gentleman
She had been studying at the Lan Clan in Gusu for over a month when the evaluation came. Since she had only been there a short time, she didn't need to participate in this evaluation; she would have to wait until two months later.
Xie Lin Yang was secretly relieved. The next day in class, she didn't see Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. She asked Jiang Cheng and found out that Wei Wuxian had been caught cheating on the exam by Lan Wangji and was punished by being sent to the library to copy books for a month.
She paused for a moment, then, realizing they'd be sharing a room for over a month, she let out a silent squeal: "Ah~ we're already living together, hehehehe~"
She suddenly leaned closer to Jiang Cheng, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at him: "Brother Wanyin, what do you think of Lan Zhan?"
Jiang Cheng was taken aback by her question, then frowned: "Why are you asking him?"
"Just curious!" Xie Linyang leaned closer, her voice low as if she were whispering, "Do you think that if he and Wei Wuxian were locked up in the library for a month, could..." She deliberately dragged out the word, winking at Jiang Cheng, "...spark some kind of romance?"
"Tch—" Jiang Cheng seemed to have heard a joke, and suddenly took half a step back, patting the sleeve she had touched with disgust. "Xie Lin Yang, what kind of nonsense is going on in your head? Who is Lan Zhan? An ice-cold face with elegance and righteousness etched into his bones, and Wei Wuxian is a stubborn piece of meat that can't be burned away. If the two of them are together, it's a good thing if they don't tear down the library. Sparks? I think they're just sparks!"
"Oh dear, you don't understand!" Xie Linyang teased. "It's only interesting when ice cubes meet tough meat!"
Jiang Cheng turned and left, taking quick and long strides. "Lan Wangji, all he does is practice swordsmanship and copy the clan rules. He only cares about 'rules.' If he's with Wei Wuxian, it's a miracle he doesn't get so angry he spits blood." He paused, as if remembering something, and added, "However... in terms of strength, he is indeed formidable."
"Huh? You praised him?" Xie Linyang's eyes lit up even more, and he jogged to catch up. "I knew it! Lan Zhan may look cold, but he's definitely not a bad person!"
Jiang Cheng's eyes darkened, and he suddenly fell silent.
Xie Linyang had no idea what was wrong with him again; he was such an unpredictable guy. She changed the subject, saying, "Let's practice swordsmanship together this afternoon, and spar a bit."
“You don’t seem like someone who can wield a sword.” Jiang Cheng’s sharp gaze fixed on her hands.
"Brother Wanyin has a good eye. My weapon is indeed not a sword, but I learned a couple of sword techniques from my junior brother on the mountain, and I'd like to practice them recently."
"My 'Three Poisons' are not blind, so you'd better watch out."
On the back mountain in the afternoon, Jiang Cheng sheathed his sword and turned around, a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, his purple hair ribbon fluttering slightly in the wind: "Where did you learn this move from?"
Xie Linyang, panting, raised her eyebrows slightly: "How was it? Impressive, right? This is what my junior brother taught me!" With a flick of her wrist, the Qingyun sword twirled neatly in her palm, and the sword move was delivered again—this time a diagonal slash, the tip of the sword pointing directly at Jiang Cheng's right hand holding the sword. The move was cold and aloof, each move aimed at an opening, like an ice blade suddenly drawn from its sheath in winter, carrying an unmistakable sharpness.
Jiang Cheng grew increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed. This swordsmanship was too "cold," unlike anything Xie Linyang would use. Her spiritual energy was clearly blazing yang fire, yet it was now enveloped by this swordsmanship, like red-hot iron being quenched with ice—fierce yet resolute, even the sword wind carried a chill. As he parried, Sandu clashed with Qingyun, and he could vaguely hear the silver bells on her sword tassel vibrating rapidly, as if responding to this sharp rhythm.
"Bang!"
Jiang Cheng seized the opening, and the spine of the Three Poisons Sword slammed heavily against the Qingyun Sword. Xie Linyang felt a numbness in her hand, and the sword slipped from her grasp, falling to the ground with a clatter. Before she could react, Jiang Cheng had already sheathed his sword and stood still, beads of sweat from his forehead falling onto the bluestone, spreading out a small wet patch.
"Your junior brother... taught you this kind of sword technique?" Jiang Cheng's voice carried a hint of deepness. "Every move is ruthless, aimed at injuring people."
