A few of them pointed at one another, “Why did you blush?!”
“I only blushed because you blushed!”
Wen Ning never stepped forward to help Wei WuXian up in the first place. He didn’t follow them into the cabin either, squatting on the deck. Back then, the group all wondered why he didn’t go in. Now, they realized that the Ghost General really made the right decision.
Not a single third person could fit inside!
Watching them come out, Wen Ning made space for them to squat, almost as if he expected all this. However, Lan SiZhui was the only one who walked over, squatting down beside him. A few of the boys muttered on the side, “Why does SiZhui seem like he’s really close with the Ghost General?”
Wen Ning, “Young Master Lan, may I call you A-Yuan?”
All of the boys felt their hearts shiver, <em>… So the Ghost General is so quick to friendship?!</em>
Lan SiZhui replied gladly, “Sure!”
Wen Ning, “A-Yuan, have you been well these years?”
Lan SiZhui, “Very well.”
Wen Ning nodded, “HanGuang-Jun must’ve treated you kindly.”
Hearing him speak of Lan WangJi in such a respectful tone, Lan SiZhui felt even closer to him, “HanGuang-Jun treated me as if he were my brother or my father. He even taught me how to play the guqin.”
Wen Ning, “When did HanGuang-Jun start looking after you?”
After some thought, Lan SiZhui responded, “I cannot remember either. It was probably when I was around four or five. I do not have many memories of the things that happened when I was younger, but when I was younger, I doubt HanGuang-Jun was able to take care of me. I think HanGuang-Jun had been in secluded meditation for many years back then.”
He suddenly remembered that when HanGuang-Jun was doing secluded meditation, the first siege on Burial Mound happened at the same time.
Inside the cabin, Lan WangJi looked up at the door that the juniors closed as they barged out. He then looked down at Wei WuXian, whose head had tilted to the side again. Wrinkling his brows once more, Wei WuXian turned his head left and right, as though he was feeling really uncomfortable. Seeing this, Lan WangJi stood up, walked over to bolt the door, and sat back down beside Wei WuXian again. He held up his shoulders and gently let him lean in his arms.
This time, Wei WuXian’s head finally stopped moving. Shifting against his chest, he finally found the best position to sleep in. Watching him relax again, Lan WangJi looked down, gazing at the features of the person within his arms. His ink-colored hair fell from his shoulders. Suddenly, eyes still closed, Wei WuXian grabbed onto his lapel. His fingers just so happened to be around his forehead ribbon.
His grip was quite tight. Lan WangJi pinched one end of the ribbon and tugged. Not only did he fail to pull it out, he even made Wei WuXian’s eyelashes tremble. Soon later, he woke up.
When Wei WuXian finally opened his eyes, what he saw first was the wooden ceiling of the cabin. He sat up. Lan WangJi was standing before a wooden window, gazing at the glowing moon sitting atop the end of the river.
Wei WuXian, “Huh, HanGuang-Jun, did I pass out?”
Lan WangJi turned slightly to the side, answering calmly, “Yes.”
Wei WuXian asked again, “Where’s your forehead ribbon?”
“…”
After he asked, he looked down, exclaiming, “Huh, what happened? Why is it in my hand?”
He swung his legs down the benches, “I really am sorry. I like to hug things when I sleep, or else I tend to grab around. My apologies, here.”
After a moment of silence, Lan WangJi took back the forehead ribbon, “It is fine.”
However, Wei WuXian was trying so hard to hold back his laughter that he almost suffered an internal injury. Back then, there was indeed a moment when he really wanted to fall asleep, but he wasn’t so weak that he’d faint just like that. However, just as he wavered the slightest, Lan WangJi picked him up as fast as possible. Wei WuXian didn’t even have the face to open his eyes and say hey, there was no need to do this, he could stand up on his own. On top of that, he didn’t want to be put back down either. If he could be carried, why should he stand?
Wei WuXian touched his neck. In silence, he gloated as he regretted, <em>Lan Zhan, he really… If only I knew, I wouldn’t have woken up. If I remained unconscious, I’d be able to lie in his arms for the entire journey!</em>
At three in the morning, they reached Yunmeng.
Lights burned brightly before Lotus Pier’s gates and its docks, reflecting against the water to form pieces of gold. In the past, it was rare that so many boats of so many sizes could gather at the dock at the same time. Not only the guards at the gates, even the old men still at their stands selling midnight snacks were wide-eyed in astonishment. Jiang Cheng was the first to disembark the boats. He said a few words to the guards, and countless armed disciples immediately rushed out the gates. The people disembarked one after another, led inside by the YunmengJiang Sect’s guest cultivators. Sect Leader OuYang finally caught his son. Chastising in a low voice, he dragged him away. Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi walked out the cabin and leaped down the fishing boat.
Wen Ning, “Young Master, I’ll wait for you outside.”
Wei WuXian knew that Wen Ning wouldn’t enter the gates of Lotus Pier. Jiang Cheng definitely wouldn’t let him in, either. He nodded.
Lan SiZhui spoke up, “Mr. Wen, let me keep you company.”
Wen Ning, “You’ll keep me company?” He was quite happy, having never expected this.
Lan SiZhui smiled, “Yeah. The seniors are going inside to discuss important matters anyways. There is not much need for me to be present. Let us keep chatting. Where were we again? Did Senior Wei really plant a two-year-old child in the soil like a radish before?”
Although his voice was small, the two walking in the front had acute hearing. Wei WuXian almost tripped on his own foot. Lan WangJi’s eyebrows curved, but immediately went back to normal.
When their silhouettes finally disappeared into the gates of Lotus Pier, Lan SiZhui finally continued, whispering, “Poor child. But, in reality, I remember that when I was young, HanGuang-Jun had also put me in a pile of rabbits before. They are actually quite similar in some ways…”
Chapter 85: Loyalty—Part Seven
Before he stepped inside Lotus Pier’s gates, Wei WuXian took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself. But after he went in, he didn’t feel as excited as he thought he would.
It was perhaps because too many places had been renewed. The training field was two times larger. Each new building seemed to be taller than the previous, adorned with curving roof decor. It seemed grander than before and had more splendor. But, compared to the Lotus Pier of his memories, it had changed too much.
Wei WuXian felt a sense of loss from deep within. He didn’t know whether the old buildings from the past were blocked behind these impressive new buildings or if they were torn down already.
After all, they were indeed too old.
On the training field, the disciples gathered in the square arrays again, sitting in the lotus position to rest and restore their spiritual powers. Having been so busy during both the day and the night, all of these people had long since worn themselves out, desperately needing to catch their breaths. On the other hand, Jiang Cheng led the the sect leaders and other important personnel into the main hall, Sword Hall, to further discuss today’s matter.