WangXian Forever Book 8

Chapter 109 Zoo

The next morning, thankfully Wei Ying was blessed with peace and quiet to work.

He had everything set up outside because while Lan Zhan forgave him all the previous times he'd accidentally blown up the Jingshi, Wei Ying himself felt it would be prudent to not risk further damage.

He even had a list of all the things he would need:

1. Cauldron
2. Recipes
3. Ingredients
4. Spoons
5. Lollipop sticks
6. Lollipop molds

There was no way he could fail...right?

He rubbed his hands together for good luck and began.

Half an hour later, he thought he had made progress.

Which was good, because a commotion startled him out of his thoughts, and Wei Ying looked up, accidentally tipping the bottle of guava essence into the bubbling mixture. He made a face at the pungent aroma and tipped the vanilla drops in too, just to balance everything out nicely.

Then, he looked up.

XiChen was struggling.

In one hand, the little piggy was baring its teeth in a highly aggressive move against Snizzy, who was normally a sweet-tempered kissy snake...but right now, poised to sinking her fangs into the hide of a soft baby's rump.

All the while, XiChen was trying to pull them apart but Snizzy was wrapped around his right arm tight enough that it looked quite pale, while Ke-ai was oinking as much as his little mouth would allow, with pitiful huffing, being held as close to XiChen's chest as possible.

And then...there was Jiang Cheng...still an ape, swinging around his neck...

They made quite the picture...purple, pink and blue.

Wei Ying stood up and bowed, smiling.

"XiChen-Ge! Good morning! What can I do for you today?" He greeted him with a bright and happy mouth.

"Tell me you've found a cure?" XiChen said...

Wei Ying laughed, thinking he was joking...but evidently not.

"That's what I'm doing..." He gestured behind him then. "Working on it now."

"I see..." He sounded doubly disappointed.

"Why? What's up?"

"Well, as you know, WangJi had to go into Caiyi Town, but some smaller Sect leaders have come to visit and I have to meet with them...only I'm a bit busy now..." He explained, as piggy attacked snake in a cacophonic battle to the death.

He had to shout the next bit, while Jiang Cheng made whooping noises.

"So I was wondering if you wouldn't mind-"

"You want me to meet the Sect Leaders?" Wei Ying asked, horrified.

XiChen looked the same before he arranged his features back into a polite smile.

"Um...no. If you could just help me out by looking after one of these...or all of them?" He asked, much too hopefully.

"Er...okay?" Wei Ying wasn't at all confident of that, since there was a full on disagreement happening right before their eyes.

Surprisingly, the piggy was winning...

Jiang Cheng suddenly jumped down from his neck and swung towards Wei Ying.

"Thanks!" XiChen fled before anyone could change their minds.

So Wei Ying was left eyeing the ape and wondering why he had never noticed the resemblance before now.

The ape scowled.

Wei Ying wished desperately for some way he could capture its expression...

And then the ape began dancing and jumping around, most animatedly, and then as Wei Ying turned around, he realised that it was trying to get his attention because the cauldron was about to boil over.

He grabbed it without thinking and accidentally burned himself, his fingers hurting terribly, but luckily he had saved the mixture.

"I'll be right back, don't do anything!" He told Jiang Cheng, disappearing inside the Jingshi to get some salve for his red fingers.

The ape stuck his tongue out at Wei Ying’s back.

But when Wei Ying came back outside, Jiang Cheng had disappeared.

Must have gone to find XiChen-Ge...he thought.

Now, when he sat down to check on the cauldron, unfortunately the mixture had solidified into immovable sugar, ruining yet another vessel.

He sighed...

Now he was going to have to buy more...and didn't XiChen-Ge say Lan Zhan was already in Caiyi Town?

Maybe he could just teleport there and find his husband...maybe they could spend some quality time in the shops...and then Wei Ying screamed...

**********

Hui Gai liked shopping.

And now he had a shopping buddy too, so it was quite fun.

Zago was ruthless when it came to buying stuff too, a master bargainer and Hui Gai could just step back and watch her.

They wove between the tiny alleys, packed with different shoppers. Vendors yelled about how great their wares were, while steam drifted from the various food stalls, the pungent aroma of onions and garlic permeating the air in between.

They had passed the tricksters corner, where the demons liked to browse well, plus the snake pit where cockerels were made to race each other with pieces of corn tied on a stick from their own necks.

There was a magic circle where all types of conjouring happened, with novice spellmasters learning the ropes, being supervised by more experienced wizards. Past the Ghostly triangle....Zago hadn't known and passed through...but it was nothing they wouldn't recover from...

And now, they had found what Hui Gai had heard about.

This section was infamous for its cures and remedies.

But Hui Gai was looking for one particular place and as they rounded the corner, they were hit with an oddly green smell...and he knew they had found it...finally.

It was more of a hovel, but behind the rickety shack, there was a beautiful garden with a plethora of plants and bushes growing in a vivid colourful explosion. All manner of herbs and roots were haphazardly strewn about and the place looked...quirky.

The front door was open and a hunched old lady walked out slowly, looking at them intently.

"Welcome..." She said, bowing slightly. "How may I help you?"

Hui Gai grinned at her.

"We have an...interesting case for you..."