WangXian Forever 4

Chapter 69 Rejoining

They had left Cloud Recesses on the same day, each filled with eagerness for different reasons.

XiChen wanted to see his family again for all the obvious reasons, but a part of him wanted Jiang Cheng to finish healing completely. The poisonings had taken their toll on the purple Lotus, although he tried to hide it. But XiChen could tell in the way he was out of breath after any...er...exertion and exercise, any form of physical activity.

His sword form was suffering too, and XiChen had asked his husband sweetly, to join him for morning meditations, in a bid to strengthen his core. Healer Fei had mentioned in passing that sea air, brisk and fresh, could be an alternative treatment and XiChen wanted to try. He looked towards the man flying next to him now, smiling when he caught his eye.

Jiang Cheng was looking forward to reuniting with his brother, most of all. Sure, he missed everyone, but Wei WuXian was like the milk in his cereal; life without him was dry and hard to swallow.

He always seemed to be missing Wei WuXian these days. He missed their simple life of training in Lotus Pier when they were kids, growing up together. He had Wei WuXian all to himself then, no children to take away his attention, no threatening, over protective husband and no responsibilities for either of them. Those late evenings, watching the slowly setting sun colour the lakes of Yunmeng purple like the floating lotus flowers of summer, they were the best.

Uncle Qiren must be feeling the same way. Jiang Cheng had not missed the wrapped parcel pushed into his husband's hand, to give to Wei WuXian. It was a sweet gesture from one not so sweet, and Jiang Cheng was touched. How much Uncle Qiren had changed his attitude towards Wei WuXian?

He grinned to himself.

JingYi watched the two cultivators in front of him, feeling extremely grateful towards Lan XiChen. He was normally afraid of the clan leader, despite his smiling face and pleasant demeanour. Lan XiChen was kind and fair, but steel backed those outward traits, and JingYi knew to avoid such people  if he could. The man was like a well decorated sword, beautiful and intricate on the sheath outside, but sharp and deadly on the inside.

He liked to stay away from sect leader Jiang too. The man was far too angry on a regular basis anyway, and JingYi had a peaceful nature. He stayed away from conflict and volatile situations, not only out of self preservation, but he genuinely did not like fighting. Perhaps it was a disappointing trait for a cultivator; his teachers probably thought so, but Senior Wei didn't mind it. He had come to realise that Senior Wei gave him many jobs, and mostly they were not dangerous, except for the dragons at first. But this was because Senior Wei wanted him to feel useful, and important, in all those little things.

If there was one thing JingYi understood, it was that Senior Wei didn't do anything for no reason. Well, maybe drinking...

Jin Ling was excited. One face stood out in his mind and he kept imagining what SiZhui would look like when he saw him. Oh, the surprise on his face!

Hot blood flowed through his veins at the thought of that familiar face. He had always liked the way SiZhui looked, never given it much thought before. Now he'd had the chance to fully appreciate those features, up close and personally, he could see him in a new light. He remembered  long lashes slowly closing over chocolate eyes, eyes that burned with passion before hiding under lids, naturally smoky.

The face that had looked so ordinary until now. He wanted to slap himself. How could he think SiZhui looked ordinary? Or was it love that coloured everything in a brighter hue?

He nearly fell off his sword at that thought.

Was it true? Did he love SiZhui?

He loved both his friends as friends anyway, so he thought of how he felt about JingYi. It was definitely different from how he felt about SiZhui, definitely platonic, at which he could feel the relief.