The Founder of Diabolism

Chapter 117: Extra—Incense Burner (Part One)

Chapter 117: Extra—Incense Burner (Part One)

Translated by K of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Wei WuXian found an old incense burner in the treasure pavilion of the Cloud Recesses—the ‘Chamber of Ancients.’

The incense burner had the body of a bear, nose of an elephant, eyes of a rhinoceros, tail of a bull, and limbs of a tiger. With its stomach as the main unit, it spouted soft smoke from its mouth after the incense was lit up.

In the Jingshi, Wei WuXian played with it for a while, "This thing looks kind of fun. It’s got no killing intent or malicious energy, so it’s definitely not something used to harm people. Lan Zhan, do you know what this is for?"

Lan WangJi shook his head. Wei WuXian sniffed the scent. He didn’t find anything wrong with it either. Since neither of the two saw it as suspicious, they put the incense burner away and decided to investigate it further at some later date.

Yet before the two had laid down for long, they felt extremely tired and fell into a deep sleep. An unknown period of time later, Wei WuXian woke up and discovered that he and Lan WangJi weren’t at the Jingshi of the Cloud Recesses, but rather amidst the wilderness of a forest.

Wei WuXian crawled up from the ground, "What’s this place?"

Lan WangJi, "Not the real world."

Wei WuXian, "Not the real world? No way," he shook his sleeve, feeling it quite clearly, "What could this be if not reality?"

Lan WangJi didn’t answer. He walked in silence towards a river and gestured for him to look down. Wei WuXian walked over and glanced at his reflection. He was immediately startled.

Reflected against the river’s surface was how he looked in his past life!

Wei WuXian immediately looked up, "Because of the incense burner?"

Lan WangJi nodded, "Likely so."

After staring for a while at the familiar features in the water, Wei WuXian finally averted his gaze, "It’s fine. I tested the incense burner. There’s no resentful energy, so it’s definitely not a weapon of evil. Some master probably made this either to cultivate or just for the sake amusement. Let’s walk around for now and look into our situation."

And the two began to stroll within this forest that was an illusion or otherwise. Soon, a small, log cabin came into their view.

Wei WuXian saw the log cabin and exclaimed with a ‘huh’. Lan WangJi, "Yes?"

Wei WuXian scrutinized the cabin, "The cabin looks a little familiar to me."

The cabin was a home that looked more than common, which was why even though he was suspicious, he couldn’t determine if he’d seen it or not. At this point, the squeaks of the loom came from the cabin.

The two exchanged a glance with each other. Without more words, they approached together. But at the door of the cabin, as they looked inside, both of them stopped in surprise.

What was within the cabin was far from even the worst case scenario they imagined. There were neither villains nor beasts. In fact, there was only one person, and a person they were both rather familiar with, at that.

In the cabin sat a ‘Lan WangJi’!

This ‘Lan WangJi’ had the same handsome features and the same tall build as the one beside Wei WuXian. The plain yet not at all crude garb of blue and white cotton, when over his body, seemed to become the heavenly robes of a renowned cultivator. At the side, the loom moved on its own like it was manoeuvred using a spell, squeaking as it weaved cotton. On the other hand, he himself sat at the side with a book in his hand, reading attentively.

The two had already walked in front of the door and even made quite some noise, while ‘Lan WangJi’ seemed as though he didn’t notice anything. With a distant expression, he flipped over a page with fair, slim fingers.

Wei WuXian looked at the Lan WangJi beside him, then at the ‘Lan WangJi’ inside, reaching an epiphany, "I see, I see!"

Lan WangJi’s brows raised just a bit. The slight motion meant that he was surprised. He asked, "What?"

Wei WuXian, "Th-Th-This, this is my dream!"

Before he finished, a slender figure clothed in black swept into the cabin, extending his speech, "Er-gege, I’m back!"

Looking at the beaming ‘Wei WuXian’ who carried a hoe on his shoulder, a creel in his hand, and a straw in his mouth, Lan WangJi was even more silent. If this was Wei WuXian’s dream, it was only natural that the people inside the dream couldn’t see them. The weaving ‘Lan WangJi’ finally looked up. When he saw ‘Wei WuXian’, he even curled his lips slightly, but the smile faded at once. He stood up and poured him a cup of water.

‘Wei WuXian’ spat out the straw in his mouth and sat down at the wooden little table, grabbing the cup and downing it in a few gulps. He finally began, "Today the sun’s way too bright outside. I’m absolutely scorched. I left the things at the field. Not gonna work anymore. Maybe I’ll pick it up again later."

‘Lan WangJi’ replied, "Mn." Then he took out a snowy towel and handed it to him. ‘Wei WuXian’, however, moved his face over with a grin. It was more than obvious that he wanted ‘Lan WangJi’ to wipe his face for him.

And ‘Lan WangJi’ didn’t refuse either. He really began to wipe his face, earnest and dedicated. ‘Wei WuXian’ enjoyed it as he rambled on, "I played around over at the river and got two fish. Cook me fish stew tonight, Er-gege!"

"Mn."

"How are crucians usually cooked over at Gusu? Do you know how to cook chilli pickled fish*, Lan Zhan? I like that. But please don’t make it sweet. I tried it once and almost threw up."

"Mn. I do."

"The weather’s getting hotter and hotter. There’s no need to boil the bathwater so hot today, so I only cut half the usual amount of firewood."

"Mn. That is fine."

"…" Lan WangJi stared at the two making casual conversation, "Your dream?"

Wei WuXian was laughing so hard he might suffer from an internal injury, "Pwahahahahahahahaha, uh, yes. For a certain period of time, for some reason, I keep on having these dreams. I’d dream that we retired to seclusion to the countryside. I go out to hunt and farm, while you stay at home to guard the house, weaving and cooking food for me. Oh right, you’re also in charge of my money and doing accounts for me. At night you even mend my clothes. Every time I dream about telling you to boil the bathwater so that we could bathe together at night, but every time we were about to take off our clothes I’d wake up. What a shame, hahahahahahahahahahaha…"

He didn’t at all feel embarrassed that such a dream was seen by Lan WangJi. Instead, he was quite pleased with himself. Seeing how giddy he was, Lan WangJi’s eyes grew soft, "One might as well."

This dream of Wei WuXian’s was full of trivial odds and ends, like cooking, eating, feeding chicken, cutting firewood. As expected, when the bathwater had finished boiling, the dream halted abruptly. The two walked just a few steps out of the cabin and arrived at an elegant pavilion. Outside stood a magnolia tree with branches drawn out, effusing a quiet, refreshing fragrance.

The dream’s location changed, this time somewhere both of the two should definitely recognize. This place was the Library Pavilion of Gusu’s Cloud Recesses.

Candlelight leaked out a wooden window on the second floor, along with indistinct voices. Wei WuXian looked up, "Let’s go inside and check things out?"

For some reason, Lan WangJi had surprisingly stopped. He stared at the window, lost in thought, as if he was hesitating. Wei WuXian found this strange. He couldn’t think of a reason why Lan WangJi might not want to go in, asking, "What’s wrong?"

Lan WangJi shook his head vaguely. After some silence, just as he was about to speak, a string of unrestrained laughter suddenly exploded from within the Library Pavilion.

Hearing this, Wei WuXian’s eyes lit up. He dashed into the Pavilion and leaped up the stairs in just a few strides.

Now that he entered, of course Lan WangJi wouldn’t stay outside all by himself either, so he went in as well. Together, the two walked into the lamp-lit chamber, and they indeed saw something very interesting.

On a light-colored sitting mat beside a surface set for the punishment of copying scriptures, a sixteen-year-old Wei Ying was roaring with laughter as he slammed the desk, "Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

Thrown onto the ground was a yellowing booklet, which a similarly young Lan Zhan treated as if it were a snake or scorpion. He had already backed away up to a corner of the Pavilion, currently howling in anger, "Wei Ying——!"

Young Wei Ying laughed so hard he almost rolled under his deck. He finally managed to raise his hand, "Here! I’m here!"

And over here, Wei WuXian was also splitting his sides with laughter. He tugged at Lan WangJi who stood beside him, "What a nice dream! I can’t anymore, Lan Zhan, look at you, look at how you were back then, that expression, hahahahahaha…"

For some reason, Lan WangJi’s face looked even stranger. Wei WuXian pulled him over to sit on a mat at the side, grinning as their adolescent versions fought and argued, propping his chin on his hand.

There, young Lan Zhan had already unsheathed Bichen. Wei WuXian hurriedly grabbed Suibian, revealing a few inches of its sheath as he reminded, "Manners! Second Young Master Lan! Watch your manners! I brought my sword today as well. If we start fighting, do you think your Library Pavilion will end up fine?"

Lan Zhan raged, "Wei Ying! Just… Just what sort of person are you?!"

Wei Ying raised a brow, "What sort of person could I be? I’m a man!"

"…" Lan Zhan lashed out, "You have no shame!"

Wei Ying, "So I have to feel ashamed about this? Don’t tell me you’ve never read something like this before. I won’t believe you."

After trying to hold it back for a while, Lan Zhan charged over with his sword, face cold as frost. Wei Ying was astonished, "What, you’re really gonna fight?!" He attacked as well. Just like this, the two really began to spar within the Library Pavilion.

At this point, Wei WuXian exclaimed with a ‘huh’. He turned sideways to look at Lan WangJi, musing, "Is this what happened? Why don’t I remember us actually fighting back then?"

