TFOD Chapter 19

Wei Wuxian bought a bunch of random things in Caiyi Town and brought them back to Cloud Recesses, only to have them completely snatched up by the other disciples. Because Lan Qiren had gone to Qinghe, there were no classes for a few days, and the young men played until they were dizzy. They all poured into Wei Wuxian’s and Jiang Cheng’s room to sleep on the floor, staying up all night eating, drinking, arm wrestling, throwing dice, and looking at picture books. One night, Wei Wuxian lost at dice and was sent over the wall to buy Emperor’s Smile. This time, everyone finally got their fill. Who knew that the next day, before dawn, the room was full of bodies sprawled across the floor like a scene of carnage, when someone suddenly opened the door.

The sound of the door opening startled a few people, and through sleepy eyes, they saw Lan Wangji standing at the door with an icy expression, which instantly sobered them up. Nie Huaisang frantically pushed Wei Wuxian, who was sleeping with his head down and his body up, saying, “Wei-xiong! Wei-xiong!”

Wei Wuxian was shoved a few times and asked groggily, “Who? Who else is coming?! Jiang Cheng? If you wanna fight, let’s fight, are you afraid?!”

Jiang Cheng had a headache from drinking too much last night, and was still lying on the ground with his eyes closed. He grabbed the first thing he felt and threw it towards the direction of Wei Wuxian’s voice, saying, “Shut up!”

The object hit Wei Wuxian in the chest, and pages flipped with a rustling sound. Nie Huaisang took a closer look and saw that Jiang Cheng had thrown one of his treasured, limited-edition erotic picture books at Wei Wuxian. He looked up again and saw Lan Wangji’s piercing gaze, and he almost coughed up his soul. Wei Wuxian mumbled a few words while holding the book, then fell asleep again. Lan Wangji strode into the room, grabbed him by the back of his collar, and dragged him out the door.

Wei Wuxian was dragged for a while, and after a moment of confusion, he finally woke up about halfway. He turned his head and asked, “Lan Zhan, what are you doing?”

Lan Wangji didn’t say a word, and just dragged him forward. Wei Wuxian woke up another bit, and the rest of the bodies on the floor gradually woke up as well. When Jiang Cheng saw that Wei Wuxian had been grabbed by Lan Wangji again, he rushed out and said, “What’s going on? What are you doing?”

Lan Wangji turned his head and said, word by word, “Receiving punishment.”

Jiang Cheng had been drunk and slow-witted, but now he remembered the mess in the room, and recalled that they had broken countless rules of Cloud Recesses last night, his expression stiffened.

Lan Wangji dragged Wei Wuxian to the front of the Gusu Lan Clan’s ancestral hall. Several senior disciples of the Lan Clan were already waiting there, a total of eight people. Four of them were holding extremely long sandalwood disciplinary rulers, covered in densely packed square characters, all with a cold and solemn look. When they saw Lan Wangji dragging someone over, two of them immediately stepped forward and firmly pinned Wei Wuxian down. Wei Wuxian was half-kneeling on the ground, unable to struggle, and said, “Lan Zhan, are you going to punish me?”

Lan Wangji stared at him coldly, not speaking.

Wei Wuxian said, “I’m not convinced.”

At this time, the young men, who had mostly woken up, also rushed over, but were blocked outside the ancestral hall, unable to enter. Each of them was scratching their ears and cheeks, and when they saw the disciplinary rulers, they were shocked. However, they saw Lan Wangji lift the hem of his white robe and kneel down next to Wei Wuxian.

Seeing this, Wei Wuxian was shocked and tried hard to get up, but Lan Wangji shouted, “Strike!”

Wei Wuxian was dumbfounded and quickly said, “Wait, wait, I’m convinced, I’m convinced Lan Zhan, I was wrong…ah!”

