Suddenly, a few shouts came from around them. About half-a-dozen boys wearing the LanlingJin Sect’s uniform leaped out from the garden. Jin Ling stopped talking at once.
The boys slowly approached them. The one leading the group was a boy of around the same age but a wider physique than Jin Ling, “I thought I saw wrong. So it really is him.”
Wei WuXian pointed to himself, “Me?”
The boy, “Who other than you?! Mo XuanYu, you still have the face to return?”
Jin Ling frowned, “Jin Chan, why did you come? It’s none of your business here.”
Wei WuXian, I see. It’s probably one of the kids from Jin Ling’s generation. And, looking at the way of things, this was a group of children who weren’t on good terms with Jin Ling.
Jin Chan, “It’s none of my business, but is it any of your business? Why do you care about me?”
As he spoke, three or four of the boys had already come over, as though they wanted to hold Wei WuXian down. With a sideways step, Jin Ling put himself in front of Wei WuXian, “Don’t mess around!”
Jin Chan, “Mess around? What’s wrong with teaching a lesson to an indecent disciple of our sect?”
Jin Ling snorted, “Wake up! He’s been kicked out a long time ago! He isn’t our sect’s disciple no matter how you see it.”
Jin Chan, “So what?”
The “so what” sounded so self-assured that Wei WuXian was flabbergasted. Jin Ling replied, “So what? Have you forgotten who he came with today? You want to teach him a lesson? Why don’t you ask HanGuang-Jun first?”
Hearing the name “HanGuang-Jun”, the boys all seemed nervous. Even if Lan WangJi wasn’t present, nobody dared to claim that they weren’t scared of HanGuang-Jun at all. After a while of silence, Jin Chan responded, “Ha, Jin Ling, didn’t you also use to hate him? How come today is so different?”
Jin Ling, “How do you have so many things to say? Does whether or not I hate him matter to you?”
Jin Chan, “He shamelessly harassed LianFang-Zun, and you’re still talking in favor of him?”
Wei WuXian felt as though he had been struck with thunder.
He harassed whom? LianFang-Zun? Who was LianFang-Zun again? Jin GuangYao?
He couldn’t believe it—the person Mo XuanYu had been harassing was LianFang-Zun, Jin GuangYao!
As he was trying to overcome the shock, on the other hand, after Jin Chan and Jin Ling exchanged a few more words, they’d somehow gotten to the point of seeking a fight with each other. Neither of them saw the other in a good light to begin with. The fuse was ignited at once. Jin Ling asserted, “If you want a fight, then let’s have a fight. You think I’m scared of you?”
One of the boys shouted, “Why not? He’s only gonna call a dog to help him anyways!”
Jin Ling heard this just as he was about to whistle. He clenched his teeth and roared, “I can beat you up even if I don’t call Fairy!!!”
Although his tone was ample with confidence, two fists were hardly a worthy opponent to four hands. After he started to fight, it was clear that his abilities began to fall short. He appeared to be losing ground, forced closer and closer to Wei WuXian.
Jin Ling seethed when he saw that Wei WuXian was still standing at the same place, “Why are you still standing around?!”
Wei WuXian suddenly grabbed his hand. Before Jin Ling had the chance to yell, he felt an overwhelming force press onto his wrist. He couldn’t help but collapse onto the ground. Enraged, he shouted, “Do you want to die?!!”
As he put down Jin Ling, who had been protecting him, Jin Chan and the others were startled. Yet, Wei WuXian asked, “You got it?”
Jin Ling was also startled, “What?”
Wei WuXian turned his hand again, “Have you understood?”
Feeling a numbing pain travel from his wrist to his entire body, Jin Ling cried again. Before his eyes, however, he could recall Wei WuXian’s swift, subtle movement. Wei WuXian spoke once more, “Again. Look carefully.”
One of the boys just happened to rush over. With one hand behind his back, Wei WuXian used the other hand to snatch at the boy’s wrist. He brought him to the ground in the blink of an eye. This time, Jin Ling saw what was going on. The aching part of his wrist also told him which acupoint to send his spiritual energy to. Springing to his feet, he seemed to be in high spirits, “Yes!”
The situation was reversed in an instant. Not long later, the boys’ frustrated cries sounded throughout the garden. In the end, Jin Chan fumed, “Jin Ling, just you wait!”
A trail of curses followed as the boys fled in defeat. Jin Ling, on the other hand, split his sides laughing behind them. When his laughter finally seemed to die, Wei WuXian spoke up, “Look at how happy you are. Your first time winning?”
Jin Ling spat, “I’ve always won one-on-one fights. But Jin Chan calls a bunch of helpers every single time. He’s got no face.”
Wei WuXian was just about to say that he could also find a bunch of people to help him. Fights didn’t have to be one-on-one. Sometimes, the number of people in one’s group could make a life-and-death difference. However, he realized that he had always seen Jin Ling go out alone, without any same-age disciples from his sect following him around. It was likely for Jin Ling to have no helpers to choose from, and thus he decided not to say anything.
Jin Ling, “Hey, how did you learn the move?”
Wei WuXian shoved the responsibility to Lan WangJi’s shoulders without showing even a hint of shame, “HanGuang-Jun taught me.”
Jin Ling didn’t doubt this at all. He had already seen Lan WangJi’s forehead ribbon tied to Wei WuXian’s hands anyways. He simply mumbled, “He even teaches you these things?”
Wei WuXian, “Sure he does. This is only a small trick, though. It’s your first time using it and they haven’t seen it, so the results are neat. They’ll eventually get it if you use it too many times. It won’t be so easy next time. How was that? You want to learn a few more moves from me?”
Jin Ling glanced at him and couldn’t help but answered, “Why are you like this? My younger uncle has always advised against this, but you’re egging me on.”
Wei WuXian, “Advised you? Against what? Don’t fight and get along with others nicely?”
Jin Ling, “Pretty much.”
Wei WuXian, “Don’t listen to him. Let me tell you—when you grow older, you’ll find out that there are more and more people you want to beat up, but you’ll have to force yourself to get along with them nicely. So, since you’re still young, go beat up all the people you want. At such an age, if you don’t have a few proper fights, your life won’t be complete.”
Jin Ling’s face betrayed faint yearning, yet he still sounded contemptuous, “What are you talking about? Uncle’s advice is for my own good.”
After he spoke, he suddenly remembered that the past Mo XuanYu had always regarded Jin GuangYao as a deity. He definitely wouldn’t have disagreed with Jin GuangYao in any way. Yet, now, he was saying “don’t listen to him”. Was it that he really didn’t hold any improper thoughts toward Jin GuangYao anymore?
Looking at his expression, Wei WuXian could guess what he was thinking of. He responded without any hesitation, “Looks like I can’t keep it from you anymore. That’s right. I’ve fallen for someone else.”