Lan WangJi didn’t make a single sound. Wei WuXian looked at him, but he unnoticeably averted Wei WuXian’s gaze. The feeling that something had been off about him tonight deepened within Wei WuXian.

Just as he was about to ask, he heard young Wei Ying joke as he fought, "Nice, nice, nice! Firm yet free, curb after release—beautiful swordsmanship! But Lan Zhan, oh, Lan Zhan, look at how red your face is. Is it because of fighting with me, or is it because of what you just looked at?"

Young Lan Zhan wasn’t blushing at all. He swung his sword across, "Nonsense!"

Wei Ying leaned backwards with extreme flexibility to dodge the attack. Then he straightened up and nimbly pinched Lan Zhan’s fair cheek, "How was it nonsense? You should feel yourself. Your face is almost burning, haha!"

Lan Zhan’s face switched between red and white. He was just about to slap the hand away when Wei Ying retreated first. His slap landed on nothing as he almost ended up slapping himself. Turning around, Wei Ying continued with all the ease, "Lan Zhan, oh, Lan Zhan, no offense, but look at the other people your age. Is there any one of them who blushes so easily? Can’t take it after just this tiny bit of thrill—you’re such an amateur."

If this situation was neither something that really happened nor one of his dreams, it had to be one of Lan WangJi’s dreams. Wei WuXian enjoyed the spectacle, "Lan Zhan, you get me so much. This is indeed something I’d say."

Yet, he didn’t notice that the current Lan WangJi almost looked somewhat anxious.

Over there, Wei Ying rambled on, "Copying scriptures is so boring. Why don’t I teach you about these things while you copy them? Let’s just say it’s to thank you for supervising me…"

Having endured his blather for so long, Lan Zhan finally couldn’t take it any longer. Bichen zipped forward. The two swords clashed, and both were knocked out the window. Seeing that Suibian fell out of his hand, Wei Ying was slightly surprised, "Hey, my sword!"

As he shouted, he was about to leap out the window and grab his sword when Lan Zhan plunged toward him from behind and pushed him onto the ground. Wei Ying’s head bumped against the ground. He hastily began to struggle, and the two quickly became a brawling mess. Wei Ying kicked as hard as he could, elbows thrashing, but he couldn’t break free from the constraint of Lan Zhan’s limbs no matter what, almost as if he was wrapped inside an impenetrable net of iron, "Lan Zhan! What are you doing, Lan Zhan! I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Why are you so serious?!"

Lan Zhan grabbed his wrists, pressing his body onto his back. His voice was low, "What, did you, want to teach me?"

His tone sounded cold, but it seemed volcanoes were about to erupt within his eyes.

The were originally quite matched in terms of skill. Out of carelessness, Wei Ying had been pinned down on the ground, vulnerable. He could only feign ignorance, "No? Did I say something?"

Lan Zhan, "You did not?"

Wei Ying replied with confidence, "I didn’t!"

He began again, "Don’t be so straight, Lan Zhan, don’t take every single thing I say so seriously. I

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can’t fathom how you’d believe all that nonsense. What’s there to be angry about? I’ll stop, alright? Hurry up and let me go. I haven’t even finished copying today’s scriptures. I’ll quit, I’ll quit."

Hearing this, Lan Zhan’s face calmed as he seemed to relax his arms slightly. Yet, right after Wei Ying pulled his wrists out, he grinned mischievously and struck with his palm.

However, almost as if he was long since on guard, Lan Zhan caught Wei Ying the moment he attacked, holding him down once more. This time, he went even harder, and Wei Ying’s wrist was twisted into a even greater curvature. He exclaimed, "I already said I was kidding! Lan Zhan! Can’t you even take a joke?!"

Flames seemed to dance within Lan Zhan’s eyes. Without saying anything, he tore off the ribbon on his forehead and wrapped it thrice around the hands of Wei Ying who was underneath him, locking them in place with a fast knot.

With such a turn of events, Wei WuXian was absolutely dumbfounded, watching from the side!

A few moments later, he finally turned around to look at Lan WangJi beside him, only to find that although Lan WangJi’s face was still snowy white, tinged with not a single trace of red, his earlobes had already become pink.

Wei WuXian slithered over, up to no good, "Lan Er-gege… something seems to be wrong with this dream of yours, huh?"

"…" Lan WangJi suddenly stood up, "Stop looking!"

Wei WuXian immediately grabbed him, who was just about to get up and leave, "Don’t go! I still want to see what would happen in your dream. We haven’t even arrived at the best part yet, have we?"

By the desk in the Library Pavilion, Wei Ying howled for a while, tied up by Lan Zhan. After he quieted down, he tried to reason with the other, "Lan Zhan, a gentleman uses his tongue instead of his fists. You’d be narrow-minded if you’re like this. Think about it. Did I say anything about you?"

Lan Zhan breathed soundlessly, his voice cold, "Think on your own, what you said about me."

Wei Ying protested, "I only said that you were an amateaur, that you didn’t know about some things. Isn’t it the truth? There are some adult things that you really don’t understand, right? Treating me like this just because you were exposed—what could you be if not narrow-minded?"

Lan Zhan was indifferent, "Who said I do not understand?"

Wei Ying raised a brow, smirking, "Ohhhhh, really? Stop being so stubborn. It’d be beyond mind-blowing if you actually do hahahahahaha… Ah!"

He suddenly exclaimed, for Lan Zhan suddenly gripped a part of him down below.

Lan Zhan’s handsome yet still somewhat callow features were cold as he repeated, "Who said I do not understand?"

Wei WuXian clung onto Lan WangJi, almost biting his earlobe, "Yeah, who said you didn’t understand? What you think about in the day you dream about at night. Lan Zhan, tell me the truth, you really want to do this to my past self, don’t you? I can’t believe… that you’re this kind of HanGuang-Jun."

Although Lan WangJi was still expressionless, the pink had already snuck up to his fair neck. The fingers resting at his knee also curled up unnoticeably.

Over there, with his manhood having been seized, young Wei Ying gasped a few times, "What the Hell are you doing, Lan Zhan?! Are you mad?!"

Lan Zhan’s entire body had already jammed between Wei Ying’s legs. Such a position indeed made one feel threatened. Seeing his disadvantage, Wei Ying immediately changed his words, "… No, no, no! Nobody said you didn’t understand! L-L-L-Let go of me first—let’s talk things over!"

He swung his arms agitatedly, but the GusuLan Sect’s forehead ribbon was made of fine cloth. No matter how he floundered about, he couldn’t break out of the bondage. With a few more swings, he saw the book that landed nearby and grabbed it immediately, throwing it onto Lan Zhan in hope that the holy illustrations would knock him sober, "Calm down first!"

The book first crashed into Lan Zhan’s chest before it landed between Wei Ying’s wide open legs, flipping a few pages. Lan Zhan looked down, and he could no longer move his eyes.

Coincidentally, the page just so happened to land on an illustration that depicted an extremely obscene position in an extremely bold way. On top of that, both of the illustrated figures were men!

Wei WuXian remembered that the collection he showed Lan WangJi back then had nothing to do with cut-sleeves, so there definitely wasn’t such a page. He couldn’t help but once again marvel at this. The details within Lan WangJi’s dream were… so comprehensive that he could almost gasp in admiration!

Lan Zhan looked down, staring at the page without a single blink. Wei Ying saw the illustration as well. Immediately, he felt a bit awkward, "… Umm…" He wailed again and again within his heart. Insisting that actions were more powerful than words, he used all his strength to pull out a foot and kick forward. Yet, with only one hand, Lan Zhan grabbed the back side of his knee and opened his legs into a wider position. He stripped Wei Ying’s belt and trousers with just a few motions.

Wei Ying only felt his bottom half go cold. Looking down, he felt as if his heart went cold as well, exclaiming, "What are you doing, Lan Zhan?!"

Over at the side, Wei WuXian was absolutely engrossed as he watched, so excited that he shouted in silence, What do you think?! He’s gonna do you!

Stripped of his pants, Wei Ying’s legs, slim and white, were stark naked as he kicked them around. Lan Zhan pressed his legs down. Referring to the illustrations, his right hand searched for the tight, fleshy spot within the two snowy cheeks.

Wei Ying’s entire lower half was restrained firmly. Even when such a private region was forcefully touched, he had nowhere to hide. With two fingers, Lan Zhan rubbed the pink spot. Wei Ying shivered. A flash of embarrassment buzzed across his face, yet he forced it down and struggled as hard as he could, writhing madly. The youth on top of Wei Ying, however, continued to massage the region calmly with his right hand, eyelids lowered and lips sealed shut. Slowly, he exerted more strength, until the spot gradually softened. From the rubbing, a pink slit opened slightly, swallowing a small segment of the fair finger almost shyly.

Wei WuXian glanced at Lan WangJi with a smirk, "So this is why you refused to come in here earlier on, HanGuang-Jun. To do such a thing to me in your dream and have it seen by me—you’re really gonna want to go hide in a hole, huh?"

Lan WangJi sat straight by his side. He looked down, and his eyelashes seemed to tremble.

Resting his chin on his hand, Wei WuXian faced the scene, watching his young self be pinned down fingered by a young Lan Zhan. He grinned, "If you were able to dream about it afterwards, HanGuang-Jun, you should’ve just did it to me back then. I…"

Before he could finish, Lan WangJi grabbed his hands and pushed him onto the ground, covering his lips with his own. Wei WuXian could feel his boiling cheeks as well as the fiercely beating heart within his chest. He found it somewhat amusing. As the moist lips parted, he murmured, "What, embarrassed again?"

