The Founder of Diabolism

Chapter 12 Refinement—Part Two

Chapter 12 Refinement—Part Two

The sear took away all of Wei WuXian’s attention, making him doubt that he had mislooked. He couldn’t even pay attention to the person’s face, and his breaths also stuttered for a few times. Suddenly, a flash of white appeared before his eyes, as if snow had fallen before him. Quickly afterward, the blue glare of a sword penetrated through the snow, slashing toward him with an arctic blast of wind.

Who didn’t know that it was HanGuang-Jun’s famous sword— "Bichen"? Crap, it’s Lan WangJi!

Wei WuXian was quite adept at running away and dodging swords. With a roll on the ground, he closely avoided the sword. He even had the time to pull off a leaf that stuck to his hair when he rushed out of the cold spring. He ran like a headless fly, right into a few people who were passing by from nightwatching. They grabbed him and scolded, "What are you running around for? Running is prohibited in the Cloud Recesses!"

Wei WuXian, seeing that it was Lan JingYi and the others, were ecstatic, thinking that he could finally be chased down the mountain. He presented himself at once, "I didn’t see! I didn’t see anything! I’m definitely not here to peep at HanGuang-Jun bathing!"

The juniors were shocked speechless by his impudence. No matter where he was, HanGuang-Jun was a high, holy mountain to behold in awe, especially respected among the junior disciples in the sect. He was near the cold spring to watch HanGuang-Jun bathe! Just thinking about such a thing would be the greatest crime, never to be forgiven. Lan SiZhui was frightened to the point that his voice even changed, "What? HanGuang-Jun? HanGuang-Jun is inside?!"

Lan JingYi seized him furiously, "You damn cut-sleeve! I-i-is he someone you could peek at?!"

Wei WuXian struck the iron when it was still hot and confirmed his conviction, "I didn’t see a single peek of how HanGuang-Jun looks like without his clothes!"

Lan JingYi fumed, "You are saying that three-hundred taels are not buried here! Well, if you did not, why are you sneaking around here? Look at you—you have no face to see anyone!"

Wei WuXian covered his face with his hands, "Don’t be so loud… Noise is prohibited in the Cloud Recesses."

Amid the ruckus, Lan WangJi walked out from behind the layers of eupatorium grasses with his hair down, wearing a white robe. The conversation hadn’t even finished yet, and he was already dressed in an orderly fashion, Bichen still unsheathed. The juniors hurried to greet him. Lan JingYi rushed to speak, "HanGuang-Jun, Mo XuanYu really is awful. You only brought him back seeing that he assisted us at Mo Village, yet he… he…"

Wei WuXian thought that, this time, it would be beyond his endurance and kicked out of the sect. However, Lan WangJi only lightly glimpsed at him. After a moment of silence, he sheathed Bichen with a shing and spoke,"You are dismissed."

It was only three toneless words, but it was powerful enough for no second option to be allowed. The crowd dispersed immediately, while Lan WangJi calmly held Wei WuXian by the back of his collar and dragged him toward the jingshi. In his past life, the two were of similar height, both somewhat slender and tall. Wei WuXian was only shorter than Lan WangJi by a tiny bit. When they stood together, the difference of less than one cun between them were almost unnoticeable. However, after waking up in another body, he was more than two cun shorter than Lan WangJi. While being held in his hand, he couldn’t even struggle against him. Wei WuXian staggered, wanting to shout, but Lan WangJi spoke coldly, "Those who make noise will be silenced."

He would love to be thrown off the mountain, but wouldn’t want to be silenced. Wei WuXian couldn’t understand it at all—since when did the Lan Sect tolerate something as shameless as peeking at one of the Lan Clan’s most distinguished cultivators bathing?!

Lan WangJi carried him to the jingshi, walked straight toward the inner room, and threw him down onto the bed with a thump. Wei WuXian yelped from the pain. He couldn’t get up at the moment, wriggling upright after a while. He originally wanted to whine a few times in a flirtatious manner, so that he would detest him. However, as he raised his head, he saw that Lan WangJi was holding Bichen with one hand, looking down at him commandingly.