Both of them received over a hundred strikes on their palms, backs of their legs, and backs of their thighs with the disciplinary ruler. Lan Wangji didn’t need to be held down; he always kept his back straight, and knelt upright. Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, wailed and howled without any restraint. The disciples of the other clans who were watching felt pain on his behalf, their faces wrinkling. After finishing the punishment, Lan Wangji silently stood up, bowed to the disciples in the ancestral hall, and then walked out, not showing any signs of injury. Wei Wuxian was the complete opposite. After being carried out of the ancestral hall by Jiang Cheng, he continued to yell all the way. The young men swarmed around them and said, “Wei-xiong, what exactly happened?”

“Lan Zhan punished you, but why did he get punished along with you?”

Wei Wuxian lay on Jiang Cheng’s back and sighed deeply, “Alas! Miscalculation, miscalculation! It’s a long story!”

Jiang Cheng said, “Stop talking nonsense! What did you do?!”

Wei Wuxian said, “I didn’t do anything! Last night I lost at dice and went down the mountain to buy Emperor’s Smile, didn’t I?”

Jiang Cheng said, “…Don’t tell me you ran into him again.”

Wei Wuxian said, “You’re right. I don’t know what kind of luck it was, but when I was climbing back over the wall with the Emperor’s Smile, he caught me again. I suspect he’s really watching me every day, isn’t he?”

Jiang Cheng said, “You think everyone is as idle as you. Then what?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Then I still greeted him. I said, ‘Lan Zhan! What a coincidence, it’s you again!’ Of course, he ignored me again and just attacked. I said, hey, why are you doing this? He said that outsiders who repeatedly violate curfew have to receive punishment in the Lan Clan’s ancestral hall. I said, there are only the two of us here, if you don’t say anything and I don’t say anything, who will know if I violated the curfew or not? I promise there won’t be a next time, we’re so familiar, can’t you do me a favor?”

The others looked at him with a pathetic expression.

Wei Wuxian continued, “As a result, he said with a straight face that he wasn’t familiar with me, drew his sword and attacked, without any sentiment. So I had no choice but to put the Emperor’s Smile aside and spar with him. He used both fists and palms, chased me very closely, I couldn’t get rid of him! In the end, I was really impatient with his chasing, and I said, are you really not going to let go? Not going to let go?!

“He still said: ‘Receive punishment!'”

The young men were listening with their hearts in their throats. Wei Wuxian was talking animatedly, completely forgetting that he was still on Jiang Cheng’s back, and suddenly slapped Jiang Cheng’s shoulder, “I said: ‘Okay!’ Then I didn’t dodge anymore. I rushed forward and hugged him, and we fell together outside the wall of Cloud Recesses!”

“…”

Wei Wuxian said, “So the two of us fell together outside the boundary of Cloud Recesses! We fell so hard we saw stars.”

Nie Huaisang was already stunned: “…He didn’t break free from you?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Oh, he tried, but I locked him down with both my hands and feet, he couldn’t break free no matter what, and he couldn’t get up from on top of me. He was as stiff as a board. I said, how is it Lan Zhan? Now you’re also outside the boundary of Cloud Recesses, you and I have both broken curfew, you can’t be strict with others and lenient with yourself. If you punish me, you have to punish yourself too, treat us equally, how about that?”

Wei Wuxian said, “His face looked terrible after he got up. I sat beside him and said, don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. Only heaven, earth, you, and I know about this, and then he walked away without saying a word. Who knew he’d come up with this this morning… Jiang Cheng, walk slower, I’m about to fall off.”

Jiang Cheng not only wanted to throw him off, he simply wanted to smash his head on the ground to make a few holes. “I’m carrying you, and you’re still being picky!”

Wei Wuxian said, “It wasn’t me who asked you to carry me in the first place.”

Jiang Cheng was furious, “If I didn’t carry you, I bet you’d lie on their ancestral hall floor for a whole day and not get up. I can’t afford to be so shameless! Lan Wangji even received fifty more strikes than you, and he walked on his own. You dare act crippled like this. I don’t want to carry you anymore, hurry and get down!”

