The Dragon was Abandoned

"No."

"Yu Zhong, KaiJun has a point." Xie JingYi said, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched over the yard to the Wei household.

Yu Zhong and Wei KaiJun were supposed to be sharpening their sword-wielding skills, yet neither of the men concentrated on the task itself. It ended up as Wei KaiJun idly flailing his sword at Yu Zhong and the ox blocking the flimsy attacks with his blade.

"YaYun hasn't been himself ever since he returned from that place." KaiJun swung the sword forward, clashing against Yu Zhong's blade, sending sparks flying around them.

Yu Zhong pushed the monkey off like he weighed nothing. "Love changes a man."

"I doubt this is love. YaYun isn't the type to neglect his work, no matter what. With QingYu, he worked even harder, just so he could spend some time with the snake. Something is off." Zhi ChangNing stopped next to JingYi, a slight frown visible on her face. Her skin looked a little pale, and JingYi watched her with worry in his round eyes.

Out of all of them, ChangNing had taken the worst hit with the alcohol. She never drank, but this time, she had surprised them all by joining them at the table. While the rest woke up not long after KaiJun, ChangNing had been out cold until night fell. Yu Zhong had offered to carry her home, but the snakes didn't mind ChangNing staying in their care.

ChangNing had said nothing when she joined them this morning, and the guys had thought it best not to ask - until now.

"Are you ok, ChangChang?" JingYi finally asked. The two sparring men stopped to listen to her answer.

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?" A little colour returned to her cheeks despite ChangNing's stern expression.

"Ah, ChangChang," KaiJun said, smirking as he put his sword away. "We just feared the snakes might have fed on your life force."

"You look pale," said Yu Zhong.

"Are you feeling lightheaded? Weak?" JingYi eyed her from head to toe, as if scared she would faint on the spot.

"No, I'm fine." ChangNing wasn't lying, she was physically perfectly fine. But emotionally… confused.

"Oi oi oi, what is with the blushing?" KaiJun teased as he jumped the few stone steps up towards the main hall of his house, peering at ChangNing with twinkling eyes. "ChangChang, don't tell me you-"

ChangNing placed her palm over the monkey's mouth, shutting him up. "I'm not indecent like you, KaiJun. I didn't touch the snakes."

"I didn't even say anything yet," KaiJun grinned as he pulled her hand aside. "Does that mean you did something? That's why that is the first thing on your mind."

"You-!"

"Oh, that sister that got you into drinking yourself unconscious?" JingYi's worry faded from his smile's way.

"You guys," ChangNing gritted her teeth, her cheeks flaring a darker shade of crimson. "We have more important things to discuss here!"

"Oh, no, you ain't getting away from our interrogation that easily!" Wei KaiJun took hold of her shoulders and pushed her inside the main hall, making her take a seat by the table. "Spill."

"Nothing. Happened!" ChangNing never understood how she became friends with a bunch of nosy idiots! It was none of their business!

"We tell you everything about our adventures," KaiJun said, feigning hurt in his voice.

"I never asked for it."

"Man, you are no fun, ChangChang!"

"Never said I was." ChangNing was just glad they asked no more questions.

She had woken up before sunrise to find LiYue snoring softly in her arms. It would have been terrible to admit that she had freaked out over something as innocent as the two sharing a bed to sleep. ChangNing had run out of the White Lotus Hall with her shoes in her hands, leaving a dazed and sleepy LiYue behind.

How was she supposed to face LiYue after this? ChangNing hadn't even said anything to the snake, just ran off to the sunrise. Ah, how embarrassing!

"I think KaiJun is right." JingYi took a seat at the table and reached over to pour himself some tea. "We should consult XueYa over the issue with YaYun and the fox. If YaYun really is charmed, we have a problem."

"We are stealing from an emperor. That is a crime deserving of death." Yu Zhong sat down on the stool, the poor wood whining under his weight. "The Yu family has never had to witness such a disgrace."

"Eh, we didn't ask you to steal it," KaiJun said drily. He knew the ox was the hardest to coax, but man if he didn't want to smack some common sense into this woodblock now and then.

"Knowing and purposely covering up a crime is also punishable by death."

"Man, I feel sorry for your future wife and kids."

"Anyway," ChangNing cut in before she had monkey stew sitting next to her. "I think we should get those books to uncle WeiJie first before going to XueYa."

"ChangChang is right, even though XueYa would never hurt YaYun, we still can't predict what he is planning," Said JingYi. "Where is uncle WeiJie kept now?"

KaiJun's smile widened into a full-blown cheeky grin. "YaYun didn't specify where he should stay, so he is not far out of our reach."

-.-.-.-.-.

"He is staying at your house?" Yu Zhong's brow arched as KaiJun led them into one of the guest rooms in the back of his estate.

"Where else? He is my old man's best friend. Of course, he would stay with us."

"He hasn't tried to escape?" JingYi mused. Zhang WeiJie might have been once a peace-loving emperor, but after he left YaYun to tend to the throne alone at 16. Uncle WeiJie became an outcast, following XueYa wherever the sorcerer went, causing chaos along with the young sorcerer. It was a betrayal that YaYun till this day couldn't accept.

In the end, everybody YaYun had held close had left him behind.

"No, he has been enjoying his time here. The only thing he worries about is if XueYa is alright." KaiJun said as he halted before a door and pushed it open.

"Ah, KaiJun, you are making me sound bad in front of your friends." Uncle WeiJie was smiling from his little table. He was eating his simple meal as the guards flooded into his humble room.

"I'm not lying though, uncle WeiJie," KaiJun said as he sat down by the old man's side. "You abandoned YaYun for XueYa. He hasn't forgiven you yet."

"That child was always the clingy one," Uncle WeiJie shook his head. "I abandoned XueYa for years for him. Did he ever think about that?"

"XueYa had his father," Yu Zhong said as he pushed the door close behind him. "YaYun had no one besides you."

"Yes, his father..." Uncle WeiJie looked like he had consumed poison. "Let's not talk about the past we cannot change. What brings you all here?"

"It's about YaYun and XueYa." Said KaiJun.

Uncle WeiJie put his chopsticks down, sighing heavily. "Of course, it would be about the two. What now? Did they fight again?"

"You wish they were fighting, old man."