WangXian Forever Book 8

Chapter 101 Waiting

In the morning after a quiet breakfast, Wei Ying looked at Rumi. The boy had a restlessness about him and Wei Ying had the feeling that he wanted to say something.

So he held his arms open and waited for him to climb into his lap. He kissed his bald head lovingly.

"So Rumi...did you decide anything?" He asked gently.

Wei Ying was in two minds about his answer; on the one hand he wanted Rumi to say yes, and then they could get it all over with and remove this unnecessary stress from their lives...but a part of him wanted to take Rumi away from everyone and anything that could harm him, keeping him safe for always.

So that question was not asked lightly.

Lan Zhan was more worried about Wei Ying. Children, he had found, were far more resilient than adults often gave them credit for, and he thought about SiZhui then. Their son had been through so much already, and wasn't he still just a ball of sunshine? His traumas were there but A-Yuan had not allowed them to take over his life.

In the same way, they ought to trust that Rumi would be just as strong, if not stronger.

Perhaps, if they dealt with it now, the child might learn to forget it again and that was the single benefit from dealing with his memories now.

Rumi was looking at both of them, a small brave smile on his little face.

"WingAnLaZhan...want." He said, his purple eyes shining brighter.

Li XiWang hugged him first.

"You won't be alone, Rumi. We are with you now." She told him confidently.

"Does that mean you want to be there?" Wei Ying teased her.

He thought she would be a calming influence if she was, and it was a great idea.

"Of course! Anything happens to my brother, I wanna be there for him." She insisted.

"Normally...children are not encouraged to be present at such times...but I think you can learn something...and definitely, Rumi will feel better if you're there." Wei Ying smiled st her encouragingly. "We were thinking about going together. All three of us."

"WingAnLaZhan?" Rumi asked, and now he looked excited about that.

"Yes. If Uncle XiChen looks after us, it will be fine." Lan Zhan said, also smiling.

"So...when should we do this?" Wei Ying asked, sounding a little bit nervous.

He wasn't scared of doing it...his experience in this field was unmatched, with only Lan Zhan the one closest to his skills. Wei Ying thought is might be partially as a by product of the GusuLan technique of playing Inquiry. Both were probing into the spiritual world where things which could not be touched but definitely existed were examined.

"Xiongzhang will have finished with breakfast maybe..." Lan Zhan remembered his brother's current situation and smothered a smile.

"Feeding time at the zoo?" Wei Ying gave him a naughty grin.

"Maybe Uncle is a better choice for mediator." Lan Zhan said.

"I think so. Shall we just turn up...or maybe ask him first? He doesn't seem the sort to like surprises." Wei Ying tapped his nose thoughtfully.

"I shall go and ask him first." Lan Zhan stood up with a flourish.

Wei Ying watched him leave with a tender smile on his face.

Lan Zhan didn't even try at being graceful or elegant or any of the attributes of being a fine gentleman, and yet he was the epitome of one.

Nie Huaisang had been right all those years ago in that Flower Empress' town, when those delicate, pretty petals had rained down upon them and he had claimed Lan Zhan’s beauty as incomparable.

Wei Ying had heartily agreed.

In fact, there were so many instances in the past, that only if someone had nudged his consciousness, Wei Ying was sure he would have come to the right conclusion that he was head-over-heels in love with the Great Hanguang-Jun.

He smiled at both his children now.

"Let's play Jacks." He enthused, figuring that it would relax both of them and make the time pass faster.

Indeed, as Li XiWang brought out the cold metal pieces and they began playing in earnest, the minutes flew by spent in laughter and having fun.

When Lan Zhan returned, a good half hour later, he found three rosy faces giggling and playing together.

They sobered when they saw him, anxious for his news.

"What did Uncle say?" Wei Ying asked, trying to remain calm for his children's sake.

"He said yes. We are to go immediately." Lan Zhan nodded, holding his hands out for them.

"Hold on." Wei Ying stood up and began rummaging through the chest of drawers on one side.

He crowed triumphantly when he found what he was looking for. He held it up.

It was the Jiang clarity bell, the token that had hung from his belt in his first life as their head disciple.

The very same one that Lan Zhan had found in Yiling when he had been searching for Wei Ying...when he had gone missing.

For such a small item, it held so much weight of emotions.

Lan Zhan glanced at it in surprise and then concern as his gaze flew to Wei Ying, worrying that he would be feeling some sort of nostalgic loss...but Wei Ying appeared normal and happy.

"What?" He asked Lan Zhan, absentmindedly looking around if he had forgotten anything else. "It's just that we might need something to pull us out if we go in too deep and this is just the thing. I heard it too often in the past for me to forget what it sounds like now...though I should probably just return it to Jiang Cheng, huh? Maybe after today..." and then he giggled. "Um...probably after I've found a cure...for his current situation." He laughed softly to himself some more before picking up Rumi and swinging him into the air.

"Let's go!"

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A/N

Dear beautiful readers,

I was pleasantly shocked this morning because we're on chapter 101, and since each chapter is around and rarely over 1000 words, that means we've passed 101K word count and I had to check when I actually started writing this book. The first chapter was published on the 20th June 2022 so tomorrow marks three months!

We've reached 28K readership so thank you very much for that too.

I have a day off today so expect more updates as I may be able to write for the other books as well.

Have a great day everyone!

Charlie.