Dust & Gold

29

As much as I wanted to keep stalling, I couldn't for long. This curse has been with me for years, and it's now getting to the point where I can hold on a bit longer to find a cure. I hesitate because I am just afraid. I am not necessarily afraid to break this curse, but to find out why I was cursed and by who. There was also the question on how this curse is to be broken. Ancient curses are hard to break because of how long ago they were made. If we were back at the time the curse was first made, it would be easier to discover how to break it. Since this curse is made so long ago, remedies now can differ from those of the past. But in order to break this curse, we have to follow the steps of the ancient scriptures. The question was, how do we find it?

Lan Zhan and I were currently in the Forbidden chambers of the Library. There was a large section of books just on curses and their history. There were so many and it was going to take at least a couple months to look through them all if it was just the two of us. Zewu Jun would find time out of his day to come help out. I was grateful that Lan Zhan's Uncle and Brother are willing to help me. As much as Lan Qiren probably wishes to break many habits of mine, he still holds back for Lan Zhan's sake. Lan Zhan and I do not live within Cloud Recesses as it is anymore, so he doesn't want to risk not having Lan Zhan around less if he did something to upset him.

We only started our search today and it felt as if we were going to be looking for ages. We have an idea of what the curse is, but now it's a matter of finding the name of it specifically and finding out how it was cast and how to break it. I had a book specifically on curses of old times, and it was a lot to look at. I do not mind reading, but I had to like the book in order to really read something, and that was hard to find. I have only read books on charms and talismans, occasionally I would pick up something that involves alchemy and potions, but I never came across anything that had topics related to my current issue.

I sat beside Lan Zhan and I could feel him glancing my way from time to time. I couldn't help but tease him, "Lan Zhan," I said.

He looked at me again, "Hmm?" Zewu Jun's attention was brought to us as he felt something was up.

"Why do you keep looking over at me? Is it that you are getting distracted by how pretty I am?" I teased.

I heard Zewu Jun chuckle at my teasing. Lan Zhan glanced at him, but looked back at me, "Yes," He answered bluntly.

I laughed, "oh, and here I thought I was the shameless one," I said, "But Lan Zhan, you are just as bad. Getting distracted just by my looks, how adorable."

"I see Wei Ying, and I cannot help but stare," he remarked, "we are also married, I think I have a right to stare at you all I want."

I laughed more and looked at Zewu Jun, "has your brother always been like this?"

"Mnn, not as much before meeting you, but it seems to me that he is more now that he has you," Zewu Jun said.

"Are all Lans this possessive of their partners?" I asked curiously.

"Only the main bloodline," Zewu Jun said, "the bonds that come when finding their other half, it brings out our most inner selfs. The things we desire become more known, and we love more than anyone else. You will never find anyone more devoted than a Lan of the bloodline."

I couldn't help but smile, "if you don't mind me asking, how did this bond thing start within your bloodline?"

"Our ancestor and sect founder, Lan An, created the first link," Zewu Jun answered, "it is said that he loved his partner so much that he wanted others to feel that same connection with the one they desire most. He created this special spell call the red heartstring. It's a string that connects to our hearts, once we cross paths with our fated person, that link will become known. It is different for everyone but most of the time, the first sign is just wanting to stare at their person and their body feels warm. This bond also has something that many think is difficult to accept, as if either one of those people dies, the other becomes too heartbroken and dies thereafter and one cannot live without the other after the bond is complete."

"The bond doesn't work as fast as it did for Lan Zhan and me, is it because of this curse of mine?" I asked.

"It is possible," Zewu Jun said, "if one of the partners is suffering from an ailment or something, the bond strengthens faster as it can feel something is trying to restrict it. So if you cannot feel pain, the curse caused the bond to become more known, which allowed Wangji to help you."

I nodded, "Do you think Lan Zhan is the key to breaking the curse?" I asked.

"It's a possibility," Zewu Jun answered, "most curses like this are usually broken by having another person help you in some way."

I nodded again and looked down at the book in my hand. I had just happened to turn the page in my book and saw that I coincidentally found a curse almost identical to mine, "I found something here," I pointed out.

Zewu Jun moved over to us and looked at the book, "it's actually named Congenital Insensitivity. It is a curse that actually gives the person symptoms of the actual disease. If the person cursed you so you don't ever have to worry about feeling pain, we won't know if it was under good intentions or not. The curse...can only be broken if your cultivation level has reached immortality. Your cultivation will be too high for the curse to stay attached to you. It will naturally break if you get to that point."

"I am so far from reaching immortality though," I said, "I know I have a relative that has reached that stage but I do not know how they did it. I do not even know where they are located to even try to ask for their advice."

"Who are they? Maybe we can help you search for them. If this is the only way, it will have to take time," Zewu Jun said, "most curses like this are hard to break. If this curse is to break when you are stronge enough to break it on your own, then there must be a reason why it was cast on you in the first place. Perhaps the person wanted you to cultivate to immortality."

I sighed, "her name is Baoshan Sanren. She is my mother's master, and my grandmother," I answered, "I have heard that she used to be close friends to someone here of the Lan Clan."

"We have a way to reach out to past ancestors of our clan," Zewu Jun said, "which one?"

"Ugh, Lan Yi, I believe," I answered. The two looked at me wide eyed, "What?"

"Our grandmother?" Lan Zhan asked.

I couldn't help but smile, "So we have a connection further back than what we expected," I said.

"The best place to reach her is actually our sect's cold caves. She would visit there a lot," Zewu Jun said, "Wangji, you know how to do Inquiry."

Lan Zhan nodded, "I do, and I have a way for Wei Ying to enter the caves safely."

"What will happen if she doesn't know how to find Baoshan?" I asked.

"Do you have any items that used to belong to either one of your parents?" Zewu Jun asked.

I nodded, "I do, why?"

"Using an item allows us to connect to the spirit easier," Zewu Jun said, "I know its a difficult question to ask, but would you be willing to summon your parents and ask them?"

I slowly removed the red ribbon from my hair, "this ribbon used to belong to my mother. When I was little, I used to grab onto things in my sleep. I would always grab her ribbon. She eventually gave it to me as she thought it suited me."

"Then would you be willing to allow us to connect with her?" Zewu Jun asked.

"If Lan Yi doesn't know, then I will consider asking my mother," I answered.