Solstice Souls Book 2: Black Fire, White Flame

True Colours

Lan Zhan's POV

Lan Zhan paused, thinking fast.

"Let's see where this goes. That much is clear that we cannot under any circumstances trust him, not while his loyalty is questionable. Even Wei Ying...there was a moment when the Jiang Heir had upset him deeply."

Baoshan Sanren raised a brow quizzically.

Lan Zhan explained what had happened when Wei Ying had asked him where his mother was at a crucial time, when she had arrived late to a battle, and he had protected her by not answering.

"But," she said, tapping her nose thoughtfully, "you might have to pretend to trust him. That's a completely different game."

"What does the venerable senior mean?"

"Oi! Watch it!" She said playfully. But then Baoshan Sanren became serious again. "Where you come from, people are encouraged to be honest. But the world is a different place outside of your precious Gusu."

Lan Zhan wanted to bristle at her words. In fact, he realized that the old him certainly would have...but he had changed...and it was reassuringly refreshing even for himself.

Now, he was ready to accept her advice and her criticism...because he had accepted that his home and its three thousand plus rules were right and correct most of the time, it in no way meant that they should be adhered to quite so strictly. And he would even add that, since they depended on each situation as it presented itself, he was now in a position to suggest to some disciples that they learn how to adapt instead of following blindly.

More importantly, he could see that she was right.

"Does the Celestial Immortal have any advice for me?" He knew he sounded hopeful.

The bigger problem would arise when he had to actually execute ... something...because he wasn't even sure what exactly he was going to do once they went back to Lotus Cove.

"That Purple Spider is a treacherous creature. A slimy viper...she'll do anything to wriggle out of your accusations and you'll have achieved nothing by alienating her or her son. So...you have to lay a verbal trap." Baoshan Sanren returned to grabbing some more ingredients but it was obvious that she was turning over the conundrum of Lan Zhan's problem in her head.

"Verbal trap?" Lan Zhan echoed, wishing Wei Ying was here with him.

He would be so much better at this cloak and dagger business than he ever could be. Again, a sharp pain burst through Lan Zhan's chest at the fact that his husband-to-be wasn't here, by his side where he belonged.

Missing Wei Ying was more than a physical ache now.

"Yes.You will be under her scrutiny from the moment you set foot in Lotus Cove. And...that's assuming that my grandson is still there." She nodded to herself, unaware of the tsunami of turmoil she had unleashed on Lan Zhan with her last few words.

What did she mean, if Wei Ying was still there??

"Grandmother..." Lan Zhan could barely breathe now.

"Finally..." she muttered under her breath, because he only now used more familiar terms with how he addressed her.

Lan Zhan was struggling to maintain his composure. Wasn't his beloved Wei Ying still there?

But the more he thought, the more he realized that Baoshan Sanren was the perfect strategist.

She understood complicated scenarios and the possible outcomes five steps ahead of himself, and now Lan Zhan was worried that he wasn't going to be up to the task because he was not as adept with the same skills.