WangXian Forever Book 9: The Flower Demon

Chapter 7 Carnival

They agreed to teleport to Lotus Pier.

"It's so much easier, XiChen-Ge!" Wei Ying said enthusiastically, smiling because Lan Zhan was going through so much.

Wei Ying knew his husband was drinking vinegar because of what he had said about Feng Li Pao being an excellent Head disciple and proving his loyalty to the Jiangs, but in Wei Ying's mind, he thought giving credit where it was due was one thing, and Lan Zhan’s ridiculous jealousy was definitely another.

As it was, therein lay a valuable opportunity for make up Papapa...to be explored later...

Right now, they were standing on the outskirts of land under the guidance and protection of the Yunmeng Jiang clan, with their hands full.

Quite literally.

Snizzy refused to be parted from XiChen and Lan Zhan refused to carry Jiang Cheng, preferring to hold the little piggy instead. Wei Ying had smiled in understanding as he lifted the huge purple bird into his arms and they teleported to where they would meet Feng Li Pao.

Lan Zhan scowled at the poor innocent man, who had absolutely no idea how he had wronged the Second Jade of Gusu, while Wei Ying smothered his laughter.

Really...he was going to have so much fun with his husband later...

To his credit, Feng Li Pao kept his features intact and in check when he saw the state of Jiang Cheng's latest transformation; only the slight widening of his brown eyes gave him away.

Wei Ying liked that about him too, that despite every change Jiang Cheng had gone through, his head disciple maintained a high regard for his Sect Leader, never undermining him or laughing in any way at his predicaments.

"So...why are we here?" Wei Ying asked, looking around in confusion.

Lan Zhan had glanced around and then begun to kick a stone about, still hating...people...through no fault of their own.

XiChen looked around too, though he had no confusion, which made Wei Ying think he already knew what to expect.

The fields which would ordinarily be empty were filled with lights and colours because the carnival had come to town.

Stalls selling everything from combs to trinkets, shells and hairpins, tassels and ornaments were scattered in and around the edges of the entertainment circle. There were stalls providing refreshments, tanghulu, cotton candy, blown out sugar animals and sweet haws, and for the lovers of spice, there were fresh noodles and dumplings, corn on the cob and hot sweet potato on offer.

And in the centre of the wide, open space there were rides and booths for shooting and playing games.

All in all, Wei Ying thought it looked very interesting.

Though not as entertaining as his beloved’s current mood of choice.

Bouncing up to him was difficult with his arms full of purple feathers and weight, but Wei Ying liked to imagine he did it with his own particular flair.

"Lan Zhan?" He purred, delighted with the side glare he received.

Lan Zhan remained silent.

"Would my powerful and strong husband win something for me later? After we sort out my brother?" Wei Ying batted his eyelashes just for good measure, smiling when Lan Zhan swallowed audibly with difficulty.

But at least Lan Zhan was looking at him now, with a slightly softer expression.

"Mn. What does Wei Ying have his eye on?" He asked.

The purple bird in Wei Ying's arms gagged loudly.

Wei Ying ignored him and looked around.

"I'm sure we'll find something." He said enthusiastically, beaming at his husband.

Lan Zhan’s lips were just about to turn up when Feng Li Pao appeared at Wei Ying’s side.

The scowl returned with a hundredfold intensity.

"You must be tired. Here, shall I take Sect Leader Jiang from you now?" Feng Li Pao asked, politely.

"Oh, thank you so much." Wei Ying handed over the purple bird.

"Please...if you have some time afterwards, may I speak with you alone? There is a matter which requires...some discretion." Feng Li Pao said, under his breath.

Lan Zhan stormed off.

Wei Ying looked after him, sighing.

Whatever progress he had made was washed away by copious amounts of vinegar. And not the fresh kind, either.

Feng Li Pao looked mystified at the behaviour of the Second Jade, who was clutching the piglet tight enough to have it squealing. That made XiChen walk over to him and their dark heads were pressed together in a quiet discussion.

"Sure, of course we can." Wei Ying agreed, turning back to the Head disciple, who still had no idea why his husband was being so aggressive today.

Poor man...

"Thank you." He looked extremely relieved at that, venturing a small smile.

Wei Ying looked up in alarm at the whistling noise startling him, as something white and very sharp raced by him and Feng Li Pao jumped out of the way.

"Excuse me. Bichen slipped out of my hand." Lan Zhan said, effortlessly reclaiming his sword and not looking sorry at all.

Wei Ying threw him a knowing glance while Feng Li Pao struggled with an alarmed and spooked bird, all fifty pounds of extra weight.

Lan Zhan glared back, refusing to look away.

"Ah...that's okay..." Feng Li Pao replied, hastily moving away from the silent staring match between Wei Ying and Lan Zhan.

He was not a stupid man but there was something going on between those two and he had no desire to agitate an already angry Jade.

Besides, it was none of his business.

Wei Ying marched up to Lan Zhan.

"Behave!" He warned his husband.

"Then don't flirt with others." Lan Zhan bit back, annoyance flashing in his golden eyes.

"I'm not flirting!" Wei Ying insisted. "If you don’t believe me, you can come with me to meet him. He wants to talk about something later."

Lan Zhan gave a small nod.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Wei Ying but...he knew exactly what a prize his husband was...and Lan Zhan could be a possessive dragon now...with how much he wanted to hoard his treasure.

Wei Ying was a jewel among men, the brightest sun in the sky, and Lan Zhan was under no illusions when it came to the desirability of his husband. He was only slightly mollified by Wei Ying reaching for his hand as they followed XiChen and Feng Li Pao as he guided them through the carnival.