Fly free again

Chapter 2

Lan Sizhui watched his dad's tension wash away in an instant as he prompted the other juniors to agree to walking back to the Cloud Recesses. He stayed a bit behind, together with Jin Ling, Lan Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen when they all watched Wei Wuxian gingerly skip to the front of the small group and start to lead it away.

"Do you think it is true?" Jin Ling asked, apparently very confused.

"What," scoffed Lan Jingyi a little, "that there is another night hunt we should take part in?"

"Now, now," Ouyang Zizhen tried to calm the situation before it became a full out fight between those two. "When I am sure that we will be able to find another night hunt to take care of on our way back, I feel that there is something else to this. What do you think, Sizhui?"

They all turned towards their friend who was standing completely still, as if frozen in place, his face contemplative and full of worry. It took Lan Jingyi tapping his shoulder for him to come out of his daze and look at the others.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

It seemed like Lan Sizhui did not hear a word of what had been just said so Jin Ling repeated for him with growing impatience. He looked angry but all three others knew that he was just hiding his own worry. "We said that there must be something Uncle his hiding from us, do you not agree?"

Lan Sizhui nodded slowly, his eyes still locked on the figure of his dad which was now a distance away, they would have to go soon or it would be suspicious.

"Indeed," he replied deliberately, "I have also noticed that dad sometimes behaves quite oddly, especially when flying is mentioned. I was training with him quite a few times but he never even suggested to mount his sword; and father did not either. There must be something behind all of this. Did any of you ever seen him fly?"

The three others looked contemplative for a while and then shook their heads. Ouyang Zizhen summarized their thoughts: "No, never. And actually, he would always come up with an excuse when he is with us, did you notice?"

A collective nodding of heads, they all thought the same. They clearly remembered just how many times their Senior Wei led them on foot, first saying that his golden core was not yet strong enough for flying at all, then for flying long distances and lately, he was just avoiding the subject altogether. Even when they had been night hunting with Hanguang-Jun, they still did not fly, even though Wei Wuxian would have surely been more than comfortable riding on a sword with him. Something was definitely not right here.

"Why though?" wondered Jin Ling. "Flying is convenient. And it is so much fun too. Ever since I have first picked up the sword, I was dreaming of soaring through the skies. Feeling the wind on your face is the best. Every cultivator likes flying." There was a short pause when Jin Ling scowled slightly: "Well, everyone except for Uncle Wei it would seem. Perhaps I should ask Uncle Jiang if he does not know something about this. Uncle Wei and him had been on much better terms lately. And they are brothers anyway! He should know what is going on."

"That is a good idea," agreed Ouyang Zizhen, "perhaps he would know. Or could it have something to do with Senior Wei's past? You know, being a demonic cultivator and everything. Perhaps he just cannot right a sword?"

The other three stared at him, not convinced. Ouyang Zizhen did not look too sure himself and he only shrugged his shoulders: "What do we know, it could be related."

"It could," agreed Lan Jingyi and nodded his head. Then he looked at Lan Sizhui with quite fierce eyes: "Sizhui, you should also ask Hanguang-Jun, perhaps he would know something."

Lan Sizhui nodded slowly but doubt was evident on his face: "I will ask; although I am not sure if he knows. Or if he will be willing to share. He always says that dad needs space and that he will confide in us once he is ready."

They all looked at the back of the energetic former demonic cultivator and the group of other juniors who just disappeared in the distance. They had to hurry and catch up to them. It must have been already suspicious enough for them to be separated from the others for this long. They did not want Senior Wei to worry about them. He seemed to care about them a lot, like a parent and not only a senior disciple, and they all loved him for it.

"Let us go," prompted Lan Sizhui and they all started swiftly walking to catch up to the group.

Lan Sizhui could still not shake the strange expression his dad had when they were insisting on flying. He had a hard time to categorize all the emotions he could see in his eyes. There was a bunch of them, but only for a fleeting moment. As if his dad realized that he had let himself open and immediately reverted back to keeping his guards up.

Lan Sizhui had always known that Wei Wuxian tended to keep a lot of things from him. It did not sadden him too much since he was doing the same with everyone, even with his husband. Nevertheless, it worried him. He still clearly remembered those nights after his dad had been resurrected and his father brought him to the Cloud Recesses. For a few months after that, Lan Sizhui could sometimes hear muffled screams from the direction of the Jingshi during the night. And when he came to greet his parents in the morning, his dad's eyes often looked red and puffy; as if he did not get enough sleep, or as if he had been crying.

He knew his dad had a lot of nightmares, which his father confirmed to him. He did not know all the details of his dad's previous life, but apparently it was quite horrible with the whole cultivation world turning on him and nearly all of his family dying. The demonic cultivation and the resentful energy coursing through his body and disrupting his temperament surely did not help either in his case.

Lan Sizhui wondered if not wanting to fly had something to do with those nightmares as well. Perhaps something had happened to his dad in the past which made him either unable to fly at all or reluctant to do so. Just as they caught up to the others and he went to join his dad leading the group, he silently swore to himself that he would get to the bottom of this and help his dad in any way he could. First, he would ask his father for more information as soon as they would get back to the Cloud Recesses.