WangXian Forever 4

Chapter 37 Ghost

Lan Zhan helped him dress quickly, pressing a kiss against his temple.

"Later."

Wei Ying shivered at his deep voice, promising a continuation. For now, they had something else to deal with. He opened the door to the children's room, just to check on them; both were asleep in their own beds, much to his relief.

Then they went outside.

Under their window, the ghost of a woman sat, weeping. Every now and again, she let out that terrible scream, eyes unfocused, staring past them.

"What do you think?" Wei Ying whispered, still staring at her.

She looked pitiful. Her clothes were rags, barely clinging onto her thin, bony frame. Her hair was matted and clumpy, thin strands flowing down her back.

She stood up.

Wei Ying unconsciously stepped back, because she was looking straight at him.

"Wangji." Lan Zhan summoned his spiritual weapon.

"Wait! Lan Zhan, I think she's trying to tell us something." Wei Ying said, excitedly.

Indeed, she kept pointing to the inn. Then she walked forward to the gate and lay down on its threshold. Then she screamed again.

Wei Ying couldn't help wondering if it was in frustration.

"Maybe she died there." Wei Ying guessed.

The woman nodded frantically.

"Then maybe we need to talk to our host again." Wei Ying determined. "He may be able to shed more light on this."

"Mn." Lan Zhan sent Wangji back.

Wei Ying went up to the ghost.

"Can you understand what I'm saying?" He asked, gently.

She sat up and nodded.

"Do you think we should talk to the innkeeper again? Does he know something more?"

She looked uncertain then. Maybe he didn't, Wei Ying thought.

"Did they bury you somewhere? Can you please show us?"

She stood up and beckoned them to follow. She led them through a wooded area, trees thickly packed against one another, their branches knitted so tightly that the light of the moon could not penetrate.

It was only by some sixth sense of foreboding that Lan Zhan grabbed Wei Ying's arm, and not a moment too soon, for the ground fell away into a deep ravine, and he would have fallen too.

The ghost had vanished.

Lan Zhan pulled Wei Ying into a fierce hug, their hearts pounding at what could have happened.

"Wei Ying!" He whispered against his hair.

"I-I...I'm okay, Lan Zhan." Wei Ying's arms clamped around him, bringing reassurance to both of them. "Are you?"

"No."

They stayed that way for a while, until Wei Ying could finally take a deep breath.

"Do you think she hasn't been buried? Was her body just thrown over the edge?"

He tried to move, but Lan Zhan didn't let him.

"Don't look."

There was too much hurt lurking in the depths of those golden eyes, that Wei Ying couldn't ignore.

"Let's go back. We can deal with it in the morning." He said, instead.

The hand that gripped his was tight, unwilling to let go, even for a moment.

The village was silent, as was the inn, when they made their way up to their room. Quietly, they slipped into bed, holding each other close.

*****

Lan Zhan couldn't breathe.

He was looking at his Wei Ying, so far away from himself, too far to reach. Standing at the precipice of the cliff, watching the turmoil and chaos explode all around him below. He saw the exact moment that his Wei Ying let go of everything, his heart shattering into dust. Unsalvageable, unretrievable.

His feet flew before he was aware of it, his soul crying out for its other half. He could not live without Wei Ying.

He caught his arm just as he fell.

He had been wounded, lost in what he was seeing, but now that gash on his arm bled profusely. He didn't care.

All that mattered was the face of his beloved, blinking in surprise that he wasn't falling.

Tears fell from his eyes, even as he tried to smile one last time.

"Lan Zhan. Let me go." His voice was calm.

As if Wei Ying wasn't shredding his heart to pieces with those words.

Another sword appeared on his right, still dripping with blood.

Lan Zhan recognised the robes, and told him to stop. But Jiang Cheng was in too much pain to listen. And the heartbreaking acceptance on Wei Ying's face as he closed his eyes for the last time.

But Jiang Cheng must have changed his mind in the last second; he missed on purpose, hitting the stone edge of where they stood. Mini fractures appeared, and Wei Ying knew what would happen if he continued to dangle there.

His weight could break that overhang, plunging two more people to their deaths. So he wrenched his hand away, in an act of sudden strength and fell. He finally closed his eyes, his face a mask of peace.

"WEI YING!!!"

Lan Zhan woke up, panting. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, as if trying to rub away those last images.

Wei Ying sat up too. One look at his face, and he pulled Lan Zhan into his arms. His body shuddered in pain as he cried.

Wei Ying held him tightly, stroking his hair.

"It's alright. It was just a dream, not real." He kept whispering it over and over, until he stilled.

Wei Ying went to move, but Lan Zhan made a noise in protest and held on.

"I'm just getting you some water. Look, I'm right here." He tipped up Lan Zhan's face so he could look into those beautiful amber orbs, half shining in the moonlight slanting across their room. "See?" He pointed to the table that held a pitcher and two cups. "Just here."

Lan Zhan let him go reluctantly.

Wei Ying quickly poured out a cup, holding it to his lips. He drank gratefully, but he kept his eyes on Wei Ying.

Wei Ying offered him another cup, but when he declined, Wei Ying drank it himself, before returning to Lan Zhan.

"Let's lie down."

Wei Ying folded himself into the broad chest, their arms wrapped around each other. Lan Zhan sighed, finally calm.

"Bad dream?" Wei Ying whispered.

He could hear the steady beat of his heart, a slower rhythm than before.

"Mn."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nightless City."

That's all he had to say for Wei Ying to understand.

"Oh, Lan Zhan! I'm so sorry." He kissed his neck. "Do you think what happened tonight triggered those memories?"

"Mn."

"It's okay. I'm right here. That was just a bad dream."

Lan Zhan was silent.

That night was contained the summit of all his nightmares. His fear, ever present, that he would be separated from Wei Ying, made into a reality that he had no wish to relive.

This dream had left him alone, when once it was his companion in the day as well as at night. Every time he closed his eyes, it was all he could see. That beloved face falling far, further and further away.

Wei Ying fell asleep, but Lan Zhan stayed awake, holding his heart and telling himself that Wei Ying had returned.