Lan WangJi’s breaths were abnormally rough. He didn’t answer. Wei WuXian, "Or… Are you hard instead?"

At the same time, Wei Ying let out a long, crying moan by the desk.

Lan Zhan had already leaned his entire body on top of Wei Ying. The two were tightly connected below, clearly in the process of intrusion. As the hard, foreign object penetrated his body bit by bit, Wei Ying felt so uncomfortable that both his legs curled up, yet because his hands were tightly bound by the forehead ribbon, he couldn’t move at all. In pain, he slammed his head loudly against the wall a few times. Lan Zhan put his hand under Wei Ying’s head to act as cushion. At the same time, he sent his member entirely inside Wei Ying’s body.

In the beginning, it was difficult for the fleshy spot to even take in a single finger, yet now it was stretched open with a large object both hot and hard. The delicate creases were also spread smooth. Wei Ying was still somewhat dazed, as if he didn’t know what was going on. But when Lan Zhan slowly began to thrust, consulting the illustrations, Wei Ying began to let out soft, subconscious whimpers.

Wei WuXian turned to Lan WangJi, "You were small back then, Lan Zhan, but your size definitely wasn’t. ‘I’ am a virgin, after all, so I say this is gonna be a rough round."

He spoke as he rubbed and nudged his knees against Lan WangJi’s legs on purpose. Now that he’d seen with his own eyes a live session with him being the protagonist, he was very much turned on and wanted to experience the prowess of the erection again.

Before long, Lan WangJi ripped apart his trousers and the lower hem of his clothes without saying a word, while Wei WuXian naturally parted his legs and coiled them around his waist. Lan WangJi held the shaft of his erection and kneaded it against the entrance.

The two made love almost every single day. Both Wei WuXian’s body and heart were long since acquainted with Lan WangJi’s. He hugged Lan WangJi’s neck tightly and drew in a deep breath, and he was pierced through by the blade.

The entry proceeded quite smoothly. The soft entrance and the warm, moist inside tightly sucked on the intruding object, almost as if he was born to hold the one on top of him. Soon, from where they were connected came moist squelches and the sound of flesh beating flesh.

Lan WangJi’s member was quite impressive in its weight, and the shape of its shaft also curved slightly upwards. With every thrust, it’d accurately grind against the weakest, most sensitive spot on the inner wall. Every time the spot was hit, it was a whirling wave of pleasure for the both of them.

Wei WuXian felt light-headed from Lan WangJi’s thrusts, his insides contracting sporadically. He shivered from the top of his head to the tip of his toes, arching his neck with relish. From this angle, he could just barely see the sixteen-year-old Wei Ying of Lan WangJi’s dream, who was also in the middle of suffering such pleasure.

He lay amongst the books scattered on the ground, wrists bound together and weakly fixed above his head. His red ribbon had long since disappeared. Hair disheveled, he was on the verge of crying, tears blurring his squinting eyes. Atop him, Lan Zhan worked for a while. As if he thought Wei Ying’s legs weren’t far enough apart, he held Wei Ying’s leg and put it over his shoulder before plunging in again. The leg couldn’t hang any longer, and fell to the curve of his elbow. Both the smooth lines of the leg and the muscles at the inner thigh twitched slightly. It was obvious that Wei Ying was also driven mad by the curved, burning object that drilled through him ceaselessly. This being his first time, he could do nothing but hold tightly onto Lan Zhan’s shoulders as though he was drowning. He probably couldn’t even figure out where he was right now, much less recall that his current agony was afflicted by the one wreaking havoc within his body.

As he watched his sixteen-year-old self blush and tremble while being fucked by the sixteen-year-old Lan Zhan, Wei WuXian felt that it still wasn’t enough. Young Lan Zhan should be even rougher, even fiercer, and bully young Wei Ying until he cried out loud. Right now was far from enough.

Within the small area of the Library Pavilion, the two titillating acts played out. Wei Ying, who had been feeling quite hazy, seemed as if he was somewhat brought back by the sounds of the slapping meat. Staring at the ceiling of the Library Pavilion, he shivered before he slowly shifted his gaze down, as though he wanted to see what the situation below his body was like but didn’t have the courage to do so. Coincidentally, after Lan Zhan toiled for a while, he raised both of Wei Ying’s thighs and hung them at his shoulders. After he leaned forward and charged again, Wei Ying’s waist was bent into a flexible curvature. Through the blur of the tears, he could see what it was like between his buttocks.

The clean little spot of pink was now a ripe shade of deep red from the work of Lan Zhan’s member, its edges so swollen that it almost seemed pitiful. The weapon, long and hard, was still thrusting in and out. The milky secretion, the thin streaks of blood, and a clear fluid of unknown origin swished around where the two connected, making a mess of things. And in the front, his own member was also raised slightly, spouting some white at its head.

Seeing the horror, Wei Ying was shocked speechless. Soon, he suddenly struggled as hard as he could, conjuring up all his strength, and fought out of Lan Zhan’s grip. Flipping around, he crawled forward on his knees, wanting to escape.

For a long while he’d been fucked roughly, pressed on the ground. He’d long since lost all energy. His thighs and his knees quivered as he fumbled only a bit forward before he straight-up collapsed on the ground. The position displayed his round, snowy buttocks high in the air. White and red instantly dribbled out of the opening, rolling down the thighs. Inside the thighs was covered with red and purple handprints, able to induce one’s sadism with just one look.

And all of this fell right inside the eyes of Lan Zhan right behind him. With searing eyes, he chased after him without saying a word. Wei Ying felt something tighten around his waist. He was locked in place, and the place that had been empty for a few seconds was immediately filled again.

He moaned, whispering, "No…"

Having endured so much torment, he was already soft and slick, easily able to swallow whole the erection that had just been violating him. Wei Ying groveled on the mat, his body shifting forward with each thrust. Terror flashed across his face. In the past, when he went out into the mountains to fool around, he always saw beasts mate in this position. And thus, being entered from behind, it was only natural he felt even more embarrassed, his insides clenching tight. Pinching his waist, Lan Zhan fucked even harder, still without any method. After a while at such a level of intensity, Wei Ying finally couldn’t take it any longer.

Half his face and his upper body were pressed down on the ground with extreme force. He rambled incoherently, "S-Spare me, spare me… Lan Zhan, Second Young Master Lan, spare me…"

Apart from bringing about deeper and faster dives, of course this kind of plea was utterly useless. Wei WuXian laughed, "Good Heavens, I’m almost gonna get hard. Please don’t spare him no matter what. The right thing to do is to fuck him all the way… Ah…"

Lan WangJi picked him up so that Wei WuXian sat on him. The weight of his body made Wei WuXian swallow the rod even deeper, so deep that his brows knit together and his face twitch slightly. He quickly diverted his attention to riding Lan WangJi, adjusting his position. He no longer had the spare energy to spout shameless comments.

As the squelches and the sounds of body slapping against body became even louder, Wei Ying’s cries also became more miserable, "Lan Zhan… Lan Zhan… Did… Did you hear me… It’s too deep… Don’t come in all the way… My stomach hurts…"

Every time Lan Zhan went in, it was as if he was going to pierce him through. The absolute force was the exact opposite of that face of his. Wei Ying was already all red and numb from the onslaught. His entire lower body almost couldn’t feel anything anymore. He tried hard to move forward, but every time he’d be dragged back roughly, forced to take Lan Zhan’s shaft into the depths of his body. With a few such repetitions, he mumbled almost as if he was on his last breath, "Listen… Listen to me, outside, o-outside there are people waiting for me. Jiang Cheng and the rest… are still waiting for me outside… Ah!"

Hearing this, Lan Zhan withdrew from his body all of a sudden and turned him over.

Wei Ying let out a tear-streaked whimper and immediately curled into a ball, almost as if he wanted to hide himself like an infant. He was mostly erect at the front, on the verge of coming. Fluids were sprawled across the end of his thigh, trickling down. It was quite the spectacle. The hole that’d been forcefully used for so long was swollen, yet it still opened and closed intermittently, seeping white and red. It was as if it was hungry and didn’t want Lan Zhan to leave his body.

Wei WuXian, on the other hand, had his waist and hips be supported by Lan WangJi as he rode atop his body. Even now, Lan WangJi’s face was cold and elegant. If not for his somewhat scattered breathing, it was impossible to tell what he was doing just by looking at his face. It’d be even harder to guess that right now, he cupped Wei WuXian’s buttocks with both hands as he squeezed and kneaded without at all controlling his force, leaving blue and purple prints on the two round halves. He then lowered his head and held the spot of red at Wei WuXian’s left chest into his lips, nipping gently. As Wei WuXian swallowed his member in and out, the wet, purplish rod disappeared again and again into the deep crevice. It felt so good his scalp tingled.

Over there, Lan Zhan stared for a while at Wei Ying, who seemed like he was about to pass out. Suddenly, he tore apart the clothes in front of him and pinched the pink at his left chest before burying into his body again.

Wei Ying finally got the time to catch his breath. Right now, his entire body was sensitive to an extreme. How could he be treated like this? With a whimper, his insides squeezed tight. Tears immediately rolled down.

