.
Yuxio has been having a crappy day. Her grandmaster has been avoiding her and in her world: a day spent without seeing his magnificent face is a day wasted. So far, this day has been a waste. She was sent to Cloud Recesses by Jiang Clan Leader to help heal Wuxian. So, she was basically needed one day a week while the rest she spent either training or stalking the golden-haired man. She sometimes enjoys the occasional pranks on his young disciples but Lan Clan members are so stiff and don't appreciate her humorous efforts.
She was on her way to see what Lan Ran was up to and hopefully fish out information about Wuxian's whereabouts. After all, Ran was his assistant and Yuxio couldn't wait one more day to see him during his healing session.
She stood in front of Ran's door, ready to knock on the door when she heard shouting from inside. For a Lan Clan member, this kind of behavior is considered unbecoming. She got curious and instead put her ear to the door and started listening.
Lan Ran was pacing like a caged cat. She couldn't believe how unlucky she was to be shackled to a man like the finder.
Ran took a deep breath then asked with a calm voice: "Tell me again in detail what happened."
Liwei sighs loudly: "I told you! Since I cannot leave Cloud Recesses until the elders are convinced that I will not just run away and abandon you, I sent a bunch of my followers to finish a job."
Ran: "This is the same job Zewu Jun and Treasure Wei asked you to complete the last time around."
Liwei nods: "Correct."
Ran pinches the space between her eyes in frustration: "Do you not trust your followers?"
Liwei shakes his head: "They're smart and I trained them well."
Ran sighs: "Is the mission hard and requires your expertise in some way?"
Liwei: "No.. not in particular.."
Ran throws her hands in the air in frustration: "THEN WHY? Why do you want to leave in a haste when your followers are more than capable of fulfilling the task by themselves? Do you know how much trouble we're both in? It might not matter to you but I was this close to being kicked out of Lan Clan because of the stunt we pulled!" She puts her fingers so close together to emphasize her point.
Ran sits down with a huff: "My parents and sister are all dead. The only family I have left is Hweiru. If I get kicked out of Lan Clan, I cannot see her freely or be involved in her life. I know you wish for nothing more than to leave, but this is my life. This is my home. We have to stay together or we will be forced to leave together."
Liwei groans: "I know that! I'm not as dumb as you claim me to be. The task Treasure Wei trusted me with was not trivial. Even if I trust my followers, they don't know the full picture. I was privy to the secrets of his visions and I'm unable to share it with them. They might not see what needs to be seen due to lack of information."
Ran closes her eyes in defeat: "So.. you either stay and save me or leave to save the future?"
Liwei moves closer to the distressed woman: "It's not an easy choice but a clear one."
Ran sighs: "I must have sinned gravely in my past lives.."
Liwei: "What if we appeal to the elders? Or Zewu Jun? He seems like a reasonable man who has influence around here."
Ran shakes her head: "They have so much on their plate. This is trivial to them."
Liwei was surprised by her comment: "You don't think that your future is worth fighting for?"
Ran glares at him: "I don't think my affairs are their problem. We were given a clear order. It's our choice to abide or disobey. It's not their job to rescue us."
Liwei stays silent as he watches Ran struggle with her fate. He moves closer and grabs her shoulders: "Even though it was not planned or desired, I am your legal husband. We are partners and our fate is intertwined. I will put this choice in your hands: Should I leave and see this task until the end or stay?"
Ran looks sadly at him: "Go. I will handle what comes from this and hopefully we survive long enough to plead our case."
Liwei nods and picks up his sword, heading towards the door. Before he can open it, it opens wide to reveal a fuming Yuxio: "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
She tackles him to the ground and rains one punch after another on the shocked man. He puts his hand up to protect his face as she viciously assaults him.
Liwei: "Who are you? What is happening? WHY?"
Yuxio kept punching: "HOW DARE YOU MAKE HER CHOOSE LIKE THAT!" She was so livid, it took Ran more time than necessary to calm her enough to get her off of the poor man.
They sat at the table as Liwei held a cloth to his bleeding nose and lips, while Yuxio glared daggers at him. They figured out that Yuxio was eavesdropping and were now stuck in an awkward silence, waiting for the discussion to start.
Liwei sighs: "This is none of your business."
Yuxio slams her hand on the table: "Who are you to determine what's my business and what isn't? Lan Ran is my friend and I sure as hell will not let a stranger ruin her future and reputation while he waltz around with no consequences!"
Liwei scoffs: "I'm not leaving for the heck of it! I HAVE A JOB!"
Yuxio leans over the table in fury: "YOU CAN SHOVE YOUR SORRY EXCUSES UP YOUR.."
