WangXian Forever Book 8

Chapter 107 Contents

Rumi giggled.

Out of all the reactions he could have had, that one was the most unexpected.

It lightened their hearts and everyone watched as he pulled out a piece of jewelry.

At least...that's what it looked like.

It was curved and made out of gold and jade.

"Is that a ... snake?" Li XiWang asked.

Rumi nodded and giggled again because the hard metal transformed into a little green snake with ruby red eyes and a little gold crown.

"It's so cute!" Li XiWang cried, wanting to pet it, and when her hand got too close, the snake changed, its personality taking a nosedive from cute and precious to aggressively angry, poised for a hissing attack.

Luckily, Wei Ying pulled her back in time, and the snake returned to its friendly disposition.

"I expected something like that..." He mumbled, still holding on to Li XiWang's upper arms. "Don't touch it without asking, okay, Little Rabbit? I think it has been adapted to only protect Rumi..."

"A protection charm?" Uncle Qiren asked, stroking his whiskers. "I suppose it makes sense if it was left for him by his mother."

They all watched as the snake kissed the centre of Rumi's palm in the cutest way with her tiny snout.

"ChimChim!" He said, in delight as it slithered up his arm, pausing to look deeply into his purple eyes.

They appeared to be communicating from the length of that gazing, but after that, ChimChim slithered further up, all the way to his ear. It curled around the shell and then, Rumi hissed as the snake poked a hole in his lobe. Then it poked the end of its tale through the hole and caught it in its own teeth.

It's red eyes flashed once more before it solidified into its previous form of a jade and gold snake with ruby eyes once more.

"It's an ear cuff." Wei Ying exclaimed, looking at it in awe. "Does it still hurt, baby?" He held out his arms for Rumi, who nodded and climbed into his lap, cuddling closer.

"That was...unexpected." Uncle Qiren stated, looking at Rumi still. "Any injury throbs for a little while...but it will stop hurting soon...alright?" He reassured the child.

Rumi nodded but held on to Wei Ying tighter.

"Was there anything else in the chest?" He asked.

The chest had been lined in tar and then leather to protect the contents from the water where it had been hidden.

Lan Zhan carefully picked up the chest and upturned it, so he wouldn't have to touch whatever was inside it.

They were all surprised at what fell out.

It was another artifact, this time a slim golden snake wrapped around an amethyst heart, the tail extending in a wavy line. The size of the whole thing was maybe of Rumi's full hand, or Wei Ying’s palm.

The workmanship and attention to detail was truly astounding, each scale of the snake carved in intricate detail. There were even individual tiny diamonds embedded into the delicate crown. And the artist or the creator had taken care to craft two tiny horns on the head of the snake too.

The jewel snugly encased within the body of the snake appeared real, and shone with a unique purple depth.

None of them had ever seen anything like that before.

"Sweetheart...look what else your mother left for you." Wei Ying coaxed.

Rumi sat down properly in Wei Ying's lap, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"I get the feeling that nothing will happen if any of us touch it, but something will if Rumi does. It looks like a key...?" Wei Ying looked at Lan Zhan, who picked it up then.

He examined it in that quiet, calm way of his, exuding a professional interest in the item. He took his time too, no rush or hesitation in his movements.

Wei Ying’s mouth went dry as he watched those familiar long pale fingers carefully prodding and poking at the item, remembering the precision and care with which those same fingers touched him.

Lan Zhan was such a precious person, truly incomparable.

Love, bright and hopeful, bloomed again and again like soft waves caressing the shores of a beach within his heart. Wei Ying fell into this feeling as if he was drowning in it, happy and content. Lan Zhan was his everything.

"Wei Ying..."

Wei Ying realised that while he was lost in his thoughts about his husband, the man in question had been talking to him and probably for longer than he knew.

He blinked and smiled, and saw the questioning look in his eyes too, complete with the fondest look of affection. Lan Zhan had a softness about him, an expression reserved only for him, and Wei Ying knew it well.

"I was just thinking....about you." He explained his drifting thoughts. "Anyway, what did you say?"

"I asked you if Rumi wanted to hold this?" He held out the artifact.

"Rumi?" Wei Ying asked him directly.

Rumi obediently held out his skinny arm.

Lan Zhan placed the artifact into his little palm.

Everyone expected something similar to happen with the snake; for it to come alive and do...something...but its tail smoothed out.

Now it was a longish stub of metal, still with the body of a snake wrapped around the heart-shaped jewel. And it was still very beautiful.

But, when Rumi took it into his hands and ran a finger over the purple heart, that's when the artifact seemed to shudder.

And then, a variety of shapes poked out from the stubby, smooth metal.

"It looks like a confused key." Li XiWang remarked.

"Oh my! You're a genius, my sweet Little Rabbit!" Wei Ying exclaimed loudly and excitedly. "That's what this marvellous contraption is!"

"Huh?" His daughter wore a puzzled look, as did the rest of the people in the room.

"This," Wei Ying held up Rumi's hand, "is a key to open all doors. It is a Skeleton Key."