Ch 39

(I Just had a bit of fun with this one)

Wei Ying stood in the imposing hall of the Wen, well he thought it was supposed to be imposing anyway, but he found the whole stone walls, marble columns and patterned wall hangings a bit of overkill. He loved red, possibly more than most people, but every wall hanging was either red or yellow and none of the patterns seemed to match with any other, making the whole hall a bit dizzying to look at. Maybe that's the whole point, he idly thought to himself, make all your visitors throw up from the ugly decorations and then no one is concentrating on what's being said! Grinning to himself he turned to face the two Lan's, carefully keeping his face blank of any emotion. Wei Ying was good at two things above anything else, talking and knowing how to piss people off! He had known that by simply walking in without an invitation, someone as self-important as Wen RoHan would be furious, and furious people were always easier to deal with. Maybe that's why he had found it so hard to deal with Lan Zhan over the years, Lan Zhan didn't do furious, he didn't even do angry, he just did annoying.

Before he could say anything to either of his companions though the large door swung open, and the large figure of Wen RoHan strode inside. As planned, the early arrival, and walking straight into the main hall had not allowed Wen RoHan any time to prepare. Except for the ugly decorative wall hangings, there were no decorations in the hall at all and only two chairs which Wei Ying supposed were used by Wen RoHan and Wen Chao. Even the man himself had not had time to dress up in those heavy, overly complicated, ornamental robes the Wen loved so much when they were trying to impress people with their 'look at me aren't I powerful' attitude. Instead, the robe was just as simple as Wei Ying's, and much simpler than the ones worn by the two Lan 'pets', but lacking the embroidery that was on Wei Ying's own.

Wen RoHan would therefore just appear as who he was, an old man who had a serious problem with arrogance, a god complex, didn't know how to raise his children, and …..Wei Ying glanced around the room again…..seriously had no clue about good decorating!

'YiLing Lazou you arrived a day early I was not expecting you and so didn't greet you when you arrived' Wen RoHan spoke in a gentle, greeting voice. The same voice that had made all the Sects think him harmless until it was too late. His voice though was at odds with the harsh look in his eyes which he could not quite control properly, and the deep breathing that seemed to come along with him hurrying from somewhere to get here. Wei Ying simply smiled and bowed his head slightly, a happy visitor receiving a warm welcome from his gracious host, at least on the surface, beneath the surface of course this was anything but.

'I apologise for any problems I have caused; however, you were gracious enough to extend the offer of visiting your home to me so I could not wait to accept.' Wei Ying spoke equally as gently.

Both men knew Wei Ying was speaking complete nonsense, of course he had been to Nightless City before. He had been one of the army that had nearly destroyed both the Wen and the citadel, but both men were also playing the 'diplomacy' game and Wen RoHan had to admit that Wei Ying seemed to be smarter than he thought. Stepping further into the room though he noticed for the first time the two Lan's stood side by side just behind Wei Ying. Both brothers were armed and fully dressed in their Lan attire, but there was definitely something different about them compared to when he had seen them before, something he couldn't quite put his finger on right now. Another thing he noticed as he got closer was Wei Ying's eyes seemed to have altered from his memory as well. When the young man had been part of the invading army he had been powerful in the demonic arts but had always had a smiling face and eyes that glittered through the smoke which seemed to envelop him. Now though that same face seemed dead, the eyes were stone, and the voice was hard. Something else he had not expected when he saw this boy again, despite the rumours. Trying to get the conversation back into his control Wen RoHan stepped forwards, his jaw almost aching with his attempt to keep the smile in place.

'It seems the rumours about you taming both Jades of Lan is indeed true, they don't even dare look up from the floor now. Oh, how the insufferable have fallen!'

Wei Ying forced a smile. When did the two Lan's decide that being so 'tame' that looking at the floor was a good idea, and why did they not bother telling him in advance?Before he could try and cover his shock with some form of response though, Wen RoHan carried on speaking.

'I really have to know what method you used to get the proud Lan XiChen to kneel' he said almost excitedly.

Wei Ying shrugged as if it was nothing important and spoke almost in a tired and dissatisfied fashion.

'You called me here to speak about my training methods? I thought it might have been something interesting, like how to deal with Xue Yang or maybe Wen Chao's core!'

Wen RoHan's jaw visibly tightened for a moment before he once again regained control of himself enough to speak in that same, almost meek, tone.

'Of course, of course. The important talk comes first, the fun should remain for last…...' he said with an obvious look at Lan XiChen as he spoke the word 'fun'. 'However, the room I had put aside for you is not quite ready so why do we not just sit and speak for a while until it is.' When Wei Ying nodded and began moving towards the lower seat, We RoHan held up a hand to stall him as he asked. 'I forgot to ask how many beds you need in the room.' He nodded to where the two Lan's still stood as an obvious focus for the question.

'Ohh them'…..Wei Ying said dismissively as he continued to settle himself behind the table. 'They either sleep with me or on the floor, don't bother with another bed.'

