CH 25 – The eye of the storm

While the whole family was falling apart outside Wei Ying and Lan Zhan were battling their own internal demons. Although their bodies where currently degrading their minds where extremely active, fighting to keep their own senses of self in tact. Those outside could simply look on and hope, helpless to do anything to aid either man.

His had slipped once again and the blood soaked wrist fell from his, as Wei Ying fell. Disappearing from sight within seconds through clouds as his eyes closed. Lan Zhan heard himself scream, scream as loud as his lungs let him, even though he knew it was hopeless he still screamed. He slumped once again to the floor all the fight suddenly gone from his body. All the strength gone from his spirit. The man he loved was gone….he had failed once again…...he always failed him. He had lost track of the amount of times he had relived this day already and each time it led to Wei Ying's death. No matter how much he yelled and screamed….no matter how much he begged and tried….he couldn't stop it. Every time it ended with him staring at Wei Ying as the man closed his eyes before his sprit left forever.

The scene reset once again. The day of the battle of Nightless City appeared before his eyes. The Sects fighting the resentful spirits that swirled around like swarms of moths, each obeying the haunting sound of the flute filling the air. Wei Ying once again stood on the roof, resentful energy swirling around him like a living being. Lan Zhan instinctually took a step forwards towards him, as he had done many times before. Then stalled, just looking at what was going on. He couldn't bring himself to move….he couldn't bring himself to fail again!…..Lan Zhan wasn't used to failing. He was used to being the best at everything he did, achieving everything he aimed at….so why was it that the one man he wanted to save above everything else he was utterly incapable of saving!

The Sects had once again moved forwards towards Wei Ying, who was backing away towards the cliff that would end his life. I'm failing again…..I'm failing…..ohh god...not again…..tears sprung to his eyes as Wei Ying was herded to the edge of the cliff. Lan Zhan couldn't find the strength in his arms or legs to even crawl towards what was happening. He couldn't find his voice, it was already to hoarse from all the screaming he had done in the past. As Wei Ying's face once again disappeared from view Lan Zhan's head sagged to the ground as if the gravity suddenly increased and made it impossible to hold it up. The roar of triumph filled the air from the area of the cliff, filling the air with sounds of happiness and glee. Lan Zhan just let his tears fall and wept heavily…..he had failed once again.

Wei Ying was also having his own internal battles. He was in the middle of a meadow, a beautiful place where there where flowers as far the eye could see. Trees where interspersed, breaking up the flawless green grass and the equally flawless blue sky which didn't have a cloud obscuring the bright sunlight. Yet he knelt, almost curled up in a ball, beneath that sunlight. Unable to move, scared to move, or even to raise his head. When he had first seen the meadow he had thought he was in a beautiful dream and just needed Lan Zhan here holding his hand to make it perfect. He had walked around, picking the flowers and climbing the trees, all the things that had made him happy as a young man. He had even come upon a small stream which he bathed in…...feeling the running water upon his skin as he smiled, laughed and splashed about. It was then the dream had begun to turn into a nightmare. People had begun to appear from behind those beautiful trees, from out of the ground, even from out of the spring itself. People he remembered, people he had either been unable to escape, or played an active role in killing.

At first it had been people he didn't really recognise but he still instinctually reached for his clothing that he'd left at the edge of the stream, only to find it had mysteriously disappeared. Dripping, cold and shivering he faced the dozen of malformed, distorted corpses that walked towards him each one muttering about how he killed them and took their lives. Despite being bare both physically and mentally he had managed to fight off the first onslaught but then others appeared, pushing their way through the first circle. The Wen's from the burial mounds, all the people from Lotus Pier that had died that day Wen Chao's insane girlfriend attacked. These people he had known personally and they had a much greater impact on him. The Lotus Pier housekeeper, the 'aunt' who had always bought him treats and looked after him as a child. In a way she was more of a mother to him than Madam Yu. All the servants who he had been friends with growing up, after all he never treated them as servants and despite them all calling him 'Young Master Wei' no ever feared him the same way they did Jiang Cheng. He had always just been one of them, only in better clothing.

If the sight of those people, all burned and mutilated, was not enough to make him want to close his eyes and cringe away. The muttering sounds coming from their mouths was even more hard for him to cope with. They spoke almost on top of each other about how they had each protected and loved him, but in the end it was him who had gotten them killed. All he could do was shout out that it wasn't true, the Wen's had done that to them not him. As if called the Wen's moved and filled in the gaps of the circle beginning to form around him. The 'aunt' that looked after A-Yuan as a child, her smiling face replaced with a fixed grimace. The 'Uncle' that used to help him dig the gardens and build the huts, his almost impossibly skilled fingers now turned inwards like claws. The muttering just increased around him. The Wen's speaking about how they had given up their lives for him because they believed he would make that sacrifice worth something, but he had dis-honoured their memories by throwing himself of a cliff.

