TFOD Chapter 14

Later, Wei Wuxian thought about it, his relationship with Lan Wangji was not good, tracing back to the source, it probably had to start from the three months he came with Jiang Cheng to the Gusu Lan Sect to study when he was fifteen years old.

The Gusu Lan Sect had a highly respected elder, Lan Qiren, who was recognized among the aristocratic families for three major characteristics: pedantic, stubborn, and a strict teacher produces outstanding disciples. Although the first two points made many people keep him at a distance or even secretly resent him, the last one made them rack their brains to send their children to be taught under his tutelage. He had taught many outstanding Lan family disciples. Those who were under his care for a year or two, even if they were utterly useless when they came, would generally have a decent appearance when they left. At least their manners and etiquette would be far better than before. Many parents were moved to tears when they took their sons home.

To this, Wei Wuxian stated, “Aren’t I already decent enough now?”

Jiang Cheng, on the other hand, said with foresight, “You will definitely become a shameful mark in his teaching career.”

In those days, besides the Yunmeng Jiang Sect, there were many young masters from other families, all sent by their parents who admired his reputation. These young masters were only fifteen or sixteen years old. There were frequent interactions between the aristocratic families. If not close, they were at least familiar with each other. Everyone knew that although Wei Wuxian was not surnamed Jiang, he was the son of an old friend of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect’s leader, Jiang Fengmian, and the chief disciple, who was treated like his own son. Moreover, young people often didn’t care about origin and bloodline as much as their elders. They quickly became close, and in a few words, they were calling each other brothers. Someone asked, “Is Lotus Pier in your Jiang family much more fun than here?”

Wei Wuxian laughed, “Whether it’s fun or not depends on how you play. There are definitely not as many rules as here, and you don’t have to get up so early either.”

The Gusu Lan Sect started working at Mao hour (5-7 am) and rested at Hai hour (9-11 pm), no delays allowed. Someone else asked, “When do you guys get up? What do you do every day?”

Jiang Cheng snorted, “Him? He starts at Si hour (9-11 am) and rests at Chou hour (1-3 am). When he gets up, he doesn’t practice swords or meditate. He goes boating, swimming, picking lotus pods, and hunting pheasants.”

Wei Wuxian said, “No matter how many pheasants I hunt, I’m still the best.”

A young boy said, “I’m going to Yunmeng to study next year! No one can stop me!”

A bucket of cold water was poured over him, “No one will stop you. Your older brother will just break your legs.”

The young boy immediately wilted. This was Nie Huaisang, the second young master of the Qinghe Nie Sect. His older brother, Nie Mingjue, had a decisive and forceful style and was famous among the hundred families. Although the two brothers were not born from the same mother, they had a very close relationship. Nie Mingjue was extremely strict in teaching his younger brother and was particularly concerned about his studies. Therefore, although Nie Huaisang respected his older brother, he was most afraid of Nie Mingjue mentioning his homework.

Wei Wuxian said, “Actually, Gusu is also quite fun.”

Nie Huaisang said, “Brother Wei, take my sincere advice, Cloud Recesses is not like Lotus Pier. You have come to Gusu, remember there is one person you must not provoke.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Who? Lan Qiren?”

Nie Huaisang said, “Not that old man. The one you need to be careful of is his favorite disciple, called Lan Zhan.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Lan Zhan of the Lan Sect’s Twin Jades? Lan Wangji?”

The two sons of the current leader of the Gusu Lan Sect, Lan Huan and Lan Zhan, were known as the Twin Jades of the Lan Sect. Once they passed the age of fourteen, elders from every family used them as models to compare with their own disciples. They were the center of attention among the younger generation, so it was no surprise that others had heard of them. Nie Huaisang said, “Who else could it be? That one. Damn it, he’s about the same age as you and me, but he doesn’t have an ounce of youthful vigor. He’s rigid and strict, and no less than his uncle.”

Wei Wuxian “Oh”ed and asked, “Is he a handsome boy?”

Jiang Cheng sneered, “In the Gusu Lan Sect, who is ugly? They even refuse to accept disciples who have irregular features. You try to find a mediocre-looking one to show me.”

