OUR HAPPILY EVER AFTER (A WANGXIAN STORY)
Chapter 16
The town was lively as usual and Wei Ying walked cheerfully with his hands behind him. Lan Wangji just enjoyed the view of an excited Wei Ying and only occasionally glanced back to check on the guys behind them. The boys lowered their heads whenever he did that, so he tried to limit it. Wei Ying convinced him not to be harsh on them. They didn't really break a rule since the crime was done outside Gusu. Aside the fact that they were now old enough to move out on their own, they could even start a family now. So Lan Wangji just decided to let it slide. But he would let them worry a little to deter them.
Jin Ling walked side by side with Zizhen as their sect disciples followed them. The Lan disciples walked ahead of them while they were behind. He stopped when he reached a small stall. "Zizhen...What do you think would be a perfect gift for a special someone?", Jin Ling asked him. Zizhen was the sentimental one and easily knew what to do when it came to romance.
Zizhen, "Hmm... Just get Jingyi a pendant."
Jin Ling turned to him with a shock on his face, "What, you think I don't know you well enough to tell?", Zizhen laughed. Jin Ling covered his mouth, hoping the Gusu boys did not hear him. "Shut up!" Jin Ling pulled him away from the stand and they continued walking.
Lan Wangji bowed when an elderly man directed him towards the forest and he went in with his entourage. It was not long till they came across a tree with an inscription carved on it. "Do not hunt here, or be hunted.", Wei Ying read. He laughed lightly at the shabby writing and then moved forward. They searched for quite sometime before they realized something. "Huh... Lan Zhan, did we not pass this tree a while ago?", Wei Ying asked as he saw the same shabby writing.
Lan Wangji, " Wei Ying, the person could have written it everywhere.". Wei Ying only nodded then had an idea.
They continued walking for another hour, then they came to another tree with the same carved writing on it, 'Do not hunt here, or be hunted.' Wei Ying went around the tree, then dug something from the ground. "See, I told you it was the same tree.", Wei Ying lifted a talisman he buried in the ground. Its colour turned black before then and Wei Ying sighed. "We've been going round in circles. This must be why the hunters could not find their way back." he said.
Jin Ling, "Then how do we also get out."
Lan Sizhui, "We cant, not until we break the illusion by catching the one who cast it." Lan Wangji turned to the boy and then to Wei Ying with a lifted brow.
Wei Ying put up a nervous smile, "Erm, Lan Zhan, sorry... A little knowledge would not hurt him.". Lan Wangji didn't say anything and walked forward. He drew out Wangji(his zither), and played fiercely. The waves went out but suddenly bounced back with the same force. The boys jumped and tried to block. "Idiots!, just duck!" Jin Ling said while he easily dodged. Wei Ying laughed as he agreed with him on that. "The Lan juniors are always so dramatic." Wei Ying chuckled but stopped immediately when he saw Lan Zhan was looking at him.
" Honey, I think we should wait it out. I could break the barrier but we would miss what we're looking for... I will break it when the time is right." Wei Ying smiled to him. The juniors averted their gaze from them clumsily. Jin Ling however starred a little longer then took a peek at Jingyi but was drawn back by Zizhen when he got pinched. "Focus, lover boy.", Zizhen whispered and Jin Ling turned red.
They decided to camp there and waited for the sun to go down.
Wei Ying was playing his flute when Jin Rulan walked to him.
Jin Ling, "Uncle, can we talk?"
Wei Ying smiled. Jin Ling only called him Uncle when he needed help and the former had gotten used to it. He motioned for the boy to sit beside him. Lan Wangji and the other Lan boys were in a corner meditating while the Lanling Jin and the Baling Ouyang sect disciples were on watch for anything suspicious.
Jin Ling, "Uncle, what did Hanguanjun do to gain your heart?"
Wei Ying was quite surprised with the question. He looked at his nephew with a smile and said, " So you've also found someone special."
Jin Ling could not hide his flushed face and only lowered his eyes as Wei Ying chuckled. " Don't tease me and just tell me what Hanguanjun did." he said in a rush.
