TFOD Chapter 99

Wei Wuxian sighed inwardly, thinking, “Actually, compared to these hidden secrets… I’m more curious now if being gay is contagious through the Sacrifice of the Body!”

While thinking, the weariness of the past few days surged, Wei Wuxian rubbed his temples. Lan Wangji said, “You should rest.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Okay.” Saying this, he sat on the couch, kicked off his boots, and leaned back, saying, “Hanguang-Jun, you too…” At this point, he noticed an awkward issue.

There was only one bed in the room. If Lan Wangji was also going to rest, he would have to lie on the same bed as him. Although they had already slept on the same bed countless times over the past few days, after Jiang Cheng’s loud scolding at the ancestral hall in Lotus Pier, many things seemed to have become subtle. Now, he was hesitant to even ask Lan Wangji to lie down with him, let alone the fact that asking for a couple of rooms had made him conflicted for quite a while.

Lan Wangji said, “No need.”

Wei Wuxian then slightly propped himself up again, saying, “How can that do? You’ve also been…” As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it again. If he finished speaking, and Lan Wangji thought about how troublesome it was and decided that two rooms were better after all, wouldn’t it be even more awkward?

Lan Wangji said, “I don’t need to. You rest.”

Wei Wuxian touched his chin, saying, “…Oh. Then I’ll lie down for a bit. Wake me at Shen Shi (3-5 PM).”

Seeing Lan Wangji sitting upright at the table, already closing his eyes to rest, Wei Wuxian then slowly lay down again.

He rested his head on his arm, stared at the ceiling for a while, then turned over, his back to Lan Wangji. After a long while, his eyes were still wide open, unable to fall asleep peacefully, and he couldn’t help but feel restless in his heart.

When he had previously acted recklessly, he had said that he had to lie down beside Lan Wangji to fall asleep and so on, which was all obviously nonsense. However, he didn’t know when it had started, but this nonsense seemed to have become the truth. Wei Wuxian thought, “What to do now? Does this mean that in the future I won’t be able to sleep without Lan Zhan’s bed???”

After tossing and turning for a long while, Wei Wuxian finally managed to close his eyes reluctantly.

He vaguely didn’t know how much time had passed, but when he woke up, the sunlight outside the window had long since disappeared, and it was probably even past You Shi (5-7 PM).

Wei Wuxian suddenly sat up, and there was an unusual sound behind him. Looking back, he saw Lan Wangji closing a book. Wei Wuxian said, “Lan Zhan, why didn’t you wake me? Didn’t we say to get up at Shen Shi?”

Lan Wangji said, “Restore your energy, recover your strength. No need to rush.”

Wei Wuxian had slept for most of the day, and during this time, Lan Wangji probably just went downstairs to get a book to read. He felt a little guilty and jumped off the bed, saying, “I’m sorry, I was out of it. You should lie down too.”

Lan Wangji said, “It’s fine.”

Just at this moment, someone knocked on the door. The landlady said outside the door, “Young masters, I’m bringing the meal.”

Wei Wuxian realized that it was already Xu Shi (7-9 PM). Lan Wangji opened the door, and on the tray that the landlady carried were indeed a wine pot and two small wine cups. As she entered the door, she said, “Oh my, it seems you’ve slept until now?”

Wei Wuxian became even more guilty, chuckling a few times. The landlady placed the tray on the table and said, “Where are you two young masters from? If you’re here for sightseeing, you must be tired, you must rest well, and regain your strength before playing more.”

Wei Wuxian casually said, “From Gusu.”

The landlady said, “Is that so! No wonder, I was just thinking that with such handsome figures, you must have come from a place like the beautiful and fertile Jiangnan.”

Lan Wangji acted as if he hadn’t heard a word. Wei Wuxian laughed and said, “Don’t compare him to me; he’s much handsomer than me.”

The landlady said, “He’s handsome, and you’re charming. It’s different, but both are good-looking! Oh, right.” As if remembering something, she added, “If you’re here for fun, you can go see the Guanyin Temple in Yunping City.”

Wei Wuxian was about to ask her about the Guanyin Temple when she brought it up herself. He said, “We saw that Guanyin Temple during the day. It’s rare to see a Guanyin Temple built in the city.”

The landlady said, “Yes, when I first saw it, I was surprised too.”

Wei Wuxian asked, “When did you come to Yunping City, landlady?”

The landlady said, “It’s been eight years, right?”

Wei Wuxian said, “So, the Guanyin Temple was already here then? Have you not heard why they built a Guanyin Temple in the city?”

The landlady said, “That I don’t know. Anyway, the Guanyin Temple is very popular, and everyone in Yunping City goes there to pray to the Guanyin Bodhisattva for safety. I also burn some incense there when I have time.”

Wei Wuxian casually said, “Why not directly find the cultivation sect stationed here?”

Only after asking did he realize that the cultivation sect stationed here was actually the Yunmeng Jiang Sect.

To his surprise, the landlady pursed her lips and said, “Find them? Who would dare?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Oh? Why wouldn’t you dare?”

The landlady said, “You two young masters are not from Yunping City, so you don’t know, but all the territory around Yunmeng is under the control of the Jiang family. The head of that family has a terrible temper, it scares people to death. People under his command have long said that one family is managing such a large territory, and every day, there are nearly a hundred minor incidents of ghosts and demons playing tricks on people. If they had to immediately dispatch people to handle every single one of them, how could they manage it all? If no one dies, it’s not a fierce ghost or evil spirit, and these trivial matters that aren’t a fierce ghost or evil spirit, you shouldn’t bother them with it.” She said indignantly, “What kind of nonsense is that? If they only come after someone dies, wouldn’t that be too late!”