Wei Wuxian said, “I’m not getting down, I’m an injured person.”

The group of people pushed and shoved all the way on the white stone path, when they happened to encounter someone in white robes, with a book in hand, who stopped in surprise. Lan Xichen smiled and said, “What’s going on?”

Jiang Cheng was very embarrassed and didn’t know how to answer, but Nie Huaisang had already rushed to say, “Xichen-ge, Wei-xiong was punished with more than a hundred strikes, do you have any medicine for injuries?”

Lan Wangji was the one who administered the punishment in Cloud Recesses, plus Wei Wuxian had been constantly wailing in the middle of a crowd, it seemed like his injuries were extremely serious. Lan Xichen immediately came over and said, “Was it Wangji who punished him? Is Wei-gongzi unable to walk? What exactly happened?”

Jiang Cheng was naturally too embarrassed to say what Wei Wuxian had done. If they were counting it out, it was all of them who had egged Wei Wuxian on to buy wine, and they all deserved punishment, so he had to say vaguely, “It’s nothing, it’s nothing, it’s not that bad! He can walk. Wei Wuxian, why don’t you get down!”

Wei Wuxian said, “I can’t walk.” He held out his swollen and red palm, and complained to Lan Xichen, “Ze Wu-jun, your younger brother is really formidable.”

Lan Xichen examined his palm and said, “Ah, this punishment is indeed a bit harsh. I’m afraid it won’t subside for three or four days.”

Jiang Cheng didn’t know that the punishment had really been this harsh, and exclaimed, “What? It won’t subside for three or four days? His legs and back were also hit by the disciplinary ruler. How could Lan Wangji do this?!” He couldn’t help but feel a bit dissatisfied at the end of his sentence. Wei Wuxian secretly slapped him, and he finally reacted. Lan Xichen didn’t mind, and said with a smile, “But it doesn’t matter, you don’t need medicine. Wei-gongzi, I’ll tell you a way, you’ll be fine in a few hours.”

Later that night, in Cloud Recesses, the cold spring.

Lan Wangji was immersed in the icy spring water, closing his eyes to rest, when suddenly a voice said by his ear, “Lan Zhan.”

“…”

Lan Wangji opened his eyes sharply. Sure enough, Wei Wuxian was lying on the blue stone by the cold spring, tilting his head and smiling at him.

Lan Wangji blurted out, “How did you get in?!”

Wei Wuxian slowly climbed up, and while undoing his belt, he said, “Ze Wu-jun let me in.”

Lan Wangji said, “What are you doing?”

Wei Wuxian used his feet to kick off his boots, while his clothes fell all over the ground. He said, “I’m already naked, what do you think I’m doing? It’s said that your family’s cold spring, in addition to its function of calming the mind and cultivating, also has the function of removing blood stasis and healing injuries, so your brother let me in to soak with you. But it’s not very fair that you came to heal by yourself. Whoa, it’s really cold, hiss–”

He went into the water and was sent rolling all over the pool by the icy cold water. Lan Wangji quickly moved away from him by a distance of a zhang, and said, “I came here to cultivate, not to heal wounds– don’t splash around!”

Wei Wuxian said, “But it’s so cold, so cold…”

This time, he wasn’t deliberately exaggerating to cause trouble. It was indeed difficult for outsiders to adapt to the Gusu Lan Clan’s cold spring in a short time. It felt as though if you stood still for a moment longer, your blood would freeze and your limbs would turn to ice. So he had to keep splashing to try and move around to warm up. Lan Wangji was originally properly calming his mind and cultivating, but he was splashed back and forth by Wei Wuxian, and splashed in the face with water. Water droplets slid down his long eyelashes and black hair. Unable to bear it any longer, he said, “Don’t move!”

Saying that, he extended a palm and pressed it on Wei Wuxian’s shoulder.

