A Ghost of Snow

13. The Letter

While ascending to Cloud Recesses Lan Xichen kept glancing at Baixue, something about this young lady intrigued him. There was something more to her than what met the eye. He liked to believe that with years of practice that he had with Wangji, he was decent at reading people, and yet here he was with no clue of what went on in her mind.

Her face was expressionless and cold, even her eyes were frosty. Sometimes when their eyes would meet, he would still feel as though she had looked through him, not worried about his not so subtle staring. Lan Xichen was sure that he had never seen a prettier person, the light blue of her eyes might come off as odd to some people but to him it only enhanced her beauty.

He was so lost in appreciating her beauty that he didn't even notice when they reached the Cloud Recesses's gate. He mentally scolded himself for being out of wits in public.

Baixue remembered each word that her master had told her, they were ingrained in her mind like a carving on stone. She really wanted to erase all her instructions and live on her own terms, it wasn't like she would find out. She had promised her master that she would follow everything she had been taught and do all that was necessary to fulfil her wishes but her brain was in a turmoil now. Was it even worth it? She already knew that there wasn't really a point in following her orders since the ultimate goal was unachievable. She gave a side glance to Wei Wuxian who was walking beside Lan Wangji engaged in a conversation with the little child in the latter's arms. When she turned back her eyes met Sect Leader Lan's and she kept thanking the gods for her lack of expression ever since her eyes had landed on this man back at the Qiongi Road. He had warm brown eyes, the color of honey and her heart melted when he smiled. She had just met him a day ago but she was sure that she felt something in her heart flutter at the sight of this beautiful young man. The longer he kept staring at her the harder it became for her to maintain her cold expression. "Perseverance is the key", she kept reminding herself. There was nothing at this moment that she wanted more than to just smack his head and tell him to look away but she couldn't do it, could she? She sighed internally. She wished she was as bold as Master Wei.

This time when she thought about Wei Wuxian, her mind got stuck on him, she wondered how he would react when he found out who she really was. She internally sighed again. There was only one way to find out. They were already at the entrance of the Cloud Recesses and she could not wait to go in and just blabber the whole truth in front of Master Wei but that wasn't really something she could do.

What she would do was patiently wait for Lan Qiren to read her Master's letter and then answer the questions any of these people had. She wished, that somehow, she would not have to do what her Master had instructed and live a free life. But the only way for her to be free lay in the hands of the Yiling Patriarch. She had saved him once, and she wondered if it was enough for him to show her some mercy and unshackle her from the cruel fate that awaited her. She felt a little guilty about having such thoughts but she wanted to be free and live her own life not bound by any promises that she had made in a desperate attempt to just make her master leave her in peace.

She was still lost in thought when she noticed they had stopped in front of a door that read Lanshi. Lan Wangji handed the child to an old woman, probably a governess and slightly bowed to her before looking at Wei Wuxian who waved at A-Yuan with a smile. When they were out of sight, Lan Qiren pushed the door open and all of them followed him in. Baixue looked at Lan Xichen who took the letter out of his sleeve and handed it to Lan Qiren.

"Then, Young Lady, I will read it.", Baixue's heart pounded as she bowed to Lan Qiren in a gesture of respect and permission to go ahead with what he was about to do. Thank the heavens for her stone countenance or everyone would have noticed how nervous she actually was. She stood there waiting for Lan Qiren to finish, side eyeing Wei Wuxian and looking at Lan Qiren's face changing colors every so often while he went through the contents of her Master's letter. She knew very well what it said and to be honest she had expected his reaction to be a little more extreme. "Ridiculous", she mentally reprimanded herself and focused on her surroundings again. The three young men were curiously looking at Lan Qiren, they clearly wanted to know what it was that was making him change expressions so fast. If only she could just cut to the chase and end this slow drama but she was a respectful maiden, a disciple of an immortal, a pateint person in all.

"This", he looked at her with his eyes wide, "Impossible!"

Lan Xichen quickly retrieved the scroll that had fallen on the floor from his Uncle's hand as he kept looking at Baixue with wide eyes. Was it in awe, anger or horror, he couldn't really tell. He finished reading the letter along with his younger brother and now it was their turn to look at Baixue with the same expression as their Uncle. Well Xichen could clearly understand that what he felt was a mixture of awe for this young lady and anger for the immortal. As for Wangji, Lan Xichen deciphered that his brother was not only fuming but also horrified at what he had just read.

Wei Wuxian was now curious as to what was written in this letter that was so awful that the three Lans looked furious, one more than the other. He stared at Lan Zhan who grabbed his wrist as soon as he was about to take the letter from Lan Xichen's hand. "Wei Ying does not need to know.", He said in a cold voice but it somehow sounded warm to Wei Wuxian.

Baixue felt herself finally losing her patience,"Of course he does. Master Wei is the only one who really needs to know."

Hanguang-Jun and Baixue stared at each other with equally cold eyes which made Wei Wuxian really uncomfortable standing between them. He spoke in a soft voice, "Lan Zhan, it's okay, let me. I'll be fine."

Lan Wangji looked at Wei Wuxian with concern before letting go of his wrist. He took the letter from his brother and handed it to Wei Ying himself. He was still worried but also knew it was in fact necessary for Wei Ying to know what was written in the letter. He could only hope that his friend wouldn't blame himself for the unfortunate situation that this blue eyed young lady had found herself in.