Vows of Immortals

Chapter One

"Lan Zhan! Cheers!"

A simple clink of their glasses — one of alcohol and one of tea, resounded quietly through the small room. Lan Zhan and Wei Ying sat beside each other, rather than opposite each other like regular customaries, on the small pin cushions settled on the floor. Wei Ying drew back his hand, lifted his cup, and downed the wine down his throat. A bitter sting lingered at the back of his throat, as the wine's flavours danced on his tongue.

Lan Zhan looked at him, smiling, "Wei Ying, cheers."

They were on a short vacation in Qi Yun Village, directly a few days after their marriage in Gu Su. Wei Ying had chosen this village as it, besides Gu Su, had the most renowned, expensive wine in the whole of the cultivation world. Of course, he needn't worry about the price per se, he had Lan Zhan, his walking husband-wallet.

Wei Ying poured another glass of wine, bringing his cup to his lips once the translucent liquid reached the brim.

"Hey, another one went missing!"

"Another!? It's the third one this week!"

"I know! The nobles already called priests over, but the priests say that there isn't any resentful energy anywhere around here."

"How strange?"

"The children just vanish when their parents are asleep!"

"Could it possibly be a kidnapper?"

"No! The guards would have noticed!"

"Hey, Lan Zhan," Wei Ying brought down his cup and directed his gaze to the two men discussing avidly, "I think we got some stuff to do."

"Mn."

Wei Ying stood up from his seat, and coolly walked over to the two men beside them. Lan Zhan followed behind him.

"Hello my brothers, so sorry for interrupting you both, but I have a question to ask," Wei Ying bowed and greeted.

"Ask away," one of them replied, settling the cup in his hand back onto the table. The other man clicked his tongue in annoyance, and Lan Zhan glared at him.

"What is it about the missing children?" Wei Ying continued to ask, ignoring the rude man. The man he was talking to, scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, and lowered down his volume, whispering behind his hand, "I don't know all the details, but I do know that in the past two weeks, children have been going missing at night. It had started with those beggar children but now even children of esteemed noble families are vanishing once the parents fall asleep. The noble families had called upon priests to come cleanse and rid the village of any monsters or ghosts, but the priests had reported that they had found nothing. The guards of this village also look out for any kidnappers at night, but none were found. The children just simply vanished..."

Wei Ying bowed to the two men with his hands clasped into a fist, "I see. Thank you, esteemed brothers."

Just as he turned around, he noticed his husband and the other man's staring competition, and broke out into an awkward laughter. He scratched the back of his head before dragging Lan Zhan by the arm back to their room, letting out a string of apologies. He tugged on Lan Zhan's sleeves all the way up the stairs, and through the corridors of rooms.

Once they had reached, he peeked outside the room and checked whether the two customers had followed them to their room, and then slammed the door. He walked over to Lan Zhan, poking him in the chest, "Lan Zhan, don't go around making enemies just because they rolled their eyes at me okay?" He pouted.