Wei WuXian, “I don’t need anyone to speak for me.”
Jiang Cheng exploded, “Just what are you being so stubborn about? If you can’t do it then move over—I’ll do it!”
Wei WuXian gripped him even tighter, his fingers as tight as iron, “Jiang WanYin!”
Jiang Cheng, “Wei WuXian! Don’t you understand? When you’re standing on their side, you’re the bizarre genius, the miraculous hero, the force of the rebellion, the flower that blooms alone. But the second your voice differs from theirs, you’ve lost your mind, you’ve ignored morality, you’ve walked the crooked path. You think you can be immune to all those condemnations as you stay outside of the world and do whatever you want? No such precedent has happened before!”
Wei WuXian shouted, “If there’s been no precedent, then I’ll be the precedent!”
Swords unsheathed, the two stared at each other for a while. Neither was willing to take a single step back. A while later, Jiang Cheng spoke, “Wei WuXian, have you still not realized what the situation at hand is like? Do you really need me to say it out loud? If you insist on protecting them, then I won’t be able to protect you.”
Wei WuXian, “There’s no need to protect me. Just let go.”
Jiang Cheng’s face twisted.
Wei WuXian, “Just let go. Tell the world that I defected. From now on, no matter what Wei WuXian does, it’d have nothing to do with the YunmengJiang Sect.”
Jiang Cheng, “… All for the Wen Sect…? Wei WuXian, do you have a savior complex? Is it that you’ll die if you don’t stand up for someone and stir up some trouble?”
Wei WuXian stayed quiet. A while later, he answered, “So that’s why we should cut ties right now, in case anything I do affects the YunmengJiang Sect in the future.”
Or else, he really couldn’t make any guarantees on what he’d do in the future.
“…” Jiang Cheng murmured, “My mom said that you do nothing but bring our sect trouble. It’s true indeed.” He laughed coldly, talking to himself, “‘To attempt the impossible’? Fine. You understand the YunmengJiang Sect’s motto. Better than I do. Better than all of us do.”
He sheathed Sandu. The sword returned to its sheath with a clang. Jiang Cheng’s tone was indifferent, “Then let’s arrange for a duel.”
Three days later, the leader of the YunmengJiang Sect, Jiang Cheng, arranged for a duel with Wei WuXian.
They fought quite a fight in Yiling. Negotiations failed. Both resorted to violence.
Under Wei WuXian’s command, the fierce corpse Wen Ning struck Jiang Cheng once, breaking one of his arms. Jiang Cheng stabbed Wei WuXian once. Both sides suffered losses. Each spat out a mouthful of blood and left cursing the other. They had finally fallen out with each other.
After the fight, Jiang Cheng told the outside that Wei WuXian defected from the sect and was an enemy to the entire cultivation world. The YunmengJiang Sect had already cast him out. From then on, no ties remained between them—a clear line was drawn. Henceforth, no matter what he did, they’d have nothing to do with the YunmengJiang Sect!
Chapter 74: Distance—Part One
Translated by K of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
After the fight, because of Wen Ning’s brutally gruesome performance, a somewhat unfortunate nickname was given to him. That, however, would be a story for later. Although he was stabbed in the stomach by Jiang Cheng, Wei WuXian wasn’t concerned at all. He stuffed his intestines back into himself and like nothing ever happened, he even got Wen Ning to hunt down a few malign spirits as he bought a few large bags of potatoes.
When he returned to Burial Mound, Wen Qing bandaged his wound and scolded him as fiercely as possible, because it was radish seeds that she told him to buy.
After this, there came a number of ordinary days, when everyone lived in peace with one another. On Burial Mound, heading fifty-or-so of the Wen Sect’s cultivators, Wei WuXian planted vegetables, repaired houses, refined corpses, and made new tools. Every day when he was free, he played with the toddler Wen Yuan, son of Wen Qing’s cousin. He either let him hang on trees or buried him in the ground, fooling him that he’d grow faster if he was watered and bathed in sunlight. Then, he was scolded by Wen Qing again.
A few months passed like this. Aside from how the world’s comments on Wei WuXian worsened even more, there was no progress.
Wei WuXian couldn’t go down the mountain often. Since he was the only one who suppressed all of the dark beings of Burial Mound, he couldn’t venture too far or too long. Yet he was born an active person who couldn’t stay in one place for an extended amount of time. He could only roam around the town time after time, his excuse being to purchase necessities. With how long Wen Yuan had been on the mountain for, Wei WuXian felt that they couldn’t lock a child in such a place to play with mud all the time, and so one day, when he was shopping down the mountain, he took him along as well.
Having been to the town so many times, Wei WuXian was already familiar with it. He found his way to the vegetable vendor. Suddenly, he grabbed one and bristled, “Your potato is sprouting!”
The vendor seemed to have encountered a great enemy, “What do you want?!”
Wei WuXian, “How about a bit cheaper?”
In the beginning, Wen Yuan was still holding onto his leg. Wei WuXian walked back and forth, picking out potatoes and bargaining. Hanging on his leg, Wen Yuan felt tired just a while later. His short arms were sore, so he let go to rest for a bit. Yet, in just a few moments, the rush of the people on the streets made him reel left and right, losing his sense of direction. His line of sight was quite low. He walked here and there, but couldn’t find Wei WuXian’s long legs and black boots. Everything in front of his eyes were pants so grimey that they were the color of dirt. He grew more and more petrified. As he spun around dizzily, he bumped into someone’s leg.
The person wore a pair of white, immaculate boots and was walking slowly to begin with. Having been bumped into, he immediately stopped.
Wen Yuan looked up, jittering. First he saw a jade pendant hanging from the person’s waist, then a sash belt embroidered with patterns of drifting clouds, then neat lapels without a single fold in them, and finally a pair of eyes as light as stained glass, as cold as winter frost.
Face solemn, the stranger looked down at him. Wen Yuan suddenly felt scared.
On the other hand, Wei WuXian picked and chose for a long time before finally deciding not to buy these sprouted potatoes. He might be poisoned if he ate them, but the vendor still refused to lower the price, only giving him a contemptuous humph. Turning around, though, he realized that Wen Yuan was gone. He almost turned pale, searching for the toddler all along the streets. Suddenly, he heard the wails of a child, and he immediately rushed over. Somewhere not far away, a group of nosey passerbys gathered into a bustling circle, pointing at something and chattering among themselves. He shoved through the crowds, and his eyes lit up at once.
Lan WangJi, clothed in white and carrying Bichen on his back, stood frozen amid the crowd’s encirclement. He even seemed somewhat at a loss. When he took another look, Wei WuXian laughed so hard that he almost tripped over himself. A little kid sat collapsed before Lan WangJi’s feet, bawling his eyes out. Lan WangJi could neither stay nor leave, neither reach out nor talk to him. With a serious expression on his face, he seemed to be thinking about what to do.