WangXian Forever 5

Chapter 118 Home

They went straight to the Hanshi.

Wei Ying burst in, shouting.

"XiChen-Ge! We need-"

A hand clamped onto his mouth.

"Shut up, idiot! We've just got her to sleep!" Jiang Cheng hissed in his ear.

Wei Ying elbowed him sharply in his ribs, getting him to release his mouth.

"Who?" He hissed back, confused.

"Our daughter." XiChen came and stood by Jiang Cheng, a soft warm bundle in his arms.

Her eyes were shut, and she was fast asleep.

Wei Ying's whole face transformed into one of wonder and awe.

"Her name is Li Li, courtesy name, Lan LianHua." Jiang Cheng whispered.

"Orchid and Lotus? Nice! Both clans." Wei Ying touched her rosy cheek, a smile lighting up his face. "This was the surprise?"

"I was just putting her down to rest." XiChen placed her into the crib. "You can both meet her later, when she's awake, alright, Didi?" XiChen covered her with a blanket.

Then he came and hugged Lan Zhan and Wei Ying.

"I'm so glad you're back. Uncle has missed you both terribly."

"Yes, we should have gone to see him first." Wei Ying looked guiltily at Lan Zhan.

"Why did you come here first?" Jiang Cheng asked, a whole lot calmer than he ordinarily would have been.

"We need to talk about a lot of things." Wei Ying took Lan Zhan's hand in his, admiring the long, calloused fingers, the smooth skin, warm and comforting.

"Can we go to our office?" XiChen asked, looking at Jiang Cheng. "Would you stay here and mind Li Li?"

Jiang Cheng nodded.

"I think Uncle should know too." Wei Ying said, firmly.

Lan Zhan squeezed his fingers. He shook his head, amber eyes troubled.

"It's okay, Lan Zhan. They need to know. We need to be honest with them. That's what family is for." Wei Ying stood up. "Let's go see Uncle."

Uncle Qiren's quarters were in a secluded part of Cloud Recesses, not far from the Hanshi and the Jingshi. A patch of freshly turned soil greeted them just outside his door.

"What happened here?" Wei Ying asked, curiously.

"Do you remember the cedar sapling Uncle had planted? It finally died, so we had to remove the roots. This seems to be an unlucky site to plant things. I think that was our third attempt to try, and now Uncle is just disheartened." XiChen said, going on ahead to knock on the door.

"Wait a second, XiChen-Ge." Wei Ying pulled out the pouch with the moon tree seeds, and carefully dug a tiny hole. He planted one with a few grains of the dust that Hexie had given them.

"What is that?" XiChen asked.

"Chang'e gave us a present. She said we can plant these wherever we like, and they're called Moon trees. They will give joy to whoever comes near them, she said." Wei Ying beamed. "Let's see Uncle now."

"Come." XiChen swept in front of them and knocked loudly on the door.

A tired looking Uncle Qiren came to open the door, and his face also changed the moment he saw both his nephew and Wei Ying.

"I'm glad for your safe return." He hugged Lan Zhan and Wei Ying too.

Lan Zhan raised a brow to his brother.

"Uncle missed you both too much. Plus I reckon he's getting a bit mellow in his age." XiChen grinned at him.

Lan Zhan found himself smiling back, happy at the obvious change in his brother, brought about by Jiang Cheng. He might not like the fellow, but he was definitely good for Brother.

Wei Ying sat next to Uncle, with Lan Zhan on his other side. XiChen sat between his Uncle and Lan Zhan, opposite Wei Ying. He poured tea for everyone.

"How was your journey?" Uncle asked, sipping the tea enthusiastically.

"Um, great...but actually, can we talk about that later, when Jiang Cheng is here? We have to tell you both something, and it's more important."

Uncle Qiren put his hand on Wei Ying's free one.

"Go on. We are here for you."

"Please tell us what has you worried." XiChen said, concerned.

"There's no easy way to say this, so I'm going to be blunt." Wei Ying replied. "We do not wish to offend anyone, or be disrespectful in any way, please be assured of that."

Uncle squeezed his hand and his XiChen-Ge smiled encouragingly.

"Wei Ying." Lan Zhan took a deep breath. "Let me."

Wei Ying beamed at him and sat back, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"I did not want to come back."

Both elders present took a sharp intake of breath.

"Why?" Uncle Qiren frowned.

"Didi, please talk to us. If there's anything I can do...Cloud Recesses is your home. Both of you." XiChen looked at both of them seriously.

"Here, I am away from Wei Ying too much. Some days...not even once do I see him awake. I refuse to live like that now. Much could have been prevented had I been with him." Lan Zhan was breathing heavily now. He closed his eyes.

Wei Ying rubbed his back sympathetically, knowing how difficult it had been for him to even admit that much, and it was still so far from complete transparency.

"Um...something happened yesterday. We both connected deeper, with our swords...there was a white light and both of our swords merged into one light that included both of us."

XiChen gasped and looked at Uncle.

"Could they have Soul Bonded? Without knowing?"

"Soul Bonding?" Wei Ying asked, thinking hard. Clarity cleared his face, and he laughed. "Not possible. Don't you have to do rituals and stuff?"

"It depends on the people involved. Did you need to speak aloud or can you hear each other now?" XiChen asked, urgently.

They both blushed.

"Uncle, we must find a way to undo it!" XiChen stood up.

"But...but...why is it a bad thing?" Wei Ying asked.

"If something happens to one of you, the other will not survive." XiChen said, worriedly.

"I cannot live without Wei Ying." Lan Zhan said.

"And the same goes for me. Lan Zhan is my life." Wei Ying announced.

"But you are unintentionally giving ammunition to your enemies, especially if this gets out."

"What about our immortality? Doesn't that count for anything?" Wei Ying was confused.

"Brother Wei, I'm not saying that. What I mean is, you or Didi should not throw your lives away, even by accident. We have always been warned against doing what you both have done, and it is my duty to protect you. There was something about a curse...but I cannot remember."

"Go. Find it and come back." Uncle told him, urgently.

Both Lan Zhan and Wei Ying looked at each other.

Had they just made a grave mistake?