Soul bonds

New leads, new hope

QingHeng Jun and Lan QiRen sat quietly at the Orchid Chamber, drinking the freshly brewed tea. The storm outside was nothing compared to the storm they were anticipating.

QingHeng Jun could not help stare at his brother's face. Lan QiRen had shaved his beard off. He only left some stubble. Although he looked much younger, his face was somewhat comical to behold.

He tried to focus on the reason he called on Lan Qiren and coughed.

"QiRen, there is a storm coming..."

"Hmm..."

"It is only a matter of days now..."

"Hmm..."

"Have you found out anything?"

"Nothing much..."

"After years, the Heart Melody echoed in the black mountains... Care to explain?"

"It was A-Ying... His connection with the Chenqing allowed him to play the melody..."

"You better prepare yourself, QiRen. We need to talk to the children... A-Zhan and A-Qing know about the curse..."

Lan QiRen put his cup down.

"It's too early for Wei Ying to know..."

"I agree... Would you be agreeable to disclose everything to A-Zhan and A-Qing at least? They are doing their best to find a remedy for A-Ying. The more information we give them, the faster they will progress..."

"All right Ge! I will talk to them... I don't know how A-Zhan will take it. I think we should also tell A-Huan..."

"Do as you wish... We are running against time. A-Zhan came to me early this morning and told me what he and A-Qing had found. I asked him not to say anything to A-Ying for the time being... The more you delay with this, the more the tension between the two will grow. A-Zhan is finding it very hard to keep things from his husband."

Lan QiRen breathed heavily and continued.

"I will find a way... Ge, there is something I wanted to ask you... I want to consult the Sect archives and check the records around the time the little one went missing..."

QingHeng Jun coughed.

"Is it about Lady Qi and the Su family?"

Lan QiRen's eyebrows shot up in surprise. QingHeng Jun whispered.

"It's funny you are mentioning it now... Wei just transmitted a message from FengDi... He is also wondering about our dear relatives... Is it a coincidence?"

Lan QiRen lifted his hand to stroke his non-existing beard and his brother smiled. The Lan Sect archives were under the purview of the Su Elder and as his wife, Lady Qi had full access to it. And it was no secret to anyone from the Cloud Recesses household that Lady Qi held a grudge against CangSe Sanren for refusing her son's hand.

"Ge, there are protection arrays in the caves..."

"No need to mention it, I know..."

"How?"

"She told me..."

"When?"

"When I took mother to see her when A-Ying was born..."

Lan QiRen averted his gaze. I missed out on so many things. If only I could go back in time... Why did she do that? Did she foresee some danger?

"At that time, I did not give too much importance to what she was saying. In the midst of postpartum ramblings, she told me that the Yin energies were weakening the wards the Lans had raised and that she had placed extra barriers in case our wards fail during an attack..."