Wen Reian

2019 years after The Long Night

Xi Qiáng Forest

Wen Reian couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very wrong. A’Jun was sitting beside him, poking at the fire they’d built with a stick, but all Reian could do was hold his breath and stare impassively across the flames at where the two strangers sat.

The boy still held his head in a daze, peeking up every now and then at Song-jun, which in and of itself made Reian a little on edge-

Keep staring at her kid, I dare you!

Though, Reian would rather contend with foolish teens than the man with the tattoos…

Lan Kai-Le. That was his name. He’d gotten that much out of him at least. The boy, A’Qin, seemed to be his disciple, except Reian didn’t get the sense that Lan Kai-Le was a cultivator. Definitely not one who practiced correctly at least…

The two had a similar air as the bandits. Ruffians, hooligans. They likely wandered, and Reian kept waiting for one of them to bring up some sort of payment for their gracious rescue.

That’s all they want, surely. Lan Kai-Le probably just wants enough to keep a roof over their heads for the time being. Unless they live here, in the forest?!

Wen Reian’s concerns and musings were cut short by Song-jun’s sweet laugh, the Princess enjoying making sparks fly up out of the crackling fire. So much like Yi-jun, so innocent. Despite himself, Reian smiled, missing the rest of his family deeply… especially Xie Yi-jun.

It’s only been two days. You’re too needy-

“Uncle?”

Reian blinked. A’Jun was staring at him expectantly.

“Yes? Sorry, did you say something?”

The girl pouted, then repeated her question; “Have you ever been to Xibù Shataar?”

Wen Reian was on edge speaking in mixed company, but A’Jun’s wide eyes and smile made his heart soften and ease. The healer shook his head lightly.

“No. Never, but from what I understand it really is a sight to behold. You’re very lucky to be going,”

The Princess grinned, then Reian felt a chill on the back of his neck once more as Lan Kai-Le’s voice rumbled across the flames-

“Your business there?”

Reian couldn’t tell if he was just a man of few words or if he lacked some higher education. Either way, his response was just as clipped.

“Sorry, confidential.”

It really wasn’t. Reian just didn’t want to reveal any more about themselves than necessary, especially to Lan Kai-Le, who was beginning to feel to Reian as if he was some sort of apparition.

He sat straight up, barely moving, never blinking. Wen Reian could hardly see the movement of his chest as he breathed in. For all of these reasons and more, he didn’t trust the man.

“Uncle…” A’Jun hissed.

Reian gave her a look and she pouted.

With a nervous sigh, the healer prepared for bed; rolling up his cloak for Song-jun to use as a pillow and carefully folding a blanket over her while the girl gazed at the dying embers of the fire.

With night settling in around them, Reian was painfully aware of every minuscule movement of Lan Kai-Le and A’Qin, as the young boy drifted off to sleep against the trunk of a tree, and his Master did the same.

Wen Reian did not sleep. He couldn’t…

The longer he thought about the company, the longer he thought about the man with the golden eyes and no aura, and the more the healer worried. Pretty soon, there wasn’t even a wink in sight for Wen Reian and before he was able to calm down, the sun was already rising. He’d spent the whole night keeping watch, making sure Lan Kai-Le didn’t do anything, and that A'Jun was safe.

Just for now, until we part ways with them… I won’t have to worry so much once we’re in Xibù Shataar, she’ll be alright when we get there-

Reian startled when he caught sight of Lan Kai-Le watching him once again, still not moving and seeming as if he was trying to stare through Reian to see what was on the other side.

Minutes passed like that, dawn breaking around the campsite, until finally the dark man moved. He reached up ever so carefully to tug at one of his thin braids, and Reian peered closer when he noticed all the beads again, trinkets, coins woven into Kai-Le’s auburn-colored hair…

I’ve never seen anyone like him before. Perhaps that’s why he scares me? How ridiculous, Wen Reian. No, no it must also be because of his wrongness. His emptiness, the way I can literally feel myself falling into his hollow eyes-

When Xie Yi-jun had been suppressing his soul, Reian could still tell that the man experienced his emotions. The difference was that Yi-jun had kept all his suffering within, a poison that eventually grew too dangerous and strong to be contained. It had hurt him, it was painful. Lan Kai-Le’s soul, if it existed, was not harming him. Or at least, it didn’t seem to be.

Yi-jun’s powers had been weakened. Kai-Le’s abilities, at least the ones Reian had seen, were stable. Nowhere inside this stranger were frantic, chaotic emotions, if any emotions at all. The only thing Reian could deduce from what little he knew of the man was; either he was born this way. Empty, no visible aura to speak of which means he is all but inhuman, or his soul has been suppressed like this for so long that he’s become used to it, that darkness stitching itself into the very essence of his being.

Reian didn’t much like either scenario.

After gently waking Song-jun, and making sure A’Qin stayed far enough away from her for his own sanity, Wen Reian chatted with his niece while he braced himself against anything Lan Kai-Le’s unpredictable aura might do...

“It’s kind of sweet, don’t you think?” A’Jun mused, playing with a long walking stick she’d found, as Reian watched Kai-Le out of the corner of his eye.

“What is?”

The Princess smirked, “Father gave his King’s Mark to you all those years ago, and now I have one too! We match-”

Reian smiled at her, watching as she gestured to the sigil on her shoulder...

Several years ago, Xie Yi-jun gave Reian a priceless gift. His one and only King’s Mark, which is a powerful spell that all King’s of Hêi’àn City receive once they are of age.

A’Jun was referring to the fact that recently, on her sixteenth birthday, Jin Songcai had finally been allowed to give her his King’s Mark.

It was more than a symbol of power and status. It enhanced your cultivation, strengthened your mind, body and soul. It was a protection against evil, demonic possession, and would heal its owner’s body on the brink of death. Not to mention, the fact that whomever it was originally intended for, would be able to feel exactly where their mark was, anywhere in the world, forever.

This tied Yi-jun to Reian, and A’Jun to Songcai in a way no one else could ever understand. The two Kings of Hêi’àn City were selfless people. And because of that, they’d given what equated to an extra life away, to the one they cherished most.

Reian felt his mark upon his wrist, a gentle hum, that was his tether back home. Back to Yi-jun, Songcai, and the city he was gradually falling out of love with.

What a horrible, cruel thing. To once have been at home somewhere, to feel wanted. Needed, even. But to be unsatisfied. It tortured Reian day and night, like a splinter in his mind, a weight pressing upon his chest that was stuffed full of guilt and self-resentment.

He didn’t know why he’d stopped loving being a healer, why it had become unsatisfying, or why his home no longer felt like where he belonged. He only hoped that perhaps along this journey with Song-jun, he could take a breath of fresh air and be reminded about what really matters.

That is, if he isn’t stabbed in the back with a spear before then...