WangXian Forever Book 10

Chapter 78: Memories

Lan Zhan wakes up early, and for a second, he's disorientated because they're not in the Jingshi. But Wei Ying is in his arms, fast asleep, and is the only tether he needs to secure himself to this reality.

The twin Moons of the Nether World dip under the horizon, and the pale red sky begins to bloom.

There is peace in his heart now, as he looks towards his lover, his best friend, and his husband, safe and free from all worries.

It's a far cry from that moment when, after XiChen gave Lan Zhan permission to go and find Wei Ying, they met again but under the most direst of circumstances, fighting the Sciper. Wei Ying has tried out a variety of names for the mutated scorpion/spider, but that one has stuck.

All of their adventures have been wide and varied; from finding Baoshan Sanren, the lost Celestial, to curing Wei Ying and growing him a new core, to finding Hui Gai and adopting their children.

They've made friends all over the lands and helped so many people, and Lan Zhan knows it is only because of this beautiful man snoring lightly in his arms.

They've changed forms, on a personal level, and crossed the boundaries of this mortal life into the immortal realm. They've passed the limitations of evolution and managed to change their forms to live in duality: that of dragons and men.

In their travels, they've been rewarded with so much wealth, both personally and gifts to their clan that Cloud Recesses will continue to prosper for hundreds of years into the future.

Now what?

Life has taken them on a merry trip through twists and turns and places they never thought they could go, and now they are content. It is even better to have a solid place where they can retire to and find peace and solace from the rest of the world, the doors of the Jingshi keeping everything else at bay.

His fingers gently stroke Wei Ying's hair, the pads of them brushing over a beloved red ribbon. When Lan Zhan looks down, his Wei Ying is just stirring, and he smiles as soon as he is aware that Lan Zhan is looking right back at him.

"Good morning, my love," he yawns, whispering it so as not to wake anyone else yet.

"Good morning, Wei Ying. Did you sleep well?"

Wei Ying stretches and yawns again, and Lan in Zhan loves him even more. He's so cute, so endearing and so innocent like this, just waking up beautifully even if he's unaware of how delightful he looks.

"Hmm, I think so," he smiles again, as if content. "But you look like you're doing some heavy thinking."

"Not heavy," Lan Zhan replies, internally smiling because he knows that Wei Ying likes the sound of his voice, likes the way it rumbles up through his chest and sounds unhindered in the space between them. It makes him shiver in his most unguarded moments.

"Then?"

"I was reminiscing. About our adventures. How Wei Ying is the splash of colour on the white canvas of my life."

"I think you're wrong," Wei Ying replies, poking his chin.

"No."

"Lan Zhan, love of my life, trust me. You are so interesting to me, you always have been, and this fascination has lasted three lifetimes. Out of the two of us, if you say that colour is more important than the space it is spread upon, then I would tell you that, without that background, the colour wouldn't show up at all. And as for our adventures, well, I'm sure that no matter what, the Great Hanguang-Jun would always do what's right, whether or not he had my input." Wei Ying hugs him tightly, kissing his neck. "But we have had some fun, right?"

"Mn. Wei Ying saved our friends and the rest of the dragons."

"Yeah, that's how we found Hui Gai. Jiang Cheng had to go undercover," Wei Ying giggles. "Shen Ling and Shen Qing, and their babies. JingYi learning parenting skills..."

"Mn. Then those people who wanted to harvest energy from children's cores attempted to summon Suanni."

"Yeah, that was bad. They took Little Rabbit." Wei Ying has a dark look in his eyes. "But on the plus side, I got wings."

Now it's Lan Zhan's turn to stare back with a hundredfold intensity. "Mn." That could well be the best part for him. He doesn't have to say why; Wei Ying already knows how much Lan Zhan loves that new part of him.

"It was around that time we learned more about Little Rabbit, and then we all came to the seaside for a holiday and found more people to be part of our family. Daden Yaonu and her sisters, and the seven Dragon Kings of the ocean."

"Mn. And the discovery of Bai Hua, Healer of the Heavens."

Wei Ying's face goes bright red as he recalls them fleeing from the Children of the Tree and finding Chang'E's temple.

"Oh Gods! What must she think of us!??" He ducks his head and groans in disbelief. "I should never have let you talk me into Papapa, there!"

"As if Wei Ying was not a willing participant." Lan Zhan's eyes are full of amusement.

Wei Ying smacks his arm. "Then! To find out that the white liquid Chang'E was using to cure people...it came from THAT pool!! You're not even embarrassed about it!"

"It was running water. Nothing happened and no one needs to know. But, Wei Ying is correct that I am not embarrassed about us, and what we did in that sacred pool. Wei Ying said it himself, "our love is holy."

"When?" Wei Ying demands, trying not to shout.

"In the Forbidden Room, when we were supposed to be looking for something to help us, and Wei Ying started stripping-"

Wei Ying slaps his hand over Lan Zhan's mouth quickly, the memory resurfacing like a hungry fish being fed by a kind stranger. He looks around to make sure no innocent ears are listening to them, but thankfully, everyone is still asleep.

"ANYWAY..." he splutters, "We also took a trip here, back then. All our friends helped us. We found Li XiWang's biological parents and Master Dashi, reuniting all of them. And then, we had to find a cure for him and his memory loss."

"Mn. Longer trip that time. Land of the Giants."

"And their pink snot," Wei Ying giggles at the memory.

"But after that, Wei Ying manifested into his true spirit, and did the same for me." Lan Zhan will never forget Wei Ying's slowly deteriorating health and the sleeping problems he went through. The worst part was not knowing what was wrong, and therefore, having no idea how to fix it.

"But we were great at defeating the Flower Demon!" Wei Ying remembers. Another awful time, when yet again, someone thought they could come along and mess with his children. As if.

Sensing his outrage, Lan Zhan begins to hum their song, stroking Wei Ying's hair gently, rhythmically in order to soothe his frayed emotions.

"It turned out okay, though." Wei Ying predictably yawns again. "And you know what?" He murmurs.

"Mn?"

"The sun isn't up yet, and we're not in Gusu. Let's go back to sleep."

"Mn."

"Really?" Wei Ying's eyes are already closing.

"Mn. We will go back to Cloud Recesses later. Everything that entails can wait. Sleep, Wei Ying. Beloved." Lan Zhan closes his own eyes, too, smiling to himself when Wei Ying gives up the struggle and melts against his chest.