WangXian Forever Book 9: The Flower Demon

Chapter 16 Teamwork

Lan Zhan was amazed at Wei Ying.

Not that he wasn't normally, but today morning, given their deadline, Wei Ying had dragged himself out of bed, done his best to meditate with him, and then climbed into his lap with a snore.

Points for making an effort, Lan Zhan thought with a smile.

Today was going to be a long day, he had a feeling.

After breakfast, Wei Ying woke up feeling marginally better. The little caffeine in the green tea helped and by his third cup, Wei Ying was ready.

There was a chest that they used to put everything miscellaneous inside, things which still had to be investigated or changed into a harmless version and it was this chest which Wei Ying dragged into the centre of the Jingshi.

He had pushed all the furniture, what little there was, out of the way so they had room to work.

Foresight was a blessing, and Wei Ying had long ago, attached a talisman to the bottom of the chest, which was similar to a qiankun pouch; this chest became able to store so much more than an ordinary one.

Lan Zhan watched his husband work, feeling lots of emotions. The one that came to the forefront of his mind was a gratefulness that Wei Ying was so much stronger now. He enjoyed the way Wei Ying’s robes seemed to gape, revealing his muscled chest, how he didn't even break a sweat (though if he had, Lan Zhan could have helped with that) and how easily he could accomplish what he needed to do.

Their changed bodies meant that they were even stronger than before, and Lan Zhan wanted nothing more than to know that his Wei Ying was fit and healthy.

He stood up and helped, despite Wei Ying’s protests that he could do it himself.

"Just because Wei Ying can, doesn't mean he has to." Lan Zhan put the chest down and grabbed the front of his robes, pulling him closer and swallowing the yelp of surprise with his mouth fastened on Wei Ying’s.

Wei Ying looked dazed as Lan Zhan finally let go of him, tidying up his robes and tightening the belt around his waist. He felt better at seeing it close on a notch just before the last one, meaning that Wei Ying wasn't as skinny as before.

Healthier and fit, he thought with burgeoning satisfaction.

Wei Ying was pouting.

Lan Zhan steadied him with two hands on his hips.

"Mn?"

"That was unsatisfactory." Wei Ying said in a voice mimicking Lan Zhan.

"But we have work to do..."

"We can work faster..." He began stripping, undoing all of Lan Zhan’s efforts.

One glance at that beautiful chest...and Lan Zhan agreed.

************

When the children had eaten, they joined in the search.

"What are we looking for?" Li XiWang asked. "I mean...how do we know what it is?"

Wei Ying shrugged but he was considering what she meant.

"Xiannu said...we knew what it was." He pointed between himself and Lan Zhan. "So I guess we can separate the items into likely and unlikely items...right?"

"Mn."

"But father...how does she know you know? What's the connection?" She insisted. "Because otherwise...it could be anything!"

"Let's make a start anyway. Maybe whatever it is will become clear by itself." Wei Ying said, ignoring her snort.

"Hui Gai!" She shouted.

Rumi clapped his hands, smiling widely when the Demon King appeared.

He looked around before pulling Wei Ying into a hug.

"Yard sale?" He asked.

Zago appeared just seconds later.

"Lollipops?"

"Work in progress!" Wei Ying said, to both of them.

Li XiWang proceeded to fill them in on what they were doing and the current problem they were tackling.

"I could go back to that guy?" He mused.

"What guy?" Wei Ying asked, brow furrowed.

"The guy that gave me the cure last time. The thing that had to be swallowed..."

Wei Ying tried not to look green.

"But that's all a superficial fix. We're hoping that Xiannu can actually remove the root of the curse. Then hopefully XiChen-Ge can have his husband back."

There was a knock on the door and XiChen entered, Snizzy purring and still kissing his neck and cheek, wherever she could reach. Jiang Cheng hopped in behind him.

He went into a corner and sat in a circle, tucking his beak under his wing, watching them.

"I guess it's more peaceful just with two animals, right XiChen-Ge?" Wei Ying tried not to laugh.

The little piglet not being there really was less chaotic. How strange for something so small to be so disruptive...

"I miss Ke-ai." XiChen admitted. "He was so affectionate."

Wei Ying patted his knee sympathetically.

"Maybe he'll come back." He said reassured the distraught man.

"As a sandwich." Hui Gai added, under his breath.

XiChen looked aghast, ready to stand up and go and look for him immediately.

"Well...let's not think like that!" Wei Ying shot him a warning look. "We have to go back as soon as we find whatever it is we're looking for...maybe Ke-ai will find us then."

"Yum." Hui Gai licked his lips. He chuckled and sat himself down with a child on each knee. Zago stood by with an empty lollipop stick in her mouth, chewing on it.

"You can help too. As soon as my brother is cured, he's promised to make you more lollipops." He confided, smiling at the change on her features.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road!" She whooped and joined them on the floor.

Wei Ying opened the chest and flung a talisman inside.

The chest began to shake and rattle as it vomited out everything they had ever stored inside. Soon all the team were covered in a thin layer of dust and surrounded by so many different items.

Wei Ying looked up at his husband and smiled shyly at the naked admiration on his face.

"Um...was this really the best way to tackle this?" XiChen asked, coughing and waving away dust particles from his face.

"It was fifty-fifty on whether we take things out or put things back. This is easier." Wei Ying insisted.

Lan Zhan glared at his brother as XiChen sighed, and got to work.

After so many years, he really should know better than to question their chaos.