Chapter 16

Chapter Summary: [Wei Wuxian gently pushed off the water with his bamboo pole, and the small boat sped forward, rowing alongside Lan Wangji. The two boats were side by side, and he said, "Lan Zhan, just now I was ill..."]

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Wei Wuxian gently pushed the water with his bamboo pole, and the small boat sped away, rowing alongside Lan Wangji. The two boats were side by side, and he said, "Lan Zhan, I didn't mean to splash you with water just now. Water ghosts are very clever; if I had said it out loud, they would have run away. Hey, pay attention to me! Look at me, Second Young Master Lan."

Lan Wangji condescended to acknowledge him, glanced at him, and asked, "Why did you follow me?"

Wei Wuxian said sincerely, "I've come to apologize to you. I was wrong last night, I was wrong."

Lan Wangji's forehead was slightly dark. He probably hadn't forgotten how Wei Wuxian had "apologized" to him before. Wei Wuxian asked knowingly, "Why do you look so pale? Don't worry, I really came to help today."

Jiang Cheng couldn't stand it anymore and said, "If you want to help, stop talking nonsense and come here!"

A student shouted, "The internet is moving!"

Sure enough, the net ropes shook violently. Wei Wuxian's spirits lifted: "It's here! It's here!"

Thick, black, silky hair billowed around dozens of small boats, and pale hands clung to the gunwales. Lan Wangji drew his sword, Bichen, and severed more than a dozen wrists on the left side of the boat, leaving only the hands with fingers deeply embedded in the wood. Just as he was about to cut the right side, a flash of red light appeared, and Wei Wuxian had already sheathed his sword.

The commotion in the water subsided, and the net ropes calmed down again. Wei Wuxian's sword strike had been incredibly fast, but Lan Wangji had already discerned that the sword he carried was undoubtedly a high-grade spiritual sword. He solemnly asked, "What is the name of this sword?"

Wei Wuxian said, "Whatever."

Lan Wangji looked at him. Wei Wuxian, thinking he hadn't heard him clearly, repeated, "Whatever."

Lan Wangji frowned and refused: "This sword has a spirit, and to address it casually would be disrespectful."

Wei Wuxian sighed and said, "Think outside the box. I didn't mean you can call it whatever you want, but this sword is called 'Suibian' (meaning 'whatever'). Here, look." He handed it over, letting Lan Wangji see the inscription on the sword. Two ancient characters were engraved in the patterns on the scabbard, indeed the words "Suibian".

Lan Wangji was speechless for a long time.

Wei Wuxian considerately said, "You don't need to tell me, I know you're probably wondering why I have this name. Everyone asks, is there any special meaning? Actually, there's no special meaning. It's just that when Uncle Jiang bestowed the sword upon me, he asked me what I wanted to name it. I thought of more than twenty names, but none of them satisfied me. I thought I'd let Uncle Jiang give me one, so I answered 'Whatever!' Who knew that when the sword was forged and came out of the furnace, those two characters were on it. Uncle Jiang said, 'Since that's the case, then this sword will be called Whatever.' Actually, it's not a bad name, right?"

Finally, Lan Wangji squeezed out two words through gritted teeth: "...Absurd!"

Wei Wuxian slung his sword over his shoulder and said, "You're so boring. This name is hilarious; it's perfect for someone as serious as you, haha!"

Everyone: ...

It's so pitiful that she's so carefree.

Qinghengjun chuckled lightly: "Brother Fengmian is indeed... free-spirited."

Jiang Fengmian smiled but remained silent.

"Hmph, you've embarrassed yourself to the core." Yu Ziyuan snorted coldly.

Jiang Fengmian's smile froze, and he glanced awkwardly at Yu Ziyuan.

Wei Wuxian rested his chin on his hand, smacked his lips, and said, "I wonder where I just threw it away now?"

Everyone: ...

Suddenly I feel even more sorry for Suibian.

Lan Wangji looked tenderly at the person in his arms.

