Chapter 18

Chapter Summary: [Wei Wuxian shouted in mid-air: "Haha ...

Clang...

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Wei Wuxian shouted in mid-air: "Haha ...

With a loud crash, Lan Wangji slammed the window shut and slumped back down beside his desk.

He glanced at the mess of Xuan paper and ink footprints scattered on the ground, as well as two white rabbits rolling around with vegetable leaves in their beaks, then closed his eyes and covered his ears.

The clusters of trembling magnolia branches were shut out of the window, but no matter how much he resisted, Wei Wuxian's joyful and unrestrained laughter could not be contained.

The next day, Lan Wangji finally stopped coming to listen to the lessons.

Wei Wuxian's seat changed three times. He originally sat with Jiang Cheng, but Jiang Cheng listened attentively and, wanting to perform well and bring honor to the Yunmeng Jiang Clan, moved to the front row. This seat was too conspicuous for Wei Wuxian to misbehave, so he abandoned Jiang Cheng and sat behind Lan Wangji. While Lan Qiren lectured, Lan Wangji sat ramrod straight like an impenetrable wall, while Wei Wuxian either slept soundly or scribbled away. Except for the occasional paper ball Lan Wangji would suddenly catch, Wei Wuxian had a perfect spot. However, Lan Qiren later noticed the trick and switched their positions. From then on, whenever Wei Wuxian's posture was slightly improper, he felt two cold, sharp gazes fixed on his back, and Lan Qiren would glare fiercely at him. Being constantly monitored by an old man and a young boy, one in front and one behind, was extremely unpleasant. After the Spring Palace Case and the Double Rabbit Case, Lan Qiren concluded that Wei Wuxian was a dark stain, and fearing that his favorite disciple would be corrupted by him, he hurriedly told Lan Wangji not to come anymore. So Wei Wuxian went back to his old spot, and things were peaceful for about half a month.

Unfortunately, people like Wei Wuxian never have long good times.

Inside the Cloud Recesses, there is a long wall of latticed windows. Every seven steps, there is a carved window. Each carving is different, depicting scenes of playing the zither amidst mountains, soaring through the air on a sword, or slaying demonic beasts. Lan Qiren explained that each latticed window depicts the life story of an ancestor of the Gusu Lan Clan. The oldest and most famous of these four windows tell four scenes from the life of Lan An, the founding ancestor of the Lan Clan.

This ancestor was born in a temple, raised on the sound of Buddhist chants, and possessed profound wisdom and spiritual insight. In his youth, he became a renowned monk. At the age of twenty, he left the temple, adopting the surname "Lan" from "Garan" (temple), and became a musician. On his quest for immortality, he met his destined partner in Suzhou, and together they became Daoist companions, laying the foundation for the Lan family's legacy. After his immortal companion's death, he returned to the temple to end his life. These four latticed windows represent "Garan," "Music Practice," "Daoist Companion," and "Return to Tranquility."

It was rare for Lan Qiren to tell such an interesting story in so many days, and although it turned into a dry chronology, Wei Wuxian finally listened. After class, he laughed and said, "So the Lan family's ancestor was a monk, no wonder. He entered the mortal world to meet someone, and when that person left, he left too, leaving no trace behind. But how could such a person as his ancestor have such an unromantic descendant?"

Everyone was surprised that the notoriously rigid Lan family would have such an ancestor, and they began to discuss it. As the discussion progressed, the focus shifted to "Daoist partners," with people exchanging their thoughts on ideal immortal partners and commenting on the currently renowned immortal ladies. At this moment, someone asked, "Brother Zixuan, which immortal lady do you think is the best?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng simultaneously looked towards a young man in the front row of the Orchid Room.

Upon hearing this familiar question, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng both looked at Jin Zixuan with great interest, a single thought simultaneously flashing through their minds—

Ha! Ha! Ha! What goes around comes around! You were laughing at us just now, now it's your turn.

Jin Zixuan looked left and right, and saw that his wife, son, father-in-law, mother-in-law, and even his own mother all had bright eyes and were listening carefully to every word in the shadowy voice.

