WangXian Forever 3

Chapter 12 Letters

Who knew, Lan WangJi, Hanguang-Jun, his very own Lan Zhan, with those beautiful long fingered hands, was a magical entity from the land of massage experts?

Wei Ying couldn't stop moaning in delight as those proficient hands untangled the knots in his back muscles, searching for the cause of that elusive itching. All the ridges, dips and curves of his body were explored thoroughly until Wei Ying felt like a warm syrupy puddle.

This massaging every night had been Lan Zhan's idea, and while he thought it was just an excuse his husband had come up with in order to touch him more, who was he to complain? The truth was, it actually did not alleviate his itchiness at all. Nothing did, but Wei Ying couldn't care about that or anything else, as he was melting into their mattress.

Weakly, he tugged on his husband's sleeve. "Sleep." He slurred, already closing his eyes.

Lan Zhan bent and kissed his forehead, by now, just as happy as his husband. This nightly routine had done wonders for his peace of mind. Sitting with Wei Ying, eating with Wei Ying, even sleeping with Wei Ying couldn't hold a candle to this, this wonderful feeling as if he could show his husband how much he truly loved him.

The days always seemed too long now. In the absence of his brother, clan duties had claimed his attention with a savage cruelty, but then he was of the opinion that anything which took him away from his beloved, was cruel. So he looked forward with blissful happiness to the evenings when he could shut out the rest of the world and hold his own one as they fell asleep together.

*******

Lan Zhan brought in their breakfast with a surprise for Wei Ying, who was predictably still sleeping. That at least, was a positive effect of the other part of their nightly routine, the drinking of this new concoction that the healer had been working on.

Careful not to touch his back, Lan Zhan kissed his husband's cheek to wake him up. As if it was that easy...

His fingers curled up into his robes as Wei Ying pulled him closer unconsciously seeking another one, humming with satisfaction.

"There is something for you." Lan Zhan told him.

His eyes blinked open slowly. "You're so beautiful. I love you, Lan Zhan."

"Mn. Wei Ying is more beautiful." He picked him up and sat with him at the table, still cradling the barely awake one.

If nothing else, the delicious aroma of their morning meal might have the desired effect. One mouthful after another, and sure enough, by the end of the last bite, Wei Ying yawned and stretched in his lap.

"Wei Ying?" Lan Zhan put the four letters into his hands.

Wei Ying looked at them, recognising one as his own letter, he had sent to Li XiWang before his brother's wedding, two weeks ago. He frowned, putting it aside and examining the other three. The writing was unmistakably the little girl's, but other than that, there was nothing else on the outside.

He opened the first one, and was reminded of what she'd written in her last letter. So he opened the other two and found they were identical. He stood up and retrieved the very first letter he had received since Li XiWang had left with her parents and compared all four.

"Why are they exactly the same? Even the date. She put the incorrect date on all of them." The peaceful serenity of waking in the morning vanished, replaced by a feeling of certain uneasiness.

He scrutinised the writings, checking for anything unusual but on the face of it, every single letter seemed perfectly ordinary and concise.

"You know, Lan Zhan, I feel as if something is terribly wrong...and it's staring me in my face, and I can't see it." He held them out to him. "Can you please check these? A fresh pair of eyes might see something..."

Lan Zhan read each one meticulously, his brow creasing worriedly until he got through the last one. "I cannot find anything wrong."

"See? The only thing we have to go on, is the fact that they're all identical. Right?"

"Mn. But if Wei Ying thinks there's something wrong, then there must be."

"I wish there wasn't. I wish that lovely little girl is happy and is living a good life...but," he stared at the letters, "this says otherwise." He tapped his nose, thinking. "She told me she could write in code. Maybe..." he grabbed the letters and spread them out onto the table that Lan Zhan cleared of dishes.

"The date. That's our first clue. Why put the wrong date on? First time could be a mistake, second, maybe forgetfulness, but the third and fourth times? No way." He stared at it, wishing the answer would materialise by itself. Unless...

"What if it's not a date at all...but a key? To crack the code!" Eyes shining with new vigour, Wei Ying snatched a new piece of parchment and a brush.

Lan Zhan suddenly kissed him.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" Wei Ying smiled distractedly at him.

"Wei Ying is clever. Love Wei Ying."

Wei Ying beamed at him before resuming his examination.

Lan Zhan left him to it, having his own work to attend to.

*****

Hours later, after circling every single possible combination of characters, none of which made any sense, he finally broke the code. As he wrote out the only correct version, his hand began to shake when he was able to read it in full. He got up, threw on an extra robe and snatched up the decoded parchment and ran out of the Jingshi, forgetting all about his shoes.

*******

My dear, wonderful readers,

This chapter, at least the beginning part, is my special gift for you. I start work from tomorrow, so it is with a heavy and unwilling heart that I must tell you: it will be impossible for me to write as much as I have been so far. Four chapters a day cannot happen, because there are simply not enough hours in a day, even if I wished it otherwise. So this is my promise to you: at the very least, I will publish one chapter a day, hopefully without fail and if lady luck is smiling at me, then definitely two.

If it was in my hands, I would write everyday forever and ever; nothing brings me as much joy as reading what you think, planning out my chapters and actually writing. So please forgive this soul.