Chapter 120 One Hundred and Twenty

Chapter Summary: [Two months later. Yunmeng.]

After the collapse of the Wen clan of Qishan, the once most prosperous city...

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Two months later. Yunmeng.

After the collapse of the Qishan Wen Clan, the once prosperous Immortal Capital of Never Sleeps vanished in an instant, becoming a ruined city. A vast number of cultivators sought new places to live, dispersing to various new cities, with the largest influx to Lanling, Yunmeng, Gusu, and Qinghe. The long streets bustled with people; disciples and scions of various families walked with swords at their sides, discussing the current state of the world with great enthusiasm and high spirits.

Suddenly, the pedestrians around lowered their voices slightly and all turned their gazes toward the end of the long street.

Over there, a young man dressed in white with a headband, carrying a zither and a sword, was walking slowly towards them.

The man had an extremely handsome face, yet his entire being seemed shrouded in an aura of frost and snow. Even before he approached, the cultivators instinctively fell silent, paying him a respectful look. One of the more renowned individuals boldly stepped forward to greet him, saying, "Lord Hanguang."

Lan Wangji nodded slightly, returning the greeting meticulously, without lingering. The other cultivators, not daring to disturb him further, discreetly withdrew.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, a smiling girl in colorful clothes walked towards him, brushed past him quickly, and suddenly threw something at him.

Lan Wangji caught the object with incredible speed and, looking down, saw that it was a snow-white flower bud.

The flower buds were delicate and fresh, still glistening with dew. Lan Wangji remained silent, when another graceful figure approached, tossing a small, light blue flower. It was meant for his heart, but missed, hitting his shoulder instead. Lan Wangji caught it, and as his gaze shifted, the woman giggled, then shamelessly covered her face and fled.

The third time, a young girl with her hair in two buns skipped over, holding a bunch of flowers with a few red buds in her arms. She threw it at his chest and ran away.

Time and again, Lan Wangji had already received a large bunch of colorful flowers and branches, standing expressionlessly on the street. The cultivators who recognized Hanguang-jun wanted to laugh but dared not, feigning seriousness while their gazes kept drifting in his direction; the ordinary people who didn't recognize him began to point and whisper. Lan Wangji was deep in thought when suddenly his hair felt heavy. He raised his hand, and a brightly blooming pink peony landed squarely beside his temple.

Everyone: ...

Well, needless to say, compared to other cultivators who only dared to keep quiet and make way for Hanguang-jun, not daring to utter a sound, who else but Wei Wuxian would dare to let Lan Wangji be teased like this?

A cheerful voice drifted from a high-rise building: "Lan Zhan—ah, no, Hanguang-jun. What a coincidence!"

Lan Wangji looked up and saw pavilions and towers with draped curtains fluttering in the breeze. A slender figure in black leaned against a vermilion balustrade, one hand hanging down, holding an exquisite black pottery wine pot. Half of the wine pot's bright red tassel was tied to his arm, while the other half swayed gently in mid-air.

Upon seeing Wei Wuxian's face, the expressions of the young noble families who had been watching all turned quite strange. Everyone knew that the Yiling Patriarch and Hanguang-jun had a bad relationship. They had fought side by side several times during the Sunshot Campaign, and even when they were on the same front, they would often quarrel. They wondered what tricks he would pull this time, and they couldn't even pretend to be reserved anymore, staring at the two of them even more intently.

Lan Wangji did not coldly turn away as they had guessed; he simply said, "It's you."

Wei Wuxian said, "It's me! Of course it's me who would do such a pointless thing. What brings you to Yunmeng? If you're not in a hurry, come up and have a drink."

Several young girls surrounded him, crowding onto the balustrade and laughing down at him, "Yes, young master, come up and have a drink!"

These girls were the same ones who had thrown flowers at him earlier; it was obvious who had instigated this behavior.

