Pearl of Gusu

Chapter 1.2.

Wei Ying never tired of asking Lan Zhan to take the oath of arms with him. Likewise, Lan Zhan never tired of refusing. Every time Wei Ying came to the library for his punishment duties, the first thing he did was to go to Lan Zhan and say, "Swear-brother" "No" was always the same answer. Sometime he put the silence spell on Wei Ying as soon as he entered the library. Which of course always annoyed Wei Ying but also amused him, because after all that was also a kind of reaction from his handsome stranger.

*

A few days later, Wei Ying was at his favourite spot in Cloud Recesses, on the old peach tree. For the umpteenth time, he pondered how to get Lan Zhan to take the Oath of Arms with him. He should first find out why Lan Zhan was so reluctant. Of course he had already asked him, but he never got an answer, not even a small reaction he could interpret.

At first he made the assumption that Lan Zhan did not want a new or different connection, as he already formed a team with his brother, which worked very well. But Wei Ying argued that they were too similar and did not complement each other. They were excellent together, that was undisputed, but Lan Zhan would harmonise even better with Wei Ying, he was sure. But Lan Zhan did not react. Neither did he agree, nor did he disagree. As soon as the subject came up, Lan Zhan became even more secretive and no matter what Wei Ying said or did, there was simply no reaction.

Again and again Wei Ying tried to talk to Lan Zhan about it, to argue and make him understand how much positive this union would give them both. Why did Lan Zhan just not want to?

Was it,

....,because he didn't know Wei Ying well enough?

... because he didn't think he was good enough?

..., because he thought he was rude?

..., wrong clothes? Wrong hairstyle? Strange gait?

Wei Ying did not understand Lan Zhan at all on this point, especially because he really did not reveal anything at all. He did not answer and did not show any emotion: neither joy, annoyance, nor astonishment, rejection, anger ... nothing! It just seemed to mean absolutely nothing to him, not even enough to stare angrily at Wei Ying.

Normally Wei Ying would just say, "Alright, he doesn't care." He didn't usually run after anyone, because everyone had their free opinion. But precisely because Lan Zhan showed absolutely no reaction to just this topic, it told him that there was something different. He had to find out what if he wanted to win Lan Zhan as his Swear-Brother.

He jumped down from the tree and looked for Nie Huaisang. A little fun and distraction from Lan Zhan would perhaps help him clear his head a little. Together with Jiang Cheng he found him at the training ground, obviously his brother Cheng wanted to teach Nie something. However, it didn't look very promising. Nie seemed to run away from Cheng rather than actually fight with him. I wonder if that was because of the sword he was dragging behind him. Wei Ying joined in, laughing, and offered to help. After a while, Nie sat down on the edge, panting and fanning himself. Grinning, Wei Ying challenged his brother and they engaged in a sword fight without mercy. It had been a long time and they both clearly enjoyed it. Especially since they knew each other and they always had to come up with new tricks to survive against the other. Both liked to tease and goad each other. Nie looked on impressed. Jiang Cheng was slower but strong in his swordplay, while Wei Ying was fast and agile. After a while, Nie wanted to try again and Wei Ying was happy to help him.

*

When Lan Zhan left the library it was already evening, so he was surprised to see his brother Lan Xichen waiting for him.

"Can I speak to you for a moment?" Lan Zhan nodded and followed his brother.

"Have you seen anyone near the Frost Cave lately?"