Xie Linyang bent down to pick up the sword, patted the dust off its surface, and said with pride, "My junior brother said that swordsmanship is a protective art; either you don't attack at all, or when you do, you must render your opponent powerless to resist. He also said that this is called 'repaying evil with justice.'" She paused, looked up at Jiang Cheng, her eyes shining, "My junior brother's name is Xiao Xingchen, and he's only nine years old! He's incredibly powerful; none of the senior brothers on the mountain can beat him!"
"Nine years old?" Jiang Cheng frowned sharply, as if he had heard something unbelievable. "A nine-year-old child, can he be taught this kind of swordsmanship?"
"Why not?" Xie Linyang puffed out his cheeks indignantly. "Junior Brother has a natural talent for swordsmanship. Master says he's a once-in-a-century genius! He was so serious when he taught me swordsmanship, even correcting the angle of my wrist rotation bit by bit. He's much more patient than you!"
Jiang Cheng was speechless for a moment, his gaze falling on her reddened tiger's mouth, then sweeping over her sweat-dampened temples, and suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist—her wrist was very thin, and when he held it in his palm, he could clearly feel the pulsation of the blood vessels under her skin, with the slightly hot temperature unique to her body.
“Your junior brother’s swordsmanship is powerful, but it’s not suitable for you.” Jiang Cheng pressed his thumb against the web between her thumb and index finger, gently rubbing it. The movement wasn’t exactly gentle, but surprisingly, it didn’t hurt her. “His sword is cold, while your spiritual energy is hot. Forcing yourself to learn his style will only make your spiritual energy stagnate. Did you feel your dantian tighten when you used that last move, ‘Cracking Ice’?”
Xie Linyang was taken aback. Indeed, when the sword was knocked away, it felt like something was blocking her dantian, and the intense spiritual energy almost flowed backward. She had thought it was because she wasn't strong enough, but she hadn't expected it was because her swordsmanship and spiritual energy were incompatible.
“Look.” Jiang Cheng released her wrist, then grasped her sword-wielding hand, guiding her back to the starting stance. “Your spiritual energy is extremely yang and pure; it should be like a wildfire, expansive and outward-flowing. But your swordplay just now was restrained and constricted, like wrapping charcoal in a cotton coat. No wonder it was sluggish.” His fingertips traced the back of her hand, guiding her wrist downwards. “Sink your shoulders, drop your elbows, send the spiritual energy along your arm, don’t grip it tightly—yes, just like that, feel the spiritual energy flowing along the blade…”
His palms were dry and warm, calloused from sword practice. When they touched the back of her hand, she felt her previously restless spiritual energy calm down. Xie Linyang pursed her lips, not daring to move, only feeling his breath right next to her ear, carrying a faint fragrance mixed with his unique lotus scent, making her heart beat a beat faster for no reason.
“Your junior brother’s swordsmanship is ‘Clear Radiance,’ while your spiritual power is ‘Proud Sun.’ Trying to imitate his coldness will only dim your own light.” Jiang Cheng’s voice lowered, losing its previous sharpness and becoming like the wind from the back mountain, carrying a subtle gentleness. “If you don’t want to learn, you don’t have to practice. No one is forcing you.”
No wonder her junior brother only taught her once; she kept pestering him, and he refused to teach her anymore.
Xie Linyang abruptly pulled his hand back, but stubbornly said, "Who said I don't want to learn? I just want to become stronger!"
Her voice was a little urgent, with a hint of stubbornness, like a small bamboo stalk struggling against the wind. Jiang Cheng looked at her reddened eyes, and the inexplicable irritation he felt because of her learning "Cold Sword" suddenly dissipated.
He didn't know why she was being so strong-willed; it wasn't like he wanted her to save the world. After a moment of silence, he bent down to pick up the Three Poisons sword from the ground and put the hilt back into her hand.
This time it was handed to her vertically, hilt facing upwards, so she could hold it easily. "Hold it."
Xie Linyang took it blankly. The Three Poisons was much heavier than her Qingyun, and it felt heavy in her hand.
"Watch closely." Jiang Cheng stood opposite her, bare-handed. "Attack again with that move your junior brother taught you."
Xie Linyang hesitated for a moment, but still thrust her sword forward. This time she deliberately slowed down, wanting her spiritual energy to follow the sword move. But as soon as she moved her wrist, Jiang Cheng had already moved close to her side and flicked her elbow with his fingertips. She felt a numbness in her arm, and Sandu slipped from her hand again, but it didn't fall to the ground. Jiang Cheng caught it steadily in his hand.
