The assault was launched 1 hour after nightfall. The fortress of Qingdao overlooked the sea. The cultivators had gathered to free those of their own who had been taken prisoner in the past 6 months.
Taking advantage of a moonless night, Lan Xichen...
I really didn't like the way he was looking at me.
"Lan QiRen what do you mean?".
"Only you can scare them enough to make them talk. Not Lan HanRan, but the other two might be convinced by fear! As Han GuangJun's husband, it is your right to ask the elders of the clan for explanations. On the other hand, you are not a Lan by blood, so you are not subject to all our rules.
I glanced at Lan Zhan. Sooner or later we would have to tell him and Xichen the little secret we kept about my origins. Lan Zhan nodded and shook my hand under the table. It was time to tell them what we had discovered about Chenqing and Baoshan SanRen's cultivation partner.
"Uncle, Brother, about this, we have something to tell you..." said my soul mate.
"Well, it looks like it's the day of revelations! Go ahead, we are listening!" said Lan QiRen.
I decided to go for it. I wondered what my soulmate's uncle's reaction would be. For Xichen, I had no worries, I knew he would take it well ... I was not quite sure about uncle QiRen!!!
"Very well, when we were in the other world, we participated in a ceremony called the "Guardian Spirit Ceremony". It consists of the invocation of spirits that materialize for a certain period of time and allow them to speak with those they protect. I paused for a moment so that they could assimilate everything I had just told them.
"Lan Zhan and I have been invited to summon our guardian spirits. But for us, our guardian spirits are those of our spiritual objects, whether it be a weapon or a musical instrument," I thought they were beginning to see what I was getting at!
"Lan Zhan chose Wangji's spirit and I chose Chenqing's spirit because ever since the day he took over my flute at the Burial Ground, I have been wondering who he was.
I hesitated. My soul mate's hand squeezed mine again. He didn't take his eyes off me, urging me on.
"When he appeared, we were ... surprised, he was wearing a silver cloud ribbon, because the spirit that lives in Chenqing ... is a Lan . If you remember the story that Baochen told us, when he and Baoshan SanRen went to the Burial Ground to understand what had happened to me. He mentioned that she knew the place well because she had participated in the battle against Xue ChongHai. He added that she had lost her husband there ...." Xichen intervened.
"Wuxian, are you telling us that your ancestor's husband was a Lan and that his spirit lives in your flute?" I sighed, Xichen understood!
"Yes, that's right!" I tried to perceive Lan QiRen's reaction and then I stared at Xichen. It is to him that I choose to speak to reveal the rest.
"Brother that's not all, the spirit is called Ning Ruan..."
"Lan An's younger son?" asked Uncle.
"Mnnn" Lan Zhan nodded his head.
"That means you two are both direct lineal heirs of Lan An!" Xichen said.
He seemed to think for a moment, frowned, then spoke again.
"Although she was not born in our world, Ni Bi is also a Lan. That means she has the right, if she wishes, to join the clan's discipleship class and wear our sacred headband.
I stared at Xichen, not realizing that by revealing my origins, my daughter's origins would also become clearer, and that she would become a member of the Lan clan by blood, just like Lan Zhan and me.
Lan QiRen sighed.
"Well, we'll talk more about what you just told us and what we should tell the Council later. For now, Xichen is calling the elders for this afternoon after lunch. If he asks you why, tell them that the Patriarch of Yiling has questions about the endangerment of his husband's life by one or more of them!
Xichen held back a smile.
"Uncle, if I answer that, we might cause panic!
"That's the point, as well as to get them in condition for, I hope, a magnificent performance of my nephew's acting skills!
He had the same look as before. I realized that the rules of the Lan clan prevented him from acting as he wished and that he was counting on me to make the culprits confess. Considering what we had just experienced, it would be easy for me to take over Yiling's patriarchal personality, after all I had put it on very often lately.
Xichen left the room. We did the same and returned to the Jingshi.
The time until the council meeting passed very quickly. Lan Zhan told me in detail about the events of 20 years ago. I took the opportunity to tease him about the jar of "emperor's smile" that he had emptied and the resulting mark on his chest! This scar bound us to each other. His embarrassment made me smile.
The closer the hour came, the more I read the doubt in my soul mate's eyes. He wanted to know but at the same time, I believe that he would have wanted to turn the page. He must have been torn between the two.
It was time for the meeting. Just before entering the orchid room, I put Chenqing back in plain sight on my belt. I knew she always made an impression. I wondered if... I was going to let slip that the spirit in it had belonged to the Lan clan!
A disciple opened the door and announced our entrance. All eyes converged on us. Xichen and Lan QiRen were in the center of the room at the seat of the clan chief. The elders were seated on either side of the center aisle.
We walked slowly toward the center stage. Then we bowed. At that moment, Lan Zhan appeared not as the chief patriarch but as a member of the Lan clan.
Xichen took his seat and Lan QiRen positioned himself behind him on his right.
"Wei Wuxian, you have made a request concerning past actions but which have had repercussions in the present. These have endangered the life of your husband Han GuangJun here. Can you tell us the facts and tell the Council about your request?
I bowed my head and turned around to face the Council members. My face was closed, my eyes suspicious, and I had only to think of what they had done to Lan Zhan to be filled with hatred for them. The effect was overwhelming, even before I opened my mouth. I saw the shifty looks of two of the three leaders! They knew what I was going to talk about. The rumor of our adventure in the other world had already spread throughout YunShen Buzhi, as had the rumor of the severity of the injuries my soul mate had sustained.
"As you all probably know, we have just returned from a mission in a different world and similar to ours. During our trip, Jan GuangJun, our Chief Patriarch, and my husband were seriously injured, not because of the wounds themselves but because of their location. One of them was located exactly on one of the scars inflicted on him by your order 20 years ago..."
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
