WangXian Forever 7

Chapter 32 Politics

While Jin Ling and SiZhui went to see the healers, Wei Ying and Lan Zhan returned to their room, but upon entering and seeing no children, Wei Ying rushed back out, only to nearly crash into Jiang Cheng.

"Er...I was just coming to see you." He said quickly.

"Where are my children?" Wei Ying asked urgently.

"They're fine! Promise! Hui Gai came and took them."

"What? Why?"

Lan Zhan came and stood by Wei Ying, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"Brother Wei, we thought you and Didi were coming back when we returned, but when you didn't, the children were worried." XiChen who had been trying to catch up with Jiang Cheng, arrived to explain.

"Li XiWang called him." Jiang Cheng finished. "You know, that girl is just like you!"

Wei Ying smiled at that but he was feeling tired from the day and night's adventure.

"She called him so he could take her to where both of you were. Very resourceful child." XiChen added, also smiling.

"I just want them back."

"Mn."

Wei Ying had to only think of Hui Gai and he arrived with both children and to everyone's surprise, Thing, DaErduo and Xiao Mao were also with them.

Hui Gai put everyone down and waited until the children had greeted their parents before holding his arms open for Wei Ying.

"I missed you too, Pengyou."

"Same." Wei Ying brought everyone inside.

They pushed a few tables together and ordered food.

"Li XiWang, did you really call Hui Gai to take you up Phoenix Mountain?" Wei Ying asked her, pulling her onto his lap.

She nodded.

Wei Ying was proud of her that she didn't look away when she knew she had done something wrong.

"Alright, I know you were worried about us, Little rabbit, but in this case, both your Uncle Cheng and Hui Gai were right. You do understand that?"

She nodded.

"I thought we could help." She said in a small voice.

Rumi who was sitting in between Wei Ying and Lan Zhan, snuck his fingers into her hand and squeezed.

"You might be able to." Wei Ying told her, smiling when her big burgundy eyes shone with excitement.

"What is it? How can I help?" She asked brightly.

"Well, we have a new friend...he's quite the bit bigger than all of us but he has a cold. Jin Ling is speaking to the healers about a possible cure. He had to leave his people, maybe because of his illness and now he's lost." Wei Ying explained.

"Menthol should help with that." She said, tapping her nose.

Jiang Cheng caught Wei Ying's eye and gestured to what Li XiWang was doing, mouthing, "I told you so."

Wei Ying answered him with a grin and continued talking with his daughter.

"The thing is, he's quite a lot bigger."

"So body size multiplied by dosage?"

"Exactly. Too little won't do anything, and too much might harm him."

"Can I see him tomorrow?" She asked eagerly. "That way we can determine how much medicine to make."

"Well, we don't know why, but he's afraid of the sun, so he hides during the day and wakes up at night. Do you think it will help, to see actually how big he is? For now, I can tell you that if you put twenty people on top of each other, that's how tall he is."

"Right, so if we multiplied the medicine by twenty that should work, right? For the first dose and his condition must be monitored. Then we can decide."

Wei Ying was so proud of her, and he kissed her hair.

Their food arrived then and the next few minutes were spent serving everyone and dishing it out.

"I'm actually quite hungry." Wei Ying said to himself, as he ate.

Lan Zhan overheard him and began pushing all sorts of dishes his way. Wei Ying grinned and accepted happily. Wherever they went, Lan Zhan carried bottles of chilli oil with him for Wei Ying, which made all their meals that much easier.

"Have you heard of a place like Dunshi described?" Wei Ying asked XiChen.

"It depends on where it is. We know all the mountain ranges close to Gusu, even as far as Qishan, Yiling, and Yunmeng including the Unclean Realm. If you imagine a circle around those, if you drew another one parallel to that but maybe two miles out, that is how far our knowledge goes. But there have been many travellers who have written accounts of their travels. All the libraries would have something." He replied, pouring more wine for Jiang Cheng.

Wei Ying watched Rumi feeding little pieces of meat to Thing which was purring in his lap.

"That's a good idea. While we're here, it might be wise to do some research in the Jin Library."

The door opened and Jin Ling entered with SiZhui. Space was made to accommodate the extra people as the discussion went on.

"We're looking for a ring of mountains with a valley and five waterfalls." Wei Ying pulled out his drawing.

"That's quite significant, not something you can miss as a landmark." Jiang Cheng said, taking a closer look at the drawing.

"Also, I can't help but wonder why they live there." Wei Ying smiled at Lan Zhan who was pushing a cup of tea at him.

"Drink." Instructed Lan Zhan.

Wei Ying obediently did as he was told, his mind on other things.

"What do you mean, Brother Wei?" XiChen asked, leaning forward.

"Well, it's just that a ring of mountains would be hard to breach, right? And natural barriers are there for a reason...so I can't help wondering if it's to keep anything from getting in...or to stop anything coming out."

That was a chilling thought, one they all pondered upon.

A knock on the door brought them out of their thoughts. It was a messenger sent by the Elders.

"The Elders would like to request an audience with Wei WuXian, Lan WangJi, Sect Leader Lan XiChen and Sect Leader Jiang Cheng tomorrow morning at eleven o'clock sharp."

"Tell them we agree." XiChen told them politely.

"That's so early." Wei Ying rested his head on the table.

Lan Zhan began rubbing circles on his back.

"That feels really good." Wei Ying mumbled, his eyes already closing.

Servants came and took away their leftover food and utensils, as people began to leave.

Soon it was just the children and their pets. Wei Ying roused himself enough to pick up Rumi while Lan Zhan lifted Li XiWang. DaErduo and Xiao Mao followed behind them while Thing rolled between them. There was an adjacent room for the children to sleep; Li XiWang had her familiars and Thing went to cuddle with the baby demon. They fell asleep and Lan Zhan picked up Wei Ying to take to their room.

Lan Zhan placed Wei Ying carefully on the bed, smiling when Wei Ying curled around him.

"I love you, Lan Zhan." He whispered as he succumbed to sleep.

"Mn. Love Wei Ying."