Get Your Hands Off My Man (Xicheng)

Chapter 9: On the Run

Not long after the Lan had silenced him the Jiang could hear footsteps coming from outside, limping. They weren't the only two left behind after all. Was the worm keeping up the act even with no one watching? Jiang Cheng couldn't help but be impressed by the dedication to his sneaky act.

He must have realized Lan Xichen was missing and went to look for him. Tying his outer robes around his hips Lan Xichen went to check on the footsteps. Jiang Cheng did not like the idea of the worm seeing Zewu-jun's naked body, who knows what kind of things he'd try. But luckily Lan Xichen left no such opportunity.

The sound of metal cutting into flesh could be heard, followed by a heavy thud as the body hit the ground.

Worm? Jiang Cheng might not have liked him, to the point of not being the slightest bit sad about him being gone. But for Zewu-jun to kill someone, someone he had just earlier that day called a close friend, in cold blood like that? But Lan Xichen was not that brutal. His face was as white as the original color of robes he was wearing as he rushed inside his tent. His body and robes splattered with fresh blood. Lan Xichen had never been an expressive man, however he came across as such when compared to his younger brother. Right now however Lan Xichen would be considered expressive by any metric. On his face flashed many emotions: Terror, panic, fear, and so many more.

"Get dressed, NOW. We need to get out of here." With no time to waste Lan Xichen leaned over to the Jiang and hastily cleaned up the mess he had made earlier using his non-bloody inner robes before reaching over for the Jiang's pants. The panic was infectious and so without thinking Jiang Cheng did as he was asked. It didn't matter that he would be seen as an accomplice after running away with Zewu-jun. They were in this together.

More footsteps could be heard from outside, causing both Jiang Cheng and Lan Huan to rush to get their clothes on even more. The others weren't supposed to return this soon. But as soon as they did they would see the corpse, and Jiang Cheng hadn't really hidden his disdain for the man over the past couple of months.

Fully dressed Lan Xichen dragged him outside by the hand. Jiang Cheng only managed to catch a glimpse of the corpse, which he with some disappointment noted had been dead for far longer than a couple of minutes. Whether this was a second wave of fierce corpses or whether their fellow disciples had accidentally herded them towards camp didn't matter. They were here, and they were MANY. Too many for the two of them to deal with alone.

Lan Xichen tightly gripped onto Shuoyue's pristine hilt, its blade still dripping with blood from its previously slain foe. Unsheathing Sandu, Jiang Cheng did the same. Putting his back against that of his lover he asked "what's the plan?" he didn't want to die here. He was going to fight beside Zewu-jun until he could no longer stand. Looking around it was clear that they would either live or die together. They were completely surrounded.

"There's a cave not too far northeast of here. There's usually bears there which we don't want to disturb so chose to not set up camp there, but right now we don't have another option."

Before fighting Lan Xichen sent off a red flare to warn the others. The flare was different from the Lans' usual white ones, this one signaled danger. And not in a danger, come help kind of way like the white ones. It meant danger, save yourselves. The situation is beyond saving. For the safety of their friends they would be on their own.

"On your command" Jiang Cheng said, his voice as cold as that of a veteran fighter. As much as he had been taught to become a leader for his people and commander on the battlefields, Jiang Cheng wasn't unfamiliar with the kind of training his disciples went through. On the days when his schedule permitted he would be training alongside them, he knew what to do.

Lan Xichen was older and still had more experience, it was natural for him to take the lead. Not only that but Jiang Cheng trusted the man completely, and so he handed over the full control of his body to the Lan once more. Whatever command he shouted Jiang Cheng would follow, no thinking, no questions asked. Just pure action.