Ch39

What seemed like days later Wei Ying and Lan Zhan emerged from from the office. Lan Zhan looked like he had spent the last eight hours sleeping or lounging about with the rabbits in the meadow. Wei Ying on the other hand was rubbing the small of his back and shoulders, making exaggerated sounds of pain and complaining how stiff he was from sitting for so long. Lan Zhan hid his smile and allowed his lover to complain as the two walked through, the now almost empty, paths on their way home. After another over exaggerated moan Wei Ying gripped Lan Zhan's hand and said in that tone of voice almost guaranteed to send the latter's rational mind into meltdown.

'When we get home you need to give me a nice message, I've been sat down to long I'm sore.'

'If you keep going like this you will be' Lan Zhan part whispered, part growled in response.

Wei Ying laughed and tightened his hand on the fingers of the other before whispering.

'Maybe the massage should wait until afterwards then…..that way…..'

A loud cough interrupted them and they stopped, turning round. Jiang Cheng stood a few steps behind, looking a little uncomfortable. Wei Ying let go of Lan Zhan's hand and turned round fully to face his brother, stepping just enough in front of his husband so that Lan Zhan had no clean path to his younger brother. Facing Jiang Cheng, almost alone, for the first time in years felt strange. He hadn't expected the man to follow them after the meeting. Lan QiRen had made it clear that rooms had been made available for the visitor if he needed them, but they were no where near here. Wei Ying didn't know if Lan QiRen had given his brother rooms as far away from the JingShi as possible for his sake, or just because he didn't want any fall out from the reunion destroying any buildings.

Having gotten his brothers attention Jiang Cheng seemed unsure what to do. He simply stood and stared. Wei Ying guessed there was a lot about his visual appearance that was different as well as the fact he was actually still walking the earth. Sighing he turned round again and took Lan Zhan's hand in his own again, smoothing his thumb over those long, skilled fingers.

'Lan Zhan go home please, I need to speak to my brother alone.'

Lan Zhan shook his head with determination.

'Lan Zhan….'

'No'

Lan Zhan's hand had twisted and was now holding his own firmly, reinforcing his answer. Wei Ying looked at his husband, trying to get over the importance of what he was asking just with the look on his face and in his eyes. The two looked at each other for a moment. Jiang Cheng could be heard trying, and failing, not to shift his feet in the background. Luckily for all three men, he hadn't attempted to speak yet. Eventually Lan Zhan nodded, it was slow and shallow enough to barely be called a nod but it was there.

'Only if you talk in the JingShi' He said softly but with a hint of that….something….in his voice which meant it was are far as he would bend on the subject. Just as Wei Ying was about to speak he continued. 'I will go and speak to my brother, see if we can work out any other clues about the man behind this.'

Wei Ying knew both his husband and brother-in-law needed rest after 8 hours talking, but the offer to leave him alone with his own brother was being made. He nodded smiling. Lan Zhan simply nodded his response and walked away without glancing back at Jiang Cheng. Wei Ying sighed and turned to his brother.

'This way'

'What was that all about?' Jiang Cheng finally found his voice.

'If you don't want Bichen at your throat brother I suggest you wait until we are inside the JingShi to talk.' Wei Ying responded nonchalantly.

Wei Ying had barely shut the doors to the JingShi when Jiang Cheng erupted.

'What the hell is going on!'

'Wei Ying just smiled and walked over to the table, pouring two cups of tea and signalling his brother to sit down, before he spoke up.

'You need to be a bit more specific than that'

Jiang Cheng didn't sit, but then Wei Ying hadn't really expected him too. Instead he paced up and down the room, flailing his hands about, mumbling to himself for a few moments.

'Everything!' He said eventually, making Wei Ying want to laugh. 'How are you still alive?….why does sister know about it but I don't?….why do you have something to do with this maniac and the Sects?….why can you never stay out of trouble?…...why did you not keep sister out of trouble? She could have been hurt'…...Jiang Cheng's pacing was making Wei Ying dizzy. 'And the Lan's …..how….how did you end up here?' Jiang Cheng suddenly stopped pacing and pointed through the closed door. 'and what's your relationship with HIM!'

'Wei Ying sighed and took a sip of the tea before he beckoned Jiang Cheng over to sit down again. However his brother simply began to pace once more, as if he was physically incapable of remaining still in the house.

