WangXian Forever 7

Chapter 149 Proposition

Hui Gai stepped forward.

"What do you have in mind?" Wei Ying asked him, looking at the chest.

Each one of the rivets holding the wooden case intact was as big as his face, and of course, lifting the chest itself was out of the question.

"Either we can make it smaller, or I can myself bigger..." Hui Gai tapped the side of his nose.

"Which one would you put money on?" Wei Ying asked, casually throwing his arm around the demon.

Hui Gai gave him an apologetic look and uneasily shrugged his arm off, just as a throat was rather loudly cleared behind them.

"Bigger? Then I could open it for you back in Cloud Recesses." Hui Gai said.

"Right, right...though there is the tiny matter of not giving anyone a heart attack to consider..." Wei Ying beamed at him.

He was leaning against Hui Gai, only because if they were going to leave any minute now, it wouldn't do to say he was tired or that a nap sounded like the best thing out there.

"Will you be alright to teleport?" Hui Gai asked, already noticing his slouch.

"Wei Ying is feeling tired?" Lan Zhan was by his side in an instance.

"Oh...well done for pointing that out..." Wei Ying mumbled, the tiniest bit annoyed at his friend.

Hui Gai snickered as Lan Zhan predictably checked his temperature and his pulse.

Twice.

Wei Ying made faces at him.

"If you made it smaller now, and carried Rumi and me home, and then, you made it bigger? Is that a good plan?" Li XiWang asked, watching both her fathers.

Wei Ying crouched down as soon as Lan Zhan let go of his wrist. It was a testament to how weak he was feeling if he didn't pick Li XiWang up and throw her in the air, or hug her as he normally did.

"That's a brilliant plan." He told her proudly. "And that way, Hui Gai can test out his skills. I keep forgetting to ask you." Wei Ying looked at his friend. "How are things in the Nether World? Everything okay? Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary?"

"No, nothing out of the ordinary...why? Should I be on the look out for anything?" Hui Gai didn't look worried.

Wei Ying loved that about him, how he could take anything in his stride, and hardly anything bothered him. Hui Gai had filled out his role, his direction in life so well, it made Wei Ying happy to see his adaptability.

"Nothing specific, just a general curiosity, that's all. Haitch is doing well? Venator? Lor?"

"Yeah, the three of them look after everything if they're not too busy trying to kill each other..." He grinned. "It's to be expected when someone thinks they're better at doing something than someone else...I'm not worried."

Despite his contradictory statement, Hui Gai looked sincere, and this put Wei Ying's mind at ease.

Wei Ying stood up, holding on to Lan Zhan.

"Alright, I think we can go now." He went to Xiao Zei. "Little Brother, look after yourself and Dunshi. And should you need us, you know where we are."

Xiao Zei bowed.

"Thank you for taking me on and letting me tag along with you. I suppose it's opened my eyes that sure, the world is full of heartless thieves and bad people...but if you look hard enough, there are gems to be found. I am honoured that I got the chance to meet people like you."

Wei Ying blushed and hugged him, letting go as quickly as he could, so not to annoying a certain someone fidgeting with their sword, glaring indefinitely at the ground.

Hui Gai placed his hand on the huge chest and imagined its size to be small enough to fit inside his palm.

When he opened his eyes to the gasps of the children, he saw that it was exactly so; the chest was on the ground more than a hundred times lesser than its normal size.

Hui Gai picked it up, and tossed it in the air like one the Jacks pieces he played with Li XiWang, catching it effortlessly and repeating the gesture.

Li XiWang cheered in delight, hugging his waist. Hui Gai picked her and Rumi up and they waved to their parents.

"See you soon, my loves!" Wei Ying called out, feeling Lan Zhan’s arm curl around his waist.

The children and Hui Gai vanished.

"Goodbye Dunshi, farewell Xiao Zei! Bye!" Wei Ying called out and they too vanished.

The sudden drop in temperature was a shock to their system. Wei Ying was shivering and trying to activate his white core to heat himself up, when Lan Zhan wrapped a thick fleece-lined coat around his slim shoulders.

Tears of joy glistened in his silver eyes as Wei Ying's gaze travelled all over the part of Cloud Recesses he could see. He waved absentmindedly at Li XiWang and Rumi as they ran off somewhere, but Wei Ying was drowning in nostalgic feelings.

Everywhere they looked, everything was covered in a fine sprinkling of snow, still soft and therefore recently fallen. A hush had spread out with the white blanket, silencing the ordinary song of the earth.

Cloud Recesses was wearing her white mantle with grace and beauty, an elegance that was rare as much as it was divine. The sun had just risen, and its first rays were like an enchantment, sprinkling the white dust with glitter as it caught the light. This wondrous sight was heartening and joyous, making Wei Ying feel immensely happy.

All the trees were white, their boughs laden with snow and icicles that had formed in the night and then frozen were glimmering, threatening to fall.

Gusu was a winter wonderland, a place of raw beauty and natural finery.

Wei Ying turned to Lan Zhan and smiled through his tears.

"My love." He reached up to kiss his cheek. "We're finally home now."