TFOD Chapter 91

Lan Wangji used his right hand to pull him by the waist, bringing him onto Bichen. The two of them descended onto the fishing boat. Wei Wuxian’s figure swayed first, and Lan Wangji supported him. Only then did he ask, “What’s going on with Wen Ning? Didn’t you say you were just coming to take a look?”

Wen Ning said, “I’m sorry, Young Master, it’s my fault. I couldn’t help myself…”

Jin Ling turned his sword toward him and roared, “You don’t need to pretend to be sorry here!”

Wei Wuxian said, “Jin Ling, put your sword down first.”

Jin Ling said, “I won’t!”

Wei Wuxian was about to speak again when Jin Ling suddenly burst into tears.

This cry left everyone dumbfounded. Wei Wuxian took a step towards him, confused, and said, “This… what’s going on?”

Although Jin Ling was crying with a face full of tears, he still choked out loudly, “This is my father’s sword. I won’t let go!”

What he was tightly holding in his arms was Jin Zixuan’s sword, Suihua. This sword was the only thing his parents had left him.

At this moment, Jin Ling, who was crying loudly in front of everyone, made him seem like Jiang Yanli when she cried bitterly. Boys like Jin Ling, some were already married, and the older ones even had children. Crying was a very shameful thing for them. To cry loudly in public, how aggrieved must one feel?

For a moment, Wei Wuxian was at a loss. He looked at Lan Wangji, seemingly seeking help, but Lan Wangji was even more unlikely to know what to do. Just then, a voice came from the river, “A-Ling!”

Five or six large ships formed a circle around the fishing boat. Every ship was full of cultivators, and a sect leader stood at the bow of each. The Yunmeng Jiang Sect’s large ship was to the right of the small fishing boat, the closest, with a distance of no more than five zhang. The one who spoke just now was Jiang Cheng at the side of the ship. Jin Ling, with teary eyes, saw his uncle, immediately wiped his face haphazardly, sniffled, looked at this side, then that side, and with a bite of his lip flew over, landing next to Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng grabbed him and said, “What’s wrong with you? Who bullied you!”

Jin Ling rubbed his eyes hard, refusing to speak. Jiang Cheng raised his head, his cold gaze falling onto the fishing boat, the icy light in his eyes sweeping over Wen Ning. Just as he was about to focus on Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji intentionally took a step, precisely blocking Wei Wuxian’s figure. A sect leader said warily, “Wei Wuxian, what are you doing on that boat?”

His tone was suspicious, clearly thinking that Wei Wuxian was up to no good, which made people feel very uncomfortable. Ouyang Zizhen said, “Sect Leader Yao, why do you have to talk like that? If Senior Wei wanted to do something, I’m afraid everyone here wouldn’t be sitting safely on the boat right now.”

As soon as these words came out, many older cultivators felt a little embarrassed. Although it was the truth, no one wanted to hear it said so directly. Lan Sizhui immediately said, “Zizhen is right!” Several young cultivators also echoed in unison.

Jiang Cheng slightly turned his head and said, “Sect Leader Ouyang.”

The named Sect Leader Ouyang’s eyelids twitched with his heart. He only heard Jiang Cheng say coldly, “If I remember correctly, the one speaking is your son, right? He certainly is eloquent.”

Sect Leader Ouyang hurriedly said, “Zizhen! Come back, come here to your father!”

Ouyang Zizhen asked, puzzled, “Father, didn’t you tell me to come to this boat and not bother you?”

Sect Leader Ouyang wiped away his sweat and said, “Alright! Haven’t you shown off enough today? Come over here to me! “His town was stationed in Baling, and it was close to Yunmeng. He had no way to compare with the Jiang clan’s power. He didn’t want to be resented by Jiang Cheng because his son spoke up for Wei Wuxian so frequently. Jiang Cheng shot a glance at Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, then pulled Jin Ling’s shoulder and went back into the cabin. Sect Leader Ouyang sighed in relief and yelled at his son, “You you you! You’re really becoming more and more disobedient! Are you coming over or not! If you don’t come over, I’ll go grab you!”

Ouyang Zizhen said with concern, “Father, you should go inside and rest, too. Your spiritual energy hasn’t recovered yet, and you definitely won’t be able to come over. Don’t rashly fly on your sword.”

Most people’s spiritual power was still slowly recovering, and forcibly flying might cause them to fall headfirst, which was why they could only take boats. Sect Leader Ouyang was also exceptionally tall and burly, and he really couldn’t fly over to grab him, so he was so angry at his son that he angrily left into the cabin. Nie Huaisang laughed out loud on another ship. The other sect leaders looked at him, all speechless, but those who should leave left one after another. Seeing this, Wei Wuxian let out a long sigh of relief. After releasing this breath, his face was suddenly overtaken by extreme fatigue, and he tilted to one side.

It turned out that his earlier swaying was not due to the unstable fishing boat, but because he was actually too weak to stand.

