Jiang Cheng quietly attempts to tug his sister out of the way but you know what Wen Chao really has gone way too far so he doesn't try that hard. 

"I can see I've put up with far too much from you," Wen Chao tells Jin Zixuan. "You can tie her up yourself here and now, or none of you are leaving this cave alive."

Like Fuck He Will.

Before Zixuan can say anything, another Jin disciple crumbles and lunges for Lan Zhan behind his back.

Wei Ying lunges for him and kicks him between the legs.

Hard.

The disciple yelps loudly and falls over.

Jin Zixuan scowls down at him. "Coward. Disciples like you are a disgrace to the Jin Sect!"

Wen Chao decides that the appropriate response to this is to throw a temper tantrum and order the soldiers to attack. 

Fortunately, while the soldiers cannot hope to aspire to the sheer levels of incompetent buffoonery that Wen Chao exemplifies, they're certainly weak enough that relieving one of a sword isn't too difficult. 

Many disciples immediately join in on the fighting, wrestling away swords and whacking soldiers with torches. Lan Zhan herself holds up decently, despite her injuries. She knocks down any Wen that gets close to her. Not many do; Wei Ying is a very effective guard. 

Wei Ying is a very effective guard, but not effective enough. There are too many soldiers. 

She's going to have to cut this problem off at the root. 

It isn't hard to bait Wen Chao with his own clan traditions that he was forcing them to memorize, and then once he's just a little ways away from that terrifying bodyguard of his, it isn't hard to take him hostage (counter-hostage?) and retreat to the big rock in the middle of the pool. 

"Put down your swords or I start spilling blood," she calls. 

After a nervous pause, Wen Qing barks orders for the men to drop their swords.

The standoff continues for a little longer, Wen Zhuliu having to be prodded again to stand down and not try any shit, when the ground beneath Wei Ying and her captive begins trembling. 

"Earthquake," she hisses, cursing the poor timing. 

--The ground isn't shifting here, just under his sister--

"No, it isn't that--"

RAAR CRANKY WAKEUP TIME

Oh shit

OH SHIT

There’s some alarmed yelling and clanking as everyone fumbles for their swords.

Wei Ying holds very, very still and clamps a hand over Wen Chao's mouth so he can't scream and draw this thing's attention faster. 

The thing doesn't seem to care about Wei Ying and Wen Chao; instead, its snake-head swivels towards the clanking where Wen soldiers grab up their swords.

"Quiet," Lan Zhan whispers forcefully. "It cannot see. It's relying on sound."

The creature, perhaps sensate of the weight on its shell, perhaps in memory of recent sound there, pokes its snout menacingly in Wei Ying and Wen Chao's general direction. 

It doesn't take too long for Wen Chao to break, wrestling Wei Ying's hand off his mouth and screaming for Wen Zhuliu to save him. 

Wei Ying yeets Wen Chao, who does not stop making noises, because he is an idiot. When the creature makes to lunge towards the noise, Wei Ying grits her teeth and smacks it with her stolen sword, not because she has any objection to it eating Wen Chao, but the innocent are mixed together with the guilty over there and she can't let one of her fellow non-Wens--or Wen Qing--get munched. 

Quickly realizing her disadvantageous tactical position, she jumps over from the creature's back to solid ground. She throws a glitter talisman in its face, which does less good than she might have hoped. 

The creature's head darts forward, catching a Wen soldier in its jaws and whipping him around like a dog with a chew toy, except slightly less terrifying. 

Disciples start lunging at the tortoise creature, flying at it and attempting to strike at its head one after another. Some of the Wen soldiers kneel down to shoot arrows at the beast. Others amidst the chaos go back to attacking disciples. Lan Zhan blocks a strike from one Wen and then cuts down another.

Wei Ying is busy fighting the fuckoff monster but she has the spatial awareness to realize this and be pissed! --As much as she wants to go protect Lan Zhan, as long as she seems to be holding her own Wei Ying should really focus on the monster--

Well luckily Lan Zhan is completely fine and absolutely holding her own, stolen sword in one hand and torch in another. Her technique is flawless even as pain flares in her leg and something tears in her wounded arm -- ow -- which she firmly ignores.

A soldier lunges suddenly on her right. Lan Zhan spins and whomps him hard across his chest with the flaming torch, and -- loses her grip. The hand she was busy ignoring is red and slippery with blood, now, fuck -- what an offensively stupid oversight -- 

Hands clap down roughly on that shoulder, which hurts enough to stop her from reacting in time to the next soldier on her left. 

Lan Zhan is suddenly not completely fine.

Yeah you bet your ass she isn’t.

Three entire soldiers hold the bitch in place as Lingjiao stalks forward with her branding iron. 

WOW OKAY WHAT THE FUCK UNACCEPTABLE

She is going to be over there now and STABBING one of the dudes who has the GALL to lay a hand on her Lan Zhan. 

THIS IS VERY ANNOYING SHE NO LONGER HAS TIME TO BE AS MENACING AS SHE WANTED

Wang Lingjiao hurls the iron at Lan Zhan's face.