Gold Blood Eyes ||Mo Dao Zu Shi||

Chapter 13: The Heir of YiLing

The following morning, the group of nobles all woke up with leisure time, the strain of the earlier day sticking them to their beds. Except for Lan Xichen's impeccable body clock, but he did meditate for longer than usual. They met up a little after eight in the downstairs lobby where the inn owners had already gotten dishes ready, keeping them warm by talisman any of them could realize was the work of Wei Wuxian.

The simple reminder of the man they'd left in the burial mounds seemed to sting at them. After they all had washed up and breakfast had been eaten to their desirable fill, the group sat in silence, blankly looking at one another. They were of all the same generation, only years of age between them. They were the gentry clans of the four great sects and yet it had dawned on them at this moment that none of them had truly interacted so casually until Wei WuXian was pulled from exile for assistance.

Jiang Yanli spoke first, sensing the strangeness and thoughts of the heirs and sect leaders around her. She raised her hand delicately, calling for a servant and requesting for the food to be packaged up. The woman seemed to stare at her confused for a moment, before bowing and calling for another servant to assist her in carrying the dishes to be packaged.

Once they were gone, Lan Xichen asked, "We are heading back to A-Ying, I presume?"

"I am," Jiang Yanli smiles, "We have extra food and A-Xian should replenish his strength, after facing such an injury..."

Jiang Cheng frowns, "I was thinking about it over and over, and I still don't understand what happened,"

"It looked like Wei-Xiong and Lan-Xiong were just talking, but then all of Wei-Xiong's resentment just...flew towards Lan-Xiong," Nie Huaisang fanned himself lightly.

Nie MingJue opened to speak, but he paused when the servant came back with three large boxes with the food organized and separated between them all. Jiang Yanli smiled and bowed, Jin ZiXuan wordlessly paying the bill for them all. With a simple glance, they all got up with farewells and walked out into YiLing's streets.

The morning bustle wasn't as occupied as one would assume, but for such a small town in such a geographical location, they could not be too surprised. Though, the lack of surprise didn't make them ignorant to how those who were out stared at them with a mixture of curiosity and wariness. Some even slight hostility.

Jin ZiXuan broke the silence, "We should head to A-Xian. I don't know about you all, but we all don't have the liberty to prolong our visit. And returning to Koi Tower without A-Xian's presence is one the other sects will not take lightly,"

They had been walking quickly, finding the path back towards the Burial Mounds sentiment almost immediately. It was an obvious path they realized now with the more light and fewer things taking their thoughts. They could tell it was traveled frequently.

"I sent a letter to A-Yao this morning, requesting him to control the matter and inform them that we would return soon, however, I gave him no set time nor disclosed anything of what we have heard..." Lan Xichen pauses, as if uncomfortable with the decision he had made.

Jiang Cheng makes it for him, "Good. Anyone outside of those present can't know what we know. My brother may be an impetuous idiot, but hiding the spirits and the sentient mountains and just how strong this place was and their connection, all of it was a good call,"

None of them could find fault in the statement. They hadn't even fully reached the red wards, before spotting Wen Ning descend from the path on the other side of the barrier, dark eyes watching them with different emotions. Emotions they could not identify before they were hidden away and Wen Ning smiled and answered the question, "Ying-Ge said to be expecting you today. We sent out the alert to keep watch for your presence so I could come down and let you in,"