Rebound

37

Lan Zhan led me down to the dungeons of the Jin Sect. Just at the entrance to the dungeon itself, I could feel the alarming amount of resentment in the place.

"There is a lot of resentment here," I said, "so much even you should be able to sense it."

"Mnn," Lan Zhan said as he took out his Guqin, "Chenqing might be useful down here."

I nodded and took out my flute. The cells were filled. Each one had at least two to four people. All of them were being experimented on with resentment. I knew because each cell had an array in it to help fuel the prisoners.

I soon peered around the corner and saw a larger cell at the end of the hall. It gave off a familiar form of resentful energy that I knew was linked to me. A'Ning was really down here?!

"Wen Ning!?" I said out loud and opened the cell door with a spiritual blast.

Inside, Wen Ning was chained to the wall. The chains were thick as it was to hold Wen Ning back. He was strong with him being a conscious corpse. I noticed he had the same appearance Zewu Jun had, which meant that Jin Guangyao was trying to take control over him.

Wen Ning was a special case, and he didn't need a person to control him necessarily. The connection between him and me though, was like that of a soul link. A part of me is linked to him, so I should have known that he could have been alive. If I had died, so would he. He could die without me having to, but it's more difficult. I'm his connection to life, so if I die, he has no link and he will wither and die on his own if someone doesn't kill him first.

"Will he be alright?" Lan Zhan asked.

"Yes, we just need to unchain him and check for those nails. It might be giving him a hard time with focusing," I replied.

Lan Zhan cut the chains using Bichen while I removed the nails. As we waited for Wen Ning to come around, we needed to discuss something, "we will need more than just us to cleanse this entire dungeon," I told him.

"We can inform Baoshan and Shufu," Lan Zhan suggested.

I nodded, "alright."

"G-Go-Gongzi?" I heard Wen Ning say.

"Wen Ning," I said and knelt down beside him, "what do you remember?"

"Jie...burning, and I lost control," he explained, "everything went dark afterwards."

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more," I told him.

"You did more than what anyone else did," Wen Ning said, "and you tried everything you could."

I nodded, "A'Yuan is still alive, I'm sure he'll be surprised to see you."

"He's alive?" Wen Ning asked.

"He is the last to survive aside from you," I said.

Wen Ning nodded and looked behind me, "Lan-er-Gongzi," he bowed.

"No need," Lan Zhan said.

I smiled, "Lan Zhan is my husband," I told him, "so he is a brother to you now too."

"Really?" Wen Ning asked, "that's good."

"Let's get you out of here and we can talk more later," I said.

He nodded. Lan Zhan and I lead him out of the dungeons and back to the main hall where everyone else was. There were gasps among the crowd when the saw that Wen Ning was actually still alive.

"It's true, he is alive," A Nie disciple stated.

"A'Ying, why don't you take him to the mountain while I handle everything here? Also, take Zewu Jun too. You know where to put him," Baoshan said.

I nodded. Lan Zhan lifted Zewu Jun up and carried him before we teleported out with Wen Ning. Lan Zhan placed Zewu Jun on a stone table within an isolated room for when Baoshan returned. It was cold within the room and filled with spiritual energy. It kept Zewu Jun's body from decomposing.

We then brought Wen Ning to my workshop just to check him over. He was perfectly fine. Lan Zhan brought A'Yuan in after I tended to A'Ning.

"A'Yuan, you remember your uncle Ning?" I asked.

"Kind of," he replied and looked at Wen Ning, "hi."

"Hello, you look good and healthy," A'Ning said, "are you happy here?"

"I am, I am learning to fight like Hanguang Jun and Wei Gege," A'Yuan said.

I smiled, "now that we have more time again, we will be training you more often. We will see how you have been doing," I told him.

"I am very good," A'Yuan said, "Baoshan told me herself."

"Well, it takes a lot to get a compliment from her," I said, "so I will believe you for now. You will have to prove it to me later."

"I will."

"Now, it's getting late, you should go freshen up," Lan Zhan said.

"Have you eaten?" A'Yuan asked us.

"We will in a few minutes," Lan Zhan said, "go ahead and freshen up. I will play for you tonight."

"Yes!" A'Yuan said and left the room full of glee.

I laughed, "you just made his entire night," I said.

"He sleeps better when I play for him," Lan Zhan pointed out.

I nodded, "since we have everything set here, did you want to get some food for us while I prepare a bath for us for after dinner?"

"Alright," Lan Zhan said.

I then turned to Wen Ning, "feel free to rest or roam around. A'Yuan's room is just down the hall if you wish to spend time with him."

"I think I will go do that," Wen Ning said and left.

Lan Zhan went to prepare some food so I went to our room and prepared a bath. I set out our night robes and then robes for us for the morning. Lan Zhan soon arrived with some rice, vegetables, and chicken.

I smiled, "something simple," I said and sat with him, "how are you feeling?"

"I am okay," Lan Zhan replied.

"I'm sorry about Zewu Jun...but we will help him," I assured him.

Wangji nodded, "I know, it's just a shock is all."

"Which is normal," I told him, "if you need anything, tell me. I am here for you, Love."

Lan Zhan nodded and placed a kiss on my cheek, "I am grateful that I have you," he said in a soft voice.

"Always," I told him and kissed him.

That night I was the one who did the pampering. Lan Zhan needed it to get his mind off things. Plus it's nice when he lets me take charge once in a while.