The young cultivators also didn’t think his blood-stained body was scary. Just like they had helped Lan Sizhui earlier, they reached out to support him. But they didn’t need to. Lan Wangji slightly bent over, one hand around his arm, the other under his knees, and with one swift motion, lifted Wei Wuxian horizontally.

He held Wei Wuxian like this and walked into the cabin. There was no place to lie down in the cabin, only four long wooden benches. Lan Wangji held Wei Wuxian’s waist with one hand, letting his head rest on his shoulder, and with the other hand, he joined the four benches to form a width where one could lie down, then gently put Wei Wuxian down.

Lan Sizhui suddenly noticed that even though Hanguang-Jun was covered in blood, the bandage that Wei Wuxian had torn from his sleeve and used to bandage a small wound was still tied tightly, knotted on the finger of his left hand.

Previously, he didn’t have time to care about his appearance. Only now did Lan Wangji take out his handkerchief and slowly wipe the dried blood from Wei Wuxian’s face. Before long, a snow-white handkerchief was dyed black and red. And after he wiped Wei Wuxian’s face clean, his own face was still not cleaned.

Lan Sizhui hurriedly presented his own handkerchief, saying, “Hanguang-Jun.”

Lan Wangji accepted it, lowered his head, wiped his face with the handkerchief, and it became snow-white. The young cultivators finally breathed a sigh of relief. Sure enough, Hanguang-Jun should be like this, with a face as cold as ice, looking normal.

Ouyang Zizhen said, “Hanguang-Jun, why did Senior Wei collapse?”

Lan Wangji said, “He was tired.”

Lan Jingyi was surprised, “I thought Senior Wei would never get tired!”

The other young cultivators were also a little incredulous. The legendary Yiling Patriarch would actually be so tired from dealing with walking corpses that he would collapse. They all thought the Yiling Patriarch should be able to solve it with a casual flick of his fingers. But Lan Wangji shook his head and only said three words, “They’re all human.”

They’re all human. How can people not be tired, and how can they never fall down?

The long benches were all pieced together by Lan Wangji, and the young cultivators could only squat in a circle, looking longingly. If Wei Wuxian was awake, making jokes and teasing this one, teasing that one, the cabin would definitely be very lively at this moment, but now he was lying down, and only Hanguang-Jun was sitting upright beside him. Normally, someone would try to say a few words to lighten the atmosphere, but because Lan Wangji didn’t speak, no one else dared to. After squatting for a while, the cabin was still completely silent.

All the young cultivators inwardly complained, “…So boring.”

They were so bored they started to communicate with their eyes, “Why isn’t Hanguang-Jun saying anything? Why isn’t Senior Wei waking up?”

Ouyang Zizhen held his cheeks in his hands and quietly pointed at this one, then that one, indicating, “Is Hanguang-Jun always like this, not saying a word? How can Senior Wei stand being with him all day…”

Lan Sizhui nodded heavily in silent affirmation, “Hanguang-Jun, is indeed always like this!”

Suddenly, Wei Wuxian frowned, his head tilted to one side. Lan Wangji gently corrected his head to avoid him twisting his neck. Wei Wuxian murmured, “Lan Zhan.”

Everyone thought he was about to wake up and were overjoyed. But Wei Wuxian’s eyes were still tightly shut. Lan Wangji’s expression was as usual, and he said, “Mm. I’m here.”

Wei Wuxian didn’t say anything again. As if feeling very at ease and secure, he snuggled closer to Lan Wangji and continued to sleep. Several young cultivators stared blankly at the two of them, for some reason, their faces suddenly turned red. Lan Sizhui took the lead to stand up, stammering, “H-Hanguang-Jun, we’ll go out for a bit…”

They almost fled in disarray, rushing onto the deck. Only when they were hit by the night wind did the feeling of being stifled disappear. One person said, “What happened? Why did we have to rush out! Why!”

Ouyang Zizhen covered his face and said, “I don’t know what happened either, but I suddenly felt that it was very inappropriate to stay inside!”

The group pointed at each other and shouted, “Why is your face red!”

“I only blushed because I saw you blushing!”

Wen Ning hadn’t gone to help Wei Wuxian from the beginning, nor did he go into the cabin. He was squatting on the deck. Everyone had been wondering why he hadn’t gone in, and now they realized, the Ghost General was really too wise.

There was no room for a third person in there at all!

Seeing them come out, Wen Ning seemed to have expected it, making space for them to squat. However, only Lan Sizhui went over and squatted down next to him. The other young cultivators on the other side whispered, “Why do Sizhui and the Ghost General seem to be so familiar?”

Wen Ning said, “Young Master Lan, can I call you A-Yuan?”

The young cultivators were all inwardly horrified, “…The Ghost General is actually such a friendly person!”

Lan Sizhui said happily, “Sure!”

Wen Ning said, “A-Yuan, have you been well these past years?”

Lan Sizhui said, “I’m very well.”