In truth Wei Ying and the two Lan's had spoken about sleeping arrangements before leaving YiLing. They all knew that this may take more than one day, and that Wen RoHan would not allow them to rest in an inn or other public place, therefore the rouse of Master and servants had to be maintained. Both Lan's were determined that sleeping on the floor was no different to some of the places they had been forced to sleep when on night hunts, and after a short argument Wei Ying had to agree. Although to non-cultivators being a cultivator seemed special and powerful, they never saw the parts where cultivators were forced to sleep outside, in the rain, in the cold, in generally uncomfortable conditions, just to catch their prey. Sleeping on the floor in a dry and warm room wouldn't be a problem at

'It seems the rumours of the incorruptible jades of Lan serving in the bedroom is also true' Wen RoHan muttered almost to himself while not trying to hide the wide grin as he moved over to settle himself behind his own table.

His eyes kept drifting over to Lan XiChen and back as he walked. When Wen RoHan finally had to look forwards to step around the obstacle that was his table, Wei Ying and Lan XiChen shared a small look and a nod. It seemed Lan XiChen was going to be the one who got the Wen Leaders attention, which was great. Wen RoHan couldn't have picked a better man to spar with verbally and diplomatically, while having no clue he was actually doing so. The Wen leaders impatience to humiliate the Lan had actually opened the door to his downfall alot earlier than they could have hoped. Ohhh this will be fun…Wei Ying thought to himself, as he fought to keep the childish grin off his face.

When both men sat down Wei Ying nodded slightly to Lan Zhan who picked up the goblet of wine on the table and poured it expertly into the cup, before lifting it and offering it to Wei Ying. Wei Ying smiled at his partner, trying to keep the look of love off his face and remember the act as he stroked his fingers over Lan Zhan's knuckles gently before removing the cup. Although serving to both reassure Lan Zhan that everything was alright, and reinforce to the nosy Wen leader that he was in fact a man who shared a bed with his two 'tame' Lan's, the move also had another meaning. It allowed Lan Zhan a little more time to test the wine with a small silver needle for any poison, before handing it back to Wei Ying. This had been another point Lan Zhan had forced him to agree on before they had begun the journey, and although he had pointed out that Wen RoHan would not kill him until Wen Chao's core was safe, Lan Zhan had refused to back down on the subject. Lan XiChen had not been helpful, agreeing with his younger brother that it was better to be safe than sorry.

Finally able to get his hands on the cup, he raised it in the air as a toast to Wen RoHan and pretended to be surprised when the Wen leader was sat, on his own dais, in his own hall, with no drink in hand. Fighting hard to internalise his giggle, as he was having far too much fun, Wei Ying lowered his own cup and looked confused at the main table.

'You have no servants present to serve you?'

'No' Wen RoHan stated with a grin, again openly looking over at Lan XiChen. 'I don't trust any of my servants with any conversation as secret as this. It does concern my son and the future of my Sect after all.'

Wei Ying simply nodded as if he both understood and was empathetic with the plight of his host, in fact he wanted to jump for joy that everything was going so well.

'A Sect leader can not be expected to pour his own drink when his guest doesn't' he said blandly before waving his hand dismissively at Lan XiChen. 'XiChen go serve Sect Leader Wen his drink'

'Yes Sir' Lan XiChen replied with a bow and a voice so humble that it almost made Wei Ying choke on thin air.

He wasn't aware that the Lan Clan were even able to sound so meek…all of this acting was making him feel like he was going mad, the Lan's did not act like this in real life. He would have said that he was expecting someone to jump out from behind one of the pillars and tell him it was all a joke, except the Lan's didn't do jokes either. A shuffle from behind him made him look up at Lan Zhan who was standing so stiffly Wei Ying worried for his muscles. Wen RoHan's attention would be on the elder jade right now, so he took the opportunity to give Lan Zhan a small, reassuring smile and a gentle pat on the arm.

'It will be alright' he whispered gently.

Lan Zhan obviously heard because he patted Wei Ying's hand back, his eyes never leaving his brother. Lan XiChen meanwhile had made his way over to Wen RoHan and had completed serving him his wine. Wen RoHan was not even trying to hide his interest in the Lan Sect Leaders movements and attitude and, Wei Ying guessed, something else as well. Wen RoHan slid his hand down Lan XiChen's wrist almost too possessively to watch, but somehow XiChen managed to keep a neutral look on his face. To try and solve any rising issues that could foil their plan or put Lan XiChen in any danger, Wei Ying held up his cup once more to the Wen Leader who simply returned the salute, drank the wine and then returned to staring at the eldest jade.

Damn and this was all going so well….Wei Ying thought…now I'm going to have to work out a way to get his hands off Lan XiChen without getting his guard up against me too much. His mind had set to work thinking of all the ways he could possibly 'reclaim' Lan XiChen without causing too much trouble when the doors to the main hall opened once again and in walked the one person who Wei Ying never thought he would be happy to see. Wen Chao.