eschewings | contact.

[ the answer comes after perhaps half an hour: ]

Yes, he does. Why do you ask?

I see.

What is your reason for keeping it from him?

（ wei wuxian told him, so long ago now, of how he had been told of one of his creations being used to resurrect someone at great cost. he had been wracked with guilt, then. but if he spoke unknowingly of his own return to life...

his question is blunt more than accusatory. he has no reason to lay blame at huaisang's feet for this. ）

[ instead of text, the answer comes in audio: huaisang's voice has none of the usual whining tinge to it. instead, it is the voice of a man closer to his 40s than 30s, a sect leader, fully confident in his decisions and judgment. there is no hint of placation, nothing to say this is an explanation to appease; no, if anything, it is spoken nonchalantly enough to betray that he has had time to think of it, and stands behind his decision. ]

Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a young man born out of wedlock to a young lady. The boy was the son of a wealthy, influential man known to have sired others outside his own marriage — but because of his wealth and influence, no one could do anything about it. One day, the man brought the boy to his sect, to learn cultivation. Unfortunately, the boy caught wind of something he shouldn't have... and he was framed for something he didn't do, disgraced, and sent back home. His poor mother could not bear the shame and died soon after, leaving him orphaned, abandoned, and at the mercy of a family who hated him and would abuse him for the years to come.

However, while he had been studying in the sect, he had found some papers in their secret archives. He had read about a sacrificial ritual that gives up the soul of the one doing the ritual, in order to bring back someone from the dead.

And so he bound the one returning to his body, to rid the world of those who had betrayed and humiliated him... and sacrificed his own body and soul for his revenge.

[ a pause. ] That is the story of Mo Xuanyu. I'm sure a smart man like you can see why I haven't told Wei-xiong.

（ that he makes the shift from text to audio as well is — telling, perhaps. his voice is weary, moreso than huaisang has ever heard it — but it is not a weakness, merely a tolerance. ）

Yes.

（ he would hate knowing that. it would eat at him — not to madness, but certainly to undeserved guilt. ）

Thank you for telling me. I will likewise refrain for now.

（ there is a pause. then, in a tone that is almost gentle — ）

However — given the nature of this place, and the purpose for which we are all here... it should not be something kept from him indefinitely.

contact.

no subject

no subject

cw: familial abuse, suicide

no subject