Wei Wuxian immediately felt a warm current surge from the point where their bodies were touching, and he felt a little better, so he couldn’t help but move towards him. Lan Wangji was alert and said, “What are you doing?”

Wei Wuxian innocently said, “Nothing, it seems warmer on your side.”

Lan Wangji firmly pressed a palm between them, keeping a distance, and said sternly, “It’s not.”

Wei Wuxian had originally wanted to get closer to him to try and be friendly, but was rebuffed, so he wasn’t angry. He glanced at his palms and shoulders, and sure enough, the injuries had not disappeared. He truly wasn’t here to heal injuries. Wei Wuxian sincerely said, “Lan Zhan, I really admire you. You really punished yourself along with me when you said you would, without any favoritism, and I have nothing to say.”

Lan Wangji closed his eyes again, and was silent and composed.

Wei Wuxian continued, “Really, I’ve never seen anyone as serious and principled as you, I definitely couldn’t do what you do. You’re amazing.”

Lan Wangji still ignored him.

After Wei Wuxian was no longer cold, he started swimming around in the cold spring. After a while, he couldn’t help but swim to Lan Wangji and said, “Lan Zhan, did you not realize what I was doing just now?”

Lan Wangji said, “I don’t know.”

Wei Wuxian said, “You don’t even know that? I was praising you, I was trying to be friendly.”

Lan Wangji looked at him and said, “What do you want to do?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Lan Zhan, how about we become friends? We’re so familiar now.”

Lan Wangji said, “Not familiar.”

Wei Wuxian slapped the water and said, “It’s no fun when you’re like this. Really. Being friends with me, there are many benefits.”

Lan Wangji said, “Such as?”

Wei Wuxian swam to the edge of the pool, leaned against the blue stone, with his arms on the stone, and said, “I’m always very loyal to my friends. For example, if I get a new erotic picture, I’ll definitely show it to you first… hey, hey, come back! It’s okay if you don’t want to see it. Have you been to Yunmeng? Yunmeng is very fun, and the things in Yunmeng are very delicious. I don’t know if it’s a problem with Gusu or with Cloud Recesses, but your food is too terrible. If you come to Lotus Pier to play, you can eat a lot of good food. I’ll take you to pick lotus pods and water caltrops, Lan Zhan, are you coming?”

Lan Wangji said, “I’m not going.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Don’t always start your sentences with ‘no,’ it sounds so cold. Girls won’t like it if they hear that. The girls in Yunmeng are also especially beautiful, they’re different from the beauties in Gusu,” he winked his left eye at Lan Wangji and said triumphantly, “Really not coming?”

Lan Wangji paused for a moment, and still said, “No…”

Wei Wuxian said, “If you reject me like this, without giving me any face, aren’t you afraid that I’ll take your clothes when I leave?”

Lan Wangji said, “Get out!!!”

After Lan Qiren returned to Gusu from Qinghe, he didn’t make Wei Wuxian go to the library pavilion to copy the Lan Clan’s rules again, but instead he scolded him in front of everyone. Apart from the quoting from the classics, simplifying it, the meaning was roughly that he had never seen such a mischievous, shameless, and unscrupulous person. He told him to get lost, quickly get lost, the farther away the better. He was told not to get close to other students, and especially not to defile his prized student, Lan Wangji.

While he was scolding, Wei Wuxian listened with a grin on his face, not feeling embarrassed or angry in the slightest. As soon as Lan Qiren left, Wei Wuxian sat down and said to Jiang Cheng, “Now he wants me to get lost, isn’t it a bit late? I’ve already defiled his prized student, it’s too late!”

The water spirit in Caiyi Town brought a great deal of trouble to the Gusu Lan Clan. This thing couldn’t be eradicated, and the Lan Clan couldn’t drive it somewhere else like the Wen Clan did. The Lan Clan’s patriarch had been in seclusion for many years, and Lan Qiren was exhausting himself over this matter. The hours he spent lecturing were getting shorter and shorter, and Wei Wuxian spent more and more time wandering in the mountains.

