Chapter 76 Seventy-Six
Chapter Summary: [After arriving at Muxi Mountain, Wei Wuxian noticed that Lan Wangji looked unwell today, as if he had some pent-up frustration. That's why he deliberately threatened and provoked him…]
-------------------------------------
After arriving at Muxi Mountain, Wei Wuxian noticed that Lan Wangji looked terrible today, as if he had some pent-up frustration. That's why he deliberately threatened and provoked him so that Lan Wangji would vomit up the blood he was holding back.
Although he knew it was well-intentioned, Lan Wangji still showed a hint of displeasure and said, "...Can you please stop making jokes like that!"
Wei Wuxian retorted, "Bottling up this anger is bad for your health. It will come out when I'm scared. Don't worry, I don't like men, I won't take advantage of you."
Lan Wangji said, "Boring!"
Hearing Wei Wuxian's resolute declaration that he "didn't like men," everyone in the space was speechless, only Jiang Cheng, the sect leader who wouldn't give up until he could utterly refute Wei Wuxian, spoke their minds:
"Wei Wuxian, isn't this a slap in the face?"
Unexpectedly, Wei Wuxian didn't feel embarrassed at all. Instead, he leaned closer to Lan Wangji and said with a hint of smugness, "Doesn't this prove that I like Lan Zhan not because of his gender, but simply because of who he is!"
Jiang Cheng: ...
Everyone: ...
Lan Wangji: "Yes, me too."
Wei Wuxian had already noticed that Lan Wangji was unusually angry today, so he didn't argue and waved his hand, saying, "Fine, fine, I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm the most bored."
As he spoke, a chilling aura crept up his spine from the ground, making Wei Wuxian shiver. He quickly got up, picked up a pile of withered branches and leaves, and redrawn the fire-starting talisman on his palm.
The dry branches crackled and popped as they burned, occasionally sending out a few sparks. Wei Wuxian crushed the herbs he had just picked up, tore open Lan Wangji's trouser leg, and sprinkled the herbs evenly over the three gruesome black holes where the bleeding had barely stopped.
Suddenly, Lan Wangji raised his hand, stopping him. Wei Wuxian asked, "What's wrong?"
Without saying a word, Lan Wangji took some broken herbs from his palm and pressed them onto his chest.
Wei Wuxian trembled as he was pressed down, and cried out, "Ah!"
As Lan Wangji pressed the herbs onto the object in the shadowy sky, Wei Wuxian was idly playing with the tassel of Bichen's sword when suddenly, he heard:
"ah--"
That deafening roar was the combined shout of hundreds of people throughout the space; its effect was comparable to the wailing and weeping of a hundred ghosts in a mass grave back in the day.
Everyone felt bitter and aching in their chests: Couldn't you two take it easy? You've been injured several times in less than an incense stick's time.
He had forgotten that he had a fresh, bleeding, and waterlogged wound from a branding iron.
Lan Wangji withdrew his hand, and Wei Wuxian hissed twice, then slowly pulled the medicinal herbs that Lan Wangji had been pressing against his chest off, tossing them back onto his lap, saying, "Don't be shy. I get injured all the time, and even after I'm injured, I still go swimming in Lotus Lake as usual. I'm used to it. A small sachet can't hold many herbs anyway, and I think you need them more for these three holes... Ah!"
Lan Wangji's face was somber. After a long while, he said, "Now that you know the pain, don't be reckless next time."
Wei Wuxian said, "I had no choice. Do you think I wanted to get burned like this? Who knew that Wang Lingjiao was so vicious, she almost branded it into someone's eye. Mianmian is a girl, and a pretty one at that. If she loses an eye, or has something like this on her face that she can never get rid of, that would be terrible."
Lan Wangji said calmly, "This thing on your body now will never be removed for the rest of your life."
Wei Wuxian said, "That's different. It's not on my face. Besides, I'm a man, what am I afraid of? How many times in a man's life can he avoid getting hurt and having scars?"
He was shirtless, squatting on the ground, picking up a twig and poking at the fire to make it burn brighter, saying, "And think about it another way, although this thing can't be removed, it represents that I once protected a girl. And this girl will definitely remember me from now on, she will never forget me for the rest of her life, thinking about it, it's actually quite..."
Suddenly, Lan Wangji shoved him hard, angrily shouting, "You know she'll never forget you in this lifetime!!!"
The push landed squarely on Wei Wuxian's chest wound. Wei Wuxian clutched his chest, collapsed to the ground, and cried out, "...Lan Zhan!"
Having experienced the intense pain from Lan Wangji pressing down earlier, the slight throbbing pain that followed was nothing, and everyone was able to hear clearly what the two of them were saying.
Nie Huaisang wiped the cold sweat from his face. The pain had finally subsided. Hearing Tianying's words, he couldn't help but tease, "I didn't expect Brother Wei to be so chivalrous."
At this moment, Wei Wuxian was admiring the way his Lan Er-gege's face gradually darkened with jealousy as he spoke in the shadows. Upon hearing this, he subconsciously looked up at Lan Wangji and explained, "Lan Zhan, my chivalry is a virtue, please don't misunderstand! Look how ruthless I was back then." Although the ruthlessness now is a different kind of ruthlessness.
Nie Huaisang: ...
I've never seen you so quick about other things, but you're always quick to explain.
Just as he finished speaking, a piercing pain surged up again. Looking up, he saw Lan Wangji shoving Wei Wuxian.