Lan Wangji lowered his head and turned to leave. Wei Wuxian, seeing he couldn't provoke him, wasn't surprised. He clicked his tongue, rolled off the chaise lounge, and took a swig of wine from the pot. Unexpectedly, a moment later, a series of footsteps, neither too loud nor too soft, neither too fast nor too slow, approached.

Everyone: ...

It must be said that although Wei Wuxian's behavior was unrestrained, he truly looked dashing and debonair while residing in such a high place.

Just a moment ago, Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes again.

You keep flirting with him day after day, making yourself a laughing stock among the young masters of the surrounding noble families. In the end, Lan Wangji doesn't even bother with you. How embarrassing!

A moment later, they heard Lan Wangji's footsteps going upstairs.

Jiang Cheng: ...

Lan Wangji's thoughts are indeed harder to fathom than those of women.

Lan Wangji steadily ascended the stairs, lifted the curtain, and entered. The beaded curtain jingled, its crisp sound like music.

He placed the stack of flowers that had just hit him on the small table and said, "Your flowers."

Wei Wuxian leaned against the small table and said, "You're welcome. These are your flowers, they're already yours."

Lan Wangji asked, "Why?"

Wei Wuxian said, "For no reason, I just wanted to see how you would react to something like this."

Lan Wangji said, "Boring."

Wei Wuxian said, "I was just bored, otherwise why would I have dragged you up here... Hey, hey, don't go! We're already up here, why don't we have a couple of drinks before we leave?"

Lan Wangji said, "Alcohol is prohibited."

Wei Wuxian said, "I know your family forbids alcohol. But this isn't Cloud Recesses, so it's okay to have a couple of drinks."

The girls immediately took out new wine cups, filled them, and pushed them beside the pile of flowers. Lan Wangji still showed no intention of sitting down, but he also seemed to have no intention of leaving.

Wei Wuxian said, "It's rare for you to come all the way to Yunmeng. Are you really not going to try the fine wine here? However, although the wine is good, it still can't compare to the Emperor's Smile from your Gusu. It's truly the best wine. If I have the chance to go to your Gusu again in the future, I will definitely hoard ten or eight jars of it and drink it all in one go. What's wrong with you? You have a seat but you insist on standing. Sit down!"

The girls all cheered, "Sit down!" "Sit down!"

Lan Wangji's light-colored eyes coldly surveyed the exquisitely beautiful young women, then his gaze settled on the jet-black flute with a red tassel at Wei Wuxian's waist. He seemed to be deep in thought, considering his words. Seeing this, Wei Wuxian raised an eyebrow, somewhat anticipating what he was about to say.

As expected, Lan Wangji slowly said, "You shouldn't spend your days associating with such people."

The others listened to the two's boring conversation and remarked that it was really too difficult to make conversation when there was nothing to say.

I also admire the group of girls around me who started cheering even at Hanguang-jun's cold face.

Then they heard Lan Wangji say something in a low voice.

The crowd in the room was so frightened that their hair stood on end.

Non-human?!

Nie Huaisang suddenly trembled, the tip of his fan pointing shakily at the figures in the sky: "These...these girls are...are they ghosts?! They look..." They really do look no different from living people!

Those around him felt a chill run down their spines, but Xue Yang stared at the girls with shining eyes. Anyone unaware of his passion for the Ghost Path would have thought he had taken a liking to one of them.

The smiles on the faces of the girls who were cheering for Wei Wuxian vanished instantly.

The gauze curtains fluttered, intermittently blocking the sunlight, casting flickering light within the pavilion. At this moment, their snow-white faces seemed excessively pale, devoid of color, even appearing somewhat ashen. Their gazes were fixed intently on Lan Wangji, emanating a chilling aura.

"My God!" Nie Huaisang rubbed his arms, this was even more creepy than those paper figures before.

Wei Wuxian raised his hand, signaling them to step aside. He shook his head and said, "Lan Zhan, you're getting less and less interesting as you get older. You're so young, not seventy or eighty years old. Why do you always act like your uncle, so rigid and always trying to lecture people?"

Lan Wangji turned around, took a step closer to him, and said, "Wei Ying, you should come back to Gusu with me."