In reality, not dealing with minor incidents unless they were serious, like fierce ghosts or evil spirits, was a rule that was almost tacitly approved by the larger families. The so-called “Always appears when there is chaos,” though praised by everyone for many years, was something that only Lan Wangji next to him had truly achieved.

The landlady continued, “Besides, Lotus Pier is so terrifying, who would dare to go there again!”

Wei Wuxian shifted his gaze from Lan Wangji’s calm profile, startled, and asked, “Lotus Pier is terrifying? How could Lotus Pier be terrifying? Have you been there?”

The landlady said, “I haven’t been to that place myself. But I know someone who went there because their home was haunted. It was bad luck; they saw that Jiang Sect Leader waving a glowing whip, whipping people on their training ground. The screams were horrible! A servant kindly whispered that the sect leader had grabbed the wrong person again, and that his mood had been bad for the past few days, telling him not to go and provoke him. The man was so scared that he put down the gifts he had brought and ran away, never daring to visit again.”

Wei Wuxian had long heard that Jiang Cheng had been arresting those suspected of possessing or being reborn ghost cultivators everywhere, and he would take all those people back to Lotus Pier to be severely tortured. The landlady’s acquaintance probably ran into him while he was venting his anger. It wasn’t hard to imagine what a ferocious expression Jiang Cheng had at the time, it’s no wonder an ordinary person would flee in terror.

The landlady said, “Also, I heard that another person was also scared away.”

Wei Wuxian asked, “Scared away by what?” It couldn’t be that he happened to run into Jiang Cheng whipping people again. Just how hard was Jiang Cheng working on capturing people and how frequently did he whip them?

The landlady said, “No, no, no. It was also his bad luck. That person’s surname was Wen, and it just so happens that the Jiang Sect Leader’s arch-enemy also has the surname Wen. He hates everyone with the surname Wen, to the point that he grits his teeth when he sees them, wishing he could tear them apart. How could he possibly be in a good mood…”

Wei Wuxian lowered his head, pinched the bridge of his nose, and remained silent. Fortunately, he didn’t need to say anything. After babbling on for so long, the landlady was satisfied. She said, “I’ve been talking for too long, delaying your meal, haven’t I? I won’t disturb you, I’ll go downstairs now. If you need anything, just tell me.”

Wei Wuxian thanked her and sent her to the door, then turned around and said, “It seems we need to trace the matter back eight years ago. Tomorrow, we’ll find some locals who have deep roots here to ask.”

Lan Wangji nodded slightly. Wei Wuxian said, “However, we probably won’t find out much. Eight years is too long, people forget many things.”

He raised his hand to pour wine, hesitated for a moment, and then immediately warned himself, “It’s fine if he doesn’t drink. If he does, I’ll only ask a few questions, nothing more. Just clarify what he’s thinking. Anyway, he won’t remember anything after he’s sober… it won’t delay anything.”

After assuring himself like this, he steadily poured a cup of wine and calmly pushed it in front of Lan Wangji. He was already prepared for Lan Wangji not to drink, but whether it was because Lan Wangji was worried about something or not, he didn’t look at it and simply lifted the cup, finishing it in one gulp.

Wei Wuxian brought his own cup to his lips, intentionally or unintentionally observing the other side’s movements. However, after just taking a small sip, he choked and coughed violently, thinking, “The landlady is truly an honest person, saying that she’d find the strongest stuff, and she really did find something this potent.” But in fact, in the past, he had downed liquor ten times stronger than this without changing his expression, this time he choked just because he was distracted. He wiped the wine off his clothes. When he looked up again, Lan Wangji had, as expected, entered his state.

This time, he fell asleep sitting on the mat, still sitting upright, and apart from his closed eyes and slightly lowered head, his posture was no different from usual. Wei Wuxian waved his hand in front of him, but there was no reaction at all. Only then did he relax. He reached out a hand and lightly lifted Lan Wangji’s chin, whispering, “These past few days have really stifled me. Hanguang-Jun, you’ve finally fallen into my hands.”

The sleeping Lan Wangji obediently tilted his face up. When this face had its eyes open, because of the pale color of his pupils, his gaze was cold, and he appeared indifferent, with an inviolable aura. But after closing his eyes, his features became much gentler, like a young and handsome jade statue, serene and peaceful, with a great attraction to people. The more Wei Wuxian looked, the more mesmerized he became. He couldn’t help but hold his chin, drawing his face closer and closer, until he was too close. In the midst of the clear, cold sandalwood fragrance, he suddenly came back to his senses, feeling that things were not good, and he quickly withdrew his hand. Lan Wangji’s head drooped again.

Wei Wuxian’s heart pounded wildly. In order to calm himself down, he rolled around on the ground a few times, then jumped up, silently reciting some words of composure. He slowly crept back to face Lan Wangji. After sitting properly for a while, and waiting for him to wake up, with a thief’s heart that wouldn’t die, he poked his cheeks again. After poking him twice, he suddenly thought that he had never seen what Lan Wangji looked like when he smiled, so he used his two fingers to lift the corners of Lan Wangji’s mouth upward, wanting to see his smiling appearance. Suddenly, his finger felt a slight pain. Lan Wangji had opened his eyes, staring coldly at him.

And Wei Wuxian’s index finger was being bitten in his mouth.