The tale of the fox and the dragon egg

Chapter 12 - Storm clouds

"Jiang-"

"Don't you dare speak my name!", the said man raged.

Wei Ying couldn't dodge the next slash of the whip, aiming for his right leg. And so, he knelt on the ground with a raging dragon child on his shoulders. At least he had the strength to keep him close.

"It's been years on end and you still need to haunt me up to this day!"

_______________________________

Wei Ying couldn't answer.

He felt like he was choked. His throat was raw and pressed together. He couldn't breathe.

Jiang Cheng stepped out of the shades from the trees, out of the shadows of the woods. His purple eyes matched the dark purple robes on his body, the symbolic color of the Yunmeng Jiang. A color Wei Ying once wore and knew very well.

It haunted him until now. He saw it burn.

"Wei Wuxian", his former brother began, hate evident within his voice. But he didn't elaborate any further. Instead, he let the fox wait and turned towards his own nephew, who gulped at the fierce look. "I remember telling you to stay in Yunmeng."

Wei Ying tensed even more than before. It was strange to not be regarded first, to not be hurt and hunted first.

Every muscle in his body was tense. The man could attack anytime. He could talk to Jin Ling and every second he could tear his arm off; he could burn him with-

Jin Ling visibly shuttered, but didn't sheet his sword. It remained within his hand as his gaze dropped to the ground, only to rise once towards the fox. Hate blazed in waves, hurt and an unspeakable sadness and frustration.

"I know, uncle. But how can you expect me to stay behind?"

"Because I told you so!"

Jiang Chengs voice was loud, more confident than Wei Ying had last heard it. The years as a clan leader seemed to have made him strong, in confidence and everything else. The words boomed, travelling around them and telling of his short temper, daring anyone to raise their words against him.

"I arrived at the burial mounds only to receive a messenger that my own nephew followed me, alone!", he shouted, Zidian springing to live around his hand. Purple lightning shot towards the ground in a long whip and Wei Ying almost flinched back. The memories were still fresh, even when it has been a millennium since he tasted it.

"Don't you remember what this – this filthy beast – did to mother? To father? How could I sit still?", Jin Ling responded, his hand tightening around the hilt of the sword. There was a tassel attached to it, which found itself between the fingers of one hand.

"How can you dare to speak to me like that?", Jiang Cheng boomed, Zidian ready to snap, "Do you just suggested that I don't know what was going on? Do you want me to break your legs next time, so that you stay where I told you to stay?"

The youngster visibly stiffened and shuddered, his mouth closing at once.

With one dealt with, Jiang Cheng finally regarded the fox that stood still as a statue.

"Wei Wuxian", he began once more, making the said person focus on him even more, "So you finally show your face again. I was wondering how much time it would take you to come out of your hiding."

His throat was dry as a desert. His lungs were burning like the sun. His heart hurt like struck by lightning.

Jiang Cheng grinned. It was not an expression he was familiar with. The years of his demise were short, at least to him. In all that time Jiang Cheng did not smile once.