CH 44/
Lan XiChen could only wait outside the cave alone. He couldn't go back inside to face his uncle and he had no idea where Wanji and Wei WuXian had gone to. He knew enough not to wander around YiLing without a guide, but he also knew that from the second Wanji had walked out the cave he had gone after Wei WuXian. What a mess this had all turned out to be, and he had stupidly thought that dealing with the Wen was going to be the hard part. He had seriously underestimated his own family, his uncle was so stubbornly traditional and against anything different that he really couldn't see the damage he was causing both Wei WuXian and Wanji with his attitude, and Wanji! Wanji was deeply in love, but Wei WuXian's recent behaviour was worrying. XiChen had spent the last hour wondering if what he had said might one day come true, would his brother be pushed so far with all this that he would turn away from his Clan? He didn't want to think such a thing happening because of his uncle's behaviour, but if it did what would he do? Would he follow Lan Zhan in walking away? His younger brother might have a life to go and live outside the Clan, but he had no idea what he would do if he left the only home he had ever known. He certainly wouldn't have a place in Lotus Pier, Young Mistress Jiang had made that perfectly clear. His head was throbbing but as he saw no end in sight from the mess his family had become, he saw no end to the headache either.
While thinking about all the possibilities that could, might, happen, XiChen noticed Wanji emerge alone from the direction he had seen Wei WuXian disappear from earlier. Walking up to his brother he noticed that Wanji looked tired, almost defeated, for the first time in his life, and was sorry that as an elder brother he was currently powerless to help fix the problem. As soon as he opened his mouth to try and say something, anything, to help his younger brother feel better a movement caught his eye. Holding out his hand automatically a piece of paper appeared in it, curiously XiChen opened the small note and read.
Take your uncle and leave!
There didn't need to be a signature on the bottom to know who the note had come from, only Wei WuXian could send those kinds of notes in YiLing with the ward up. Passing the note to Wanji, who read the five words quickly, the two brothers looked at each other before moving towards the cave where their uncle was still confined. Shock appeared on both brothers faces when, having entered the cave, they found the energy that created the cell had dissipated and their uncle was nowhere to be seen. Lan XiChen was momentarily worried that their uncle had tried to find his own way out of YiLing and got caught up in the maze of power, but then remembered that he had been stood outside for the past hour and his uncle had never walked past him. Wanji on the other hand seemed to think things through a lot faster and was striding towards the private part of the cave even before XiChen himself had worked through things.
Xichen walked to the edge of the private area but didn't go inside, instead he listened for anything that might be happening. Moments after Wanji disappeared he reappeared again, half dragging a bedraggled Lan Qiren who was vainly tugging at the grip his youngest nephew had on his wrist. It took XiChen a split second to realise that Wanji had also put the Lan's silencing spell on his uncle, who without access to his core, could not remove it. Both uncle and nephew looked furious as they walked out into the main cave and XiChen suddenly wished he were anywhere but stood where he was. Wanji stopped and let go of their uncle's wrist as soon as he saw his brother.
Uncle what did you do? Why did you have to go in there of all places? XiChen felt himself silently asking, his eyes almost pleading with his uncle to stop this nonsense for once.
'Wei Ying said for you to leave brother. Take uncle and go back to the Cloud Recess'
XiChen almost winced. Wanji's voice was not just void of emotion but cold, he had also said 'Cloud Recess' instead of 'Home'.
'What about you?' He asked already knowing the answer but needing to hear it out loud. 'Are you not coming home with us?'
Wanji looked conflicted for a moment before glancing over at their uncle and back at XiChen. Looking his brother in the eye he spoke almost defiantly.
'No! I promised Wei Ying that I would remain by his side. I have broken that promise once but refuse to abandon him just because the rest of the world has. I will remain here with him.'
XiChen nodded slowly and rested his hand on his little brother's shoulder gently.
'I will always support you Wanji, not matter what you decide to do with your life' He said, trying not to choke on his emotions.
Lan Zhan simply nodded and XiChen pulled their uncle onto his sword and rose into the air. The ward surrounding YiLing opened enough for the two to fly out, as if commanded by its owner, before closing around the vanishing forms. Lan Zhan sighed and looked back towards the trees. He had made his decision and was not going to change it. The problem was that right now the YiLing Lazou was angry with him, which was not a good place to be, and he had no idea how to calm that side of Wei Ying's personality. It didn't really matter though, there were only the two of them now and no matter how hard he tried the YiLing Lazou could not hide in the copse of trees forever, sooner or later he would have to come out to eat. Lan Zhan just had to work out some way of, quite literally, breaking the ice between them.
Lan Zhan wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep on Wei Ying's bed, but a strange pressure around his neck awoke him. The YiLing Lazou knelt, straddling his legs, ice cold eyes fixed on his face while his palm pressed into his neck in a strong grip. Lan Zhan didn't move, but rather just looked up at the man above him, the look in his own eyes making it clear that even though he was being passive he was by no means submissive. Those cold eyes looked confused for a moment, as if Lan Zhan's reaction was not what he expected, but it lasted only a few seconds before the fury took over once more.
'I told you to leave with your uncle!'
The voice was cold, but Lan Zhan had already noticed something about it seemed changed, almost calmer. Just getting his uncle out of YiLing seemed to have made the YiLing Lazou more balanced and less unpredictable. The hand squeezed a little more as if trying to force an answer out of him. Once again Lan Zhan wondered why the YiLing Lazou had not rescinded his permission to use his core, but filed the idea away in the back of his mind for future reference.