This day, he was once again surrounded by seven or eight young men wanting to go out. They passed by the Lan Clan’s library pavilion, and looking up, he saw Lan Wangji sitting by the window alone through the overlapping magnolia branches.

Nie Huaisang wondered, “Is he looking at us? No, we weren’t making that much noise just now. Why is he looking at us with that expression?”

Wei Wuxian said, “He’s probably thinking about how to find our mistakes.”

Jiang Cheng said, “Wrong. Not ‘us,’ it’s ‘you.’ I think he’s only staring at you.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Heh. Just wait. See how I deal with him when I get back.”

Jiang Cheng said, “Don’t you think he’s boring, that he has no fun? Then you should provoke him less. You’re pulling the tiger’s whiskers, making trouble on the head of the Grand Duke Jupiter, seeking death every day.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Wrong. It’s precisely because a living person can be so boring that he’s so interesting.”

It was almost noon when they returned to Cloud Recesses. Lan Wangji sat upright by his desk, tidying up the stack of papers he had written. Suddenly, he heard a light knock on the window lattice. Looking up, he saw someone climbing in through the window.

Wei Wuxian had climbed up by climbing the magnolia tree outside the library pavilion, and with a flamboyant expression said, “Lan Zhan, I’m back! How was it? I haven’t copied any books for a few days, do you miss me?”

Lan Wangji was as still as an old monk in meditation, as if he saw nothing and treated everything as non-existent. He even continued to tidy up the mountain of books with a somewhat numb expression. Wei Wuxian deliberately misinterpreted his silence, “If you don’t say it, I know you must miss me, otherwise why were you looking at me from the window just now?”

Lan Wangji immediately looked at him, his eyes full of silent condemnation. Wei Wuxian sat on the window and said, “Look at you, you take the bait with just a couple of words. You’re so easy to catch. So lacking in composure.”

Lan Wangji said, “Get out.”

Wei Wuxian said, “I’m not getting out, are you going to throw me down?”

Looking at Lan Wangji’s face, Wei Wuxian suspected that if he said another word, Lan Wangji would really abandon his last shred of self-restraint and nail him to the windowsill, so he quickly said, “Don’t be so scary! I’m here to give you a gift to apologize.”

Without a second thought, Lan Wangji immediately refused, “I don’t want it.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Really don’t want it?” Seeing a hint of wariness in Lan Wangji’s eyes, he pulled out two rabbits from his arms like a magic trick. He held them by their ears, like holding two round and plump snowballs. The snowballs were still kicking their legs randomly. He held them up in front of Lan Wangji’s eyes, “It’s strange here. There are no mountain chickens, but there are a lot of wild rabbits. They’re not even afraid of people. How is it, are they fat? Do you want them?”

Lan Wangji looked at him coldly.

Wei Wuxian said, “Okay. If you don’t want them, I’ll give them to someone else. My mouth has been a little bland these days.”

Hearing the last sentence, Lan Wangji said, “Stop.”

Wei Wuxian spread his hands, “I didn’t leave.”

Lan Wangji said, “Who are you going to give them to?”

Wei Wuxian said, “I’ll give them to whoever can roast rabbit meat well.”

Lan Wangji said, “Killing is prohibited within the borders of Cloud Recesses. That’s the third rule on the disciplinary plaque.”

Wei Wuxian said, “That’s fine. I’ll go down the mountain and kill them outside the boundary, then bring them back up to roast. Since you don’t want them, why are you so concerned?”

“…” Lan Wangji said, word by word, “Give them to me.”

Wei Wuxian sat on the windowsill and chuckled, “So you want them now? Look at you, always like this.”

