Chapter 52, Fifty-Two
Chapter Summary: Lan Wangji woke up precisely at dawn. After applying medicine to Wei Wuxian, someone gently knocked on the door. Three knocks later, Lan Sizhui's voice came through: ...
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Lan Wangji woke up precisely at dawn. After applying the medicine to Wei Wuxian, someone gently knocked on the door. After three knocks, Lan Sizhui's voice came: "Hanguang-jun, are you all up? Are you leaving?"
Lan Wangji said, "Wait downstairs."
The group left the city and parted ways at the city gate. The scions of various noble families were initially just acquaintances, visiting each other during their respective intellectual gatherings. However, these past few days had been filled with shared experiences: the strange cat-killing incident, a thrilling day and night spent together in a misty, ghostly city, burning paper money together, secretly drinking together, arguing together, and cursing together. They had become quite familiar with each other, and at the city gate, they were all reluctant to part, lingering and making promises about when to visit each other's intellectual gatherings and when to go night-hunting. Lan Wangji didn't urge them, letting them chatter as they pleased, standing silently under a tree.
The expressions of the people in the space instantly changed.
The younger generation turned pale: Miss Niangui, please don't do this, your secrets are about to be exposed.
The elders' faces turned dark purple: "These brats, who knows what they've been doing outside? We haven't punished them enough with family discipline."
The fairy, being stared at by him, dared not make a sound or run around. She could only shrink under the tree, gazing longingly at Jin Ling, her tail wagging wildly.
While Lan Wangji was keeping his eyes on Fairy, Wei Wuxian put his arm around Jin Ling's shoulder and walked a distance away.
As he walked, he said, "When you get back, don't argue or talk back to your uncle. Listen to him, be careful in the future, and don't go out night hunting alone again."
Mo Xuanyu is one of Jin Guangshan's illegitimate sons and the half-brother of Jin Zixuan and Jin Guangyao. Therefore, he is now considered Jin Ling's uncle and can rightfully give him advice in the tone of an elder.
Although Jin Ling comes from a prestigious family, he is an orphan and is inevitably affected by rumors and gossip, making him eager to succeed and prove himself. Wei Wuxian said again, "You're only a teenager. Young masters of similar age from prominent families haven't hunted any extraordinary demons or monsters yet. Why are you in such a hurry to be the first to do so?"
Jin Ling said sullenly, "My uncle and my younger uncle became famous when they were teenagers."
Wei Wuxian thought to himself, "How can that be the same? Back then, with the Qishan Wen Clan pressing down on us, everyone was filled with fear. If we didn't train and fight desperately, no one knew if they would be the next unlucky one. During the Sunshot Campaign, they pulled people onto the battlefield regardless of whether you were a teenager or not. But now the situation is stable, everyone is at peace, so the atmosphere is naturally not as tense, and people aren't fighting as hard."
Jin Ling continued, "Even Wei Ying was only a teenager when he killed the Xuanwu of Slaughter. If he could do it, why can't I?"
Wei Wuxian asked, "Was it him who killed him? Wasn't it Hanguang-jun who killed him?"
Hearing this, the elders, including Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan, felt that Wei Wuxian's teaching was quite correct, and perhaps Wei Wuxian really did help the younger generation a lot.
Seeing Jiang Fengmian and the others nod in almost imperceptible agreement, Wei Wuxian raised an eyebrow smugly, nudged Jiang Cheng with his elbow, and said, "See? I'm much better at teaching kids than you are."
Seeing Wei Wuxian's smug look, Jiang Cheng was so angry that he raised his hand to hit him: "You make it sound so easy. I haven't seen you come back to do anything all this time. You've been hanging around in the Lan Clan and haven't come back yet."
Wei Wuxian slurred, "Lan Zhan is willing to take care of me, do you have a problem with that?"
Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes, not wanting to pay him any more attention.
Until I heard the last sentence...
Jiang Cheng: ...
Wei Wuxian?! ! Can this dog food ever stop?!
Upon hearing him mention Lan Wangji, Jin Ling gave him a cryptic look, as if he wanted to say something, but forcibly held back, and said, "You and Hanguang-jun... never mind. It's your own business. Anyway, I don't care about anything else. If you're into homosexuality, then go ahead and be homosexual. This disease can't be cured."
