Everlasting Myth

Chapter 7

After Lijun was caught up, Sizhui and Jin Ling were sitting with everyone in the Orchid room to continue with the story of the future events to come. Sizhui was already informed of the changes, and it was clear that it will change the course of events in this timeline. So he wondered if it will effect their timeline at all when they return.

"So we left off when the Wen Indoctrination started," Jin Ling said, "Wen Chao was bold. He had everyone hand over their swords. After that, they had to read through the principles of the Wen Sect recite them by memory the next day. He called on Uncle Wangji, Uncle Wei, and my father. Uncle Wangji and my father refused to go but Uncle Wei went. Instead of saying the Wen principles, he mocked Wen Chao by reciting the Lan Sect principles."

Some of the Jiangs started laughing. Wuxian blushed as he felt that it was something he would do, "did I really do that? What was Wen Chao's reaction?"

"He was angry, he had you, Uncle Wangji, and Father tend to the gardens carrying dung," Jin Ling responded.

"Gross," Jiang Cheng said, "Lan Wangji's leg was broken right? Why make him suffer like that?"

Wei Wuxian looked at Jiang Cheng surprised to hear him ask about Wangji's health. Wuxian looked at Sizhui who just shrugged and spoke, "it's Wen Chao," Sizhui said, "Wen Chao came by and saw that Baba was trying to have a conversation with A'Die. Baba defended A'Die and was sent to the dungeons for the night...though Wen Chao got word that Baba was as afraid of dogs and a large dire wolf was locked in the cell with him."

"What?!" Wuxian asked trembling.

"Wen Ning got a hold of his sister's needles and knocked out the wolf. He even gave Baba some medicine to treat his wounds but he didn't use them," Sizhui said.

"Why?" Yanli asked.

"He saved them for Uncle Wangji to use for his leg," Jin Ling answered.

The Lans looked at Wei Wuxian. Lan Qiren realized he was so much like his parents. Wei Changze and Cangse Sanren had such selfless nature to them. Though Cangse was always so mischievous, she had a heart big enough for the entire cultivation world. The two had no envy. Though many were envious of them, and had some doubts and hatred to them, they were still a couple worth remembering.

Thinking about that, Lan Qiren knew that Wei Wuxian was his parents child through and through. The man was injured beyond belief and he didn't touch the medicine and wanted it for his nephew. He had Wei Wuxian wrong for so long. He told himself he wanted to make it up yo Wuxian. Whatever hardships he would go though, he would try to see reason as to why Wuxian turned out that way. He wanted to know what happened.

"Wuxian, it happened in a different timeline but thank you for helping my son...but please don't ignore your health in the future either," Lijun said.

"I will try," Wuxian said.

"During the indoctrination, Wen Chao took everyone on a night hunt. Even though they had no swords, Wen Chao basically used them as bait and claimed the prey for himself. He had his mistress, Wang Lingjiao with him. The story about her is that she was Wen Chao's servant and worked her way up the latter by getting into Wen Chao's bed. Now they were stuck at the hip and she acted as if she owned the place.

During the night hunt, Baba found the cave that they were looking for an further inside was a pool. Inside that pool was Xuanwu. Wen Chao wanted to use someone as bait, make them bleed to get the monster to come out. A fight broke out, the Wen's got away. Baba got branded by an iron for saving a maiden. He and A'Die manage to get everyone out of the cave through a hole under the pond, but they got separated and stuck within the cave. A'Die's leg got worse as it was bitten by Xuanwu. Baba helped by splinting his leg and...it was the second time he touched A'Die's ribbon."

"Excuse me?" Lan Qiren asked.

"The first time was in the cold cave when they met Ancestor Lan Yi. There was a guqin inside to ward of anyone who was not a Lan. A'Die tied his ribbon around Baba's wrist to keep him from getting by the chord assassination," Sizhui explained.

"So you two are engaged...did he touch it this time?" Xichen asked.

"No," Wangji said, "but as my soulmate, it is his to touch."

Wuxian looked at him and then the other Lans, "I know I wrote down the rules a couple times but why would I be engaged for touching his forehead ribbon?"

"Baba, the forehead ribbon is sacred to the Lan Sect. It means to conduct one's self and only the person's spouse, children, and parents can touch the ribbon. Otherwise it is forbidden to let anyone to just touch it," Sizhui explained.

Wei Wuxian sat there in disbelief. If he didn't get this information, he would have done it again in this timeline without even realizing it.

"It's okay, as you are not yet familiar with the rules, it makes since for you to not know it properly yet," Wangji told him.

"If I never knew about it, I would have done so again," Wuxian said.

"I do not care...soulmate," Wangji said.

Wuxian blushed, "Lan-Lan Zhan..." Wei Wuxian looked at his hands, then his son, "you know what, can you continue?"

"Baba is dense," Sizhui said.

"Excuse me!" Wei Wuxian said loudly.

"Let me finish," Sizhui said.

"I am not dense!" Wuxian argued.

"A'Die argued with you about taking a brand for a maiden. A'Die is not good at communicating and voicing out how he feels. Baba asked why A'Die was so angry about Baba taking the brand. A'Die said he shouldn't flirt with others if he doesn't want it to go anywhere. Baba said he wasn't flirting and he wasn't even directing any flirting to A'Die. He then asked A'Die if he liked the maiden," Sizhui explained.

"That explains it," Xichen said.

"A'Die got angry. Baba said it was okay if he took the iron because he was a man. It would cause the maiden to lose her beauty if it landed on her face. It would also let her remember him for his good deed. A'Die lost it and bit Baba's arm," Sizhui said.

"Why?" Wuxian asked.

"To leave a mark for you to remember him," Sizhui replied.

Many people laughed. Wei Wuxian's face was bright red. He knew it wasn't intentional but he suddenly felt embarrassed. With Sizhui's explanation, it was obvious that Lan Wangji liked and cared for Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian got so upset that he stood up and ran out of the room. He now understood why he was called dense.

Was it his fault that he always thought no one would actually love him?

Was it his fault that he didn't understand what love actually was?

Was it his fault that he was treated poorly growing up that he always felt his life as worthless?

Wei Wuxian ran into the backhills and stumbled to the ground, tripping over a stump. He sat up and pulled his legs to his chest.

He was hurt. Worse than hurt. He was broken.

Did he really deserve Lan Wangji?

He felt he deserved no one.