Jin Zixuan: ...

Is it too late for me to travel back in time and kill that version of myself?

This young man had a proud and handsome appearance, with a dot of cinnabar on his forehead. His collar, cuffs and belt were embroidered with gold stars, snow waves and white peonies. He was Jin Zixuan, the young master sent by the Lanling Jin Clan to be raised in Suzhou.

Another person said, "Don't ask Brother Zixuan about that. He already has a fiancée, so he'll definitely answer 'fiancée'."

Upon hearing the words "fiancée," Jin Zixuan's lips seemed to twitch slightly, revealing a hint of displeasure. The young man who had asked the first question, oblivious to the subtle nuances, continued cheerfully, "Really? Whose fairy is she? She must be exceptionally talented!"

Jin Zixuan raised an eyebrow and said, "No need to mention it again."

Wei Wuxian suddenly said, "What do you mean by 'no need to mention it again'?"

Everyone in the Orchid Chamber looked at him in astonishment. Wei Wuxian was usually always smiling, and even when scolded or punished, he never truly got angry. But now, a distinct hint of hostility shone through his eyes. Jiang Cheng, unusually, didn't reprimand Wei Wuxian for making trouble as usual; instead, he sat beside him, his expression extremely unpleasant.

Jin Zixuan said arrogantly, "Is it so hard to understand the words 'no need to mention it again'?"

Wei Wuxian sneered: "The words are not difficult to understand, but what exactly is your dissatisfaction with my senior sister? That is hard to understand."

Those around whispered amongst themselves, and after a few words, they finally understood. It turned out that their earlier remarks had inadvertently stirred up a huge hornet's nest. Jin Zixuan's fiancée was none other than Jiang Yanli of the Yunmeng Jiang Clan.

Jiang Yanli is the eldest daughter of Jiang Fengmian and the older sister of Jiang Cheng. She is unassuming and lacks any striking qualities; her speech is calm and unremarkable. While her appearance is above average, her talent is unremarkable. Among the many beautiful fairies vying for attention, she inevitably pales in comparison. Her fiancé, Jin Zixuan, is the complete opposite. He is the only son of Jin Guangshan's wife, possessing striking good looks and exceptional talent. Logically speaking, Jiang Yanli's own qualities are indeed mismatched with his. She doesn't even have the qualifications to compete with the other aristocratic fairies. The reason Jiang Yanli was able to be engaged to Jin Zixuan is because her mother came from the Meishan Yu clan, and the Meishan Yu clan and Jin Zixuan's mother's family were related. The two ladies grew up together and had a close relationship.

The Jin family was known for its pride and arrogance, a trait Jin Zixuan inherited perfectly. With high standards, he had long been dissatisfied with this marriage arrangement. Not only was he unhappy with the choice of bride, but he was even more resentful that his mother had decided on his marriage without his consent, fueling his growing rebelliousness. Today, seizing the opportunity, he finally unleashed his anger. Jin Zixuan retorted, "Why don't you ask me what it is about her that I find satisfactory?"

Jiang Cheng suddenly stood up.

Wei Wuxian shoved him aside, stepping in front to block him and sneered, "Do you think you're any more pleasing to everyone? Where do you get the nerve to nitpick like this!"

Because of this marriage, Jin Zixuan harbored no goodwill towards the Yunmeng Jiang Clan and had long disapproved of Wei Wuxian's character and actions. Moreover, he prided himself on being unparalleled among the younger generation and had never been looked down upon like this before. In a fit of anger, he blurted out, "If she's not satisfied, then make her break off the engagement! In short, I don't care about your good senior sister. If you do, go ask her father! Doesn't he treat you better than his own son?"

Upon hearing the last sentence, Jiang Cheng's gaze sharpened, while Wei Wuxian, enraged, leaped forward and threw a punch. Although Jin Zixuan was prepared, he hadn't expected Jiang Cheng to attack so swiftly. Before he could finish speaking, Wei Wuxian was already upon him, taking a punch that instantly numbed half of his face. Without uttering a word, he immediately retaliated.