He was used to seeing Lan WangJi with his forehead ribbon, neat, long hair, scrupulous to every detail, but had never seen him like this, with his hair a bit loose and wearing thin clothing. Wei WuXian

As he saw the sear, Wei WuXian’s attention was captured again.

When he hadn’t become the YiLing Patriarch yet, he also had a sear like this on his body.

And, the sear on Lan WangJi’s body was exactly the same as the one on his body in his past life, no matter the position or the shape, so it was only natural for him to recognize it and become surprised.

Speaking of it, aside from this sear, the thirty-or-so scars of the discipline whip on his back were also surprising.

Lan WangJi became famous at a young age. With his high appraisal, he was one of the most acknowledged cultivators in the cultivation world, and also part of the Two Jades of which the GusuLan Sect was so proud of. Every word and action of his was set as examples of excellence by the elders of each sect for their disciples. Just what unforgivable mistake did he make for him to be punished like this?

Seeing from the thirty-or-so scars of the discipline whip, the executor might as well have killed him. As soon as the discipline whip had been delivered, it wouldn’t disappear for the rest of the bearer’s life, so that they would remember it forever and never make the same mistake again.

Following his gaze, Lan WangJi lowered his eyes. He pulled his collar so that it covered his collarbones and sear, becoming the indifferent HanGuang-Jun once again. At the moment, the deep toll of the bell came from far away.

The Lan Sect had strict sect rules, including a precise schedule of sleeping at nine in the evening and rising at five in the morning. The bell was a reminder for that. Lan WangJi listened attentively to the tolls, and spoke to Wei WuXian, "You will be sleeping here."

Without giving Wei WuXian a chance to reply, he turned to another compartment of the jingshi, leaving Wei WuXian alone, sprawled on the bed alone and feeling confused.

He did doubt that Lan WangJi might have guessed who he was. However, the doubt was lacking in both sense and reason. As sacrificing one’s body was a prohibited practice, there were probably not a lot of people who knew about it. The scrolls passed down the generations were most likely partial pieces of the entire work, unable to reach their full potential. Things continued like this, and so there were less and less people who believed in it. Mo XuanYu only summoned Wei WuXian by looking at a secret scroll, wherever he found it in the first place. Anyhow, Lan WangJi couldn’t have recognized him just from the awful flute melodies that he played.

He asked himself whether or not he had a heartfelt relationship with Lan WangJi in his past life. Although they had studied with each other, went on adventures, and fought together, all of these experiences were like falling petals and flowing water—coming and going. Lan WangJi was a disciple of the GusuLan Sect, which meant that he had to be "righteous," quite incompatible with Wei WuXian’s personality. Wei WuXian thought that their relationship wasn’t exactly bad, but it wasn’t that good either. The chances were that Lan WangJi’s opinion of him was the same as everyone else’s—being overly wanton and not virtuous enough, it would have been only a matter of time before he caused a disaster. After Wei WuXian betrayed the YunmengJiang Sect and became the YiLing Patriarch, he had a few significant disputes with the Lan Sect, especially during the few months before his death. If Lan WangJi was sure that he was Wei WuXian, they should have already been engaged in a large-scale fight.

Yet, he wasn’t sure what to make of the current situation—in the past, no matter what he did, Lan WangJi didn’t tolerate anything, but now, even though he used whatever methods he had up his sleeve, Lan WangJi could still tolerate him. Should he be congratulated because of his progress?!

After a while of staring at nothing, Wei WuXian turned around and went off the bed. He lightly moved to the other chamber.

Lan WangJi lay sideways on the bed, appearing to be already asleep. Without making a sound, Wei WuXian approached him.

He was still not giving up, hoping to fish the jade token for passage out of him. However, as he just extended his hand, Lan WangJi’s long lashes fluttered, and he opened his eyes.

Wei WuXian quickly made up his mind. He threw himself onto the bed.

He remembered that Lan WangJi hated physical contact with other people. In the past, just with one touch and the offender would have been hurled out. If, even like this, he endured it, then the person was definitely not Lan WangJi. He would even doubt that Lan WangJi’s body was taken!

Wei WuXian’s entire body was above Lan WangJi’s, with legs separated, kneeling with one on each side of his waist. His hands were against the wooden bed, trapping Lan WangJi in between his arms. He gradually lowered his head. The distance between the two faces became closer and closer. Closer and closer. At the point where it became hard for Wei WuXian to breathe, Lan WangJi finally opened his mouth.

