TFOD Chapter 98

Wei Wuxian frantically picked the lotus pods, insatiably piling them up until there was hardly any room to stand on the ferry. The three of them sat amidst the emerald green lotus pods. Tearing open the green skins, the tender, pale green lotus seeds were nestled within the fluffy brown layers. They were plucked out one by one, the outer skins peeled away, revealing the snow-white and delicate lotus seeds, which were incredibly sweet and refreshing. Even the lotus hearts were a watery, light green color, not bitter at all. Wen Ning sat at the bow of the boat, diligently peeling lotus pods. Lan Wangji peeled two for himself and then stopped, shaking his head and motioning for Wen Ning to give the peeled lotus seeds to Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian single-handedly devoured a boatload. They drifted along with the current for another hour or two before finally reaching the dock of Yunping City.

The shallow waters of the dock were crowded with small fishing boats. Women gathered on the stone steps by the water’s edge, washing clothes, while some bare-chested, tanned young men swam and dove in the river. Suddenly, a ferry drifted into view, one person at the stern with his head bowed, while the two young men in the boat were exceptionally handsome. The white-clad man sitting in front was dressed in simple white robes, exuding an otherworldly aura, while the smiling young man beside him was also an incredibly good-looking pretty boy. Such people were rarely seen, so everyone’s eyes widened as they stared intently. A few of the young men swimming in the river gathered like fish around the ferry, seven or eight heads bobbing by the side of the boat. Wei Wuxian asked, “Excuse me, is this Yunping City?”

A young woman washing clothes by the river blushed as she replied, “This is Yunping City.”

Wei Wuxian said, “We’re here, let’s go ashore.”

The ferry docked, and Lan Wangji was the first to stand up and step onto the shore, turning back to pull Wei Wuxian up. Both of them were on the dock, but Wen Ning was still on the boat, struggling to move. The group of swimming young men, seeing his pale skin and the strange patterns on his neck and cheeks, his head bowed and silently, found him peculiar, not scary, but rather amusing. A dozen or so hands gripped the boat’s sides, rocking it back and forth, making it difficult for Wen Ning to stand. Wei Wuxian turned back and said, “Hey! What are you doing? Don’t bully him.”

Wen Ning quickly said, “Young Master, I can’t get down.”

Just as he was asking for help, two more young men splashed water with their hands, sending it splashing onto him. Wen Ning chuckled wryly, at a loss for what to do. If these young men knew that the “person” they were teasing could easily tear them into bloody chunks with his bare hands and crush their bones to dust, they wouldn’t dare to find amusement like this. Wei Wuxian tossed the remaining few lotus pods over, saying, “Catch!” The young men immediately scattered, vying for the lotus pods. Only then did Wen Ning jump clumsily onto the shore, patting the wet hem of his clothes.

Looking out across the entire Yunmeng region, Yunping City was not a small place; it was quite prosperous. The three of them entered the city, the streets bustling with people and the shops dazzling. Wen Ning did not like crowded places, and after a while, he quietly disappeared again. Wei Wuxian, relying on the address he remembered, asked for directions along the way. But when they finally reached their destination and confirmed what they were seeing, both of them were slightly taken aback.

Looking at the imposing and incense-filled building in front of them, Wei Wuxian said, “This is… a Guanyin Temple?”

Lan Wangji replied, “Mn.”

Jin Guangyao didn’t seem like a pious devotee. The two exchanged a glance and, together, they walked through the endless stream of worshippers, crossed the high threshold, and entered the temple. The three-courtyard temple was filled with the scent of incense and the sound of wooden fish. It didn’t take too long to walk through all of it. The last hall was the Guanyin Bodhisattva Hall. The two stood at the entrance for a while before a monk approached them, his palms together in greeting. The two returned the greeting. Wei Wuxian exchanged a few pleasantries and casually asked, “Ordinary temples are built in the mountains, it’s rare to see one in the city.”

