Solstice Souls Book 2: Black Fire, White Flame

Friends In Dark Places

Lan Zhan's POV

Lan Zhan wanted to twist away but he felt the sharpness of the blade at his throat and the burn on his wrist, a blinding white flame, causing his attention to split in two directions.

Something was happening to Wei Ying...but then, just as soon as the pain of intense heat flared into life, it disappeared moments later....what did that mean?

Was Wei Ying alright? Was that a momentary danger?

But he didn't have time to dwell on that, because there were two men standing in front of him.

Two strangers.

In that brief flash of white light, Lan Zhan had seen this:

One dressed all in white, his face unique in its almost feminine features and yet he was definitely a man. There was a softness about him, one which Lan Zhan hoped to capitalise on, if he was given the chance to save himself.

The one dressed like the shadows of the night, all in black held a sword with the characters that read Fuxue, meaning to brush away snow. That same blade was pressed up against his throat and the man holding it there, looked back at him with the coldest glare in his black eyes. They looked like endless pools of darkness staring back at him.

"Who are you?" The one in white asked.

"Lan WangJi of Gusu." Lan Zhan answered without thinking.

He should have lied! Why did he tell the truth? Lan Zhan berated himself internally, wishing for once that those precious rules had not sunken so deeply into his consciousness.

"A Lan? From Cloud Recesses?" the paler of the two continued. "Prove it."

"I already have." Lan Zhan could not help his snarky tone.

"How so?" The man in black sounded too skeptical and Lan Zhan realised he'd have to convince both of them of the truth, otherwise it would be detrimental to his health.

"Lans do not lie." He insisted and then he had another idea. "You must have heard of my sword...Bichen...it was owned by another in our clan...a long time ago."

"That proves nothing if you have stolen it." The one in black said urgently, "I am of the opinion that we dispose of him before he gives us away. He is a liability we do not need." he told his friend.

"Wait...my dear. Let us make sure first, whether he is telling the truth or not." the paler one said. "Just now...what was that on your wrist? Why did it glow like that? What is the significance of it?"

Lan Zhan was desperate now. His life may be in danger, but so was Wei Ying's and he needed to save him. Yet he could see no way out of this situation without telling them everything...or maybe...maybe he could tell them just enough to save his skin. He was no good to anyone dead, he reminded himself.

Years of training made him breathe slowly, calming his body and mind.

"This is a bracelet given to me by the aid of the Celestial Immortal, Baoshan Sanren. I am betrothed to her last living relation, Wei WuXian of Yiling. He wears its twin, and his life is in danger as we speak...that was what the light was. Please, let me go to him. He has been taken to Nightless City against his will and I must save him."

The two cultivators, for now it was clear that that's what they were, stared at one another briefly, communicating something silently before turning to him again.

"Baoshan Sanren?" the one in white asked him, sounding...different?

"Yes. Do you know her?" Lan Zhan asked, urgently.