Soul bound Strangers

23. Who?

Wei ying had asked Lan zhan to return to jingshi earlier in the evening, planning to confess the history. He finally decided to make things straight between him and his husband. He and JiXian had dinner and were eagerly waiting for Lan zhan's arrival.

Lan zhan returned but with a visitor.

Wei ying was asked to come to the guest hall. Wei ying asked his little one not to open the door for anyone else but him, and left to see the guest.

In the guests hall, there was the family which once helped him after his escape from the healers set by Qiren. This family gave him space to rest for a few weeks and Wei ying was more than grateful for that. But Wei ying had to leave the place despite their persistent efforts to make him stay. The husband and wife were taking care of their sick child, and Wei ying couldn't add to their burden.

Wei ying assumed that the family must have come to cloud recesses to treat the child.

"We thought that Meimei must have mistaken somebody else for you. Are you also getting treated here? How are your wounds?"

The middle aged man asked Wei ying with a concerned face. Wei ying understood that the child must have seen him somewhere near the healer's quarters.

"I am getting all better Liang gege. How is our meimei doing?"

Wei ying asked, pinching the child's cheek playfully.

"We were very much worried about you after you left. Did you report the bandit incident to the cultivators here? What they had done to you that time was so brutal..." The middle aged man continued speaking, it was evident that he hadn't realized that Wei ying is also a cultivator and the other person in the room is the chief cultivator himself. However, the presence of Lan zhan gave him a cold vibe that he looked at Lan zhan in between the words he spoke to Wei ying.

Initially when the man asked Wei ying about the wounds, Wei ying was doubtful about which wound he was talking about, but it became clear when he mentioned the bandits.

He had indeed told the few people who helped him in aiding his wounds that he was attacked by bandits as he cannot reveal his identity or share the actual cause of the scars.

To the side, Lan zhan looked at him, his eyes inspecting his body after getting the new information.

Before leaving, the man whispered an incident in Wei ying's ear that confused Wei ying.

"Do you know anyone named Wen Xu or Jiang cheng?"

"After you left, those two guys came separately in search of you. The angry man told me that he is your brother and the other guy claimed that he is your pursuer. But I didn't tell them anything. The Wen looked seriously interested in you"

Wei ying was surprised to hear Jiang cheng's name being referred to, but who is Wen Xu!? A man set by Qiren to tail him? Wouldn't that be Lan Xu, if that was Qiren's man?

It was intended to be a secret, but the man's voice was louder when he pulled Wei ying closer to share the incident, such that anyone inside the room would be able to hear him.

Lan zhan was also able to hear everything, especially the name 'Wen Xu'.

Both Wei ying and Lan zhan had a complicated expression until they reached jingshi.

Wei ying now wondered whether his words would seem reliable to Lan zhan, if he were to say about Qiren's tortures. The man from earlier had told in front of Lan zhan that those were the doings of bandits. And, Did Jiang cheng really go in search of him?

Meanwhile Lan zhan felt extremely uneasy thinking about the so-called Wen Xu. He has met this Wen guy a few times during sect meetings. He couldn't stop thinking about this, even though the incident the man shared was from three years ago.

"Do you know him?"

"I do."

"Wen Xu?"

"Him?, Um no" Wei ying clarified that this was the first time he had ever heard this person's name.
Lan zhan's tensed muscles relaxed.

Once inside jingshi, Lan zhan took JiXian to his newly arranged room.

"It's for a reason. We should talk."

When Wei ying and JiXian protested together that it was unfair to separate them, Lan zhan replied looking at Wei ying.

Wei ying turned silent, as he was sure that no one would dare to enter jingshi in Lan zhan's presence. JiXian is safe.

To convince JiXian, Wei ying had to tell him a bedtime story.

Wei ying and Lan zhan gave a good night kiss to JiXian before returning to their bed.

For Wei ying it was awkward to sleep next to Lan zhan, without JiXian in between them.

"What did you want to talk about?"

To ease the awkwardness, Wei ying started the topic. But deep inside he had an unknown fear. Again, there were the usual 'what if's in his mind.

'What if Lan zhan doesn't believe me?'

'What if he chooses his Uncle over me?'

'What if I forget the past like nothing happened and go on. Will there be a change?'

"Who hurt you?" Lan zhan asked. He had turned to Wei ying's side, his eyes looking for answers.

After all this time, going through various modulations to reveal about the tortures of Qiren, when directly asked, Wei ying suddenly went blank.

It was after all, a lot to talk about.

His prepared oration was completely gone from his memory, and he didn't know how and where to start.

"Why would a bandit hurt a penniless person?" Lan zhan voiced his doubt when he didn't receive a reply from Wei ying.

It was a logical statement, however Wei ying felt bad thinking how Lan zhan figured out that he was penniless in those years.

He forgot about his malnourished body, and his torn money pouch.

"Someone once blackmailed me to leave you."

After a long moment of silence, Wei ying began his answer.

"That person hurt you physically?"

Lan zhan's voice was hoarse. His eyes welled, like he was going through the pain for Wei ying.

"Mn"

"Who? Is it someone I know?"

"Very well."