Oh no. 

Absolutely not. 

She shoves Lan Zhan out of the way. 

"Wei Ying!"

The brand hits Wei Ying right beneath her collarbone.

Damn it. Lingjiao has to cut her losses here, she won't be able to retrieve the iron without getting very stabbed. Instead she scuttles off to go cling to her boyfriend.

WANG LINGJIAO SURE IS RIGHT ABOUT THE TACTICAL SITUATION. 

Wei Ying grabs her chest where the brand hit and grimaces, but just says, "Lan Zhan, are you okay?"

WHAT SORT OF A QUESTION IS THAT

WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT

No Lan Zhan is NOT okay because her Wei Ying is HURT. "How bad is it?" she demands, dragging herself to the nearest abandoned sword and then to Wei Ying's side.

She hastily removes her hand. "I'm fine, I'm fine!"

Other Wen are also becoming increasingly aware of the tactical situation and their likelihood of being stabbed; the surviving soldiers scramble off after Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao. 

Running sounds like a Great Idea, actually. 

Wei Ying picks up a discarded Wen bow and quiver and shoots at the horrible thing while yelling for everyone to retreat. 

With her and a few others covering their withdrawal, they all make it to the base of the cliff, only to find that the ropes have been cut. Fuck. 

"...we go back to the pool. The maple leaves."

Nod. "There aren't any anywhere else in the cave. There must be another way out under the water. If we can distract that thing somehow..."

"With noise?"

She grimaces. Obnoxious of the peacock to have an actually good idea. 

"Let's try with the torches, first," she suggests. "The fire will stay put without a person having to guard it. Throwing a rock will make a brief noise, but..."

Are there any still-lit torches at hand or nearby? 

A good handful. 

It isn't difficult to set them up at the edge of the pool farthest from the leaves, and then retreat. 

After a few minutes, the creature pokes its head out of the water and investigates. 

Alright, great, let's go Quickly. Zixuan starts shooing people into the water.

Ugh don't be so bossy.

Sneak sneak sneak. 

He foolishly assumes his shijie is right behind him. 

Instead, Wei Ying and Lan Zhan are peering at the creature to make sure it stays distracted while the group streams quietly past. 

For a while, it does. 

Then it tries to eat a torch, scorches its tongue, and blows the thing out with its offended gust of breath. It doesn't take long after that for its meager gaze to wander.

Shit. Fire talisman time.

HISSS.

OH NO

Lan Zhan's hurls another talisman at the beast and lunges forward to grab Wei Ying by the shoulder and shove, sending her soaring out of turtle range. She hears the thing snarl and jumps back herself, flipping in the air --

NOM. The creature bites at her leg. 

Teeth slice through the flesh of Lan Zhan's broken leg. There is -- a lot of pain, and a lot of blood, and the leg buckles when she lands on the rocky bank.