WangXian Forever 7

Chapter 47 Nightfall

The main road seemed to be the easiest to travel upon, though there were a few casualties in that Dunshi accidentally trod on a shed or two, but on the whole, he was quite a gentle creature.

Wei Ying saw him being careful of where he put his feet after that, and it was heartwarming to see. Still, their progress was slow because Dunshi could walk much faster than them, and they could not use Hongse's arrays because all this land was foreign to them.

Wei Ying tried not to think about how the colour of the scenery was beginning to look the same, a washed out blue, some nights brighter because of the moon, and other nights that much darker. The good point and really was only one, was that travelling by night drew hardly any attention to them and thus, their route was undisturbed.

However, Wei Ying was missing the sunshine and being able to walk in bright happy days.

Lan Zhan had seen him looking down and given his hand a squeeze, silently asking him what was wrong.

"Oh...just this...it gets pretty boring after a while." He gestured with his free hand.

The children were walking in front of them, with both at one time or another, looking behind them to make sure their parents were still there, and Wei Ying made a mental note to talk to both of them about this. It seemed his disappearing had caused them to worry more, and he hated that. Children should be growing up without a single worry, he thought.

"We can come back. If Wei Ying wants to return." Lan Zhan promised.

Wei Ying reached up to kiss his cheek.

"You're so sweet to me, Lan Zhan. Actually, it's more about variety for my eyes. Everything looks the same, that's all."

"Mn." But he pulled Wei Ying closer anyway.

Wei Ying knew that he was lucky to have Lan Zhan; their love was something out of the ordinary, but moments like this, in the little things they did for each other, it was a balm on his soul. True, they had walked a hellish path to get here, but he couldn't give this up for anything. He raised their joined hands and kissed Lan Zhan's side.

"If you could be anything or do anything, aside from being able to cultivate, what would you do?" He asked Lan Zhan, more because Wei Ying found the quiet of the night grate on his nerves.

"Don't care. As long as it is with Wei Ying." Lan Zhan answered truthfully. He really didn't care.

"Thank you, my love." Wei Ying kissed their hands and sighed.

"What about Wei Ying?" Lan Zhan asked, curiously.

They hadn't ever really discussed their vocations before, both had been and were strong cultivators; choice had never been an option. And Lan Zhan wanted to know.

He was reminded of the time when Wei Ying had burst into his life and Lan Zhan had suddenly wanted to know every thing there was to know about him, from his favourite flowers to the kind of food he liked, to what Wei Ying preferred to do, what kinds of books he liked to read...everything.

So he listened attentively.

"I don't know. I mean, there was the time, like, when my golden core first developed, I had to hide it you know? Because Madam Yu wouldn't have liked it that I got mine before Jiang Cheng...I never let her know how powerful it was. That time was a little bit hard." He thought back to the times when Madam Yu would test them. She was particularly cruel to Wei Ying; if he failed any tests, he was punished for not being good enough, and if he passed any tests, both he and Jiang Cheng got punished, him for being too good and Jiang Cheng for not being good enough...it was a vicious circle. He used to flunk tests after that because then only one of them would get punished...

"When I didn't have my core...that's when I had to think about it. I rather enjoyed farming. Do you know, Wen Qing made me buy lotus seeds and none of them believed me, that I could grow them." He swallowed thickly.

"Attempt the impossible." Lan Zhan said, quietly. He raised their joined hands and kissed Wei Ying's side, his lips lingering.

Wei Ying blinked back tears and cleared his throat.

"When we retire, it would be nice to have a patch of land to grow crops on, wouldn't it?" He said, a while later, when he was sure his voice was strong enough.

"Mn. And for rabbits."

"Yes, of course. My mending skills are out of this world." Wei Ying replied, beaming. "I would mend all of your clothes, Lan Zhan." He grinned at the small smile on his husband's face.

For Lan Zhan, that was the equivalent of beaming.

A few hours passed by as they walked, both of them dreaming of this idyllic life that was pleasing to each other.

And then they came across a small village, perhaps made up of about twenty houses.

It was nestled in the bosom of a forest that seemed a little bit too dark.

As they walked through, a gradual sense of unease unfolded, covering them like an unwanted blanket, smothering and suffocating.

The houses were all dark; Wei Ying supposed the inhabitants were all asleep. It looked like a cozy place to live in.

And then they saw a wandering light.

Wei Ying held up his hand so that their party could stop and see what was there.

The light was definitely a candle, and it was coming towards them. Wei Ying watched as its light slowly defined a young woman who held it. She came right up to them, and was about to speak, but she gasped instead, looking at Rumi and Li XiWang.

"You need to leave! Right now!"

Her terrified whisper made the hairs on Wei Ying's neck stand up. He looked behind them to the substantial road they had just cut across, and wondered why she was saying such a thing.

"Madam, please calm yourself, first. We are new to this area...perhaps you could explain?" He told her gently.

Lan Zhan stepped slightly in front of him, shielding his body from her. Wei Ying could see everything from Lan Zhan's shoulders.

"That is precisely why I'm telling you to go. The longer you stay, the more chance that she will be able to smell them." She pointed at Li XiWang and Rumi.