Ran clears her throat to stop her rant and says calmly: "Yuxio, I appreciate your concern. This is a difficult matter but, like he said, it's a clear choice. If he can gather information about the evil man that assaulted Treasure Wei at the blessed well, then whatever price I must pay is worth it. We all have to sacrifice for the greater good."
Yuxio was taken back by her friend's dark look in life: "Are you being serious right now? Sacrifice for the greater good? What kind of bull-crap do they teach you here in Cloud Recesses? This is insane!"
Liwei was getting annoyed by this judgemental stranger: "Do you have a better solution? Another option? A way out? ANYTHING ELSE OTHER THAN SNARKY COMMENTS AND OBJECTIONS?"
Yuxio takes a deep breath and says calmly: "I actually do."
They were both shocked. Ran looked hopefully at her: "You do?"
Yuxio smirks at her: "Tell me where Treasure Wei is and I will tell you."
Liwei sits back in confusion: "Why do I feel like we're being blackmailed?"
Ran sighs loudly: "Because we are being blackmailed! She's Treasure Wei's number one stalker."
Liwei frowns: "Why is she still in Cloud Recesses?"
Ran groans: "She is also his senior disciple and we kinda need her.."
Liwei looks at the smug woman before him. She is the most confusing human being he has ever met. Ran stands up and walks towards the door: "Let's go, prevert."
Yuxion squeals with happiness and bounces behind the sullen woman. Liwei followed out of curiosity.
They walked in silence all the way to the Treasure Room. She led them inside and towards the underground room. That room was built for extreme experiments and was supposed to be warded. Wuxian's spiritual energy was sealed and he never had the chance to get that task done until today.
Ran knocks on the door and Keeper Daozi opens it. They bow to the keeper and step in to see Wuxian holding a big brush and painting the walls with wards while his son and Taiho follow him to activate them. They've been at it for hours while Keeper Daozi supervised the progress.
Wuxian turns to look at the newcomers: "Are you guys here to help?"
Ran looks sadly at him: "We had a problem and Yuxio refused to help us until we disclosed your location."
Wuxian glares at his disciple: "Stop blackmailing people! You're setting a bad example for my kids!"
Yuxio pouts: "I can't help it! I couldn't find you anywhere."
Wuxian sighs, puts the brush down and walks towards them: "What's the problem?"
They all answered at the same time, making him more confused. He puts his hand up and glares at Yuxio. She smiles: "The stupid man-child wants to leave and break the elder's command. He might get Ran kicked out of the clan just to find the weird dude without a face."
Wuxian frowns at her oddly clear summation and turns to Ran: "Why didn't you come to me for help?"
Ran smiles sadly at him: "I didn't want to burden you."
Wuxian: "I will be burdened when I have to search for another assistant that I can trust if they kick you out!"
Ran purses her lips and stays silent.
Wuxian turns to glare at Liwei: "You're the man in this relationship. You're supposed to be the support not the trouble maker. What's your excuse?"
Liwei sighs: "My followers need me to find clues so we can resume the search for this Biming character. We both know how important that is."
Wuxian stares at him for a few minutes, sizing him up: "I thought you were smart.."
Liwei looked offended: "I am smart!"
Wuxian chuckles then points at Yuxio: "If she had better solutions than both of you.. Believe me.. You are not as smart as you think you are."
Liwei: "I'm the only one who knows about the vision details per your request. My followers can only do so little with the information I'm allowed to share with them. I have to be with them to see the full picture!"
Wuxian turns to Taiho: "Taiho, go fetch Kaoji."
Taiho nods and hastily leaves to find the energetic boy.
Wuxian shares a knowing look with Yuxio. He knew that she was probably bluffing and brought them here so he can solve the problem: "I will send one of my boys with your followers. He might not be the strongest or the wisest but he is a very good observer and knows more about what's going on than you do. I was planning to groom him as a snitch so this will be an excellent practice for him too. Will that be good enough for you?"
Liwei was impressed: "Yeah! My followers know how to do their work, they only lack information."
Wuxian turns to glare at Ran: "Sister Ran, we are family now. You cannot keep acting like your problems are just your own. I share mine with you. The least you can do is share yours."
Ran hangs her head and whispers: "I will think more rationally next time. Thank you."
Wuxian looks between the newlyweds then whispers while walking back to resume his task: "Now I know how you two got married.."
Kaoji was excited to be picked for this important task. He always thought that Wuxian didn't think that much of his skills compared to the other disciples. Liwei arranged for one of the followers to escort him tomorrow to join the others outside of Cloud Recesses and resume their search for the faceless man.
.