The Wedding Curse - Book 2 (Complete) Extras coming Sept 2021

Lost Love, Found Love

Hello again dear readers! I've missed you all so much but my life has been a little crazy busy. I finally found some time to write this update but my heart is very nervous for you to read it. Please let me know if I went too far. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I will welcome any and all comments (or hate mail). I hope your week is going well. Take care everyone!

"Sizhui, what's wrong with him?"  Jingyi asked shakily.  The two young men knelt beside the bed that Lan Yuan had placed his father in after bringing him back inside from the lotus pond outside Jingshi.

"I........I don't know."  Sizhui's voice tried to hide the fear in his heart but Jingyi heard it loud and clear.   "I found him trapped inside a meditational dream calling out for dad.  I-I had to slap him to wake him up." Sizhui's expression flinched at the painful memory.  "He came out of it for just a minute but then collapsed again and I haven't been able to wake him up.  Something is definitely wrong."

"What can we do?"  Jingyi gently took one of Lan Yuan's hands in his and held it firmly, offering whatever support he could.  Even though Lan Zhan was not his adoptive father like Sizhui's, the boy had always felt close to him and thought of him as a father figure.  It hurt more than he let on to see this strong and fearless man lying unresponsive, mumbling the name of the man he loved more than life itself.

It also pained Jingyi greatly to see his dear friend at a loss of what to do.  Sizhui was always able to maintain a level head and figure things out which, in turn, helped Jingyi to remain calm.  Now, they both looked at each other, hoping the other had all the answers to a problem neither of them could solve.

"Help me sit him up, Jingyi.  I want to see if I can find any sign of a talisman or curse.  Anything that might explain this."

The two young cultivators moved to raise Lan Zhan into a sitting position. The elder man's head drooped to his chest as Jingyi sat in front of him, supporting his weight, while Sizhui laid his broad hands against his father's back, gliding them ever so slowly over Wangji's smooth white robes.  Lan Yuan's eyes were closed in deep concentration, his breathing methodical and relaxed.  His mind focused on only one thing. 

THERE! 

He felt it.  The dark energy tickled his fingertips before pricking his nerves in defense.  The talisman was so faint he had almost completely missed it.  Sizhui was so excited at finding the elaborate trap the Yiling Laozu had placed on his father that he let out a whispered 'YES!' 

"You found it?" Jingyi asked happily, his relief evident.

Lan Yuan nodded slightly, his eyes still closed but his face more relaxed.  His hands continued to move over Lan Zhan's body, however, as his core was sensing something else inside his father.  Seconds passed by and Sizhui continued his search.  'Where did it go?' he thought.  He reached deeper into Lan Zhan's unconscious body until he finally stumbled upon it. 

A second talisman!  But where......?

Lan Yuan's eyes shot open, shock and embarrassment flooding through him.  He blinked rapidly at Jingyi who sat there staring at him, his gaze then flitting all over the room until it rested once again on Wangji's back.  His face filled with hesitant determination and his jaws clenched and unclenched in the blink of an eye.

"Jingyi, please go get Elder Qiren." Sizhui said, his voice commanding yet soft.  It was trait he had learned from listening to his uncle Xichen.

"But, what's wrong with........" Jingyi asked before being interrupted by a warm smile and a hand on his arm from the boy who made him blush.

"Please, A-Yi.  Just do it." Lan Yuan begged.  He squeezed the younger boy's arm before pulling Lan Zhan backwards, taking all of his father's weight onto his chest, wrapping his arms around him in a protective embrace.