TFOD Chapter 107

This zither string is too thin, and it’s coated with a special dye, making it almost invisible to the naked eye. Plus, Wei Wuxian was completely distraught just now, not paying attention to anything else, which is why it was able to loop around his vital point.

Wei Wuxian said, “Lan Zhan, no! Don’t step back!”

But Lan Wangji stepped back five steps without hesitation in an instant. Jin Guangyao said, “Excellent. Now, please sheath Bichen.”

With a “clang,” Lan Wangji immediately complied. Wei Wuxian angrily said, “Don’t push your luck!”

Jin Guangyao said, “Is this what you call pushing my luck? Next, I’ll have Gentle and Noble seal off his own spiritual meridians, what would that be called?”

Wei Wuxian angrily said, “You…”

Before he could finish, a sharp pain, like flesh being cut, came from his throat. Fluid slid down his neck. Lan Wangji’s face turned ashen. Jin Guangyao said, “Why wouldn’t he listen to me? Wei-gongzi, you should think about it, his life is in my hands.”

Lan Wangji said, word by word, “Don’t touch him.”

Jin Guangyao said, “Then Gentle and Noble knows what to do.”

After a moment, Lan Wangji said, “Fine.”

Lan Xichen sighed. He raised his hand and with two heavy taps, sealed his own spiritual meridians.

Jin Guangyao smiled slightly and softly said, “This is truly…”

Lan Wangji stared intently at them, and said, “Let him go.”

Wei Wuxian, however, said, “Lan Zhan! I…I have something to tell you.”

Jin Guangyao said, “Whatever it is, you can say it later.”

Wei Wuxian said, “No, it’s urgent.”

Jin Guangyao said, “Then you can say it like this too.”

He was only saying it casually, but who would have thought, Wei Wuxian suddenly realized, “That’s right.”

After saying that, Wei Wuxian shouted with all his might, “Lan Zhan! Lan Wangji! Gentle and Noble! I, I just now, I truly wanted to sleep with you!”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Jin Guangyao loosened his hand, and the zither string was removed. As soon as he felt the slight prickling pain on his neck disappear, Wei Wuxian couldn’t wait to throw himself at Lan Wangji.

Just now, that earth-shattering confession of his was like a thunderbolt that had hit Lan Wangji. Even now, he hasn’t reacted. His always calm and collected face was showing a few rare traces of blankness and confusion. It wasn’t the first time he had been embraced like this by Wei Wuxian with arms around his waist, but this time, Lan Wangji’s body felt like a heavy block of wood, so stiff that he didn’t know where to put his hands. Wei Wuxian said, “Lan Zhan, what I just said, did you hear it clearly?!”

Lan Wangji’s lips moved, and after a long moment, he said, “You…”

He always spoke succinctly and decisively, and never hesitated before, but at this moment, he was hesitating endlessly. After a moment, he said again, “You just now said…”

It seemed like he wanted to repeat it once to confirm that he had not misheard. But those words, to Lan Wangji, were really too difficult to say. Wei Wuxian immediately, without hesitation, prepared to say it again, “I said I truly want to be with you…”

“Ahem!”

Lan Xichen stood to the side, his right hand made into a fist and held to his lips. After considering for a moment, he sighed and said, “…Wei-gongzi, the timing of what you said was just right, and the occasion is just right too.”

Wei Wuxian apologized without any sincerity, “I’m really sorry, Lan-zongzhu, but I really can’t wait any longer.”

Jin Guangyao also seemed like he couldn’t wait any longer. He turned his head and said, “Has it not been dug out yet!”

A monk said, “Sect leader, you buried it too deep back then…”

Jin Guangyao’s face turned green and white, extremely ugly. Even so, he didn’t scold his subordinates, and only said, “Speed it up!”

Before his voice could fade, a miserable white bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, and after a moment, a clap of thunder resounded. Jin Guangyao looked at the sky, and his expression darkened slightly. Before long, small, slanting raindrops started falling from the sky. Wei Wuxian, holding onto Lan Wangji, was originally still trying to unleash the torrent of words overflowing in his chest, but the cold raindrops that fell on his face made him calm down slightly.

Jin Guangyao said to Lan Xichen, “Second brother, it’s raining, let’s go into the temple to take shelter.”