"See that?" Jiang Cheng tossed the sword back to her, his tone still harsh. "Your junior brother's moves are beautiful, but you lack his 'stillness.' His sword is cold because his heart is cold and his hand is steady. Your heart is warm, and your spiritual energy is restless. Trying to imitate his restraint will only backfire." He paused, then suddenly reached out and lightly flicked her brow with his fingertip. "So stupid."
Xie Linyang hissed as she was flicked, but didn't dodge. She looked at Jiang Cheng and suddenly noticed that although he was frowning, the impatience in his eyes had disappeared, replaced by a hint of... helpless indulgence?
"Then... how should I practice?" she asked softly, her earlier resentment gone.
Jiang Cheng turned and walked to the center of the back mountain, picked up his hair ribbon and tied it, his voice carrying from afar: "Forget your junior brother's sword moves. Starting from the basics, I'll teach you how to integrate your 'fire' into it."
Xie Linyang stood frozen in place, watching his straight back. His dark robes billowed in the wind, like a butterfly about to take flight. Sunlight fell on his hair, gilding it with gold, and even his tightly furrowed brows seemed less fierce.
She gripped the green bamboo in her hand and suddenly smiled.
"Okay!" She picked up her sword and chased after him, her steps light and quick. "But it's a promise, you can't yell at me again."
Jiang Cheng turned around and glared at her, but couldn't help but let a slight smile twitch at the corner of his mouth, so quick it was almost an illusion.
The wind was still blowing on the back mountain, rustling the bamboo leaves, mixed with the sound of the two people's footsteps, the clash of swords, and the occasional bickering.
Perhaps, without needing to emulate others' aloofness, her "sunshine" can still grow its own sharpness.
The swords clashed, whispers drifted on the wind, and the light and shadow on the back mountain slowly lengthened, gently enveloping the two figures side by side in the warmth of late spring.
On the days when Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were punished and sent to the library, the mornings at Cloud Recesses seemed quieter. Xie Linyang followed Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang to morning lessons every day, and in the afternoon he would either study in the elegant room or sneak off to the back mountain to practice his sword. Occasionally, he would go around to the outside of the library and listen carefully to see if there were any wails from Wei Wuxian or any "respectful" warnings from Lan Wangji.
That day, Xie Linyang was holding the "Essentials of Talismans" that he had just borrowed from the elegant room, and was pondering its difficult contents.
Amidst the sparse bamboo shadows ahead, a figure with a white forehead ribbon slowly approaches.
The man wore a plain-colored robe, his hair ribbon fluttering with his steps, and his cuffs were embroidered with subtle silver patterns. In the sunlight, he looked like someone who had stepped out of a traditional Chinese ink painting. He held several books in his hands, and his brows and eyes were extremely relaxed and gentle. Even the curve of his eyelashes when he lowered his eyes exuded warmth, as if a spring breeze was blowing across a lake, making even the air softer.
"..." Xie Linyang's breath hitched, and one of the books in her arms slipped out with a "whoosh," but she didn't notice, her eyes fixed on the person.
It's Lan Xichen.
She had heard Nie Huaisang say that the Lan Clan's Twin Jades were Hanguang-jun Lan Wangji, cold as ice, and Zewu-jun Lan Xichen, gentle as the moon. But how could the words "gentle as the moon" compare to even a fraction of what she had seen with her own eyes? As he walked through the corridor, a magnolia petal happened to fall on his shoulder. He raised his hand and gently brushed it away, his fingertips white and slender, his movements as elegant as if he were playing a zither, making even the petal seem like an embellishment in a painting.
"My God..." Xie Linyang murmured unconsciously, her fingers gripping the book in her arms tightly, her knuckles turning white. "This is Zewu-jun? He's even more handsome than a celebrity..."
"What are you looking at? Your soul has flown away."
A hand suddenly reached out from the side and gently poked her forehead. Xie Linyang snapped back to reality and met Jiang Cheng's impatient dark eyes. He was standing behind her at some point, carrying a food box, clearly having just bought some snacks from the foot of the mountain.
"Ah? Brother Wanyin?" Xie Linyang hurriedly snapped out of her daze, only then realizing that she had been so engrossed in watching that she hadn't even noticed Jiang Cheng approaching. She subconsciously pointed in the direction Lan Xichen had left, her voice still trembling with excitement, "Did you see him? Zewu-jun! He seemed to have smiled at me just now!"
