WangXian Forever 7

Chapter 92 Graveyard

A lone crow announced their arrival, perhaps part of an ongoing conversation with an owl, as the two famous cultivators ventured further into the night.

"This brings back memories." Wei Ying said, out of the blue.

"Mn." Not good ones, Lan Zhan thought, his mind still trapped in a funk.

Maybe it wasn't just that he missed the children, maybe it was something more than that. It could have been anything, if he was honest. He missed his brother terribly, and more than that, Cloud Recesses.

He missed the way the sun broke through the clouds and made the frozen peaks of the higher mountains gleam with gold; he missed the sudden first snows, and the frozen waterfalls of Gusu...and maybe he was just tired of travelling. The only thing that made any of this better was Wei Ying.

"Look, Lan Zhan!" Wei Ying was saying now. "That's the graveyard."

It was sectioned off by a wooden fence; a large oak tree stood to one side and all the graves faced it. At first, everything seemed alright, and normal.

They opened the gate and entered.

"Shall we wait for them, or just call them, my love?" Wei Ying asked, pulling out Chenqing.

"Call them. End this sooner." Lan Zhan summoned WangJi.

Wei Ying nodded and placed his spiritual tool against his lips. He played a haunting melody, one that pierced through the boundaries of the living and the dead. It called upon all the lost souls, the young and the old, those not yet at rest. It commanded them to rise, to heed the call for their attendance, and through the dry soil, his call was answered.

Boney hands parted the mud and dirt, and dragged their bodies out of the ground.

Lan Zhan watched his more than capable husband stand tall, his silver eyes gleaming red now, fully concentrating on the task at hand. He loved that about Wei Ying; he could commit one hundred percent to whatever he was doing, whether it was playing with the rabbits, spending time with either SiZhui or any of their children, and for that matter, anyone he was talking to, his mind was fully present.

Black whispering tendrils of resentment energy flowed thick and fast from all around him, creating a barrier between himself and the dead as more and more rose from the ground.

Lan Zhan knew it was more for his own protection than anything else; Wei Ying had no qualms about touching them and he was fearless about interacting with them. His black robes blended into the shadows of the night as his powers grew.

Strong, sure, and confident, the Yiling Patriarch was hot.

Lan Zhan felt incredibly lucky now.

With Wei Ying's core a brilliant white, totally unaffected by his demonic cultivation skills, there was nothing to worry about. He watched as Wei Ying stepped forward then, and held his hand out.

The dead were restless, swaying with a wish to leave, but the resentment energy was holding them in place. They were moaning and groaning, their bare, boney feet clawing at the ground, even as their attention was held fast by the ministrations of the black dizi.

Lan Zhan heard Wei Ying ask them questions and then he closed his brilliant red eyes, trying to make sense of whatever they were imparting.

Wei Ying listened carefully to the secrets of the dead. They could not rest yet, not when what was so important to them was still undiscovered. They told Wei Ying everything, and once he had the full story, he bowed to them.

This too, was something special that Lan Zhan admired about him. His respect for all things, no matter living or dead, showed such a greatness of character. Lan Zhan felt his heart hurt at how much people had mistaken his intentions, when Wei Ying had only stayed true to himself and his principles. He had given up his life to stay true.

The dead bowed back, and then Wei Ying played a different tune, one that Lan Zhan was able to recognise. The skeletons in their rags began to crumble, their hands digging back into the ground and they disappeared completely upon the last note of Chenqing.

Wei Ying looked up at Lan Zhan then.

"Cleansing?"

"Yeah...we can help them to rest." His voice sounded resigned.

Together they played, their unity in the music as they played off each other cleansing like the name of the song. Each note echoed through the night, sinking into the ground and filling the air with a tranquility previously missing, until Wei Ying was satisfied that the souls of the farmers were truly at peace.

They left the graveyard soon after.

"We should inform the elders of that village." Wei Ying was saying.

"Wei Ying." Lan Zhan stopped in the middle of the road.

Wei Ying turned in surprise and came back to him.

Lan Zhan wanted to tell him how sorry he was, for everything that had happened in his past life. It seemed like such a grave injustice, that here was Wei Ying, honest and pure, and there was the cultivation world, corrupt and vile, eagerly damaging his character when it was clear that they couldn't have won against Wen Rouhan by themselves. He wanted to tell Wei Ying how much he loved him, how much he believed in him, believed that Wei Ying would never be corrupted, not when he had made that wish upon their joint lantern.

But above all that, he wanted his heart to stop hurting like this.

Wei Ying was over this...wasn't he?

"My love...?" Wei Ying held his face in his hands.

Lan Zhan was clearly going through something...epic...and his mood had been off since they had left the dessert. But he didn't look as if he could voice his thoughts right now.

They could speak through their mind connection, and Wei Ying wondered if Lan Zhan would let him. Would it make it any easier?

"If you can't say it, do you want to show me?" Wei Ying searched his golden eyes, looking so much darker in this half light.

"Mn." Lan Zhan felt Wei Ying enter his mind.

He heard him gasp at the depth of what Lan Zhan was feeling. And then he felt hot lips slide across his own. This was a kiss of awareness, of understanding what Lan Zhan was thinking, and of a deep acceptance. When they broke apart, Wei Ying was wiping under his eyes.

"My love...don't cry for me. All of that...it was in my past life. None of it matters now. We have each other...and that's enough for me. It has to be enough for you too." Wei Ying wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan tightly, holding him close.

"It is enough. It is." Lan Zhan said. But his throat was still thick with emotions.

Wei Ying understood him though. Hours and days and weeks could go by, yet the horrors of the past could rear their ugly heads at any time.

Lan Zhan hugged him back.

"I wish I had done more. For Wei Ying."

"No need. I know it's a hard truth to accept, but maybe things were supposed to happen that way? And who knew I'd have to come back like this? But my love?" He waited for Lan Zhan to look at him. "I would take this any day, if it meant I could be with you. You are my everything."

Lan Zhan crashed their lips together, wanting to show Wei Ying how much he was loved. This kissing was another language altogether, one that managed to convey his every wish, every hidden desire hiding in his heart.

Wei Ying kissed him back, pouring all of his love into the kiss, his lips reassuring Lan Zhan that he was okay. And he was...he hardly thought about those days now.

But it was terribly apparent that the crimes of the past had many more victims than just the ones standing on the wrong side of righteous swords: the ones who had to suffer witnessing the deeds were just as much victims, and bore just the same amount of pain.

Only they could hide their scars better.