Blast from the Past
Wei Wuxian's soul floated in the dark void, aimlessly. A bright light in the middle of an endless chasm of darkness, as if it was waiting for something. Before he destroyed the Stygian Tiger Amulet he cast a spell on himself. The spell was something he was working on in secrecy where one can preserve his or her consciousness in case of the physical body is threatened with extermination. But, there were lots of loopholes in the spell and moreover, there was no guarantee of successful preservation.
Wei Wuxian started on the spell after he was thrown into Burial Mounds by Wen Chao. But, that time he left it unfinished as he was still coping to adjust with his newly founded craft of demonic cultivation. Without a golden core, his stability was somewhat shaky. He took up working on the spell again after settling in the Burial Mounds with the Wens. Lan Wangji was the one he wanted to tell first about this, once it was complete and fully proven. He even named it; the Psyche Spell. though he knew Wangji would take it with a pinch of salt since he has been warning him about the consequences of practicing dark arts which were seen as taboo and going against the laws of nature.
But the chaos that ensured there on made Wei Wuxian keep it a forever secret, until the moments before he died. With the remaining feeble consciousness, he gained after being left alone as the Gusu Lan Sect forcibly took Wangji away, who fought and injured thirty-three elders for his sake. Wei Wuxian seemed too unconscious to have known all these. However, as he approached his death inch by inch he conjured his fading away consciousness with all his might, and in desperation cast the spell. But to his shock, his remaining spiritual energy flared up and got sucked away into the Yin Iron. Wei Wuxian simultaneously tried to destroy the two halves of the Amulet but only succeeded in destroying one before his soul dissipated from the mortal world.
Modern Times
Lin Chang is a woman of few words and a strict follower of rules. She does not indulge in chatting with other people at the work site or outside of it. She prefers to be by herself and tends to be diligent in her work and towards her superior. She was once a jolly, happy-go-lucky type but the heartbreak she went through made her introverted and reserved. There are times when she responds with one word or just a gesture. She rarely attends social gatherings unless it is work-related or organized by her superior. Lin Chang's physical appearance gives off an extroverted vibe to those who do not know her. She has jet-black straight hair which she usually puts up in a ponytail. Her choice of color for clothes has been always monochromatic and simple. The only friend she hangs out or engages with is her best friend Dai Lu. She works at Brazil Embassy in Beijing. The two have been friends for over twelve years. So they make it a point to meet up once in while either in Yiling or in Beijing apart from maintaining constant touch over social media and phone.
Lin Chang reached the excavation site near the Three Gorges Waterfall. Ancient artifacts from the time of Emperor Yu, the Great who was famed for his introduction of flood control and contribution towards agriculture, were found. He is the founder of the Xia dynasty in about 2025 B.C. Weapons, utensils, and some crude pieces of jewelry were unearthed which Lin Chang's superior says is an important historical discovery. Hence works on their preservation are important.
"Chang'er! There you are", her superior smiled and greeted her.
Lin Chang bowed.
Her superior, "Look, these are the artifacts unearthed fresh, last night. I want you to carefully preserve them, catalog them, and make a weekly report on the findings."
Lin Chang, "Yes, lao shi. I will. Do not worry"
Her Superior, smiling, "I know. My work is in good hands. Take care Chang'er. See you soon."
Lin Chang bowed as the old lady left. She then geared up for the day at her workstation. The day went by swiftly in carefully handling and cataloging the items found last night. She was accompanied by a middle-aged excavator who was one of the members that dug up these artifacts. His name is Hu Mingtao and specializes in those artifacts which are rather rare and hard to find. He had specially got himself involved in this excavation as Yu the Great's Xia dynasty is rather old and the remnants of his era are hard to find.
He stood with Lin Chang at her table where the newly found artifacts were kept and spoke with a sigh, "Chang'er, these items are way too fragile than I have imagined. But you did a superb task of preserving them, I must say."
Lin Chang was holding a half-broken vase and slowly dusting away the dirt on it with a brush as she spoke, "That is true. These pieces are more delicate than the ones excavated earlier."
Mingtao, "It's strange though these pieces are rather a little unusual."
Lin Chang, "How so?"
Mingtao, "You are aware of the ancient Clans of Cultivation right during the Xia era?"
Lin Chang, "Yes. The biggest five are Yunmeng Jiang, Gusu Lan, Qinghe Nie, Lanling Jin, and Qishan Wen."
