WangXian Forever Book 10

Chapter 7: The Headshaker

In the end, they were late.

Li XiWang missed all her morning classes, Lan Zhan missed two meetings that XiChen attended on his behalf and Rumi and Wei Ying were the only ones unaffected by the unplanned rest.

Lan Zhan was woken by a butterfly, a missive from his brother asking where he was, because Nie Huaisang is here.

"Well, we better go and see what he wants, and maybe, I can ask him about this," Wei Ying fishes the mysterious coin out from his pocket. He's quite cheerful and relaxed now.

"Do you keep that with you all the time?" Lan Zhan asks him after waving bye to Li XiWang, who was taking Rumi to go and see their cousin, Little LiLi.

They set off for the Great Hall where visiting Sect Leaders were entertained usually.

"Yep, I do! It's a puzzle like any other, and ruminating on what it might be tends to solve things like this. Maybe if we get time later, can we check out the languages section in the library?" Wei Ying is playing with the coin by balancing it along his fingers in a rippling wave as if it were independent of his interference.

It is quite cool, he thinks to himself.

Silence greets them when they enter the hall. It's just XiChen shuffling papers without any real design, and Huaisang expertly waving his fan and hiding his face. Neither are looking at each other and the atmosphere between both seems definitely cooler.

Wei Ying realises that this might even be the first time XiChen has had to be alone with Huaisang since the GuanYin temple incident four years ago, and now XiChen summoning them as soon as possible makes better sense.

No one likes to be manipulated in any way, and Huaisang, hell-bent on revenge, was going to use any means necessary to dispose of his brother's killer.

There's a sharp, welcoming glint in Huaisang's eyes as he gets up enthusiastically to greet them.

"Ji-Xiong! Wei-Xiong! It's good to see you!"

They all bow.

"I brought you a present for your daughter's birthday," Huaisang says, handing over a rectangular wooden box, lacquered and engraved with painted flowers. "Sorry it's a bit late, I couldn't get away from my duties in time. You know what it's like," he smiles.

"Indeed. Thank you." Lan Zhan replies, taking the seat next to his brother so Wei Ying can sit next to him.

XiChen pours more tea for everyone, and the space between all of them has a pleasant floral scent lingering in the air for a few moments until the steam dissipates.

"What's in the box?" Wei Ying asks Huaisang suspiciously but he's still smiling.

"Wei-Xiong! I had a visit from a monk who resides in the lower foothills of the Himalayas, and he brought back some rare herbs and tinctures. When it comes to healing matters, who else would I think of, if not your precious daughter?" He hides behind his fan once again. "It was just a coincidence that his visit was well timed enough that Li XiWang's birthday can be used as an excuse to present her with it."

Wei Ying smiles his thanks, and catching Lan Zhan's eyes, they both make a silent agreement to check the contents of his gift before giving it to their daughter. Lan Zhan looks pointedly at Wei Ying's hands, imagining the mysterious coin to be there. But Wei Ying does something unexpected instead, giving him a flirtatious wink secretly.

"XiChen-Ge, I was wondering if you could tell us what this is," Wei Ying says loudly, passing the coin to him instead of Huaisang, as Lan Zhan thought he would.

Lan Zhan can see Huaisang leaning forward ever so slightly, trying to hide his interest, and using the fan to hide his face.

XiChen looks closely at it, weighing the coin in the centre of his palm carefully, before turning it over and examining the characters on the other side. He spends quite a bit of time, turning it this way and that, until he sighs in resignation.

"I've never seen anything like this before," he admits, handing it back.

Lan Zhan has been surreptitiously watching Huaisang's agitation grow, and he's not at all surprised when the Nie Sect Leader opens his mouth.

"May I take a look?" He sounds eager and then bashful straight after by adding, "not that I could have any idea what it could be!"

Wei Ying passes it to him, hiding a smile. Of course, the notorious Headshaker would want to see what it is.

Huaisang had fooled so many people in the past by pretending not to know anything, and playing the role of an incompetent leader so well that many people couldn't distinguish the difference between the image he chose to show outwards, and his real personality. Even now, Wei Ying preferred to stay wary of him.

Huaisang immediately puts his fan down and brings the coin closer to his eyes.

"It's authentic," he says finally, with no trace of amusement or mockery in his tone or face.

"Authentic?" Wei Ying questions.

"Where did you get this?" Huaisang asks, levelling his gaze at him in return.

"We found it." Wei Ying replies. It's not a lie.

Huaisang makes a noise deep in his throat of disbelief. He's too polite to come out and say it, though.

"It's true!" Wei Ying protests, holding out his hands as if that would prove his statement. "I was tidying up and this fell out of my robes."

They all ignore XiChen's snort of equal disbelief at that.

"What? I tidy!" Wei Ying insists defensively, making Lan Zhan smile. "I'm being bullied by all of you!" He pouts sulking.

"How did it end up in your robes?" Huaisang demands. "Please answer truthfully."

XiChen snorts at that again, and again, everyone ignores him. The irony of Huaisang saying something like that is not lost on anyone.

"That's where things get a little hazy," Wei Ying admits. "We were pottering about in the evening, near the docks of Yunmeng. A man ran into me and knocked me down, and then apologised, and got up to run away as fast as he could, and he was being chased by about six other ruffians. They went the wrong way so we never bothered sticking our noses in his business." Wei Ying leans forward, too. "But honestly, it might not even be him. We were relaxing, not really paying attention to anything or anyone in particular. It could have been anyone."

"I doubt it." Huaisang looks grim.

"Why?" Lan Zhan asks him, now thoroughly on edge.

"Simply because it's not every day you find a random stranger running around with the Emperor's Seal in his hand. This belongs to our Gracious, most respected Emperor Han, and now that you know what it is, you have a duty to answer to him about it. As soon as possible."