He stayed silent for a few moments, "Get off."

Wei WuXian thickened his face, "No."

A pair of pale-colored eyes looked at Wei WuXian at a very close distance. Lan WangJi stared fixedly at him, and repeated, "… Get off."

Wei WuXian spoke, "No. If you allowed me to sleep here, you should have known that something like this would happen."

Lan WangJi spoke, "Are you sure that this is what you want?"

"…" For some reason, Wei WuXian felt that he should carefully consider his reply.

As he was about to curl his lips into a smile, a numbness suddenly came from his waist, and his legs gave out. With a thump, he fell onto Lan WangJi’s body.

The curvature of a half-smile was frozen on his lips. His head was at the right side of Lan WangJi chest and he couldn’t move at all. Lan WangJi’s voice came from above him.

His voice was low and deep. His chest vibrated slightly as he spoke each word.

"Then stay like this for the whole night."

Wei WuXian didn’t expect it to end up like this at all. He shifted around, wanting to get up, but his waist continued to ache and felt limp. He could only be attached to another man in such an awkward situation, feeling a bit befuddled.

Just what in the world happened to Lan Zhan in the past few years, turning him into a person like this?

Was this the same Lan Zhan as before?!

Shouldn’t he have been the person whose body was seized?!?!

Suddenly, as his thoughts were as jumbled as a hurricane, Lan WangJi slightly shifted. Wei WuXian’s spirits lifted, assuming that he finally couldn’t bear it any more. However, Lan WangJi simply waived his hand.

The lights went out.

Translator’s Notes

Three-hundred taels are not buried here: This is a very famous proverb in China. It tells the story of a man who buried his money under the ground, and added a sign that said something along the lines of "three-hundred taels are not buried here". This is an example of someone conspicuously protecting his innocence and making a very poor lie.

Cun: This is pronounced like tswun instead of kahn. Do not mistake the n with an m, or else you will be confused.

Wooden bed: In the past (and in traditional households in the present), beds are hard and made of wood.

Thickened his face: As most of you probably know already, to lose face means to embarrass oneself. To thicken one’s face, on the other hand, means to be not afraid of losing face, pretty much saying that one has too thick of a face to lose any layers.