Wei Wuxian chuckled and said, "How can this be called an illness?"
She inwardly burst out laughing: "He thinks I'm shamelessly pestering Lan Zhan?!"
Jin Ling continued, "I already know the meaning of the headband of the Gusu Lan Clan. Since things have come to this, you should stay by Hanguang-jun's side. Even if you're gay, you should keep your distance and not bother anyone from our clan. I can't control you anymore."
When he said "our family," he included both the Lanling Jin Clan and the Yunmeng Jiang Clan, indicating a slight increase in tolerance for homosexuality. As long as his family wasn't involved, it was considered an oversight. Wei Wuxian asked, "Forehead ribbon? What's the meaning behind the headband of the Gusu Lan Clan?"
Lan Qiren almost couldn't breathe and passed out.
Now, after ruining his own family's fortune, he's telling me he still doesn't know the meaning of the forehead ribbon?!
“You…” Lan Qiren pointed at Wei Wuxian but couldn’t say a word.
Lan Xichen continued to soothe his uncle with a helpless expression.
Wuxian, take it easy. Otherwise, your uncle might die of anger not because of anything else, but because of you.
Jin Ling said, "Don't be so smug and pretend you're stupid! I don't want to talk about this anymore. Are you Wei Ying?"
At the end of his three sentences, he suddenly dropped a bombshell, cutting straight to the point and catching everyone off guard.
Wei Wuxian asked, "Do you think I look like it?"
Jin Ling remained silent for a while, then suddenly blew a short whistle and said, "Fairy!"
Called by its owner, the fairy, tongue lolling, came running over on all fours. Wei Wuxian took off running, yelling, "Speak properly! Why unleash the dog?!"
Jin Ling said, "Hmph! Goodbye!"
After saying goodbye, he strode confidently towards Lanling, seemingly still too afraid to return to Yunmeng to see Jiang Cheng. The other clan members also went home in twos and threes, heading in different directions. In the end, only Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, and a few junior members of the Lan clan remained.
Wei Wuxian immediately turned to Jin Ling and said, "Jin Ling, look what you've learned from your uncle. You're always scaring people with a dog."
Jin Ling snorted and ignored him.
Jiang Cheng said from the side, "I'll only use this trick on you. It's not about having many tricks, but about finding ones that work."
Wei Wuxian: ...
So I'm quite honored?
The two of them walked ahead, with the other youths following behind. After walking for a while, Lan Wangji said, "Jiang Cheng knows who you are."
Wei Wuxian sat on the flowery donkey, letting Little Apple walk slowly, and said, "Yes, I know. But what good does knowing do? He can't produce any evidence."
Unlike possession, offering a body to another's soul leaves no trace. Jiang Cheng only deduced this from Wei Wuxian's expression after seeing the dog. However, firstly, Jiang Cheng had never told anyone that Wei Wuxian was afraid of dogs, and secondly, expressions and reactions are things that only very familiar people can judge, so they cannot be used as conclusive evidence. Even if Jiang Cheng were to post notices everywhere announcing that the Yiling Patriarch Wei Wuxian was a coward at the sight of dogs, everyone would probably just think that the Three Poisons Master was suddenly bored and making fun of them.
Wei Wuxian said, "That's why I'm really curious. How exactly did you recognize me?"
Lan Wangji said calmly, "I'm also curious why your memory is so bad."
They were supposed to head straight for Suzhou and then return to the Cloud Recesses. However, they heard that some spirits were causing trouble in a certain place in Tanzhou, so they took a slight detour and went night hunting. On their way back after quelling the rebellion, they passed by a garden.
The garden was once vast, furnished with stone pavilions, railings, tables, and benches for enjoying the flowers and the moon. However, years of rain and wind have damaged it; a corner of the pavilion is missing, and two benches have fallen over. The garden is now devoid of flowers, only withered branches and fallen leaves remain. This garden has been abandoned for many years.
Lan Sizhui said, "This is the garden of the Flower Planting Maiden."
Lan Jingyi asked blankly, "Flower Planter? Who is that? Does this garden have an owner? It looks so dilapidated, like it hasn't been tended to in a long time."
