Wei Ying opens his eyes. He can see the ceiling of his room. His vision is blurry. He tries to move his hands and they move. He sits up. He sees that his chest has been loosely covered and is not completely exposed anymore.
He doesn't understand if what he just went through was a dream or was Lan Zhan.. his closest friend...his soulmate actually trying to rape and kill him a few minutes ago. 'Was it really Lan Zhan... he looked like Lan Zhan but he didn't feel like Lan Zhan at all.'

He looks around the room and spots Lan Zhan.
Lan Zhan is holding his headband and is looking at it. Lan Zhan's body is shaking slightly. His hand, as he ties the headband around his forehead is trembling.
Wei Ying looks on as Lan Zhan picks up Bichen and looks at it.
Wei Ying hears Lan Zhan speaking. But it's not clear. But he can feel sadness in those barely audible words. The only words he can hear clearly are "Forgive me Wei Ying."

Wei Ying's mind starts to clear up. Fear grips his heart as he sees Lan Zhan unsheathe Bichen and puts it on his throat.
Wei Ying hears Lan Zhan mutter "Sorry...Wei Ying."

'Nooooooo Lan Zhan.' Wei Ying's mind screams out loud and without a seconds delay Wei Ying throws himself towards his friend and with both hands stops Bichen from moving.
"Lan Zhan!  What are you doing? " Wei Ying yells.

"Let go Wei Ying. Don't touch me." Lan Zhan says. His voice is devoid of any emotion.

"Lan Zhan. Put it down." Wei Ying yells again trying to pull Bichen towards him.

"Wei Ying. I said let go." Lan Zhan says still not looking at his friend and with other hand pushes him away.
Wei Ying realizes that Lan Zhan has used his spiritual force to push him away and he gets angry....very angry.

He stands up and roars ,"How dare you Hanguang Jun!"
The room visibly shakes as black smoke starts to surround Wei Ying. His eyes turn red.
The feel of the room changes and Lan Zhan snaps out of his daze.
He looks at Wei Ying.

"How dare you push me away? How dare you ignore my words? Hanguang Jun You Promised. You promised to stay. You promised me... 'Anything' .
Is this how you keep your promises?  Do your words mean nothing! "
Wei Ying's words are clear and sharp.

Lan Zhan's face which had till that time been expressionless, changes.
He looks at Wei Ying. He really looks.

The words 'Anything... Anything means Anything' rush back to him.
He notices for the first time how he is holding Bichen to his throat.
He let's go of it like it has burnt him.
Bichen falls to the floor.

"Wei Ying. Stop. You are in no condition to do this." he yells looking at his friend who is surrounded by waves of black smoke. He remembers now what had happened.
"Wei Ying, sorry. Stop it. Focus. Please focus." Hanguang Jun begs.

"Hanguang Jun .... you think you can break your promise so casually?" Wei Ying's eyes turn cold as he adds, " A promise made to Yiling patriarch..Ha!". He steps further away from Lan Zhan and his body lifts up into the air.

"Wei Ying. I was wrong. I am not going to break my promise. Come back Wei Ying. I remember now. I promised. Anything. I am willing to do anything. Wei Ying.... come back to me." Lan Zhan begs. His eyes tear up. His hand reaches towards his friend.

Wei Ying searches Lan Zhan's eyes to see if he is lying. But he only sees truth reflected in Hanguang Jun's  clear eyes.
The black smoke starts to disappear and Wei Ying's body descends down slowly.

"Lan Zhan,... " Wei Ying says softly.
He sees that Lan Zhan's arms are outstretched.
"Wei Ying..." Lan Zhan says motioning  his friend to come to him.
Wei Ying stands rooted in the same place.
He is scared that if he moves, Lan Zhan may try to subdue him and proceed to harm himself.

Seeing hesitation in Wei Ying's eyes Lan Zhan understands what might be going through his friend's mind.
He walks towards Wei Ying and hugs him.
"I am not going anywhere. I don't know what came over me. I am sorry. Wei Ying....Please trust me." Lan Zhan says keeping Wei Ying in his embrace.

Wei Ying returns the hug and says,
"Lan Zhan, don't you ever do that again."

"Mn."

They stand holding each other for a few minutes. None of them wants to let go of the other.

That is when Wei Ying sees something move behind the bed. He breaks away from the embrace and grabs his flute.
As if on cue, Lan Zhan picks up Bichen and stands next to his friend to defend him if need be.
But before Wei Ying can start playing his flute, the window behind the bed opens and the shadow escapes.

