Wei WuXian, “Lan Zhan, don’t! Don’t back away!”
But Lan WangJi immediately walked five steps back without any hesitation. Jin GuangYao, “Wonderful. Now, please unsheathe Bichen.”
With a clank, Lan WangJi obeyed again. Wei WuXian raged, “Don’t ask for too much!”
Jin GuangYao, “This is already asking for too much? Next, I’m even going to ask HanGuang-Jun to seal away his spiritual powers. What would that be called?”
Wei WuXian seethed, “You…”
Before he could finish, the sharp pain of flesh being lacerated came from his throat. Something dripped down his neck. Lan WangJi’s face was pale. Jin GuangYao, “How could he not listen to me? Just think about it, Young Master Wei, his* life is in my hands.”
*T/n: Not a typo, WWX is LWJ’s life, that’s a fact.
Lan WangJi spoke a word at a time, “Do not touch him.”
Jin GuangYao, “Then you know what to do, HanGuang-Jun.”
A moment later, Lan WangJi responded, “Yes.”
Lan XiChen sighed. Lan WangJi raised his hands. With two strong taps, he locked his own spiritual powers.
Jin GuangYao smiled, his voice soft, “This really is…”
Lan WangJi’s eyes were locked on them, “Let him go.”
Wei WuXian, however, stopped him, “Lan Zhan! I-I have to tell you something.”
Jin GuangYao, “Let’s save it for later.”
Wei WuXian, “No. It’s really urgent.”
Jin GuangYao, “Then you can also say it right now.”
It was only an offhand comment, but Wei WuXian seemed as if he realized something, “You’re right.” Right after, Wei WuXian shouted with all he could, “Lan Zhan! Lan WangJi! HanGuang-Jun! Back then, I-I really wanted to sleep with you!”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Jin GuangYao’s hands loosened, and the string fell. As soon as he felt the stinging at his neck disappear, Wei WuXian threw himself at Lan WangJi, unable to wait a second longer.
The shocking confession just now struck Lan WangJi with such force that he still hadn’t finished processing it. A few rare streaks of loss and confusion appeared on his normally calm face. It wasn’t the first time Wei WuXian hugged him as if he was clinging on for dear life, but this time, it was as though Lan WangJi’s body had turned into a heavy log. He froze so much that he didn’t even know where to put his hands.
Wei WuXian, “Lan Zhan, did you hear what I said?!”
Lan WangJi’s lips moved. A moment later, he spoke, “You…” He’d always been concise and comprehensive with his words, never pausing at all. But right now, he paused with more hesitance than ever. Another moment later, he continued, “You said…”
He seemed as if he wanted to repeat it to make sure he didn’t hear it wrong. But to Lan WangJi, those words were indeed too hard to say. Immediately, Wei WuXian decided to say it again, “I said I really wanted to…”
“Ahem!” Standing on the side, Lan XiChen clenched his right hand into a fist and put it to his lips. After some thought, he sighed, “… Young Master Wei, it certainly isn’t the best time and place to say such words.”
Wei WuXian apologized without any sincerity, “I’m really sorry, Sect Leader Lan, but I really couldn’t wait a second longer.”
Jin GuangYao also seemed like he couldn’t wait a second longer. He turned around, “Have you still not dug it out yet?!”
One of the monks responded, “Sect Leader, you buried it too deep back then…”
Jin GuangYao’s expression twisted, his face pale. Even despite this, he didn’t scold his subordinate, “Hurry up!”
Before he finished, a white streak of lightning climbed across the sky. A moment later, thunder boomed. Jin GuangYao gazed at the sky, his face dark. Soon, thin strands of rain fluttered in the sky. Wei WuXian clung to Lan WangJi. He was still trying to let the endless words burst from his chest when the cold rain blew onto his face, calming him down.
Jin GuangYao turned to Lan XiChen, “ZeWu-Jun, it’s raining. Let’s take shelter in the temple.”
Even if Lan XiChen was already under his control, he still faced Jin GuanYao with complete courtesy, not treating him with the slightest bit of harshness. He didn’t seem any different from before except for being especially polite. It was hard to vent off to him even if one was angry. After all, one couldn’t slap a smiling face, much less someone like Lan XiChen who didn’t get angry much to begin with. Jin GuangYao stepped over the threshold first and entered the main palace. The rest of the group followed.
Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi had already come inside once during the day. The inside of the building was quite wide and grand. The red walls and the golden lacquer were all good as new. It was clear that people often cleaned the place. The monks and cultivators were digging at the back of the palace. However deep they’d dug already, they still hadn’t dug up what Jin GuangYao buried. Wei WuXian looked up unintentionally, and was immediately surprised.
The Guanyin statue atop the altar had beautiful features. Compared to the usual Guanyin statues, this one had less kindness and more grace. What made him somewhat surprised was that the Guanyin Temple seemed a bit familiar, like someone he knew. Wasn’t it Jin GuangYao, who was standing right there?
It wasn’t so stark at first glance, but when compared to Jin GuangYao, the two seemed more and more alike. Wei WuXian thought, Is Jin GuangYao really such a self-obsessed person? It wasn’t enough to be the Chief Cultivator of the entire world—he even had to carve a heavenly statue in his appearance to receive the worship of tens of thousands of people? Or is this some sort of dark cultivation technique that I don’t know about?
Lan WangJi’s voice suddenly rang beside his ears, “Sit.”
Wei WuXian’s thoughts immediately returned. Lan WangJi gathered four cushions from the temple, giving two to Lan XiChen and Jin Ling and two to Wei WuXian and him. But for some reason, both Lan XiChen and Jin Ling moved their cushions quite far away from them. And coincidentally, they gazed into the distance in unison.
Jin GuangYao and the rest had already gone behind the palace to inspect how the digging was going. Tugging Lan WangJi, Wei WuXian sat down on the cushion. Perhaps because his mind was far off, Lan WangJi’s figure wobbled from the tug before sitting down properly. Wei WuXian calmed himself a bit before gazing at Lan WangJi’s face.
His eyes looked down. Not many emotions could be seen. Wei WuXian knew that with just those words, Lan WangJi probably couldn’t believe him yet. He was tortured by a smiling, oblivious person who knew nothing of his crimes. It was only natural that he didn’t believe it. After he thought so, Wei WuXian felt his chest go heavy. His heart hurt so much it shivered. He didn’t dare think of it any longer, but he knew that he should increase the dose.
He spoke, “Lan Zhan, l-look at me.”
His voice was still a bit tight. Lan WangJi, “Mn.”
After a deep breath, Wei WuXian whispered, “… I really do have a bad memory. I can’t remember a lot of the things that happened in the past, including the time at the Nightless City. I don’t remember a single bit of what happened during those days.”