WangXian Forever 5

Chapter 19 Reflections

Lan Zhan woke earlier than he should have. Not feeling Wei Ying next to him gave him a jolt of panic, exacerbated by the fact that his husband was clearly suffering from a bad dream.

Lan Zhan quickly gathered him near, holding him closer. He kissed his temple, lips staying in warmth, and gradually Wei Ying settled, as if this close proximity banished any danger.

His features cleared and he almost smiled.

"Lan Zhan..." he whispered.

Lan Zhan smiled, watching him.

Moonlight danced into their room through the open window, illuminating his soft face. Lan Zhan traced his beautiful features, his thumb following the curve of his brow, ghosting over smoky lids closed in slumber and hiding silver orbs that when awake, would twinkle with joy and mischief.

His long lashes curved over his soft cheeks, pink with sleep and then those red lips, plump and ripe for biting.

Lan Zhan resisted the urge to do so. Wei Ying needed to rest.

This man.

Lan Zhan loved him from the moment he laid his golden eyes upon him, his soul crying out in recognition. And yet, while he had known after a while how he felt, acceptance was harder to acknowledge. When it came, swift and brutal, he understood that Wei Ying completed the other half of his soul.

He would do anything for him.

They could not live without each other.

******

Wei Ying was sitting with Li XiWang in the Jingshi, and they were going to practice meditation.

"After you reach the second stage, this time, I want you to explore your mind." Wei Ying was telling her.

Lan Zhan had gone to refill their incense burner.

"What do you mean?" She asked, curiously. "I know what's in my mind."

"I'm sure you do, little rabbit. But our minds are like a big house. If only one person lives there, they only use one or two rooms, say for example, the kitchen and where they go to sleep. What about the other rooms? They might get dusty, and so the person should clean them out regularly. Like that."

"Okay." She replied, full of trust.

Wei Ying loved that about her.

She closed her eyes.

He watched her settle into the first stage. He placed a parchment piece and a brush next to her for when she would come out of it.

This was a fairly new, but successful idea they had implemented, that so far had yielded great results. Wei Ying made Li XiWang take notes on all her sessions, after which they would analyse them together and find new areas to explore. This provided extra understanding of the whole process, and seemed to speed up her progress.

Lan Zhan had thoroughly approved of this, being able to read whatever they had accomplished in each session. Wei Ying suspected the Jade had other reasons, but he had not asked. Lan Zhan would tell him when he was ready.

Now, he could clearly tell when Li XiWang reached the second stage. Her features would clear imperceptibly and calmness would radiate from her core.

Mere seconds passed, when suddenly, Li XiWang opened her eyes, shocking Wei Ying.

They blazed with a silvery white light. She reached for the brush and began to write characters fast and with precision.

Wei Ying didn't know what to do.

Lan Zhan entered then, and seeing his face, looked at Li XiWang. He hurried to sit in front of her.

"What happened?" He whispered to Wei Ying.

"Not sure." Wei Ying kept his eyes on hers, but she didn't seem to be looking at him.

Her hand moved without her needing to see what she was writing.

Wei Ying felt a little creeped out by this. And worse, when she stopped writing, looked directly into his eyes, and said, "Find the Tree."

Li XiWang closed her eyes and collapsed.

Wei Ying stood up on shaky legs, and picked up his daughter, cradling her head.

"Just what the hell happened?" He mumbled, holding her close.

Her eyelids fluttered open and she sat up. Wei Ying handed her a cup of water, which she drank in one go. Then she stood up, beaming.

"Can I go out to play now?" She asked.

Wei Ying nodded, absentmindedly watching her leave.

Lan Zhan looked at him worriedly. "Come here."

"I can't. My legs won't work properly, " he half sobbed.

Lan Zhan got up and went to him instead. He could feel Wei Ying shaking.

"You were both fine when I left." He couldn't help the slight accusatory tone from leaking into his speech.

"I don't think she can remember these episodes when they happen." Wei Ying took the water cup from Lan Zhan and drank it down.

Lan Zhan noticed his fingers were still trembling.

"Mn."

"We were fine, she was fine when we started. But I think she might have opened the door to a place in her mind, that her subconscious keeps closed, at least for now. And then, the moment she regained consciousness, her subconscious took over again and closed the door, hence her not remembering anything."

Wei Ying picked up the paper she had written on. He turned in one way and then another, checking out all the angles.

"Lan Zhan, does this seem familiar to you, but not?" He asked, showing it to him. It was easy because he was still sitting in his lap.

Lan Zhan did the same, scrutinising each character.

"Mn. There is something wrong."

"I agree. It's as if they are the ones we can normally read, with a slight difference, so we can't. Is it another dialect?" Wei Ying frowned. "And what did she mean, find the tree? What tree?" He clutched Lan Zhan's sleeve suddenly. "Lan Zhan! She meant, The Tree! The Tree!"

"Wei Ying must explain."

"The tree, in the pouch! Li XiWang's pouch! Do you remember, Lan Zhan? There was a ring with a tree on it. Now all we need to do is go and find it."

And just like that, his excitement died. Like a deflated lantern, his head sunk to the table.

"But we don't even know where to look." He moaned.

He briefly closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of Lan Zhan's big palm on his back, seeping in through the thin cotton of his robe.

"That feels so nice." He opened his eyes.

He saw the characters that Li XiWang had brushed reflected in the silver shine of the incense burner right next to him.

And he could read them perfectly.

Li XiWang had written them out in mirror writing.