WangXian Forever 6

Chapter 71 Resourceful

Wei Ying + Lan Zhan + Rumi : Mizag

One by one, all the demons filtered out, leaving Wei Ying and Lan Zhan alone with Rumi who was dozing off, and Haitch.

Their host took off his hat first, and then shook his mane of hair, the beads clinking together in an unusual melody. He sighed and began removing the leather ties securing his eyepatch.

Lan Zhan looked away out of politeness, but Wei Ying couldn’t not look, filled with a gory kind of curiosity, wondering just what was there, instead of an eye. And then, he was terribly disappointed when it turned out to be an eye after all.

"Why do you wear a patch, then?" He blurted out, unable to keep this question inside him.

"It looks cool." Haitch replied, utterly serious.

Wei Ying choked back a disbelieving laugh, that turned into actual coughing. Lan Zhan patted his back, wondering what the joke was.

"Thank you so much. You always know what to do." Wei Ying told him.

"Oh, that's alright. It's just what's expected, right?" Haitch replied, not looking at either, his face slightly pink from embarrassment.

Lan Zhan raised a brow, and Wei Ying shrugged back, not knowing why Haitch had thought he was being spoken to.

"Why do you want to go to Turjak?" Haitch suddenly asked them.

Wei Ying got the feeling that his next words would be extremely important, quite possibly the difference in whether they would leave this cave or not.

"We have a problem with Yao Wang." He started saying, but was interrupted by a bang, as Haitch slammed his palm against the wood of their table, sending tremors vibrating through the entire structure.

Rumi moaned in his sleep, and Lan Zhan glared at Haitch for not being more careful.

"Who doesn't?"

It would have come out louder, but Lan Zhan was still glaring, and Wei Ying was sure flames could shoot out of his eyes, if he wasn't careful himself.

"Yao Wang is the single most cruel leader to rule over us. A thorn in my side, and the only thing stopping me from marching to Turjak right now and staging a coup. The worst leader we have ever had." Haitch wiped the spittle from his mouth caused by the tirade.

"Well, we don't like him either, but he has people imprisoned and they need help." Wei Ying told him, uncertain of how much he should divulge.

How trustworthy was he? Sure, he said he hated Yao Wang, but at the moment, it was only lip service. Hearing it and seeing it were two different things, even if he had fought off the royal army with them.

The problem was, they were vulnerable and in here, in this cave, they were at his mercy. All their friends were in different locations, and for the first time, Wei Ying was second guessing his plan, and wondering whether it would have been better to come in together instead.

"Yao Wang has too many people imprisoned. All taken against their will, and do you know what the most frightening thing is? His prisons are mostly empty. What does that tell you?" Haitch looked pointedly at them now.

"Why empty?" Wei Ying had already guessed but was hoping he was wrong.

"His cruelty knows no bounds. In the beginning, he sharpened his torturing techniques, interviewing those captured by himself, even when he has capable and loyal soldiers at his disposal. But then, he invented a game, where he released them inside a labyrinth of mirrors, with the promise of freedom if they made it out alive. And then, he would send Samangi in behind them."