The fight alarmed the two powerful families. Jiang Fengmian and Jin Guangshan rushed to Suzhou from Yunmeng and Lanling that very day.

"Jin Zixuan!"

Five or six voices rang out at the same time, startling Jin Zixuan so much that he immediately tried to crawl into the hole.

The two mothers reacted the most strongly.

Madam Jin slapped Jin Zixuan on the back of the head:

"You brat! I was wondering why your father called off the engagement after going to Suzhou. Turns out it was you who looked down on Ali. You looked down on Ali? She didn't even look down on you, you stubborn brat, and you looked down on her!"

Yu Ziyuan stood up abruptly, glaring at Jin Zixuan no matter how Jiang Fengmian tried to pull her back. She then began to unconsciously rub her fingers, even though Zidian was in Jiang Cheng's hands.

"Jin Zixuan, my Ali has no outstanding looks, average appearance, and no extraordinary talent? Hmm?!"

Cold sweat dripped down Jin Zixuan's forehead.

These are just two mothers; not to mention the two doting brothers who are eyeing their sister's affections and the newly appointed doting son.

Jiang Yanli watched this scene with a mixture of emotion and helplessness. She pulled her mother down and said softly:

"Mother, it's all in the past. Zixuan has been very good to me."

Yu Ziyuan still glared angrily.

“Mother-in-law, Father-in-law, Zixuan was young and ignorant back then, and looked down on Ali based on rumors. Zixuan knows that the harm he did to Ali back then is irreparable. If we can get out of the Heavenly Realm this time, he will wait for Ali for the rest of his life and never let her down.”

Jin Zixuan suddenly stood up, his face flushed, but he bowed respectfully and said solemnly.

Hearing these words, Jiang Yanli blushed and smiled faintly.

That moment of brilliance, unrelated to beauty, left everyone stunned.

Who said that the Jiang family girls are not beautiful?

Jiang Cheng looked at his mother, whose anger had gradually subsided after Jin Zixuan's words, and couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.

Seeing the scene of Wei Wuxian pulling her back and then beating up Jin Zixuan, she didn't know what to feel.

At the time, he was only annoyed that Wei Wuxian had stopped him, but he didn't think too deeply about it. Now that he thinks about it, Wei Wuxian must have realized that he was the next head of the Jiang family. If he acted so impulsively, people would definitely use it as an excuse to criticize and gossip in the future.

As for Wei Wuxian himself...

Jiang Cheng's face was gloomy. This heroic obsession was evident in his beating of Jin Zixuan and his subsequent break with the Jiang family.

Wei Wuxian noticed Jiang Cheng's suddenly darkened expression out of the corner of his eye, knowing that he was overthinking again. He wanted to say something but only opened his mouth, not knowing how to start.

Silence fell over the area. Jin Ling, who had been staring wide-eyed at his father, suddenly leaned close to Jiang Yanli and asked earnestly:

"Mom, why don't you stay with me after we leave? I have plenty of rooms."

Jiang Yanli was stunned. Jin Zixuan immediately realized that his son was trying to steal his wife.

"You brat, how old are you that you still need your mother to take care of you? No way!"

Jiang Yanli covered her mouth and smiled, looking at the father and son and saying, "You two haven't seen each other for a long time, why don't you live together?"

Pfft

Pfft

Hahaha

A few mocking voices rang out from the side, and Jin Zixuan and Jin Ling's faces darkened as they turned away in unison.

snort.

After the two family heads saw the two kneeling as punishment and then received a severe reprimand from Lan Qiren, they both wiped their sweat, exchanged a few pleasantries, and Jiang Fengmian proposed to dissolve the engagement.

He said to Jin Guangshan, "This marriage was originally insisted upon by Ali's mother, and I did not agree to it. Now it seems that neither side is happy, so let's not force it."

Jin Guangshan was taken aback and hesitated slightly. In any case, breaking off the engagement with another powerful family was not a good thing. He said, "What do children know? Let them make a fuss. Brother Fengmian, you and I don't need to pay any attention to it."

