Translated by K of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Wei WuXian sighed within his heart, Never mind about these further investigations and whatnot… I’m more worried about if being cut-sleeve is contagious through sacrificing one’s body!
As he thought, the fatigue of the past few days began to rise. Wei WuXian rubbed his temples. Lan WangJi, “You should rest.”
Wei WuXian, “Okay.” As he spoke, he sat onto the bed, kicked off his boots, and lay down, “HanGuang-Jun, you should also…” At this point, he discovered quite an awkward problem.
There was only one bed inside the room. If Lan WangJi was going to rest as well, he had to sleep on the same bed as him. Despite the number of times they’d slept on the same bed in the past couple of days, a lot of things had become delicate after Jiang Cheng’s words at the ancestral hall of Lotus Pier. Now, much less tell Lan WangJi to sleep on the same bed as him, he mulled things over for so long even when deciding how many rooms to take.
Lan WangJi, “There is no need.”
Wei WuXian somewhat propped up his body, “How could you do that? You’ve also been…” Just as he finished, he started to regret it. What if after he said so, Lan WangJi thought that with so much hassle, it was best if they had two rooms? Wouldn’t it be more awkward?
Lan WangJi, “I am fine. You can rest.”
Wei WuXian touched his chin, “… Oh. Then I’ll lie down for a bit. Wake me up at three.”
Seeing how Lan WangJi had already shut his eyes and begun to meditate, still seated at the table, Wei WuXian finally lay down again.
He lay on his arm and stared at the ceiling for some time, turning around for his back to face Lan WangJi. Even after a while, he was still wide-eyed, unable to fall asleep. He couldn’t help but become irritated.
Back when he was playing the madman, he said something like he could only sleep when he was beside Lan WangJi. Of course, all of that was nonsense. But ever since however long ago, the nonsense seemed to have become a reality. Wei WuXian thought, What should I do now? Don’t tell me from now on I really won’t be able to sleep in a bed that doesn’t have Lan Zhan in it?
After a long struggle, Wei WuXian finally managed to clamp his eyes shut.
Having slept hazily for who knew how long, when Wei WuXian woke up, the light had already disappeared from the window. It was probably past five already.
Wei WuXian sat up at once. A noise came from behind him. Turning around, he saw that Lan WangJi had just closed a book. Wei WuXian, “Lan Zhan, why didn’t you wake me up? Didn’t I say I’d get up at three?”
Lan WangJi, “Let both your mind and your body recover fully. Do not rush.”
Wei WuXian had been sleeping for almost half the day. Within the day, Lan WangJi had probably only gone downstairs and brought a book up here to read. He felt a bit sorry, so he hopped off the bed, “My apologies. I really slept too heavily. You should also lie down for a while.”
Lan WangJi, “There is no need.”
At this point, somebody knocked on the door. The owner’s voice came from outside, “Young Masters, I’ve brought dinner.”
Wei WuXian finally realized that it was seven already. Lan WangJi opened the door. Atop the tray that the owner brought up were a small pot of liquor and two dainty cups. She said as soon as she came in, “Huh, looks like you slept all the way ‘til now?”
Wei WuXian felt even more guilty, laughing drily. The owner put the tray on the table, “Young Masters, where are you from? If you’re visiting from elsewhere then it really is tiring. You can only keep on going after some proper rest, am I right?”
Wei WuXian replied without much thought, “We’re from Gusu.”
The owner, “Really! No wonder. I was thinking you two good-looking figures must’ve come from a watery and spiritual place like the Jiangnan* region, Young Masters.”
* Jiangnan (and places with lots of rivers and lakes in general) is known for good-looking people.
Lan WangJi seemed as if he heard nothing. Wei WuXian laughed, “I can’t compare to him. He’s much more handsome than I am.”
The owner had quite a good mouth. She grinned, “He’s handsome, you’re cute. It’s different, but both are pretty! Oh, right.” It was as though she recalled something, “If you’re here to visit, you can come check out the Guanyin Temple in our city.”
Wei WuXian was just about to ask her about the Temple when she coincidentally brought it up, “We went to the Temple in the day. You really don’t see many Guanyin temples in cities.”
The owner, “Yeah, I was surprised the first time I saw it too.”
Wei WuXian, “Ma’am, when did you come to Yunping City?”
The owner, “It’s been eight years or so.”
Wei WuXian, “The Temple’s been here since then? Have you ever heard why they built a temple in the city?”
The owner, “That I’m not so sure about. Anyways, the temple’s quite popular. In Yunping City, no matter what someone runs into, we’d all go there and pray for the Guanyin’s protection. I sometimes go there and light a few sticks of incense too.”
Wei WuXian asked, “Then why don’t you go find the cultivational sect that’s in charge of this region?”
He only remembered after he asked. Wasn’t the cultivational sect in charge of this region precisely the YunmengJiang Sect?
Yet, the owner curled her lips, “Go find them? How dare we?”
Wei WuXian, “Oh? Why not?”
The owner, “Young Masters, you’re not from Yunping City so you don’t know. The Jiang Sect is responsible for all of us along the Yunmeng area. The Sect Leader’s got quite a bad temper. It’s almost frightening. His subordinate’s said so a long time ago. Only one sect is in charge of such a large area. Each day, there are almost a hundred cases of small ghosts or other creatures pulling pranks on the living and all that. If every single small thing had to be dealt with immediately, would there be enough time and energy? Those that don’t kill anyone aren’t malign spirits, and we’re not supposed to disturb them with trivial matters that aren’t malign spirits.” She complained, “What is this supposed to mean? Wouldn’t it be too late if we waited until somebody’s died to find them?!”
