Wanning stumbles forward as his head spins. His face turns green. His hands plant themselves on the sturdy trunk of a tree. With his head down Wanning retches all over the trees roots.
All three men cringe at the sound. The noise from Wanning sound rough and harsh. Almost violent. Shi Mei gets closer to Wanning, rubbing circles onto his back. Once again Wanning vomits, more now. They all sympathize with their teacher. Mo Ran gets closer to the vomiting man. Feeling really bad.
Xue Meng steps up. "Is he sick?" he wonders worried.
Only for Wanning to dry heave for nothing to come out. Wanning breathes heavily. Vomiting took a lot of energy. He still looks very green. Hands gripping the trunk with every ounce of strength.
"We were drugged." Mo Ran tells them remembering himself. It wasn't until he threw up that he felt better. Shi Mei turns to look at the tan man.
"Are you sure?" He asks.
"I'm sure. When Wa-Shizun was taken my body felt heavy and my vision turned black and I fainted." Mo Ran says. Shi Mei frowns. Someone drugged them. They did see Mo Ran throw up and he seems fine now. But that doesn't seem to be it, for Wanning it seems to be more than that.
He thinks about it, trying to piece things together. If their teacher can do it so can he. Figure out what it is. What did they do? What does he know that would be the cause?
"Man..." Wanning voices hoarsely as he points a shaky finger to the side. The three turn their heads to see the man having escaped the ropes and is now running.
"Hey!" Xue Meng shouts standing there.
"Get him." Wanning croaks. Mo Ran stands up.
"Stop right there!" He yells running after the man. No way is Mo Ran going to let him go. He drugged them and took his wife away. He can't let the man be free. No matter what.
"Hold on!" Xue Meng shouts after his cousin.
Shi Mei watches them run away. He decides to let them do their thing, he wouldn't be able to help. He snaps his head to his teacher as he once again vomits. He continues to rub circles in his back, mind going back to thinking about what is the problem.
It's hard when his teacher is busy vomiting and dry heaving. Wanning doesn't look good, looking green. His eyes are red at the corners. His skin is also pale. His eyes look tired, he must not have gotten enough sleep. That must not be helping his condition. Neither did all that drinking. He wonders why they were drinking so much? He can ask when someone either comes back or when Mo Ran comes back.
After a while, Wanning just dry heaves until he finally feels better, not well but not like his stomach wants to turn inside out. Feeling too unwell to care, Wanning allows Shi Mei to help him to his feet and lead him away from the area that is now full of vomit. Shi Mei gently lets Wanning sit in the shade, leaning against the trunk of the tree. Shi Mei searches himself for his water. He hands it to his teacher. Watching the man drink slowly but deeply. Drinking all the water.
"Feeling better?" Shi Mei asks. Wanning nods resting his head back. He looks ready to sleep. The disciple decides to let his teacher rest not bothering to ask any more questions. Also worrying about angering the man, knowing his short temper.
Shi Mei tilts his head to see who is walking towards them to find the man being dragged by Mo Ran red vine. Mo Ran takes a moment to get the robe the man was once tied in. He takes a look at it. Then shakes his head, "you are not good at tying ropes Mengmeng." Mo Ran says. Xue Meng glares at the man.
"I've never needed to," he growls out. Mo Ran stops next to the two. Shi Mei shakes his water sack, it's completely empty. He's going to need to replenish his water.
"How's shizun?" Mo Ran ignores his cousin to ask Shi Mei.
"He's fine. You and shizun must have been drinking heavily last night. That with the drug didn't help his stomach. He's got a nasty hangover and with the way the carriage was going at full speed on an uneven road... well, it must not have helped his already upset stomach." Shi Mei kindly explains, giving a sympathetic smile to the two. Xue Meng steps up.
"So... it's a human again." Xue Meng says looking down at the man staring at them scared.
"No." Wanning rasps out shaking his head slightly. They look at him.
"Why do you think that?" Mo Ran wonders.
"Why..." Wanning takes a breath, turning to look at them, "take the effort to go to the mountain by carriage?" Wanning questions them. That makes them think. The man takes the carriage with Wanning in it up the mountain... who wouldn't? It's faster. It makes sense.
Mo Ran blinks. No it doesn't. No one knows this man, maybe, they will have to ask but even the owner didn't know about the secret passage. Who is to say the man doesn't sneak in? If so... why take a carriage, which is very noticable up the mountain? He could take his time and walk up the mountain path with Wanning. It wouldn't be to difficult when drugged. Wanning isn't large either, and very light (something that worries Mo Ran some times).
He's in a rush to get somewhere, maybe he has an ocomplance. An ocomplance that can't do it themselves.
"Ask." Wanning motions to the man who is looking at all of them confused. He must not realize they are cultivators yet. Wanning watches them.
Mo Ran squeezes Jiangui around the man a little tighter. "Who are you working with?" Mo Ran asks. The man lets out a shout. Eyes watering. Mo Ran knows it won't take long for the man to spill everything. He knows the pain. He let's Jiangui lighten around him, letting the man get a moment to tell them instead of scream and cry in pain.
"I don't know it's name!" The man shouts, tears flowing down his face.
"Continue." Mo Ran demands. The man takes a look at Wanning, he screams as the red vine wraps tightly around him. "Continue." Mo Ran growls out. Wanning blink, eyes a bit wide as he watch. Wanning doesn't know if he's ever seen his lover so... rough? Mean? To another person before. He's always been the center of Mo Ran's ire. It is doing things to him. Wanning curls a little. Lucky for him a woman's body doesn't make it so obvious he's turned on.
Xue Meng and Shi Mei look at each other shocked. What got him so mad?
"I never asked his name!" The man shouts in pain hoping it'll stop. It does. "But he promised to help get my inn back." Mo Ran and Wanning share a look. His inn? What about Chang Fang?
"Your inn? We've met the owner." Mo Ran points out.
The man shakes his head. "He's the owner but not the rightful one. That inn use to be in my family for generations. Until my great- grandfather gambled it. He lost and it was given to the winner. My grandfather wanted to get it back but a deal is a deal. One day I was wondering the mountain trying to plan a way to get it back when it spoke to me. It always hid in the shadow. It told me if I helped him it'll help me. I just deliver the woman to him."
"All you are is a messenger?" Xue Meng wonders out loud not able to believe it, shaking his head.
"You never wondered what he did with the woman you deliver?" Wanning asks glaring at the man.
He shakes his head. "I drop them off and leave."
Wanning scoffs, looking away. "You are being used. He was never going to help you. He just wanted to eat woman."
"What?" The man pales.
"You mean to tell us you never questioned why he wants the woman?" Xue Meng asks looking at the man like he's insane.
"I..."
"It's a demon. He must be hiding in the mountain. The fact he's been after married woman the demon must be trapped to an object on the mountain." Wanning answers.
"Lets go. We need to hunt it." Mo Ran picks the man up from his collar, throwing him in the back of the carriage harshly. Mo Ran turn to see Shi Mei helping Wanning get to the carriage. "What are you doing?" He asks, raising an eyebrow at his lover. Wanning looks at him.
"Helping?" Wanning says. This is his mission too. Mo Ran opens and closes his mouth. Wanting to argue with the man but not seeing the point. His wife is as stubborn as he is, if not more.
Mo Ran smiles.Hiswife. Oh how he loves saying and thinking that, especially with memories of last night.
"Ew. Don't smile like that." Xue Meng says.