Wei Ying looks at the open window and curses his unlucky stars and mutters under his breath, 'I just need a Fucking break damnit!... Is that too much to ask for.'

Then he faces Lan Zhan and says, " It's a dream demon."
When Lan Zhan doesn't say anything Wei Ying continues, "It's a type of spirit that can create realistic dreams. I will tell you more later. " he pauses and looks at Lan Zhan curiously.
"Lan Zhan, earlier when you asked me to sit next to you.." Wei Ying hesitates and continues, "what did you want to do?"

"Mn?"

"I mean...you did not want to do what you did right. You did not want to..." Wei Ying points to himself .

Lan Zhan understands what his friend is trying to ask, "No.. I would never." he says...tips of his ears turn pink and Wei Ying notices , 'Yep.... That's my Lan Zhan.' he thinks fondly.

"Lan Zhan, can you tell me what you remember doing?" Wei Ying asks and Lan Zhan tells him everything.

Lan Zhan tells him how the last thing he remembers is asking Wei Ying to sit next to him, he tells Wei Ying  about his hallucinations, about what he saw when his eyes opened, about how he was clutching the headband when his eyes opened, how the only thought he had, was to kill himself.

Wei Ying takes a deep breath and says,  "Lan Zhan, remember the story the midwife told us about what happened in Lotus Cove a few days ago? I am beginning to think that the story the midwife's friend told her was not just her way of seeking attention... Lan Zhan I think Lotus Cove is housing a dream demon."
Wei Ying pauses as if contemplating something and continues, "I think we may have to extend our stay at Lotus Cove ." he finishes. A dangerously mischievous smile plays on his lips.

"Lan Zhan, I hope you are up for another adventure." he says bumping Lan Zhan's shoulder with his.

Lan Zhan nods and stares at his friend's beautiful lips, 'When will I get used to his gorgeous smile' ,he thinks fondly.

There is a knock on the door and Wei Ying realises that his night robes have come loose. He picks up the discarded belt and hastily ties it around himself while Lan Zhan let's Yenay in.

"Master Wei, there are guards at the shrine today. They are not under my command. So I couldn't get rid of them. I am sorry. " Yenay says.

"Aunty, you said that it's possible for us to extend our stay here right?" Wei Ying asks.

"Yes. It's safe till A Cheng returns. So you can stay here for the time being." she informs them.

"Aunty, is there anyway we can be allowed to roam instead lotus cove freely during our stay?" Wei Ying asks, fully prepared to get a negative reply.

"There is a way... but.. I don't know if Hanguang Jun will be able to accept it." She says doubtfully.

"He will accept." Wei Ying says confidently.
And Hanguang Jun thinks how far he has come from the first time they had met in cloud reassess. 'Wei Ying practically owns me... When did that happen?' he asks himself.

Yenay says, "Tomorrow morning I will inform the household that the guests the the Clan leader had asked to prepare the room for had arrived late last night. I will then introduce you to them as cultivators from Nie sect. I will tell them you are here for some office business."

Wei Ying claps happily and says, "That's perfect aunty. Oh you can introduce as Nie Yuan and Nie Jingyi. So what is the problem you mentioned?"

"There is a small matter of accommodation....we are running short... I know Hanguang Jun's reputation of being alone. But I am sorry we can't spare any more rooms." she says fringing embarrassment.

"Aunty is that all? Well then that's not a problem at all." Wei Ying says happily and walks towards his friend ,he loops his hand around his friend's waist and pulls him towards himself and blurts out "Hanguang Jun will sleep with me."

Yenay doesn't get frazzled at all. She just smiles knowingly at Wei Ying and the looks at Lan Zhan and says, "I will leave you in Master Wei's care then....Hanguang Jun." she bows and walks out of the room.

As soon as Yenay leaves Lan Zhan removes himself from his friend's hold and steps away.

"Wei Ying." Lan Zhan says angrily.

Wei Ying laughs.
"Sorry Lan Er gege... I was just missing your angry face... I haven't seen it directed at me for so long." Wei Ying continues to laugh.

Hanguang Jun has had enough by then. He walks towards Wei Ying and cups his face with his palms. Wei Ying stops laughing immediately.
"Hanguang Jun.... What are.. " he says but Lan Zhan doesn't let him finish.
Lan Zhan brings their faces closer and deeply looking into Wei Ying's eyes his says in a deep voice, "Don't flirt with someone if you don't mean it... or else they may get wrong ideas. ..then you will be the one paying the price." he finishes and gives Wei Ying a heart stopping smirk.

{Note:- OK... So no one died, just like I promised.
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