The monk smiled and said, “People in the city are busy and toiling all day. Wouldn’t they need such a Guanyin Temple to pray for blessings and seek inner peace?”

Wei Wuxian also smiled and said, “Won’t the noisy human activity disturb Guanyin Bodhisattva?”

The monk said, “The Bodhisattva is here to save all living beings, how could they be disturbed by people?”

Wei Wuxian asked, “Does this temple only worship Guanyin?”

The monk replied, “That’s right.”

The two walked around the Guanyin Temple a few times, already knowing the situation in their hearts. After leaving the temple, Wei Wuxian pulled Lan Wangji into an alley, picked up a tree branch, and drew a few square formations on the ground. He threw the branch aside and said, “Jin Guangyao has a large scheme.”

Lan Wangji picked up the tree branch he had thrown away and added a few strokes to the square formations. The outline and shape became more and more obvious, a bird’s-eye view of the Guanyin Temple from before. Wei Wuxian took the branch back from his hand and said, “There’s a large array inside this Guanyin Temple, something is being suppressed.” He pointed to a spot and said, “This array is a bit complex, quite secure, but if we break this array eye, the suppressed thing will come out.”

Lan Wangji stood up and said, “Break the array at night when there are no people. Let’s find a place to rest and recuperate, then make a plan.”

They did not know how powerful the evil being suppressed in the Guanyin Temple was, so they naturally couldn’t rashly act during the day when there were many people. Wei Wuxian said, “I don’t know how long it’ll take to deal with whatever is inside the Guanyin Temple, will we make it to Lanling in time? Will it delay our journey?”

Lan Wangji said, “Your physical condition is unclear, you must not overexert yourself.”

In the battle at the Burial Mounds, Wei Wuxian had consumed too much energy and physical strength. His mind and body had been in a tense state for a long time. A few hours earlier, Jiang Cheng had angered him so much that he almost bled from his seven orifices, and it took him a while to recover. Although he felt fine now, in case there was something wrong he hadn’t noticed, if he forced himself to rush to Lanling, he might have a sudden accident at a crucial moment, making things worse. Moreover, he wasn’t the only one who had been expending energy and effort these past two days. Lan Wangji hadn’t rested for a moment either. Thinking that even if he didn’t need rest, Lan Wangji needed it. Wei Wuxian said, “Okay, let’s find a place to rest first.”

Wei Wuxian himself could stay anywhere. If he had money, he’d sleep in a luxurious room; if he didn’t, he’d sleep under a tree root. But with Lan Wangji by his side, he absolutely could not imagine Lan Wangji lying under a tree or squeezing into a dirty, messy room. So, the two of them walked for a long time, and finally, on the other side of Yunping City, they chose a respectable and grand inn. The landlady enthusiastically rushed out, almost dragging them inside. The inn was neat and tidy, and the guests on the first floor were nearly full, showing that the person managing it was very capable. Most of the people working at the inn were women, from young, agile teenage girls sweeping the floor to burly kitchen aunties. Seeing the two young men walk in, their eyes all lit up. One of the girls who was adding water to the guests’ cups even tilted the teapot without noticing, her eyes fixed on Lan Wangji. The landlady called out to them to be careful, and she personally led Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji upstairs to see the rooms, asking as she walked, “How many rooms do you two young masters need?”

Hearing this, Wei Wuxian’s heart jumped, and he subtly glanced at Lan Wangji.

If it were two months ago, this question would not have needed to be asked. During the initial time after he returned, he had tried his best to disgust Lan Wangji in order to get away as soon as possible. Lan Wangji had also seen through this, so he simply took one room. After all, no matter how many rooms they asked for, Wei Wuxian would eventually end up on his bed.