Flowers that bloom only in season and have a short flowering period are called seasonal flowers. They come in many varieties and colors, filling the garden with fragrance when in bloom. Hearing this name, Wei Wuxian's heart stirred, and he remembered something.
Lan Sizhui said, “This garden was once very famous. I read about it in a book. The chapter ‘The Flower Maiden’ records that there was a flower garden in Tanzhou, and a maiden lived there. She would recite poems under the moon. If the poem was good, she would give the maiden a flower that would not wither for three years and would remain fragrant forever. If the poem was not good, or if the recitation was wrong, the maiden would suddenly appear, throw the flower at the maiden’s face, and then disappear.”
Lan Jingyi said, "So, if I recite the wrong poem, she'll throw flowers at my face? And those flowers shouldn't have thorns, otherwise if I tried, I'd definitely get pricked and bleed. What kind of monster is this?"
Lan Sizhui said, "Legend has it that the original owner of the flower garden was a poet. He planted these flowers himself, befriended them, and recited poems here every day. The flowers in the garden, influenced by the fragrance of books and poetry, condensed a wisp of spirit, which transformed into the Flower Gardener. When outsiders came here and recited poems well, she would think of the person who planted them and, in her joy, would give them a flower. If they recited poorly, she would emerge from the flower bushes and hit them on the head and face with flowers. Those who were hit would faint and, when they woke up, would find themselves thrown out of the garden. More than ten years ago, people came to this garden in an endless stream."
Wei Wuxian said, “Elegant, elegant. But the Gusu Lan Clan’s library won’t have any books recording such things. Sizhui, tell me honestly, what books are you reading?”
Lan Sizhui blushed and secretly glanced at Lan Wangji. Lan Jingyi said, "Isn't the flower-planting girl very beautiful? Otherwise, why would so many people come?"
Seeing that Lan Wangji didn't seem to be blaming her, Lan Sizhui said, "She must have been very beautiful. But very few people saw her. After all, even if you can't compose poetry, what's so difficult about reciting a poem or two? So most people received flowers from the flower-planting maid. Even if someone occasionally made a mistake and got punished, they couldn't see the flower-planting maid's face clearly. There was only one exception."
Everyone: ...
We don't seem to care much about the couple's dating process right now.
However, we still have to take a look at the Flower Planting Woman; she's a woman who lives in legend.
But upon seeing this, Wei Wuxian suddenly had a bad feeling.
Another boy asked, "Which one?"
Wei Wuxian coughed lightly.
Lan Sizhui said, "Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch."
Wei Wuxian coughed again and said, "Why is it him again? Can't we talk about something else?"
No one paid him any attention. Lan Jingyi waved his hand and said, "Don't make a fuss. What happened to Wei Wuxian? What did he do? Did he arrest the Flower Planting Girl?"
Lan Sizhui said, "No, that's not true. However, in order to see the face of the Flower-Planting Maiden clearly, he would come to this garden and deliberately recite the wrong poems each time, provoking her to get angry and hit him with flowers, then throw him out. After he woke up, he would climb back in and continue to loudly recite the wrong poems. This was repeated more than twenty times until he finally saw the Flower-Planting Maiden's face clearly. But the Flower-Planting Maiden was also angered by him, and she didn't come out for a long time. Whenever he entered, a shower of flowers would fall, which was more spectacular than any other spectacle..."
The group of teenagers burst into laughter, all saying, "Wei Wuxian is such an annoying person!"
"How boring!"
Wei Wuxian stroked his chin, thinking to himself, "What's so boring about this? Who hasn't done something like this when they were young? Speaking of which, why does anyone even know about this kind of thing? And why is it recorded in a book?"
Lan Wangji looked at him, his face expressionless, but a strange light flickered in his eyes, as if he were mocking him. Wei Wuxian thought to himself, "You're mocking me? Heh, Lan Zhan actually has the nerve to mock me."
Amidst the teasing glances of the crowd, Wei Wuxian quickly turned to Lan Wangji and explained, "Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, I was just bored. Jiang Cheng was handling some matters at the time, and I was so bored being alone, right?"
Lan Wangji patted Wei Wuxian's head and shook his head, indicating that it was nothing.
Everyone: ...
Lord Hanguang, how could you so easily trust this lecherous man?
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