Chapter 9
Realizations...
(A/N: Wanted to make some variations as I didn't want Wei Ying to know about Lan Zhan's feelings towards him...I thought of letting Wei Ying fall in love with Lan Zhan before coming to know that Lan Zhan has feelings for him too...)
Wei Ying and Lan Zhan arrived at Cloud recesses early morning...
They both were exhausted by the time they reached...
But the classes were about to start in half an hour or so...
Lan Zhan had sent message ahead of them to his brother about their arrival and both Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren were waiting for them...
They informed them about what had happened...
"Are you sure it will be safe at the place you put...?For all we know it could cause havoc everywhere with the amount of dark energies it gets to feed upon...We can't put people in risk to save ourselves..."
Lan Qiren said to them....
"If we can add onto the protection..."
"Old Master...knowing where it is can get you killed or can have worst stuff done to you at the hands of the wens...Being ignorant about the location is the only way you can save yourself, the clan and everyone else from falling victims to Wens machinations..."
Lan Qiren nodded his head sighing as he understood it all too well...
"Wanji...Wei Gunzi...You two continue to keep an eye on the situation...make sure everything is under control...but remember...don't be rash..."
Lan Xichen said with a soft smile...
"We will always be careful brother..."
Lan Zhan promised and Xichen nodded...
"Wei Gunzi...Wanji....You can rest for the day if you want..."
"Clan Leader Lan with all due respect...It will raise many questions if we do that...it's better if we don't bring much attention to ourself..."
Wei Ying said to Lan Xichen politely...
And in the end it was decided that they would attend the classes as decided...
Once the discussion was done patting on Lan Zhan's arms Wei Ying walked out after bidding good bye to Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen...
Lan Qiren went to his room...
Lan Xichen walked towards Lan Zhan who was staring at the path Wei Ying had exited...
"Wanji..."
Lan Xichen called...
"Brother..."
"Wanji...how is the injured baby bunny doing...?is it getting better...?"
Lan Xichen asked the least obvious question, considering the circumstances, about the baby rabbit Lan Zhan had rescued the day before from the clutches of some hunting dogs...
"Yes brother..."
Lan Zhan replied...
"Wanji...I have asked Shufus permission for you to keep it till it recovers..."
Lan Xichen said to him...
"I have also spoken to him about permitting the sect members to keep pets...so that you won't have to give him to someone who lives down the mountain when the little bunny recovers.."
He added...
"At this point I don't even care if he is not there with me in the future brother...All I hope and pray for is for him to be safe...happy...Even if he were to find his happiness with somebody else, I would be happy as long as he is alive..."
Lan Zhan said...
"Even if he is away from my sight...I will be content with the fact that he is there somewhere..."
He said emotionally...
"Wanji...?"
Lan Xichen called Lan Zhan...
"I didn't know you had gotten so attached to the bunny..."
He added...
But even as Lan Xichen said that he knew his little brother was talking about something else altogether...
Or a certain someone...
Xichen looked ahead and saw the closed door his brother was looking at and sighed...
"You don't have to worry...brother..."
Lan Zhan said to him...
Xichen smiled sadly looking at his brother...
"I never had to worry about you Wanji...You were always mature and dependable since childhood...Sometimes I even wonder if my expectations of you are two high..."
"Brother had a lot to worry about...I was just sharing the burden..."
"I'm so happy that you are friends with Wei Gunzi...Actually I think he is pretty good...He is intelligent, quick witted and has a vibrant personality..."
Lan Xichen said to his brother...
To his surprise he saw his little brother's expression change a little...And a tiny tiny smile started playing in his lips...
"Wanji...Master Wei is pretty good...isn't he...?I felt like he is your equal..."
Xichen added...
"Hmm..."
Lan Xichen smiled...
"Oh and Wanji...when you meet him after the ceremony, remind Wei Gunzi to take the medicinal concoction...it will help strengthen his dantians..."
He added before walking away with a smile...
******
"Wei Wuxian...wake up...we will get late to..."
Jiang Cheng said pounding on the door and trailed off as he found himself staring at a dressed up Wei Ying...
"Oh wait you already got ready to go to ceremony...?"
He asked him...
Wei Ying nodded as he closed the door behind him...
He and Lan Zhan had reached back in Cloud recesses in early morning...
Which meant he didn't have to worry about waking up late as he didn't sleep at all...
"Jiang Cheng...Do you want to become late on the first day...?"
