INTERTWINED (WangXian)

44. Had Enough

It was one such a sleepless-fake it night for Wei ying, when he felt his Lan zhan getting up from bed not making a sound. It was not his husband's morning wake-up time, and Wei ying continued pretending to be asleep to not make his husband worried. A  few seconds later, he heard the creaking sound of the door and Wei ying opened his eyes to see the empty room. 

'Is Lan zhan feeling unwell?' He was worried. 

He picked his outer robes, shot out of the door quickly, covering himself with the cloth and followed his husband's shadow which was quite ahead of him. 

"Lan zhan" he called, in a calm tone, so as to not disturb others. But it looked like Lan zhan did not hear him. He took swift steps and he knew that they were headed towards Hanshi. Lan zhan was faster than he was and had not realized that someone was following him, as Wei ying saw Xichen hugging his brother before they shut the door. 

What Wei ying did not see was the sweat drops that accumulated on Lan zhan's forehead and Xichen's concerned face. When Wei ying reached the door, a moment before he was about to knock on the door, his arm stopped. 

"Yin metal….pain….insane.."

He heard the things which he was not supposed to hear. It took a few minutes for Wei ying to collect himself and run away. He was in so much shock that he didn't hear anything else. As he processed what he heard, he felt thunderstruck. He was back to jingshi, curling up like a ball on their bed. 

"Lan zhan" he uttered the name and broke into tears. He let out his grief that he had saved for a year and everything made sense now. About why his Lan zhan was becoming a stranger to him and how well he had kept it to himself. In the end both of them had been pretending to keep the other happy. 

'I am hurting him.' 

Lan zhan returned just before his morning wake-up time and joined Wei ying on bed. Wei ying's thoughts of running away came to a halt when he felt the warmth of his husband's lips on his forehead. Lan zhan had kissed him. 

'I will do whatever it takes to be with my Lan zhan.' Wei ying made up his mind. But he decided to do it without letting others know. 

Next day, after the classes, Wei ying stuck to Jiang cheng, pestering him to have drinks with him. Once Jiang cheng agreed, Wei ying informed Lan zhan that Jiang cheng wanted to have drinks with him and he would not be spending his night at jingshi. 

Actually he had two reasons to do this. First one being, not wanting to give any pain to his husband and the second reason was to know whether others were getting affected by yin metal. Just like that Wei ying clung onto Jiang cheng that whole week except for two nights. 

He regretted not listening to the Lan brothers' conversation completely that night because now he had no idea how or when it started or the precise details to examine. He was not willing to confront the brothers and was sick of pulling others into his mess. 

During the day, he would practice the yin metal taming and at night he thought of ways to escape the crucial situation. Everyday he thought about how he was not convinced with yin metal affecting someone badly.  After all, it didn't do any harm to him in any way. If it was someone else other than his husband, he wouldn't have believed it. 

"Are you feeling sick anywhere Jiang cheng? Recently, I have been really worried about your wellness, you know."  After doing a lot of mind work, Wei ying asked his brother after the end of a week's time. 

"Who are you bitch?" Jiang cheng rolled his eyes. 

"So you say, you are alright??" Wei ying needed confirmation. 

Instead of answering, Jiang cheng ignored the latter and left the place.  Wei ying knew that his brother was alright. He knew he was somehow right about this. That it was not his yin metal. 

His Lan zhan is a renowned cultivator with a strong golden core. He wondered how yin metal was capable of affecting him when it does nothing to his brother. It's been months since their soul bond had become dormant. So they had nothing that connected them except the love they had for each other.  

 

At jingshi

When Xichen opened the door of hanshi from inside, it was Jiang cheng who had come to visit. 

"You? No, you move aside." The drunk Jiang cheng analysed Xichen's face and pushed him aside. 

"What did you do to my brother? Tell me. Why is he crazy?" Even when drunk, Jiang cheng was sure about whom he wanted to talk to. 

"..."

"Cold stone, why aren't you answering? I know he is naturally crazy." Jiang sighed. He was angry, sad and confused. 

"But nowadays he is crazy in a different way. I don't know. It should be something to do with yo..you." Jiang cheng hiccuped. 

"He smiles a lot." Jiang cheng's eyelids drooped as the alcoholic effect kicked in. 

"I am afraid he is faking…it.." Jiang cheng's eyes were closed and he would have kissed the floor if Xichen had not catched his slumpy body on time. 

The now pale faces of the twin jades showed shock and distress. The two laid Jiang cheng in bed and their eyes locked for a moment and they knew that they must talk to Wei ying about it. To listen to what Wei ying has in his heart. 

Breaking the silence of the room, there was another knocking sound on the door, this time it was a messenger. 

"Greetings Zewujun, Hanguangjun! Hui zheng is in our men's hands." 

"That's great. Lead us to him." Xichen replied. 

"But.." The messenger hesitated. 

"Is he not here?" Xichen queried. 

"He is, but he is not the person."

"Your point?" Lan zhan interrupted. 

"Soul exchange??" The jades said in unison. 

"Yes, it's Madam Lan." 

..

"What is he upto?!!" 

Xichen asked no one in particular after he sent the messenger away. Initially the brothers felt close to relief to have found someone from whom they could know things about yin metal, but again the soul exchange thing happening alarmed them that it was not about Hui zheng just hiding in someone else's shell but there's something more to what they could see.