Looking back at that conversation, one can only feel the pure and innocent heart of the youth, something hard to find again. Casual and carefree, the choice of name was arbitrary, yet it reflected the same carefree spirit of his youth. Now, having abandoned the sword and lost his spiritual power, his state of mind is different, and his youth is gone forever.

Just then, a long, dark shadow flashed past the small boat on the emerald green lake. Jiang Cheng, having finished off the water monsters on his side, was still keeping an eye out for any missed ones. Upon seeing the shadow, he immediately shouted, "It's here again!"

Several students rowed with oars, using nets to chase the dark shadow in the water. From the other side, someone shouted, "There's one here too!"

A dark shadow darted across the water, and several small boats, trailing nets, sped off, but caught nothing. Wei Wuxian said, "Strange. The shape of that shadow doesn't resemble a human. And it keeps changing length and size... Lan Zhan, get on your boat!"

Lan Wangji drew his sword, Bichen, from his back and plunged it into the water. Moments later, it shot out of the river with a sharp whistle, leaving a trail of water in its wake. But it had struck nothing.

He gripped his sword, his expression solemn, and was about to speak when another disciple beside him also threw out his longsword, aiming it at a dark shadow that darted across the river.

But after he plunged his sword into the water, it never emerged again. He tried to summon it back several times using his sword technique, but nothing came out of the water. His sword seemed to have been swallowed by the lake, vanishing without a trace. This disciple, a boy about the same age as Wei Wuxian and the others, grew increasingly pale after losing his sword. An older disciple nearby said, "Su She, we haven't even determined what's in the water yet. Why did you recklessly plunge your sword into it?"

Su She seemed somewhat flustered, but his expression remained relatively calm: "I saw the Second Young Master also wielding his sword and entering the water..."

He realized before he finished speaking how tactless those words were. Neither Lan Wangji nor the Bichen sword were comparable to others. Lan Wangji could summon his sword into the water unharmed even when facing unknown enemies, while others might not. His face paled, flushed with shame, as if he had been insulted, and he glanced at Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji, however, didn't look at him, gazing intently at the water. A moment later, Bichen was drawn again.

Wei Wuxian exclaimed "Huh?" Why did this disciple look so familiar to him?

However, he soon learned that the connection actually dates back quite a long time.

This time, the sword didn't plunge into the water; instead, the tip flicked out a darting black shadow from the bottom. A wet, dark mass landed with a "plop" on the deck. Wei Wuxian tiptoed to look and saw it was a piece of clothing.

Wei Wuxian laughed so hard he almost fell into the river, saying, "Lan Zhan, you're amazing! This is the first time I've ever seen someone catch a water ghost and pull its clothes up."

Lan Wangji merely examined the tip of Bichen's sword for any unusual features, seemingly having already decided not to speak to him. Jiang Cheng said, "Shut up. The one that swam across from underwater just now definitely wasn't a water ghost, only a piece of clothing!"

Wei Wuxian, of course, saw it clearly too. He just felt uncomfortable if he didn't tease Lan Wangji a bit, so he said, "Was that the one that was slipping around just now? No wonder the net couldn't catch it, the sword couldn't hit it, and its shape kept changing. But a piece of clothing can't swallow a sword. There must be something else in this water."

At this moment, the boat had drifted to the center of Biling Lake. The lake water was extremely deep, a dark, inky green. Suddenly, Lan Wangji raised his head slightly and said, "Go back now."

Lan Xichen asked, "Why?"

Lan Wangji said, "The creature in the water deliberately lured the boat to the center of Biling Lake."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone felt the ship suddenly sink.

The water quickly seeped into the boat, and Wei Wuxian suddenly realized that the water of Biling Lake was no longer dark green, but almost black. Especially near the center of the lake, a huge whirlpool had unknowingly formed around it, and more than a dozen boats were spinning in the whirlpool, sinking as they spun, as if they were about to be sucked into a giant black mouth!

The clanging of swords being drawn filled the air as everyone took to the air on their swords. Wei Wuxian, already in the air, looked down and saw that the boat where Su She, the disciple who had driven his sword into the water, had been standing had been swallowed by Biling Lake. Su She was kneeling in the water, his face full of panic but he didn't cry out for help, perhaps because he was frightened. Without thinking, Wei Wuxian bent down, reached out, grabbed Su She's wrist, and pulled him up.

