On the Petals of a Flower, I found something that does not belong to me

33

For those who pull us away from our own darkness.

 After sitting and talking for hours, I then decided to introduce my friend to those who were there and looked at us like animals at the zoo. Lan Xichen was the only one who understood that we knew each other, from Des's expression when he showed her the letter. Plus he seemed to like her and they treated her well, he told me, before I came. They gave her clothes, showed her around and gave her food, water and whatever she needed. My friend on the other hand, was ready to burst from joy.

 "It doesn't bother me that I came here at all. And to stay here forever, no problem!" she made.

 I hit her with my elbow. They had decided to leave us alone for a moment to talk alone, after Des had told them, and they took us to the room where they had put me before. My friend meanwhile seemed to belong to the Lan Clan as if she had been a disciple for years. Maybe because she had read the novel.

 "Tomorrow logically or in some days, we will go to see a cave. They claim that because the monsters I told you about are coming out of there, maybe there is a portal to go back home."

 Des nodded. "I didn't understand much about monsters. Are they corpses? Can't Wei Wuxian control them?"

 I raised my eyebrows. "To control them? I don't understand what you're saying. I have heard this word 'corpses' so many times that I will soon become one too. I thought they were ghost hunters."

 My friend laughed and grabbed the glass of tea gracefully above the table.

 "Oh, stop it" I did. "Don't pretend that you belong to the Lan sect."

 My friend smirked. "Of course I have to fake it till I make it. I have to be a good woman for Lan Xichen."

 "I will puke."

 "Hahaha. Do you know that women and men are apart in the Lan sect? And that we are the only women living here with the Lan men?"

 I rubbed my nose and lift my glasses. "And?"

 "This probably means something. Listen to me."

 I sighed. Then I looked out the window. It was already dark.

 How many days was I here? Lan Xichen said we have been closing two weeks since I arrived. And yet, I felt that centuries had passed. I felt like I was starting to lose my mind. Day was coming, night was leaving and a vicious cycle was repeating itself. I started with a hope and ended up with nothing. And damn it again from the beginning.

 "I told you why they want to take me to the cave with the, right?"

 My friend left her glass on the table. "Yes. Because you reduce their powers. The strange thing is that it doesn't happen to me. At least Lan Xichen can use his powers around me. He lit a talisman and called his sword. Plus he was able to fly close to me on it."

 I wanted to laugh, but my thoughts held me back. "I would like to ask you something serious."

 My friend seemed to be biting her gums. "Tell me."

 "Were you told to go to the cave with us to see if you also nullify in the cave, even though you don't nullify their powers?"

 Des widened her eyes. "How..."

 "Please, you will not go."

 Des tilted her head and looked at me in astonishment. "Why?"

 I took a deep breath and took it out. I tried to calm down. They also wanted to put my friend as a bait. "Because they want to use us Des. It's dangerous. You can be killed. It's not an adventure, as much as it may seem at first. And here it isn't like in your novel. No one will come to your rescue when you need it, because you don't even exist logically as a character. It is dangerous and you take a risk. That's why I'm telling you."

 Des nodded. She was a person who listened to others and thought seriously and logically. If I was thinking seriously, then Dess was thinking a thousand times more seriously than me. But she came to the right and good conclusions, while I came to nonsense. She did nothing without thinking about it first. "Okay. Say I'm not going. But why will you go? It's dangerous for you too. The same applies to you. So if we go, we will go together."

 I shook my head. "No, no Des. You don't understand. Do you remember when I explained to you that I told you the story with Wen Ning? I didn't mention it all because the others were next to us and listening to what we were talking about. I know that Wen Ning will not leave me out of his sight because he considers me his sister. But I don't know if he can protect two people together. I take a risk too, yes. But I know that I have something next to me that might save me. What about you? Will Lan Xichen save you? He may treat you well, but you never know what the other person may be thinking. I don't want to play with lives and risk it Des. So, it would be better for you to stay here. I don't want to go crying to your parents and tell them anything. Did you understand?"

 I saw Des's lips tighten and her eyes fall to the ground. I knew this expression. She was thinking. She was calculating everything. After about ten minutes, in which silence overwhelmed me and my eyes began to weigh, she spoke.

 "I will respect your opinion first. In any case, I will find the excuse that I didn't nullify the power of Lan Xichen and I'll stay here for now. For the rest I don't know. But I don't know how much I will accept it and swallow it to allow you to go there too. You can be protected by THE Ghost General who, believe me, you have the most awesome protection, but you are talking about monsters that are not corpses and don't even exist in the novel, from what you described to me. And also... why are Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao still alive? They should have logically died."

 I woke up from lethargy. "Seriously? I didn't know. Is the novel a bit distorted because we came? Did we change the story?"

 My friend pursed her lips. "I don't know. Corpses are like zombies. Whole white eyes and so on. They don't bite you and you become a corpse too, don't worry, but you understand I believe. These monsters..."

 "I explained to you when the others were next to us. They have horns and a strange gray-blue color."

 "They don't exist in the novel" my friend shook her head. "No way. I'm sure of this."

 I nodded. I wanted to say so much to my friend. So many things. But my eyes had already begun to close.

 Des got up and helped me get up. "Come take a bath and then go to bed. You are like a corpse yourself."

 I laughed. "Hey, Des. Thank you for coming. Thanks."

 My friend looked at me. "Come on now I'll cry. Don't act like a fool. Someone would have come for you. Either me, or Andy, or Laila. Do you think that we would leave you? " her eyes lit up. "Can you imagine your grandfather coming? It would be a disaster" she said and laughed out loud.

 I laughed with her laughter. We both had laughs that could be heard several blocks away from our houses. "Come on," I said. "Stop it."

 Steps were heard and the door slammed open. Lan Qiren appeared at the doorstep, with Lan Shizui and Lan Jingyi behind him.

 "Do you know what time is it?!" he cried.

 Des and I huddled together like frightened dogs and smiled uncomfortably.