( ...there are, in the schools of exorcism, a distinct variety of exotic approaches to tame the dead: those who steer towards aggression, those who lure, those who wait. Those who seduce ghosts, those who weaponise them.

Then there is Xie Lian, who speaks to them as if he were a fishwife at the marketplace, peddling her wares.

Extraordinary, before Lan Wangji's unblinking eyes, not that he makes the attempt, but that it appears incorrigibly successful. He tilts his head to watch the spectacle, at once bemused, amused and unable to fully comprehend what persists before him.

He opens his mouth to say something. Closes it. Opens it. Then, finally: )

You forget yourselves. Shame your ancestors. There — ( Pointedly, behind himself, where the Motherless floats and sprawls. ) Thrives your enemy.

( Let shame, guilt and regret do the trick. )