With an extra person on his back, the sword beneath his feet suddenly dipped, yet it continued to rise. But before long, a powerful force suddenly came from Su She's direction, nearly pulling Wei Wuxian off the sword.

Su She's lower body was already submerged in the black whirlpool in the lake. The whirlpool spun faster and faster, and his body sank deeper and deeper, as if something lurked at the bottom, pulling him down by his legs. Jiang Cheng, who had been leisurely rising about twenty feet above the lake using Su She's Sandu sword, looked down and rushed down with great displeasure, saying, "What are you doing now?!"

Jiang Cheng nearly lashed out with his whip again: "Wei Wuxian, look what kind of trash you saved?!"

As he spoke, he looked around to see if Su She had been resurrected. If he had, he was afraid he would be pulled back again.

But how could Xiao Niangui allow such scum to disgust people again?

Wei Wuxian awkwardly touched his nose. He hadn't thought that far ahead at the time; he couldn't just stand by and watch someone die.

In fact, everyone present knew that Wei Wuxian wasn't thinking about anything else at the time, since everyone was empathizing with him.

"This child is indeed of good character," Madam Lan remarked, uttering a statement that had left the group speechless.

The suction force emanating from Biling Lake grew stronger and stronger. Wei Wuxian's sword, though light and agile, was precisely weak in its lack of power, and he was almost forced to the brink of the lake's surface. While steadying himself, he used both hands to grab Su She, shouting, "Someone lend a hand! If you can't pull me up, I'm going to let go!"

Suddenly, Wei Wuxian felt a tug on the back of his collar, and his body was lifted into the air. He turned his head and saw Lan Wangji holding him by the back of his collar with one hand. Although Lan Wangji merely looked away indifferently, he alone, with just his sword, bore the weight of three people while simultaneously resisting the strange force in the lake, yet their position continued to rise steadily. Jiang Cheng was slightly alarmed: "If I had rushed down to drag Wei Wuxian away first, controlling the Three Poisons, I probably wouldn't have been able to rise so quickly and steadily. Lan Wangji is only about my age..."

At this moment, Wei Wuxian said, "Lan Zhan, your sword is quite strong! Thank you, thank you, but why are you grabbing my collar? Can't you just pull me? You're making me uncomfortable. Here's my hand, pull me."

Lan Wangji said coldly, "I do not touch others."

Wei Wuxian said, "We're already so familiar with each other, what are we compared to strangers?"

Lan Wangji said, "Not familiar with them."

Wei Wuxian feigned injury and said, "How can you be like this..."

Jiang Cheng couldn't hold back any longer and yelled, "How can you be like this?! When you're being held up by the collar, can't you say less?!"

Watching this scene, everyone could only say: Sect Leader Jiang, you've worked hard.

Managing such a naughty child must be really tough on you.

Wei Wuxian didn't care how frustrated Jiang Cheng was; he was busy teasing Lan Wangji.

"Lan Zhan...we're not familiar with each other?"

Lan Wangji: ...

He pulled away the person who inexplicably liked to whisper in his ear, and said softly with his ears turning red, "Mm."

Wei Wuxian: ...Oh no, oh no, I'm afraid Lan Zhan has been corrupted by me?

Jiang Cheng, unable to contain himself any longer, shouted, "Wei Wuxian! Get your act together!!" This is outrageous!

Wei Wuxian didn't even turn his head: "None of your business!"

Jiang Cheng died of a sudden illness.

The group swiftly retreated from Biling Lake on their swords and landed on the shore. Lan Wangji released his right hand from Wei Wuxian's collar, calmly turned around, and said to Lan Xichen, "It's the Water Abyss."

Lan Xichen shook his head: "This is troublesome."

As soon as the name "Water Abyss" was mentioned, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng knew about it. The most terrifying thing about Biling Lake and this river was not the water ghosts, but the water flowing within it.

