Lost of Oblivion: Chapter 13

After having such wish in his mind, Wèi WúXiàn could not help but cast a furtive look in Lán WàngJī’s direction.

At that precise moment, Lán WàngJī also looked at him, and his look seemed to asked Wèi WúXiàn if he had finished reading the books.

Wèi WúXiàn suppressed his thought, then asked, “Lán Zhàn, is there another set of the volumes coming up?”

“There is no more follow-up, because the story is finished.” replied Lán WàngJī, “Other volumes are in Jìngshì. The set of books that you just finished reading is the final one.”

“Lán Zhàn, you seem to know everything about this story.” he remarked.

“Because we also have a full version of the story that was previously published without illustration. So, I have read that version with you.” replied Lán WàngJī.

“Really?” exclaimed Wèi WúXiàn, while trying to control his heartbeat that had suddenly quickened, “Then, tell me which passage of the story I like the most.”

Lán WàngJī put aside WàngJī, walked and stood behind Wèi WúXiàn, leaned over him, and then, he opened the third book on a chapter named ‘Sailing In The Sea Of Ghosts’.

His voice was low and clear, echoing in Wèi WúXiàn’s ears, “Wèi Yīng, as far as I am concerned, you are my infinite view. Even when I am in peril, you always stay by my side. What is important in my eyes is you, not who are you.”

Wèi WúXiàn began to wonder, “It seems to me that I have heard Lán Zhàn’s voice uttering these very same words before.”

Then, he could no longer controlled his heartbeat, since his heart was now pounding as though it was about to burst out of his chest.

Lán WàngJī called out, “Wèi Yīng.”

Wèi WúXiàn turned his head towards Lán WàngJī, who was still leaning over him, and, immediately, he felt as if he was swallowed by his golden eyes flickering like a sea of starts. Moreover, it seemed like he had some difficulty in breathing properly.

“What?” he managed to ask.

“This is your most favourite passage of the story.” said Lán WàngJī.

“My what? Oh!” he then collected himself, “Yes, I like this passage the most, it’s my favourite.”

Wèi WúXiàn forced himself to calm down in order to conceal his palpitating heart from Lán WàngJī.

He then asked, “What happened afterwards?”

“Afterwards, they became a couple, and lived together for the rest of their lives.” replied Lán WàngJī.

“They became a couple?” exclaimed Wèi WúXiàn.

“Yes, they became a couple.” Lán WàngJī replied, “You don’t like it?”

“Come again?” he said.

“Does it displease you, the fact that two men became couple?” Lán WàngJī repeated the question.

“Why should I be displeased?” he replied, “As long as two people like each other, their gender does not matter at all.”

“Uh-huh.” agreed Lán WàngJī.

“Who exactly is Bai WuXiang?” asked Wèi WúXiàn, “Has he been defeated in the end?”

“You never like me to spoil the plot.” he replied, “Wait until we return in Jìngshì, so you can read it for yourself.”

“All right, then. I’ll read it when we get back home.” said Wèi WúXiàn.

Soon after, however, he asked yet another question, “Are they both safe and sound?”

Lán WàngJī wore a concerned expression, he replied, “After defeating Bai WuXiang, the main character’s magical power was exhausted, which caused his body to become transparent.”

Wèi WúXiàn was chocked.

“The character says to his partner:” said Lán WàngJī while sitting in front of Wèi WúXiàn and looking straight into his eyes, “I know everything about you; your bravery, your despair, your kindness, your pain, your grievance, your abhorrence, your cleverness and your foolishness.”

Lán WàngJī spoke very slow, however, Wèi WúXiàn’s heart was beating fast. Here we go again with the uncontrollable heartbeat.

“He knows everything about me?” wondered Wèi WúXiàn.

“Like the characters in the story,” he carried on, “I feel that I was completely defeated, a perfect failure covered with blood, rebuked and criticised by others, being extremely desperate and having no other choice but to cry.

“However, Lán Zhàn has the memories of these past twenty years. So, he knows everything that happened during these years, including everything about me.

“Had I once been in an unpleasant situation in which it was difficult to escape? In his eyes, how does Lán Zhàn see me?”

Then, all of a sudden, he asked, “Lán Zhàn, what do you know about me?”

Lán WàngJī was dumbfounded, he did not expect Wèi WúXiàn to ask him this question.

However, since the question had been asked, Lán WàngJī didn’t have other option but to give an answer. And, since Lán WàngJī had always kept something that was very painful for him, and very concerned about it, he could no longer keep it hidden deep down in his heart.

“I know that you gave away your golden core to Jiāng WǎnYín*.” he replied, “Wèi Yīng, was it painful when your golden core had been cut off?”

After asking this question, Lán WàngJī immediately regretted it, because he didn’t want to bring this awful memory to Wèi WúXiàn’s mind.