The two rabbits were both fat and round, like two fluffy snowballs. One had dead-fish eyes and lay on the ground slowly, not moving for a long time, chewing on leaves. Its pink three-lobed mouth moved with deliberation. The other seemed to have swallowed a cricket-fighting pill, and kept jumping and bouncing non-stop. It climbed on its companion, rolled around, twisted and bounced, never stopping for a moment. Wei Wuxian threw some leaves he had picked up somewhere. Suddenly, he said, “Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan!”

The lively rabbit had stepped on Lan Wangji’s inkstone and left a black ink footprint on the desk. Lan Wangji didn’t know what to do. He had picked up a sheet of paper and was seriously thinking about how to wipe it off. He originally didn’t want to pay attention to him, but when he heard his tone was unusual, he thought something had happened and asked, “What is it?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Look at them lying on top of each other, are they…?”

Lan Wangji said, “Both of those are male!”

Wei Wuxian said, “Male? How strange.” He picked them up by the ears and took a look, confirming it, “They really are male. Male is male, I haven’t finished what I was going to say, why are you so harsh? What were you thinking about? Speaking of which, these two were caught by me, and I didn’t even notice if they were male or female. You even looked at their…”

Lan Wangji finally threw him down from the library pavilion.

Wei Wuxian said in mid-air, “Hahahaha hahahaha hahahaha!”

With a “bang,” Lan Wangji slammed the window shut and fell back to his desk.

He glanced at the mess of paper and ink footprints on the ground, and at the two white rabbits rolling around with leaves. He closed his eyes and covered his ears.

The swaying magnolia branches were shut out of the window, but no matter how much he resisted, Wei Wuxian’s joyful and unrestrained laughter couldn’t be shut out.

The next day, Lan Wangji finally stopped coming to class.

Wei Wuxian’s seat changed three times. He had originally sat with Jiang Cheng, but Jiang Cheng took his studies seriously. In order to perform well and bring honor to the Yunmeng Jiang Clan, he sat in the first row. This position was too eye-catching, and didn’t allow Wei Wuxian to mess around, so he abandoned Jiang Cheng and sat behind Lan Wangji. When Lan Qiren was lecturing, Lan Wangji would sit straight as a steel wall, and he would either sleep soundly or doodle in the back. Except for the occasional paper ball that he threw at someone else being intercepted by Lan Wangji’s hand, it could be said to be a good position. But later Lan Qiren realized the trickery in this, and switched their positions. From then on, as long as Wei Wuxian’s posture was even slightly improper, he would feel two cold and sharp gazes piercing his back. Lan Qiren would also glare at him fiercely. He was being monitored by an old and a young person in front and behind at all times, which was extremely unpleasant. After the erotic picture incident and the double rabbit incident, Lan Qiren determined that Wei Wuxian was a black dye pot, and that his prized student would be defiled by him, so he hurried to tell Lan Wangji not to come again. So Wei Wuxian returned to his old place, and they finally got along peacefully for about half a month.

Unfortunately, for a person like Wei Wuxian, this good time would not last long.

Within Cloud Recesses, there was a long, latticed window wall. Every seven steps, there was a hollow, carved window on the wall. The carvings were all different, some with mountains and a qin, some with swords flying through the air, and some with the slaying of demonic beasts. Lan Qiren explained that each window on the latticed wall was carved with a scene from the life of an ancestor of the Gusu Lan Clan. The four oldest and most famous windows depicted four scenes from the life of Lan An, the founding ancestor of the Lan Clan.

This ancestor was born in a temple and grew up listening to the sounds of the Buddhist chanting. He had great intelligence and talent, and was a famous monk from a young age. At the age of twenty, he took the “Lan” from “Galan” as his surname, and left monastic life to become a musician. On his path to seek immortality, he met the “one destined by the heavens” in Gusu. He became her cultivation partner, and together they established the Lan Clan’s foundation. After his immortal partner died, he returned to the temple, bringing his life to an end. These four windows were respectively “Galan,” “Learning Music,” “Cultivation Partner,” and “Returning to Silence.”