Everyone: ...
It's one thing for you two to flirt, flirt, and get jealous and angry, but don't hurt innocent people!
He lay sprawled on the ground, drenched in cold sweat from the pain, and groaned, tilting his head back, "...Lan Zhan,...do I have a grudge against you!...Even the hatred for killing one's father is nothing more than this!"
Upon hearing this, Lan Wangji clenched his fist.
Hearing this, the Lan family members lowered their hands from their chests. The younger ones might not have personally experienced that catastrophe, but the older ones remembered it vividly. The pain they felt then was incomparable to the branding pain Wei Wuxian suffered, because it was the kind of heartbreak that could never be healed—the loss of loved ones. Even if it fades with time, the scar still causes excruciating pain whenever it is mentioned.
Hearing those words again after so many years, Wei Wuxian immediately understood how perfectly he had touched Lan Wangji's sore spot back then. Although he didn't know about the situation at Cloud Recesses at the time, ignorance is no excuse, but... it had still touched on his painful memory.
Fortunately, thanks to this Heavenly Realm, I was able to see Lord Qingheng and Madam Lan again. It was truly wonderful.
A moment later, he released his grip, seemingly intending to get up and help Wei Wuxian. However, Wei Wuxian sat up on his own, repeatedly backing away, saying, "Alright, alright! I know you hate me, so I'll sit further away. Don't come any closer! Don't push me anymore, it hurts so much."
The wound was on the left side, and it hurt whenever he lifted his left hand. Wei Wuxian moved aside, picked up the white robe he had just torn into strips, threw it with his right hand, and tossed it far away next to Lan Wangji, saying, "You bandage yourself. I'm not going over there." He then hung his outer robe by the fire to dry.
After roasting for a while without anyone speaking, Wei Wuxian said again, "Lan Zhan, you're really acting strange today. You're so rude. The things you're saying don't sound like you at all."
Lan Wangji said, "If you don't mean it that way, then don't provoke others. You're doing whatever you want, but you're making others upset!"
Wei Wuxian said, "I'm not the one teasing you, so it's not your place to be upset. Unless..."
Lan Wangji said sternly, "Unless what?"
Wei Wuxian said, "Unless you like Mianmian, Lan Zhan!"
After a moment's pause, Lan Wangji said coldly, "Please don't talk nonsense."
Everyone: ...
Alright, the flirting has started again.
"Brother Wei, your reaction was too slow. Didn't you realize back then that Hanguang-jun had a crush on you?"
Nie Huaisang shook his folding fan, looked at Wei Wuxian's blockhead in the sky, and couldn't help but sigh. "This child is hopeless. What a waste of his childhood days of teasing girls."
Wei Wuxian said, "Alright then. I'll talk nonsense."
Lan Wangji said, "Is it interesting to be quick-witted and argumentative?"
Wei Wuxian said, "That's very interesting. And I'm not only quick-witted, I'm also very fast in action."
"..." Lan Wangji muttered to himself, "Why am I talking nonsense to you here?"
Before he knew it, Wei Wuxian had moved to sit down next to him again, and said recklessly, "Because there's nothing we can do. It's just the two of us unlucky people left in this place. If you don't talk nonsense to me, who else can you talk to?"
Lan Wangji glanced at this man who had forgotten the pain once the wound had healed. Wei Wuxian was about to grin at him when he suddenly saw him lower his head.
Wei Wuxian screamed in agony, "Aa ...
Lan Wangji buried himself deep in his arms, biting his arm tightly. Hearing the sound, he not only didn't stop biting, but his lower teeth tightened even more.
Wei Wuxian said, "Are you going to let go or not?! If you don't, I'll kick you! Don't think I won't kick you just because you're injured!!!!"
Wei Wuxian shouted, "Stop biting! Stop biting! I'm leaving! I'm leaving!!! I'm leaving, I'm leaving, I'm leaving! Let go and I'll leave!!!!"
Wei Wuxian: "Lan Zhan, have you gone mad today?! You're a dog!!! You're a dog!!! Stop biting me!!!!"
Once Lan Wangji had finally finished his madness and biting, Wei Wuxian sprang up and scrambled to the other side of the cave, shouting, "Don't come any closer!"
"Aaaaaaah!!!!"
Suddenly, the howling of a hundred ghosts in the space began again.
Wei Wuxian shuddered in fright. He looked around and saw that everyone he could meet was filled with resentment, while those he couldn't meet his eyes with were still in pain.
Wei Wuxian pretended not to understand their gazes, silently turned his head back, and nudged Lan Wangji: "Lan Zhan, look, you were so fierce to me back then..."
Lan Wangji didn't respond, but simply hugged Wei Wuxian even tighter.
At that time, his father died, his brother disappeared, and he came to the Wen family alone. No matter how mature and steady he usually was, he was still just a teenager who always wanted a place to vent his frustrations.
Jiang Cheng and Jin Zixuan would occasionally curse the Wen clan as beasts to vent their frustrations, but he himself was cold and aloof, and could only keep his thoughts to himself.
However, when he met Wei Wuxian, who seemed to laugh and joke even when the sky was falling, it was as if he had found a way out of his chaotic thoughts. In front of Wei Wuxian, he could stop suppressing himself and had the opportunity to show his true thoughts and emotions. He had a place to vent.
Therefore, he was very grateful that Wei Wuxian had entered his life in such an unexpected way.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