Mingtao, "Right. But you missed something here. The infamous Yílíng Lǎozǔ."
Lin Chang, "Who? I am sorry the Yu era has not been my specialty."
Mingtao, "You should do some reading then. The university has a special section on this timeline of the Xia era. Have a look it will help."
Lin Chang nodded. By the time she finished dusting the broken vase and cataloged it carefully, the sun has set and the lights of the excavation sites were lit up. Everyone around was preparing to leave for their homes. But Lin Chang finds work as her sanctuary to escape the stress and tensions of life. So she often stays back, working late.
Today, was no exception. Yesterday Dai Lu was in Yiling to visit her, she had to fly back to Beijing this morning. They had a treat last night and Lin Chang almost passed out on her third beer. Now that her best friend is gone she resorted back to her workaholic lifestyle to avoid the underlying tensions.
A worker was leaving when he spotted Lin Chang.
" Chang guniang! Will you be staying late?"
Lin Chang, "Hmmm."
The worker, "Alright but just to caution you. We have unearthed some more things back in the cave. some items are rather strange. So it will be best if you don't let anyone go in since you will be staying back."
Lin Chang, "No worries. I'll see to it."
The worker left. There were only guards and security apart from Lin Chang. She carefully worked on the items and after an hour or so felt soreness in her body as she was standing at a stretch. She took a break and made herself a coffee and sat down. Tiredness crept in and Lin Chang drowsed off.
As she fell into a deep sleep Lin Chang had a strange dream. A man, clad in black robes, disheveled long hair tied with a red ribbon, eyes glowing red, holding a black flute in one hand and dark ominous looking tally in the other hand. He had a sad, distressed, and helpless look on him. Among the red glowing eyes, there were traces of tears. He had a look of a defeated person. Lin Chang stood facing him with a bewildered look and the next moment there was an explosion that engulfed him as he desperately put forward his right hand as if trying to give to her his flute.
Lin Chang jerked awake from this weird dream. She didn't realize when she fell asleep. The site was quiet with a low hum of electric wire and lights that were spread across. She stood up and rubbed her eyes, before checking her watch. It is already nine past fifteen. She prepared to pack up and leave.
A sudden loud hustling sound made her stop. It came from inside the cave. Lin Chang remembered the worker asked her to see that no one goes in while the excavations are going on. She stepped forward but hesitated and decided to call security personnel before entering. The security person came and accompanied her.
Lin Chang, "Stay alert. Robbing is common in excavation sites."
Security, "Yes ma'am."
The entry is a short tunnel that opened into a spacious unending cave place. Lin Chang entered this part of the cave for the very first time in the six months she joined the job. She never felt to visit and strictly kept to her job profile. But today she had to. The site had several small stations built beside each excavation portion where the respective items were dug up and kept before carrying them out for further cleaning up and cataloging.
Lin Chang entered the area and spotted the disheveled items on a table of the station in the farthest corner of the site. The security looked and asked,
"Aren't those the ones dug up today?"
Lin Chang nodded and went to see what was going on. There were several earthen and wooden household items scattered. Anyone can see that there has been messed up because according to the protocol excavated items should be kept organized and handled delicately. Lin Chang turned around and said,
"Someone must have done this. Call some more people and have this area thoroughly checked. I will put them back as they were."
The security nodded and left. Lin Chang put her bag down and started to clear the items one by one when suddenly her heart jumped. Lying among the rubbles of pots and pans is what looked like a black dark colored tally. An unspeakable feeling started to brew inside her as she took it and held it in her hands. Bewildered she murmured,
"How?"
It was broken in half but it did not take Lin Chang to recognize the item she just had a dream about. The realization sent a chill down her spine. Suddenly, the lights went out like a poof from the entire area making it pitch dark. Lin Chang's heart raced as she stood in horror. She reached out to her bag on the table to take out the cellphone flashlight and then it happened. The tally started to glow red engulfed in a cloud of black smoke. Lin Chang stood terrified and shocked at the incident unfolding.
As she was watching it with the flashlight in her hands the tally shot up mid-air throwing the black and red smoke-like stuff toward Lin Chang. As it started to enter her through her eyes, nose, and mouth, she heard ear-splitting screams. And among them was a distinct voice, a male voice, saying,
"Lin Chang...Help me!"