Even though Lan Xichen was already under his control, he still treated Lan Xichen with complete courtesy, not mistreating him in the slightest, and behaved exactly as usual, only a bit more polite, making it difficult for others to get angry with him. Moreover, Lan Xichen was originally not one to have much of a temper. Jin Guangyao took the lead to step over the threshold and walk into the main hall, and the others followed. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had already been inside during the day. The interior of this main hall was spacious and grand, and the red walls and golden lacquer were as good as new, showing that someone often tended to it carefully. Those cultivators and monks were digging in the soil at the back of the main hall. They had dug quite deep, but still hadn’t been able to dig out what Jin Guangyao had buried back then. Wei Wuxian inadvertently raised his head and was stunned for a moment.

The Guanyin statue enshrined on the altar had delicate features. Compared to the usual Guanshiyin statue, it lacked some of the kind and gentle expression, and instead had a bit more of a refined and beautiful look. What made him slightly stunned was that this Guanyin statue actually looked vaguely familiar, like someone. Isn’t that Jin Guangyao standing to the side?

At first glance, it was alright, but the more he compared it with Jin Guangyao, the more similar it looked, almost five or six parts alike. Wei Wuxian thought to himself, “Could Jin Guangyao be such a narcissistic person? Being the leader of all the sects isn’t enough, so he had to have a statue carved in his likeness to receive the worship of the masses? Or is this some kind of evil cultivation method I don’t know about?”

Lan Wangji’s voice suddenly rang out beside his ear, “Sit.”

Wei Wuxian’s thoughts were immediately pulled back. Lan Wangji found four futons in the temple, two for Lan Xichen and Jin Ling, and two for him and Wei Wuxian. But for some reason, Lan Xichen and Jin Ling both moved their futons far away from them, and at the same time, they were looking into the distance.

Jin Guangyao and the others had already gone around to the back of the hall to check on the digging situation. Wei Wuxian pulled Lan Wangji, and sat down on the futon. Maybe he was still a bit distracted, but Lan Wangji swayed as he was being pulled and only then did he sit down steadily. Wei Wuxian calmed himself slightly and gazed intently at Lan Wangji’s face.

His eyes were lowered, making it impossible to see his expression. Wei Wuxian knew that, based on just those few words, Lan Wangji probably didn’t believe him yet. Being slowly cut to pieces by a person with bad reputations for so long while not knowing anything about it, it was only natural that he wouldn’t believe him. Thinking of this, Wei Wuxian’s chest felt heavy, and his heart ached and trembled a little, and he didn’t dare think any further. He only knew he had to give him another strong dose.

He said, “Lan Zhan, you, look at me.”

His voice was still a bit strained, and Lan Wangji said, “Mm.”

Taking a deep breath, Wei Wuxian said softly, “…My memory is really bad. There are many things from the past that I can’t remember. Including that time at Nightless City, what exactly happened during those few days, I don’t remember at all.”

Hearing this, Lan Wangji’s eyes widened slightly.

Wei Wuxian abruptly stretched out both hands, and grabbed his shoulders tightly. Then, he continued, “But! But from now on, what you have said to me, what you have done to me, I will remember it all, not one thing will I forget!”

“…”

Wei Wuxian said, “You are especially good. I like you.”

“…”

“Or to put it another way. I adore you, love you, want you, can’t leave you, let you do whatever you want.”

“…”

“I want to go night-hunting with you for the rest of my life.”

“…”

Wei Wuxian held up three fingers, pointing to the heavens, the earth and his heart and said, “I also want to sleep with you every day. I swear this isn’t some temporary whim, nor is it teasing you like I used to, and it’s even less because of gratitude towards you. In short, it’s not anything else, I just really like you, so much that I want to sleep with you. I don’t want anyone but you, it has to be you. You can do anything you want to me, however you want it, I’ll like it, as long as you’re willing to be with me…”

Before he could finish, a gust of wind suddenly roared in, extinguishing the rows of candles in the Guanyin Temple.

Unknowingly, the drizzle had turned into a downpour, and the lanterns swaying and colliding outside the Guanyin Temple had long been extinguished by the rain. The surroundings were suddenly plunged into darkness.

Wei Wuxian couldn’t make a sound anymore. In the darkness, Lan Wangji had already pulled him into a tight embrace, and sealed his mouth with his own.

Lan Wangji’s breathing was erratic and rapid, and he said in a hoarse voice beside Wei Wuxian’s ear, “…I adore you…”

Wei Wuxian hugged him tightly and said, “Yes!”

Lan Wangji said, “…Love you, want you…”

Wei Wuxian said loudly, “Yes!”

Lan Wangji said, “Can’t leave you…Don’t want anyone but you…It has to be you!”

