Lan Zhan's POV

Location: Earth. 69th Dimension

My eyes stung till I couldn't keep them open any longer. "Kamloon!" I yelled, inhaling a lungful of smoke. It burned my throat like acid had been poured directly into it. It scalded my chest as it made its way to my chest, constricting it. Not one to display discomfort, I closed my eyes, ground my teeth, and stopped breathing till I heard the creature's now-familiar voice again, "I am sorry, Light-bearer. In all the excitement, I forgot you still have a few hours before we leave."

I opened my eyes with difficulty and glared at him.

"I apologized, didn't I?" It asked and floated closer. Its rancid breath hit me like a curse. I almost recoiled. "You may not return victorious, Light-bearer. I suggest you see your...Wei Ying off and take care of unfinished business. Your students don't know what has transpired here today, do they?" It suggested.

A soldier must always prepare for the worst. I nodded curtly and returned my attention to Wei Ying, confident that Kamloon would find me when it was time; the creature didn't offer anything more either and disappeared, unlike the last time, without flourish.

Wei Ying would have liked bantering with it. 'I want to figure it out, Lan Zhan.' he would have said; he loved to entertain, and thrived on it, my Wei Ying.

I sat in the open field, just him and I.

On the off chance of failure on my end, I couldn't let Wei Ying to fall prey to the dark arts. I had seen too many corpses manipulated and wasn't going let Wei Ying become one of them.

I needed to take him to Jiang Cheng. We were close to Yunmeng as is. "Wei Ying, would you like to see your brother? I hear Jin Ling is there too." The boy had a right to see his uncle off too.

I felt wetness on my cheek. The last time I had shed tears was when Wen Ning told me how Wei Ying had given up his golden core, the seat of a cultivator's energy, to Jiang Cheng.

"Why do the heavens always punish you, Wei Ying?" I lowered my eyes to the now-cold body in my arms and brought it to my heart.

"Masters!" Wen Ning called from somewhere behind me. It was the first time I had failed to notice his approach.

"Masters?" The Ghost General was in front of me a moment later. A heartbeat after, he was on his knees, bawling.

"Don't," I commanded, and he finally raised his eyes to meet mine. Once no more than a corpse, Wei Ying had returned his conscience to him. Despite knowing that demonic cultivation, even mastered, could turn on him any day and could take a toll on him, Wei Ying practiced it to help those in need.

'It's not what you have that defines you, but what you do with it that does, Shifu.' I recalled Wei Ying standing up to my uncle, our teacher, on his first day at our academy years ago. I was already in love with him then but wasn't in the know.

Wen Ning's kind, innocent eyes were bloodshot. He loved Wei Ying too. His love, unlike mine, was selfless and pure.

"Master?" He cocked his head, perhaps waiting for me to continue, only I was never much of a talker. Yet, there was something I needed him to do. Commands required words.

"There is something I need to do. I will be gone for a fortnight. There might still be a way to bring Wei Ying."

The simple-minded general blinked.

"If I don't return after that time, I might never return."

Retrieving a parchment and a quill from the front of my robes, I wrote a letter explaining the situation to Jiang Cheng. After Wen Ning and myself, Jiang Cheng was the only one I could trust to keep Wei Ying safe.

"Take this to Jiang Cheng." Handing the letter to the ghost general, I gestured to him to hold Wei Ying upright as I transferred my energy into his empty shell. Kamloon had not been forthcoming with information, so deciding to play it safe in case the creature required Wei Ying's body to return his soul, I needed Wei Ying's body ready to accept it.

With Wei Ying's body brimming with raw energy, I laid him down and wrote another letter. This one I addressed to my older brother, Lan XiChen. With my uncle passing away, the sect was now led by my brother. We had the best physicians in all the lands, of whom some even excelled in healing wounds on bodies that lacked souls. Describing the situation, I urged my brother to dispatch our best to Yunmeng.

"Wen Ning, after handing over Wei Ying to Jiang Cheng, go to Gusu, and give this," I passed on the second letter to him, "-to my brother."

The ghost general nodded.

"If my brother asks about me, tell him: I shall either return in two weeks or never."

"Where are you going, Master Lan?" He enquired, but I held my peace.

Wen Ning didn't ask again. He rose to his feet and informed. "Ah-Yuan...what should I tell him."

Ah! I had forgotten all about our adopted son. "Where is he?"

"Yunping."

