Danger!

                                    

                                          
One day, Lan WangJi was on his way back to their inn, when he suddenly saw a flash of yellow fly toward him, almost blurring from the speed. Even  from a distance,  Lan WangJi could see something was wrong. The flimsy paper form radiated alarm, the little hands waving with agitation, the little paper body buffeted by a small breeze, but hurling itself back on course with renewed vigour. 
                          
 Lan WangJi didn't hesitate. He unsheathed his sword  and hopped on it with one fluid motion, not even noticing the people who scattered from his path. Lan WangJi set off toward the inn at full speed, riding his sword, slowing only for a fraction of a moment to scoop up the little paper man, tucking it gently into his robes. There the paper man raged, his little paper hands curled into a pair of agitated fists, hammering against Lan WangJi's wildly beating heart to spur him to go faster.
                          
They reached the inn in no time, and  Lan WangJi saw to his alarm that their window on the second floor in the corner was destroyed, the wood panels hanging loose, almost off their hinges, and he sped straight toward it. Wei Ying! 
                          
Lan WangJi had been protecting his Wei Ying since that time he stood against the whole world with him in Lanling after they had revealed Jin GuangYao's treachery, but had been foiled by him again. He couldn't lose Wei WuXian again, he might not survive it. At least the enraged paper man inside his robes ensured Lan WangJi that his beloved was still alive.
                          
Lan WangJi could hear angry shouts and threats coming from their room. He burst into their room like an avenging spirit. In the moment it took for him to leap off his sword and grasp it in his hand, he saw Wei WuXian lying motionless on their bed, and four thugs turning to look at the new threat, their expressions ranging from alarmed to enraged. Lan WangJi made a quick, precise motion toward the paper man and then flicked his fingers toward Wei WuXian, releasing his consciousness from the confines of the paper. He saw Wei WuXian's eyes flash open, but otherwise he didn't even twitch. 
                          
 Lan WangJi changed his dash in to the room into a fluid, elegant attack, brutal only in its strength and utter lack of mercy. His initial strike left two of the attackers headless. Even as their bodies sank slowly to the floor, Lan WangJi spared a glance at Wei WuXian who still hadn't moved, as he brought his sword back and struck again with precision and fury. As the third headless corpse toppled, Wei WuXian finally moved and leapt from the bed. By the time Lan WangJi brought himself to a halt, Wei WuXian had the final assailant pinned to the wall by one hand grasping his neck.
                          
The thug whimpered, a look of utter terror on his face.
                          
"You finally realise who... " Wei WuXian began, but stopped when he realised the assailant wasn't even looking at him, but over Wei WuXian's shoulder. What could be more terrifying than the Yiling patriarch? Wei WuXian wondered and turned his head. "Ah. Lan Zhan..."
                          
 Lan WangJi still approached. His sword was running with blood, etching a red trail across the floor from near the window toward the bed, his face full of wrath.
                          
"Lan Zhan..." Wei WuXian tried again.
                          
The thug whimpered and tried futilely to break loose from the stranglehold, seeing his death approach. 
                          
"Husband..." Wei WuXian said softly.
                          
Oh, fuck, the thug thought, and his bladder let go.
                          
Light returned to Lan WangJi's eyes and he blinked, turning to look at Wei WuXian.
                          
"Lan Zhan... I'm unharmed. We need him alive to find out who sent them."
                          
 Lan WangJi looked at the thug coldly and pointed. "Clan Ren emblem."
                          
"To give them a message, then."
                          
"Four heads in a box talk much louder than one coward."
                          
Wei WuXian smiled. "So they do."