Wei Ying's destroyed heart (Complete) Edited

13: Master Lan faces some hard truths

Can you find the two bunnies?

Not my picture and obviously it is of Lan Zhan and Wei Ying in happier times. Will they ever get to be happy together again?

The next morning, as they had agreed, Master Lan walked up to Wei Ying an hour after lessons began to talk about his Demonic Cultivation.

'Wei WuXian, may I have a word please.' All he received was a blank look from behind that metal mask before the young man looked to the students and pointed to one.

SiZhui stepped forwards. 'Master Wei, we will continue practicing the movements until you return.' He bowed then turned to the other students and called out. 'Repeat from step one and keep fluid.' Then took his place then they all began to move as one.

'....' Wei Ying walked to the opposite side of the arena then stood there silently watching and waiting for Master Lan to talk as he watched the student move through their steps. In annoyance, Wei Ying clicked his fingers to get Master Lan's attention back to him.

'I just need to ask about your Demonic Cultivation. You have not so much as played your cultivation tool even once ... and I have been reading that if you do not ... unless you have removed all resentful energy from your body?' he stood there looking at Wei Ying who looked back at him before sighing deeply and removing his flute and then proceeded to twirl it in his fingers in front of his own face.

'Not used.'

'I know this; please do not think that is what this is about. The books and scrolls I have looked at clearly state that there is a time limit to restraint before it snaps and you will be forced, by the resentful energy, to use it and it is not always able to be controlled. In fact, there is not one listing of it being controlled.'

'... hmm.' He stopped twirling the flute at the precise time it was vertical in front of his face, right between the eyes. This way Master Lan had to look at both or look away. 'Already mastered. No backlash.'

'M...Mastered ... how is that even possible ... I mean ... the core that is inside of you is ... Young Master Mo's and he was incredibly weak.'

'Was.' Wei Ying placed his flute back in his belt then did a few breathing exercises so Master Lan could tell just what his core felt like now. Wei Ying almost wanted to snicker when the old man staggered back a few feet with his mouth hanging open even though he had not shown the total strength of his golden core.

'How ... how is this possible Wei WuXian? It should take many, many years to grow a core to even a fraction of this ... how did you do this?' there was no negative feelings in his voice, only wonder.

Wei Ying drew back his core and placed it back into its hide so it was hidden totally, then stepped up to the old man with icy eyes and a voice that also dripped with it. 'Why tell you. A man who not let go of resentfulness that filled his heart even after she died long ago. Because of this, you have even broken ... how many of your own rules in you hatred of me? Your arrogance is your disgrace. Remember that when you pretend to be so righteous.' Without waiting for an answer, he turned around and walked back to his students who he had not permitted to feel his core. Out the corner of his eye, he watched Master Lan race from the arena almost to the point of running. Yet another rule you break old man.

XiChen watched his uncle almost stagger through the door into WangJi's room. 'Uncle, what's wrong?'

'I can not believe it ... he ... his golden core ...' he quickly sat on a cushion in wonder at what Wei Ying had managed to do.

'Uncle, what did he do?' He poured a cup of tea and only when his uncle sipped it, did he answer his question.

'He managed to grow that embarrassingly weak core of Young Master Mo's until it is now far stronger than the one he had before.'

'That is not possible. It ...'

'I know it is impossible, but he let me see his strength and it is ... incredible. When I asked him how he managed it he ...' Master Lan stopped as he felt his guilt wash over him. Wei Ying was right. He had been unable to forgive a long dead woman for not following his sect rules and being so full of energy and life ... apart from other reasons of equal .... He sighed.

'Did he tell you?'

'No, he asked why he would tell a man who could not give up his resentful feelings for his long dead mother and he said in doing that I have broken our own sect rules.'

'Uncle.'

'He's right. I have held this anger, pride and resentful feeling about his mother since she came here and still so many years after she died, I still hold it so close to my heart. However, some of the dislike I held for her ... is even worse than Wei Ying knows.'

'...' XiChen didn't know what to say.

'He is also right that I have broken our own rules when laying my feelings at his feet from the moment he arrived that first day. I could only ever see his mother in him and treated him like he would never amount to anything other than trouble for all those around him. I even threw that in his face that day we threw him away.' He sighed as he looked over to the bed WangJi lay in. 'It never occurred to me that my actions towards him were only possible .... if I break our own rules. The rules I am suppose to uphold as an example.'

That afternoon while Master Lan was still feeling the pain of the conversation that morning ... he and XiChen sent a junior to ask if Wei Ying would kindly go to the meeting room after his lesson ends.

The pair sat at the table and drank tea chatting about this and that until a dark shadow fell over them. They looked up to find Wei Ying standing there waiting.

'Please take a seat Wei WuXian.' XiChen motioned to the cushion and after a few tense moments he watched as Wei Ying finally sat down. 'Would you care for a tea?'

'No.'

The single word was as hard and cold as any he ever spoke these days.

'I'm sorry for calling you like this but I find that all of our teachers would like to talk about certain things after a time of teaching.'

'No.'

'Is there anything you would like to bring up at all ... it does not need to be about your lessons or students.'

'Anything you say?'

'Yes.' Master Lan looked at Wei Ying quickly in hope.

'Very well ... Master Lan ... don't you think it time you inform your leader the truth about the sect rules?'

'What?' they both said as one but Master Lan's voice showed his worry.

'The truth ... you are so into that kind of thing ... am I right?' Wei Ying watched the pair closely and waited.

'Yes.' Master Lan said in a soft unsure voice.

'Then ... try started with the missing kanji and why it was removed ... it was the beginning of most of it right?' When the elder just sat there with his head bowed, Wei Ying spoke directly to the leader with no emotion showing in his voice. 'You had a second uncle ... did you know that Sect Leader? It all goes back to him ... and his death.'