Ch22

When Wei Ying awoke he felt a lot better both in body and mind. Looking around the room was empty although the lingering scent of sandalwood still remained which showed Lan Zhan had not long left. This guess was reinforced when he idly rolled over onto his side and felt the warmth next to him where a body had been not long ago. Smiling he had sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed before realising he hadn't had anything but a slight ache. The pain from the burns to his body and throat had begun to subside, either that or he had just gotten used to it.

Standing up after so many days lying down proved more of a challenge than he thought. His legs where weak and didn't seem to want to obey his commands, which ended up with him in a heap on the cold floor of the Jingshi, on more than one occasion, before be reached the central seating area. Through the open door he could see the sun was high in the sky which meant it was somewhere around noon, however he wasn't 100% sure exactly what time. For now though being upright and feeling the fresh breeze on his face was enough for him.

After having a few cups of water the draw of the fresh open air just being a few steps away became to much. Leaning on the table for support he half walked, half stumbled towards the door. The fresh air caressed his face and made him sigh with the simple pleasure of being outside. Wei Ying was a man who loved being outside, he loved running, fighting, walking for hours through the woods. Being stuck inside in a bed had been sending him insane even if he had been too ill to move. Leaning back against the door frame Wei Ying started thinking back to the first time he had come to the Cloud Reccess to learn from Lan QiRen, sitting in the hall with dozens of other young cultivators, none of which he knew, and trying not to fall asleep at the monotone drone coming from the front. Smiling as he remembered the look on Lan Zhan's face back then as he tried not to show his anger and frustration at every one of Wei Ying's antics. Dodging the flying scrolls when he bought up demonic cultivation, winding Lan Zhan up with the borrowed porn magazine in his reading book in the library.

Wei Ying was laughing so hard at the memories he began coughing again and almost fell to the floor when his knees buckled. Suddenly it occurred to him, his laughter was the first sound he had heard since he woken up. Even in such as a place as the Cloud Reccess with its ridiculously strict rules on noise there was normally some sound. No one could move around without making any noise whatsoever, well unless that someone was named Lan Zhan who seemed to be inhuman when it came to creeping up on people. Also no one could work without making a noise, after all doors made noise, swords made noise, animals and lots of people reading and writing made a certain amount of noise. Yet he could hear nothing! Not a sound. Wei Ying began to wonder if the reason he couldn't hear anything was that for some reason something was happening that they wanted him to be kept ignorant of.

Gritting his teeth he forced himself to walk, semi stably, through the JingShi's gate and into the Cloud Reccess properly. The large square lay ahead of him but it stood deserted. In a Sect as large the Lan he couldn't imagine the place being deserted. There would always be someone walking around on some duty or errand. The outer disciples had their lessons throughout the day if nothing else, so Wei Ying found himself headed towards the library pavilion and main teaching hall. He could remember both places from the times he had spent learning himself, when he had spent his months learning it had been full of sound yet now there yet again was no sound.

Starting to worry that something bad had happened to GusuLan Sect Wei Ying walked deeper into the main area of the Cloud Reccess. The deeper he walked however the more the idea of a violent interaction made no sense. The buildings looked as perfectly kept as ever, the Sect flags flew proudly and there was no weapons outside from either the Lan Sect or another. The only thing that seemed out of place was the lack of people wondering around. Suddenly though a sharp sound made him pull up short and tilt his head trying to home in on where exactly it was coming from.

Wei Ying had been struck enough as a child to know what a punishment whip sounded like, however this whip sounded slightly different to the simple whips that had always been used on him. Also he had always shouted when he had been struck, but whoever was being disciplined this time wasn't making a sound. If he was honest with himself though he didn't expect anything else of the cultivators of GusuLan. Something still wasn't making adding up in his head as he automatically followed the sound closer and closer to its origin.

Appearing round the corner of a building was an image which nearly made Wei Ying collapse once again, but this time it wasn't his knees it was his heart faltering that made him almost unable to keep standing. Before him was a semi circle of GusuLan disciples three or four deep, enough to explain the lack of people or noise anywhere else. But that wasn't what had threatened to give him a heart attack. In front of the semi circle of people was a raised platform, on it was four people, one of which was knelt. Three of the four people on the platform Wei Ying recognised, Lan QiRen, Lan XiChen and Lan Zhan. It was the fact that Lan Zhan was the person knelt, his robes stripped to his waist and his back already bloody with whip marks that made Wei Ying unable to tear his eyes away.

