Meng's Revenge: Vol.4 of Life Among Clouds WangXian Series

6: Copper and Crystal

Lan Zhan almost turned back, He hesitated then opened the door all the way, standing by himself, alone and vulnerable. His head was bowed as if unsure of every move he made, and definitely afraid of the reaction of the ones who had not seen him yet. His heart was pounding  and he was sure everyone could hear it.

Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng rushed to his side. His eyes had turned a little glassy and he was white as a sheet, fragile-looking, and swaying. They each took an elbow and supported him to a seat at the table. Dr. Yue was there immediately, checking his pulse.

"Must you always make a grand entrance, you young idiot? You do have flair, I must admit, but you are still too weak to be about without assistance. Why did you get up?"

"I smelled too many peppers in the noodles." He spoke in a dry voice and his face was perfectly straight.Jaws dropped and Wei Ying burst into laughter. Jiang Cheng was astonished. He had always thought of the Lans as stodgy but their gallows humor really could be sublime.

Yenay approached her brother tentatively, her lovely, strong features warring with her emotions. He read them all. Sorrow for his pain, anger at the torturer, her love above all. Not a shred of pity. He breathed a sigh of relief. She knelt in front of him. 

"I was afraid. I thought I might lose the one person most like me. The one who knows me the most. My twin soul. I thought I would not get to tell you how much I love you. We do not say much, you and I. Our natures are too similar yet we always know each other's minds. You alone recognized my fears at my Introduction Banquet and sought to calm them. I was terrified I would not be able to return the favor.  After dinner, I will join you in your room and pass energy."

The rest turned their backs leaving the adopted Cousins alone and hiding their own tears at this quiet reunion, made more poignant since Yenay rarely spokely so eloquently, except to Qinyang. When they finally drew apart, his crystal eyes were calmer than they had been in three years. His heart knew her so well and he knew the strength she had exercised, allowing all the others to see him first, stifling her intense desire to run ahead, to be able to say these things burning in her soul. His Yenay, the protector, the Guardian, the one feeling the inability to help him more sharply than anyone else. Those copper eyes of hers read his and they had no need to say anything further. His sworn sister began to breathe more lightly, and Qinyang came over and kissed their cheeks.

"Dinner is ready. And Lan Zhan, I set noodles aside with no peppers, just for you."

Qing added. "Do not ask for seconds. Small meals until your stomach can handle eating again."

They ate in silence for a while and after the meal, Lan Zhan cleared his throat.

"Thank you all. I must say I am sorry. Should have come right after the ...incident. I was warned. Things as bad or worse than this would befall you all. I did not want anyone else to bear this. And I was ashamed. Did not want you to see me like this." 

Ming spoke up. "Lan Zhan, I watched many men fall apart after suffering wounds a whole lot less than what you received. There is nothing to be ashamed of. You are our brother and we are going to fight this. We are requisitioning every known herb and medicine out there to find a way to return your skin to the way it was before. And Wei and Wen Ning are going to be attempting spell reversals as they come up with them. This is not unsolvable."

He nodded. "I am starting to believe you. Thank you."

Yue Wen Qing checked his pulse again. "It is stronger. We will feed you some more noodles in a few hours. In the meantime, let Wei Ying and Yenay take you to your bed. Yenay will be passing energy to your core. She has the strongest core in this room and has been training with Lan XiChen for many years in transferring energy to badly wounded cores. She will improve yours quickly."

Lan Zhan looked at her in astonishment. "I had no idea."

"Not many do. I asked him to keep it low-key. I do not like attention. You did not realize, but I passed you some energy while we hugged."

"No wonder I felt calmer."

Wei Ying helped his lover to the bedroom, while Yenay took the other arm. He was placed gently down and covered with silk coverlets. Wei Ying brought out his flute and began to play their song. Lan Zhan smiled and then turned to Yenay. 

"I am ready."

She placed her hand on his stomach, firmly and then placed the other over his heart and began. A golden aura radiated around both areas, generating a strumming pulse of heat directly into Lan Zhan's core and heart. 

 He had never felt anything like it. As she increased the energy level, her eyes began to become more intense. The copper irises seemed to melt into pools, that swirled, mixing golds and browns and reds into liquid copper that looked on fire. He could not tear his eyes away, she was elevating his core rapidly, and he felt almost frightened by the intensity. He sought out his husband's silver eyes in a mute query of reassurance and received a silent nod of confidence.

"You are looking stronger already. Half this battle will be getting core strength back, and Yenay is amazing."

"You have had her do this to you?"

"Yes. At the Manor. It helps  so much."

"Mn..."

Wei Ying's lips quirked in amusement. He leaned down and whispered in his ear. "For Heaven's sake. She shared energy with me. We didn't have sex!"

Lan Zhan shot him a quick side-glance.

They were interrupted.

"Shhhh. You two are distracting me. I could fry one of your kidneys if you brats keep it up. "

Wei Ying went back to his flute and Lan Zhan continued to drown in those copper pools. She went about another half hour, until she saw Lan Zhan's eyelids drooping. When he finally fell asleep, she slowly tapered the flow until it stopped. She was exhausted. His levels had been so low, that she expended more than usual. But he had needed it desperately. 

She turned on Wei the second they entered the kitchen.

"Wei Wuxian...DO NOT do that again. Flirting and trying to make my patient jealous in the middle of a transfer...NEITHER of those is allowed. If you try that again I will tie you up and throw you in the cellar with the rats until my session is over. Understand me?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Lan Zhan cannot get healthy without these transfers. Besides, you better get any notions of extracurricular activities out of your mind for the time being. He needs to retain his strength, not engage with you in one of your notorious sexual marathons. Am I right, Qing?"

"Yes, you are. I will personally castrate this brat if he tries anything like that until he consults with me first. As a matter of fact, why wait? Yenay, where did I put my needles?!"

Wei Wuxian yelped and fled like a whipped puppy.

Jiang Cheng sat watching this frank exchange with his mouth open. Truly, this group was one of the strangest ones he had even been a part of. Strange but kind of amazing at the same time.  He would not have missed the last few days for the world.