Red Rose [Never Let You Go, Again Book 3]

49: Commitment

Bichen raised waist-high, Lan Wangji rushed into the forest, following the sound of the sword. Swish! Slash! He could hear it slashing in every direction, swing across the air harshly, the ring of the metal pealing all across the forest. A-Ying... Is he in danger?

THUD!

He stopped in his tracks as the forest floor shook under his feet. The trees nearby swayed in the dust kicked up by the tree that fell just now.

Lan Zhan took a deep breath as he realised what was going on. Smirking, he put Bichen back into its sheath and tiptoed forwards. Having reached a massive tree trunk, he hid behind it to watch.

Swing! Crash! Thud! Wei Wuxian forcefully swung his sword through the next tree. Suibian had seemingly cut down three trees so far.

Is he angry? Because I didn't let him go to Mama? Or because I ignored him? Or...

"Hmph, grumpy Lan," Wei Ying snivelled, growing to himself. "He can ignore me all he wants and rip me apart with his coldness but at least LOOK AT ME when I'm ignoring HIM? Does he not care? Bloody idiot!" SLASH! "Why does he keep being so cold? Fine, he wants me to stay with him but why so cold? Can't he just... just... ARGH! I don't know, say it a bit amorously? A-Ying, don't go, stay with me, I want you by my side? Instead of that goddamned icy No and the cold glare? Why is it even affecting me so much?" CRASH! THUD! Fourth tree down.

Wei Wuxian wiped his brow and plopped down on the ground. "Oh God, I think A-Cheng's rubbing off on me... Tch, A-Zhan's always cold... Shouldn't affect me..." Wei Wuxian buried his face in his knees, hugging them tight. He never was this angered by Lan Zhan being so mildly cold towards him and he even knew it was only because Lan Zhan wanted him by his side at night. But... why on Earth was he this affected?

So... vexed?

"Oh dear..." Wei Wuxian sniffed into his knees. "Is it something with my core? Resentment. Of course, it's been a month since the battle... Didn't go on night-hunts... Aish, I should get rid of this darkness, before I hurt Lan Zhan..." Fixing his robes and wiping his face, Wei Wuxian stood up.

"Forest. I'll go to the forest outside Caiyi, kill something and be right back to apologise to A-Zhan for stomping away like that..." Wei Ying sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This demonic energy... it's making me run wild. I've got to control it. What if I say something terrible to A-Zhan? No, no," Wei Ying shook his head, anxiously mumbling to himself. "Can't let that happen. Stupid core," he smacked his chest with Chenqing and shot off on Suibian into the Gusu forest.

Lan Zhan walked out of hiding, sighing sadly. Does the demonic energy really affect him this much? How did he hold on on other days? But then... we didn't go on night hunts recently because of treating Xiaolian... Lan Zhan gulped when he saw the marks of knuckles having dug into wood on the side of a tree trunk nearby. He looked down at the base of the tree. Sure enough, there was blood. Punching trees? Yes, that's A-Ying alright...

Shaking his head, he flew away on Bichen, sticking to the woods to follow his husband lest he should hurt himself again. 

**********

"Sect Leader Jiang?"

Jiang Cheng nodded.

Lan Sizhui rose from his seat and bowed to Jiang Wanyin.

"Sect Leader Lan," Jiang Cheng bowed back.

"Sect Leader Jiang, you're here to see Daddy? Or Sect matters?"

"Er..." Jiang Cheng, standing in the middle of the Sect Leader's Hall in Cloud Recesses, fiddled with his collar and cleared his throat. "Ahem. Erm... No, neither of them. Is... Is Zewu-Jun here? Or has he gone out?"