Too Far Apart

16. A Brief Moment

Lan Xichen watched once again longingly, as the back of Wanyin vanished around the corner. His room was close by. He didn't want to leave the other's company yet. Wanyin didn't seem to want it, as he did. Was his craving only because of his depression, because of the void? Today felt normal. He did not feel like he was suffering, he was wrong or as if he had wronged someone. It just felt peaceful. It was hard to tear his eyes away from the peaceful expression on Wanyin's face. He longed to caress it, caress that expression but he had to be content with looking.

With a small sigh, he went to the guest quarter and prepared himself for dinner. After some time, a knock on the door alerted him of Miss Zhou's arrival. She had a tray of food in her hands.

"Sect Leader Jiang asked me to prepare some things." Lan Xichen only bowed in respect and saw that all the dishes were to his taste.

"I will be having dinner with the rest." he informed her, but she only smiled wider and shook his head, "Just in case if you are hungry. We will wait for you at dinner."

'We'? Lan Xichen couldn't help holding on to the word with heartbreak. His head seemed to swim. Do they have dinner together? What is her relationship with Wanyin? For the first time, he looked at her properly. She was beautiful indeed, a simple maiden with a nice smile. Wanyin was comfortable around her, the lack of any type of frown said so.

At the door, she paused and Lan Xichen looked up waiting, "Sect Leader Lan. Thank you for visiting. Sect Leader Jiang has never joined the dinner in my memory of living here. This is the first time. Thank you for visiting."

So, it wasn't a 'we' dinner it was perhaps a banquet? He had no idea about the dinner tradition or style in Yunmeng and her words got him curious too. Why did Wanyin never join dinner?

Within a few hours, he had answers to almost all his question. They were at the training grounds which were larger than the grounds at Cloud Recess. The courtyard led to a more expanded dirt area which expanded further towards a lake. It seemed like the whole town had turned up for dinner. It seemed like a banquet, only less formal. Lan Xichen stood at the very end of the courtyard, taking in the scene before him.

The disciple that escorted him was already gone in the crowd. The rim of the training ground was laden with tables and food. No one was serving, or rather, everyone was serving. In the centre was big enough fire like a campfire in the woods and the flames rose to kiss the skies. Here and there, he could smell the food; it was all over the place. In the courtyard, itself were baskets of raw food line on the walls and people were constantly surrounding them in a disorderly fashion, taking what they needed and rushed back.

Everything was being cooked on the spot with mini fires. It was like a large village gathering or a tribal scene celebration. Wanyin's voice reached through the jolly laughters and sword clashes.

"Sect Leader Lan. If this makes you uncomfortable, we can have a private dinner."

Lan Xichen wanted to say yes just to keep Wanyin to himself but held his answer for several reasons. One, he wasn't uncomfortable, he was happy that Wanyin invited him to such a family kind of gathering overflowing with purple robes. Two, he didn't want to take Wanyin away from his disciples as it was his first attendance in many years. Lastly, he wanted to witness this man in his usual surroundings.

"No. Let us proceed."

With a nod, Jiang Cheng led and Lan Xichen fell in stride with him, "Does this surprise you?"

"Yes. A little. I was not expecting a large gathering."

"We used to have these dinners regularly, many times daily but as of these years, the frequency has decreased and the amount of people has increased. We had to expand the area." Wanyin explained.