It was a gloomy cloud-covered and bitterly cold night of the new year. The icy air smelled of snow and the thick clouds revealed that it would snow very soon. The old Chinese Junk, which had not served as a treasure ship for a long time and now only brought crew, merchandise and passengers safely from one port of the world to the next, rocked gently in the waves.

Shortly after midnight, of the all-American crew, usually only a helmsman and two other crew members, who had the so-called rat watch, were still on deck. The three men were wrapped in thick coats and yet were freezing horribly. One of the men rubbed his coat sleeves and whined, "Didn't the captain say that because of the cold, there should be a rotation every two hours?"

The helmsman puffed angrily, pulled on his tobacco pipe, and snapped at the man. "Shut the hell up! You better make sure we don't ram anything!"

The other man tugged his colleague along. "Leave Jones alone. He's in a particularly bad mood tonight."

"Why is that?"

"He had a fight with the captain because he wanted to know when he and the rest of us were finally going to get our hire. The captain got mad, threw $10 on the floor, and said that should be enough money for him to get drunk at the nearest whorehouse and have a whore spoil him all night long. And then Jones complained that the captain had bought a Chinese Junk instead of a good American ship. The captain then slammed his fist on his chin and threw him out."

"What's wrong with that old gal? I honestly really like the Junk. It's much more maneuverable, faster, and more modern than our ships. And her dress is especially beautiful." (Dress = outer walls of the ship)

"I know. I don't care what he has against our ship. The main thing is, she'll get us safely to the next port."

"Right." Replied the first man. Both men paused as another man came outside onto the deck.

"I hope it's all right if I'm out here for a bit?" Asked the man. The two men nodded and continued walking.

The man, who was none other than Wei Ying, smiled and watched the two men for a moment before stepping up to the railing and looking up at the cloudy night sky. Only a short moment later, someone snuggled up to Wei Ying's back and kissed his neck. It was Lan Zhan. "Well, is there anything to see?" He asked, covering Wei Ying's neck with kisses.

Wei Ying turned to him, pulled Lan Zhan to him, and kissed him so passionately that Lan Zhan had trouble not just grabbing him, ripping off his clothes, and greedily pouncing on him. He wished they were alone on the deck so he could do just that. How he wished he could enter Wei Ying now. "Better stop before we get caught." Wei Ying whispered in his ear.

"I don't want to stop. We haven't done it for days. I feel like my body is starving with desire for you."

"It's not my fault we can't do it. You insisted on taking Youn, Ali, and Wen Rouhan and bringing them with us. And unfortunately for us, there was only the large suite that the five of us now have to share. And you forbade me to use teleportation."

"You know very well why I wanted to take them with me. We hadn't been home in a year and I missed the two boys."

"Boys? They're men now."

"I know. But you know what I was trying to say."

"I get it. How long do you estimate this trip will take?"

"Maybe a few months. Or maybe a year."

"Do you really believe those rumors?"

"Yes. I mean, these rumors as you call them are information your brother Essam gathered while searching for my big brother. Surely he wouldn't have told us about it if he didn't think there was at least a little truth behind it."

"So you really believe that your brother, just like us, is tracking the Inquisitor?"

"Yes I do. Maybe right now, just like us, he's on his way to Greece on a ship. Or maybe he's already there. Because, unfortunately, the information was already 4 months old."

"If, then he surely arrived in Greece shortly after the Inquisitor. My brother said that your brother is close on his heels." Replied Wei Ying. Lan Zhan nodded, looked around, and kissed his Wei Ying with ardor and passion, making him willing to do anything Lan Zhan wanted, sink into Lan Zhan's arms and let him carry him below the deck.

Lan Zhan used his vampiric senses and looked for an empty cabin or chamber where he could carry Wei Ying and spend a few passionate hours with him. He quickly found a small chamber. There was no bed there, but they didn't need one. Because as soon as they were in the chamber and locked the door, they were only the breath of a second later in the temple on the bed of Wei Ying.

"Why did you bring us here? Time passes too quickly here." Whined Lan Zhan.

