Lan Wangji shoots Wei Ying a look of incredulity. How could he trust them to use them for their worth? This was a soft version of sticking them in a cave and trying to execute them via tortoise.

Wei Ying had once been exalted, admired, his antics tolerated for his whip-sharp mind and endless talents. And look how quickly they turned on him and decided his unorthodox ways and hard truths were too inconvenient to let him live.

As victors of their war, they spun such narratives about Wei Ying that they teach their children, ingrain in them what an evil and cowardly villain he was. How does he explain to Wei Ying, that in the grand scheme of this hotel they are currently esteemed guests, but in a blink of an eye could be vermin to them?

He takes a breath.

"It was merely a warning. They will not issue another."