Lan Zhan surges back to her feet, balanced entirely on her left leg, and catches the whip from the air. She yanks, hard, freeing the handle from Wen Chao's grasp and whipping it back across his own face.

Wen Chao stumbles backwards, his hand coming up to where he was struck. Blood drips from the corner of his mouth. He holds his hand up and stares at the red smears. For a moment it looks as though he's going to physically choke on his rage, ideally to the point of fatal qi deviation, but then his eyes narrow and he lowers his hand. 

"Let her down," he says coldly. The soldiers comply. 

Wei Ying, unprepared, collapses to the ground in an ungainly heap. 

Lan Zhan is at her side in an instant, gripping her arm. "Wei Ying."

Wei Ying gives her something that attempts to be a reassuring smile. 

"Seize them and bring them to the dungeons," he orders the soldiers, flinty-eyed. 

"You can do what you want to me, but leave Lan Zhan alone!" 

Wen Chao slaps her. "I can do what I like to her," he says coldly. "The rebellious Cloud Recesses have been crushed." 

Wei Ying swings her head around to look at Lan Zhan with distraught concern. 

Lan Zhan wants to touch Wei Ying's cheek and soothe the forming bruise away. She wants to punch Wen Chao in the face.

Instead, she avoids Wei Ying's eyes as the guards fall upon them both and wrestle chains around their wrists. 

Jin Zixuan has marched closer. "Wen Chao, how dare you! You would treat the first disciples of two major sects like this?"

"If you think the Lan are still a major sect, you information is very much out of date."

This is as confusing as it is horrifying. Zixuan's father had said that the Qishan Wen were still behaving within bounds, when they'd left for Indoctrination! Zixuan doesn't know what this means about the fate of the Lan Sect, but it very much seems out of bounds.

"What did you do?"

"What the Qishan Wen sect chooses to do is none of your concern."

"-- even still, it is unacceptable for you to treat Lan-er guniang this way. No one came to indoctrination from any sect to be trod upon by you!"

Well. Technically Father said the Jin disciples were supposed to be trod on as necessary, but he has evidently been misinformed about the depths of the Wen Sect's depravity!

"You came here to be taught how to behave. I can see that you still have far to go."

"I need to learn how to behave? Wen Chao, you're deranged! Nothing you're meant to teach us can require putting women in a dungeon."

Wen Chao makes another gesture and one of the soldiers hits Jin Zixuan hard in the belly. 

WOW WHAT THE FUCK

RUDE

Lan Zhan will use this diversion to get a better look at Wei Ying and assess her injuries. Did the whipping draw blood?

If it did, it hasn't seeped through the dark layers of her dress yet.

Wei Ying attempts to convince her with facial expressions that Wei Ying is fine and Lan Zhan doesn't have to worry about her. 

Jin Zixuan is huffing and attempting to catch his breath. "Wen Chao you're going to regret behaving like this. We were doing our jobs! Do you want to go spread the manure yourself?"

"Your insolence is unacceptable. Clearly you're going to have to be taught better." He jerks his chin and some soldiers grab Jin Zixuan too.