Wei Wuxian emphasized, “Especially handsome.” He gestured at his head: “All in white, with a headband, and carrying a silver sword on his back. Very handsome, but with a straight face, like he’s in mourning.”

“…” Nie Huaisang confirmed, “That’s him!” He paused and said, “But he has been in seclusion recently. You only arrived yesterday. When did you see him?”

“Last night.”

“Last night… last night?!” Jiang Cheng was stunned, “There’s a curfew in Cloud Recesses, where did you see him? How come I don’t know?”

Wei Wuxian pointed, “There.”

He was pointing to a high rooftop.

Everyone was speechless. Jiang Cheng’s head was spinning, he gritted his teeth and said, “You just arrived and you’re already causing trouble! What’s going on?”

Wei Wuxian said with a grin, “It’s nothing much. When we came, didn’t we pass by that ‘Emperor’s Smile’ wine shop? Last night, I tossed and turned, couldn’t resist, so I went down the mountain to the city and brought back two jars. We can’t drink this in Yunmeng.”

Jiang Cheng: “Then where’s the wine?”

Wei Wuxian: “Just after I climbed over the roof, with one foot still out, he caught me.”

A young boy said, “Brother Wei, you’re really lucky. It must be that he just came out of seclusion to patrol at night, and you were caught red-handed by him.”

Jiang Cheng said, “Night returnees are not allowed in after Mao hour (5-7 am). Why would he let you in?”

Wei Wuxian spread his hands and said, “So, he didn’t let me in. He insisted that I pull back the leg I stepped in with. How could I do that? So he lightly floated up and asked me what I was holding.”

Jiang Cheng felt a headache and had a bad premonition, “What did you say?”

Wei Wuxian said, “‘Emperor’s Smile! I’ll share a jar with you, can you pretend you didn’t see me?'”

Jiang Cheng sighed, “…Drinking is forbidden in Cloud Recesses. That’s a double offense.”

Wei Wuxian said, “That’s what he told me too. So I asked: ‘Tell me, what is not forbidden in your family?’ He seemed a little angry, and told me to look at the rules on the stone tablet in front of the mountain. Honestly, there are more than three thousand rules, and they were written in seal script, who would read that? Did you read it? Did you read it? Anyway, I didn’t. What’s there to be angry about?”

“Exactly!” Everyone felt the same way, complaining about all kinds of bizarre rules in Cloud Recesses, feeling like they had met kindred spirits, “Which family has more than three thousand rules that don’t repeat? Things like ‘No killing within the boundary, no private fights, no promiscuity, no night outings, no making noise, no running’ are understandable. But there’s also ‘No causeless laughter, no improper sitting posture, no eating more than three bowls of rice’…” Wei Wuxian hurriedly said, “What? Private fights are also forbidden?”

Jiang Cheng: “…They are. Don’t tell me you fought with him.”

Wei Wuxian: “We did. And I knocked over a jar of Emperor’s Smile.”

Everyone slapped their thighs and shouted in unison at the pity.

Since the situation couldn’t be any worse, Jiang Cheng’s focus shifted: “You brought two jars, where’s the other jar?”

“I drank it.”

Jiang Cheng: “Where did you drink it?”

“I drank it in front of him. I said: ‘Alright, drinking is forbidden inside Cloud Recesses, so I won’t go inside, I’ll drink it on the wall, that doesn’t break the rules, right?’ And I finished it in one gulp in front of him.”

“…And then?”

“Then we fought.”

“Brother Wei,” Nie Huaisang said, “You’re really arrogant.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Lan Zhan’s skills are not bad.”

“You’re going to die, Brother Wei! Lan Zhan has never suffered such a loss, he’s most likely going to target you. You be careful. Although Lan Zhan doesn’t study with us, he is the one in charge of punishments in the Lan family!”

Wei Wuxian was not afraid at all, he waved his hand and said, “What’s there to be afraid of! Isn’t it said that Lan Zhan was a prodigy since he was young? Being so precocious, he must have already learned everything his uncle taught. He’s in seclusion all the time, how can he have time to stare at me. I…”

Before he finished speaking, everyone rounded a window wall and saw a white-clad youth sitting upright in the orchid room, his hair and headband neatly bound, his aura as cold as ice, his gaze sweeping over them.