"My dearest, here we are really undisturbed and can do it anywhere. I don't want anyone to interrupt us."

"Ah, you are thinking along. So I forgive you for using teleportation. Well then, I'd better get started right away and make sure our annoying clothes don't interrupt us." Replied Lan Zhan, slipping off his clothes before undressing Wei Ying and carrying him to the temple bath where they began to make love in the warm clear water.

Lan Zhan loved these hours where he could just spend time with Wei Ying free from all thoughts and worries. These hours were important to him. And not only because he loves him and could unite his body with Wei Ying's and they could love each other without restraint and passionately. But also to show Wei Ying that he is more important to him than anything else.

Nothing was further from Lan Zhan's mind than to make his beloved Wei Ying feel less important than the search for the Inquisitor or his brother. He wanted Wei Ying to always know and feel that he was always Lan Zhan's first priority. And there had been a good reason for that.

It had only been three months since Lan Zhan's first real fight with Wei Ying. They had just returned to their region after a year of tracing the inquisitor's footsteps across the country and arrived at Lan Zhan's house, where they had been greeted stormily and overjoyed by Youn, Ali, and Wen Rouhan.

But instead of resting and spending time with everyone, Lan Zhan retreated to his study day and night, making maps of the areas they had sought after the Inquisitor. He wrote in his diary and already began to prepare for the next trip. He was so concentrated on his work that he did not even notice that Wei Ying had disappeared since their arrival at his house.

Although he still managed to talk to Youn and Ali and at least spend some time with them, his thoughts were always elsewhere. At one point, the two of them didn't even ask him if he wanted to spend time with them. They simply felt that he had set his priorities differently and even showed understanding.

It was only after almost 2 weeks, which had only seemed like two or three days to Lan Zhan, when Lan Zhan had once not fallen asleep in his study completely overtired and wanted to sleep in his bed, that he noticed Wei Ying's missing. He searched for him in the house and on the estate, but found that Wei Ying was not there.

Startled and confused, he tried to remember if Wei Ying had perhaps told him that he wanted to leave. But with the best will in the world, he could not remember. And then it struck him that he couldn't remember the last time he had even spoken to Wei Ying either. Almost horrified, he also realized that almost two weeks had passed since their arrival and he couldn't remember what he had done other than concentrate on his search.

Ashamed of his own behavior, Lan Zhan paced up and down the house all night, waiting for Youn and Ali to wake up. He wanted to ask them if they knew where Wei Ying was, and of course he wanted to apologize to them as well. And waiting for them to get up seemed like an eternity to him.

Finally, when Youn came out of his room, still quite sleepy, he was surprised to see the nervous-looking Lan Zhan standing in the parlor by the window. "Lan Zhan? You awake yet?"

Lan Zhan turned to him, walked up to him, hugged him and replied, "I haven't slept all night. I'm sorry I've been so absent. I wanted to apologize to you and Ali."

"Uh-huh, yeah so that's okay."

"No, it isn't. I should have made time for you guys. But I was so distracted that I don't even know where Wei Ying is now."

"You don't? He was going to visit Cheng and Yanli in Yunmeng, where they live. And then he was going to spend a few days at the temple with Essam."

"At the temple?"

"Mhm. I don't know if he was joking when he said it. But he meant that he and his brother might want to visit their father, too."

"His father? Mhhh. Did he say how long he was planning to stay away?"

"No. He just said you wouldn't notice if he wasn't around anyway. And that's true."

Ashamed and angry with himself, Lan Zhan tried to call out to Wei Ying in his mind. But unlike usual, this time he received no answer from his beloved. No matter how many times he called out to him. After the 10th attempt, he called out pleadingly for Wei Ying. "Please my dearest. Answer me. Please dearest, I am sorry. I miss you. I am begging you. Please, please answer me." He pleaded, tears welling in his eyes.

"What do you want?" Answered Wei Ying after what felt like an hour.

"My love. I am so incredibly sorry."

"Sorry for what? That you've ignored me for weeks? That you didn't even notice I was gone?"

"Yes. And when you come back to me, I'll apologize to you personally."

