even after thirteen years, i still love you | MDZS

一

Weiying glared at the girl, comically furious at how clueless she was and internally laughing at what her reaction would be if she knew he was the infamous Yiling Patriarch. Of course, no matter how many times he could try to tell her the truth, she would never believe him.

His heart sunk a little, thinking Mo Xuanyu, Mo Xuanyu, why, I don't even know if I should be grateful for your sacrifice or mad at your idiocy.

He grabbed Lanzhan and pulled him aside, wanting a few words with him.

At a whispering volume, "Lanzhan, stop telling the girl stories, she is such a clueless donkey and won't understand anyway!"

Lanzhan chuckled in response, "You're just unhappy she doesn't think you're anything special."

Weiying's huff in response was enough of a sign to Lanzhan that he could probably bully Weiying a little more.

"Hey look on the bright side- if I tell her you're the Yiling Patriach, she wouldn't believe me- wait no I meant that she wouldn't believe things I say, not that you look the complete opposite to the renown Yiling Patriarch Wei WuXian"

Lanzhan's stumble over his words and long winded sentence lightened Weiying's mood a little.

*

The next morning was bright and sunny: perfect for a day of rest and fooling around. However, having had enough fun for the past day, the two decided it was time to go back to uncovering the mystery about the red sky. Having found a few clues but no actual solid evidence seemed a lot more frustrating to them than they let on.

They walked to the very outskirts of the town, and then all around the town itself. Their goal? To find someone who seemed old enough to know what happened here all those years ago.

In the moments of despair when both of them felt like this was a trail with broken, loose ends, it was the thrill of the answer that kept them going. They climbed mountains and hills, then down again, and up another. 

Their efforts didn't go to waste when they stumbled across a small residence, home to an eighty year old woman who seemed wise enough to know the details of the past years. 

Without hesitation, Weiying began, "Hey, we were wondering if you happened to know anything about the colour of the sky, like the origins of it or how it slowly turned from blue to this colour?"

The old woman peered at them cautiously, "Are you two investigating this?"

Before Weiying could reply, Lanzhan answered, "Yea, you could say we are investigating this, but we aren't from a specific sect or anything. Just purely out of curiosity, we want to know what happened. We're not looking to punish the one behind it."

She seemed satisfied enough with that answer and so began told them the details, "A long, long time ago, ten? Twenty years ago? I don't remember. But this town was one of the prettiest there was out there, always having blue skies all year around. The aura around here was also amazing, perfect for cultivation; often attracting many cultivators here for a holiday and to practise. That changed, of course. The day and date is foggy in my mind but I remember, remember the sound of a young man leading a whole group. He was quite young, for sure, but he was worshipped by everyone that followed behind, even though they looked older."

Weiying and Lanzhan looked at each other Jin Guangyao. Still, Lanzhan made a gesture, telling Weiying to continue listening to the story.

"They settled in a cave not far from here and almost everyday, there was some sort of chanting, ritual, or worship happening. It lasted for about a month before the leader left and the others were left behind. Then...it was continuous screams of terror. I remember seeing waves of people being brought in at once: from the infants to the elderly- they took mercy on no one. 

Again, because this was a blooming tourist spot, there weren't many permanent residents so they seemed to do whatever they wanted: similar to mountain bandits."

Lanzhan, "How long did this last for?"

"One or two years?"

Lanzhan nodded in response, having confirmed the authenticity behind her story: definitely matching up with the story the waiter told them back at the noodle stall. 

Weiying, "Do you happen to know who was the youth that led the gang?"

"He was quite young and confident, like a leader of a sect?"

"Anything else? His appearance? Weapons?"

"He was decently handsome but I don't actually remember if he had a weapon"

The more they listened, the more it sounded exactly like Jin Guangyao and they would have ended the case here had their gut instincts tell both of them something seemed off. 

"What about his height?"

"He..was quite tall"

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a/n: 

who do you guys think it is?

(votes + comments make my day!)