“…” Wei Wuxian said, “I haven’t heard that in a long time. The Sunshot Campaign is over, I thought you had given up long ago.”

Lan Wangji said, "During the last hunt at Hundred Phoenix Mountain, did you notice any signs?"

Wei Wuxian asked, "What omen?"

Lan Wangji said, "Out of control."

Wei Wuxian said, "You mean I almost got into a fight with Jin Zixuan? I think you've got it wrong. I always want to fight whenever I see Jin Zixuan."

Lan Wangji said, "And what you said later."

Wei Wuxian said, "What are you talking about? I talk so much every day, I've already forgotten what I said two months ago."

Lan Wangji looked at him, seemingly able to see at a glance that he was just giving a perfunctory answer. He took a breath and said, "Wei Ying."

He stubbornly insisted, "The path of the ghosts harms the body and damages the mind."

Wei Wuxian seemed to have a headache and said helplessly, "Lan Zhan, I've heard enough of these words. Haven't you said enough yet? You said it would harm my body, but I'm perfectly fine now. You said it would harm my mind, but I haven't become any more depraved."

Lan Wangji said, "It's not too late now, but you'll regret it later..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wei Wuxian's expression changed, and he suddenly stood up, saying, "Lan Zhan!"

Upon hearing the first sentence, Lan Qiren's beard seemed about to fly up again, as he continued to gossip about the old man behind his back day after day.

However, the conversation that followed made everyone think deeply.

In fact, looking back along the way, Wei Wuxian's temperament has changed somewhat.

Originally, I was just used to doing things casually, but now, I'm like a little beast covered in thorns, not to be touched by anyone who asks me questions.

Lan Wangji was right back then. The path of demons must be controlled by the mind, and what is controlled are the most uncontrollable ghosts and demons. This practice damages one's character, and although the effects may not be immediately apparent, it is ultimately not a sustainable solution.

Wei Wuxian is now obedient and well-behaved under Lan Wangji's control. As long as he doesn't use demonic cultivation, he usually lives the life of a carefree playboy who spends his days traveling around the mountains and rivers.

But what about Wei Wuxian back then?

Without the Golden Core, he needed another suit of armor, his only lifeline in the face of life and death. How could he tolerate any doubt or slander from others? If there were any other way, why would he be willing to walk the path that was once a joke but now seems like a prophecy?

Regardless of how a person changes after experiencing several devastating blows from their loved ones, having walked through the gates of hell in a mass grave, no one should call them arrogant. How many people in this world can actually walk out of a mass grave?

Moreover, out of jealousy, the various aristocratic families only bring up the Ghost Path, saying it is an evil path, but it is precisely this evil path that has saved so many cultivators.

You might call him arrogant, but he remains so kind, laughing off the rumors and gossip. If Jin Zixun hadn't touched on the Jiang family's upbringing that day, how could he have provoked his subsequent remarks?

He has always been easily influenced. Don't be fooled by his usual carefree and nonchalant attitude. He says he should remember the good things others do for him, but he is actually a very meticulous person. He might only listen to three-tenths of what others say about him, but he might listen to seven-tenths of what others say about him.

Just like the scolding from Madam Yu since childhood, he eventually absorbed a lot of it, to the point that in his subconscious, he could not place himself on the same level as Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli. He always thought he was not important, so he was willing to give up even his golden core; he always took the responsibility upon himself, so even decades after his death, he still felt guilty.

He listened to most of what people said behind his back, and it seemed that they all said he was wrong. Now that even Lan Wangji was asking him this question, he could only arm himself with a tough attitude.

Deep down, he knew he hadn't done anything wrong, but the slander, sarcasm, and defamation from others made him doubt himself, and these two thoughts kept tearing him apart.

Like being slowly sliced ​​to death.

This caused him to continuously sink into a quagmire.

His mindset changed drastically; ghosts and monsters accounted for three parts, while the words of ordinary people accounted for seven.

Words can hurt, and they really can kill.

He killed that once spirited young man.