It seemed as if Lan Zhan was angry at the two buds on his chest, rubbing and pinching them so hard that they were erect and swollen red. Every time he was touched. Wei Ying’s inner walls contracted fiercely. The warm, delicate flesh sucked the blade tightly, perfectly outlining the shape of Lan Zhan.

Wei Ying cried, "Lan Zhan, I was wrong, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have called you an amateur, I shouldn’t have said you didn’t understand, I won’t teach you anymore. Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan did you hear me? Second Young Master Lan, Lan Er-gege…"

Hearing the sweet, nasal tone of the last word, Lan Zhan’s motions slowed slightly. He indeed showed some mercy. With blurred eyes, he drew towards Wei Ying’s face and gently kissed his thin, pleading lips.

Wei Ying felt as though his entire lower body had been crushed by a boulder. He felt searing hot down below and sore around his waist, while his nipples were still being teased. He was just starting to drift off when he suddenly felt the attacks below him slow down somewhat. The two’s foreheads bumped against each other as two cold lips approached. They tasted a bit sweet. He opened his eyes. As he saw how Lan Zhan’s long, dark eyelashes were less than inch away as he kissed him dedicatedly, he somehow felt a tinge of comfort.

And so, Wei Ying opened his mouth as well, sucking on Lan Zhan’s lips softly. He murmured, "… I want more…"

What he meant was the kiss, yet Lan Zhan understood him wrong, increasing speed. Wei Ying gasped a few times. He quickly hugged his neck and took the initiative in the kiss.

In the beginning, Wei Ying only thought that it was absolutely terrifying for such a long, hard object to jab around his insides. But after so long, he also discovered a sensation apart from soreness, pain, and fatigue, gradually getting aroused. Especially when Lan Zhan’s somewhat curved erection pressed hard against a certain spot inside him, it felt as if currents passed through his entire body, sending so much pleasure that he trembled. He got harder and harder in front, secreting more and more of the white fluid. He couldn’t control his body from moving his hips,. Sometimes when even Lan Zhan didn’t hit the right spot, he’d send his lower half forth and try his hardest to accommodate. What went out of his mouth also ceased to be pleas.

Wei Ying, "… Ge… Er-Gege… Lan Er-Gege… Pl-… Please…"

Lan Zhan caught his breath, his voice deep, "What?"

Wei Ying cupped his cheeks and kissed unstoppably, whispering, "Do it up there, just like before, hit that spot, alright…?"

As he wished, Lan Zhan ground his hips in the direction he wanted. These few thrusts seemed especially heavy. Wei Ying cried in surprise, limbs wrapping around his body as he called, "What…"

Lan Zhan had already blocked his lips, concentrating on the kiss.

Wei WuXian also lingered in the kiss with Lan WangJi, his tongue sketching the outline of the other’s lips. Hearing what happened over there, Wei WuXian spoke, "HanGuang-Jun, you came over there."

A sweaty Lan Zhan embraced a similar Wei Ying, lying quietly on the mat that had already been wrinkled. Wei Ying’s chest heaved up and down, his eyes still somewhat hazy. The two hadn’t parted yet. He was still sucking tightly on Lan Zhan’s member. The semen was sealed tightly inside and not a single drop had leaked.

Wei WuXian grinned, "Look over here. Shouldn’t we also…"

Lan WangJi nodded and laid him flat on the mat. Hips steady, he lunged a few times before letting it out inside Wei WuXian’s body.

Wei WuXian let out a breath of relief. It felt wonderful, yet his back and buttocks weren’t made of steel. After messing about for so long, watching the two younger ones, he was pretty much drained of all energy. Yet, Lan WangJi didn’t pull out just yet. Instead, still inside of him, he adjusted him into another position.

Wei WuXian, "HanGuang-… Jun?"

Lan WangJi let out a small smile. He approached his ear and said a few soft words.

Wei WuXian, "… Umm, wait? By fuck him all the way, I meant for the young Lan Zhan in your dream to fuck the me in the dream all the way? I didn’t mean… Lan Zhan? Er-Ge-… Ge? Spare me!!!"

