WangXian Forever 5

Chapter 17 Particulars

Shou Xing's face betrayed nothing.

Wei Ying wondered who would win in a contest between him and Lan Zhan for keeping a straight face.

"Rumour has it, it was a dragon. I don't have the particulars, but I understood that he had done something unforgivable, and they tried to kill him. But Bai Hua, she managed to cure him twice, before they retaliated, and killed her first. The thing is, she's an immortal. Her body may perish, but her soul will forever exist. And I believe, she has come back." He held his palms out in a gesture of giving up. "This is the truth. This is all I know."

Wei Ying nodded, solemnly.

"And what can you tell us about the Children of the Tree?" He asked, trying to process what he had been told.

"That's not part of our deal." He stroked his whiskers again.

Hui Gai thought about pulling them off. At least it would put an end to that habit.

"You said you'd tell us what you know, you didn't specify." Wei Ying grinned.

But it hadn't escaped his notice that Shou Xing had dropped his voice to barely a whisper.

"They are unbeatable." He said, so quietly, that Wei Ying and Hui Gai had to lean so far forward, their knees touched his.

"Do you remember when you found me? I had fallen from my sword." The pain of whatever he had endured, was reflected in his black eyes.

Wei Ying nodded.

"It was them." His voice sounded haunted. "The way to identify them, is their eyes. They have tattooed eyes upon their eyelids." He shuddered. "You saw my condition. I was barely alive."

Suddenly an arrow shot through the window, and pierced his heart.

Right in the centre.

They were so close to him that his blood splattered onto their faces and clothes.

Hui Gai grabbed Wei Ying and vanished in a flash.

Wei Ying was dazed.

And they were back in the Jingshi.

And Lan Zhan was there.

The note in his hand.

The look on his face changed from violent fury to panic and alarm when he saw the blood.

Hui Gai did what any sane person would do when faced with a frightening Jade: he disappeared.

Lan Zhan grabbed Wei Ying, checking him for injuries. When Wei Ying didn't say anything, he took a good look at his face.

He pursed his lips, and guided him to sitting down. Then he fetched a bowl of warm water and wiped him clean. Still Wei Ying did not say anything.

His eyes had glazed over, unseeing.

Lan Zhan changed his clothes next, gently disrobing him and clothing him again in fresh robes.

It was only when he made him sip hot fresh tea, that he came back from wherever he had gone, and his eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, well. I guess we don't owe him anything now." And then he burst into tears.

Lan Zhan held him close, waiting for him to calm down. His own state wasn't much better; he was just good at hiding behind a mask of indifference.

He had returned to the Jingshi where he was sure Wei Ying was waiting for him, only to find out he wasn't.

So instead of getting ready to eat a nice lunch and spend some quality time with his husband, he was left anxiously wondering where he had gone. And why he had left without informing him. And writing another stupid note.

Lan Zhan hated these notes. He was just about to rip it to shreds, when his husband appeared.

Covered in blood.

Lan Zhan was having a hard time being okay with this.

And the whole caring for him, cleaning him up, it was all therapeutic, in that he realized that Wei Ying didn't need him to be upset at him, or tell him off right now.

Wei Ying was in shock.

And it broke his heart to see him cry like this. Wei Ying should never have to cry. He was too good for this world.

Right now, he had calmed a bit, only tremors running through his body now and again.

"I'm sorry, Lan Zhan. I didn't mean to leave without telling you. I was waiting for you like you said." Wei Ying was whispering, as if he dared not raise his voice.

Lan Zhan kissed his forehead, his lips stayed pressed firmly against the other, trying to comfort him.

"Do you want to tell me from the beginning?" His voice was so kind, so loving, that Wei Ying couldn't help the tears that came naturally.

"Hui Gai came and got me. I asked him to find out more about Bai Hua, and he found Shou Xing. Shou Xing would only tell him something in exchange for us letting him talk to Li XiWang alone. I still haven't figured out why he would want to, you know?"

But Lan Zhan's grip had tightened at those words.

"Don't worry, Lan Zhan, Hui Gai told him no and came to get me. But we didn't have a lot of time to get back to him, that's why I had to leave so suddenly."

"What did you tell him?" The words were bitten out, one by one.

"I told him we would give him something else in return, and I talked it up, but the truth was, I didn't have a clue. And then he said the Children of the Tree were unbeatable, and that they had attacked him, you know when Li XiWang was practicing in the woods with me, and we found him?"

Lan Zhan filled a cup of warm water and made him sip it slowly.

"Better?"

"Yes, thank you. But Lan Zhan, when he asked him about them, he said that they're assassins, and they have tattoo eyes on top of their eyelids. That's how to identify them. Shou Xing told us that they wanted some dragon dead, but Bai Hua kept curing him, so they killed her instead. And since she's immortal, her body perished, but her soul has reincarnated."

Lan Zhan stared at him.

"Do you think Li XiWang has somehow been able to channel her spirit?"

"No. I think our daughter is Bai Hua!"