Not only that, relying on the fact that no one knew who he was, Wei Wuxian dared to do anything embarrassing. On the first night after leaving Cloud Recesses, he couldn’t wait to jump into Lan Wangji’s blankets first. Lan Wangji had walked in and saw him rolling on the bed. He had stood there expressionlessly for a while and then gone to the other room he had booked. Wei Wuxian wouldn’t let him off so easily, he had chased after him, shouting that he wanted to sleep with him. After climbing into the bed, he had also thrown a pillow out of the window, insisting on sharing one pillow with Lan Wangji, and he had questioned why Lan Wangji was sleeping fully clothed, forcefully wanting to undress him. In the middle of the night, he had suddenly slipped his cold feet into Lan Wangji’s blankets, grabbed his hand, and pressed it to his chest, “Listen to my heartbeat, Hanguang-Jun!” before gazing innocently and affectionately into his eyes… In the end, Lan Wangji had gently pushed him, making his whole body stiff and unable to move, and only then had he quieted down.

The past was too shameful to recall. For the first time, Wei Wuxian was shocked by his own shamelessness.

Glancing at him for the third time, Lan Wangji was still looking down and hadn’t said anything, and his expression couldn’t be seen. Seeing that he hadn’t answered, Wei Wuxian started to overthink, “In the past, Lan Zhan would always ask for one room, why isn’t he speaking today? If he asks for two rooms this time, it means he really minds. But if he still asks for one, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t mind, maybe he’s just trying to act like he doesn’t mind, so that I won’t mind either…”

Minding this and that, the landlady decisively answered herself, saying in a firm voice, “One room, right? One room is enough! The rooms here are comfortable enough for two people to stay in. The beds are not crowded.”

After a moment, Lan Wangji didn’t object. Wei Wuxian’s heart and feet finally stopped floating and settled down for the time being.

The landlady opened a door and led them in. It was indeed big enough. She said, “Ah, do you two want to eat? Our cook is very skilled. Shall I have the food sent up when it’s ready?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Yes, we do. But not now, a bit later, please send it over at Xu hour.”

The landlady agreed and left the room. As soon as she left, Wei Wuxian was about to close the door when he suddenly rushed out, calling, “Landlady!”

The landlady said, “What can I do for you, young master?”

Wei Wuxian seemed to have made up his mind and said in a low voice, “When you send the food over tonight, please bring some wine… the stronger, the better.”

The landlady laughed and said, “Of course!”

After finishing his instructions, he returned to the room as if nothing had happened, closed the door, and sat down at the table. Lan Wangji reached over and took his pulse. Although he knew that this was only to check his physical condition, as those two pale, slender fingers moved up his wrist, slowly massaging and pressing, Wei Wuxian’s other hand under the table still slightly curled up his fingers.

After spending almost half an hour checking his body, Lan Wangji said, “There is nothing seriously wrong.”

Wei Wuxian stretched and laughed, “Thank you.” He saw that Lan Wangji looked solemn, his brows furrowed, and said, “Hanguang-Jun, are you worried about Ze Wu-Jun? I think Jin Guangyao still has some respect for Ze Wu-Jun, and Ze Wu-Jun’s cultivation level is higher than his, he is also on his guard. He may not necessarily fall into his trap. Let’s break the formation of the Guanyin temple as quickly as possible and try to continue our journey tomorrow.”

Lan Wangji said, “This matter is strange.”

Wei Wuxian asked, “What is?”

Lan Wangji said, “My brother and Jin Guangyao have been friends for many years. Jin Guangyao is not an impulsive or bloodthirsty person, and he never acts rashly.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Yes, that’s my impression of him too. Jin Guangyao isn’t that he’s not ruthless, but he tries his best not to offend anyone he doesn’t need to.”

Lan Wangji said, “The events at the Burial Mounds were extravagant and rushed, not like his usual style.”

Wei Wuxian thought for a moment and said, “The whole Burial Mound incident was either going to succeed, or if he got exposed, he’d force the cultivation clans to be his enemy. The risks are quite high.”

Lan Wangji said, “Perhaps there are more hidden circumstances that need to be investigated.”