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Chapter 125: Extra—Lotus Seed Pod</h3><p>Translated by K of Exiled Rebels Scanlations.</p><p>(We do not allow anyone to post our translations on any other site. Please do not copy our work and post it anywhere else such as Facebook, Wattpad, AO3, your own blog etc. Doing such is considered copyright infringement. If you are reading this on another site, you are reading a stolen copy. Thank you.)</p><h3>Lotus Pier, Yunmeng.</h3><p>Outside the duelling hall, the cicadas sang to the summer; inside, quite a distasteful array of human bodies covered the ground.</p><p>A dozen boys, all topless, lay atop the wooden floor boards of the hall. They flipped themselves over once in a while, like a dozen sizzling pancakes, letting out dying groans.</p><p>"It’s…"</p><p>"So hot…"</p><p>Eyes closed, Wei WuXian thought hazily, If only it were as cool as the Cloud Recesses.</p><p>The temperature of the piece of wood underneath him was assimilated by his body temperature again, and so he flipped over. Coincidentally, Jiang Cheng turned as well. The two brushed against each other, arm over leg. Wei WuXian immediately called out, "Jiang Cheng, move your arm. You’re like a piece of coal."</p><p>Jiang Cheng, "Move your leg."</p><p>Wei WuXian, "An arm’s lighter than a leg. It’s harder for me to move my leg, so you should move your arm instead."</p><p>Jiang Cheng hissed, "I’m warning you, Wei WuXian, don’t overdo it. Shut up and don’t say anything. It gets hotter the more you talk!"</p><p>The sixth shidi joined in, "Stop arguing, alright? I feel hot just listening to you two argue. I’m even sweating faster."</p><p>Over there, arms and legs were already flying in the air, "Fuck off!" "You too!" "No, no, no—please go ahead!" "No, thanks—you can fuck off first!"</p><p>The shidi all complained, "Fight outside if you have to!" "Please fuck off together, won’t you? We’re begging you!"</p><p>Wei WuXian, "You heard it? They’re telling you to leave. Let… go of my leg—it’s gonna break, Sir!"</p><p>Veins popped on Jiang Cheng’s forehead, "They’re clearly telling you to leave… You let go of my arm first!"</p><p>Suddenly, from the wooden hallway outside came the swishes of a long dress brushing against the ground. Like lightning, the two snapped apart. Immediately, the bamboo curtains were lifted, and Jiang YanLi peeked inside, "Oh, so this is where everyone is hiding."</p><p>Everyone greeted her, "Shijie!" "Hello, Shijie." Some of the shier ones couldn’t help but snuck into the corners, covering their chests with their arms.</p><p>Jiang YanLi, "No sword practice today? Slacking off, aren’t you?"</p><p>Wei WuXian protested, "It’s scorching hot today—the training ground’s on fire. We’ll shed a whole layer of skin if we go practice. Don’t tell anyone, Shijie."</p><p>Carefully, Jiang YanLi looked at Jiang Cheng and him from top to bottom, "Were you two fighting again?"</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Nope!"</p><p>The rest of Jiang YanLi’s body also came in. She was holding a plate of something, "Then who made the footprint on A-Cheng’s chest?"</p><p>Hearing that he left evidence, Wei WuXian spun around to check. It was there, indeed, but nobody cared if they’d been fighting any longer. Held in Jiang YanLi’s hands was a large plate of watermelon pieces already cut. The boys buzzed over, distributing the pieces in just a few seconds, and sat on the ground, munching on the watermelon. Soon, peel piled into a small mountain on the plate.</p><p>Whatever they did, Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng had to compete against each other, even when it came to eating watermelon. With both force and guile, they fought so hard that others scurried away, quickly clearing out a whole area for them. At first, Wei WuXian was quite engaged in the act of eating watermelon, but a while later, he suddenly let out a laugh.</p><p>Jiang Cheng was at once alarmed, "What are you gonna do, this time?"</p><p>Wei WuXian grabbed another piece, "Nothing! Don’t misunderstand. I’m not gonna do anything. I just thought of someone."</p><p>Jiang Cheng, "Who?"</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Lan Zhan."</p><p>Jiang Cheng, "Why would you think of him for no reason? Reminiscing what it felt like to copy sect rules?"</p><p>Wei WuXian spat out a seed, "It’s fun to think of him. You don’t even know—he’s just too amusing. I told him, ‘Your sect’s food is disgusting. I’d rather eat stir-fried watermelon peel than eat your food. If you have time, come have fun with us at Lotus Pier…’"</p><p>Before he even finished, Jiang Cheng slapped his watermelon off, "Are you mad? Inviting him to Lotus Pier—are you trying to torture yourself?"</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Why are you so upset? My watermelon almost flew away! I was just being polite. Of course he wouldn’t come. Have you ever heard of him go anywhere by himself to have fun?"</p><p>Jiang Cheng had on a stern expression, "Let’s make this clear. I don’t want him to come, anyhow. Don’t invite him."</p><p>Wei WuXian, "I never knew you hated him so much?"</p><p>Jiang Cheng, "I’ve got nothing against Lan WangJi, but if he really came, my mom might have something to say, comparing me against someone else’s kid, and you wouldn’t have it nice either."</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Don’t worry. There’s nothing to be scared of even if he comes. If he does come, you can tell Uncle Jiang to have him sleep with me. I’ll definitely drive him mad in less than a month."</p><p>Jiang Cheng snorted, "You want to sleep with him for an entire month? I say you’d be stabbed to death within a week."</p><p>Wei WuXian wasn’t concerned, "Am I scared of him? If we really start fighting, he might not even win against me."</p><p>The others immediately cheered him. Jiang Cheng mocked his thick skin on the surface, but he knew that Wei WuXian wasn’t boasting with his words. Jiang YanLi sat down between the two, "Who are you talking about? A friend you made in Gusu?"</p><p>Wei WuXian responded happily, "Yeah!"</p><p>Jiang Cheng, "What a shameless ‘friend’ you are. Go ask Lan WangJi and see if he wants you as one."</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Fuck off. If he doesn’t want me, I’ll bother him to the point that he does." He turned to Jiang YanLi, "Shijie, do you know Lan WangJi?"</p><p>Jiang YanLi, "I do. He’s that Second Young Master Lan whom everyone describes as handsome and talented, isn’t he? Is he really that handsome?"</p><p>Wei WuXian, "He is!"</p><p>Jiang YanLi, "Compared to you?"</p><p>Wei WuXian thought about it for a moment, "Maybe just a bit more handsome than me."</p><p>He formed a quite a tiny length of space between two fingers. Taking the plate away, Jiang YanLi smiled, "He must be truly very handsome, then. It’s a good thing you made a new friend. In the future, you two can visit each other in your free time."</p><p>Hearing this, Jiang Cheng spat out his watermelon. Wei WuXian waved his hands, "Forget it, forget it. All that’s at his place is bad food and a whole lot of rules. I’m not going again."</p><p>Jiang YanLi, "Then you can take him here. This is a good opportunity. Why not invite your friend to come stay at Lotus Pier for sometime?"</p><p>Jiang Cheng, "Don’t listen to his nonsense, Sis. He’s super annoying at Gusu. Lan WangJi would never want to come home with him."</p><p>Wei WuXian, "What do you mean!? He would."</p><p>Jiang Cheng, "Wake up. Lan WangJi told you to get lost, didn’t you hear? You still remember that?"</p><p>Wei WuXian, "What do you know!? Even though he told me to get lost on the surface, I know for sure that he secretly wants to come play with me in Yunmeng—in fact, he would love to."</p><p>Jiang Cheng, "I think of the same question every single day—just where do you find so much confidence?"</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Stop thinking about it. If I thought about a question for so many years and couldn’t find an answer, I would’ve given up long ago."</p><p>Jiang Cheng shook his head. Just as he was about to throw his watermelon onto the ground, he suddenly heard a violent string of footsteps approaching. The stern voice of a woman drifted over from afar, "I was wondering where everyone went. As expected…"</p><p>The expressions on the boys’ faces changed at once. They dashed out the curtains just in time to see Madam Yu turn around at the other end of the hall, her purple robe flapping with rigor. On her face was a chilling demeanor. As she saw the boys’ unsightly nudity, Madam Yu’s expression twisted, her eyebrows raised high in the air.</p><p>The boys all thought, Oh no! With terror, they spun around and ran. Seeing this, Madam Yu finally realized, enraged, "Jiang Cheng! Go get some clothes on! You look no different than a barbarian! What would people think of me if they saw you?!"</p><p>Jiang Cheng’s top was tied at his waist. Hearing his mother’s chastise, he hastily put it over his head. Madam Yu scolded again, "And you boys! Can’t you see that A-Li’s here? Who taught you brats to dress like this in front of a girl!?"</p><p>Of course, it was needless to think who led the group. Thus, Madam Yu’s next sentence, as usual, was "Wei Ying! Do you want to die!?"</p><p>Wei WuXian yelled, "Sorry! I didn’t know Shijie would come! I’ll go look for my clothes right now!"</p><p>Madam Yu was even angrier, "How dare you run! Come back right now and kneel!" As she spoke, she let loose her whip with a flip of her wrist. Wei WuXian felt a searing pain slash across his back. He loudly exclaimed, "Ow!" And almost tripped on the ground. Yet, all of a sudden, someone’s quiet voice drifted by Madam Yu’s ear, "Mom, do you want to eat some watermelon…"</p><p>Madam Yu was startled by Jiang YanLi, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere. With the delay, all of the boys had vanished into thin air. She was so infuriated that she turned to Jiang YanLi and pinched her cheek, "Eat, eat, eat—all you do is eat!"</p><p>Jiang YanLi almost cried from her mother’s pinching, mumbling, "Mom, A-Xian and the others were hiding here to relieve the heat and I came here on my own. Don’t blame them… Do… Do you want some watermelon… I don’t know who gave them to us, but it’s really sweet. Eating watermelon in the summer is great for cooling down and quenching thirst. I’ll cut them for you…"</p><p>The more Madam Yu thought about it, the angrier she became, and with the summer heat on top of all that, she really began to crave watermelon. With all that… she grew even angrier.</p><p>On the other hand, the group finally broke out of Lotus Pier and rushed through the docks, hopping onto a boat. With nobody chasing after them, even after a while, Wei WuXian finally relaxed. Exerting force, he rowed the boat a couple of times. He could still feel some pain in his back, so he tossed the paddles to someone else, sat down, and felt the stinging piece of flesh, "How unfair. Nobody else was wearing anything, but why was I the only one who got scolded and beaten up?"</p><p>Jiang Cheng, "Because you hurt the eye the most with no clothes on, for sure."</p><p>Wei WuXian gave him a look. Suddenly, he took a leap and dove into the water. As though signalled, the others all entered the water as well. In mere seconds, Jiang Cheng was the only one left on the boat.</p><p>Jiang Cheng noticed that something was off, "What the hell are you doing?!"