Jiang Fengmian said, "Brother Jin, although we can help them arrange the marriage, we cannot fulfill the marriage on their behalf. After all, it is they who will spend their lives together in the future."

This marriage was never Jin Guangshan's intention. If he wanted to consolidate his power through marriage with a prominent family, the Yunmeng Jiang family was neither the only nor the best option. He simply had never dared to disobey Madam Jin. Since the Jiang family had taken the initiative to propose it, and the Jin family was the groom's side, they didn't have as many concerns as the bride's side, so why bother? Besides, he knew that Jin Zixuan had always been dissatisfied with Jiang Yanli as his fiancée. After some consideration, Jin Guangshan boldly agreed to the marriage.

Wei Wuxian, unaware of what he had just shattered in his fight, knelt on the pebbled path designated by Lan Qiren. Jiang Cheng approached from afar and sneered, "You're kneeling obediently, aren't you?"

Wei Wuxian said gloatingly, "You know I kneel all the time. But Jin Zixuan must be spoiled and has never knelt before. If I don't make him cry for his parents today, I'm not Wei Wuxian."

Jiang Cheng lowered his head for a moment, then said calmly, "Father has arrived."

Wei Wuxian asked, "Is Shijie not here?"

Jiang Cheng said, "What's she doing here? Is she here to see how you embarrass her? If she's here, wouldn't she come to keep you company and bring you medicine?"

Wei Wuxian sighed and said, "...If only Shijie had come. Luckily you didn't make a move."

Jiang Cheng said, "I was going to make a move. If you hadn't pushed me away, Jin Zixuan's other side of his face would be ruined."

Wei Wuxian said, "Let's not. His face looks even uglier now that it's asymmetrical. I heard that this guy is as vain as a peacock when it comes to his appearance. I wonder what he thinks when he looks in the mirror right now? Hahahaha..." After laughing heartily, Wei Wuxian continued, "Actually, I should have let you do it, and I would have just stood by and watched. That way, Uncle Jiang might not have come. But I couldn't help it!"

Jiang Cheng snorted and said softly, "You wish."

Wei Wuxian said this casually, but his emotions were very complicated. Because he knew very well that it wasn't a lie.

Jiang Fengmian never flew to other families in a single day for anything related to him, whether it was good or bad, big or small.

Never.

Jiang Fengmian sighed softly and reached out to pat Jiang Cheng on the shoulder.

"Acheng, I often fail to consider your feelings. But you do a good job, you've always done a good job."

This was the first time Jiang Cheng had heard his father praise him like this. His complicated emotions suddenly stopped, and he stared blankly at Jiang Fengmian, not knowing what to say.

Wei Wuxian clicked his tongue twice at that expression:

"What's wrong? Uncle Jiang praised you a couple of times, and you're not happy about it?"

Jiang Cheng slapped it back, but an unconscious smile appeared on his lips.

Seeing his gloomy expression, Wei Wuxian assumed he was still upset about what Jin Zixuan had said and said, "You can go now, you don't need to stay with me. If Lan Wangji comes again, you'll get caught. Go and watch that idiot Jin Zixuan being punished by kneeling when you have time."

Jiang Cheng was slightly surprised: "Lan Wangji? What's he doing here? He even dares to come see you?"

Wei Wuxian said, "Yes, I also think it's quite courageous that he still dared to come see me. It's probably because his uncle called him to see if I had knelt properly."

Jiang Cheng instinctively sensed something was wrong: "Were you kneeling properly back then?"

Wei Wuxian said, "I knelt down properly. After he walked a short distance, I took a branch and dug a hole in the soil next to me, right by your feet. There's an ant hole there, which I finally found after a lot of trouble. When he turned around and saw my shoulders shaking, he probably thought I was crying or something and came over to ask me. You should really see the expression on his face when he saw the ant hole."

"..." Jiang Cheng said, "You'd better go back to Yunmeng! I don't think he ever wants to see you again."

That very night, Wei Wuxian packed his things and went back to Yunmeng with Jiang Fengmian.

Everyone: ...

I just thought Wei Wuxian was commendable for standing up for his senior sister, but now he's back to causing trouble again.

