Live Again, Love Anew

Chapter 27- Brotherly Bonding

Summary

Two brothers bond. (Probably not the ones you are thinking of.)

Beginning Note

This chapter is like 90% dialogue.

Enjoy!

Qingheng-jun

Qingheng-jun didn't bother going back to sleep after his wife left. He simply at down at the low table in the middle of his home and waited. It was only a matter of time before they noticed his wife's absence from her prison. Qiren may not be a strong general or a masterful tactician, but he wasn't a total idiot when it came to battle either.

As soon as the attackers were dead, subdued, or had retreated, he had no doubt that Qiren would send disciples to do checks of Cloud Recesses: The kitchens (any food stolen or destroyed? Are the cooks okay?), the stables (Any horses missing, hurt, or dead? Supplies or food gone?), the women's quarters (Is everyone okay? How about the children?), the infirmary (Any supplies gone or destroyed? Are the healers and patients unharmed?), and other miscellaneous things (Losses? Injuries? Any fires or damaged structures? Enemy losses and injuries? Identity of the enemy? etc...). Those checks would also no doubt include Cloud Recesses current prisoners: The Sect Leader and his wife.

So it came as no surprise (he even had tea heated and ready to serve) when an hour before dawn, Qiren came knocking at his door.

"Come in!" Qingheng-jun called.

The door slid open showing Qiren. He stepped inside and shut the door behind himself. Qingheng-jun eyes the silencing arrays etched into the walls.

"You have news." Not a question, because of course Qingheng-jun already knew what his brother wanted to say. He busied himself with pouring two cups of tea while he waited for his brother to respond.

"The witch is gone." Qiren finally says.

Qingheng-jun's lip curls. "Lan Zhengsheng-!"

"Qiren." His brother interrupts, breaking a rule and showing absolutely no remorse. "I'd rather my birth name not be uttered by criminals." Qiren takes a seat at the table.

Qingheng-jun sighs, setting his tea down. There's a better chance of him shattering the cup than of him taking a sip. Qiren hasn't even acknowledged his own cup. "Qiren, then." He stares Qiren dead in the eye. "Speak of my wife with respect or don't speak of her at all." Qiren stays quiet, but it's a concession in and of itself. "Now what is this about my wife being missing?"

"The-" Qiren cuts himself off with a scowl. " Your wife ," He spits. "Lan Zhan, and my ward, Wei Ying, are missing. The Elders have concluded that the- your wife used the distraction of the battle to escape and took the children as hostages. Lan Xichen is thankfully safe. He was delivered to me by a high ranking female disciple during the battle. He's going to be staying in my personal quarters until we can figure out who attacked us and why."

Qingheng-jun takes a moment to absorb all the information. "A-Huan was... delivered to you?" A-Yue said that he was safe, but she couldn't have known that unless...

Qiren nods. "I didn't recognize her. She was missing a ribbon- I suspect it was damaged during the battle- and she was wearing a warded cloak with the Lan crest. Obviously well made and powerful." Qiren strokes his beard. "She must have been a senior disciple." He muses.

Qingheng-jun blinks disbelievingly. It couldn't have been that long since Qiren last saw A-Yue... She couldn't have changed so much as to be unrecognizable, right? Qingheng-jun had just seen her last night for the first time in what might as well have been years and he could still recognize her.