Solstice Souls: Solstice Sons (Book 3)

Two Halves of a Whole

Lan Zhan's POV

With a start, Lan Zhan jerks awake in a panic. His first thought, as always, is directed towards his husband, and it's only the warm, comforting weight of his presence in Lan Zhan's arms that begins to calm his racing heart.

His sleep, in spite of Lan Zhan's exhaustion, was disturbed. Images of the Wen Arena, of Wei Ying's fights, facing off against blurry, distorted foes, none of whom were clearly visible, and all of it seen while an invisible force bound his arms and mouth, so Lan Zhan could not help him in any way.

He couldn't shout, he couldn't move, and he knows this is a build up of his mounting frustration at Wei Ying.

Those nightmares, and they were nightmares, perhaps not of the traditional variety but exactly the same in the helpless fear they caused, were made real by Wei Ying's nature. That part of him which always, without fail, insists on putting himself in danger, time and time again.

Lan Zhan isn't sure why he's still riled up about it, because they had spent last night in the bliss of each other's arms and while it resulted in a physical gratification incomparable to anything else, the cold, clear fact remains: Lan Zhan is still angry.

Livid, to be exact.

There are many things to consider.

Yes, he's angry at the Wens, for causing this extreme situation, Wen Ruohan in particular for his greed and penchant for any means necessary to get what he wants, sacrificing the lives of not only his soldiers, but anyone that dared to oppose him. Civilians had already suffered such a high price, paying with their lives as the Wens stalked the countryside, looking for anyone who could control Resentment Energy.

The saddest part was that it was mostly children who were targeted, and suffered. Taken away from their families, homes destroyed and lives forfeited in a useless struggle against a formidable enemy.

The entire Cultivation World was at risk, lines drawn in the sand for the different sides that would endure a face-off like no other. The war that was hurtling towards them with the force of a hurricane would ravage the world, leaving death and devastation in its aftermath, and there was nothing Lan Zhan could do about it. A part of him mourned that fact.

The warrior inside him knew that even if he tried to save innocent lives, the cold, brutal truth was that he had absolutely no control over anything except his own drive to see justice met.

But Lan Zhan's also incredibly angry at the man he should be able to call his father.

How blinded must one be to consider even attempting to contact their enemy? For help?

Lan Zhan knew that his fa-.

No.

There is no way Lan Zhan can still call him that.

Uncle Qiren is more his father in every way that counts than Qingheng-Jun.

Qingheng-Jun is so blinded by his hatred for the Wei Clan, and for his two sons who are a constant reminder of his estranged wife, that he will resort to extreme measures to restore what is in his mind, a balance in his world. But his world is already tilted on its axis, no longer the same as it was when Qingheng-Jun left it to go into seclusion, and it was naive of him to expect it to remain unchanged and exactly the same.

The Universe is a force of nature, constantly changing, constantly adapting to circumstances, and shaping a new world every second.

Qingheng-Jun, upon seeing it so different from his memory of it, is doing what amounts to a childish tantrum, a kid throwing himself to the ground kicking and screaming, demanding unreasonable things out of his reach, and expecting them to be given.