The Rise of the Divine Oracle

Chapter 154 - Bygones

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Wuxian felt like his feet weighed a ton. He knew where Wangji was dragging him to next and he felt his body shiver from the fear of confronting his mate's friend. He stopped outside of Liwei's home that he shared with Ran and whispered fearfully to his soul-bond: "Is he mad at me?"

Wangji frowns: "Why would he be mad?"

Wuxian rubs his forehead: "I don't know what to say to him.."

Wangji grabs Wuxian's shaky hand and says: "From my experience with Liwei, all you have to do is listen. He does most of the talking.."

Wuxian huffs a nervous laugh and nods. They knock and enter after getting permission.

Liwei was hunched over a stack of small rolled scrolls sent from different finders around the continent. He finishes reading the last one and looks up to see a fidgeting Wuxian, flanked by a passive Wangji.

Liwei smiles widely at the pale man and says cheerfully: "You're finally awake!"

He gets up and moves closer to Wuxian to bow his respect. Wuxian steps back and whispers: "Don't.."

Liwei frowns over the Oracle's odd response: "Don't what?"

Wuxiah sighs: "Don't bow to me.. I don't deserve it."

Liwei shares a confused look with Wangji then asks the clearly distressed man before him: "Why are you acting weird?"

Wuxian sniffs, as a few tears betray him: "I'm sorry.. I killed them.."

Liwei moved the last few inches between them and gently squished Wuxian's cheeks with his hand to stop him: "Listen to me carefully because I'm only saying this once. People die all the time.. Mostly for stupid reasons. My kids died protecting the man that will save us all so don't you dare belittle yourself or their noble cause. Got it?" He squeezes his hand to get his point across.

Wuxian blinks in confusion before he nods. Liwei leans in and says: "Why are you so pale?"

He examines the cheeks he was squeezing: "How do you not have any cheeks? I've seen you eat like a savage dog for months.." He leans to look behind Wuxian and asks Wangji: "Where does it all go?"

Wangji shrugs while Wuxian smacks Liwei's hand away: "Unlike you, my brain needs food to function. That's why I'm smart."

Liwei smiles at the familiar sass coming from Wuxian then whispers to him: "Don't beat yourself up over what's out of our control. These chain of events have been written eons ago and no one expects you to be able to fix everything. The world needs balance. Cultivators respect that more than others."

Wuxian swallows hard but accepts his reassurance: "Thank you. I will try to do better in the future."

Liwei opened his mouth to comment but was cut off by a loud scream: "MAMA!"

Hwieru runs into the room and Wuxian barely has time to kneel before she jumps into his arms. Wuxian holds his daughter tightly as she does what he normally does to her every morning: shower his face with tiny kisses.

He chuckles happily, flushing under her undeniable affection. She puts her small hands on his forehead and hers: "Your fever is gone!"

Wuxian smiles tenderly at her: "All is well, as long as I have you in my arms."

She beams at him and wiggles closer into his embrace, holding a strand of his hair and burying her nose into his robe to smell his comfort. He whispers softly as he strokes her hair: "My baby.." and that one word ignites the colors back into his world. Lan Zhan is his sun, Wen Ning is the air he breathes and she is his colors.

Ran ran into the room, clearly out of breath: "How are you faster than me? Your legs are like tiny twigs!"

She sees the sweet moment between Wuxian and her niece and smiles.

Liwei stands next to her and whispers: "Don't you want one of those running around?"

Ran elbow him hard in the stomach: "Don't ruin this for me."

Wangji didn't let Wuxian rest until they visited his disciples. Like the others, they were supportive and understanding. They consoled him and he felt much better after it was all done.

After a short nap, Grandmaster Qiren and Zewu Jun summoned him and Wangji to the Orchid Room where they served them tea in silence. The three sat staring at Wuxian for a few seconds. He blinked back, confused over why they're looking at him like that: "What?"

Qiren: "You read the book and met the awful man.. Now it's time for you to share."

Wuxian hesitated for a second, he took a sip of his warm tea then placed it down to look into each of the men before him in the eye: "The prophecy book has a lot of information, so I hope you are all comfortable and ready for a long night.."

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