</p><p>Wei WuXian glide to the side of the boat and struck hard. The boat flopped right over, bobbing heavily in the water with its belly facing up. Wei WuXian laughed, jumping onto the boat and criss-crossing his legs, "Do your eyes still hurt, Jiang Cheng? Say something, hey, hey!"</p><p>Even after a few shouts, nothing came except for a string of bubbles. Wei WuXian wiped his face, confused, "Why is he taking so long?"</p><p>Their sixth shidi swam over as well, exclaiming, "Did he drown!?"</p><p>Wei WuXian, "That’s impossible!" Just as he was about to go down and help Jiang Cheng out, he suddenly heard a loud shout come from behind him. With a yelp, he was pushed into the water. Once again, the boat flopped over, dripping with water. After he’d been dunked underwater, Jiang Cheng had swum around and ended up behind Wei WuXian.</p><p>Having both succeeded once with their sneak attacks, the two of them began to circle the boat with vigilance, while the others splashed around underwater, scattered around the lake to watch the drama. Wei WuXian flaunted across the boat, "What’s with the weapon? Put down the paddle, and we can fight with our bare hands."</p><p>Jiang Cheng sneered, "You think I’m an idiot? You’ll take it the moment I let go of it!" Brandishing the paddle, he forced Wei WuXian to dodge and hide. The shidi all cheered him on. Ducking left and right, Wei WuXian finally found the spare time to protest, "How could I be so shameless!?"</p><p>Boos came from all around him, "Da-Shixiong, I can’t believe you have the face to say this!"</p><p>Soon, the crowd sank into a chaotic water-fight, from the Jab of Justice to the Plant of Poison to the Bolt of Brutality—Wei WuXian gave Jiang Cheng a kick before he finally managed to climb onto the boat. Spitting out a mouthful of the lakewater, he waved his hand, "Let’s stop, let’s stop—I call a truce!"</p><p>Everyone wore green water-weeds atop their heads, not yet ready to stop. They hurried, "Why are we stopping? Let’s continue! Let’s continue! Are you begging for mercy just because you’re at a disadvantage?"</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Who said I was begging for mercy? We can fight later. I’m just too hungry to keep going. Let’s get some food first."</p><p>The sixth shidi, "Then should we go back? We can have a few more watermelons before dinner starts."</p><p>Jiang Cheng, "If you go back now, you’ll get nothing but whips."</p><p>Yet, Wei WuXian had an idea. He announced, "We won’t go back. We’ll go pick lotus seed pods!"</p><p>Jiang Cheng mocked, "You mean ‘steal’, don’t you?"</p><p>Wei WuXian, "It’s not like we don’t repay the money every single time!"</p><p>The YunmengJiang Sect often cared for the households of the area, exorcising water ghouls without asking for any compensation. Within over a mile, let alone a few seed pods, the people were willing to even part out an entire lake to plant lotus for them. Every time the sect’s boys went out and ate someone’s watermelon, caught someone’s hen, or spiked someone’s dog food*, Jiang FengMian would send people to make up for everything. As for why they always insisted on stealing, it wasn’t because of arrogance or vulgarity—the boys were simply in love with the fun of being scolded and laughed at and chased around</p><h3>*TN: In rural China, dogs are often used to guard households against thieves. In order to sneak into someone’s house, the boys make sure that the dog is unconscious (but not dead).</h3><p>The group boarded the boat. After paddling for a while, they arrived at a lotus lake.</p><p>It was quite a large body of water, covered in green. The leaves, as small as plates and as big as umbrellas, layered endlessly over one another. The ones on the outside were lower and sparser, forming a flat layer that floated atop the water’s surface; the ones on the inside were taller and more cramped, enough to cover up boats along with the people inside. But at first sight of the lotus leaves’ ruffles, one could tell somebody was hiding within.</p><p>The little boat from Lotus Pier glid into the verdant world. All around it were plump seed pods, hanging low. One person was paddling the boat, while the others got to work. The ample pods dangled from the slender stems, on which grew small, harmless thorns. With just a bit of force, the stems would snap in half. They all broke the pods off along with a long chunk of stem, so that they could get a few bottles when they got back and grow them in the water. Some said that this way, the pods would taste fresh for a few days longer. Wei WuXian only heard this from other people. He didn’t know if it was true or not, either, but he nevertheless told this to others with confidence.</p><p>He broke off a few and peeled one open, tossing the round seeds into his mouth. The juice burst on his tongue. He ate as he absentmindedly hummed something along the lines of, "I’ll treat you to lotus pods, so what will you treat me to?" Jiang Cheng happened to hear this, "Who are you treating?"</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Haha, not you, for sure!" Just as he was about to smash Jiang Cheng in the face with another seed pod, he suddenly made a ‘hush’ sound, "We’re dead. The old man’s here today!"</p><p>The old man referred to the farmer who planted the lotus pods in this particular region. Wei WuXian didn’t know exactly how old he was, either. Anyway, in his opinion, Jiang FengMian was an uncle, so anyone older than Jiang FengMian could be called an old man. He’d been at this lake for as long as Wei WuXian could remember. When he came here to steal seed pods in the summer, he’d be beaten up if he was caught. Wei WuXian often doubted that the old man was a reincarnated spirit of the lotus seed pod, as he knew the number of pods missing from his lake like the back of his hand—the same as the number of smacks Wei WuXian received. When rowing in lotus ponds, the bamboo poles were better than paddles, each blow loud and stinging the flesh.</p><p>The other boys’ had experienced the beatings before as well. Immediately, they shushed, "Let’s run, let’s run!" They grabbed the paddle in a hurry and fled. Scrambling, they rowed out of the lake and snuck a guilty look behind them. The old man’s boat had already pulled out of the layers of leaf, drifting atop the wide waters. Tilting his head, Wei WuXian looked for a while before exclaiming, "How strange!"</p><p>Jiang Cheng stood up as well, "Why is the boat going so fast?"</p><p>Everyone looked. The old man, standing with his back to them, was counting the seed pods on the boat one by one, his bamboo pole lying motionlessly on the side. Yet, the boat travelled with both stability and speed. It was even faster than the juniors’ boat.</p><p>As the two boats grew nearer, everyone was finally able to see that underneath the old man’s boat was a vague white shadow, swimming underwater!</p><p>Wei WuXian turned around, his index finger pressing his lips, reminding the others to be careful not to alert the old man or the water ghoul beneath. Jiang Cheng nodded. His rowing let out only </p><p>Moments later, the shells of two lotus seeds floated to the water’s surface.</p><p>The boys were shocked speechless, "Wow, so even water ghouls steal lotus pods!"</p><p>The old man finally realized people had snuck up to him from behind, spinning around with a big seed pod in one hand and his bamboo pole in the other. The motion alarmed the water ghoul. With a splash, the white shadow was gone. The boys called, "Come back here!"</p><p>Wei WuXian crashed into the water and dove underneath. Soon, he slinked up with something in his hand, "I caught it!"</p><p>From his hand hung a small water ghoul, its skin pale. It looked as though it were a child no more than thirteen years old. With fright, it almost curled into a ball under the boys’ eyes.</p><p>Suddenly, the old man’s pole swished around as he cursed, "Messing around again!"</p><p>Wei WuXian had just received a whip on his back, and now here came another blow. With a yelp, he almost loosened his hands. Jiang Cheng raged, "Talk nicely—why would you hit him all of a sudden? How ungrateful!"</p><p>Wei WuXian hurried, "I’m fine, I’m fine, Old-… Sir, look carefully. We’re not ghouls. This one is the ghoul."</p><p>The old man, "Nonsense. I’m only old, not blind. Hurry up and let it go!"</p><p>Wei WuXian was startled. The water ghoul caught by him clasped its hands together in salutation, its dark eyes glistening in quite a piteous way. It was still gripping the plump lotus pod it stole, reluctant to let go. The pod had been broken already. It seemed as though it had just a couple of bites before Wei WuXian pulled it out.</p><p>Jiang Cheng thought to himself that the old man was absolutely insane. He turned to Wei WuXian, "Don’t let it go. Let’s take it back."</p><p>Hearing this, the old man held up his bamboo pole again. Wei WuXian immediately called, "Don’t, don’t! I’ll let it go, that’s all."</p><p>Jiang Cheng, "Don’t! What if it kills someone?!"</p><p>Wei WuXian, "There’s no scent of blood on it. It’s too young to swim out of this area, while there hasn’t been a word of any deaths in this area. It’s probably never killed anyone."</p><p>Jiang Cheng, "Just because it hasn’t killed anyone, doesn’t mean that in the future…"</p><p>Before he even finished, the bamboo pole swung towards him. Having taken a blow, Jiang Cheng was furious, "Are you out of your mind, old man?! You know it’s a ghoul—aren’t you scared it might kill you?!"</p><p>The old man was also quite assured, "Why would a man who’s halfway across the threshold be scared of a ghoul?"</p><p>Knowing it wouldn’t swim far, Wei WuXian interrupted, "Stop fighting, stop fighting. I’m letting go!"</p><p>Indeed, he let go. With a splash, the water ghoul slipped behind the old man’s boat, as if it was scared to come out.</p><p>Soaked in water, Wei WuXian climbed onto the boat. The old man grabbed a seed pod from the boat and tossed it into the water. The water ghoul paid it no attention. The old man chose a bigger one and tossed it inside again. The pod bounced a couple of times on the water’s surface before half a white forehead snuck out and, like a big, white fish, carried the two green pods underwater in its mouth. Soon, some more white floated above the water. Revealing its shoulders and hands, the water ghoul hid behind the boat as it crunched down.</p><p>Watching it savor the pods, the boys were all quite bewildered.</p><p>The old man tossed another pod into the water. Wei WuXian felt his chin, unsure of how to feel, "Sir, why is it that when it steals your lotus pods, you let it steal them and even gives it to them, but when we do it, you always beat us?"</p><p>The old man, "It helps me with the boat, so what’s with giving it a couple of pods? And you lot, on the other hand? How many did you steal today?"</p><p>The boys were embarrassed. Wei WuXian glanced with the corner of his eye. Noticing the many dozens of pods hidden in the boat’s stomach, he knew it wouldn’t go well, quickly calling, "Let’s go!"</p><p>At once, the boys went for the paddle. Wielding the bamboo pole, the old man came at them like a typhoon. They could feel their scalps tingle as they thought that the pole would hit them any minute, paddling madly. The two boats chased around the lotus lake for a couple of circles. As the two came closer and closer, Wei WuXian had already received a few blows, and on top of that he realized that the pole was directed at nobody but him. He covered his head and yelled, "It’s not fair! Why do you only hit me! Why is it only me again!"