This may have been another moment when he would have done well to ask questions. As tired as he is, and as urgent as the situation, the offer was too tempting to refuse. He nearly regrets it. The way Wangji takes his arm immediately calls up an uncomfortable memory, that day at the lake, but he only tenses and allows him to continue.

Back then it had all seemed to be part of a ritual, acting on superstitions that he knows now didn't help him avoid any consequences. This time he can tell as soon as he starts that something is happening. A sensation like a pulse of static or a rush of a current passes between them. His nerves spark to life and he's swiftly and alarmingly awake. What couldn't have been more than a minute seems to last in a suspended space of time, and he watches him intently as he tries to get a sense of how he's doing this.

When he finishes it's the best he's felt since magic was last used on him, forcing him to sleep for longer than he had in weeks, if he'd then gone on to down several pots of coffee. If he hadn't watched him do it, he would swear he'd given him some similar type of drug. There's still an underlaying anguish beneath it, but it no longer feels like suppressing it is taking all of his willpower. His natural limits are suddenly wiped clean.

Five nearly misses what Wangji says next and gives him a confused look, but doesn't ask for clarity. The man appears drained, more than he already did, and it's strange to think he willingly handed over what little reserves he had. If this is temporary, he can't waste time thinking about what he did and why, or what he owes him for the favor.

This time when he pulls on his powers, they respond easily. He takes a deep breath and nods, then disappears in the next instant in a flash of light.