Hearing this, Lan WangJi’s eyes widened slightly.
Wei WuXian suddenly reached out and grabbed his shoulders, continuing, “But! But, from now on, what you say to me, what you do for me, I’ll remember all of them—I won’t forget a single thing!”
“…”
Wei WuXian, “You’re really great. I like you.”
“…”
“Or in other words, I fancy you, I love you, I want you, I can’t leave you, I whatever you.”
“…”
“I want to night-hunt with you for the rest of my life.”
“…”
Wei WuXian put three fingers together, pointing at the sky, the earth, and finally his heart, “And I want to sleep with you every day. I swear it’s not the heat of the moment or joking around like I’ve done in the past. I’m not doing it out of gratitude either. Anyways, it’s not because of anything else. I really just like you so much I want to sleep with you. I don’t want anyone but you—it can’t be anyone but you. You can do anything you want to me, however you like it. I’ll accept everything, as long as you’re willing to…”
Before he even finished, a gust of wind suddenly surged inside, putting out the rows of candles within the Guanyin Temple.
Without anyone noticing, the sprinkle had become a storm. The colliding lanterns outside the temple had already been dampened by the rainwater as well. Their surroundings suddenly sunk into darkness.
Wei WuXian couldn’t let out another sound. Amidst the darkness, Lan WangJi had already embraced him tightly, stopping him with his lips.
Lan WangJi’s breaths were short and disordered. His hoarse voice whispered beside Wei WuXian’s ear, “… fancy you…”
Wei WuXian hugged him tight, “Yes!”
Lan WangJi, “… love you, want you…”
Wei WuXian raised his voice, “Yes!”
Lan WangJi, “Cannot leave you… do not want anyone but you… it cannot be anyone but you!”
He repeated over and over again the words Wei WuXian said to him, his voice and his body trembling at the same time. Wei WuXian was almost under the illusion that he was about to cry.
After every sentence, the arm he wrapped around Wei WuXian’s waist tightened. Wei WuXian hurt from the embrace, but the arms he wrapped around Lan WangJi’s back tightened as well, almost making him unable to breathe. But still, he savored every moment as he wished to hug him even tighter.
He couldn’t see anything.
But their chests were right against each other’s. The two hearts couldn’t hide at all. Wei WuXian felt it with clarity—Lan WangJi’s throbbing heart, the heat that was about to break out of that chest, and something that landed at his neck before disappearing soundlessly, something that might have resembled a tear.
At this point, a series of quickened footsteps entered the main palace. Jin GuangYao, who had gone behind the palace to check on the situation with a few cultivators, returned again. Facing the strong wind, two monks stood each on one side, finally managing to shut and bolt the temple’s doors after exerting all their strength. Jin GuangYao fished out a fire talisman. After a light blow, the talisman ignited, and he used it to light up the red candles again. The dim, yellow flames were the only source of light in this lone temple amidst the night rain. Suddenly, two crisp knocks came from outside the door.
Hearing that someone was knocking, all of the people within the temple perked up their ears, looking at the entrance. The two monks who closed the doors seemed as though they faced a great threat. Soundlessly, they pointed their swords towards the doors.
Jin GuangYao’s expression didn’t change at all, “Who is it?”
The person outside, “Sect Leader, it’s me!”
It was Su She’s voice. Jin GuangYao gestured, and the two monks took off the bolt. Su She entered along with the roaring storm.
Affected by the wind and rain, the row of candles fluttered and flickered. The two monks immediately shut the doors again. Su She was drenched by the storm. His face was cold, and his lips were frozen to become a shade of purple. In his right hand he held his sword, and in his left a person. After he entered, he was just about to throw the person down when he saw Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi on two cushions by the side, still stuck together and refusing to part.
Su She had just suffered quite some losses from these two. His expression changed, and he immediately unsheathed his sword, glancing at Jin GuangYao. Seeing how he looked like nothing was wrong, Su She knew that these two were definitely under control already. He finally calmed down.
Jin GuangYao, “What’s wrong?”
Su She, “I met him on my way here. I thought he might be useful, so I caught him.”
Jin GuangYao approached and looked down, “Did you hurt him?”
Su She, “No. He was scared and passed out.” As he spoke, he tossed the person onto the ground. Jin GuangYao, “MinShan, don’t be so rough with him. He can’t take scares and falling down.”
Su She hurried, “Yes.” He then picked up the person whom he threw around and carefully placed them beside Lan XiChen. Lan XiChen had been staring at the person. He pushed aside their wet, messy hair and looked. The person who had been scared unconscious was indeed Nie HuaiSang. He’d probably been caught by Su She after he finished resting at Lotus Pier, on his way back to Qinghe.
He looked up, “Why did you seize HuaiSang?”
Jin GuangYao, “With another sect leader here, the others would be to some extent more careful anyways. But Brother, please don’t worry. You know how I’ve always been towards HuaiSang. When the time comes, I’ll definitely let you two leave without harm.”
Lan XiChen’s voice sounded indifferent, “Should I believe you?”
Jin GuangYao, “It’s your choice. Whether you believe me or not, Brother, you can’t do anything about it, can you?”
At this point, Su She threw his cool gaze towards Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi. He snickered, “HanGuang-Jun, Patriarch YiLing, who would’ve thought we’d meet so soon? And the tables have completely been turned. So how does it feel?”
Lan WangJi didn’t say anything. He never paid attention to such meaningless provocations. Wei WuXian thought to himself, How have the tables been turned? You were running away defeated back on Burial Mound, but aren’t you also running away defeated right now?
Perhaps Su She had been holding it back for too many years. He’d keep on rambling all on his own even without anyone provoking him. He examined Lan WangJi from top to bottom and mocked, “Things are already like this, and you’re still holding up the front you think looks so calm and collected. How long do you want to keep it up for?”
Lan WangJi was still silent. Lan XiChen, however, spoke up, “Sect Leader Su, when you were studying in the GusuLan Sect, I believe we never treated you badly. Why do you attack WangJi like this?”
Su She, “How dare I attack Second Young Master Lan, who’s been so talented ever since he was young? I just can’t bear looking at how he always thinks he’s such a big deal.”
Although it wasn’t the only time Wei WuXian knew that hatred could come without a reason, he still couldn’t help but be baffled, “Has HanGuang-Jun ever said he thinks he’s a big deal? If I remember correctly, isn’t ‘arrogance is forbidden’ part of the GusuLan Sect’s rules?”