Jiang Cheng glanced in the direction she pointed, only to see Lan Xichen disappear at the end of the corridor. He frowned, his gaze returning to Xie Lin Yang's flushed face, then sweeping over the "Essentials of Talismans" that had slipped from her arms to the ground, his tone as cold as ice: "Pick it up."
"Oh..." Xie Linyang then realized the book had fallen and hurriedly bent down to pick it up, but his fingers were still gesturing excitedly. "You didn't see it! The way he walked just now, and the way he brushed the petals, it was simply... simply 'a pure white-robed immortal, aloof from the world'! A hundred times more handsome than the male protagonist in the illustrations!"
"You've been reading too many sketchbooks." Jiang Cheng snorted and kicked her heel. "You're practically drooling. How pathetic."
Xie Linyang then felt her lips burning slightly and quickly wiped them with the back of her hand, but found nothing. Instead, she was teased by Jiang Cheng and became a little embarrassed: "No... I just think it's beautiful." She hugged the book and moved closer to Jiang Cheng, her eyes sparkling like a little fox who had just discovered a new toy. "Brother Wanyin, do you think Zewu-jun is a celestial being descended to earth? How can someone be so handsome and have such a gentle personality..."
Jiang Cheng's temples throbbed with pain.
He had seen Lan Xichen a few times, and he was indeed a gentleman, but not to the point of Xie Lin Yang's "absent-minded" state. He was just dressed a little more simply, smiled a little more gently, and walked a little more slowly, so how did she come to describe him as "a celestial being descended to earth"?
He glanced at Xie Linyang's still flushed cheeks, and then recalled how she had stared at Lan Xichen with such intense eyes that it was as if her eyes were glued to him. A strange sense of irritation rose in his heart.
It was as if something had been stolen from them.
"What's so interesting about him?" He turned his face away, his tone stiff. "He's just Lan Xichen, isn't he? He always has that 'I'm a gentleman' face on his face, and he walks like a snail. What's so special about him?"
Xie Lin Yang was taken aback for a moment, then blinked: "How did you know he was Lan Xichen?"
Jiang Cheng: "..."
He couldn't very well say that he had actually seen and heard Lan Xichen greeting his disciples as he passed by.
"I guessed." He stiffened his neck, took a box of chilled plum juice from the food box, and placed it heavily on the stone table next to him. "Drink your soup. If you keep talking nonsense, the plum juice will melt."
Xie Linyang then noticed the food box, her eyes lighting up: "Wow! Iced plum juice! You bought this especially for me?"
"Who bought this for you on purpose?" Jiang Cheng turned his face away. "Nie Huaisang insisted on buying it, so I just picked it up."
Xie Lin Yang didn't care what he said. She happily picked up the plum juice and took a big gulp. The cool sweetness spread from the tip of her tongue to the bottom of her heart. Her infatuation with Lan Xichen had faded a bit, but she still couldn't help but mutter to herself, "But Zewu-jun is really handsome... If I meet him again next time, I must say something to him."
"Pfft—" Jiang Cheng almost spat out the plum juice he had just drunk.
He glared at her abruptly: "You still want to talk to him? Xie Linyang, can't you have some self-respect? You can't even walk past a good-looking guy, like you've never seen a man before!"
"I didn't!" Xie Linyang was startled by his shout, and pouted aggrievedly. "I just thought he was very gentle, and I wanted to ask him a few questions about talismans..."
Jiang Cheng looked at her reddened eyes, and the frustration in his heart suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon. He looked away, his voice lower, but still stiff: "Can't you ask me? You have to ask him?"
Xie Linyang was stunned. Looking at his stubborn expression despite his obvious displeasure, Xie Linyang suddenly felt that the plum juice in her hand tasted even sweeter.
She leaned closer and deliberately bumped his arm with her shoulder, her voice tinged with mischief: "I know~ If you have any questions in the future, just ask Brother Wanyin. Our Brother Wanyin is the best, even better than a god!"
Jiang Cheng's ears turned red. He suddenly stood up, grabbed the food box, and left, saying, "I can't be bothered with you."
Watching his retreating figure, which was almost a hasty escape, Xie Linyang hugged the plum juice and smiled until her eyes curved into crescent moons.
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