</p><p>The shidi, "Keep it up, Shixiong! It’s all up to you!"</p><p>Jiang Cheng added, "Yeah, keep it up."</p><p>Wei WuXian spat, "No! I’m not taking it anymore!" He grabbed a lotus seed pod from the boat and hurled it out, "Catch!"</p><p>It was quite a big pod, making a loud splash as it hit the water. As expected, the old man’s boat paused. The water ghoul swam over giddily, collecting the pod.</p><p>Using the opportunity, the boat from Lotus Pier finally had the chance to run away.</p><p>When they returned, one of the shidi asked, "Da-Shixiong, do ghouls taste anything?"</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Usually not, I think. But I say that this little one, probably… probably… Ah-… Ah-choo!"</p><p>The sun had set and the wind had come. It felt quite cold in the breeze. Wei WuXian sneezed and rubbed his face, continuing, "Probably couldn’t get any lotus pods before it died, and drowned in the lake when it snuck inside to steal some. And so… Ah-… Ah-…"</p><p>Jiang Cheng, "And so it ate lotus pods because that was its wish. It gets a sense of fulfilment from it."</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Uh-huh, that’s right."</p><p>He felt his back, covered in scars both old and new, and still couldn’t hold back the question he’d be thinking about, "How awfully unfair. Why is it that I’m the only one who gets beaten up, whenever something happens?"</p><p>One of the shidi replied, "You’re the most handsome."</p><p>Another one, "You have the highest level of cultivation."</p><p>And another, "You look the best with no clothes on."</p><p>Everyone nodded. Wei WuXian, "Thanks for the praise, you guys. I’m even starting to feel some goose bumps."</p><p>The shidi, "You’re welcome, Da-Shixiong. You protect us every single time. You deserve even more!"</p><p>Wei WuXian, with surprise, "Oh? There are more? Let me hear them."</p><p>Jiang Cheng couldn’t listen any longer, "Shut up! If you guys still won’t talk properly, I’ll stab the boat through and we can all die together."</p><p>As he spoke, they passed through an area of water with farmland on either side. In the farms were a few petite-figured farmer women, working in the fields. As they saw their boat pass, they ran to the shore and greeted them from afar, "Hey—!"</p><p>The boys responded in the same way, before all nudging at Wei WuXian, "Shixiong, they’re calling you! They’re calling you!"</p><p>Wei WuXian looked carefully. Indeed, the women had encountered them before while he was leading the group. His mood immediately lifted and he stood up to wave, grinning, "What’s up!?"</p><p>The boat drifted alongside the water’s currents. The women followed it on the shore, chatting, You boys went to steal lotus seed pods again, didn’t you!?"</p><p>"Tell us how many hits you got!"</p><p>"Or did you spike someone’s dog food this time?"</p><p>Listening, Jiang Cheng almost wanted to kick him off the boat, filled with distaste, "Your reputation sure loses face for our sect."</p><p>Wei WuXian protested, "They said ‘you boys’. We’re in the same boat, alright? Even if I’m losing face, we’re all losing face together."</p><p>As the two argued, another one of the women called out, "Was it good?"</p><p>Wei WuXian managed to reply, "What?"</p><p>The woman, "The watermelon we gave you. Was it good?"</p><p>Wei WuXian realized, "So you were the ones who gave us the watermelon. It was delicious! Why didn’t you come in and sit? We could’ve poured you some tea!"</p><p>The woman smiled, "You lot weren’t there when we visited, so we left without going in. I’m glad to hear it tasted good!"</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Thank you!" He fished out a couple of big seed pods from the bottom of the boat, "Here are some lotus seed pods. Next time you visit, come me and watch me train!"</p><p>Jiang Cheng snorted, "Would anyone want to watch you train?"</p><p>Wei WuXian threw the seed pods toward the shore. It was a far distance, but they landed lightly in the women’s hands. He grabbed a few more and stuffed them into Jiang Cheng’s arms, shoving, "What are you doing, just standing there? Hurry up."</p><p>After a few shoves, Jiang Cheng could only accept them, "Hurry up and do what?"</p><p>Wei WuXian, "You ate the watermelon too, so you also have to return the gift, don’t you? Here, here, don’t be embarrassed. Start throwing, start throwing."</p><p>Jiang Cheng snorted again, "You must be joking. What’s there to be embarrassed about?" Whatever he said, however, even after all of the shidi began to throw seed pods, he still didn’t start to move. Wei WuXian urged, "Then throw some! If you throw some this time, next time you can ask them if the seed pods tasted good, and you’ll be able to make conversation again!"</p><p>The shidi were in awe, "So that’s why! What a lesson. You have so much experience with these things, Shixiong!"</p><p>"You can tell he does this on a regular basis!"</p><p>"Oh, shucks, hahahaha…"</p><p>Jiang Cheng was just about to throw one when he realized how shameless it was the moment he heard it. He peeled a seed pod and ate it by himself.</p><p>As the boat floated in the water, the maiden chased it in small steps on the shore, catching the green lotus seed pods that the boys in the boat were tossing toward them, laughing as they ran. Wei WuXian put his right hand above his brows, taking in the scenery. Amid the laughter, he let out a sigh. The others asked, "What’s wrong, Da-Shixiong?" "You’re sighing even when girls are chasing after you?"</p><p>Wei WuXian swung the paddle onto his shoulder, grinning, "It’s nothing. I was just thinking that I invited Lan Zhan in all sincerity to come visit Yunmeng, yet he still dared to decline the offer."</p><p>The boys all put up their thumbs, "Wow, that’s Lan WangJi, for sure!"</p><p>Wei WuXian stated in high spirits, "Shut up! Someday, I’ll drag him here and kick him off the boat. I’ll fool him into stealing lotus seed pods and let the old man beat him up with the bamboo pole and he’ll be chasing after me from behind, hahahaha…"</p><p>After a while of laughter, he turned around and looked at Jiang Cheng, who was sitting at the front of the boat eating seed pods with a long face. His smile gradually disappeared as he sighed, "Well, what an unteachable child."</p><p>Jiang Cheng fumed, "So what if I want to eat alone?"</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Look at you, Jiang Cheng. Nevermind. You’re hopeless. Just wait to eat alone your whole life!"</p><p>Anyhow, the boat that departed to steal lotus seed pods had once again returned with riches.</p><p>(We do not allow anyone to post our translations on any other site. Please do not copy our work and post it anywhere else such as Facebook, Wattpad, AO3, your own blog etc. Doing such is considered copyright infringement. If you are reading this on another site, you are reading a stolen copy. Thank you.)</p><h3>The Cloud Recesses.</h3><p>Outside the mountains was the sizzling June summer. Inside the mountains, however, was a world of coolness and quietude.</p><p>Before the Lanshi, two white figures stood by the hall. As a breeze swept by, their robes fluttered gently, yet they remained motionless.</p><p>Lan XiChen and Lan WangJi were standing.</p><p>Upside-down.</p><p>Neither of the two said a thing, as though they were already in a state of meditation. The only sounds that could be heard were the murmurs of water and the trills of birds. In contrast, their surroundings seemed even quieter.</p><p>A while later, Lan WangJi suddenly spoke up, "Brother."</p><p>Lan XiChen calmly withdrew from his state of meditation, his eyes unwavering, "Yes?"</p><p>After a moment of silence, Lan WangJi asked, "Have you picked lotus seed pods before?"</p><p>Lan XiChen looked at him, "… No."</p><p>If a disciple of the GusuLan Sect wanted to eat lotus seeds, of course they didn’t have to pick seed pods by themselves.</p><p>Lan WangJi tilted his head downward, "Brother, did you know?"</p><p>Lan XiChen, "Know what?"</p><p>Lan WangJi, "Lotus seed pods with their stems attached taste better than those without."</p><p>Lan XiChen, "Oh? Now that would be something I have never heard of. Why do you ask, all of a sudden?"</p><p>Lan WangJi, "It is nothing. The time is up. The other hand."</p><p>The two changed the hand with which they propped themselves up from the right to the left. The motion was extremely uniform, steady and soundless.</p><p>Lan XiChen was about to ask again when his eyes focused on something and he smiled, "WangJi, you have guests."</p><p>At the edge of the wooden hallway, a white, furry rabbit slowly crept over. It clung to Lan WangJi’s left hand, its pink nose sniffing.</p><p>Lan XiChen, "How did it find its way here?"</p><p>Lan WangJi spoke to it, "Go back."</p><p>And yet the rabbit didn’t listen. It nipped an end of Lan WangJi’s forehead ribbon and pulled with force, as though it wanted to drag Lan WangJi away just like that.</p><p>Lan XiChen commented calmly, "Perhaps it wants you as company."</p><p>The rabbit, unable to move him, hopped around the two in a fury. Lan XiChen was quite amused, "Is this the boisterous one?"</p><p>Lan WangJi, "Too much so."</p><p>Lan XiChen, "There is no harm in being boisterous. It is lovely, after all. If I recall correctly, there should be two of them. The two are often together, are they not? Why has only one of them come? Does the other one prefer quietude as opposed to playing outside?"</p><p>Lan WangJi, "It will come."</p><p>Just as expected, soon later, another snowy white head hovered above the edge of the wooden hall. The other rabbit had also come, in search for its companion.</p><p>The two snowballs chased each other for a while. In the end, they found a spot, which was beside Lan WangJi’s left hand, to cuddle together.</p><p>The rabbits snuggled against each other, forming quite an adorable scene even when seen upside-down. Lan XiChen, "What are their names?"</p><p>Lan WangJi shook his head, either to say they had no names or simply refusing to say them out loud.</p><p>Lan XiChen, however, added, "I heard you call them by their names last time."</p><p>"…"</p><p>Sincerely, Lan XiChen commented, "They have lovely names."</p><p>Lan WangJi switched his hand. Lan XiChen, "The time is not up yet."</p><p>In silence, Lan WangJi switched his hand back.</p><p>Thirty minutes later, their time was up and the training ended. The two returned to the Yashi, sitting quietly.</p><p>A servant presented them iced fruits to relieve the heat. The watermelon had been peeled. The pulp was cut into neat pieces and spread out in the jade plate, their translucent red appealing to the eyes. The two brothers sat kneeling on the mats. After they exchanged a few quiet words, discussing what they learnt after yesterday’s lessons, they finally began to eat.</p><p>Lan XiChen took a piece of watermelon. However, as he saw Lan WangJi stare at the plate without clear intention, he instinctively stopped.</p><p>With no surprise, Lan WangJi spoke up. He called, "Brother."</p><p>Lan XiChen, "What is it?"</p><p>Lan WangJi, "Have you had watermelon peel before?"</p><p>"…" Lan XiChen, "Is watermelon peel edible?"</p><p>After a moment of silence, Lan WangJi replied, "I heard it can be stir-fried."</p><p>Lan XiChen, "Perhaps it can."</p><p>Lan WangJi, "I heard it tastes quite good."</p><p>"I have never tried it."</p><p>"Neither have I."