Over a dozen mouths were instantly as if they had been placed under a silencing spell, silently entering the orchid room, silently choosing their own seats, silently leaving a space around Lan Wangji’s desk.

Jiang Cheng patted Wei Wuxian on the shoulder and whispered, “He’s got his eye on you. Good luck to you.”

Wei Wuxian turned his head just in time to see Lan Wangji’s side profile. His eyelashes were long, his features were extremely handsome and refined, and he was sitting upright, gazing straight ahead. He wanted to start a conversation, but Lan Qiren entered the orchid room at this moment.

Lan Qiren was tall and thin, his back straight. Although he had a long black goatee, he was definitely not old; according to the tradition that the Gusu Lan Sect produced handsome men in every generation, he was definitely not ugly either. It was a pity that he exuded a pedantic and rigid aura, which made the title of ‘old man’ suit him perfectly. He entered holding a scroll, unrolled it, and it stretched out on the ground. He actually began to lecture about the Lan family rules using this scroll. The faces of the young people present all turned green. Wei Wuxian was bored, his eyes wandered aimlessly, landing on Lan Wangji’s side profile. Seeing that his expression was genuinely focused and serious, he could not help but admire him: “Such boring stuff, how can he listen so attentively!”

Suddenly, Lan Qiren threw the scroll down and sneered, “They’re engraved on the stone wall, but no one looks at them. That’s why I repeat them one by one, to see who else makes excuses that they don’t know them and breaks the rules. It seems that there are even people who are absent-minded. Very well, I’ll talk about something else.”

Although these words could apply to everyone in this orchid room, Wei Wuxian instinctively felt that it was a warning aimed at him. As expected, Lan Qiren said, “Wei Ying.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Here.”

“I ask you, are demons, devils, ghosts, and monsters all the same thing?”

Wei Wuxian laughed, “No, they are not.”

“Why not? How do you distinguish them?”

“Demons are transformed from non-human living things; devils are transformed from living humans; ghosts are transformed from dead people; monsters are transformed from non-human dead objects.”

“‘Demons’ and ‘monsters’ are easily confused, can you give examples to differentiate them?”

“That’s easy.” Wei Wuxian pointed at the lush green trees outside the orchid room and said, “For example, a living tree, which has been imbued with the aura of books for a hundred years, cultivates to become a spirit, and manifests a consciousness, causing trouble, this is a ‘demon’. If I take an axe and chop it in half, leaving only a dead tree stump, and it cultivates to become a spirit, this is a ‘monster’.”

“What profession did the ancestors of the Qinghe Nie Sect have?”

“Butchers.”

“The emblem of the Lanling Jin Sect is a white peony, which type of white peony is it?”

“Gold Star Snow Wave.”

“Who was the first person in the cultivation world to promote families and decline sects?”

“Wen Mao, the ancestor of the Qishan Wen Sect.”

He answered all the questions fluently. Everyone else in the room was feeling their hearts rise and fall, hoping for good fortune, praying that he wouldn’t stumble, that he would keep answering correctly so that Lan Qiren wouldn’t get a chance to pick on someone else. Lan Qiren said, “As a disciple of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect, you should have already memorized all this. There is nothing to be proud of if you answer correctly. I will ask you again, if there is an executioner, who has parents, a wife, and children, who has beheaded over a hundred people in his life. If he dies a violent death in the market and his corpse is left exposed for seven days, his resentment will be concentrated and he will become a vengeful spirit and cause trouble. What should be done?”

This time, Wei Wuxian didn’t answer immediately. Others assumed he was stumped and became a little restless. Lan Qiren scolded, “Why are you looking at him? You think about it too. No looking in books!”

Everyone quickly removed their hands from the books they were preparing to check and also started to ponder. A violent death in the market, exposed for seven days, that is a definite fierce ghost and a fierce corpse, it would be difficult to handle. They hoped that Lan Qiren would not choose them to answer. Lan Qiren saw that Wei Wuxian had not answered after a long time and seemed to be pondering, so he said, “Wangji, you tell him, what should be done?”