WangXian Forever 7

Chapter 101 Health

Wei Ying was resting inside the temple, near the entrance. Lan Zhan was sitting next to him, both children in his lap, Hui Gai on his left, while Oge and Klem were on his right.

Moonlight drifted in through the gaps in the roof, the quiet night sitting like a blanket over them, comforting them after what had happened to one of their own.

Dunshi and Xiao Zei sat close by, initially quite shocked at what Wei Ying was suffering through, being a renowned cultivator, and whether it was by sheer bad luck that he had been hurt or not, it still brought home to everyone actually how vulnerable they all were.

Master Dashi was playing outside, watched over by Hongbaoshi. They could hear him singing softly to himself, a children's lullaby, punctuated with random claps that rang out into the night, echoing around them.

"What are you going to do about the ones that did this?" Hui Gai had been itching to discuss this, and now that everyone was calm to some degree, he thought they could have a rational conversation about their plans. It said a lot about his personal growth that he had waited at all, instead of going to solve the "problem" by himself.

Lan Zhan wanted to kill them, the ones that had dared to hurt his Wei Ying.

No doubts in his mind about that.

But the solid weight of their two children in his lap, looking at his face and waiting for his reply, made him hold his tongue for now. As a parent, he had a moral obligation to lead by example, and while he knew Hui Gai would have no qualms about unleashing hell upon the perpetrators, the possibility of his children finding out the truth was real, and therefore, stopped his desire for vengeance leaking out.

"We have to find them first." He said instead.

I know what you want to do to them, Hui Gai said, using their mental connection. Ever since he and Wei Ying discovered that they could talk like this without being overheard, and that Lan Zhan could also hear them, Hui Gai had avoided talking to Lan Zhan directly, because it simply wasn't necessary.

But Wei Ying was still sleeping off the aftereffects of the poison, and he had no choice. He supposed it was possible for Lan Zhan to be included in the closeness Hui Gai shared with Wei Ying, due to the fact that they were both core-bonded, but no matter the reason why, he was glad to make use of it now.

He could see the rage simmering under the surface of the calm persona Lan Zhan was exuding, like the calm surface of a deep lake, with tumultuous undercurrents, ready to tear apart anything that disturbed them. But they were both aware of the responsibility of being role models for the children, and Hui Gai respected his friends too much to betray their trust in him.

No matter what I wish, we must do what Wei Ying would want. Let's wait until he wakes up. Lan Zhan hoped he was succinct in voicing how serious he was.

Hui Gai nodded solemnly, though he busied himself with thinking about ways to amuse himself once they were found.

As if Lan Zhan's words were prophetic, Wei Ying's eyes began fluttering as he fought his lethargy. His hand moved as if he was searching for something, only pausing when Lan Zhan reached for it, holding it tight.

"WingAnLaZhan?" Rumi whispered.

"Soon." Lan Zhan told him.

"I can't wait for Father to wake up." Li XiWang admitted.

"He will be alright." Lan Zhan was happier and relieved that now he could say that and mean it.

"I know...just that he's always getting hurt. I hate it." She added.

Hui Gai left his arm around her shoulder, squeezing softly.

Rumi growled in agreement.

"Mn. Also hate it." Lan Zhan replied.

Hongse watched them all wistfully, with a bittersweet smile on her face. It was amazing to her that all of them shared such a vital connection, so much so that they didn't even need many words now. Just their love for each other made it possible to know what each thought, and that alone was powerful.

She was close to her sisters, but in no way did their tight bond together come anywhere near what that family had.

Raina had been the hope...the hope that she could share in the joys of finding her own soulmate would bring...but now, enough time had passed for her to see that perhaps her own wishful thinking had led herself astray. So eager to find that kind of companionship, that level of understanding only one who knew her thoroughly without effort could bring the comfort she thought she had needed.

But she was okay, wasn't she? Without it, too? She was the leader of the Flowers of Venus, a strong cultivator by herself, and First Disciple of Master Dashi. Perhaps she should just concentrate on what would come before them for now, and leave personal issues aside.

These thoughts provided some measure of relief, and she edged forward as Wei Ying opened his eyes.

He saw Lan Zhan first, and smiled as broadly as he could, hating the worry he could see lurking behind the golden orbs. But even now, it was a struggle to keep his eyes open.

"Don't fight it." Hongse told him gently, checking his meridians and temperature, followed by his pulse. Her sharp ears heard and felt the stuttering of his heart as it tried to recover; whatever this poison was, it had claws.

"Auntie Hongse, will he be alright?" Li XiWang gave in to the tears she had been holding in, wanting her father back now.

"Yes my dear, he will. It's just the remaining fatigue, he's trying to fight it but sometimes, these things need time to pass through the system, that's all. It's nothing to worry about." She added kindly.

"Okay." Li XiWang tried to nod, wiping away her tears, before she was lifted into another lap and held tightly.

"You can't cry, Little Rabbit. You know what it does to me." Hui Gai told her. "Let's play a game." He kissed her forehead with his red lips, not caring who heard them now. His red eyes gleamed unnaturally bright, thinking about all the possible ways to hurt someone without actually killing them.

"What game?" Her child's mind leaped at some way out its current pain, reaching for anything that could provide a distraction, or relief from it's current state.

"Well, we know your father won't like it if we kill whoever did this." He gestured towards Wei Ying's wound which was patched up and covered by a bandage now.

"Yeah, he won't want that." She agreed, her curiosity spiked.

"Bite." Rumi suggested.

Hui Gai laughed at the little boy's enthusiastic response.

"Good idea." He encouraged, when the little one looked disappointed and hurt at Hui Gai's amusement. "I wasn't laughing at you." He explained. "Just that you normally only say "WingAnLaZhan" and I wasn't expecting something different, that's all."

Rumi made open claws with his tiny hands as if he would scratch the culprits who had hurt his father, and it was so adorable, Hui Gai was reminded of the red pandas who roamed the forests of Gusu; when they felt threatened, they would stand on their hind legs and stretch their arms up as if it made them taller, instead making them so much cuter instead.

"Little Red, you can let us handle it for now." He told the little baby.

Rumi looked incredibly disappointed, but he nodded seriously. Lan Zhan kissed the top of his bald head, remembering what it looked like when once Wei Ying had made a garland of blue flowers for their baby, and how sweet they all had looked with flowers in their hair, on their heads.

Happiness was made up of these tiny pockets of joy, memories that would last forever, no matter if children grew up and everything changed; he would still have these beautiful pictures in his head, all because of his beloved and his generous heart. Lan Zhan did not know anybody else who had Wei Ying's capacity for love, to be able to provide it immediately and in such abundance.

He lifted Wei Ying's hand now, and kissed the back of it, feeling Wei Ying settle further with this contact.

"Rest, my love." He whispered, and only his ears heard the soft sigh of a content heart, finally doing just that.