daozhangs | ic inbox, ryslig.

( true to his word, he doesn't stop for a single beep - though it does come as a relief that he can, in fact, hear such a sound over the wind. for the last hour or so, he has nursed the vague notion in the back of his mind that it might be too quiet, too muffled. that he might not hear a two-alert succession to indicate urgency, traveling onward unawares for gods-only-know how long.

but he also knows that jiang wanyin likely won't linger idle for long, and so it's about fifteen minutes later that he ducks into a hollow under some low-hanging tree branches, shifting back and quickly pulling his laptop free of the bag to check on the update. a robe is drawn from the bag as well, wrapped around his shoulders to fend off the elements as he listens to the brief message. )

Your concern is appreciated but misplaced. I'm quite capable of surviving a handful of hours unattended.

Perhaps they've managed to leave. If so, this mess is all the better for it. Fewer lives at risk while we contain the situation.

( to anyone else, he may have instead recommended they try to escape the situation as well - but not to jiang wanyin. he stands no chance of convincing the man of leaving before the hunt is finished, nor does he particularly see a pressing need to. just as xingchen can survive unattended in unfavorable weather, jiang wanyin is more than capable of surviving even so unconventional a night hunt. )

Forgive me. I didn't mean to insinuate a lack of skill, or trust in your skill.

[ Is it exceedingly rare for ill-tempered Sandu Shengshou to ask for forgiveness? Well, yes. But this is one instance where it feels not only warranted but necessary. Well-deserved, too. Xiao Xingchen not only deserves it for being a daozhang or a renowned cultivator, he has earned his respect. ]

I hope they have escaped to safety. As long as they could find shelter, they should be safer waiting out the blizzard than staying here.

[ Which means. Things are going downhill at the resort. ]

I know that you didn't. ( but even still, something about the apology - the shedding of a fragment of jiang wanyin's pride, or perhaps the consideration tucked within it - has a warmth blooming quietly in his chest despite the circumstances. )

Is there anything more you can tell me regarding the creatures? Their intent, their behaviors?

Yes! Yes, I have good news. We have discovered an effective way to fight them. Or rather, to kill them. The only way they can actually be killed instead of just being chased off is to burn them alive. They have to be completely burned.

They are also fearful of fire, and burning the host will make them surrender it and flee.

[ It. He has decided he can't afford to think of the hosts as people while they are assimilated. ]

( so they're burning people alive. xingchen isn't fond of that, but he isn't exactly fond of any of this, and that doesn't change the simple fact of what is.

at the very least, the victims aren't entirely condemned. the creatures - parasites, it seems - can be chased from their hosts. that's promising. )

How readily available is fire or the means to create it?

It's a luxurious hotel. There are enough burnable things if you aren't picky.

[ A flamethrower would be nice but he has yet to make that discovery and doesn't have one anyway. ]

( that doesn't mean the have a means by which to ignite a fire (they aren't cultivators anymore, after all), but he also recognizes quite clearly the finite amount of time he has left before he can no longer resist the chattering of teeth which might interfere with his dictation.

so he shifts to - )

You're unharmed?

( shorter this time, before he tucks the bottom half of his face against his knees tucked into the wrap of his robe-shawl. )

[ No, no, it doesn't mean that, or that it is exactly easy to get the fire where the people are, or vice versa. But he's not going to whine and worry Xiao Xingchen more. Not when there is nothing to be done but grit your teeth, accept that this night hunt has less than ideal circumstances and suck it up, just as he would tell his juniors. ]

I have no noteworthy injuries.

( though it may be difficult to believe (given his history of such worrying), xingchen didn't ask to assess the danger jiang wanyin might be facing. in that, he was strictly professional - he wants to know what it is that he's walking into, to understand the accessibility of the only solution they've discovered thus far.

the answer he gets is not as promising as it could've been, but it's enough. xingchen doesn't press it.

it's time to keep moving. )

I should continue on. Please let me know if anything changes.

Make sure you do the same.

[ For which, unlike for his updates, there is no reason other than that he wants to know his friend is doing well. He may have no regrets about asking him to brave the storm but he does care.

And then it's back to braving the ever-increasing chaos in the hotel, for several more hours, until there is a message which simply says ]

Good news: I'm not infected.

That's excellent news.

( the response comes more quickly this time - he has since been forced to brave the elements on foot, the snow in this area a bit too deep to wade through as a four-legged beast. it was a profoundly wise idea to opt for multiple layers of trouser rather than robes. robes would just get caught up in all of the snow, both the hem around his feet and the ends of his sleeves.

but there are currently no trees near which to shelter, so he carries the laptop above the surface of the snow as he travels - at least until their check-in is through. )

Was it under question?

