WangXian Forever Book 8

Chapter 18 Domesticity

The first thing Wei Ying noticed was how clean everything was. The front garden was impeccably neat, not a stone out of place. The flowers beds were tidy, no weeds yet and it was too early for anything to grow, but he got the impression that when it did, it would be looked after ruthlessly.

They knocked on the door.

It opened without a creak, a woman standing in front of them with no fear in her eyes. Her face was clean and open, and Wei Ying thought she might be quite forthcoming, were they able to chat with her.

However, when she saw their joined hands, because Wei Ying hadn’t let go of Lan Zhan yet, her face transformed into an angry scowl.

It was so fierce that for a second, Wei Ying paused, and Lan Zhan pulled him back so that he stood in between the suddenly angry woman and Wei Ying.

XiChen saw all this and his smile momentarily vanished before he grabbed Jiang Cheng's hand too, in a moment of solidarity.

If anything, her scowl deepened.

"What do you want?" She asked, flatly.

"We would like to examine your husband, if we may." XiChen carried on as if whatever she had just displayed hadn't bothered him.

"Sure, sure. He's all yours. I hope you have better luck with him than I ever did." She led them upstairs to their bedroom.

The man was lying on a single bed.

The room as with the rest of the house, was spotlessly clean as if that was all the woman did. She left them in the room and disappeared.

"Why do you think she's so hostile?" Wei Ying whispered to Lan Zhan.

"I can find out, if you want?" Hui Gai, who was so clearly visible, and whom upon seeing, the woman hadn't batted an eyelid.

"Perhaps all of Gusu isn't as open-minded as we would like." XiChen explained.

Jiang Cheng lifted their joined hands to his lips.

"Let's finish this and leave as quickly as we can."

"Agreed." XiChen conducted his examination of the prone man, checking his temperature and pulse as he had with the other man.

"Since he's still alive, maybe you could go in and see if you can find out anything." Wei Ying suggested. "We can leave the lady of the house alone for now, though I think she won't mind telling us a thing or two." Wei Ying yawned, wide enough to crack his jaw, and his eyes watered.

"Mn?"

Lan Zhan cupped his cheek, checking how he was.

"I think we better get a move on." Wei Ying blinked back the sleep.

Fatigue was a real problem with his condition, and yet another problem to solve.

"I'm on it." Hui Gai winked and vanished.

Inside the man's head, again he was faced with three white doors, and this time because Hui Gai was prepared, he kicked in the locked door.

Again, the man was lying in a red room, eyes open and unmoving. No amount of shaking or jostling worked in rousing him, but this time, Hui Gai turned faster when he sensed a presence other than the man and himself. He wasn't fast enough to see anything more than a flash of movement, but this time, there was fading laughter and a whisper:

"Nice try."

Hui Gai already knew that the man was dead as he left his body.

He told Wei Ying what had happened through their mental connection.

Back in the room with the other Cultivators and Wen Ning, the woman had returned with a tea set.

She had poured out tea into cups neatly arranged on a tray, before offering everyone there.

"Is it you who looks after the garden?" Wei Ying offered. "It's just that it looks very nice, as does your home."

For the first time, the woman actually looked happy.

"Yes, you are correct. I look after our home. My husband brings in the money, but that's about it." Her lip curled in distaste.

"Any kids?" He asked. There were no visible signs of any children, but it was best to clarify.

However, this seemed to be a sore point.

She was scowling again, staring deeply into her tea cup.

"If I had known anything about him, or his proclivities, I doubt I would have married him." She put her cup down hard enough that the contents sloshed into the little saucer.

"What do you mean?" XiChen asked her.

"My husband is a cut-sleeve. Just like all of you, it seems." Her tone was possibly as unfriendly as it could be.

"He preferred men?" Jiang Cheng clarified. "Then what was he doing in a brothel? I don't understand..."

"That was the only place he found whatever he was looking for." She wiped away angry tears. "I was not enough."

"Madam...whatever the case, I do not believe his preferences had anything to do with you." Wei Ying told her gently.

He was surprised at himself though.

In all of his life, he hadn’t met anyone quite so averse to different relationships, and had expected to feel angry or defensive at the very least had it occurred...but now that he had actually met this person, he felt quite sorry for her.

"Nothing can change the fact that he lied to me." She said, bitterly. "We were married and then I found out. We came to an arrangement then, that I would not interfere in his life and he would support whatever I wanted to do with our home. Is he really dead?" She finally asked.

"Yes."

"I'm going to miss him though. If nothing else, he was the only company I had." She began to cry softly.

Even XiChen was not unaffected by her tragedy.

"We are sorry for your loss." He said, standing up.

As they left, she didn't look up once, not even when XiChen left a purse of silver on her dresser.

Their mood was sombre as they left that house finally.

"Are we going back?" Wei Ying asked, yawning once more.

He felt so tired all of a sudden, as if he could fall asleep standing.

"Mn." Lan Zhan wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Um...not us. You go on without us." Jiang Cheng said mysteriously, holding on to his husband too.

Hui Gai looked at Wen Ning who nodded.

"Master Wei, I shall see you tomorrow?" Wen Ning asked.

Wei Ying nodded and then Hui Gai grabbed him and they both vanished.

"Xiongzhang." Both Lan Zhan and Wei Ying bowed, and then they teleported back to the Jingshi.