Wei Ying. ( Silt from his mouth, running gravel. If he smacks his lips together, he thinks they will bloody and stain, tacky and slow. ) How many of your dead chose fealty?
( Was he a kindly master in Nightless City? A conqueror through coaxing in the Burial Mounds? Does Chengqing beg allegiance, sooner than shackle and bind, does it not trade a promise of retaliation and breath in the house of Wei Ying's own bones, for enslavement?
And Lan Wangji's arms feel sullen, weighed, cold. In the lilac hues of a lethargic day, his pallor might reduce him to nothingness, to stain and erosion. )
How many of my spirits chose sincerity?
( Mouths unbound by the guqin, compelled to honesty unearned. Is this not violation? That they proliferate violence of sorcery to reap the gains of obedience from those who already grieve their flesh?
Men gasp. He knows, because he has started the trickling barter of one step, then the next, and carrying Wei Ying — no better than bones, but long — might exceed his natural penchant for diplomatic negotiation. He will see them to a home, a bed, even if Bichen must trouble herself with the delivery. )
no subject
Wei Ying. ( Silt from his mouth, running gravel. If he smacks his lips together, he thinks they will bloody and stain, tacky and slow. ) How many of your dead chose fealty?
( Was he a kindly master in Nightless City? A conqueror through coaxing in the Burial Mounds? Does Chengqing beg allegiance, sooner than shackle and bind, does it not trade a promise of retaliation and breath in the house of Wei Ying's own bones, for enslavement?
And Lan Wangji's arms feel sullen, weighed, cold. In the lilac hues of a lethargic day, his pallor might reduce him to nothingness, to stain and erosion. )
How many of my spirits chose sincerity?
( Mouths unbound by the guqin, compelled to honesty unearned. Is this not violation? That they proliferate violence of sorcery to reap the gains of obedience from those who already grieve their flesh?
Men gasp. He knows, because he has started the trickling barter of one step, then the next, and carrying Wei Ying — no better than bones, but long — might exceed his natural penchant for diplomatic negotiation. He will see them to a home, a bed, even if Bichen must trouble herself with the delivery. )
Will you sleep?