WangXian Forever Book 9: The Flower Demon

Chapter 12 Situation

XiChen also congratulated Feng Li Pao on this special achievement.

Feng Li Pao noticed that he looked tired.

"XiChen-Ge...would you like to rest?" Wei Ying had also noticed.

XiChen looked far too pale for his liking.

"Yes...I think I will. Just for a little while...be sure to wake me when it's time to go back to Cloud Recesses, though." He said, his voice quieter than normal.

Snizzy also was worrying about him; she kept pressing small kisses with her snout anywhere she could reach, trying to make him feel better.

Feng Li Pao called for a disciple to come forward and help the First Jade to the Sect Leader's quarters, and another to carry Jiang Cheng.

Now it was just the three of them.

Feng Li Pao waited until they were alone.

"So...the matter that I wished to discuss with you, Wei Qianbei...it is this." He said.

"Lan Zhan is going to stay." Wei Ying said quickly, before he could object.

But on the contrary, Feng Li Pao only smiled.

"I am glad of this. I need to tell him something too." He turned to Lan Zhan. "I have the highest regard for Wei WuXian. As a cultivator in his own right and for his unique abilities, however as the former Head disciple of this Sect. Furthermore, as your husband. I have no designs on him, nor would I ever overstep myself in any way. If even unintentionally, I have given reason for you to think otherwise, then please accept my sincerest apologies. He has nothing but my greatest respect, as you also do."

There was perhaps ten seconds of stunned silence before Wei Ying erupted into a cloud of giggles. Every time he thought he had it under control, one look at Lan Zhan’s face made him start laughing all over again.

Lan Zhan shocked them both by bowing.

"Thank you for saying that." He said, sounding much calmer.

"See? You had nothing to worry about!" Wei Ying said, still chuckling.

"On the contrary; Wei Ying is a most attractive man. I would not blame any one for wanting to steal him away." Lan Zhan replied, not missing a beat.

"Lan Zhan!!" Wei Ying blushed a rich scarlet. He hid his face in Lan Zhan’s shoulder.  "I can guarantee you, that will never happen." Wei Ying kissed his cheek warmly. "I am forever yours and yours alone." He smiled at his husband who finally relaxed. Then he turned to Feng Li Pao who was looking elsewhere just in case.

Everyone in the cultivation world knew of their reputation of public displays of affection...not that they liked it, just that both the Second Jade and Wei WuXian did not particularly care who saw them appreciating each other.

Feng Li Pao was simply being polite.

He gestured towards a door on the side that was hidden by climbing vines.

They followed him through that door into a walkway over waters that were bare of any flowers until they reached another door.

Before he opened it, Feng Li Pao turned to both of them.

"A while back, we noticed something strange. It started with one plant and the removal of it, did not as we hoped, stem the infection." He sounded very serious.

"Infection?" Wei Ying stopped smiling immediately.

If there was something wrong with the flowers...that could bode ill fortunate for their crops.

"Yes. Infection." Feng Li Pao paused, his hand on the door. "I must warn you...you may find the plants disturbing."

"I'm sure we'll be fine." Wei Ying replied with a smile. "Lan Zhan and I have seen much in our lives. We can cope."

"Very well." Feng Li Pao opened the door.

The first thing that hit them was the smell.

"My poor nose has been sorely tested today." Wei Ying muttered under his breath.

"Mn." Lan Zhan agreed and pulled out his menthol paste again, applying it on first Wei Ying, and then himself.

The petty part of him did not offer any to the Head disciple.

The stench was worse than rotten eggs. It smelled of decay and things gone bad.

At first all the plants looked normal, but as Feng Li Pao led them along another walkway, and the odour became stronger, they began to see affected plants.

"The infection attacks straight from the roots. It's internal so in the beginning, it is impossible to tell which plants are affected and which are not. However, from the moment the disease hits the air, its progress is sudden and devastating." Feng Li Pao informed them.

They were coming to the furthest corner of this closed off section.

Wei Ying was feeling as if Lan Zhan’s magical paste wasn't working as well as it had in the morning.

More and more plants were drooping miserably.

Feng Li Pao stopped before they reached the end.

"It is...distressing to see." He explained.

Wei Ying first thought that statement was for him...but he soon realised that Feng Li Pao was talking about himself.

He knelt down and lifted the lotus pad and Wei Ying gasped, the scene before him far too familiar to be a coincidence. He stumbled back into Lan Zhan, who had to steady him.

Wei Ying pointed at the red fungus, a bacteria that was spreading fast, even as they watched. Slowly, red spores of fungi clung to the fresh green stalks and right in front of their eyes, the bright green turned first red, and then a sickening brown colour.

Feng Li Pao stood up and walked to the far end.

Wei Ying could not believe what he was seeing now.

Dead, dirty flowers lay on the surface of the muddy waters, reddened by the bacteria. The fungus was eating away at anything that used to be healthy, changing it from pleasant greens to decaying brown, deathly flowers still creepily retaining the shape of the blooms, but in a macabre way.

"Lan Zhan..." Wei Ying whispered.

"Mn?" Lan Zhan was still holding him.

"These...this is what I saw...in my dream."