BOOK 10. There are two tales at the beginning. Zhao Yunlan is searching for a lost artefact while Black Robe is searching for the same thing in a different world. One story is partly an illusion, while the other is very real and when they merge...
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Yunlan awoke in a bed this morning not a chair and he felt great. He looked across at Wei who had improved with Apep still in the same place, and he could smell Ava's cooking. He might even be able to return to work today he thought, as he hurried to wash and dress before Wei awoke, and then sat beside him waiting for him to open his eyes.
Shen Wei felt so much better and moved slowly, waiting for the pain to register but it was gone and when he opened his eyes, he noticed Apep on his arm and thanked him for his work during the night, watching as the whip slid from his arm and returned to Yunlan.
"Good morning Xiao Wei, how are you today? Breakfast in bed or in the kitchen with Ava?" Yunlan asked as he leaned over to kiss Wei gently and noticed that all the bruises in his face were gone and he lifted one of his hands to look at his wrist, which was also completely healed.
"Wei, let me check your dressings for a moment, if you feel pain, I'll stop." Yunlan asked while he rolled the top cover down to feel Wei's chest and ribs.
"Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?" he asked Wei, who was beginning to worry.
"What is it, is something wrong?"
"No Xiao Wei, it's the complete opposite, your face and wrists are healed and you have no pain anywhere."
Wei pulled up the loose T-shirt and Yunlan peeled back one of the dressings which was now unnecessary because the wound was healed, and he removed it as Wei watched and could see that the deep cut was gone. Yunlan took it slowly and went from one dressing to the next until he reached the dark energy injury on Wei's back.
"This is the last one Wei, and you're sure it's not sore? ... Ok I'm removing it now."
Yunlan took his time with this one, in case he would need to replace it, but the injury was healed although it did leave a detailed scar, but no pain.
"Try standing on your ankle and if you can manage that, I'll start running a shower for you."
Wei swung himself around to get out of bed and moved slowly when it came to weight bearing on his injured ankle, but it was alright and he smiled. Apep had been feeding him healing energy all night and was almost back to normal, so he went for a shower while Yunlan sorted out some casual clothes. Wei wasn't going to college because it was closed for the summer holidays but there were plenty of rooms in this house that he hadn't seen, and today was a good day to go exploring.
After breakfast when Yunlan went back to work, Wei started at the top of the house and went to the attic where he found Guo Ying staring at a blank wall, but he instantly dropped to his knees when he saw Wei enter.
"Forgive the intrusion My Lord. I used to come to this room a lot to look at the paintings while the previous owners were still alive. I'll leave you to talk to the room," but Wei stopped him.
