Soul bound Strangers

15. Departure

"JiXian must have fallen asleep" 

Lan zhan said as he opened the door of Jingshi from outside and invited his uncle inside. 

Like Lan zhan said, the two of them saw JiXian on the bed, visible in the dim light given off by a single lamp. 

JiXian, who had just retired to bed, wanted to get up to greet his father, but afraid that his grandfather would advise him on staying up late after 9, he remained in bed, closing his eyes. 

One must be able to see his eyeballs moving behind the closed eyes, if not for the dim light. 

Waiting for his grandfather to leave, JiXian fell into a light sleep. That's when Qiren banged the table, which disturbed JiXian's sleep, waking him up in the process. 

As a child, JiXian felt cranky being disturbed like that. He opened his eyes and was able to see his grandfather and father arguing over something important. 

"Why did you promise him that?" 

Qiren asked his nephew who is not staying on the track he expected him to be. 

"JiXian longs for him. I don't think it is right to deny him his wish to see his mother." 

Lan zhan didn't expect his uncle to lose his temper, however he made his stand clear. 

"Do you want to hurt the child by doing this? What if Wuxian is not happy to see him. Won't that leave a scar on the little one's heart?" 

"I won't let him get hurt. Moreover we still have an entire year before that happens. There is a chance JiXian might not even remember this incident." 

From the corner of his eyes, Lan zhan could see movement near the bed. He turned just in time to see his son sitting on the bed and looking at him as if he was going to cry any moment now. 

Lan zhan felt guilty like he made a big mistake. He hoped his son had not listened to their conversation. 

Qiren stopped talking while Lan zhan approached his son to put him back to sleep.

JiXian laid back on the bed facing the wall. He refused to look at his father. 

"Father won't take me to mother." It wasn't a question but a statement. 

"I will." 

"No, you won't." 

"I'm saying I will." 

"I don't trust father's words." 

"Your mother is bad, nothing good would come from meeting him." 

Qiren, predicting that Lan zhan would fulfill his promise if the situation goes out of hand, blamed Wei Ying for bringing it under control. 

"He isn't." 

"He isn't" 

The father and son replied simultaneously. 

Lan zhan remembered his son crying over a similar statement said by his uncle a few weeks back. He knew that if he didn't take any step now, he might regret it later. He also cannot blame his Uncle as he believed that it was out of pure concern he might have said that, in order to stop the child from being stubborn. 

"Sunshine, We are going to your mother. Just give me a week's time to prepare for the journey." 

Lan zhan took the two other people inside the room by surprise. 

Since it is a more personal matter and with the thought that it might create unwanted rumors, Lan zhan preferred to go in search of Wei ying without sending people in prior. But since he is taking his son along, he must prepare for the journey well, and must complete the pending works before they leave. 

Thanks to their last meeting in Gu manor, Lan zhan was sure that they might get to meet again if they searched for the person in the nearby places. 

But he didn't know that he had someone to mess up his life, right next to him. And the said person sent out his men on the same night Lan zhan declared to find his son's mother. 

It had been five days since Qiren had sent out his men with a message. He was beyond angry as days passed without hearing from his men. In two days his nephew and grandson will be leaving Yunshen. 

Wei ying was stopped by a man in the middle of the market. Wei ying had heart palpitations due to the extra stress and fear the person's identity brought to him. 

A Lan. 

The person stuffed a folded piece of paper in Wei ying's palm and disappeared just like that. 

Wei ying's hands shivered as he unfolded the paper to read. 

"Do not return to Gusu. You know what is at stake, if you do."

Wei ying was at a loss for what to do or to even think. 

Why would they threaten him when he hadn't done anything? 

Does this mean that he cannot see his son? 

Why put his son's life at stake everytime? 

Why can't they just physically torture him like they used to do? 

Qiren could have put Wei ying under his men's care not letting him meet his nephew, but that would not put a full stop on JiXian's longing for his mother. Hence he decided just to keep a close eye on him.

Finally, on the day of Lan zhan and JiXian's departure, Qiren was in a better mood. He advised Lan zhan to take better care of his grandson and also to provide financial assistance to Wei ying if he finds his situation to be not better. 

Madam Yu and Jiang Fengmian, together with Jiang cheng had also come to send them off. It was as if they didn't care about it anymore. Jiang cheng was willing to travel with Lan zhan, but Lan zhan politely refused. 

As for their return, nothing was finalized as they cannot predict how Wei ying would react. Also, JiXian didn't like it when asked about when they would return from his mother's place. 

Unknown to them, Qiren's men were already tailing Wei ying. If at all Wei ying showed his affections to his son or his husband during their meeting, it was their duty to teach him a lesson.