Jin GuangYao walked over and spoke with a tone of respect, “Brother.”
Nie MingJue, “Who was that?”
After a moment of hesitation, Jin GuangYao answered carefully, “Xue Yang.”
Nie MingJue frowned, “Xue Yang of Kuizhou?”
Jin GuangYao nodded. Xue Yang had been infamous ever since he was young. Wei WuXian clearly felt Nie MingJue’s brows knit even tighter. He spoke, “Why are you wasting your time with such a person?”
Jin GuangYao, “The LanlingJin Sect recruited him.”
He didn’t dare to protest any further. Excuse being that he needed to care for the guests, he scurried to the other side. Nie MingJue shook his head and turned around. With the turn, Wei WuXian immediately felt his eyes lit up. He felt as though snow had begun to fall from the sky, drifting toward a hall illuminated by moonlight. Side by side, Lan XiChen and Lan WangJi walked over.
The two jades of Lan stood together, one wearing the xiao, the other carrying the guqin; one warmly gentle, the other coldly austere. Nevertheless, they were similarly stunning, similarly poised, truly the same color, yet two different airs. No wonder others had always stared and exclaimed with such a sight.
The current Lan WangJi still had some naivety at the edges, but the cold expression that kept everyone at arm’s length was the same. Wei WuXian’s gaze stuck to his face at once, unable to be move away no matter what. Regardless of whether or not he could hear it, Wei WuXian shouted happily, “Lan Zhan! I miss you so much! Hahahahahahaha!”
Suddenly, a voice spoke, “Sect Leader Nie, Sect Leader Lan.”
Hearing the familiar voice, Wei WuXian’s heart jumped. Nie MingJue turned around again. Jiang Cheng came over, dressed in purple, hand on his sword.
And the person standing beside Jiang Cheng was none other than Wei WuXian himself.
He saw himself walk with hands behind his back, wearing all black. A flute in the shade of ink stuck to his waist, hanging down with crimson colored tassels. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Jiang Cheng, he nodded in this direction to show respect. Attitude slightly arrogant, he took on a profound, disdainful appearance. As Wei WuXian saw the stance of his younger self, the root of his teeth even cringed in soreness. He felt that he really was pretentious, and itched to just beat the hell out of himself.
Lan WangJi also saw Wei WuXian, who stood beside Jiang Cheng. The tip of his brows twitched ever so slightly. Soon afterward, his light-colored eyes returned to where they were, still looking forward in that composed way. Jiang Cheng and Nie MingJue nodded at each other with grave faces. Neither had anything unnecessary to say. After a hasty greeting, the two walked their separate ways. Wei WuXian saw his black-clothed self glance around as he finally saw Lan WangJi. He looked as if he was about to speak before Jiang Cheng came over and stood to his side. Heads down, they each said something, wearing serious expressions on their faces. Wei WuXian laughed aloud. Still walking beside Jiang Cheng, he went toward another area. The people around them also moved to make quite some space for them.
Wei WuXian thought about it carefully—just what was it that they talked about? Originally, he couldn’t recall it no matter what. He only remembered after scrutinizing the shape of their mouths through Nie MingJue’s sight. Back then, what he said was, ‘Jiang Cheng, ChiFeng-Zun is so much taller than you, haha.’
And what Jiang Cheng said was, ‘Gest lost. You want to die?’
Nie MingJue’s gaze turned over again, “Why does Wei Ying not carry his sword?”
Carrying one’s sword was like wearing formal attire. In such gatherings, it was a non-negligible indication of etiquette. Those from prominent sects saw it as especially important. Lan WangJi responded in a lukewarm tone, “He had probably forgotten.”
Ning MingJue raised a brow, “He can even forget something like this?”
Lang WangJi, “It is nothing out of the ordinary.”
Wei WuXian, Well, well, bad-mouthing me behind my back. Now I’ve caught you.
Lan XiChen smiled, “Young Master Wei has said before that he does not want to care about any of the redundant formalities. Let alone carrying his sword, even if he does not wear his clothes, what can others do about him? How truly youthful.”
Hearing from another person’s mouth the arrogant words he had once said did indeed bring up an indescribable feeling. Wei WuXian felt a bit ashamed, yet he couldn’t really do anything either. Suddenly, he heard Lan WangJi mutter under his breath, “How frivolous.”
He voice was extremely soft, as though it was directed at only himself. The two words knocked upon Wei WuXian’s ears, somehow making his heart skip a few beats as well.
Lan XiChen looked at him, “Hmm? Why are you still here?”
Lan WangJi was a bit confused. With a straight face, he replied, “Brother is here, so of course I am here as well.”
Lan XiChen, “Why have you not gone to converse with him yet? They will soon be far gone.”
Wei WuXian found this rather strange, Why did ZeWu-Jun bring this up? Might it be that Lan Zhan had something to say to me?
Before he could see how Lan WangJi reacted, a series of clamor suddenly came from the other end of the base. Wei WuXian heard his own raging shout, “Jin ZiXuan! Don’t you forget about what things you said and what things you did? What do you mean by this, now?!”
Wei WuXian remembered. So it was this time!
On the other side, Jin ZiXuan also fumed, “I was asking Sect Leader Jiang, not you! The one I was asking about was also Maiden Jiang. How is that related to you?!”
Wei WuXian, “Well said! How is my shijie related to you? Back then, who was the one whose eyes grew on the back of their head?”
Jin ZiXuan, “Sect Leader Jiang—this is our sect’s flower banquet, and this is your sect’s person! Are you going to look after him or not?!”
Lan XiChen, “ Why have they begun to argue again?”
Lan WangJi looked over there, yet his feet were still stuck to the ground. A while later, as if he was finally determined to do something, he stepped forward. He was about to go over when Jiang Cheng’s voice came, “Wei WuXian, you can just shut your mouth. Young Master Jin, I’m sorry. My sister is doing quite well. Thank you for your concern. We can talk about this next time.”
Wei WuXian laughed coldly, “Next time? There is no next time! Whether or not she’s doing well isn’t any of his business, either! Who does he think he is?”
He turned around and started to leave. Jiang Cheng shouted, “Get back here! Where are you going?”
Wei WuXian waved his hands, “Anywhere is fine! Just don’t let me see that face of his. I never wanted to come, anyway. You can deal with whatever’s here yourself.”
Having been abandoned by Wei WuXian, Jiang Cheng’s face immediately clouded over. Jin GuangYao had been busying himself with all sorts of things in and out of the place. He faced all guests with smiles, all problems with action. Seeing that something went wrong over here, he emerged again, “Young Master Wei, please wait!”
Hands behind his back, Wei WuXian walked at a fast pace. His face was dark, and he didn’t pay attention to anyone. Lan WangJi walked a step toward him, but before he had a chance to speak, the two of them brushed shoulders and parted.
Jin GuangYao couldn’t catch up with Wei WuXian. He stomped his foot on the ground and sighed, “And there he goes. Sect Leader Jiang, just… just what should I do?”