Wei Ying found he couldn't fight those accusations, he could only murmur how sorry he was over and over again as the corpses closed in. Then they stopped and he felt a momentary relief of pressure, like he could breathe again. However that soon came crashing down around his ears when the next group arrived. The circle opened and Wen Qing and Wen Ning walked in, staring at him. Wen Qing's gifted fingers where all broken while Wen Ning's eyes where black and chains wound round his body. As the two walked away Uncle Jiang and Madam Yu approached. His Uncle only looked at him sadly and shook his head before leaving but Madam Yu looked him coldly in the eyes.

'I should have killed you when you were a child' she said with a hiss. 'Then all these people would still be alive.'

Wei Ying could only shake his head in response, no words coming out, as she walked away. The worst however was still yet to come. He was already almost hyperventilating when out of the mass of bodies appeared his sister, hand in hand with Jin ZiXuan. He could hear himself screaming at the top of his lungs as he squashed his hands to his ears to avoid hearing the words. He closed his eyes tight but not before he already seen the gaping whole Wen Ning had punched through Jin ZiXuan's chest, and the deadly wound visible on his beloved sister. He didn't know when he had fallen to the ground but he could only curl his helpless body, without even clothing to protect him, into a ball. His hands over his ears and his eyes determinedly closed. He could hear the voices, the people, but all he could do was whisper over and over again like some kind of madman, completely broken of sanity and dignity.

'I'm sorry…...I'm sorry…..I'm sorry…...'

The healer stood before Lan XiChen's desk in his office. He had just been to check on his patients and his news was grave. Although physically the wounds were healing their health was deteriorating. The healer hadn't been able to get any food into either man for days, and hardly any water. At the rate they were going even two men as strong as Lan Zhan and Wei Ying wouldn't be able to cope with this much longer. In short the healer reported that both of them needed to wake up soon if they were going to survive. The problem with that is that neither of them had any clue how they would accomplish it. Lan XiChen just nodded and stood.

'I will go see them right away!'

'B….bb…...but….the ghost general?' the healer stammered

'I will find a way to get past Wen Ning' Lan XiChen said with a certainty he didn't feel. After all Wen Ning had been a protector of Wei Ying many years, he was one of the few people Wanji trusted with his beloved husband when he wasn't around. He couldn't exactly injure or even kill Wen Ning trying to get into the room, neither Wei Ying or Wanji would forgive him for it. He had to think of a different way.

Arriving at the Jingshi he could see Wen Ning pacing up and down almost as if he found it impossible to stand still. He was murmuring something to himself, however Lan XiChen only the occasional word before stepping closer. Wen Ning was immediately on guard and stood facing the Sect Leader as if he was a child asking for sweets. XiChen stopped and looked at the man everyone was calling the ghost general once again, however he still saw Wen Ning, the socially awkward man who was trying to look out for his friends. The two just stood and looked at each other for a moment before XiChen spoke gently.

'We are trying everything but we can't figure out a way to wake them up. Obviously just leaving them to wake up on their own isnt working, they can't take in enough food and water to keep their bodies alive.'

Wen Ning nodded slightly but seemed to be listening, which was an improvement over the normal angry guard.

'They each need the other to wake up before they themselves can' XiChen continued. 'But that's not possible…..maybe if I go inside though I can help my brother wake up and he in turn can wake up Wei Ying.'

As soon as he had mentioned going inside Wen Ning had stiffened once again. But this time XiChen noticed something different about his stance from all the other times he had tried to gain entrance to the Jingshi. Wen Ning began pacing again, wringing his hands. Fidgeting with his clothing. Something was obviously wrong but XiChen didn't move forwards or try to enter the Jingshi, he remained where he was observing closely. Still fidgeting and pacing Wen Ning spoke as if to no one.

'Would they be able to wake up if they could see each other?'

XiChen was astounded but kept his voice as blank as possible.

'They are both unconscious! How can they see each other?'

'It was an idea of my sisters' Wen Ning hadn't stopped fidgeting which was starting to get on XiChen's nerves, but while the man was actually talking he didn't want to interrupt. 'She had an idea that if cultivation partners had the right level of connection they could actually share dreams, ideas and even to some point share minds. It was untested as no one had ever reached the level of connection she thought was needed to try it before she died…...but…'

XiChen nearly shouted 'Are you insane that would kill them both' but then a thought in the back of his head spoke' Wen Qing is the one who came up with the idea of transplanting a golden core, we all thought that was insane and impossible but it worked. Maybe you shouldn't be ignoring this so quickly. Instead he squared his shoulders and spoke, not in the voice of a concerned brother but in that of a Sect leader.

'Do you know how to do such a thing?'

Wen Ning shook his head.

'No. I only know about the idea. Although my sister did write down all her ideas in a notebook she buried under the floor in our house…...i don't know if it will still be there after all this time though'

'Where did she bury it?' Lan XiChen found himself asking before he realised he had spoken.

If anything Wen Ning seemed to get more agitated, leading Lan XIChen to finally loose his patience and lean forwards to grab the arm of the fidgeting Ghost General.

'Stand still!. He ordered 'Tell me where the book is?'

Wen Ning looked up at him, sadness in his eyes as he spoke.

'She buried it under the house we built at YiLing'