Wei Ying laughed and a smirk appeared, he huffed, "Simple, he kidnapped me!". His nephew looked up at him, bewildered by the reply he got. It was true that Hanguanjun was always around his uncle when he resurrected but he never saw it as a kidnap. His other uncle was trying to capture Wei Ying then, so he assumed Hanguanjun was just keeping the other from harm's way. He never thought Wei Ying felt that way about it.
Jin Ling, "Were you not the one that said you wanted to go with him?... Did you not need his protection then?"
Wei Ying, "Pfft! Not really, my plan was to raise some fierce corpses to help me find a good place to live in peace. But Little fuddy duddy just had to find me and so did Jiang Cheng. I did try to escape several times. Hahah! But now I'm glad Lan Wangji kept me by his side no matter what.". He took a peek at the older man meditating and smiled."So, this person you love...Find a way to keep them by your side." Wei Ying added. Jin Ling also looked towards where the boys meditated with their master, staring at particular boy in white robes.
A snap sound alerted them and they stood to their feet. Wei Ying drew out blood and wrote on a piece of paper, then sent it into the direction. 'Crack', they heard a shuttering sound. "Hurry, lets go.", Wei Ying run ahead and everyone else followed. He shot out another talisman and heard a squeaky sound. Lan Wangji stuck a chord on his zither but it bounced back again, and Wei Ying managed to block it.
Lan Wangji, "Wei Ying! Be careful". Wei Ying nodded then picked out Chenqing. As he played the boys readied their sword. Truly something came flying their way and they defended themselves quickly.
Zizhen, "Sizhui, watched out!", he knocked down an arrow with his sword. Lan LiMin and Lan Yong fought well but still needed help from Jingyi. As their senior disciple battled several arrows, he was pulled by someone. "Careful, don't get hurt!", Jin Ling said when he saved him from being impaled by a tree.
Lan Jingyi flinched. A memory seemed to have sparked in his mind but it was a bit blurry and didn't make sense. But he remembers hearing Jin Ling's voice.
"Uncle! The trees are moving!" Jin Ling shouted once he let the other go. Wei Wuxian took note of the warning and then had an idea. instead of a talisman he drew on the tree. He played the flute again and the tree began to move in a berserk manner. "Lan Zhan, stay right behind me, we are probably dealing with a shape shifting demon." He grabbed Wangji's hand and pulled him from another tree. Lan Wangji unsheathed his sword and got ready to fight.
Wei Ying's tune on the flute became more fierce. So fierce that the boys had to cover their ears. "Wei Ying, don't over do it...You'll hurt yourself." Lan Wangji said as he fought with some trees. The sound got louder and even messier as Wei Ying put in more effort. This melody reminded Wangji of the destructive tune JinGuanYao used on Nie Minjie. This was even more dangerous and he worried about the juniors. "Wei Ying! that's enough!!", he shouted as he realized even he could not stand the sound and the other disciples had already stopped fighting and were on their knees. But Wei Ying kept playing like he was possessed. Sizhui felt something drip from his ears and he saw that it was actually blood when he touched it.
Wei Wuxian suddenly stopped and the trees halted. "Bring him to me." He said and the trees blocking the way parted. One tree fell to the ground like falling timber and it began to shrink in size. Soon it turned into a young man with pale white skin and white hair. He did not look like a hideous monster but had a very beautiful and innocent face. Wei Ying's bright red eyes turned back to its normal grey and he run to Lan Zhan's side. "Lan Zhan! I'm sorry... I had to draw him out. Are you alright." Wei Ying asked sincerely and the other just nodded and got up. They then attended to the other disciples and Wangji gave each a special pill to help them with the pain.
The demon was grabbed by two trees as Wei Ying interrogated him. When he refused to talk about what he did to the hunters, Wei Ying played a little tune to disrupt him. Soon he gave in and said, "The trees...I hid them there."
Wei Ying, "So that's why they moved...". He played again and this time the trees opened up in the stem and about ten men fell out. Jin Ling and his disciples checked and found out they were still breathing.
