Yingyue wished Yuchen had not left her alone in the Pan Junjie's office. As she stood in the center of the room, waiting for the Sect leader to arrive, she could not help feeling a little agitated.
Taking a deep breath, she dug her nails into her palms and willed herself to relax. This was her friend's office, not a cell in the dungeon of a heartless man. Having reassured herself, she proceeded to turn around where she stood, keeping herself busy with the wall to wall murals. That was when her eyes fell on a depiction of the Rain of Blood that she had not paid attention to before. But now she could not take her eyes off it, because whoever had painted all that blood had really paid enough attention to detail.
Suddenly she was back in that cell, watching her blood pool on the floors, its haunting scent attacking her senses. Yingyue's head was spinning,bile climbing up her throat, tears burning her eyes as she struggled to breathe.
"A-Yue".
Junjie's voice came to her like one from some city far away. Her whole body was trembling.
"A-Yue".
A hand closed around her wrist, and Yingyue panicked, stumbling and crashing backwards into a shelf. The impact filled her vision with red spots,then he pulled her forward. She collided with his firm chest just as he wrapped his arms around her, shielding her from the rather large vase that she had accidentally unbalanced, which fell and shattered against his right shoulder.
"A-Yue"he called again, holding the trembling girl by her shoulders so he could look into her terrified eyes.
She started,then looked up at his face.
"Dage?"she whispered uncertainly.
"It's me. Don't be afraid, A-Yue. You're safe here".
Yingyue gulped,then nodded.
"Come, I'll find someone to take you to your room".
*
*
*
After watching her daughter until the girl vanished into the distance, Lanfen turned around and returned to her room, her heart heavy.
Once she was inside, she stumbled, gripping a chest of drawers for support. The weight in her chest was too much for her slender form, so much that she could not even cry.
Clapping both hands over her ears, she fell to her knees,then she was on her side, her hands clutching the yellow silk at her endowed bosom. A bitter taste was filling her mouth, and she squeezed her eyes shut as if to stop it. It hurt so much, she needed a remedy...
Pills.
That's right, her pills. Or rather, Zhipeng's pills, the ones she had made for him in the first year of their marriage. He had been suffering strange, hereditary panic attacks, but the pills had brought immediate, permanent relief.
They should be able to help her now.
With extreme difficulty, Lanfen crossed the room to Zhipeng's box of "personals" and threw it open. Her frenzied search was rewarded, and soon enough she was on the path to recovery. Only then did she stop to examine the mess she had made during the search,then sighed.
Zhipeng was even more obsessed with organisation than her, so she decided that it would be a good idea to empty the box before arranging its contents the way he had. However,as soon as she did, she spotted the box's false bottom. Lanfen had always been the curious type, so she did not even think too much about it before peeling away the extra layer of wood. What met her eyes were a lot of paper. Letters, actually, all contained in envelopes, all of which were unsealed, meaning that Zhipeng had read them already.
She picked one and drew out the ink-covered parchment without delay. The more she read, the wider her eyes got. By the time she was done with all the letters, she was filled with anger.
Zhipeng had been keeping contact with the Celestial Monk, but that she had no problem with. And she certainly could forgive him for doing so behind her back. But then, those two had actually been plotting to exorcise Huang Yichen's soul. Infact, this idea of sending Yingyue to the Mist Oasis was her Shizun's, and he was hoping to somehow bring the girl stealthily to Mount Tianshi, using his connection to the Pan clan. How dare they?
Did they have no sense? Didn't they know just how risky a procedure it would be to dig shards out of a person's core, much less pull out a dormant second soul?
The chances of it ending successfully with the victim alive was far less than twenty percent!
How dare they presume to do this behind her back? She had always known the sort of fanatic she married, but this was...
Lanfen exhaled as she continued packing up the box, her eyes going cold. She had had enough. A certain failure of a father was about to learn what happened to people who dared to threaten her daughter's safety.
*
*
*
"Uncle, what happened to her?".
For a while, Junjie did not respond, his eyes fixed on the documents he was pretending to sort. When it became clear that his nephew was not going anywhere, he sighed and looked up.
"It is supposed to be confidential information, Yuchen".
"Why is that?".
"You are not usually one to ask so many questions".
