INTERTWINED (WangXian)

40. Illuminating shadows

"Believe my words, I was forced to do this. I know nothing." 

Lan yi, whose soul was seen trapped inside the spiritual barrier of the Lan sect, kept begging which was ignored by everyone in the room. 

Lan zhan, who had Wei ying's physical form on his lap, applied medicine on the fresh lash mark which was imprinted on his soulmate's skin. His fingers shuddered whenever his fingers made contact with the skin, afraid that it would cause pain to the non existent soul. 

"You idiots have wasted enough time already. You should have informed us earlier." Madam Yu raged. 

"Sorry to Interrupt Madam Yu. Wangji is not the one to be blamed. We prevented him from doing things." Xichen, who felt guilty of stopping his brother since day one, replied. 

"What did you do to find my son, young man?" Madam Yu needed an answer. 

Lan zhan was not at all listening to the conversation that was happening, yet he tilted his head up when he felt everyone's eyes on him. 

Before he could speak, a few sect disciples requested an audience with Hanguangjun outside the room and Lan zhan asked them to enter.

The disciples bowed at the people inside the room and hesitated to speak out. Lan zhan who noticed that, nodded his head in acceptance, meaning it's okay to speak there. 

"This is all we could find at the cinnamon valley." 

A disciple handed over a broken magical wand and Lan zhan wouldn't forget the day his Wei ying's core shield broke Madam Lan's wand into pieces. 

Madam Yu felt relieved that her son-in-law cared about her son as much as her family did. 

"I told you all, I was forced. They have my mother as a hostage. Please help me." Lan yi used the chance. 

"Where is my Wei ying?"  Lan zhan asked, after placing a gentle kiss on the forehead of his Xianxian's physical form. 

"I don't know." Lan yi played the victim. 

In a fraction of seconds, Lan yi witnessed everyone in the room carrying their deadly weapons ready to shatter her soul into million pieces.

"What did you say?" Jiang cheng fake smiled. 

"I-I really don't know. I mean, the place is nonexistent in our world."

In an hour's time, the twin jades along with Jiang cheng, Madam Yu and a few Lan sect disciples set off to Cinnamon valley after informing the two sect leaders about the things that happened. Since taking the entire sect guards to search Wei ying would take time, Lan qiren advised that he would be following the jades to cinnamon valley with the warriors of both the sects as soon as they could, and the jades shouldn't waste anymore time. Also he informed them that they shouldn't enter that ominous place before he joins them, warning them about the possibilities of yin metal. 

After all, finding the Hui sect of shadows isn't an easy thing considering the several decades of time they have existed without a trace. And according to what Lan yi said Lan zhan knew that it is required to meet a certain criteria for them to actually see the Hui sect. In Lan yi's case, he assumed that they made her see it, since they needed her to devise their plan. 

About what, why and whom, Lan yi didn't know anything. She was a pawn they used in return for her tiny personal desire. 

Lan zhan had his Wei ying's body in a qiankun pouch while Madam Yu carried the soul trapping jar in her hand. 

As Lan yi directed, they travelled by their swords till the entrance of cinnamon valley and by foot for several miles before they reached a not so strange place. Nothing was found except the trees and bushes like the rest of the forest area. 

Everyone eyed the jar and Lan yi called out for the oldman, only to receive nothing in response. 

"I promise this is the place and this is how I met him." Lan yi added in fear. 

"Let's wait" Xichen said and Lan zhan played Inquiry in the meanwhile in a hope of finding his soulmate. However that too didn't fetch any favorable result. 

Day fell and when twilight faded away covering the wild with complete darkness, an illuminating wall emerged. It needed a few seconds to identify it as a wall as it was barely visible to the naked eyes. 

"There it is" Lan zhan showed it to others. 

This was why no one ever came across the Hui sect of shadows as it was visible only during night and no one would think that there is a huge building unless they were certain about its existence. 

Xichen then sent a disciple back to yunshen to inform his uncle. 

'Wei ying, I am here.' Lan zhan felt very hard to suppress his thoughts of trespassing knowing that his Wei ying is inside. 

"Do not rush, son. I do not want history to repeat. A'xian is in our reach" Madam Yu advised Lan zhan looking at his eyes that were boring a hole on the walls. 

Lan zhan remembered the life event of Wei ying's childhood where he lost his parents on a similar night. His fingers caressed the qiankun pouch as he waited for his uncle and others to arrive. 

Inside the walls

Wei ying gained consciousness in the morning and he was not happy to find himself in a lady's body again. 

He was not sure whether it was because of the fact that he was in a different well guarded room or because he was still in Lan yi's body, no one cared about him. They provided him food when it was time and no one tried to harm him. 

He was not able to use his core voice to connect to his Lan zhan and that worried him. This body didn't have any power nor did he have his soul weapons.

After doing nothing for a few hours of time, he felt bored. Extremely bored. Hence he decided to play. He was aware that Lan yi is a Lan and had the Lan sect's beauty. Why not use it while she was using his? 

There were four guards guarding the room on each corner and Wei ying started doing what he was best at. Flirting for fun. He felt amused on how he was making the guards blush and uncomfortable in his presence though they acted like they weren't affected. 

Outside the wall 

'Why do I feel jealous out of the blue?' Lan zhan wondered.