Lost In The Past | WangXian | The Untamed

Chapter five, a blast to the past... fishing!

The next ingredient was exciting, to say the least, it was Cockle shells! Not only could they feast on them but it was an ingredient! The convenience had Wei Ying in relief.

However, Cockle's are tiny so they would need a net. In a fit of giggles, Wei Ying messily made one out of Nie's robes, it was a seemingly better morning, to say the least.

Most of the morning was spent bickering and calling each other names but it was slightly less for hurtful intent this time, the two were actually laughing! Only a little, Wei Ying was still pissed and Nie Huaisang was still aware of the thin ice he was standing on.

Luckily you could easily find Cockles in the sand, although they were spotted in rivers and ponds too.

Around midday the two set out, Wei Ying's legs could move without his waddling now so that was good. On the way out, a familiar voice caught their attention.

"A-Ning... you should be more careful." The voice of Wen Qing resonated through the exit of Cloud Recess and Wei Ying immediately froze. The last time he met her she sacrificed the remainder of his clan for him before meeting a cruel end herself.

Nie Huaisang's head snapped toward the taller man who looked as if he saw a ghost, well- in a way...

As the voice drew closer, Nie grabbed the pale Wuxian by his arm and ducked behind a bush. The two Wen siblings passed right by them as Wei Ying stared in agony. After a minute Wei Ying stood up again and began silently walking ahead, Nie followed silently, he decided it was better to let Wei Ying digest that than to force him to speak about it.

It wasn't until they started collecting Cockles that Wei Ying regained some colour in his face, slowly, he healed from the past event.

It was silent until Nie felt himself get kicked into the water below. Instantly he began screaming, yet it fell of deaf ears since they were in the middle of nowhere. Wei Ying laughed, I mean he laughed harder than he had in like, his whole life.

Nostalgia hit them full force but the two kept fucking around, Wei Ying splashed water on Nie Huaisang who impressively caught a fish that was passing by and threw it at him. The cool water soothed the fire in his muscles as Wei Ying jumped around laughing his ass off as the two continued to call each other names and soak the other in salty lake water.

"Hey, Stupid Frog!" Wei Ying yelled before throwing a frog at the other, Nie screamed and jumped into the water to get away, Wei Ying clutched his side, collapsing to his knees in the shallow end as Nie arose with seaweed and moss on his head.

"Brother-Wei!" Nie yelled without realising, Wei froze for a moment before letting it go and continuing to ruin the other's day quite happily.

By the time they made it back to Cloud Recess with nets full of Cockles it was way after dark, both men's legs pained but smiles lingered on their faces from the funny events of the day.

As the two munched on Cockles in fresh clothes, their hair no longer soaked with lake water but water from the Cold Spring Nie Huaisang wrote down what was left as well as other requirements for the enchantment and spell.

Wei Ying sighed, he missed Lan Zhan so much but today was evidence that they could do this! They were going home sooner rather than later!

Nie Huaisang smiled a little, "Master Wei..." He began, "I am aware of your anger toward me, but I thank you for today, it was fun." He grinned and Wei Ying froze, thinking over his reaction and reply.

Wei Ying moved to face him, "I am furious at you, but... today was fun." He nodded, once he finished his 'meal' he lay down and closed his eyes.

Wei Ying didn't know this, but Nie Huaisang took care of him every time he slept. Nie was on high alert all the time, some nights he applied ointment onto the other's bruises and he also kept his head supported and his body warm.

It wasn't just guilt that made him do this, he genuinely cares for Wei Ying, he sees him as a brother and is aware of his pure soul hence, the lack of goosebumps on Wei's skin.

However, despite his optimism in finding these ingredients, Nie was dreading telling Wuxian the bad news.

Since the past is in his memory, Nie Huaisang was able to easily cast the spell, but because the future is a mystery, he wasn't strong enough to take them back and because of Wuxian's low spiritual power he wasn't either.

They were lost in the past.