"--Seriously, though, he hates the Wen sect, uh, for good reasons, he spent a little time glowering at the three of us just before your brother recruited us for this mission."

"Mm."

She can go a little slower.

This will earn her GRATEFUL BEAMING from Wen Ying. 

Aaaaaaa that's a FLIGHT HAZARD.

Lan Zhan miraculously does not crashland before they reach Yueyang, where the Yin Iron pulls her.

Oh, nice. Huaisang had been about to request that they touch down here; he is pleased and relieved to see that they're actually landing to enter the town anyway. Before he ran off, he had left Meng Yao a letter saying that he would be in Yueyang in about a week. After all of these quest shenanigans, he hadn't been sure if he would actually make it by when he'd promised, but here he is.

"So the last piece feels close by?"

She nods slowly. "Very close. The exact direction from here is uncertain."

"Ah, hm, that's inconvenient. I haven't heard of any particular concentrations of pure energy to be hiding it, but I hadn't heard of the Flower Lady either..."

"We could ask people in the town if there's anything weird happening nearby? Since, uh, it seems like the Yin Iron likes to do lots of weird things. I think."

"Well, if it is doing something it's probably doing something really dramatic." 

She stops by a food vendor and buys each of them a stick of Tanghulu and inquires about local spookiness. Apparently the local spookiness involves something horrible happening to the local cultivation sect! This is very consistent with the Yin Iron's behavior during That Incident. 

Oh shit.

They should go right away.

Ahahahaha yeahhh he actually might not?? He might just. Wait here for Meng Yao to show up. You guys go on ahead it's fine.

Yeah sure fine valid. 

Before they get even ten paces away from the town gates, Lan Zhan gasps and stumbles to her knees. The Yin Iron fragments burn shockingly, impossibly cold, painful even through their protective pouch. Resentful energy sears Lan Zhan's breast and her vision blurs -- 

She sees blood - and screaming, people are being slaughtered - bodies with cracked skin and blank eyes and so, so much blood - 

Something very bad is happening, right at this moment - it hurts -
 

"Lan Zhan? Lan Zhan!" 

When she regains her senses, Wen Ying is on her knees beside her, hand on one shoulder and her face etched with worry. 

Lan Zhan pants for breath, her eyes wide with horror.

"Chang Sect," she rasps, clutching her chest. "Right now --- go -- "

Wen Ying is about to agree and tell Qing-jie to look after Lan Zhan, but then she remembers what she promised A-Ning and also Jiejie yelling at her for trying to go off alone, and says, "Not without you. Are you okay? What's wrong?"

She shakes her head, fighting to catch her breath. "It is -- fine -- the Yin Iron reacted. I can go." Lan Zhan struggles to her feet.

"Wait a moment, Lan-guniang, let me check you first --" she takes Lan-guniang's arm, supporting her, and touches her other hand to Lan-guniang's wrist.

"-- you seem fine. I'll check more thoroughly for subtle effects later, let's go."

They reach Chang Manor. 

The ominous knocking occurs as the candy woman had said. 

They bust in to find a very large number of corpses with some very familiar signs on them. 

It is definitely too late for even Wen Qing to help any of them. 

Her chest feels tight and prickly, and her eyes sting. She is - glad, at least, that Wen Ning has stayed behind. This would upset him.

This is upsetting her.

Clearly the last Yin Iron shard has been used here. Hopefully it remains close by enough that they can still track it down quickly, prevent this butchery from happening to any other sect - 

She holds her Yin Iron pouch aloft, turning slowly...

Once she turns all the way around she's greeted by the sight of some asshole lounging on the rooftops.

"Welcome!" 

"You! You asshole, what are you doing here?"