WangXian Forever 5

Chapter 72 Transformation

Five days had passed, in much the same way. Yezi was confused.

Every time she thought she had something figured out, it would change and now she didn't know what to think. Her mind kept replaying the conversation she had overheard between the Yilling Patriarch and her sister.

Wei WuXian was a different man here. She wondered if he was putting on an act for her benefit, but now she had her doubts. Where was the terrifying and blood thirsty villain, the corpse raiser extraordinaire? The Grandmaster of Demonic cultivation?

All she was seeing was a man who cared. He loved his husband, and she could see that in the way that they looked at each other, that they had something special. In fact, she had never seen anything like it before. And then there was the way he treated his daughter. He would laugh, and talk animatedly with her, and it wasn't at all one sided. Yezi found herself feeling pangs of pain where her heart was, and it was only later she realised it was jealousy.

But Wei WuXian's affections did not stop there, oh no. He hugged the terrifying demon without abandon, whenever he saw him, and the demon demonstrated an equal amount of love back. And she was beyond shocked that the demon was allowed to go near the little girl.

It would have worked out conveniently if he had harmed her, but now she felt ashamed of that thought.

The little girl was a delight. She picked flowers for everyone, especially for her fathers and the demon, but for her sister too. Yezi had been wary when she had approached, protected by the demon shadowing her every move, but the little girl had calmly walked up to Zhitiao and wrapped a daisy chain around her wrist, right next to the sizzling blue shackles.

And Zhitiao had accepted it.

With a smile.

For their mortal enemy.

This little girl who's laughter brought joy to them all, who asked the strangest of questions, all answered with the utmost sincerity by any one if her fathers or her friends. In that she resembled her black robed father the most. She had even befriended the rotten tomato of Hongse and her accompanying fetid vegetables. Yezi did not have a high opinion of the Flowers of Venus.

They seemed crude and uncouth, loud and overbearing.

But then, why were they the ones to come and give them food? And water? And ask periodically whether she or her sister were tired? They kept stopping to rest, and Yezi got the feeling it was more for hers and Zhitiao's benefit than theirs.

She remembered Zhitiao call herself an idiot.

Her sister would never do that. Not before.

Now Yezi wasn't sure at all of this person, who walked daily by her side. What crimes had she been talking about?

The Children of the Tree committed no crimes. There were only orders. Orders which must be completed, for the sake of their Mother.

The Elders gave orders, and orders had to be followed. Was that a crime? Why would the Elders make them commit crimes? These were people of their family, people they had always looked up to, respected.

If their sole objective was to protect their Mother, that was now obsolete, because she did not exist in her physical form any more. Just in their hearts, and the last parting gift that was her seed. The one that was missing now.

And yet, Zhitiao had said, it was only by the grace of their Mother, that she had changed at all. What was she talking about?

Zhitiao had mentioned living life differently. A simple life. One of peace and rest, helping others. Was that even possible!?

Yezi couldn't imagine it. A life without fighting. A life without training. To go for a single minute without thinking of the next person who had to be exterminated.

She felt exhausted just thinking about it.

They had so many enemies.

Too many to count.

There was always a mission, something to do, someone to kill.

Yezi could not imagine waking up and just lying there. Not getting out of bed, not thinking about the next thing on their list.

Zhitiao had said she loved her. At least that hadn't changed. Yezi was sure she still loved Zhitiao, even as she was confused by her changed behaviour. She thought back to their childhood.

Could she remember playing with her sister?

At all?

The sad answer was no.

Sure, they trained together, drilled together. They ate and slept together. But playing...? Didn't they play?

She watched Li XiWang running towards her father, and Wei WuXian picking her up, whirling her around until she was dizzy and then both of them collapsing onto the ground, giggling.

Tears of envy and anger dripped from her face. She could feel Zhitiao staring at her, but Yezi refused to acknowledge her.

The days passed and she felt them change, much like a butterfly emerging from her cocoon. Her pain and anger changed to sorrow. She wondered what it would be like to have a father.

Zhitiao had asked the Yiling Patriarch if she could call him Shidi. And he had agreed.

That was most shocking of all. His open affection with her sister was...mind boggling. He had hugged her.

What enchantment was this?

And Zhitiao had let him.

Yezi felt faint.

Wei WuXian had said that until a person didn't realise they were on the wrong path, they could not change. So what was the wrong path? What made it so? And what was right?

Her head began to pound with all these questions.

There was no doubt about it; Wei WuXian was a wise man. Everything he had said about change, made sense. With a deep seated unease, she thought about regret.

Her own regret. Would she end up regretting anything?

This was a real fear.

What if she was on a wrong path, and didn't know it?

How would she be able to tell? Who could she ask?

Her gaze rested upon her sister's face.

It was open and without deceit.

Zhitiao had urged her to think about their Mother. Why was it, that she had passed away? Why, at the exact time that Zai Shu Xia, A-Xia had been locked up?

Was that their crime? Not A-Xia's?

Was it a crime to want a different life? A-Xia's only crime, if she could call it that, was to fall in love. And as a result, she wanted to leave their sisterhood. Was that another crime?

The parallels frightened her. Was their mistreatment of their fellow sister something so hurtful to their Mother, that she could not bear it? That she died? Because of them?

Wei WuXian had said that there were no coincidences. That people met for a reason, that there was some objective, something that the universe wanted from them.

So if that was true, then A-Xia was meant to find the Sea Dragon. Zhitiao was meant to meet these people...and...and she herself was meant to meet the Yiling Patriarch.

Destiny was a double edged sword.

When faced with a crossroads, which way was right? What would happen if she made the wrong choice?

If she trusted those she should not have?

The irony here, was that this could be applied to both her new companions and her Elders...

Yezi hated indecision. She believed herself to be a do or die kind of person.

Right now, she was making a choice.

And she could only pray to their Mother, that it was the right one.