[ closed post: debts owed ]

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji doesn't particularly relish the thought of speaking with Asmodean, but at the very least he is externally well-mannered, unlike Shen Yuan. Good manners are no indication of virtue, and that is a lesson Lan Wangji has learned a hundred times over or more, but they can make an unpleasant interaction go by more smoothly.

His face expressionless and his back straight, he is walking the halls of the mansion in search of the man whose power he should not, perhaps, have unsealed. He has yet to decide how keenly he regrets that choice, but on this day, he has to admit it may prove advantageous. He is certain that Asmodean will agree to speak with him. The balance of the debt between them ensures it. Lan Wangji rarely cares to call on such debts -- the help he offers most is contingent on no promises of repayment -- but it would be foolish of him to discard something potentially useful at a time like this. He keeps a quiet but keen awareness of his own qi, the rush of it through his meridians and the simmer of his golden core, as he walks. Asmodean could best him in a match of power, he knows, but power is not the only way to end a confrontation.

Comments

[involuntaryturncoat]

"It's not something I could sense outside of a dream, no." He frowns. "I could stop warding my dreams in the hope of attracting whoever may be doing so, but it seems to me that would leave far too much up to chance."

[lightbearinglord]

Regrettably, Lan Wangji cannot possibly ask Asmodean to leave himself undefended in the name of this investigation. His own frown remains in place. "It would," he agrees. "Then there is no way to discover a possible culprit with your abilities."

[involuntaryturncoat]

"Not by directly sensing someone perpetrating such a violation, no." He frowns thoughtfully. "I could be present unseen for a confession or a boast, but even that would require luck or sufficient preparation."

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji considers this. "Then I can only ask you to remain alert. I would like to compile some accounting of the powers present at this mansion."

[involuntaryturncoat]

He nods slowly. "I will do what I can, although it seems to me that someone using their powers for mischief would be reluctant to reveal them."

[lightbearinglord]

"Naturally." Still faintly irritable, Lan Wangji directs some of the tension out of his body. "I can detect some forms of power, but only cultivation is truly familiar to me. Even Luo Binghe's dream manipulation came as a surprise. I do not care for surprises."

[involuntaryturncoat]

"A poor place to be, if one mislikes surprises," he murmurs. "That said, my own abilities at detection lean towards those of my world, which makes them near useless here." He pauses. "I have noticed a faint resonance when I'm in the presence of a cultivator actively using their abilities, although I am sure that's redundant, you certainly have no need of me telling you when that happens."

[lightbearinglord]

"Mn." Again, Lan Wangji is silent for a moment, thinking through what he has learned. If nothing else, he is now aware that it is certainly possible for dreams to serve as a target for bad actors other than Luo Binghe. "Luo Binghe is better than you at dream manipulation. Does that hold true outside of dreams, or could you best him in battle?"

[involuntaryturncoat]

"I have not witnessed him battling," he says simply, "so I cannot know for sure, as I do not have the full measure of him. I say this only in the interest of honesty. I do, however, have the full measure of myself, and have not lived as long as I have without some knowledge. Were he to attack me, I am confident I could at least give a fair accounting of myself. However, I would not wish for such an occurrence."

[lightbearinglord]

Nor would Lan Wangji, as distasteful as he found Asmodean's accounting of his past. Still. "He is volatile," he says as explanation for the question, "and if we crossed blades, I would not come out the victor." His concern is largely not for himself in this matter, but for those he has sworn to protect. Claudius, of course, but any of the other mansion residents who are more vulnerable than a cultivator.

[involuntaryturncoat]

He nods slowly, quiet for a moment. He intuits some of the reasoning behind this thread of conversation. "If something of the sort were to happen, and I were able, I would intervene to the best of my ability."

[lightbearinglord]

The declaration does ease just a small portion of Lan Wangji's ever-present concern about the perpetual problem of Luo Binghe. He has come away with little to assist Galahad, but it is better than nothing. He's silent again, looking at Asmodean and suppressing his own frustration at having to resort to bargains such as this. "Thank you," he says finally, a little clipped but polite enough.

[involuntaryturncoat]

He nods roughly, features fixed. "I am separated from my world and incapable of making amends to the great harms I've done to it. The least I can do is prevent further harm here if I can."

[lightbearinglord]

Although it makes no appearance in Lan Wangji's carefully controlled expression, he does feel the slightest softening. He has no such crimes on his conscience, but he loves someone who does, and he is no stranger to regret. He gives Asmodean a curt nod and then steps back toward the door to unlock it with a fresh spark of spiritual power.

[involuntaryturncoat]

Asmodean nods back in response. "I hope the matter is resolved quickly."

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji doesn't answer, but he holds eye contact with Asmodean for a moment. That amounts to agreement from him rather than saying As do I aloud. Then, their business concluded, he strides briskly out of the room and away.