Fluffy WangXian Oneshots Book Two

Crime & Chaos Part 7

Wei WuXian didn't know what to think. He was so sure that his box was the right one, but now, seeing the identical one in Lan Zhan’s hands made all sorts of doubts stir up in his mind.

“Why on earth are there two?” He complained, grabbing Lan Zhan’s wrist and dragging him into Wei WuXian's tunnel.

“Two?”

“Bingo!”

They're standing in front of the one on top of the pedestal now.

“They're the same.”

“I just said that!” Wei WuXian scowls at the floor. “I mean, why isn't this easier?”

An unexpected laugh leaves Lan Zhan’s mouth. “Then everyone would be trying to rob the Wens.”

“Well, either way, it doesn't solve our problem. Which one do you think holds your jewel?”

“Shall we compare weights?” Wei WuXian climbs onto the lowest cornerstone that was jutting out.

But the moment he lifts it up, there's a whooshing sound and water begins to rain down on them, and when Wei WuXian looks down, there's water rushing up through the strange dark holes he had seen on the ground and all along the walls.

“Fuck! I guess this is one booby trap we didn't account for!” Wei WuXian can barely make himself heard over the noise of the rushing waters.

The water level is rising fast, and there's nothing they can do about it.

“Let's take the box and run!” Lan Zhan says urgently.

Just as Wei WuXian grabs it again, there's a rolling sound and a wall of stone crashes into place just behind Lan Zhan, about a foot away.

Now they're well and truly trapped.

The water is rising even faster now, and Wei WuXian can see the panic in Lan Zhan’s eyes.

“We'll have to open them here!” Wei WuXian shouts at him.

Lan Zhan nods.

They both feel all along the sides of the wood, looking for an opening, or a pressure point, but it's really hard. The water is making everything slippery and it's hard to see. The levels of it have risen too, up to Lan Zhan’s calves.

Wei WuXian begins talking to himself too, as he usually does when facing difficult problems, because somehow, it always helps. In his experience, the solution was right there, and he only had to realise it.

“You said the password is Bunny Rabbits…and it's a failsafe…but we already selected the option for overriding the security measures. So is there another failsafe? And there must be a way out of here… we just have to find it.”

He abandons the box and begins searching along the back wall. It's all jagged edges and roughly hewn rock, and the water is up to his waist now. He's cold and hungry, frustrated because tonight has not been easy, and so he almost misses the smooth part of the wall.

At the same time, Lan Zhan says, “I've found something!”

He brings his box over to Wei WuXian, pointing at a funny shaped hole.

“A key hole?” Wei WuXian asks him.

They've got about five minutes before the water will reach their necks; after that, it's however long they can hold their breath. Time is running out.

Wei WuXian's fingers catch on a hole in the wall, too.

When he examines both of them, the holes seem to be of the same size and shape.