Wen Chao sneers and calls on Jin Zixuan. 

He won't either!

Wen Chao's nostrils flare with anger. 

Wei Ying brightly interrupts his incipient tantrum by volunteering instead.

She folds her hands demurely and smiles and begins reciting the Cloud Recesses rules. Heaven knows she copied them enough. 

Oh.

In his next life Jiang Cheng would like a sister with a functioning self-preservation instinct please!

Wen Chao throws a tantrum and assigns all three of them to go carry manure in a vegetable garden. 

...Wei Ying glances at Lan Zhan. Oops?

That could have easily gone so much worse. Lan Zhan would like a Wei Ying with a  functioning self-preservation instinct in this life! Please!

MANURE??? 

Yes, manure. Guards lead the three of them off to the vegetable garden and show them some them large buckets of manure to lug around and distribute. 

Well this is gross and she's kinda sorry she got Lan Zhan involved with it but on the other hand the peacock hauling buckets of manure and being indignant about the indignity is hilarious. 

"Hey, Lan Zhan, do you think it would be hard to modify you guys's mouth-stopping-up charm to work on noses instead?"

Lan Zhan ignores her and focuses on hooking her buckets up to the bucket-carrying-stick.

Yes, it would obviously be hard. The silencing charm was never designed to block sensory input. Wei Ying is being ridiculous. Talking to Lan Zhan while they are hostages under enemy surveillance is extremely ridiculous.

But obviously you can't taste things while your mouth is closed! Even if the intent is completely different, if the mechanics are related...

Wei Ying hurries to catch up with her. 

"Lan Zhan, I heard something about Wen Xu coming to the Cloud Recesses with an army. Are you okay? Did they find you-know-what?" she asks in a low voice, actually checking to make sure the guards can't hear her. 

She shakes her head stiffly. No, they did not find it. Wei Ying should please extrapolate from that that they are still looking and will easily turn their suspicions on anyone Lan Zhan talks to. Especially Wei Ying, who Wen Chao already despises.

Well, if wishes were horses then beggars would ride; no matter how much Lan Zhan may wish it, Wei Ying hasn't grown a self-preservation instinct in the past five minutes. 

"Did something bad happen?" she asks, and reaches out to put a hand on Lan Zhan's shoulder. 

No sooner has she touched her friend than her hand is struck by a whip, what the fuck. 

She turns to see Wen Chao, followed by a posse of his cronies. To Wei Ying's surprise, Wen Chao is the one holding the whip. Astonishing that he's competent enough to hit what he's aiming at with that thing. Unless, of course, he wasn't aiming for her hand. Hm. 

"I knew you wouldn't be doing your work," he sneers. "What are you two whispering about?"

"Wen Chao, I understand that skills like counting are way too advanced for you, but there was only one person whispering. Lan Zhan didn't say a thing, even though I've been trying to talk to her for hours! She's so stubborn." 

This may have been a mistake, as his gaze turns to her companion and his lip curls. "Oh, I know all about the stubbornness of Lans," he sneers. 

Wow this is exactly what she did not want to happen on multiple levels!!

"Wen Chao," she grinds out, in a way that means leave Wei Ying alone and go fuck yourself.

"Maybe you'll be more cooperative," he drawls, sauntering up to Wei Ying. "Where is the Yin Iron?"

Wei Ying blinks at him innocently. "What do you mean? Didn't Xue Yang take it back here?"

Wen Chao is taken aback by this. "What?"

"Xue Yang stole it while he was escaping Qinghe," Wei Ying lies smoothly. "We thought he was working for you." 

Wei Ying's self-preservation instinct may be a shriveled and vestigial thing but it doesn't take a genius to work out that Lan Zhan will be safer if Wen Chao isn't badgering her about the Yin Iron. 

Lan Zhan neither confirms nor denies this. She glares at Wen Chao and works very hard not to grab Wei Ying back and shove her out of his reach.

Wen Chao glares at her. "I think you're lying." 

"Why would I bother lying to you?" Wei Ying scoffs. "If I knew where the Yin Iron was, I'd just tell you to fuck off. I mean, you've got the moral fiber, general competence, and also odor of this stuff you've got us slopping over your vegetable gardens. It's not like you could really do anything about it." 

Wen Chao goes purple with rage. "You little bitch!" he screeches, flailing his whip at her. She catches it easily, then snaps it back in his face, sending him stumbling backwards. He makes a gesture, and his subordinates shoot magic rope at her similar to the magic chains they had to fight near Dafan mountain. 

This time, Wei Ying does not have her sword. 

ohfuck

The robes lash Wei Ying's arms to her sides and yank her up into the air. Lan Zhan hisses and dives between Wei Ying and Wen Chao with her arms out. 

Wen Chao's whip lashes out at her injured leg. 

Lan Zhan braces for pain, intending to stay firmly put, but her leg cannot physically withstand the blow. She collapses to the ground.

"Hey! I'm the one who called you out, leave her the hell alone!"

Obligingly, Wen Chao turns and hits her with the whip, hard. She hisses involuntarily in pain. 

Jin Zixuan throws down his shovel. "Wen Chao! Don't cross the line!"

Wen Chao sneers disdainfully and attempts to whip Wei Ying again.