He repeated the words that Wei Wuxian had said to him over and over, his voice and body trembling, even giving Wei Wuxian the illusion that he was about to cry.

With each sentence, the hands on Wei Wuxian’s waist tightened a little. Wei Wuxian was being squeezed so hard that it hurt, but the arms around his back were also getting tighter, almost making it hard for him to breathe, but he still felt it was sweet, and wished it could be even stronger.

Nothing could be seen clearly.

But their chests were pressed close to each other, and their two hearts had no place to hide. Wei Wuxian clearly felt Lan Wangji’s heart beating madly, that burning hot desire that was about to burst from his heart, and a drop that landed on his neck, silently disappeared, and was a bit uncertain if it was just an illusion of a teardrop.

At this moment, fast footsteps came into the front hall. Jin Guangyao, who had just gone to check the back of the hall, returned with several cultivators. Two monks, braving the heavy wind, used all their strength to close the temple doors again, and bolted them shut. Jin Guangyao then flipped out a fire talisman, lightly blew on it, the talisman paper ignited, and used it to relight the red candles. A row of dim, yellow flames became the only light in the lonely temple in the night rain. Suddenly, two crisp knocking sounds came from outside the door.

Someone was knocking on the door. Everyone in the temple tensed up, and looked towards the door. The two monks who closed the doors were on high alert, and silently pointed their swords towards the door. Jin Guangyao said calmly, “Who is it?”

A voice outside the door said, “Sect leader, it’s me!”

It was Su She’s voice.

Jin Guangyao made a hand gesture, and the two monks pulled back the bolt. Su She entered, bringing with him a gust of wind and rain.

The row of red candlelight was almost affected by this gust of wind and rain, flickering and wavering. The two monks immediately blocked the doors again. Su She was soaked by the downpour, his face was cold and stern, and his lips were purple with cold. He held a sword in his right hand, and in his left hand he was holding a person. After entering, just as he was about to throw this person down, he saw Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, still not separated, sitting on the two futons to the side.

Su She had suffered a great loss from these two recently, so his face immediately changed. He immediately drew his sword and looked at Jin Guangyao, seeing his nonchalant appearance, and knowing that these two must already be under control, only then did he calm down.

Jin Guangyao said, “What happened?”

Su She said, “I met him on the way, and thought he might be useful, so I just grabbed him.”

Jin Guangyao walked closer and looked down, and said, “Did you injure him?”

Su She said, “I didn’t injure him. I scared him unconscious.” Then he threw the person he was holding to the ground. Jin Guangyao said, “Min Shan, you shouldn’t be so heavy handed, he isn’t able to withstand being scared or being thrown.”

Su She quickly said, “Yes.” Then he picked up the person that he had just carelessly thrown and placed him gently next to Lan Xichen. Lan Xichen was staring at this person. He pushed aside the wet, messy hair on the person’s face and saw that the person who had been scared unconscious was indeed Nie Huaisang. He must have been on the way back to Qinghe after recovering in Lotus Pier when he was stopped and captured by Su She.

He raised his head and said, “Why did you capture Huaisang?”

Jin Guangyao said, “Having one more family head in hand, can make others more wary. But second brother, please rest assured, you know how I have treated Huaisang in the past. When the time is right, I will definitely let you all leave unharmed.”

Lan Xichen said faintly, “Should I believe you?”

Jin Guangyao said, “Suit yourself. Whether you believe it or not, second brother, you can’t do anything about it anyway.”

At this time, Su She turned his cold gaze towards Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji.

He chuckled, and said, “Gentle and Noble, Yi Ling Patriarch, it’s really unexpected that we would meet so quickly again. And the situation has completely reversed. How is it, how does it feel?”

Lan Wangji did not say a word. He never paid attention to such meaningless provocations. Wei Wuxian thought, Where has it reversed? At the Burial Mounds, you all were running away in defeat, and now aren’t you all running away in defeat again?

But it was as if Su She had been suppressing this for many years. He didn’t need to be provoked to start ranting on his own. He looked at Lan Wangji for a moment and sneered, “Even at this time, you are still putting on that calm and collected act like you think you’re so great. How long are you going to keep it up?”

Lan Wangji still remained silent. Lan Xichen, however, spoke up, “Sect leader Su, during the time you studied under my Gusu Lan Sect, we should not have mistreated you, why target Wangji like this?”

Su She said, “How dare I target the talented and arrogant second young master Lan? I just can’t stand how he always acts like he thinks he is so great.”