'Jiang Cheng sit your ass down in my house your making me dizzy!' He said with a little more heat than he meant.

Jiang Cheng finally stopped pacing and stared at him.

'What…..your….your house…..but this….its….'

'Sit your ass down will you. I'm not talking to you while your pacing, it is making me want to throw up'

Jiang Cheng glared at him but eventually moved to the cushion and plopped down on it with a complete lack of grace that could do Wei Ying himself proud. The two looked at each other, each refusing to blink first.

'To answer some of your questions.' Wei Ying started, in a bland tone. 'The Lan's are my clan now. Lan Zhan is my husband, we officially married a few years ago, we even have an adopted son. And yes this is my home.'

He fought off the urge to laugh once again at the look on Jiang Cheng's face as he whipped his head back and forth to look around the room, as if he was expecting the boy to appear from thing air or someone to jump out and tell him it was all one huge joke. It was too easy to fall back into old habits though, Wei Ying had to remind himself why they were no longer brothers and physically straighten his back before continuing.

'As for HOW I'm still alive, that's a Sect secret, so is the fact I am alive at all. The only reason you know is because Lan QiRen thought it would be easier to tell you this in order to explain the danger currently facing the Sects. As for why sister knows about me, it's simple, she asked!'

Jiang Cheng faced him, suddenly looking like he had been slapped. Again his mouth opened and closed, unable to get any words of response out. Wei Ying was glad his brother hadn't taken a sip of the tea yet, otherwise he might have choked on it by now. Still he kept his head up and his tone neutral as he spoke.

'As for anything else. If you want to know how much sister knows ask her, its up to her if she tells you or not. If you want to know anything else about my life, you lost that right long ago.'

This time Jiang Cheng didn't have a problem with his words.

'You followed a demonic path! Your behaviour led to the death of my parents! Exactly how did you expect me to behave?' He demanded.

'Obviously by doing something you were incapable of doing' Wei Ying responded with anger, his leash on his temper was fraying. 'By remembering I was your brother, and brothers owed each other the trust and respect earned over years.'

'Don't talk to me about respect…..you are the one who went back on your word! You promised to be beside me when I lead the Sect, to be my right hand man in all things. Yet what did you do, you went against me the first chance you got and made me the laughing stock of the high Sects.'

'And that was enough for you to decide to kill me!' Wei Ying's temper had truly snapped its leash now but so had Jiang Cheng's, both men where shouting with no thought of who could hear. 'I could put up with all those other people believing those rumours and lies, there vying for my blood and my life. But to see YOU!'

Wei Ying let his voice stop, the temper and pure emotions almost sizzling in the air around them. Both men could hear the heavy breath of the other before Jiang Cheng once again erupted into the silence.

'You talk about trust and respect, yet you turn my own sister against me. Make her lie for you just as you lie to the whole world! Pretend your dead so you can live a life in your little hole here. My father would be rolling in his grave had he known he had raised someone as totally unfilial as you! Not only do you not care about where you were raised but you turn sister against brother. You even have the face to look at me and say you are playing 'house' with another man.' Jiang Cheng's words were turning vicious, he knew it but he was to angry to stop himself. 'What happens brother did you knowingly give away your body and your dignity, playing the male whore in payment for a place to call home. Or do you actually enjoy such an unnatural and disgraceful act as having another man's cock shoved up your ass!'

Wei Ying had heard enough. Without realising what he was doing he stood and walked over to the chest where the two kept some of their smaller weapons. Picking up a small dagger in one hand, he fisted a handful of his robes in the other. Turning towards Jiang Cheng with a look of pure anger on his face. Jiang Cheng had an equal look of fury and was staring back at him, almost daring him to take that last step and sever all ties between the two. Both men where trembling, not with fear but with fury, and Wei Ying felt himself moving the dagger closer to his robe without even realising he was doing it. Neither of them blinked or took their eyes off the other as the sound of material parting started to ring through the otherwise silent room. The sound shouldn't have been loud, wasn't loud. But the meaning of it, for the two men in the JingShi was so profound they both felt they could hear every small thread of the fabric separating.

Almost as if it was in slow motion the sound could be heard.