It was rare that Lan Qiren talked about something interesting, even though he turned it into a dry timeline. Wei Wuxian, however, was finally drawn in. After class, he said with a smile, “So, the Lan Clan’s ancestor was a monk, that explains a lot. He entered the mortal world for one person, and when that person left, he also left, not leaving anything behind. But how could such a figure give birth to such an unromantic descendant?”

The others were also surprised, they never expected that the Lan Clan, known for being rigid, would have such an ancestor. They all began to discuss it. While discussing it, the topic shifted to the “cultivation partner,” and they began to share the ideal partners in their hearts, and comment on the well-known female cultivators of the various clans. At this time, someone asked, “Zixuan-xiong, which female cultivator do you think is the best?”

When Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng heard this, they looked towards a young man in the front row at the orchid room at the same time.

This young man had arrogant and handsome features, with a vermilion mark on his forehead. His collar, cuffs, and belt were embroidered with golden stars and snow-white peonies. He was Jin Zixuan, the young master of the Lanling Jin Clan who had been sent to Gusu to be educated.

Another person said, “Don’t ask Zixuan-xiong this, he already has a fiancée, he’ll definitely say it’s his fiancée.”

Hearing the words “fiancée,” Jin Zixuan’s lips seemed to curl, showing a bit of displeasure. The disciple who had asked the question didn’t notice his facial expression and happily continued to ask, “Really? Which clan’s female cultivator is she? She must be incredibly talented and beautiful!”

Jin Zixuan raised his eyebrows and said, “There’s no need to mention it.”

Wei Wuxian suddenly said, “What do you mean by ‘no need to mention it’?”

Everyone in the orchid room looked at him in surprise. Usually Wei Wuxian was always smiling, and even when he was scolded and punished, he never got truly angry. But at this moment, there was an obvious hint of violence between his eyebrows. Jiang Cheng also didn’t scold Wei Wuxian for meddling in other people’s business like he usually did. He sat next to him with an extremely unpleasant expression.

Jin Zixuan said arrogantly, “‘There’s no need to mention it,’ are these four words hard to understand?”

Wei Wuxian sneered, “The words aren’t hard to understand, but why you’re so dissatisfied with my shijie is indeed hard to understand.”

The others whispered amongst themselves. After a few words, they finally understood what was happening. It turned out that those few words had unintentionally poked a hornet’s nest. Jin Zixuan’s fiancée was none other than Jiang Yanli of the Yunmeng Jiang Clan.

Jiang Yanli was the eldest daughter of Jiang Fengmian and Jiang Cheng’s elder sister. She was not one to compete, had no striking beauty; her speech was calm, without any memorable flair. She was above average in appearance, and her talent was not exceptional. Among the beautiful female cultivators of various clans, she was inevitably a bit dim. And her fiancé, Jin Zixuan, was the opposite. He was the only son of Jin Guangshan’s wife, with a handsome face and remarkable talent. If they talked about Jiang Yanli’s own conditions, according to common sense, she was indeed not a good match for him. She didn’t even have the qualifications to compete with other female cultivators from noble clans. The reason why Jiang Yanli was betrothed to Jin Zixuan was because her mother was from the Meishan Yu Clan, and the Meishan Yu Clan and Jin Zixuan’s mother’s clan were allies. The two ladies grew up together and had a good relationship.

The Jin Clan had a proud family style. Jin Zixuan inherited this completely. He had very high standards, and had long been dissatisfied with this marriage. Not only was he dissatisfied with the person, he was even more dissatisfied with his mother deciding his marriage without his consent, which made him even more rebellious. Today, he had taken the opportunity to vent. Jin Zixuan retorted, “Why don’t you ask me, what is there about her that makes me satisfied?”

Jiang Cheng suddenly stood up.

Wei Wuxian pushed him back, and blocked him. He sneered, “What makes you think you’re so satisfying? Where did you get the confidence to be so picky!”