Wei Ying turned to Jiang Cheng and said after the later stood open mouthed...
"Hold on...hold on...am I really seeing this...?Is this real...?or am I dreaming that "Wei Wuxian" got ready for ceremony early..."
"Get over it...Aren't you the one who drilled to my head over and over that we have follow those umpteen rules of Cloud recesses's wall of discipline, so as to not let our Sect down..."
Wei Ying said as he walked ahead...
"Well...I'm doing just that...So move your ass or we will be late..."
"A-Xian...A-Cheng..."
They heard and saw their sister Jiang Yanli walking towards them smiling...
"Shiji..."
Wei Ying ran to her...
Jiang Yanli patted on his cheeks lovingly...
"A-ji..."
Jiang Cheng called reaching her...
"A-Ji...Wei Wuxian woke up and got ready for ceremony early..."
He whispered to his sister while looking at Wei Ying suspiciously as if expecting some prank to come of it...
"Didn't you sleep well A-Xian...?"
Shiji asked worried running her hands through the dark circles under Wei Ying's eyes...
"I di..."
Wei Ying started to reply but was interrupted by Jiang Cheng...
"A-Ji...I caught him meditating..."
Jiang Cheng said pointing at Wei Ying accusingly...
"You are speaking as if you caught me doing something lik..."
Wei retorted, giving a stink eye to Jiang Cheng who coughed interrupting him and gestured at Jiang Yanli warning him not to continue...
Wei Ying sticked out his tongue at Jiang Cheng...
Shiji laughed cupping the cheeks of both her brothers...
Wei Ying hugged Jiang Yanli sideways adorable...
"My sweet Shiji.."
He said as he and Jiang Yanli walked towards the orchid room where the ceremony was to be held...
**********
"Propriety suggests reciprocity...it's impolite not to reciprocate..."
"Heaven, Earth and Nature...All differences are merged in one..."
"The Lan Clan upholds this belief...From the very beginning the rules are clearly defined..."
"To understand the fundamentals..To clarify by queries...To strive for strong persuasion... To study diligently...these four principles are the scholars commandments..."
A Lan Sect member read...
"We will obey teachers order..."
The students said bowing to their master 3 times...
"List of rules...Gusu Lan Clan has 3500+ house rules..."
"They are: No dishonest practices...Do not privately use concealed weapons...Do not accept disciples without careful screening..."
Lan Zhan turned to side to see Wei Ying struggling to keep his eyes open...
Though it warmed his heart seeing Wei Ying making an effort it also pained him...Because for somebody like Wei Ying, A life in Gusu Lan abiding by it's rules would truly be like being prison...no wonder he thought like that at that time...
"Avoid imparting knowledge to wrong individuals...No concealed sharp weapons...Change clothes after taking a bath..."
"Your forehead headband reminds you of self-restraint...You are not allowed to use other peoples headbands without authorization...You cannot use your headband in any other ways.. "
Through the corner of his eye Lan Zhan saw Wei Ying look at him thoughtfully...
Lan Zhan turned towards him and their eyes met...
Smiling Wei Ying shook his head before turning towards the dias...
Everything went back to normal and soon, like it happened before, during the recital the Goldfinch that Nie Huaisang chirped...
And he saw Wei Ying smile excitedly about it...
Lan Zhan didn't realize that he was staring until Wei Ying smiled apologetically probably for getting distracted...
The disciple kept reading the list of rules...
And before they knew it, it was time to bow to the teacher...Each of the clans presented the gifts they brought to the master one after the other and paid respects..
And as Jiang Cheng was about to bow to the teacher Wen Chao walked inside the orchid room...
Wei Ying and Lan Zhan's eyes met and they nodded at each other...
And like it happened in the past all the drama in the room went forward with taunts and mockings from Wen Chao...
This time Wei Ying controlled himself from getting angered and also from angering Wen Chao...
The last thing he wanted to do was draw attention to himself or his clan...Afterall he had seen in firsthand the slaughter that Wen clan brought on Yunmeng Jiang clan...
Jiang Cheng took a couple of steps forward ready to fight with this scoundrel who was looking down on Yunmeng Jiang Clan when Wei Ying held his hand stopping him and Jiang Yanli shook her head...
Jiang Cheng looked like he wanted to have a go but decided against his better judgment...
By then Lan Xichen stepped in...
"Young lord Wen...Today is the ceremonial day for taking new students here into Cloud recesses...May you conduct yourself well..."