"Bring Ah-Yuan here." Even though Kamloon hadn't said it explicitly, I had an inkling that if I failed, I wouldn't return to the mortal realm. "Fetch a carriage too. You will need it for the journey. Be discreet." I warn and send the devoted general off.

I reckoned it would take Wen Ning and Ah-Yuan at least two parts of the day to return, even if they made haste. Wanting not to stay in the open, where we could attract unwanted attention, I carried Wei Ying to the least damaged dwelling.

The suffocating smell of smoke had all but left the humble place. Crouching down to check for residual demonic aura, I backed up against a wall with Wei Ying cradled in my arms.

He is just tired. I told myself and patted his back like I used to. I recalled how even the minutest sound could wake him. He was never a sound sleeper, my Wei Ying.

I couldn't believe it was just this morning that Wei Ying had threatened to kiss me in front of our students. Shameless to the core, he was. And proud of it.

I closed my eyes again, lest they spill tears and disturb the sleeping one, and sought solace in the not-too-distant past.

I had just returned from Gusu. My brother had a proposition for us: marriage, but I wasn't sure if that was what Wei Ying wanted.

"Lan Zhan?" Wei Ying called from the kitchen of the minimalist cottage on the academy's premises we had been staying at for the past few weeks. He appeared in front of me moments later with nothing but his inner robes, as white as his formal ones were dark, and a wooden spatula coated in something green, slimy, and probably inedible. An excellent cultivator, Wei Ying couldn't cook to save his life. He didn't have to either, but he never stopped trying.

"Lan Zhan!" He chirped, donning a breathtaking smile and twinkling eyes; that's all it took to stir my heart. I didn't waste time closing the door and wrapped him in my arms. He returned the favor, and the next moment, I had rid him of everything but the spatula.

"Taste it, Lan Zhan." He whined as I pressed him into the sheets and went for his lips.

"No," I replied and captured his ruby wonders. I pried them open with persistence, and when he did, I tasted heaven. Wanting to reacquaint myself with all that was him, I ran my fingers over his front, pleasuring him as I went till he was the shade of ripe peach, ready for picking. Abandoning his lips, I got out of my robes and returned to his waiting arms. The spatula had eaten dust long ago. Neither of us cared.

"Lan Zhan, I have been waiting for you to fuck me all week long but be gentle, will you? My ass is out of practice." Wei Ying ran his vulgar mouth.

I grunted, grabbing the oils that had become an essential part of our lovemaking, and prepared him to receive me. I tuned out the profanities and sensuous moans dropping from his lips while doing so, lest I come undone untouched. I couldn't afford it. I wanted to make it last.

"Lan Zhan, what the fuck are you waiting for. Just take me. I promise I am ready." He begged, impaling himself on my fingers to prove his point, "Four is enough. Please." He pressed, looking at me with hooded eyes as he bit his lower lip.

Four would have to do. And it did, as I took the love of my life not once but twice.

With Wei Ying whispering 'vulgar nothings' in my ear, trying to get me excited for a third time, rhythmic breathing had barely returned to us when Ah-Yuan knocked on the door seeking an audience. He had walked in on us a few times while in compromising situations and thus now knew better.

There was a corpse infestation near Yunping and a similar one at Guagu in the far north. According to what Yuan had heard, the situation was worse in Guagu and needed more hands. It was further away too. I had suggested that Wei Ying take the ghost general along, but the self-sacrificing fool refused, citing that he could single-handedly deal with the undead in Yunping. After all, he was the master of demonic cultivation.

I shouldn't have agreed to let him go alone, it was making me restless, but Wei Ying promised me he wouldn't do anything risky.

He had broken his promise. He had never been good at keeping them. I should never have-

"Master," Wen Ning's voice brought me back to the painful present while I wished to drown myself in the past.

I glanced up and met my adoptive son's eyes. He was beside himself with grief. I always felt he loved Wei Ying more, even though I had brought him up. I didn't mind, for he owed his life to Wei Ying, just like Wen Ning did.

Ah-Yuan waited for my permission to step inside. He was as much a Lan as I was. He was my pride. Today, I had let my pride down too.

No words passed between us as he took his place opposite me and held his arms open.

My time to part with Wei Ying had come all too soon; I brought our foreheads together one last time and whispered, "I will see you again, Wei Ying. Wait for me."

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Chapter Word Count: 1825
Word Count so far: 8277

Second milestone reached!