Rip

Rip

Rip

All of a sudden another presence was felt in the room. A hand appeared, preventing the knife from cutting through the last few threads that held the piece of material on Wei Ying's robes. Neither man knew who the presence was. They were both still staring at each other, neither seeming to breathe. Then out of nowhere a second presence appeared and the hand on the dagger tightened. It was as if he was hearing it through a screen of water when Wei Ying eventually heard a voice.

'Wei Ying stop!…...brother please take Sect Master Jiang out of here before I kill him!'

As Lan XiChen escorted an unresisting Jiang Cheng out the room, Lan Zhan turned his full attention to Wei Ying in front of him. The man didn't seem to be realising what he was doing at the moment and seemed to be in some sort of shock. It took Lan Zhan a few tries, and a bit of cajoling, to get the knife away from his husband so he could re-sheathe and store it again. Once done he managed to steer a still shocked Wei Ying over to the bed where he say him down. It was at this point Wei Ying looked down at his hand, still holding the fist full of robes, and began to shake.

'What…...what did I do?' he asked in a desperate tone that made Lan Zhan's heart tear the pieces.

Gently prying Wei Ying's fist open to loose the fabric, which was easier said than done as his knuckles where white, Lan Zhan spoke as gently as he could.

'You didn't do anything…...I promise.' Finally freeing the fabric he held it up between them. 'Look, it's still intact. It's damaged but not broken. You didn't do anything'

'Sometimes something is so damaged it may as well be broken' Wei Ying mumbled, not quite quiet enough. However Lan Zhan was happy the shaking had lessened.

'Come lie down and rest, you will feel better afterwards.' Wei Ying gripped his hand with such desperation that again it threatened to tear his heart in two. He stomped down the, quite appealing, image in mind of slowly strangling Jiang Cheng and made himself focus. 'I will be right over there at the table. I'm not going anywhere. Just sleep'

Wei Ying eventually let go of his hand and burrowed down in the covers. Lan Zhan sighed before walking over to wait at the table.

Lan XiChen had just finished giving orders to one of the disciples when Jiang Cheng finally spoke up. The man had been sat on the bed of the guest room, almost as a zombie, for the past 15 minutes.

'Did that just happen?' Jiang Cheng asked no one in particular.

'I don't know what happened between you two' Lan XiChen said honestly. 'But I do know that when I got in the room you and my brother-in-law looked like you were having a staring contest, Wanji looked murderous and Wei Ying had a knife in his hand.'

'How is my brother?' Jiang Cheng asked, at last looking up.

'Lan XiChen looked at him. A serious tone coming into his voice.

'I don't know. I got you out of there as soon as possible. For the rest of your visit a disciple will be escorting you. I think it's best for all concerned if you do not go into the Clan area any longer, or if you are not alone with either your brother or mine.'

He had expected some kind of argument but Jiang Cheng simply nodded his agreement. Something about the normally aggressive and prideful man being so pitiful made him move over and crouch down in front of the bed.

'A word of advice, if you ever want to solve your problems with your brother.' Jiang Cheng looked up, his eyes filled with hope. Lan XiChen couldn't turn down a look of such desperate hope and he sighed internally. 'If you are going to accuse someone of something get the whole facts first.

With that he rose and went to exit the room, but Jiang Cheng's voice reached him before he had taken a few steps.

'I don't understand

Lan XiChen turned to face him once again and saw not a powerful Sect leader but a confused younger brother. Closing his eyes he thought. Sorry this wasn't mine to tell, but he needs to hear it, he spoke.

'Whatever Wei Ying told you in the past. It's impossible to FIX a golden core!'

With those words he turned and walked out the room.

The JingShi's door was open slightly, a silent invitation to enter. As silently as possible Lan XiChen pushed open the door and saw his brother sitting at the central table, two cups of tea already served. He smiled slightly at how well his younger brother knew him as he walked over and sat carefully.

'He's sleeping' Lan Zhan answered the unasked question.

Lan XiChen nodded.

'I've instructed that a disciple escort Sect Master Jiang everywhere from now on. He wont be allowed anywhere near here or Wei Ying. But Wanji….' Lan Zhan looked up. 'I need you to stay away from him too, I know you are angry about this but we need to focus on the big problem'

Lan Zhan was so still for so long Lan XiChen thought his brother might actually argue the point with him, but eventually he nodded in agreement. Having done all they could do for the evening the two drank the tea and then went their separate ways, trying to sleep before the next day bought new challenges.