'The note was sent to my brother.' Lan Zhan said as blandly as he could with a fist wrapped around his vocal cords. 'My brother has followed the instruction and has taken my uncle and left. I will be remaining here!'
Again, those cold eyes changed for a split second, before resuming their focused glare on him. Not quick enough though that Lan Zhan didn't notice the change and took the risk of grasping the hand holding his throat and moving it away slightly. Not far enough as for the YiLign Lazou to think he was trying to escape, but far enough to let him breathe easily. The cold eyes seemed to thaw for a second again when Lan Zhan paused and took a deep breath, but soon resumed that icy, deadly, stare. Still…. Lan Zhan thought…..the ice was thawing, he just hoped it melted before the YiLing Lazou killed him.
'I told you; I have no further use for you!' The YiLing Lazou ground out.
'And I told you that I am not leaving' Lan Zhan responded evenly.
Both men stared at each other for a few moments before a strange look came over that icy stare and blank face. Before Lan Zhan could wonder what the look meant he let out an involuntary gasp as he felt fingers grab his groin through his robes in an almost painful grip.
'Is this what you stayed behind for Lan Zhan?' The icy voice was openly mocking. 'You finally worked out what your dick does, and you don't want to lose your only cock warmer? After all, if the rest of the Lan found out you liked not just fucking men, but fucking me! After all, I'm the man everyone runs away from in fear, but you run towards me just so you can drop your trousers! Do you really think you could keep your reputation as incorruptible and pure after they knew what a depraved slut you really are?'
Lan Zhan refused to respond to the obvious taunt. Both sides of Wei Ying's personality had the gift of being able to use words to disarm people, but only the YiLing Lazou knowingly used them to hurt people. Instead, he took a deep breath and once again looked the man above him in the eye, unwilling to back down or look away. Those cold eyes once again seemed to thaw with uncertainty and Lan Zhan was quick to take his opening.
'I am not leaving you Wei Ying!'
Laugher erupted above him, but not as harsh and cold as it had been before. The hand was clawing back at his throat as if to try and get him to shut up, but Lan Zhan was easily able to keep it away.
'Did I cut off your oxygen and make your stupid Lan Zhan?' The cold voice from above said again.
Wei Ying is the YiLing Lazou, the YiLing Lazou is Wei Ying.' Lan Zhan said calmly as he relaxed his hand, purposely letting the palm once again come in contact with his neck. 'If I trust one, I must trust the other. If I love one, I must love the other.' Wei Ying's palm was now firmly squeezing against his neck again, but Lan Zhan was not resisting at all. If the only way he could prove to Wei Ying that he had no intentions of either leaving or betraying him was to lay still and allow him to crush his throat, he would do exactly that.
Wei Ying's palm seemed to get tight tighter and tighter to the point where Lan Zhan began seeing grey. He knew if he didn't remove the obstruction soon, he would fall unconscious, yet he kept his hands by his side through sheer force of will.
'Wei Ying' He manged to gasp out, knowing it might be the last time, the last thing he spoke. Wanting Wei Ying to know how sorry he was, how much Wei Ying meant to him.
Suddenly the pressure on his throat eased a little and he manged to take a small breath, but the reprieve only lasted a few seconds before the pressure was back as firmly as before. This cycle went on a few times and at first Lan Zhan thought the YiLing Lazou was playing with him for some reason, maybe trying to get him to bend or break as he had done before. It was only when he had taken enough short breaths for his sight to clear that he noticed what was going on. Apart from the hand around his throat, Wei Ying's other hand was on his head, his eyes fully closed and the look on his face was one of pain.
'Wei Ying!' Lan Zhan exclaimed concerned and reached up slowly to touch the other man's arm.
'Don't touch me Lan Zhan!' Came the reply as soon as the two men made contact.
Lan Zhan froze. The response hadn't sounded like the YiLing Lazou or Wei Ying, but an odd combination of the two. The pain in Wei Ying's face suddenly made sense, both sides of Wei Ying's personality were fighting one another for control, and it was causing the man he loved considerable pain. One side clearly wanted to kill him for his betrayal while the other didn't! Lan Zhan didn't know what to do, but he wasn't going to lie there helpless while knowing that he was the cause for this pain as well. Taking advantage of Wei Ying's distracted nature, he easily pulled the hand away from his throat and sat up. Taking one more deep breath to steady himself he cupped the back of Wei Ying's head with one of his hands and pulled the other in for a kiss.
At first Wei Ying struggled in his hold, even biting his lip, and growling down his throat so much that Lan Zhan didn't daren't place his tongue inside the others mouth. Slowly though the struggle was replaced a stiff tension, which was replaced by a passive non-response. Eventually though, just as Lan Zhan thought he had done the wrong thing, the kiss deepened from the other side. The other man slipped his own tongue inside Lan Zhan's mouth, who obediently allowed it to happen as he felt the need and claim behind the movements, the desire and want in the closeness. He didn't know how long the kiss lasted, how long the others hand had been tangled in his own hair, fisted in his forehead ribbon. He just knew the relief he felt when the two broke apart for air and he heard his name spoken in that warm voice once again, those granite eyes looking back at him.
'Lan Zhan!'
His Wei Ying was back!
