Rebound

6

~*Flashback*~

I couldn't go down the mountain often. Since I was the only one who suppressed all of the dark beings of Burial Mound, I couldn't venture too far or too long. Yet I was born an active person who couldn't stay in one place for an extended amount of time. I could only roam around the town time after time, my excuse being to purchase necessities. With how long Wen Yuan had been on the mountain for, I felt that they couldn't lock a child in such a place to play with mud all the time, and so one day, when I was shopping down the mountain, I took him along as well. Having been to the town so many times, I was already familiar with it. I found my way to the vegetable vendor.

Suddenly, I grabbed one and bristled, "Your potato is sprouting!"

The vendor seemed to have encountered a great enemy, "What do you want?!"

I scoffed, "How about a bit cheaper?"

In the beginning, Wen Yuan was still holding onto his leg. I walked back and forth, picking out potatoes and bargaining. Hanging on his leg, Wen Yuan felt tired just a while later. His short arms were sore, so he let go to rest for a bit. Yet, in just a few moments, the rush of the people on the streets made him reel left and right, losing his sense of direction. His line of sight was quite low. He walked here and there, but couldn't find I's long legs and black boots. Everything in front of his eyes were pants so grimey that they were the color of dirt. He grew more and more petrified.

As he spun around dizzily, he bumped into someone's leg.
The person wore a pair of white, immaculate boots and was walking slowly to begin with. Having been bumped into, he immediately stopped. Wen Yuan looked up, jittering. First he saw a jade pendant hanging from the person's waist, then a sash belt embroidered with patterns of drifting clouds, then neat lapels without a single fold in them, and finally a pair of eyes as light as stained glass, as cold as winter frost.
Face solemn, the stranger looked down at him. Wen Yuan suddenly felt scared. On the other hand, I picked and chose for a long time before finally deciding not to buy these sprouted potatoes. I might be poisoned if I ate them, but the vendor still refused to lower the price, only giving him a contemptuous humph.

Turning around, though, I realized that Wen Yuan was gone. He almost turned pale, searching for the toddler all along the streets. Suddenly, I heard the wails of a child, and I immediately rushed over. Somewhere not far away, a group of nosey passerbys gathered into a bustling circle, pointing at something and chattering among themselves. I shoved through the crowds, and my eyes lit up at once.

Lan Zhan, clothed in white and carrying Bichen on his back, stood frozen amid the crowd's encirclement. He even seemed somewhat at a loss. When he took another look, I laughed so hard that I almost tripped over myself. A little kid sat collapsed before Lan Zhan's feet, bawling his eyes out. Lan Zhan could neither stay nor leave, neither reach out nor talk to him. With a serious expression on his face, he seemed to be thinking about what to do.

One of the passerbys spoke up, nibbling on melon seeds, "What's happenin' here? The young'un cried so hard it scared me to death."

Someone commented assuredly, "He was definitely scolded by his dad."

Hiding in the crowd as he heard the words 'his dad', I almost exploded with laughter. Lan Zhan immediately looked up, denying it, "I am not."

Wen Yuan didn't know what the people were talking about. When children were scared, they always called out to those they were close to. And so, sobbing, he called, "Dad! Dad..."

A passerby spoke up at once, "Listen! Told you he's his dad!"

Some felt that they had good eyes, "Definitely his dad. Their noses look as if they're carved out of the same mold. There's no doubt!"

Some were sympathetic, "How poor. Look at how he's crying. Was he scolded by his dad?"

Some were confused, "What's going on over there? Could you move? My carriage can't go through."

Some scolded, "He doesn't even know to pick the child up and make him feel better! So he's just letting his son cry on the ground? What a dad!"

Some showed their understanding, "Look at how young he is. First time being a dad, huh? Back then I was like this too. I didn't know anything. He'll get it after his wife bears him a few more. We all had to take our time..."

Some tried to comfort the child, "Good boy, don't cry. Where's your mom?"

"Yeah, where's the mom? The dad doesn't do anything, so where's his mom?"

Amid the flooding noise, Lan Zhan's expression grew stranger and stranger. How unfortunate that he'd been a chosen one ever since he was born. Everything he did was more righteous than righteous, more exemplar than exemplar. He'd never been put in a situation where everyone was pointing at him. I had already laughed to my death, but as I saw how Wen Yuan was crying so hard that he was almost choking, I could only step out.

Pretending that I only just saw the two, he spoke in a surprised tone, "Huh? Lan Zhan?"

Lan Zhan looked up with force. Our eyes met with each other's. I myself didn't know why either, but I averted my gaze quickly. Hearing my voice, though, Wen Yuan got up at once. Dragging two long, flowing trails of tears behind him, he hung onto my leg again.

The crowd went on, "Who is this? Where's the mom? Just where on Earth is the mom? Which one is the dad anyways?"

I waved his hand, "It's over, it's over."

~*End Flashback*~

Lan Xichen laughed at the story I just told. I did share that Lan Zhan and I had a nice lunch with A'Yuan and we had to cut it short due to an issue at the mounds, "it felt nice to see him after being away from the world for so long," I said, "being an enemy and an outcast, I had to deal with being alone. It was something I had grown used to."

"So you don't have much experience with having others being there for you and helping you," Xichen said. He made it sound like a question but it was more of a statement. It was the truth though.

I nodded, "the help I received in the past usually came back to bite me later," I said, "being alone just allow me to get hurt less."

"But you must hate it," Xichen said.

"Zewu Jun, I was not born within a sect. My parents have left them long before I was born. I was taken in when I was maybe nine, and I was probably on my own for four to five years before Sect Leader Jiang took me in. I stayed with them but I never felt at home. I always worried that if I didn't work hard enough, I'd lose it. It came with a cost. I'd get praised by Sect Leader Jiang but berated by his wife for being better than his son. Saying I was just a servant and I shouldn't be stronger than the heir to the sect.

They died because of me and I have paid the price for it. Jiang Cheng lost his core and I gave him mine because it was my duty to protect him with my life. It was the last promise I made to his parents so I kept it. Once my core was gone, I was nearly beaten to death and thrown into hell. I survived all of that alone, I handled that resentful energy alone, and I managed to take down hundreds of Wen soldiers alone. So tell me, what you are used to can so easily happen to me when I have never once experienced it in a positive way."

Zewu Jun was silent. He didn't know what to say. Everything he said he faced on his own. He said nothing because all it would do was cause more problems for Wuxian. He was neither praised nor appreciated but he was scolded and humiliated, disrespected and betrayed by everyone. He alone had to fight. Wangji finally found the courage in himself to stand with Wuxian and that was when he nearly lost him. Now he was no longer facing his battle alone and it's something he is not used to.

"I am sorry that it's hard for use to understand your position," Zewu Jun said, "just know that we are trying to understand though."

I sighed and was about to speak when Lan Zhan returned with food for A'Yuan. I already knew he could feel the tension in the room. I wanted to talk to him about this but at the same time, I felt like it was useless to talk about it anymore. They won't understand my situation because they haven't experienced it personally.