WangXian Forever Book 9: The Flower Demon

Chapter 1 Paperman

Lan Zhan was correcting papers.

Whilst it was an ordinary job, something he could accomplish almost with his eyes closed, today his heart wasn't in it. His thoughts kept drifting back to Wei Ying, having left him sleeping in the early morning light.

He thinks about Wei Ying.

This is nothing new; Wei Ying occupies most of the space in his mind almost all the time, but today, Wei Ying looked glorious and heavenly.

Was it something to do with their new forms? The fact that they could transform into dragons was still a novelty for him, and Lan Zhan enjoyed the experiments Wei Ying was constantly trying out with him, attempting to prove or disprove every idea that popped into his head to see if they could do it.

It was both exhilarating and exciting, because Wei Ying's approach was so unorthodox. He had told Lan Zhan that when they explored themselves and their new skills, they were going to push all boundaries and see how far they could go.

With a deep kiss for encouragement, Wei Ying had told him to keep those four thousand plus rules aside and not dwell upon them, not at all when it was just the two of them.

This was in turn, both frightening and adventurous, on his part at least.

Lan Zhan couldn't ever remember anyone telling him something like that. The Elders of the Lan Clan, his Seniors in forever, would be shocked if they knew how Wei Ying was teaching him, allowing him a new kind of freedom.

And Lan Zhan knew better than anyone else how much he could trust Wei Ying.

Everything about his husband was lively, vibrant and so alive...and Lan Zhan felt warm all over just thinking about him. Wei Ying was the flame to the moth that was Lan Zhan, intoxicated and attracted by the light, even at the cost of perishing. If only death was the price of loving his Wei Ying, then Lan Zhan was prepared to pay it.

This morning, Wei Ying had snuggled closer, always seeking warmth.

Summertime in Gusu was still chilly in the morning before the sun climbed over the mountains to warm Mother Earth. There was usually a fog which turned into a dry mist evaporating closer to midday, floating high up towards the peaks of Cloud Recesses, as if the mountains were wearing skirts.

As much as Lan Zhan's love for his home was strong, dear to his heart, there was another love, this one so much stronger.

Wei Ying close in his arms, Wei Ying asleep in their bed, with little puffs of air warming his neck, and Lan Zhan couldn't ask for a better way to wake up.

To see his face flushed with sleep, his rosy cheeks providing a cushion for his long curly lashes, a shadow of sooty eyelids hiding those smokey silver eyes. Wei Ying’s eyes were a simple delight for Lan Zhan.

Were he to write about them, Lan Zhan thought he could fill pages and pages on their beauty alone, nevermind the rest of Wei Ying. His personality and his body aside, those captivating eyes could soar into the sky like glittering diamond stars laid out in the velvet blue of the night, filled with mischief and light. His playful nature made those silvery flecks light up with mirth and teasing, and there were times that Lan Zhan was lost in their mysterious depths, wondering why Wei Ying stayed.

There were other times too, when Wei Ying would wake up from another tiresome and frightening nightmare, those silver orbs churning with darkness and turmoil, a stormy sea of uncertainty that never failed to break Lan Zhan’s heart.

The ghosts of the past refused to disappear, rising in the early hours of the night and tormenting his beloved.

If Lan Zhan had one thought, one desire, it would be to free his husband, to keep those nightmares at bay forever.