WangXian Forever

Chapter 22 Research

Nie Huaisang was hurrying back to his Unclean Realm, lost in thought. His spies had been very busy, and he had much to process. By now, he knew Jiang Cheng, XiChen and the rest were within the walls of the fortress that was his home.

Wei Ying was badly injured, still unconscious, which was bad news. They needed to find out everything possible about who had taken him and why. Any delay in this could result in bad consequences, and above all, Nie Huaisang prided himself on being prepared. He would reach home in a day or two, and thus begin setting wheels in motion.

*****

Wei Ying was resting on his front in the healer's quarters. Lan Zhan had not left his side, forcing himself not to flinch every time the other prone man whimpered, obviously in pain.

The healer kept muttering under his breath, words like, 'savages' and 'brutes', tutting at the sheer amount of damage to his back. Bandages were applied, ointment lathered on and then finally, he covered Wei Ying with a blanket.

Lan Zhan stopped him from leaving with a hand on his arm, raising a brow.

The man stopped, deeply sighing. "He's dehydrated, malnutritioned, weak, quite possibly still aware of the pain, even though I have given him something for it. You saw his back."

"I will watch over him."

"Good. He needs rest more than anything else."

"When can he travel?"

"Planning to take him somewhere?"

Lan Zhan nodded.

"Two weeks at least, then."

Lan Zhan sat next to Wei Ying and held his hand. He finally allowed himself to feel relief after so long. His shoulders sagged and silent tears fell from his eyes.

That was how XiChen and Jiang Cheng found him, hours later.

"We met the healer. And Huaisang is on his way back." XiChen updated him.

"We can go back to Lotus Pier in a few-" Jiang Cheng started to say.

"No!" Lan Zhan looked up at him. "When he can travel, I am taking him back to Cloud Recesses."

"He's MY brother! I can take him where I like!" Jiang Cheng shouted.

"And look what happened to him! You are clearly incapable!" The calmness in his words did nothing to hide the fire in his eyes.

Jiang Cheng released Zidian out of frustration, and XiChen, ever the diplomat, quickly intervened, stopping Lan Zhan from using Bichen.

"Let's keep calm, and wait for him to get better before deciding anything." He placated, standing between them, arms out.

On the bed, Wei Ying moaned, and their conflict was forgotten.

"Wei Ying!" Lan Zhan returned to his side.

"Lan Zhan," he sighed, trying to smile. "You found me."

"You were kept in Nightless City."

"Master Wei, is there anything you can tell us about who took you?" Lan XiChen asked.

He whispered one word.

"Yangsui."

*****

By the next day, Nie Huaisang had returned. When he learned what they were supposed to be looking for, he dispatched his best disciples to the recently extended library to search for answers.

In the days of his brother ruling the clan, his passions had always been more towards the physical side of combat and sword cultivation. When Nie Huaisang took over, he made sure value was given equally to the arts and cultures. Thus now, his library was famed amongst the four remaining major clans as one of the best, even rivaling the library of GusuLan clan in Cloud Recesses.

Lan XiChen helped him, while Jiang Cheng spent his time on their training ground, venting.

*****

On the third day, Wei Ying could sit up with help, and a lot of pillows. He found if he didn't move (at all), the pain was manageable.

Lan Zhan stayed as close as possible, even to the point of moving in another bed to be with him.

"Lan Zhan?"

"Mn?"

"I'm sorry, I-I lost the ring. They took it from me-"

Lan Zhan pulled it out from his sleeve and placed it on his finger. It was worth it to see the billion watt smile.

"You found it!" He wanted to reach for him, but ended up gasping in pain.

"What do you want to do?" Lan Zhan asked, worried.

"I wanted to hug you." Wei Ying looked down. "But I'll save them for you. Thank you for finding me."

Lan Zhan stood up and gently placed Wei Ying's head against his own chest, careful not to jostle.

"Jiang Cheng picked it up when we found you." He waited for a moment, giving them both time to enjoy this feeling.

"I thought I would never see you again." A sob broke free.

Lan Zhan felt the wetness on his chest. "I'm sorry it took us so long to find you."

He bent and kissed his lips to comfort, still chapped from dehydration.

"How did you find me?" Wei Ying asked later.

"Nie Huaisang."

"Wow. I never thought I'd appreciate his... gift."

"Mn."

They were interrupted by the same man and Lan XiChen, who followed, both excited.

"We found something."

Wei Ying leaned back and braced himself. "Go on."