Of course, two questions could not be considered "so many" for normal people. But for Pan Yuchen, they were definitely too many.
"That is because XiuzhenWang-jun was involved".
As soon as the words left Pan Junjie's lips, he knew that he should not have said that.
Now, Yuchen was looking like he just might do anything to pry his uncle's lips open and get the rest of the information.
"Alright,then,"he replied"I suppose I should tell you anyway, since I'll be needing your help to handle her current situation. Why don't you take a seat?".
Yuchen obeyed promptly.
Junjie exhaled as if he did not know where to start, shifting the documents aside.
"She was tortured"he said bluntly.
He did not miss the slight twist in Yuchen's expression.
"Tortured?".
"Yes".
"By XiuzhenWang-jun?".
"Yes".
"Because of what happened at the new year party?".
"Yes".
Without even realizing he was doing it, Yuchen clenched his fist so tightly it very nearly bled.
Junjie's eyes flickered to the fist trembling with what was clearly rage,then back to Yuchen's expressionless face.
"I can't claim to know what you're thinking, but you should quickly get rid of any thoughts of retribution. Meng Lanfen has already left an unforgettable wound in the heart of the Wang sect, and if you do anything else, you will only end up making everything worse".
Reasonable words, but Yuchen was not feeling very reasonable at the moment. In fact, every reasonable bone in his body appeared to have fled. For the very first time in his life, he wanted badly to rip a person apart, preferably alive.
"Listen to me, Yuchen"Junjie insisted"if you truly feel truly grieved on A-Yue's behalf,then you should be thinking of how to help her".
That got his attention.
"How do I help her?"he asked.
The question seemed to please his uncle.
"The primary reason why she was sent to us is to ensure her safety. I have decided to entrust that responsibility to you".
"I will do my best".
"Good,"he seemed to muse a bit before adding "you will find that she is not the way you remember her. You must make sure not to put any sort of pressure on her. And ensure that you pay enough attention to her".
"Yes, uncle".
Junjie smiled,a rather sad expression that made Yuchen want to drop his gaze.
"We must help her, Yuchen. I know the kind of world we live in, but A-Yue did not deserve to be dragged into its cruelty. No matter what it takes,we must restore her happiness".
*
*
*
Lanfen was smiling as she poured fresh tea into both cups,then picked up hers and proceeded to blow on it, watching as Zhipeng sipped his.
"This brings back memories, doesn't it?"she asked.
"Hm?".
"I've always found it amazing how your tongue can handle even the most extreme temperatures. I might have envied you for that".
Zhipeng smiled indulgently.
"Was that what attracted you to me?"he teased.
"No. Not at all".
"Of course it couldn't have been. I had way too many charms when we were young".
"You did,"she blew on the steaming tea again,then looked out the window at her side, her gaze far away"and I liked them all. But there was only one that made me choose you".
Zhipeng barely heard her; he was so entranced by her side profile. Lanfen had always been a beauty, and only seemed to glow more the older she got, with her ageless face and irresistible figure. She turned back just in time to catch him watching her,then smiled again.
"Do you remember when we first met?"she asked"I believe I called you out for staring just like this".
"You didn't call me out,"he replied, eyes twinkling"you simply stared back like it was a challenge, and I lost in seconds".
"Wait, that was how it happened?".
She looked like she was going to giggle, and it made him happy, deliriously so. It had been so long since the last time they were like this with each other. He had been in love with her from the very moment he set his eyes on her at the Mist Oasis, and the day they got married, he had believed himself the happiest man in existence. And their marriage had indeed been happy, each day rosy and gossamer. That is, until a certain fateful day, after they had been married for a few years. Lanfen's attitude had changed without any warning, and since then it had been like walking on thorny eggshells.
If there was any good thing that had come out of their recent challenges with Yingyue, it was that Lanfen seemed to be letting him back into her heart. When was the last time she had looked at him with such a lovely, delighted smile? He had missed it, missed the way her eyes could literally seem to shine.
Zhipeng was just about to smile back when the cup suddenly fell from his hand, smashing on the floor as he clutched his throat in pain.
"Lanfen..."he choked.
But she was smiling brighter.
"Oh my,"she cooed"it's finally working".