Neither Lan QiRen or Lan XiChen where moving to stop the punishment as each stroke landed, but at least Lan XiChen had the feeling to look away. Lan Zhan was making no noises himself except for a gentle exhalation at each impact. Wei Ying couldn't hold his temper any longer, he attempted to run towards the platform but stumbled and fell making the crowd separate around him.

'Stop!' Wei Ying yelled from the floor.

This got everyone's attention and the unknown person on the platform paused, looking towards Lan XiChen as if for permission to resume. Lan Zhan and Lan XiChen both turned their attention towards Wei Ying as he struggled to get to his feet.

'Wei Ying its fine' Lan Zhan began in a steady voice 'Go back to the JingShi we can speak about this later'

'You want me to leave?' Wei Ying was so incredulous his voice almost broke.

Lan Zhan seemed to ignore him but instead spoke to his brother.

'Brother please take Wei Ying back to the JingShi and keep him there until I am able to get home'

Wei Ying didn't know if he should laugh hysterically or cry at the behaviour of both brothers, he found himself staring dumbly at the scene in front of him. Lan XiChen looked down with a sympathetic look as he reached down to help Wei Ying to his feet.

'Come on Young Master Wei'

Wei Ying could only stare at Lan Zhan as he was numbly dragged away by Lan XiChen. As soon as they got around the corner and the platform was once again out of sight the sound once again began clearly. This time it had nothing to do with his illness or his headache when he yanked his arm out of Lan XiChen's grasp, stumbled over to one side and threw up.

Wei Ying had paced up and down the main area of the JingShi so many times he had stopped becoming dizzy long ago. The only reason he was still in the JingShi at all was because Lan XiChen was stood outside, effectively standing guard and not letting move. If he had been more healthy he might have fought to get out the house, but as he was at the moment he could only stay where he was and wait. And pace!

Eventually, just when he thought he was going to pace a hole in the floor, Lan Zhan appeared at the door. They way he walked didn't show any of the pain he must have been feeling and Wei Ying didn't know if he should be relieved or annoyed. Lan Zhan nodded to his brother and walked into the home. Both men starred at each other, each man knew the other was injured and neither wanted to begin the conversation with such a simple question as 'how are you feeling?'

At length both men moved to the table and sat in silence. Still without speaking each man poured a cup of tea and served it to the other. Lan Zhan however was a lot more comfortable with silence than Wei Ying was, he was obviously also a lot more comfortable with what had just happened as well. In the end it was Wei Ying who lost his patience first.

'Just what the hell was that I walked in on earlier?' He exclaimed.

Lan Zhan just looked at him like he should know perfectly well what he had seen. Wei Ying growled slightly.

'Ok yes I know what I saw, what I want to know is why was anyone punishing YOU. Lan Zhan you have never met a rule you don't like! Its impossible for you to break a rule! It makes no sense, and why was your brother and uncle just standing there like statues watching it happen?'

'Brother and Uncle were obeying the rules Wei Ying, I disobeyed them and I was punished for it. Lan Zhan's bland response on served to further annoy Wei Ying.

'You don't know what disobey means Lan Zhan! I don't think its in the Lan Clan vocabulary. How could you be punished so harshly for a mistake.'

'It wasn't a mistake. I disobeyed on purpose, and I would do it again.' Lan Zhan's voice had begun showing a little anger which made Wei Ying pause and think for a moment.

'Why did you do it?'

'You do not need to know, just concentrate on healing!' The certainty in Lan Zhan's voice made Wei Ying realise that he needed another way of getting the information. But if Lan Zhan thought he was going to let this go, Lan Zhan didn't know him very well after all.

A/N

This story is lasting longer than I planned but I hope people are enjoying it. Please leave reviews if you have you have anything to say. This will ne my final chapter of 2020 but I will be back early Jan 2021 with new chapters.