A Ghost of Snow

11. Fears and Decisions

The Wens along with the Lan guards were the first to leave. Wen Qing had slightly bowed to Wei Wuxian and whispered a small thank you. Before bidding a final goodbye, she reminded him, "You don't have to keep the secret to yourself anymore. Be safe."

Nie Mingjue assured Lan Xichen that although he hated the Wen surname, he wasn't so cruel as to kill the people who could not defend themselves.

Baixue was now standing behind Lan Xichen, her face finally showing a tinge of emotion that he looked a lot like fear. Lan Xichen wondered how she had stood her ground mere moments ago when faced by numerous Jin cultivators. It seemed almost unnatural to see fear in her eyes. He smiled when the realisation that she was probably intimidated by his friend's agressive demeanor dawned on him. "Cute", he thought.

Jaing Yanli left with Jin Zixuan and the other Jins, the only exchange she had with Wei Wuxian before leaving was when she looked at him with teary eyes and he just gave her an empty smile. The realisation that his eyes at the moment held no emotion hit her like a rock, they had clearly lost him now, she felt he was too far gone to even chase. But at least he had chosen his own happiness for once.

Jaing Wanyin however was a different story, the lack of emotions on Wei Wuxian's face did not deter him from reminding the latter that he owed a life debt to the Yunmeng Jaing and his decision to leave the sect just like that did not sit well with the Clan Leader. The painful look that crossed Wei Wuxian's eyes for a moment did make him falter a little but not enough to stop him from telling Wei Wuxian how selfish it was of him to just up and leave, not caring about the promises he had made a few years back.

Little did they know that Wei Wuxian had made this decision not for his own happiness but to save them from the pain that was to come inevitably. He knew he was dying and he did not have the courage to tell his martial siblings just that. It would not hurt to lose him, if they didn't have him in the first place, if they thought that the bond had been broken with no hope for repair.

He looked at A-Yuan who was safely tucked and sleeping in Lan Zhan's arms and smiled a little. At least his little radish would be safe.

Lan Qiren's voice brought the Lan brothers, Baixue and Wei Wuxian back to the present, "Shall we take our leave then?"

All of them bowed to him before mounting their swords while Wei Wuxian just stared at Suibian. Besides the fact that he could not ride it anymore, what hurt him even more was the fact that he did not want to. The thought of flying on the sword reminded him of his encounter with Wen Chao in Yiling. But he couldn't let them know all that, so he did what he always did, he smiled and said bashfully, "Master Lan, can we not go by foot, enjoying the scenery on the way."

Lan Qiren's brow twitched, this was exactly why he thought being with Wei Wuxian was unbearable, "You really are something, Wei Wuxian, do you think we have time for sight seeing. Mount the sword and move."

"But I am too tired to do it.", Wei Wuxian sat on the ground with a thud. "Not even a beast could make me fly today, Grandmaster, let alone you."

Before he could even register what was happening, he felt his collar being grabbed and soon enough he was in the air, he panicked a little and then looked at the person who was carrying him. To his surprise it was Lan Qiren, his brows were furrowed and Wei Wuxian was sure he heard his old teacher grumble indecent things under his breath.

Wei Wuxian swallowed in fear amd sighed, this was uncomfortable but it was way better than trying to explain why he didn't want to fly on his own sword. When the evening came, they had already landed on the docks of Caiyi Town.

"It's past curfew, we will ascend the mountain tomorrow.", Lan Qiren said moving on to find an inn for them.

Wei Wuxian looked at Lan Zhan, surprisingly A-Yuan had slept through the entire flight and still looked peaceful in the strong arms that held him. He smiled in relief when his silver eyes met with Lan Zhan's golden ones, he wasn't wrong then, Lan Zhan was indeed the best choice to raise A-Yuan.