The Child of Immortals

Chapter 14: One Way to Calm the Enraged Immortal

"It would seem that you have grown courageous, Little White." Wei Wuxian said as he crossed his arms, unamused at the sight he was currently witnessing with Lan Wangji. "To think that you were capable enough to do this. Truly amazing. I should applaud you."

Ye Baiyi, the obnoxious half immortal, immediately fell silent.

Lan Wangji narrowed his eyes to show his displeasure. "You kidnap our eldest and injure our youngest. I wonder what we should do to you."

Lan Jingyi grinned, with the evilest of intentions shining within his eyes. "We should take him to the torture chamber and have a little fun, but not too much fun, after all, we can't have him dying too quickly. Don't you agree, mom?"

"Yes, that sounds wonderful, A-Yi." Wei Wuxian agreed with a smirk as he approached the trembling half immortal. "Now, Little White, I'll allow you to make the decision of whether we should do this the hard way, the easy way, or my way."

Lan Sizhui, worried for the frightened half immortal's well-being, rushed to stand between Wei Wuxian and Ye Baiyi. "Mother, please wait! When I learned that he was searching for a cure to help Wen Kexing's friend, I willingly went along with him! It's not his fault!"

Wei Wuxian stopped his approach and raised an eyebrow. "And the ghost which accompanied you?"

"Um." Lan Sizhui uttered nervously as he averted his gaze. "He might have accidentally killed her...?"

Lan Jingyi chuckled. "Are you trying to protect him from mother's anger or are you trying to increase the number of his offenses against mother? Because that totals it to four now."

Ye Baiyi flinched. "F-Four?"

"Kidnapping my eldest, hurting my youngest, hiding my eldest, keeping my eldest away from me, escaping Nie Huaisang's men who were searching for my eldest, hurting my future son-in-law, taking too long to search for a cure to help my future son-in-law, accusing my youngest of being an evil being." Wei Wuxian listed with an emotionless gaze. "And killing the ghost I summoned to keep my eldest safe. All in all, that's more than four A-Yi. That's a total of nine offenses against me."

"Oh." Lan Jingyi breathed in understanding.

"Nine?!" Ye Baiyi exclaimed. "But that—!"

Lan Wangji took a step forward and glared at him. "You wish to say something?"

Ye Baiyi lowered his head. "...No, sir."

"Mother, I..." Lan Sizhui uttered, unsure of how to continue the current conversation while his parents' temper was as such.

Wei Wuxian narrowed his eyes at his eldest son. "I'm disappointed, Sizhui. Not only did you refuse to inform us of your whereabouts, you also allowed this child to injure your youngest brother and his fated pair. Your father and I will discuss your punishment after this matter is settled."

Lan Sizhui pursed his lips in an attempt to stop himself from crying, though failing terribly, and nodded in defeat as he walked towards where Lan Jingyi stood. "Yes, mother. I'm sorry..."

"Sizhui..." Lan Jingyi called as he pulled him into a hug. "Everything will be fine. They were just worried about you. I'm sure they'll hug you to oblivion once they settle down."

"I hope so." Lan Sizhui uttered against his brother's shoulder. "I hate it when I disappoint them, but I hate it even more when they're mad at me."

Lan Jingyi tightened his hug. "They're not mad at you. And if their temper gets the better of them, I'll try my best to talk to them so your punishment won't be too harsh, alright?"

Lan Sizhui chuckled. "How is it that it's only at times like these that you become more mature and serious?"

"There's no reason to take things seriously if you're there with me." Lan Jingyi replied with a grin, proud of the one he calls his older brother. "Because I know everything will go well if you're the one taking the lead."