Wen Ning nodded and said, “Hanguang-Jun must be very good to you.”

Lan Sizhui felt even closer to him when he heard the respectful tone in his voice when he mentioned Lan Wangji, and said, “Hanguang-Jun treats me like an older brother and a father. He’s the one who taught me how to play the guqin.”

Wen Ning said, “When did Hanguang-Jun start to look after you?”

After thinking for a moment, Lan Sizhui said, “I don’t remember either, maybe when I was four or five years old. I don’t have much memory of things from when I was too young. But even earlier, Hanguang-Jun shouldn’t have been able to take care of me. It seems that there were several years when Hanguang-Jun was in seclusion.”

He suddenly realized that the first siege of the Burial Mounds had also happened during the time when Hanguang-Jun was in seclusion.

Inside the cabin, Lan Wangji raised his head and looked at the door that had been closed by the youngsters when they rushed out, then lowered his head and looked at Wei Wuxian, whose head had tilted to one side again. Wei Wuxian’s brow furrowed again, and he twisted his head around as if very uncomfortable. Seeing this, Lan Wangji stood up, went over and bolted the wooden latch on the door, then came back and sat down next to Wei Wuxian, lifted his shoulders, and gently let him lean into his arms.

Now, Wei Wuxian’s head finally stopped swaying. He nestled into his chest and finally found a comfortable sleeping position. Seeing that he had settled down, Lan Wangji lowered his head and gazed at the face of the person in his arms. Black hair fell down. Suddenly, Wei Wuxian, with his eyes still closed, grabbed his collar, his fingers gripping his forehead ribbon.

He was holding it very tightly. Lan Wangji pinched one end of the forehead ribbon and tugged at it. Instead of pulling it out, he made Wei Wuxian’s eyelashes flutter, and before long, he woke up.

When Wei Wuxian slowly opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the wooden boards above his head in the cabin. He sat up. Lan Wangji was standing by a wooden window of the cabin, gazing at the bright moon at the end of the river.

Wei Wuxian said, “Huh, Hanguang-Jun, did I pass out just now?”

Lan Wangji’s profile was calm as he said, “Yes.”

Wei Wuxian asked again, “Where’s your forehead ribbon?”

“…”

After asking, Wei Wuxian lowered his head again and wondered, “Hey, what’s going on, it’s actually in my hand?”

He swung his legs off the bench and said, “I’m really sorry. I like to hold onto things when I sleep, otherwise I like to grab randomly. Sorry about that, here, for you.”

Lan Wangji was silent for a moment, then took the forehead ribbon he handed over and said, “It’s nothing.”

But Wei Wuxian was suppressing laughter to the point of internal injuries. Just now, he did indeed have a moment when he really wanted to fall asleep, but he was not so weak that he would pass out so easily. Who knew that he had only tilted slightly, and Lan Wangji had picked him up with such amazing speed. Wei Wuxian was too embarrassed to open his eyes and say hey, you don’t need to do this, I can stand by myself. And he also didn’t want to be put down. If someone can hold you, why stand?

Wei Wuxian touched his neck, feeling secretly pleased while also regretting, “Ah, Lan Zhan is really… If I had known, I wouldn’t have woken up. I would have continued to pass out and could have laid in his arms all the way.”

At Yin Hour, they arrived at Yunmeng.

The gates of Lotus Pier and the docks were brightly lit, illuminating the water with a golden glow. In the past, the docks rarely had a chance to gather so many ships of all sizes at once. Not only the guards at the gates, but even a few old men at the riverside who still had stalls selling late-night snacks were stunned. Jiang Cheng was the first to disembark. After instructing the guards, countless fully armed disciples poured out of the gate. People disembarked in batches and were arranged to enter by the Yunmeng Jiang Sect’s guest elders. Sect Leader Ouyang finally caught his son, pulling him away while scolding him in a low voice. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji walked out of the cabin and jumped off the fishing boat.

Wen Ning said, “Young Master, I’ll wait for you outside.”

Wei Wuxian knew that Wen Ning would not enter the gates of Lotus Pier. Jiang Cheng would never let him in either, and nodded. Lan Sizhui said, “Mr. Wen, I’ll keep you company.”

Wen Ning said, “You’ll keep me company?” He hadn’t expected it at all, and was very happy. Lan Sizhui smiled and said, “Yes, anyway, the seniors are going in to discuss important matters. There’s not much I can do by going in. Let’s continue chatting. Where were we just now? Did Senior Wei really bury a two-year-old as if planting a radish?”

Although his voice was soft, the two people in front of him had extraordinary hearing. Wei Wuxian stumbled. Lan Wangji’s brow arched slightly, then quickly returned to normal. After the two figures disappeared into the gates of Lotus Pier, Lan Sizhui continued in a low voice, “That little child was really pitiful. But actually, I remember that when I was little, Hanguang-Jun also put me in a pile of rabbits once. They’re actually quite similar in some ways…”