After two hours of intensive research into why Youn and Ali are in this incredibly deep sleep and just can't be woken up, Lan Zhan found the answer to the question of what happened, rather by accident. And the answer made them all laugh.

Because as it turned out, the two of them had accidentally consumed a very, very strong sleeping potion. Lan Zhan remembered that Youn and Ali complained of headaches. Since Youn learned from Lan Zhan how to make a medicine for pain from medicinal herbs, Lan Zhan left it to him to make the painkiller. After all, that was never a problem before.

But this time something went wrong. Because apparently Youn had mixed up one of the herbs and didn't notice. And so he wasn't cooking medicine for pain, but for difficulty falling asleep. "I suppose the two of them will sleep for about a day and a half to two days." Lan Zhan had said, explaining the timing by saying that Youn had made the medicine very strong.

"Alright. Then I suggest we set up camp for two days and then move on." Suggested Wei Ying.

"Waiting for two days would be Fatal. Then we're guaranteed to lose track of the Inquisitor." Replied Lan Xichen.

"Then I will stay here with the two of them. You don't need me anyway. And you can only get through the forest on horseback. The carriage is not made for these forest paths. I will, as soon as they wake up, look for a ship that can take us home." Said Wen Rouhan.

"That's a good idea. Anyway, a few days ago Youn had asked me if he and Ali could travel back home. I think the two of them would be very happy." Replied Lan Zhan.

"So I have to say goodbye to my Rouhan?" Yanara asked, playfully tearful.

"You can join us too my dear." Said Rouhan with a smile.

"I know. But I can't leave my brother alone. He will need my help. I'm sure we'll meet again soon, though. And if I miss you too much, I'll ask Wei Ying to bring me to you." She said and hugged Rouhan kissing him. The two walked a bit away from the others to have a brief moment to themselves.

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan packed their belongings and stowed them on the back of one of the horses. "We have four horses, but there are five of us. We should get another horse." Said Lan Zhan.

"I don't think that will be necessary. Your brother can share a horse with his boyfriend." Replied Wei Ying thoughtfully.

"Be honest. You don't think this is a good idea, do you?"

"What, exactly?"

"That we continue to pursue the inquisitor. You think it's too dangerous for us."

"True. But only in part. I'm more worried about your brother. He's obsessed with finding Inquisitor William. He sees only his target and is so fanatical that he no longer sees what is happening around him. He just wants to take revenge on him. But he is completely planless in this regard."

"I know, I noticed that too. He is tense and restless all the time. And even though he knows that Meng Yao was almost killed in the forest, he's determined to ride through it."

"We should really pay attention. He's absolutely willing to make sacrifices to achieve his goal."

"Yes we should. What do you think? Am I obsessed with revenge against the Inquisitor, too?"

"No, you're not. You're obsessed with something else."

"Oh yeah, about what?"

"You're obsessed with wanting to live a peaceful life. You're hunting the Inquisitor to punish him for what he did to you. To you and your friends from the village. And you hunt him to finally be able to close it. To be able to live in peace and without worries."

"You are right. I want a harmonious life. And I know that I already have it. With you and Youn and Ali I have my own family. And I enjoy it very much. But I know that I would enjoy it even more if I could finally have closure with the Inquisitor."

"I know that Lan Zhan."

"I hope my brother won't do anything stupid and let his hatred get the best of him."

"I hope so too. And Lan Zhan. There's one thing you should know. If he puts your life in danger, I won't hesitate and kill him!"

"What?"

"I won't let him put your life in danger with his obsession!"

Lan Zhan wrapped Wei Ying in his arms. "And I promise you that I myself stop him if his self-destructive actions get out of hand. Because I would never let anything happen to you either."

"We always look out for each other Lan Zhan."

"Right. Now come on, we should be on our way."

"Mhm. I love you Lan Zhan."

"And I love you my dear sweet Wei Ying." Replied Lan Zhan with a smile and kissed Wei Ying tenderly.

When the two arrived back at the carriage, they said goodbye to Wen Rouhan and the sleeping Youn and Ali. Then the five of them went on their way. However, it was not Lan Xichen and his Meng Yao who shared a horse, but Lan Zhan and Wei Ying. Lan Zhan whispered with a loving smile, "This way I have you close to me all the time. Just the way I like it best."

They rode into the forest. Lan Xichen in the very front and Lan Zhan with Wei Ying at the rear. Yanara would drop back now and then to ride beside the two and talk with them. On one of these occasions, as she rode beside them, she asked them, "Do you actually know where we are riding?"

"Through the forest and to the sea. As far as I know." Replied Wei Ying.

"That's the plan." Said Lan Zhan.

"But we'll take breaks too, right?" Asked Yanara.

"I'm sure we will. The forest is huge and I think at the latest when the sun has set, we will rest." Replied Lan Zhan.

"Okay. But I don't think your brother plans to take a break." She said.

"He has to. If only because of the horses. They're strong, but they still can't run non-stop day and night." Replied Lan Zhan.

"When the shit hits the fan, you force him to take a break via mind control." Said Wei Ying.

"That doesn't work on him. I tried something earlier and didn't get through to his mind. He's totally blocking." Explained.

"How can that be?" Lan Zhan asked, confused.

"This kind of thing always happens when someone is so focused on something that they don't notice anything else. Or just in other words, is so obsessed that everything else is blocked out." Explained Wei Ying.

