WangXian Forever Book 9: The Flower Demon

Chapter 43 Readying

Lan Zhan reached across and entwined their fingers together. Wei Ying looked back at him, trying to smile. But the truth was, his anger was simmering under his skin, and he knew that only the return of his children was going to douse it.

"PengYou...I've tried to locate the children, but I can't. I don't know where they are!" Hui Gai bowed low, unable to look Wei Ying in the eye.

He considered Li XiWang and Rumi his own...and now that he had no idea where they were, it was hard not to see this as a personal failure.

"Do you remember... when the Sleeping Sickness Demon took me?" Wei Ying said, suddenly. "He seemed to know what I was going to do, and he trapped us both in a clear bubble, much like the ones you used to trap the Children of the Tree." Wei Ying tapped his nose thoughtfully. "You couldn't find me then, either. I'm just wondering if this EmoHua has a similar tactic. I wouldn't put it past her."

"So then what do we do?" Hui Gai asked. "I don't want to leave them in her clutches longer than necessary."

Wei Ying stood up and hugged him.

"It's not your fault, Hui Gai. We had no idea this was the length she would go to just to get the JingLing. And she seems to think it's hers. But I'm a firm believer in finders keepers." Wei Ying stepped back. This time, he took Chenqing out from his sash and began tapping the head of the flute against his palm.

"What are you planning?" Baoshan Sanren demanded.

"I'm not sure, exactly." Wei Ying replied. "We have to get her to think we're going to give her what she wants, right? But at the same time, we can't trust her. I want the children back before she gets to be anywhere near the JingLing. But now that we know it's a genie, I think she has a wish that she needs our JingLing to complete for her." Wei Ying starts to pace.

"What could she want? It must be something very valuable to her, judging by the effort she's putting in." Baoshan Sanren commented.

"If I can be honest, I really don't care. Whatever she wants or needs, it's her problem. There's no need to involve us or our family. And whatever goodwill I had towards her before she took Little Rabbit and our Rumi...it's gone. I cannot forgive her." Wei Ying's voice goes hard.

"But how will we find the children? Or her?" Hui Gai asks.

"I bet, given her eagerness to acquire the JingLing, she'll be close to where she can sense us. It might be as easy as turning up in Lotus Pier with the JingLing, and that will be enough incentive for her to turn up. And when she does..." Wei Ying's eyes, usually a clear silver, flashed red suddenly. "I'll be waiting."

Lan Zhan shivered.

There was a part of him that found this side of Wei Ying's nature incredibly attractive. It was a mirror to whenever the Yiling Patriarch showed up that Lan Zhan was hit with a firebolt of desire. It burned so suddenly and unexpectedly that Lan Zhan had a hard time trying to control himself.

He knew that this was neither the time nor the place, but there was no reasoning with either of his two brains, not the one in his head nor the one in his trousers. Both were in mutual admiration for his brilliant husband.

"So basically, your plan is to go back to Lotus Pier with the JingLing. She turns up, and then what?" Baoshan Sanren says. "The Flower Demon is too clever to be caught easily....and you can't fail. Whatever you're going to do, you better be certain."

"I am." Wei Ying says, confidently. "And besides, aren't you going to be there too? You and the rest of your Celestial Warriors... you might even be able to finish this mission for the Jade Emperor. How cool would that be?"

"Are you relying on us?" His grandmother asked him in disbelief.

"Many hands make light work." Wei Ying replied, with a sharp smile.

"Too many cooks spoil the broth." She retorts back, immediately.

"I just thought we could kill two birds with one stone since the Flower Demon holds the key to both of our problems." Wei Ying shrugs nonchalantly. "After all, you were saying every time you guys got close to capturing her, she managed to give you the slip....I would have thought that if you knew where she was going to turn up, you would be ready and waiting. It's up to you."

Baoshan Sanren was already nodding.

"It's a good plan. I like it. What I meant was, in relying on others, it's easy to make a mistake. She's a shrewd devil. That's all." Baoshan Sanren nodded to herself. "I'll tell the others. When do you want to do this?"

"As soon as possible." Wei Ying answers immediately.

"Right now?" His grandmother asked, a little taken aback.

"Yes...why not?" Wei Ying smiled his dangerous smile. "Better to catch her unawares. It'll be better for us if she's unprepared and forced into action. But what I don't get is, why does she have such a hatred towards Lotus flowers? Why does she have to destroy them? And she's so brutal about it, too."

"Has any cure been found for that decaying fungus?" Baoshan Sanren asked.

Wei Ying looked at Lan Zhan, then.

The Jade shook his head.

"Worst case scenario is we burn all the crops and eradicate the fungus first, and then start a crop of new batches." Wei Ying stated firmly.

"Mn. We have the Goddess Chang'e's gift of the brown dust." Lan Zhan reminded Wei Ying.

"Yes...that will really help us. Now, are we ready?" Wei Ying turned to his grandmother expectantly.