</p><p>"Hm…" Lan XiChen, "Do you want someone to try to stir-fry some for you?"</p><p>After some thought, Lan WangJi shook his head, his expression solemn.</p><p>Lan XiChen let out a sigh of relief.</p><p>For some reason, he felt he didn’t need to ask the question ‘from whom did you hear this’…</p><p>The second day, Lan WangJi went down the mountain alone.</p><p>It wasn’t that he rarely went down the mountain, but instead that he rarely went to the cramped marketplace alone.</p><p>People came and went everywhere. No matter within the sects sects or in mountainous hunting grounds, there wouldn’t be so many people. Even during the crowded discussion conferences, there were a lot of people only in an organized way, rather than this kind of congested. It seemed as if there’d be no surprise if one stepped on another’s foot or bumped into another’s carriage. Lan WangJi never liked to have body contact with others. Seeing this situation, he hesitated slightly, yet didn’t stop entirely. Instead, he decided to ask someone the way. Even after a while, however, he couldn’t find anyone to ask.</p><p>Only now did Lan WangJi realize that not only did he not want to approach others, others didn’t want to approach him either.</p><p>He was truly too different, too pristine, as compared to the hustle of the marketplace. He was even carrying a sword on his back. The vendors, farmers, and passersby rarely saw young masters such as him, all of them hurrying to avoid him. They either feared that he was an arrogant heir, scared they’d accidentally offend him, or feared his cold expression. After all, even Lan XiChen had once joked that no life could remain unfrozen within six feet of Lan WangJi. Only the women, when passing Lan WangJi, wanted to look at him but didn’t dare look too much. Pretending that they were busy, they faced down while peeking up. When he passed, they’d gather up and giggle behind his back.</p><p>Lan WangJi had been walking for a long time when he finally saw an old woman sweeping the ground before her house. He asked, "Excuse me. Where is the closest lotus lake from here?"</p><p>The woman didn’t have excellent eyesight, and on top of that the dust blurred her eyes. She panted, unable to see him clearly, "Go two or three miles this way. One house has planted over an acre of lotus."</p><p>Lan WangJi nodded, "Thank you."</p><p>The old woman, "Young Master, the lake doesn’t let anyone inside at night. If you want to go, you should hurry up and get there before dusk."</p><p>Lan WangJi repeated, "Thank you."</p><p>Just as he was about to leave, he saw the woman hold her thin bamboo pole high up in the air, unable to knock down a branch stuck under the roof. With a point of his finger, his sword energy struck the branch off, and he turned around to leave.</p><p>Two or three miles wouldn’t take long at his speed. Lan WangJi followed the direction that the woman showed him and didn’t stop.</p><p>In half a mile, he’d left the market; just a bit further, the buildings grew sparser; after more than a mile, all that was beside him had already turned into fields of green and criss-crossed paths. Only once in a while would he encounter a small, crooked cottage, emitting crooked wafts of smoke from its chimney. A few grimey toddlers wearing high braids were squatting in the field, throwing mud at one another as they giggled. It was such an interesting scene that Lan WangJi paused to look, although he was discovered soon later. The toddlers were all young and shy, scrambling away in just a blink of the eye. He finally took a step forward and continued to walk. When he was just a bit over halfway there, Lan WangJi felt something cool on his cheek. It was a strand of rain, sent over by the breeze.</p><p>He looked at the sky. Sure enough, the gray, rolling clouds seemed as though they’d fall from the sky. He immediately walked faster, yet the rain came faster than him.</p><p>Suddenly, he saw half a dozen people standing by the field ahead of him.</p><p>The strands of rain had already turned into droplets. Yet, the people neither held umbrellas nor sought for shelter. They seemed as if they formed a circle around something, without no time to pay attention to anything else. Lan WangJi went over. He saw a farmer lying on the ground, moaning in pain.</p><p>After listening to just a few words, Lan WangJi understood what had happened. When the farmer was in the fields, an ox ran into him. Right now, he was unable to get up, having hurt either his back or his leg. The ox that committed the crime was chased to the far end of the field, swinging its tail and too afraid to approach. The owner of the ox ran to find a doctor, while the rest of the farmers didn’t dare move the wounded carelessly in fear that they’d dislocate his bones. This was the only way they could take care of him. Unfortunately, it had begun to rain. It was just a bearable drizzle at first, but soon it became a storm.</p><p>As the rain grew heavier and heavier, one of the farmers dashed home in quest for an umbrella. His home was far, however, and he couldn’t come back just yet. The rest of the group was anxious despite not being able to do a thing, blocking as much rain for the wounded farmer as possible. But nothing would come out of this, if this went on. Even if the umbrella arrived, there’d only be one. They couldn’t simply cover up a few and leave out the others, could they?"</p><p>One of them cursed under their breath, "Damn it, it’s only been a minute and the rain is crashing down."</p><p>At this point, another one of the farmers spoke up, "Let’s prop up the shed over there. It’d hold up at least for a while."</p><p>Not too far away, there was an old, abandoned shed, propped up by four pieces of wood. One of them was slanted, while another one had rotten after years of weathering.</p><p>One farmer hesitated, "Aren’t we not supposed to move him?"</p><p>"A… A few steps should be fine."</p><p>Everyone lending a hand, the farmers carefully carried the wounded man over. Two of them went to hold up the shed, yet even two farmers couldn’t lift the roof. As the others urged them, they used all their strength, their faces flushed red, yet it still didn’t budge an inch. Two more people came, but it still wouldn’t move!</p><p>The roof of the shed was had a wooden frame and was covered in tiles, hay, and layers of dirt. It wasn’t light, but it definitely wasn’t so heavy that even four farmers who worked in the fields all year long couldn’t lift.</p><p>Even before he approached, Lan WangJi knew what was going on. He walked to the shed, bent down, raised a corner of the roof, and lifted it up with a single hand.</p><p>The farmers were shocked speechless.</p><p>The young man single-handedly lifted the roof even four farmers couldn’t!</p><p>A few moments later, one of the farmers whispered something to the others. With only some hesitation, they proceeded to carry the wounded man over. When they went inside the shed, all of them glanced at Lan WangJi. Lan WangJi looked straight ahead.</p><p>After they let the person down, two people came over, "Y-… Young Master, let go of it. We can do it."</p><p>Lan WangJi shook his head. The two farmers insisted, "You’re too young. You won’t hold out."</p><p>As they spoke, they raised their hands, wanting to help him with the roof. Lan WangJi only glanced at him. He didn’t say anything, only retracting some of the strength he exerted. At once, the farmers’ expressions changed.</p><p>Lan WangJi turned back around, letting his strength flow back. Embarrassed, the farmers went back to squatting.</p><p>The wooden roof had proven to be heavier than they imagined. If the boy let go, they wouldn’t be able to hold it up at all.</p><p>Someone shivered, "How strange. Why is it colder now that we’re inside?"</p><p>None of them could see that right now, hanging in the middle of the shed was a ragged figure, hair tangled and tongue stretched out.</p><p>As wind and rain hit the shed from outside, the figure swung back and forth under the shed, carrying forth an eerie gust of wind.</p><p>It was this spirit that made the roof abnormally heavy, unable to be lifted by ordinary people no matter what.</p><p>Lan WangJi didn’t bring the tools used to liberate spirits. Since the creature had no intent to harm others, of course he couldn’t beat its soul apart without a care. As of the moment, it looked like he wouldn’t be able to persuade it to let down its hanging corpse, either, so he could only prop up the roof for now. He’d report it afterward and sent people to deal with it.</p><p>The spirit swished back and forth behind Lan WangJi, blown here and there by the wind. It complained, "It’s so cold…"</p><p>"…"</p><p>It looked around and found a farmer to lean on, likely in search for some warmth. The farmer suddenly shivered. Lan WangJi tilted his head slightly, giving it quite a stern, sideways look.</p><p>The spirit shivered as well, returning in misery. Still, it extended its tongue and complained, "Th-Th rain is so heavy. And it’s wide open like this… It’s really so cold…"</p><p>"…"</p><p>Even until the doctor arrived, the farmers never gathered up the courage to talk to Lan WangJi. When the rain stopped, the moved the wounded out of the shed. Lan WangJi laid the roof down and went away without saying anything.</p><p>When he arrived at the lake, it was already past dawn. He was just about to enter when a small boat came from the other side, a middle-aged woman on the boat, "Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing here?"</p><p>Lan WangJi, "To pick lotus seed pods."</p><p>The woman, "It’s after dawn. We don’t let anyone in when it’s dark. Today is not gonna work. Come here some other time!"</p><p>Lan WangJi, "I will not stay for long. I only need a while."</p><p>The woman, "No means no. That’s the rule. I don’t make the rules here. You can go ask our owner."</p><p>Lan WangJi, "Where is the owner of the lake?"</p><p>The woman, "He went home long ago, so it’s no use asking me. If I let you in, the owner of the lake wouldn’t go easy on me, either. Don’t make this so difficult for me."</p><p>At this point, Lan WangJi didn’t force her any longer. He nodded, "Apologies for the disturbance."</p><p>Even though his expression was calm, everything about it gave off a sense of disappointment.</p><p>Seeing that even though his clothes were white, half was soaked by the rain and his boots were covered in mud as well, the woman softened her tone, "You came too late today. Come earlier tomorrow. Where are you from? The rain was so heavy earlier. You child, you didn’t run over here in the rain, did you? Why didn’t you take an umbrella? How far is your home from here?"</p><p>Lan WangJi replied honestly, "Ten and a half miles."</p><p>The woman choked as she heard it, "So far?! You took a long time getting here, didn’t you? If you really want to eat lotus seed, you should go buy some in the streets. There are plenty."</p><p>Lan WangJi was just about to turn around when he heard this and stopped, "The lotus seed pods sold on the streets do not have stems on them."</p><p>The woman was amused, "Do they have to have stems on them? It’s not like they taste any different."</p><p>Lan WangJi, "They do."</p><p>"They don’t!"</p><p>Lan WangJi insisted, "They do. Somebody told me they do."</p><p>The woman broke into laughter, "Who in the world told you? What a stubborn young master you are. You must’ve been possessed by something*!"</p><h3>*TN: By love.

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