[MDZS] The Dragon and the Fox

Rescue

Lan Zhan searched through every portion of the palace, even going so far as to rudely awaken a few sleeping servants to help him with his search for the young fox. He grabbed one of the many servants by their robe collar and demanded of them, "Where is Wei Ying?"

The servant, being around the fox boy's age, stuttered, "I d-don't kn-know of any W-Wei Y-Ying..." Lan Zhan sighed in frustration, releasing his hold on the boy. The young servant boy fell on his rump on the floor. He studied the dragon for a while. His heart raced with fear only to die down after noticing the desperation in the other's face. "S-sir?" he called out timidly. Lan Zhan turned to him with a cold, stoic look which made the boy shiver. "I-I know of...a s-secret place..."

Lan Zhan was more than ecstatic to hear such a detail! "Tell me!" he demanded.

Boy: "I-I can't tell y-you. I h-have to sh-show you."

With that, Lan Zhan gripped the boy by the wrist and dragged him out of the bed chamber. "Lead the way." The boy bowed respectfully and led the way to that secret place within the palace.

It seemed as if they were going around in circles. It seemed ages since they first began. Lan Zhan was beginning to think the boy had lied to him and was leading him into a trap. He was about to unsheathe Bichen when the boy halted. The young servant turned to the dragon. "We're here."

Lan Zhan was skeptical. "Where is here?"

The boy knew he needed to explain. "Here," he stated once more, pointing into the air at nothing. Lan Zhan moved forward only to be halted by a barrier. Ah! So that's what the boy meant!

Lan Zhan: "Thanks. Boy may leave now."

Boy: "Unfortunately, o-only someone of m-my clan can take it down." The boy placed his hand on the barrier, and it dissipated all at once. "Th-there you are, Sir." Lan Zhan thanked the boy once more with a head nod. The boy left at once. He did not wish to be caught by his Lord.

Lan Zhan looked. He was stunned to see a tunnel before him. He unsheathed Bichen, the blue glow illuminating the darkness of the tunnel, cutting deep inside. He took one step forward. As he moved, he thought about turning back and gathering his brother and uncle, but it was too late. He had already begun the journey by himself. He might as well finish the same way.

Wei Ying! Wait for me!

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Wen Ruohan had beat the poor fox, until they'd passed out. Wei Ying's face was swollen in several places. Blood was splattered all over his face and robes. "Unlock your dark powers! Damn it!"

Wei Ying: "No..."

The man threw Wei Ying against the wall on the far side of the room. The fox boy's head made contact with the wall. He hit it so hard it dazed him. Everything was a blur. His ears rang loudly. He couldn't hear what Wen Ruohan was speaking. Just as the man was about to strike Wei Ying again, there was a flash of blue and white. The last thing he saw before everything went black was Lan Zhan. The dragon's voice was muffled, but Wei Ying knew who they were.

Wei Ying: "You came for me..." he spoke softly with a smile. Then he fell into darkness.

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Lan Zhan felt the tunnel was going on forever. That was, until he reached the end. He held Bichen up, the blue glow of the blade revealing an old wooden door. He heard a commotion on the other side. He heard Wei Ying's voice. Then there was a loud crash as if something had been thrown.

Lan Zhan snapped!

He busted the door down. Moving quickly, he knocked Wen Ruohan out of the way. Seeing Wei Ying on the floor all bruised and bloodied, he felt his rage increase. "Wei Ying..." Despite the pain the other was in, they smiled at him and fell unconscious. "Wei Ying!" The fox was still breathing. He glared at Wen Ruohan.

Ruohan: "How did you find this place?! No one is supposed to know about it other than me!" Lan Zhan remained silent. The silence infuriated the Wen Clan Leader. He charged at Lan Zhan, but he couldn't place a hit on the other.

Lan Zhan's fury was shot out like an invisible knife. A wind rose within the small chamber. Wen Ruohan was flung backwards through the wall and knocked unconscious. The wind died. Lan Zhan immediately went to Wei Ying and carried him out of the palace. They flew back to their camp on the outskirts of the city. Yuan was waiting for them. When he saw them approaching, he grew excited, until he saw Wei Ying.

Yuan: "Papa? What's wrong with Wei-Gege?"

Lan Zhan: "Nothing. Fell asleep." The little boy seemed to accept the answer as he nodded. "Go to bed." Yuan frowned with worry. "Wei Ying is fine. Time for sleep."

Yuan did as he was told, though with some reluctance. He was worried about his Gege. He didn't sleep much that night, at one point sneaking over to Wei Ying's bed to see him. He sighed with relief when he didn't see anything physically wrong with the older boy. Satisfied, he went to sleep again, a smile plastered on his face.

Lan Zhan was watching the entire time. It was a good thing Lan Zhan used a disguising spell to hide the wounds on Wei Ying's face. He didn't wish to scare the little boy anymore than the child already was. Lan Zhan watched over the fox all through the night, tending to him and making certain the boy was comfortable.

Wei Ying stirred in his sleep. Lan Zhan thought the fox boy was awakening from slumber. However, he was wrong. Wei Ying was having a nightmare. Lan Zhan tried shushing him, but the boy only cried out more. Wei Ying's eyes flew open, glowing red. He thought he was being attacked again when Lan Zhan held him. He fought off his "attacker".

Wei Ying: "Stay away from me! Let me go! Let me go!!"

With a strength Lan Zhan couldn't fathom Wei Ying having, the fox shoved him away and ran off, stumbling as he did so. "Wei Ying!" Lan Zhan called out. Wei Ying was too far gone to hear him. He took off at a high rate of speed and never once looked back. Lan Zhan didn't want to awaken the still sleeping child as it was still night time. He decided to follow Wei Ying to bring him back. He couldn't lose him again. Hopefully he could help his poor fox solve whatever the problem was.

That was part of the problem. Wei Ying was still sleeping, only he wasn't. He was sleep walking while having a nightmare. Lan Zhan had never seen the other's eyes glow red like that. He wondered if there wasn't something Wei Ying was hiding from him. He wondered why, as well, as to the reason his ward would hide it from him. After all, it most likely wasn't the fox's fault. The poor boy had been through a lot. Lan Zhan grew more and more concerned the more he thought about it. He needed to find Wei Ying right away, or he feared something much worse would happen.