WangXian Forever Book 8

Chapter 56 Fire

It was hard watching Wen Ning walk away, even for Jin Ling. He glanced over to SiZhui, who was staring at their retreating backs with longing all over his beautiful face.

Jin Ling loved that the most about his husband. That word still gave him a secret thrill, that he could have all SiZhui forever and give himself to him too. Theirs was a union which would last forever and it made it him feel so happy.

SiZhui's face was open and without guile, or mystery. Everything he was feeling or thinking was there to read, if you knew where to look. And Jin Ling had taken his sweet time to perfect his study.

When they could no longer see Wen Ning or Gu Xing, Jin Ling tugged on his hand.

SiZhui roused himself from his thoughts and looked back at him in surprise, as if he had forgotten where they were.

His lovely chocolate eyes crinkled as he smiled upon seeing Jin Ling.

"Do you...do you think..." He stopped speaking then, his eyes filling with extra moisture.

It was the hardest thing for him to see his Uncle Ning also following along the direction that his parents had gone in, harder to tell himself that it was for the best and worser still for him to believe that everything was going to be alright.

But he allowed himself to go into Jin Ling's arms and accept the comfort the other was giving him.

"What were you going to ask?" Jin Ling asked him, watching the way the others looked away from them, giving them a small measure of privacy.

"I know you don't know..." SiZhui sniffed, burying his face in Jin Ling's neck. "But I really need someone to tell me that everything is going to be okay..."

Jin Ling hugged him tighter.

"That's easy." Jin Ling told him. "And you know that better than I do. Look at your parents, Sweetheart. Look what they've been through! So many challenges, so much trouble and yet they survived. And don't get me started on your Uncle Ning. He came back from almost dying! Isn't that a miracle by itself? And surely from that we can say that Fate has much more in store for him...he's not going to die this early. And if he does, your dad can just bring him back, right?" He joked, unsure if SiZhui was ready to laugh.

SiZhui smacked his hand, a small smile on his face.

"I'm sure it's not as easy as that." He sobered, stepping away.

"At the very least, it will give him a chance to practice, right?" Jin Ling took his arm and began leading them away from this ledge.

The others followed, walking upon the moss that grew under their feet and muffling the sounds of their movement.

"Where are we going?" Zhitiao asked, sharply, trying to evade a super affectionate baby intent on kissing her face.

"Back to that guy's place. He said he was living in the skull of his friend...yeah? So let's check out his story. If he comes back without Uncle Ning, we'll know what to do." Jin Ling replied.

"And I thought you were just a pretty face." Zhitiao remarked dryly.

"He's my pretty face." SiZhui retorted, possessively.

Jin Ling just smiled indulgently.

They were quiet on the way the way back, just the little odd hoot and squeal from the baby dragons.

JingYi could tell they were uneasy about being here. When Suanni had mentioned the Dragon's Graveyard, and claimed it as being the place where Dragons were born and came to die, he had rightly assumed that his babies had been born here. But Gu Xing had stated that he didn't recognise them and so they had never been here before.

It was a strange place for all of them and doubly so for the dragons whose ancestors were born in this place. They could sense the presence of others and it made them wary. Perhaps that was why Gu Xing had offered his home as a sanctuary to them?

For the first time, JingYi wondered if it was actually safe being here. He voiced his concerns to his fiance.

"If there are other dragons here...what if they attack?" He asked her.

"That totally depends on the situation." She told him. "We can hide...it might be better than trying to take on something far bigger and infinitely more powerful than us, right?"

"Absolutely." JingYi preferred running away over confronting something he could not fight. But he sincerely hoped that it wouldn't come to that.

They walked back all the way to the skull and discovered that someone, probably Gu Xing, had carved steps all the way up to the mouth of what used to be Zhi Zhi. Then that soft earth was covered in flat stones, making it easier to navigate.

"Does it ever rain here?" Jin Ling asked.

"Don't know. But there are plenty of trees and plants to support that theory." SiZhui said, looking down and all around him.

The patches of grass were springing under their feet, bouncy and fresh. By the side of the stairs, there was dry wood to make a fire.

"Is anyone hungry?" SiZhui asked, as they climbed up the even steps.

"Maybe later." Zhitiao replied, sniffing the air.

There was a strange smell here, and Jin Ling could not decide whether it was coming from the skull or the general area.

Gu Xing had made these steps climb high up, into the dragon's mouth and then almost a vertical ascent straight into the place which would have housed the dragon's brain.

Gu Xing had made it quite comfortable, with dried grasses providing warm bedding. He had carved a table and chair set and a wooden chest. The smell seemed to be coming from there.

Jin Ling opened it because there was no lock; despite SiZhui whispering that it was rude to go inside someone's home and rummage around.

There were curious...vegetables? He picked one up and examined it. Turning it over and over in his hands, Jin Ling brought it to his nose and took a good long whiff.

"It's definitely this...but I don't know what this is....anyone?"

Zhitiao came to have a closer look and peeled back the long leaves on the top. It was similar to corn cobs but the green leaves parted to reveal black skin. It did not look appetising at all.

JingYi went to sit with SiZhui. He sat on the table while SiZhui had taken the chair.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Just worried." SiZhui replied despondently.

"They'll be alright." JingYi said, trying to help.

SiZhui knew that...that he was trying to help, but in reality, nothing except his fathers return and in good health was going to make anything better, least of all himself.

He wanted to lash out...but SiZhui had never been one to take his anger out on anyone so he remained silent, watching Zhitiao and Jin Ling fight over that curious vegetable, letting his panicky thoughts take root.

He hoped that his Uncle Ning would be able to find a solution to all their problems and he had a feeling that once his parents did wake up, they would know what to do.