Some rivers or lakes, due to their terrain or currents, frequently experience shipwrecks or people falling into the water. Over time, these bodies of water develop a certain temperament. Like a pampered young lady who refuses to be deprived of her fine clothes and food, she periodically demands that cargo ships and people be sacrificed at sea. If not, she will act strangely and demand them herself.

The people around Caiyi Town are all skilled swimmers, and shipwrecks or drownings are extremely rare. It's impossible for a Water Abyss to exist in this area. Since a Water Abyss has appeared here, there's only one possibility: it was driven here from somewhere else.

Once a monstrous abyss forms, the entire body of water becomes a monster, extremely difficult to eradicate. The only solution would be to drain the water, salvage all submerged people and objects, and expose the riverbed to the elements for three to five years. This is virtually impossible. However, there is a selfish and harmful method that can temporarily alleviate the problem: drive it into other rivers and lakes, letting it wreak havoc elsewhere.

Lan Wangji asked, "Has any place been disturbed by the Water Abyss recently?"

Lan Xichen pointed to the sky.

He was referring to nothing other than the sun. Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng exchanged a glance, understanding dawning on them: "The Wen Clan of Qishan."

Within the immortal sects, numerous large and small families are scattered like stars in the sky. However, above them all stands a colossal entity that absolutely surpasses them: the Wen Clan of Qishan.

The Wen clan uses the sun as their family crest, symbolizing "shining as brightly as the sun and living as long as the sun." Their immortal abode covers a vast area, comparable to a city, and is called the Never-Sleeping Heaven, also known as the "Never-Sleeping Immortal Capital." It is said that there is no night in the city. It is considered a behemoth because no other family can match it in terms of the number of disciples, power, land, or immortal artifacts. Many cultivators consider it the highest honor to be a guest elder of the Wen clan. Given the Wen clan's style of doing things, the Water Abyss in Caiyi Town is very likely the result of their arrival.

Although they knew the source of the water monster in this place, everyone fell silent.

If it was the Wen family who did it, no amount of accusation or condemnation will change anything. First, they won't admit it, and second, there won't be any compensation.

One of the students complained, "Their family drove the Water Ape here, which is going to be terrible for Caiyi Town. If the Water Ape grows up and spreads into the town's waterways, so many people will have to live off a monster every day. This is really..."

Originally, the mission was to exorcise evil spirits, but because the person was Wei Wuxian, everyone's focus shifted. Now that they saw that the Water Abyss was brought down by the Qishan Wen Clan, everyone came back to their senses and began to angrily curse the Wen Clan again:

"The Wen family of Qishan are truly no good!"

"He harbors wolfish ambitions and commits countless evil deeds; he is truly heinous and deserves to die a thousand deaths!"

...

Wei Wuxian was slightly taken aback. Since arriving in this space, this was the first time he had heard such a long-forgotten word.

He turned to look at Wen Qing and Wen Ning, only to see that Wen Qing's expression remained unchanged, while Wen Ning shrank his head as usual.

Seeing him looking over, Wen's voice, neither too loud nor too soft, but slightly cold, rang out: "What are you looking at me for? If you're upright, you have nothing to fear. If you didn't do it, you didn't do it. Is having the surname Wen a cardinal sin?"

Wei Wuxian breathed a sigh of relief, but said jokingly, "I was just afraid that Sister Qing would suddenly lash out and give each of them a needle."

Wen Qing glared at him: "I think you're the one who wants to get the injection first!"

Wei Wuxian quickly begged for mercy: "No, no, no, please, please."

"Having been dealt this difficult problem by someone else, the Gusu Lan Clan will inevitably face endless troubles from now on," Lan Xichen sighed. "Never mind. Let's go back to town."

They boarded a new boat at the ferry and rowed toward the densely populated part of the town.

After passing under the arched bridge and entering the river, Wei Wuxian had another episode.

He tossed aside his bamboo pole, stepped onto the gunwale, looked at his reflection in the water to see if his hair was messy, and calmly flirted with the banks, looking nothing like someone who had just escaped from the jaws of several water ghosts: "Sister, how much are the loquats per pound?"