"Well, I don't know when that will be yet, or if I even want to come back."

"What!?" Roared Lan Zhan in his mind. "I know I messed up. But you're my husband! Your place is here by my side! Come back to me!" He demanded of Wei Ying. Lan Zhan was suddenly so angry that he ran out of the house and hit one of the cherry trees.

Lan Zhan had punched the tree trunk so hard that his wrists broke. He could literally hear his knuckles breaking. The skin on his knuckles was torn open. Small ugly wounds that bled profusely had appeared. But the pain he expected did not come. Instead, he stared at his bleeding hands, which now began to swell.

In his mind, he heard Wei Ying ask in shock, "What did you do?"

Lan Zhan did not answer, however, and continued to stare at his wounds, still waiting for the pain to set in. True, he is a vampire. But as such, he can definitely still feel pain. But why didn't he feel anything now? After all, he could also feel the burning and cramping pain in a heart. He hadn't even noticed that he had started to cry.

"Lan Zhan?!!! Can you hear me? What did you do?" Wei Ying asked again and this time he even sounded panicked.

Suddenly, the pain in Lan Zhan's heart became unbearable. He collapsed to his knees and clutched his chest with one hand while he, a vampire who does not depend on breathing, gasped for air and felt like suffocating. Gasping, he moaned the words to Wei Ying in his mind, "I love you." Then he lost consciousness.

When Lan Zhan regained consciousness, he was in his bed. His hands, now hurting like hell, were wrapped in thick bandages and his chest felt like an elephant was sitting on it. As he tried to sit up, the door to his bedroom almost flew open and Wei Ying came rushing in, pushing Lan Zhan back onto the bed.

"My Wei Ying. You're back." Lan Zhan whispered hoarsely.

Wei Ying glared at him angrily, slammed his fist against his upper left arm, and then broke down crying in Lan Zhan's arms. "I hate you!" Wei Ying sobbed, clinging even tighter to Lan Zhan.

Although his hands still hurt like hell, Lan Zhan wrapped his arms around Wei Ying and pulled him to his body. He held Wei Ying in his arms and struggled not to start crying himself. "I'm so sorry my dearest." He whispered into Wei Ying's ear.

Wei Ying raised his head and looked deeply into Lan Zhan's eyes. "For a terrible moment, I thought I had lost you."

"You will never lose me. Never!"

"Yes, I certainly will. As soon as you start your search again, you'll forget me and everything around you."

"No, I won't do that anymore. I will never forget you again. Especially not after I felt that pain when you said you didn't know if you were coming back."

"But that pain didn't come from that."

"Then from what?"

"Just like you forgot about me, or Youn and Ali, you even forgot about drinking blood. You were starving and your body wanted to put you in a coma."

"Bullshit. My heart felt like I had a heart attack."

"That was a panic attack and your starving body. I returned immediately and found you by the cherry trees. You were unconscious. Wen Rouhan brought blood outside and gave it to you with a spoon so you wouldn't fall into a coma."

"But if he gave me blood, why does everything still hurt?"

"Because it wasn't much blood." Said Wei Ying. He straightened up, bit his own wrist and then pressed it into Lan Zhan's mouth. The latter felt how his body began to regenerate after the first few drops. Cracking and crunching his bones healed and finally he could breathe freely again.

But as soon as Lan Zhan was well again, the two argued. This time, however, Wei Ying demanded that Lan Zhan rest a little longer and not rush off to follow up the next hint. Lan Zhan, however, was adamantly against it and did not want to wait another day. It was only Essam, who had suddenly appeared in the bedroom, that brought the two quarreling men to rest.

Essam explained to both of them that he had finally tracked down Lan Zhan's brother and that he had been chasing the Inquisitor for a few years and was always close on his heels. He also told them that the Inquisitor was on his way to Greece, as was Lan Zhan's brother. They had not had a hotter trail yet. And so, that same evening, they packed for the next trip. And this time Lan Zhan insisted on taking Youn, Ali and Wen Rouhan with him. Because no one knows how long this trip would take.