Although Wei Wuxian knew for the millionth time that a person’s hatred could come without reason, he still couldn’t help but feel a sense of bewilderment, and said, “Has Gentle and Noble ever said he thought he was so great? If I remember correctly, isn’t one of the Gusu Lan Sect’s rules ‘Prohibiting arrogance and pride’?”

Jin Ling said, “How do you know the Gusu Lan Sect’s rules?”

Wei Wuxian stroked his chin and said, “Don’t you remember them after copying them so many times?”

Jin Ling blurted out, “Why would you copy the Gusu Lan Sect’s rules for no reason? You’re not…” He had originally wanted to say “you’re not one of their people,” but he realized that it was not right and stopped, his face darkened. Wei Wuxian laughed, “Could it be that Gentle and Noble has always had a cold face, so Sect leader Su thinks like that? If that’s the case, then Gentle and Noble has been wronged to death. He clearly always has that face with everyone. Sect leader Su, you should be glad that you weren’t studying in Yunmeng Jiang Sect.”

Su She said coldly, “Why?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Otherwise, I would have angered you to death long ago. When I was young, I sincerely felt that I was a talent of the world, truly remarkable. And I not only felt like that inside, I also said it everywhere.”

Su She’s forehead veins bulged, and he said, “Shut up!” He seemed about to throw a palm strike, but Lan Wangji pulled Wei Wuxian into his arms, protecting him with his arm. Su She hesitated, wondering if he should attack or not. Wei Wuxian immediately poked his head out from behind Lan Wangji, and said, “It’s best not to attack, Sect Leader Su. The Respectful and Fragrant is still very respectful to the Gentle and Verdant, if you injure Gentle and Noble, try to guess if the Respectful and Fragrant will be happy or not?”

Su She had originally also considered this, which was why he hesitated. But after Wei Wuxian said it, he felt particularly aggrieved. Ultimately, still unwilling to give up, he had to throw out a few more sarcastic remarks, “Who would have thought that the Yi Ling Patriarch, whose name makes both the yin and yang realms tremble in fear, would also be afraid of death!”

Wei Wuxian said without any shame, “It’s nothing, it’s nothing. However, I’m not afraid of death, it’s just that I don’t want to die yet.”

Su She sneered, “Quibbling over words, utterly ridiculous. Is there a difference between being afraid of death and not wanting to die?”

Wei Wuxian snuggled into Lan Wangji’s arms and said, “Of course there’s a difference. For example, right now I don’t want to get up from Lan Zhan’s body, and me being afraid to get up from Lan Zhan’s body, can that be the same thing?”

After thinking about it, he said again, “Sorry, I take it back. I feel like it’s indeed almost the same thing.”

Su She’s face turned green. Wei Wuxian’s intention was to anger him. At this time, a soft laugh came from above him.

It was a very soft laugh, making one almost think they had misheard.

But Wei Wuxian abruptly raised his head, and he could truly and clearly see on the corner of Lan Wangji’s lips, that faint smile that hadn’t yet disappeared, like sunlight reflecting on snow. At this, not only Su She, even Lan Xichen and Jin Ling were stunned.

Everyone knew that Gentle and Noble always had a cold and frosty face, not smiling, and seemed like he had no interest in life. Almost no one had seen him smile, not even a slight curve of his lips. No one had expected that they would see his smile under such circumstances.

Wei Wuxian’s eyes instantly opened wide.

After a long moment, he swallowed, and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he said, “Lan Zhan, you…”

Just at this moment, a knocking sound came from outside the Guanyin Hall again.

Su She drew his sword and held it in his hand, cautiously saying, “Who is it?!”

No one answered. The main doors were suddenly split into four pieces!

In the wind and rain that poured in through the broken doors, a streak of spiritual energy in the form of purple lightning struck Su She’s chest head-on, sending him flying backwards. Su She crashed heavily into a red wooden pillar, and immediately spat out a mouthful of blood. The two monks guarding the doors of the temple were also hit by the shockwaves, and fell to the ground. A figure in purple stepped over the threshold and steadily strode into the main hall.

The wind and rain outside the temple was severe, but this person’s body was not soaked at all, only the purple of his robes had darkened slightly. In his left hand, he held an oil-paper umbrella, and raindrops splattered onto the umbrella with a pitter-patter sound. In his right hand, the cold light of his purple lightning was still crackling. The expression on his face was even more gloomy than this stormy night.