Perseverance (Wangxian)

Chapter 34 - Of Family and Fear

"I remember how petrified I was on the inside when I told Jin Zixun off in front of everyone," Wei Ying explained, "I had found Wen Qing covered in dirt and was in tattered clothes. She was starved and a little dehydrated. She asked me to help her find Wen Ning and her family. They helped me and my siblings when we were in a hard place. I also know what they were going through was unfair treatment.

"There were mostly Jin Disciples there but there were some disciples from the Nie Sect and the Lan Sect. I wasn't planning on killing anyone. I only meant to threaten them. Then I found out they were elders and farmers. They had a child there...that child was Sizhui. His parents were killed at some point but I'm not sure when. When we found Wen Ning, we thought he was dead, but he just lost his spiritual cognition and some of his soul. With Chenqing I brought him back and he went out of control.

"When I yelled his name, Wen Qionlin he came back to. When I had everyone on horses to leave, well, you probably know that Lan Zhan came to try to stop me. I couldn't just stand by and do nothing. I made a promise..." Wei Ying looked at Lan Zhan, "stand with justice, and live with a clear conscience."

Lan Zhan sighed and remembered that night very vividly, "I remember after you had gone out of my view, I cried for the first time since mother died."

"You...you cried?" Wei Ying asked.

"In my heart I wanted to follow you, but my head was telling me to not disobey my sect. I was stuck and I couldn't choose," Lan Zhan spoke, "there are many times where I wish I had gone."

"Lan Zhan, at that time, you were and still are, a very prominent and well respected cultivator. You had a duty to follow, and I understood that," Wei Ying told him, "I can't make you choose between me and your family. Your family is much more important that a single person."

"I hope one day it will get drilled into your head," Lan Zhan said, "yes, Xiongzhang and Shufu, and everyone in my sect are considered. You are now my family. You may be just one person, but you alone became someone very important to me. I mourned you for thirteen years. Shufu and Xiongzhang can attest to that. Back then I couldn't choose, but now that I'm older my head is clear on what it wants, and that is you."

Wei Ying didn't want to press this matter any further. Lan Zhan keeps telling him that he is his family. Wei Ying has been betrayed and ripped from so many important people in his life that family became a fear. He feared to get close to others in such a way to call family.

"Let me tell you something," Wei Ying said, "I have had my parents leave me. I have lost what was considered a partial family and then the Wens took me in and allowed me to call them family. Every time I get close to a group of people, and they consider me part of the family. They leave me at some point. I am so tired of people saying that I am their family but then they just betray me or disappear. So tell me, how am I able to just accept a family when I have been denied so many times. Tell me, what is considered a home, and a family? I can't just drill it into my head. I can't just say yes and accept family. I fear to lose them, hurt them, be betrayed by them, I fear being abandoned. People tell me it is not going to happen, but it happened three times already. My real parents, Lotus Pier, and then the Wens."

"I didn't know that family was hard for you to accept," Lan Zhan said, "you have to know I am not going anywhere. I am with you from here on out. That is my promise to you. You don't have to be afraid to accept us, Wei Ying. We are not going to abandon you and kick you out. At least I won't let that happen. I will go where you go if I have to. You will not have to worry about losing another family again."

"Wangji is right, you do not have to worry about us tossing you aside. We are not those kind of people. Once you are apart of our sect, you are considered family. Su She is different. He betrayed the sect and therefore got kicked out. A horrible act would be a reason for that as well. You are a good person A'Xian. You have more of a kind heart than a major of the humans that exist. I have never met someone who is willing to sacrifice everything in fears of losing others. That won't happen here. If there is a problem we find a solution together. We don't act out alone. Even when Wangji was distant from others, he still had people around him so he wasn't ever alone," Xichen explained.

Wei Ying nodded, "thank you...I guess I just need time to adjust to family again. I just don't want to hurt anyone or get hurt myself again."

"You have my word, you won't have to worry about that, I will never leave you," Lan Zhan told him, "so you will have to get used to me being around."

Wei Ying huffed with a chuckle, "alright, alright," he said and continued with his story, "I was distracted and I don't even remember where I left off."

"You just saved the Wens from Qiongqi path," Lan Zhan reminded.

"Oh, well, I did it know where to take them but we ended up in the burial mounds. People settled their, build a couple houses, made a farm. I remember Jiang Cheng stopping by to asked me what I was up to. I told him I was doing the right thing by saving those people. We had a makeshift fight to make it seem like I defected from The Yunmeng Jiang Sect, so we weren't supposed to injure each other too badly. I ended up being his arm, but he stabbed me in the abdomen. If you remember when Jin Ling stabbed me, it was the same place."

"Did he purposefully stab you?" Xichen asked.

"Probably," Wei Ying thought out loud, he then continued, "It was a little while later I ran into Lan Zhan at Yiling. I was with A'Yuan in town and he ran off. When I found him he was clinging onto Lan Zhan's leg. He looked so confused on what to do. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw it. There was a crowd of people saying that he was a bad father for not comforting the child..."

"Ridiculous," Lan Zhan mumbled.

Wei Ying laughed remembering that day, "I even remember A'Yuan shouting 'A-Die! A-Die!' At Lan Zhan too. I tried not to laugh but I couldn't hold myself back. I eventually managed to compose myself and help him get out of that situation. He asked me who the kid belonged to and I said he is mine, and I birthed him. The look on Lan Zhan's gave me was a look of confusion."

Lan Xichen couldn't help but laugh at the thought of his brother struggling with a child wrapped around his leg. Lan Qiren was in the same situation.

"I can't believe you, why are you laughing?" Lan Zhan asked slightly upset.

"Because Lan Zhan, you are an amazing human being. I am happy to have you in my life," Wei Ying said, "no need to worry. That little side story was to lighten the mood a little. There is a lot of heavy things getting ready to come out. So I needed a little bit of a laugh."

"I'll let you get away with it just this once," Lan Zhan told him.

"Thank you," Wei Ying said happily.