WangXian: Infinite Love

Chapter 4

(Ancient China)

The night is still young at Cloud Recesses, it is already past curfew and most of the disciples have retired to their quarters for the night. The night was warm and silent yet a distant melody was heard, so serene and soothing yet it held so many emotions. It was the melody of a lover calling out to his soulmate. The longing and the pain behind it could be heard as clear as day. All over Cloud Recesses, from a long distance afar, the Zither (Qin/guqin) could be heard again. Slender fingers moved elegantly over the seven strings producing the heartwarming sound, with eyes closed, Lan Wangji played a tune that he composed for his soulmate a few years ago. A tune that he had played every day since the love of his life died a tragic death and left him behind.

It has been 16 years already and there's still no sign of his return. His uncle and older brother have been coaxing him to let go already and accept the fact that Wei Wuxian is dead. They kept telling him to move on and forget about the man but how can he do that? A Lan only falls in love once after all and he had fallen for the man who was hated by the cultivation world. He fell for his bright smile, for his twinkling silver eyes, he fell for his cheerful laughter and relentless teasing. He fell for his pure heart, his obliviousness as well as his intelligence.

Lan Wangji fell for Wei Wuxian, the unruly, selfless and untamable cultivator who never gave up on trying to be his friend despite his cold behavior towards him. So how can he move on? It was already difficult to breath without him and if his Wei Ying does not return then Lan Zhan will seize to exist.

As it is the boy Wei Ying had taken as his own, the son he had left behind and was found and raised by Lan Wangji was now a remarkable teenager. He was a promising cultivator just like his adopted parents, he was old enough to take care of himself so Lan Wangji had nothing holding him back from joining his soulmate in the afterlife if the man does not return to him. With the last note of the song, a stray tear rolled down the man’s porcelain cheek. “ Wei Ying, come back.” He whispered a plea into the wind hoping it will reach his soulmate wherever he is. With those last words, Lan Wangji got up from his seat and went to bed.

The next morning, he woke at 5 and meditated for an hour before getting ready for the day. He was feeding his rabbits when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching and he turned to find his son making his way over. “Hanguang Jun.” the boy bowed in greeting.

“Sizhui.” Lan Wangji returned the gesture with a small nod. Though his face showed no emotions, his eyes were filled with pride as he watched the young boy in front of him.

‘Sizhui has grown up into a wonderful young man. He has good values instilled in him but he also has inherited his baba’s mischievous nature. He has your smile, Wei Ying. He does not remember you but his heart knows you and he misses you. When will you come back to us, Wei Ying?’

“Hanguang Jun, are you alright?”

“Mn.”

Lan Sizhui stayed silent for a while, he watched the man who took him in and raised him like his own son suffer in silence. He learnt since he was young that the Second Jade of Gusu was not much of a talker and he did not show his emotions either. One would have to learn to read him in order to fully understand him.

Sizhui had known since he was young that his father was heartbroken, he has lost someone very dear to him. That person was none other than the grandmaster of demonic cultivation, the Yiling Laozu. The entire cultivation world hated him and told stories of his supposed atrocities but Lan Sizhui did not believe any of them. His father always told him that Wei Wuxian was not evil and he never did any of the crimes he was accused of doing. It was true that the man was the founder of Demonic cultivation but his heart was in the right place. So in his mind, Wei Wuxian was only the man who saved his family, the man who gave a second life to him after his parents passed away. He may not remember him but Lan Wangji told him stories about him and everyone knows that Hanguang Jun never lies.

“Hanguang Jun, can I ask you something?”

Lan Wangji paused and tilted his head a little, “Go ahead.”

“Last night, I heard you playing your Zither again, did he reply?”

“No.”

Silence followed after that. The father and son continued to feed the rabbits in silence and the little fur balls just munched happily on their food. After that task was complete, the two went to the dining hall for breakfast before leaving to do their daily tasks. Lan Wangji had just finished training some junior disciples when his brother walked over to him.

“Wangji.”

The younger turned to his brother and bowed, “Xiongzhang.”

Lan Xichen smiled his gently smile at his brother. “Shufu has summoned you.”

The two of them made walked together to the Elegance Hall where they found Lan Qiren waiting for them. Lan Wangji bowed,“Shufu.”

Master Lan sat in front of them caressing his goatee, “Wangji. It is good that you are here, Xichen was just going to attend a conference meeting in Yunmeng. This time it is being held at the Jiang Sect and I expect you to go with him. You have been busy training the disciples and helping get rid of evil in the cultivation world for the past 13 years since you came out of your 3 year seclusion. While you’re there, try to look around in case you find a nice maiden to settle down with.”

Lan Wangji remained unmoved and stoic, though his brother could clearly see the fury in his eyes. He did not reply either, he waited for his uncle to finish talking before bowing and left the room without a word. Both Lan Xichen and Grandmaster Lan watched him silently, the older man huffed while Lan Xichen just sighed sadly.

In the end, Lan Wangji did attend the conference with his brother but he did not utter a word not interact with anyone apart from his brother. Many of the Sect leaders tried to introduce their daughters to him however, the Ice Prince did not even spare them a glance, every time they came to him, he would just turn around and leave. Sect leader Jiang Cheng spent most of that time glaring and taunting Lan Wangji but the man did not give him the time of day. That seem to make the Sect leader even more furious however, Lan Xichen made sure to keep the two apart.