Wei Wuxian lay there all night, spending the first half of the night pondering what had happened to Lan Wangji over the years, before finally drifting off to sleep in the second half. The next morning, when he opened his eyes, Lan Wangji was nowhere to be found, while he lay obediently on the couch, his hands at his sides, in a docile and well-behaved position.

Wei Wuxian yanked off the blanket covering him, burying his right hand in his hair, the absurd and eerie feeling still lingering in his heart.

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the wooden door of the quiet room, and Lan Sizhui's voice rang out from outside: "Young Master Mo? Are you awake?"

Wei Wuxian: "Why did you wake me up so early?!"

Lan Sizhui: "Good morning?... But it's already past 9 AM."

The Lan family members all worked from 5 AM to 9 PM, a very regular schedule. Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, worked from 9 AM to 1 AM, also a regular schedule, but his schedule was two hours later than theirs. He had been lying in bed for half the night, his back aching, and he honestly said, "I can't get up."

Lan Sizhui asked, "Uh, what's wrong with you now?"

Wei Wuxian said, "What happened to me? I was slept with by your Hanguang-jun!"

Lan Jingyi's voice rang out menacingly: "If you keep spouting nonsense, we won't let you off the hook. Come out here!"

Wei Wuxian protested, "It's true! He slept with me all night! I can't face anyone if I don't go out!"

Several juniors stood outside the door, exchanging bewildered glances. No one was allowed to freely enter Hanguang-jun's residence; they were both amused and exasperated, unable to simply go in and drag him out. Lan Jingyi roared, "Shameless! Hanguang-jun isn't gay, does he think he'd sleep with you?! You should be grateful you didn't sleep with him. Get up! Take your donkey away and teach it a lesson; it's making a terrible racket!"

Mentioning his mount, Wei Wuxian scrambled to his feet: "What did you do to my Little Apple?! Don't touch it, or it'll kick up its tail!"

Lan Jingyi asked, "What is Little Apple?"

Wei Wuxian exclaimed, "My donkey!" He left the quiet room and shooed several juniors to take him to find his mount. They led him to a grassy field, where the spotted donkey was indeed braying incessantly. The reason for its loud braying was that it wanted to eat grass, but dozens of fluffy white balls of grass were gathered there, making it impossible for it to bite.

Wei Wuxian exclaimed happily, "So many rabbits! Come on, fork them up and roast them!"

Lan Jingyi was furious: "Killing is forbidden in Cloud Recesses! Shut it up! The students who are doing morning reading have asked us several times already! If this continues, we'll be scolded to death!"

Wei Wuxian gave the donkey the apple from his breakfast. Sure enough, the donkey started chewing the apple without even braying, its mouth churning away. While stroking the back of its neck, Wei Wuxian pondered the jade tokens on the juniors' bodies, and pointed at the round white rabbits scattered on the ground, saying, "Really, we can't roast them? Will we be kicked off the mountain if we do?"

Lan Jingyi was on high alert and quickly spread his arms to block him, saying, "These are raised by Hanguang-jun. We only help take care of them occasionally. How dare you roast them!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Wuxian nearly collapsed with laughter, thinking, "Lan Zhan is really something! He wouldn't accept anything offered to him before, but now he's secretly raising a whole bunch of them. He says he doesn't want them? Who's he kidding? Have mercy! He probably secretly likes these fluffy little white creatures! Hanguang-jun holding a rabbit with a straight face... oh my god, I can't take it anymore..."

Everyone: ...

Why is everything acting strangely again now that we're thirteen years in the future?

Lan Qiren almost choked on his breath again.

What a sin! What a sin! How could we have invited such a troublesome devil to ruin our own descendants!

"Jingyi, you are very articulate."

Wei Wuxian raised an eyebrow, teasing Lan Jingyi who was looking for a cave again.

Lan Jingyi: ...

Although it's speechless, I can't help but think of the image of Lan Wangji holding a rabbit...

Hahaha... I still want to laugh... Hahahaha...

Because of empathy, he wasn't the only one trying not to laugh.

Lan Wangji: ...