"I will talk to him. But I'd better do it alone. I don't want it to seem like an intervention." Replied Lan Zhan.

"Okay, then do that." Said Wei Ying and promptly jumped from the horse to his sister's horse.

Lan Zhan shook his head in amusement. "Alright, I get the message. I'll talk to him right away." Lan Zhan rode forward to his brother, who stared straight ahead at the path, not even noticing for a moment that Lan Zhan was beside him. "Hey big brother. Can we talk?"

"Yeah sure. If we don't have to stop for that." Replied Lan Xichen.

"No, we don't have to."

"Okay. What do you want to talk to me about? I mean, actually, I already know."

"You do?"

"Yes. You think I'm too obsessed with getting revenge on the Inquisitor. You probably think I'm even obsessed with hunting him down. And you worry about yourselves and also about me and A-Yao."

"That's right."

"I really understand you guys. But I hope you guys will understand me too. Because I have no intention of slowing down in my pursuit of him."

"Can you explain to me why you're so extreme in your pursuit of him? I mean, I've been looking for him too since I was reborn as a vampire. But I'm not that extreme."

"You're not like that because you had help from the beginning. While he left you in the church back then, and Wen Rouhan found you there and helped you, the Inquisitor kept me as a prisoner. And that wasn't just a few days, weeks or months. He held me prisoner for 29 years!"

"Oh my God. Twenty-nine years?"

"Yes."

"How could you stand that? And why did he hold you captive for so long? How did you escape?"

"In the beginning it was hard. In the first few days he did experiments on me. He starved me and kept exposing me to the sun for hours. I just don't know why."

"Because his skin can't stand the sun. Wei Ying and I came up with that when we were researching the Inquisitor. Maybe he's looking for a way to make himself immune to the sun's rays. And the best way to do that is with vampires he's created."

"Yes, you're probably even right about that. Well, anyway, the experiments stopped after about two weeks. And suddenly he was in a great hurry to leave the country. Within only 5 days we had reached a port where he bought a ship and then went out to sea. For four and a half months we were on the high seas and I was even allowed to move freely on the ship. I had nowhere to go anyway. Finally we came to a small island that belonged to him. They took me and some other prisoners to a kind of dungeon. But we only stayed there for about a month. Because then they had found a use for us. We had to build houses and roads. Then we built a proper dock for up to four ships. After five years, I was transferred to the trading station. I had to help trade with other ships. I also had to help grow rice, vegetables and fruit, which was needed for trading."

"It sounds like you didn't have it only bad with him."

"True. I thought I was doing well at one point, too. True, I was angry at the Inquisitor and wanted to take revenge on him. But at the same time, I was glad to be in a community of vampires and to get my blood every day. Besides, I rarely saw the Inquisitor because he was always traveling."

"I see. So you focused on the positives."

"Right."

"And then?"

"Well, after I came to terms with it and saw the good side of my situation, I hoped it would continue. But then, after about 20 years, we all moved overnight to a larger island where we were forbidden to enter the other side. The area was well guarded, so none of us, except the soldiers, could enter the back side of the island. But as it always is, when something is forbidden, you want to know why all the more. I kept secretly looking for ways, but found none. The security was too good. And simply swimming around the island was not possible either. Finally, it should take 7 years until I finally got an opportunity to visit the backside of the island. The Inquisitor once again went away for an extended period of time, taking half of his soldiers with him. The most capable soldiers! Just a few days after the Inquisitor's departure, I managed to get to the back of the island. There were many shabby houses there. There were bars on the windows and the barred doors were locked with big heavy locks. A really disgusting stench came from the houses. I managed to open one of the locks and then I saw where our blood came from."

"From humans?"

"Yes, of slaves from all over the world. People were chained to the walls or hanging upside down from the ceiling. Dead decomposing bodies lay around on the floor. In the midst of them, babies and toddlers with bite wounds. The "blood bags" as the Inquisitor used to call the people were scared and wouldn't even run away when I freed them. They chained themselves back up! I could do nothing because they did not want my help. I could only watch helplessly as they became fewer and fewer. And then the inquisitor came back and he brought new slaves. I saw how he sucked the blood out of a maybe 2 year old girl and threw the lifeless body away like garbage. Then I saw him bring young girls of maybe 14, 15 or 16 years old to his house. He raped them and then killed them. From then on, my hatred for him grew immeasurably. But I knew that I could not just kill him. I was much too weak! So I first looked for a way to get away from the island and back home. And finally I managed to sneak on a trading ship and then escaped on the ship."

"And then you returned home, and since then you've done everything you can to get stronger and planned your revenge on him."

"Exactly. But my problem was that when I finally felt ready to face him, I couldn't find him. The island was deserted and I traveled the world for a long time looking for clues about the Inquisitor. Unable to find anything, I returned home and continued to train for my revenge. At the same time, I always hoped that you would come home."

"Good, now I understand you better. Still, I ask you not to do anything rash when we find him."

"Don't worry. I'm not stupid. I know I can't attack him until he's alone."

"All right. But it'll be dark soon and then we'll have to take a break. The horses need to rest and we should rest too. Even as immortal vampires we need breaks."

"Okay good. Then we'll ride on until dark and leave again at dawn."

"Alright, I agree." Said Lan Zhan and slowly dropped back down. Wei Ying jumped back on his horse and Lan Zhan told him what his brother had told him.