He was extremely young, with striking good looks, and his radiant spirit was like a delicate peach blossom drifting on flowing water. A woman adjusted her straw hat, raised her head, and laughed, "Young master, how about I give you one for free?"

Wu's voice was soft and sweet, her words lingering on the lips, filling the listener's ears with a fragrant aroma. Wei Wuxian cupped his hands and said, "Of course I'll accept it, sister!"

The woman reached into the basket, touched it, and flung out a round, golden loquat: "Don't be so polite, look how handsome you are!"

The boats were moving extremely fast, and the two boats passed each other almost side by side. Wei Wuxian turned around and caught them, laughing, "Sister is even more beautiful!"

He was showering everyone with compliments, while bees and butterflies fluttered around him, but Lan Wangji remained unmoved, displaying an air of noble integrity. Wei Wuxian proudly tossed a loquat in his hand, then suddenly pointed at him and said, "Sisters, don't you think he's handsome?"

Lan Wangji never expected that he would suddenly be dragged into this. Just as he was wondering how to respond, the women on the river exclaimed in unison, "Even more handsome!" There seemed to be a few men laughing among them.

Wei Wuxian said, "Then who will give him one? If I only give him one and don't give him one, I'm afraid he'll get jealous when he gets back!"

A chorus of sweet laughter echoed across the river. Another woman rowed towards them in a boat, saying, "Alright, alright, here are two. Eat mine, young man!"

The second one landed in his hand, and Wei Wuxian exclaimed, "Sister, you're beautiful and kind-hearted! I'll buy a whole basket next time!"

The woman had a bright voice and was even bolder. She pointed at Lan Wangji and said, "Tell him to come too, so you can all buy together!"

Wei Wuxian offered the loquat to Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji looked straight ahead and said, "Take it away."

Wei Wuxian then removed it, saying, "I knew you wouldn't want it. That's why I wasn't planning on giving it to you anyway. Jiang Cheng, here you go!"

Just then, Jiang Cheng flew by in another small boat. He caught the loquat with one hand, smiled slightly, and then snorted, "Still posing, huh?"

Wei Wuxian, beaming with pride, said, "Get lost!" Then he turned and asked, "Lan Zhan, you're from Gusu, so you can speak the local dialect, right? Teach me how to swear in Gusu dialect!"

Lan Wangji tossed him a "boring" and boarded another boat. Wei Wuxian hadn't really expected him to answer, but the local accent was quite amusing, and he figured Lan Wangji must have said similar things since childhood—it was just for fun. He tilted his head back, took a sip of glutinous rice wine, grabbed the round, shiny black jar, picked up a bamboo pole, and charged off to fight Jiang Cheng.

Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen stood side by side. This time, even their expressions were somewhat similar, both looking preoccupied, pondering how to deal with the Water Abyss and how to explain the many follow-up matters to the mayor of Caiyi Town.

A heavily laden cargo ship approached from the opposite direction, its deck overflowing with baskets laden with golden loquats. Lan Wangji glanced at it, then continued to look straight ahead.

Lan Xichen asked, "You want to eat loquats? Would you like to buy a basket to take home?"

"..."

Lan Wangji turned and left, saying, "I don't want to!"

He then boarded another ship.

"Hmph, posing like that." Jiang Cheng snorted coldly.

Wei Wuxian immediately retorted, "You're just jealous that the older sisters like me!"

Upon seeing Jiang Cheng's gloating gaze, Wei Wuxian immediately realized what was happening and quickly tried to appease him before creating a cold atmosphere behind him: "But while the sisters like me, I only like Lan Zhan. Jiang Cheng, stop ruining my reputation!"

Jiang Cheng: Is it my fault?

However, Wei Wuxian's gentle persuasion was exceptionally effective. Lan Wangji's expression softened instantly, leaving Lan Jingyi and the other juniors stunned by the change.

After Wei Wuxian finished speaking, he also wiped a cold sweat from his heart. It seems that Lan Zhan was even jealous of Jiang Cheng back then. Fortunately, he was quick to smooth things over, otherwise his old back would have been in danger!

Observing the reactions of the crowd: ...