[ The response is suspiciously long in coming for Jiang Cheng having limited time fir this conversation.

It's one he struggles with. Wishes he hadn’t brought it up at all. ]

Yes.

Alright.

( xingchen won't tell him to be more careful. it wouldn't do any good if he did. either jiang wanyin is taking utmost care or he won't be convinced to regardless of what xingchen says.

so instead, it's simpler to accept the information with grace. simpler to take things as they come, but also simpler not to try to form the proper words to explain his entirely rational concern while so much of his mind is already occupied with maintaining a sense of place and direction in the seemingly endless snowscape he treks through.

so he'll stick to business. )

How would I know?

( no, he doesn't think that's quite enough for jiang wanyin to understand what he's asking - so, )

If someone were.

[ Well. So much for evading sharing what exactly he has done, or being pleasantly surprised that he hasn't been questioned on it (which is suspicious in itself, now that he thinks about it. Xiao Xingchen has been conspicuously curt all day long, hasn't he?) ]

You will have to burn them. It is the discovery I mentioned before, the parasites fear fire. They will flee when the fire becomes unbearable to them, though I can't tell if it is fear or pain that makes them abandon the host.

I burned my arm.

I don't think you do it yourself, usually. But I had to be sure.

( to be fair, he hadn't intended to ask what jiang wanyin had done or how his friend had made such a discovery. he'd intended to ask how one first identifies an infected individual, which leads him to ask - )

Only fire? No odd behavior? ( xingchen's only adjacent experience is dealing with those possessed by spirits, and one can almost always tell no matter how much the spirit tries to mimic the life of the body they've chosen. there's something off about them.

the note about jiang wanyin burning his arm is filed away until he's able to give such a thing the concern it deserves. after this parasite mess has been settled, for certain. )

I have been narrowing down the suspects by suspicious behavior, but they are very good and it is difficult when you don't know the people affected, and everyone is acting frightened and irrational.

[ Fortunately, something cultivators are well used to, and when you have dealt for it long enough, you learn to recognize the patterns in people's irrational behavior. Nothing turns a peaceful village into a frightened mob like mortal danger descending on them. ]

Best we can determine, they will try to get you alone for assimilation. Last night was the exception with public ones.

But fire is the only way to tell for sure.

( a long pause - he's considering, but he's also encountered a snow-buried log that he hadn't anticipated so he's working his way over that with an arm full of laptop. then, )

You're alone now

( is jiang wanyin endangering himself further just in the act of ducking away to speak to him? xingchen doesn't like that idea in the slightest. )

As long as I remain alone, it is no problem. When I'm no longer alone, I will fight.

I don't trust these people in battle. They aren't like us. They need to be protected but they are, at best, a liability.

You are very taciturn.

My lips have gone numb.

Nothing of concern. Simply difficult to enunciate clearly enough.

Are you telling me you are suffering from hypothermia and you haven't told me?!

I don't think that I am.

( hopefully that doesn't change, though xingchen is quite realistic enough to know that it's not unlikely. )

The rest of my body is warm enough. ( make no mistake, he's cold even with all the layers he's wearing, but it doesn't feel as though he's dangerously cold. like the temperature at his center is any lower than it typically is. only his skin, especially the bits exposed to the wind as well as the cold... like his lips. and his hands, though he has taken to tucking one at a time into a warm pocket between his layers while he holds the laptop with the other. )

I would have told you.

You would not have told me until it means failure is unavoidable. You wouldn't want to worry and distract me.

If I had it, it would only get worse.

A liability for when I arrive. I would have told you.

Yes. You would tell me if it affects your ability to be of use at the resort. You wouldn't tell me if it is any less than that.

[ Which, honestly, is fair. It is Xiao Xingchen's prerogative to keep his suffering to himself. He just doesn't have to like it. ]

( another pause, this one just considering. it seems obvious, what jiang wanyin is saying - of course that's when he would tell him. what use would it be to do so otherwise?

what a stupid question, xingchen realizes almost as soon as he's asked it, his amused huff fogging the moment it reaches the air. or if not stupid, then terribly hypocritical. because he would certainly want to know such a thing regardless of whether or not it affected jiang wanyin's capability. is it truly so different now?

and so, )

Would you like me to?

( to tell him such things, even when there's no practical reason for doing so. it goes against so much of the person xingchen has long since learned to be, but jiang wanyin has long since earned the right to choose whether or not he's burdened with something. )

Can't promise that I always will. But I can try

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, XIAO.XINGCHEN. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 018.07.154.55 * XIAO.XINGCHEN has joined 018.07.154.55 <XIAO.XINGCHEN> You have reached Xiao Xingchen. <XIAO.XINGCHEN>** I am often away from my laptop, but I will do my best to answer as soon as I'm able.

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