Wen Qing stepped forward to pay her respects...
********
"It is so rare that Qishan's Wen Clan would send people here to study...and to top it off their second young master Wen Chao personally escorted them here..."
"They weren't here on diplomatic mission...that we can be sure..."
"That Wen Chao really is something huh..."
Wei Ying heard the disciples say as he, Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang made their way out of the orchid room after the ceremony was completed...
"So...what is your plan today...?Climbing trees...?hunting for roosters...?Catching fish...?"
Jiang Cheng asked him...
"Well i have not decided on anything...so for now, it is to annoy the crap outta you...my dear Jiang Cheng..."
Wei Ying said smirking...
As he was saying this, Wei Ying saw Lan Zhan from a distance and their eyes met...
They needed to evaluate the situation...
Wei Ying nodded...
"Gotta go..."
Wei Ying said after sometime and went after he saw Lan Zhan walk towards his room...
"Hey were are you going...?"
Jiang Cheng asked Wei Ying...
"Be right back..."
Wei Ying said to him before running off...
***
Wei Ying laid down on a sturdy branch of the tree outside Lan Zhan's room...
He wondered where Lan Zhan must have gone to...He should have already reached here by now...
"Wei Ying..."
He didn't know he had drifted off until he heard Lan Zhan's voice call him making him stir...
He had situated himself on an overhanging branch that was on the same height as that of Lan Zhan..So Lan Zhan's face was so close to his...
So close he could inhale the familiar scent of sandalwood of Lan Zhan...
And Wei Ying had a feeling of deja vu...
"Wei Ying..."
Lan Zhan called him softly...
Wei Ying kept his eyes closed trying to figure out why this was oddly familiar...
"Wei Ying...?"
He opened his eyes to look at Lan Zhan...
"Wei Ying...You really look tired...you should go to your room and get some sleep...I can keep an eye on the back of the mountains..."
Lan Zhan said to him...
He was about to step back when Wei Ying stopped him and leaned closer...
Close enough that he could feel Lan Zhan's breath on his skin...
"What is wrong Wei Ying...?"
Lan Zhan asked him worried...
And suddenly every mist that had clouded his thoughts started to clear out in his mind...
Pheonix mountain...
Wei Ying thought to himself as he leaned back in shock...
The sandalwood scent had felt so familiar because his mysterious kisser had the same scent...
He gasped...
"Wei Ying...what is wrong...?"
Lan Zhan asked him...
Was it Lan Zhan who kissed him...
Wei Ying thought to himself...
He felt an excitement course through him at the mere thought and touched his lips absently...
It sure is possible that someone else can have the same sandalwood scent...but the insane arm strength...and many other things...
Lan Zhan...?
His best friend Lan Zhan...?
Wei Ying thought to himself feeling giddy...
He couldn't help but smile...
"Wei Ying...?"
Lan Zhan called him again...
But then Wei Ying remembered something...
The sight of Lan Zhan swinging at the tree angrily, hitting it repeatedly with his fist....And he also remembered how Lan Zhan had snapped at him when he tried to talk to him and asked him to leave angrily...
Lan Zhan hated Wei Ying's guts back then...not to mention the fact that Lan Zhan was well Lan Zhan...The man was very devoid of worldly desires...He was a very restrained person...
Wei Ying would know, because the angry glare he used to receive when he tried to tease him was enough proof for that...
There was no way the mystery kisser was Lan Zhan...
And suddenly Wei Ying felt so dejected...
How can I even think that Lan Zhan of all people would have such...
Lan Zhan stepped closer to Wei Ying with concern...
Wei Ying stared at Lan Zhan his mind clouded by Lan Zhan's scent...drunk on his beautiful eyes...and his aluring lips...And he couldn't help but wonder how it would be like to kiss that lips...
"Wei Ying...are you ok...?"
Lan Zhan asked...
Realizing his trail of thoughts, Wei Ying slapped himself...
He felt ashamed to think that about Lan Zhan of all people...
"Wei Ying...are you ok...?"
Lan Zhan said worried...
No I'm not ok...
I think I am going cuckoo and need to get some sense knocked into me...
Wei Ying thought to himself exasperated as the scene in the Pheonix mountain kept replaying in his mind over an over...but this time his mystery kisser had the face of Lan Zhan...
I'll be damned...
He thought...
"Yes...yes I am fine...just...just tired...I think you are right Lan Zhan...I should go take rest..."
And then Wei Ying fled...
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