They took their attention off the weak demon and focussed on helping the men. When he felt no one was watching, the demon launched an attack at Wei Ying and stabbed him in the back with a hunter's arrow. Lan Wangji became furious and attacked with Bichen.
Wei Ying, "Lan Zhan! Don't kill him... He's just a kid."
"Who are you calling a kid! I'm over a hundred years old!" The demon answered in rage.
Lan Wangji, "See, he already wants to die..."
Wei Ying, " Lan Zhan I'm fine, really." He showed his back to his husband. There was no scar on him. "The arrow was old and could not go deep... It was just a scratch so it healed quickly." Wei Ying smiled and Wangji backed down. The demon panted and grunted from the pain in the left side of his rib where Bichen had pierced though. Wei Ying went to the young man and fed him a pill. When it closed its eyes, he drew an array and the demon disappeared.
Wei Ying, "See, I took care of it. Now lets go."
On their Way back Lan Yong asked, "How come it just disappeared, did it die?". "No, it's hidden just like Lady MeiRong. Senior Wei probably thinks it not evil.", Zizhen answered.
Lan Yong, "How can something that hid ten men into trees not be evil?"
"Not everything is black and white.", Zizhen replied as he walked ahead.
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After they settled down and refreshed themselves at Jinlintai, they met for Dinner at the banquet hall. The hunters were sent home to their families and the case was closed. "A demon took over the forest and kidnapped some men.... That should be all, thank you for your help." Jin Ling wrapped up on his own report and thanked His Uncle and his partner for their help.
Lan Jingyi was still eating when Lan LiMin drew his attention to something.
Lan LiMin, "Jingyi Shixiong, there's a mark on your neck... Did you get hurt at the hunt?"
Lan Yong who sat at the other side of their Shixiong also stretched his neck trying to see what it was. "Don't bother trying, you cant see it from there... Looks like a bite." LiMin said. Lan Sizhui did not really pay any attention to the conversation and sipped on his tea. "You must be seeing things, I didn't get bitten!" Jingyi searched for the unknown mark with his finger. He paused and traced it when he felt a tiny bit of pain where the print was. Like a sudden rush he recalled something again. He remembered whimpering while a man in golden robes bit on his neck the night they drank together.
After they finished eating, the Elders left them early again. Jingyi rose to his feet, walked straight to the host and hit him hard in the face. The other boys were drawn to the sudden attack and they tried hard to get Jingyi from Jin Ling. "What did you do! You're dead meat, you hear me?!" Jingyi yelled as he was dragged out by Lan Yong and Lan LiMin. Sizhui and Zizhen attended to Jin Ling but the sect leader forbade them from touching him and left in anger.
The next day, the Lan disciples got ready to leave for Gusu. Wei Ying was disturbed when he saw the mark on Jin Ling's lips but the boy lied that he got hurt playing with Fairy. All the while Jingyi tried so hard not to look at him. Wei Ying forcefully applied medicine to the wound and after pampering his nephew a little, they left the sect.
Things seemed to go back to normal after they returned. Lan Wangji became busier planning for his brother's wedding and running the sect while Lan Xichen was nowhere to be found. Lan QiRen was still himself and still hated Wei Ying for stealing his nephew. Every night Wei Ying would make sweet love to him and stay in his embrace. He was always happy and his doubts about Wei Ying acting weird began to fade.
After another hard day, Lan Wangji returned to the Jingshi, eager to fall into his husband's arms. He entered with a tray full of food he had prepared himself for Wei Ying and set it on the table. Wangji called for him but there was no reply. "Wei Ying...", he called again as he went to the inner chamber, but there was no sign of him. So he sat beside the table and waited with a book in hand.
Lan Wangji waited, and waited... and waited, but his person did not return...
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That's it for this chapter...Bet you didn't expect it to come so soon XD... I hope you liked it. Do you think Wei Ying will come home? I'd love to read your comments and your thoughts. I'm sorry for any grammatical errors and please forgive me if the chapter was too long. Please vote if you liked this chapter and I promise to update soon. See you soon dear WangXian baby : )
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