The tale of the fox and the dragon egg

Chapter 19 - The eyes that see

His hands had trembled when Wei Ying finally awoke. After the worst nightmare shook him to the core. And after they told each other what was obvious, what weighted still heavy on both of their souls, he finally understood.

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Lan Zhan dreaded the moment he left the burial mounds.

Wei Ying had told him that it was OK. That he had a place where he needed to be, such as himself.

Lan Zhan understood.

That didn't mean that he agreed to it.

He knew that he would need to return. It was not a question, but a simple fact. After the attack on Cloud Recess, after the abduction of the only egg in their clan for a decade, he was the one that got the mission to bring it back.

And to kill whoever was the reason behind this.

He himself did not clearly see what had happened to the egg. Or the dragon that was lost with it.

When the attack occurred, Lan Zhan had been meditating within the Jingshi, which he called home for himself. Within the evening hours where the sun set, the time had approached their hours of sleep. The meditation was his last duty of the day, where he cultivated and strengthened himself.

When the bells alerted them and an explosion ran through the whole area, he was almost in bed. Everything had turned at that point. Where the sky had been dark, with thick clouds moving in front of the stars, only the torches and lights made them able to see clearly.

Then came the corpses.

It was already chaos when he stepped outside, the heavy robes on his form and Bichen tight within his grip. Lan Zhan had immediately joined the fight, as he was one of the most powerful cultivators of their time. That did not mean that his lungs didn't feel like they were drowning in the thick mist of resentful energy that made his eyes widen in shock.

His mind was confused, but the meditation before his bedtime helped him to stay focused.

It didn't matter why this happened right now, but that this chaos was dealt with.

With strong and elegant movements, he wove through the corpses, helping several disciples on his way to not be killed. His mind was perfectly calm and steady through it, although his eyes were on their everlasting journey to find a glimpse of his uncle or brother.

And finally, after endless minutes or maybe hours, a shout tore through the air.

"Wangji!"

The corpse in front of him was cut down immediately and his body turned as if possessed, looking into the direction where his brother Lan Xichen just cut down a corpse in white robes. White and blue.

Brown and gold met and both of them just opened their mouths to shout something. They didn't get that far. Dirt and rubble exploded and a strong gush of air swept over the whole area. And then, out of the cloud of dirt and rubble, a huge body of shining white scales raised itself into the heavens.

Lan Zhan, Lan Xichen and every other cultivator could only look up, eyes growing huge. But the second shockwave almost pushed them off their feet as countless rubble and stones flew around. Only a mighty roar was heard and the air was pushed outwards as the dragon seemed to fly up.

The huge cloud of dust covered the place and was quickly replaced with roaring mist of black smoke. Fire was raging around as the countless torches, candles and other lights toppled to the earth. And now they didn't only fight corpses but a raging fire too.