This time it was Wèi WúXiàn’s turn to be dumbfounded. He was in fact worried that he would learn something unbearable about himself. However, he did not expect that Lán WàngJī would be worried about his pain during the surgery.

He quickly collected himself, “You also know about that.” he calmly said, “ It didn’t hurt at all. I believe you have heard of Wēn Qíng*, the divine physician. She had made a very powerful anaesthetic.”

Lán WàngJī somehow expected this kind of answer. He abruptly stood up and went to stand by the window, facing outside while he remained silent. He didn’t want to let Wèi WúXiàn notice that he was upset.

“He said that it hadn’t hurt at all.” said Lán WàngJī inwardly, “While, in fact, it had hurt a lot. Even after all these years, he still doesn’t want to talk about it openly.”

Wèi WúXiàn felt uneasy as he noted that Lán WàngJī’s expression had changed. He walked up to him, and stood by his side.

With a timid smile, he said, “Lán Zhàn, you haven’t finished telling what happened to the characters in the story. You said that the main character’s body became transparent. Did he still live together with his partner?”

Lán WàngJī pulled himself together, then turned his head towards Wèi WúXiàn, while his eyes reflecting the outside scenery of the beautiful lake and mountains.

Back then, as a teenager, he had deeply fallen in love with him, and, ever since Wèi WúXiàn had become his obsession.

Looking into his eyes, Lán WàngJī said, “Wèi Yīng, although all good things must come to an end, I will never be parted from you.”

“`Huh?” Wèi WúXiàn was puzzled.

“The main character only departed for one year, and, afterwards, he returned to his partner’s side, because, before his departure, he said and swore to him: ‘Enjoyable experiences cannot last for ever, however, I will never be parted from you.’.” said Lán WàngJī while still looking at Wèi WúXiàn with his charming eyes.

Wèi WúXiàn felt as though Lán WàngJī was saying those words to him.

Then, like a flashback, it seemed to him that he was in Jìngshì under the warm light of a candle, and Lán WàngJī was reading this passage for you.

“This is really going to kill me.” said Wèi WúXiàn inwardly.

He could no longer resist, and, slowly, he moved closer and closer to Lán WàngJī, so close that he could see his own reflection in his golden eyes.

Suddenly, the boat shook violently, and Wèi WúXiàn lost his balance, and when he was about to fall backwards, Lán WàngJī caught him in the nick of time.

Outside of the cabin, they could hear the boatman shouting and cursing. Apparently, another boat accidentally bumped into theirs.

After he was done shouting to his counterpart, the boatman got closer to the cabin, and apologised to them.

Lán WàngJī opened the curtain and went outside. He seemed to have said to the boatman: “It doesn’t matter.” However, the sound of the water covered the rest of their conversation.

“Just now, was I about to kiss Lán Zhàn?” Wèi WúXiàn was in state of panic.

Soon after, Wèi WúXiàn remembered the strict curfew of Yúnshēn Bùzhīchù, and, not wanting Lán WàngJī to break the rules of his sect, he suggested that they should end their sightseeing and go back home.

On their way home, they saw a young girl selling flowers. On the petals of those vivid and colourful flowers, there were some tiny droplets of water, which enhanced flowers’ natural colours.

Moreover, one could smell a delicate fragrance coming from the basket that contained the flowers.

Wèi WúXiàn picked up some magnolia and acacia flowers, then he raised Lán WàngJī’s hand so to take out the purse from his sleeve. His way of doing so was so natural that one could see that it was not the first time that he performed this action.

Having the purse in his hand, Wèi WúXiàn then released that he had done something inappropriate. He blushed with embarrassment, and returned the purse in Lán WàngJī’s sleeve.

Lán WàngJī then took out the purse, and handed it to him, he said, “You can have it.”

At once, any trace of bashfulness disappeared from Wèi WúXiàn’s face, he paid for the flowers, then tied them into a bouquet.

The mix of the white magnolia with the red acacia was attractively pleasing to the eye.

“It’s for you.” Wèi WúXiàn gave the bouquet to Lán WàngJī.

Lán WàngJī took the bouquet, and, in a deep voice, he said, “Thanks.”

Wèi WúXiàn no longer bothered himself wondering why Lán WàngJī had changed to the point that he would easily accept something from him.

Deep down, he was in fact delighted that Lán WàngJī accepted the bouquet. As a result of being in a good mood, his way of walking became more lively.

He began to toss up Lán WàngJī’s purse into the air, while noting that the pale blue purse was kept with great care.

He also noticed that the purse was made with a high quality fabric, as well as was the white silk yarn used for the embroidery. However, the embroidered shape was curled into a white ball; it was hard to tell what it was.

“Lán Zhàn, what does this embroidered shape represent?” he asked.

“It is a curl cloud.” replied Lán WàngJī.

Wèi WúXiàn was agape, however, he praised the work despite himself, “It’s very unique, it has some feature and style. The person who made this purse has some skills.”

Lán WàngJī made no comment, he just smiled*.