The children have to wait until they are alone to be able to speak freely. Wen Ning goes to lie down on his bed and is asleep within seconds. Wen Qing looks fondly at him, leaning back on her arms with a soft smile on her face.
"I can't believe we did it. He's been sleeping so much better now that both Wen Xu and Wen Chao, the little shits, are gone. I have no regrets," she adds sunnyly.
"We couldn't have done it without Xue Yang," Wei Ying replies, safely nestled under Lan Zhan's arm, pulled tightly to his side.
"Someone say my name?" Xue Yang bounces into the room from the doorway that should have been guarded by the two Lan babysitters.
"How'd you get past Lan Bobo and Lan Hao?" Wen Qing asks him immediately, a note of reluctant admiration in her voice.
Xue Yang shrugs with a careless grin, unwilling to say.
"Are they still alive?" Lan Zhan asks him with a straight face.
"Oh, come on! I just got here," Xue Yang raises his palms up in his own defence.
"That's not a yes," Wei Ying snickers, only half in doubt that the two Lans are safe somewhere.
"Laoshi, I promise, I'll run it by you before I make a conscious decision to push someone closer to God." Xue Yang helps himself to the snacks on the table.
Wen Qing pours tea for everyone.
"I still find it hard to believe we got away with it," she muses, with laughing eyes.
Wei Ying smiles back. He's never seen her this relaxed before. But then, the Wen Qing from that past life was continuously being circled by the three Wen Wolves, held hostage because of her brother and her family. Of course she's so much happier now.
"They even made up plausible stories to fill up the holes in their own theories," Wei Ying says, as Lan Zhan kisses his temple. "Nobody suspects us!"
"Mn. Blamed dead people for everything." Lan Zhan adds, hugging him tighter.
"What do you think your parents want to talk to Shifu about?" Wei Ying asks Wen Qing.
"I don't know. Probably stuff about tomorrow, but I'm guessing that." Wen Qing looks thoughtful. "I'll keep an eye out, in case anything is suspicious."
"Alright. But if you need to contact us, then you should probably learn how to send messages," Wei Ying pulls out the stack of talisman paper and begins to draw some communication characters on them. "Just in case something happens and you need us, then send this. You can write your message on the back and activate the talisman with a drop of blood."
"Can I have some, too?" Xue Yang asks, scooting closer to Wei Ying to see what he's doing.
"Does this mean you're not going to stay in Nightless City?" Wen Qing asks Xue Yang.
"I don't know. This is the first time I've got a choice in where I want to go. And in case I don't get another chance, I just wanted to tell you, you'll always be my Laoshi." Xue Yang bows towards her. "And you'll always be my friends," he turns to Wei Ying and Lan Zhan, bowing to them as well. "One day, you'll tell me the whole story of why and how you got here, but for now, I am content."
"Same," Wei Ying replies cautiously, in two minds about how he feels to have the unsettling loyalty of a known and self-admitted Psychopath.
But it seems Xue Yang really is content with that, and the afternoon passes in teasing and relaxing together.
*************
The funerals of Wen Ruohan, Wen Chao and Wen Zhuliu are conducted efficiently and quickly, with those of the other sects present as if for the sole reason of making sure Wen Ruohan is dead.
