WangXian Forever 3

Chapter 19 Family

Wei Ying stared at the little girl, both of them at a stalemate. Neither was going to back down.

"You have to drink this." He told her again.

"No."

"But it's good for you."

"Tastes yucky." She made a face.

Wei Ying was reminded of all the times he had complained to Lan Zhan about this. Maybe he could come up with a talisman to make medicine taste better. Much better...

"My grandmother is going to kill me if you don't drink this." He wasn't entirely sure that was a lie.

She eyed the muddy liquid in his hand.

"Hui Gai, save me!" She yelled.

The demon appeared, bewildered and looking all around him for the threat. He saw Wei Ying with the medicine in his hands and rolled his eyes.

"Oh."

"He's trying to make me drink that!" She said, staring intently at him.

"It's medicine. It's supposed to help you." He replied, dryly.

"Then you can drink it." She folded her arms across her chest.

Hui Gai hated that posture. There was no reasoning with her now. And then he had an idea. He angled his body so she couldn't see him slyly winking at Wei Ying.

"Something in your eye?" Wei Ying asked, oblivious.

Hui Gai was going to strangle someone soon...

"This medicine is good for her, but my body is different." He announced, hoping this would work.

"What do you mean?" She asked, coming around to face him, curious.

"What's good for you, isn't necessarily good for me. But, I promised to protect you with my life, so I'll drink it for you." He went to reach for it, but she shoved him out of the way.

"No! No, you can't!" She snatched the cup out of Wei Ying's hand and downed it in one go.

Then she turned back to the demon. "I just saved your life! Now you owe me." She stomped out of the cave, smirking.

The demon scowled and vanished, muttering bad words under his breath.

*****

Li XiWang was recovering slowly. Her daily routine consisted of soaking in the Grandmaster's special tub full of a questionable liquid in the afternoon. At these times, Lan Zhan would take Wei Ying to rest under the Peach tree, playing their melody on Wangji.

Wei Ying would lie down with his head on Lan Zhan's lap, eyes closed, sometimes napping. One day, the little girl came outside early, listening to the notes and looking around her in wonder.

"Look!" She said, excitedly. She touched Lan Zhan, and suddenly the air around them was filled with colours, little bright bubbles that floated all around them. He was so surprised, he stopped playing and the bubbles disappeared, one by one as the sound echoed away.

"Do it again." She told him, eyes sparkling.

He smiled at her then and resumed playing.

After a while, she tugged on his sleeve.

"What is this called?"

"WangXian."

Her eyes widened. "Did you make it?" She whispered, her voice full of awe.

He nodded.

"You must love Wei ge-ge a lot."

"Mn."

"I want to make a song for him too." She said, wistfully. "Will you help me?" She climbed into his lap on the other leg that wasn't supporting his husband, without waiting for an answer.

She stroked his hair gently. Lan Zhan just watched them, unable to speak because of the tidal wave of emotion in his heart.

Wei Ying stirred.

"That's nice." He mumbled. "I love it when you play." Gradual realization made his eyes pop open. "If you're playing, how are your hands in my hair!?" He got up and stared at them, the little girl smiling back at him. His gaze softened; they looked wonderful like that. Like a family.

So instead of dealing with how he felt, he grabbed Li XiWang, tickling her ribs. "You woke me up!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She screamed with laughter as his fingers mercilessly continued their torture.

Baoshen Sanren watched them from the mouth of the cave, a hand on her chest, a smile gracing her lips.

*******

They were sitting on bamboo mats inside the cave, Lan Zhan on his right and Li XiWang on his left. Wei Ying looked at his husband for support and found it in abundance, with Lan Zhan reaching over to hold his hand.

Li XiWang watched them both and quietly took his other hand in hers.

"Little rabbit, you know we love you very much." He smiled at her.

She nodded, sensing his nervousness.

"Well, we were wondering if you would allow us to adopt you. We could become-"

She jumped up and into his lap, shouting, "a family!"

"I was going to say, 'your parents'!" But he beamed at her unreservedly.

"Same thing." Lan Zhan put his arms around both.

The little rabbit rubbed her nose with both of them.

"But there's something else we have to talk about." Wei Ying said, cautiously. "Even if you don't want to, even if you're scared to."

She stared back at him owlishly.

"You know what I have to ask you, don't you?"

She hid her face in his neck. Lan rubbed circles on her back, encouraging Wei Ying with his eyes.

"Little rabbit, I need you to be brave. Can you please do that?"

She waited for a moment and then nodded, not looking up.

"What happened after you left here? Can you tell me?" When she wouldn't speak, he added, "you're safe now. We will always keep you safe. But you will feel much better after you tell us."

She leaned back to search his eyes, looking for a lie. Instead she found trust, warmth and overflowing love.

"Okay. I'll tell you." She replied, simply.