change his circumstances. Xiao Xingchen is still dead and he is still a Fierce Corpse.
"Probably. I expect him to be mad."
And out for blood. Mingjue was pretty stubborn in life. Death won't improve that trait.
"I'll see what I can do about your arm." He already has it, but he doesn't want to turn it over until it's advantageous.
"So you... you want me to let you out, and you'll serve me like you served Jin Guangyao and Wen Ruohan." Huaisang furrows his brow, laying this out slowly like he's still trying to puzzle it out. "But you're a fierce corpse now. You don't need food and rest and whatever else they gave you. How do I know you won't just slaughter me and my clan and then go on a rampage if I let you out?"
"I'll wait with bated breath!" he knocks his shoulder against the bars, feeling no pain when it should be agony, "Mm something like that." his eyes are lidded again and he licks his lips, "You're more my...type. We could have much more than a mere partnership, Huaisang."
He laughs and murmurs: "Orgasms are called little deaths sometimes, aren't they?"
Huaisang's eyes flared wide at that suggestion, startled to realize that Xue Yang was flirting with him. He ducked completely behind his fan, lowering it slowly to peek over the edge. "Are you even capable of that?"
His fan lowered a little more, still covering his mouth, and he tapped it against his lips twice. "Show me."
"Am I capable of what? Oh this?" Xue Yang turns to the side, readjusting the chains so that Huaisang can see the bulge at the front of his pants, "I might be colder than other lovers, but I'll be very eager."
Especially with two arms. That would help a lot! He chuckles and turns back to face Huaisang, eyes bright.
"So that's what you want..." he snickers, the sound a little breathless. Scooting the chains up, he manages to unfasten his pants and slip a hand inside. Pulling his cock free, he angles himself so Huaisang won't have any trouble seeing.
But he also wants to watch him. Biting his lip, he begins to stroke himself, shivering.
"Mmm it still works. But I...nn...doubt I could get...anyone...mm...pregnant."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Fiercely
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?"
no subject
The situation isn't anything Huaisang wants, but he can deal with it. He tells his guards to take Xue Yang deep into the dungeons, to a cell fit for holding especially powerful fierce corpses, until he can be moved to a permanent location. When he has a chance later, he sends some of his more capable and skilled cultivators who are good at handling affairs quietly to go track down the arm and bring it back. He knows what the arm of a fierce corpse can do if left unattended, and that piece is important for what Huaisang has in mind.
Days pass while Huaisang entertains his friend, enjoying the time spent with Wei Wuxian and the festivities of his birthday. Only once his guests are gone does Huaisang finally descend into the dungeons to where his new responsibility has been put. It's quiet in the cell, but Huaisang still keeps a safe distance away from the bars. "Xue Yang?"
no subject
Why would he come himself?
"I'm here." he shifts and the chains clank against one another, cold and hard, "What do you want, Huaisang?"
His brow furrows with remembered pain and he forces himself onto his feet, walking heavily to the bars.
"Is this where I'll stay?"
no subject
Whirling out his fan and fluttering it lightly between them, Huaisang half hides behind it while he re-considers the situation. "You... talk? You know me?" He's seen Xue Yang before, long ago, but the two of them have never talked before, so he's especially surprised to be addressed as Huaisang.
no subject
"You're hard to forget." his lips quirk and he stretches his neck, the black lines retreating from the skin, "I don't feel like using titles anymore. I'm dead."
no subject
Huaisang feels fear rise in his heart as the black lines retreat from Xue Yang's skin. Perhaps this has all been a trap, and Xue Yang has only been biding his time. Huaisang's grip tightens nervously on his fan, but he stands his ground. "Yes, this is where you'll stay. At least for the time being."
no subject
"Are you frightened of me? There's no reason for you to be unless you plan on keeping me like this." he turns his back to the bars, the chains dragging, "Tell Senior to stop playing around. I'm sure he can break this spell."
And then he can sleep. Or cease to be. Both sound acceptable and he craves that blackness more than candy.
no subject
He should probably write to Wuxian and tell him. It's important for his friend to know the situation, since it could so easily slip out of Huaisang's grasp. And yet he's reluctant to hand over his control of Xue Yang. Just like the other sect leaders before him who had kept Xue Yang in their dungeons, except when he was useful.
no subject
"Huaisang..." he turns slowly and walks to the bars, "You're adorable. And smart. I much prefer you to your brother or anyone else. You know I could be more use to you outside of this cage." his eyelids lower flirtatiously, "I don't want to hurt you. If you give me an order, I'll follow it, I promise. Just don't leave me like this. Please."
no subject
Sucking on his lower lip, Huaisang frowns uncertainly. "I can write to Wei-xiong and ask if it's all right? Is that okay? Do you want me to ask him about that spell you said you needed him for?"
no subject
He needs Huaisang.
"I'm not going to hurt you." he leans his forehead against the bars, "No one else gets that promise. Just you. You can write to him, that's fine, but I don't like it in here. I don't like being this way. I'm sorry I ever did this to Daozhang Zichen."
no subject
no subject
"Don't leave me." he whispers brokenly, "Huaisang, I'm serious. I can't stay like this. I don't want to be alone."
no subject
His original plan had been to learn from this fierce corpse and see if he could use the information to try and revive his brother's fierce corpse. Now that was clearly useless, but he didn't know what to do instead, and Xue Yang's pleading made Huaisang feel defensive. He couldn't possibly trust Xue Yang.
no subject
Xue Yang isn't a fool and he remembers beheading Mingjue. This is something he can help with; something he can barter with if Huaisang feels no pity for him.
"I remember how to do it. I can write it down for you." he glances at his shoulder, "Though that will be difficult. Did you find my arm?"
Food is useless. Wine even more so. Books...maybe. But he'll need a light to read them too.
no subject
He's nervous about negotiating with Xue Yang, but he is tempted by the hope of being able to help his brother. As much as Huaisang wants to flee this situation, that hope tempts him to stay a little longer. "How do you know that it will work with my brother?"
no subject
Which is a disgusting possibility. Will his arm fight back? Huh. That's actually less disgusting. To him, anyway.
Poor dogs.
"I didn't get a chance to grab it." his dark gaze fixes on the smaller man and he smiles slowly, "Because I know the magic. I can feel it thrumming through me. It can bring your brother back and reanimate him."
no subject
Xue Yang's smile frightens him, and Huaisang trembles, dropping his eyes timidly so that he doesn't have to look at that intense expression. "Would he be lucid, the way you are?"
no subject
"Probably. I expect him to be mad."
And out for blood. Mingjue was pretty stubborn in life. Death won't improve that trait.
no subject
"So you... you want me to let you out, and you'll serve me like you served Jin Guangyao and Wen Ruohan." Huaisang furrows his brow, laying this out slowly like he's still trying to puzzle it out. "But you're a fierce corpse now. You don't need food and rest and whatever else they gave you. How do I know you won't just slaughter me and my clan and then go on a rampage if I let you out?"
no subject
He laughs and murmurs: "Orgasms are called little deaths sometimes, aren't they?"
no subject
His fan lowered a little more, still covering his mouth, and he tapped it against his lips twice. "Show me."
no subject
Especially with two arms. That would help a lot! He chuckles and turns back to face Huaisang, eyes bright.
"You couldn't call me a bed-warmer!"
no subject
"Show me. I want to see." He licked his lips behind the fan, blushing with anticipation of this little show.
no subject
But he also wants to watch him. Biting his lip, he begins to stroke himself, shivering.
"Mmm it still works. But I...nn...doubt I could get...anyone...mm...pregnant."
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)