Because of this marriage, Jin Zixuan had a bad impression of the Yunmeng Jiang Clan. He had long been unable to stand Wei Wuxian’s conduct. Moreover, he considered himself unmatched among the younger generation and had never been looked down upon like this. His blood was rushing to his head. He blurted out, “If she’s not satisfied, tell her to break this engagement! In any case, I don’t care about your precious shijie, if you want her, go ask her father! Isn’t he treating you better than his own son?”

Hearing the last sentence, Jiang Cheng’s gaze sharpened. Wei Wuxian became enraged, flew forward, and punched him. Although Jin Zixuan was prepared, he did not expect that his attack would be so fast. He was punched before he could finish his words, and half of his face went numb. He did not say a word, and immediately fought back.

This fight alarmed the two major clans. Jiang Fengmian and Jin Guangshan came to Gusu from Yunmeng and Lanling on the same day.

The two clan leaders looked at the two people kneeling in punishment, and after being scolded by Lan Qiren, they both wiped their sweat and exchanged some polite words. Jiang Fengmian then proposed the idea of dissolving the engagement.

He said to Jin Guangshan, “This engagement was originally something that A-Li’s mother insisted on, I didn’t agree with it. Looking at it now, neither side is very happy, it’s better not to force it.”

Jin Guangshan was shocked and hesitated slightly. In any case, dissolving an engagement with another major clan was not a good thing. He said, “What do children know? They’re just messing around. Fengmian-xiong, you and I don’t need to pay attention to them.”

Jiang Fengmian said, “Jin-xiong, although we can arrange an engagement for them, we can’t fulfill the engagement for them. After all, it’s them who are going to spend the rest of their lives together in the future.”

This marriage was not what Jin Guangshan wanted in the first place. If he wanted to solidify his power through marriage with a noble family, the Yunmeng Jiang Clan was not the only option, nor the best option. It was just that he had never dared to go against Jin-furen. Since the Jiang Clan was the one who proactively proposed it, the Jin Clan was the man’s side, and did not have as many worries as the woman’s side, so why bother to entangle it. Besides, he knew that Jin Zixuan had always been dissatisfied with Jiang Yanli as his fiancée. After some consideration, Jin Guangshan bravely agreed.

At this time, Wei Wuxian still didn’t know what he had broken up with this fight. He was kneeling on the pebble path designated by Lan Qiren. Jiang Cheng walked over from afar, and sarcastically said, “You’re kneeling quite obediently.”

Wei Wuxian said gleefully, “I often kneel, you know that. But Jin Zixuan, that guy, definitely grew up pampered and has never knelt before. If he doesn’t kneel until he’s crying and wailing, I’m not surnamed Wei.”

Jiang Cheng looked down for a moment and said softly, “Father came.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Shijie didn’t come, did she?”

Jiang Cheng said, “What would she come for? To see how you embarrass her? If she came, wouldn’t she have come to accompany you and bring you medicine?”

Wei Wuxian sighed, “…It would have been good if shijie came. Luckily, you didn’t make a move.”

Jiang Cheng said, “I would have made a move. If it hadn’t been for you pushing me away, Jin Zixuan wouldn’t be able to show his other side of his face either.”

Wei Wuxian said, “It’s better not to. He’s even uglier when his face is asymmetrical now. I heard that this guy is like a peacock and is very attached to his face, I wonder what he thought after looking in the mirror? Hahahaha…” After laughing loudly for a while, Wei Wuxian said, “Actually, I should have let you make a move, and I’d stand by and watch. Then perhaps Jiang-shushu wouldn’t have come. But I couldn’t help myself!”

Jiang Cheng snorted and said softly, “You wish.”

Wei Wuxian’s words were just a casual remark, but the emotions in his heart were very complex. Because he knew very well that this wasn’t a lie.

Jiang Fengmian had never flown to another clan within a day because of anything he had done. No