In truth, to refuse to act unless it was a malign spirit was a silently agreed rule that all of the larger sects followed. Although ‘to be wherever the chaos is’ was praised by many, the only person who really followed this was Lan WangJi, the one beside him right now.
The owner continued, “On top of that, Lotus Pier is truly a scary place. How would anyone dare go there again?”
Wei WuXian moved his gaze from Lan WangJi’s calm face with a short pause of surprise, “Lotus Pier is scary? How could Lotus Pier be scary? You’ve been there?”
The owner, “I haven’t been there myself, but I know someone who went because his house was being badly haunted. But it was all bad luck. That Sect Leader Jiang was cracking a glowing whip right on the training field. The victim’s flesh and blood flew as high as his screams! A servant secretly informed him that the sect leader caught the wrong person again, that he hadn’t been in a great mood, and that he definitely shouldn’t be irritated in any way. He was so scared that he dropped off the gifts he brought and fled at once. He never dared visit again.”
Wei WuXian had long since heard of how Jiang Cheng had been searching for cultivators of the ghost path who seemed like they seized another’s body, taking all of them into Lotus Pier to be tortured and questioned. The owner’s friend probably just happened to have ran into him when he was letting off steam. It wasn’t hard to imagine how hideous Jiang Cheng would’ve looked, so no wonder a normal person would make a run for it.
The owner, “Also, I’ve heard of another person who was scared away.”
Wei WuXian, “Scared away by what?” It couldn’t have been when Jiang Cheng was whipping someone again, could it? Just how often did Jiang Cheng capture people and whip them?
The owner, “No, no. It was his misfortune. The person’s surname was Wen, and that Sect Leader Jiang’s archenemy happened to have the surname of Wen as well. He’s hating on everyone in this world whose surname is Wen. Whenever he sees one, he’d grind his teeth in hatred, wanting to skin them alive. How could he give a single friendly look to…”
Wei WuXian looked down and pinched the center of his brows. He didn’t say anything. The good thing was that he didn’t need to say anything. After rambling for so long, the owner was satisfied as well, “I’ve delayed your dinner with all this chatter, haven’t I? I’ll go down and disturb you no longer. Please tell me if there’s anything else you need.”
Wei WuXian thanked her and sent her off. He turned around, “Looks like what we’re looking for has to be over eight years old. Tomorrow, let’s ask a few locals who know the place well.”
Lan WangJi nodded slightly. Wei WuXian, “But we probably won’t be able to get anything either. Eight years, it’s too long. It’s enough to forget a lot of things.”
Just as he was about to pour the wine, he paused for a split second, warning himself immediately, If he doesn’t drink it, then let it go. If he drinks it, I’ll only ask a few things. I definitely won’t do anything else. I only have to know what he thinks. He won’t remember anything after he wakes up anyways… It won’t interfere with anything.
Only after such a promise did his hands steadily pour the cup full. As if nothing happened, he pushed it in front of Lan WangJi. He’d already been prepared for if Lan WangJi didn’t drink it, but perhaps because Lan WangJi’s mind was busy as well, he didn’t even look at it as he raised it and drank everything.
Wei WuXian placed his own cup near his lips, watching anything that happened over there, whether purposely or not. Yet, after just a tiny sip, he immediately choked, coughing for quite a while. He thought, The owner really is an honest person. I told her the stronger the better, and she really did get me such a strong one.
In reality, he’d been able to drain liquor ten times stronger than this. He only choked this time because he was absent-minded. He wiped the wine off his clothes. When he looked up again, just as expected, Lan WangJi was already in the zone.
This time, he fell asleep right on the sitting mat. He still sat properly. Apart from his closed eyes and chin pointing downward, his sitting pose was no different from the norm. Wei WuXian waved his hand a few times in front of his face. When there was no reaction, he was finally relieved. He reached out, gently lifted Lan WangJi’s chin, and whispered, “I’ve been holding it back all these days. HanGuang-Jun, you’re finally in my hands now.”
Asleep, Lan WangJi obediently lifted his chin. When the pair of eyes were open, the face looked quite indifferent, stern and distant, because of the light pupils and the cold gaze. But when the eyes were closed, the edges softened to form the jade statue of a young, handsome man. Its calm peace had to it an extreme magnetism. The more Wei WuXian looked, the more he was captivated. Holding his chin, he couldn’t help but drew nearer, all the way until their faces were almost a bit too close. Amid the cold sandalwood fragrance, he suddenly remembered where he was. He cursed in silence as he quickly drew his hand away. Lan WangJi’s head hung down again.
Wei WuXian’s heart throbbed almost madly. To calm himself, he rolled a couple of times on the ground before he leaped up. Telling himself to keep his head clear, he slowly slid back, sitting in front of Lan WangJi. He sat properly for a while, waiting for him to wake up, but he still couldn’t give up, this time poking his cheek. After a few pokes, he somehow realized he’d never seen how Lan WangJi looked when he was smiling, and so he pinched the corners of Lan WangJi’s lips and pulled them upward, wanting to see his smiling face. All of a sudden, he felt a small ache come from his finger. Lan WangJi had already opened his eyes. He was staring at him with cold eyes.
And one of Wei WuXian’s fingers was already caught within his mouth.