Next chapters

Chapter 13 Refinement—Part Three</h3><p>At a later time, Wei WuXian pondered upon the reason why his relationship with Lan WangJi wasn’t good. Getting to the root of the matter, everything started when he was fifteen, coming to the GusuLan Sect with Jiang Cheng to study for three months.</p><p>There was a virtuous and prestigious elder in the GusuLan Sect—Lan QiRen. Everyone in the cultivation world accepted three characteristics which described him: pedantic, stubborn, and a strict teacher who produced outstanding students. Although the first two points kept a lot of people at a respective distance to him, some even to the point of secret dislike, the last one made them try everything they could to send their children to study under him. He had brought up quite a number of excellent disciples of the Lan Sect. As long as they stayed a few years in his classroom, no matter how pathetically useless they were when they first entered, they would at least seem to be decent when they depart, especially in terms of appearance and etiquette. There were plenty of parents who were so excited that tears flowed down their cheeks when they picked up their sons.</p><p>To this matter, Wei WuXian declared, "Do I not seem decent enough as of right now?"</p><p>Jiang Cheng replied with a great deal of foresight, "You’d definitely be a mark of shame in his entire teaching career."</p><p>In that year, aside from the YunmengJiang Sect, there were also the young masters from other clans, sent to study here from parents who heard of the reputation. The young masters were all around fifteen or sixteen. Because the sects all knew the others, although they weren’t close, they had seen others’ faces before. It was widely known that, although Wei WuXian’s surname was not Jiang, he was the leading disciple of the sect leader of the YunmengJiang Sect—Jiang FengMian, and also the son of his friend who had passed away. In fact, the sect leader regarded him as his own child. This, along with how youths were not as concerned with status and ancestry as elders, they were soon friends. Only a few sentences passed, and everyone started to call others older brothers or younger brothers. Somebody asked, "The Lotus Pier of the Jiang Clan is much more fun than here, right?"</p><p>Wei WuXian laughed, "Fun or not fun depends on how fun you make it to be. There’s definitely less rules than here, and no need to wake up so early."</p><p>The GusuLan Sect wakes as five in the morning and rests at nine in the evening, not allowing any delay. Somebody else asked, "When do you guys wake up? What do you do during the day?"</p><p>Jiang Cheng humphed, "Him? He wakes at nine in the morning and sleeps at one during the night. When he wakes up, he doesn’t practice his sword or meditate; he goes boating, swims around, picks lotus seedpods, and hunts for pheasants."</p><p>Wei WuXian replied, "No matter how much pheasants I hunt, I’m still number one."</p><p>One youth spoke, "Next year, I’m going to Yunmeng to study! Nobody can hold me back!"</p><p><b>A bucket of cold water was thrown on him</b>, "Nobody would hold you back. Your older brother would just break your legs."</p><p>The youth drooped at once. This was the second young master of the QingheNie Sect—Nie HuaiSang. His brother, Nie MingJue, was extremely resolute when carrying out orders, quite renowned in the cultivation world. Although the brothers were not born from the same mother, their relationship was quite solid. Nie MingJue had always taught his younger brother with extreme harshness, particularly caring for his studies. This was why, even though Nie HuaiSang respected his older brother, he was the most scared of Nie MingJue mentioning his schoolwork.</p><p>Wei WuXian spoke, "To be honest, Gusu is quite fun as well."</p><p>Nie HuaiSang spoke, "<b>Wei-xiong</b>, listen to a sincere advice of mine. The Cloud Recesses is nothing like Lotus Pier. On this trip to Gusu, remember that there’s one person whom you shouldn’t provoke."</p><p>Wei WuXian asked, "Who? Lan QiRen?"</p><p>Nie HuaiSang replied, "Not that old man. The one you need to be careful of is his proudest disciple, named Lan Zhan."</p><p>Wei WuXian spoke, "The Lan Zhan from the Two Jades of Lan? Lan WangJi?"</p><p>The respectable title of the Two Jades of Lan were given to the two sons of the GusuLan Sect’s current sect leader—Lan Huan and Lan Zhan. Just after they passed fourteen, they were deemed by the elders of each sect as exemplary models to compare with their own disciples. They were exceptionally famous among the juniors, so it was only natural that everyone recognized the names. Nie HuaiSang spoke, "What other Lan Zhan is there? Yes, it’s that one. Oh gosh, he’s the same age as you and I, but he has none of the energy of a teen. He’s stiff and strict, even worse than his uncle."</p><p>Wei WuXian made the sound of an <i>oh</i> and asked, "Is he a lad who looks quite pretty?"</p><p>Jiang Cheng sneered, "Is there anyone who looks ugly in the GusuLan Sect? His sect doesn’t even accept disciples with unclean features. If you can, find me one who has an average face."</p><p>Wei WuXian emphasized, "Very pretty." He pointed at his head, "White from top to bottom, wearing a forehead ribbon, and carrying a silver sword on his back. He looked rather handsome, but with his straight face, he looked like he was mourning."</p><p>"…" Nie HuaiSang spoke assuredly, "That’s him!" After a pause, he spoke again, "But he had been doing <b>secluded meditation</b> for the past few days. You just came yesterday; when did you have the chance to see him?</p><p>"Yesterday night"</p><p>"Yesterday… Yesterday night?!" Jiang Cheng was stunned, "There’s a curfew in the Cloud Recesses. Where did you see him? Why don’t I know about this?"</p><p>Wei WuXian pointed, "There."</p><p>He pointed to a the top of a very tall wall.</p><p>The others were out of speech. Jiang Cheng even felt his head growing larger and clenched his teeth, "We just came and you got into trouble! What’s the matter about?"</p><p>Wei WuXian replied with a grin, "There really isn’t much. When we came, we passed that liquor shop called ‘Emperor’s Smile’, right? Yesterday at night, I was tossing and turning, and couldn’t stand it any longer, so I went down the mountain, into the city, and </p><p>Jiang Cheng, "Then, where’s the liquor?"</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Well, when I just flipped over the top of the wall, before I even had one leg inside, I was caught by him."</p><p>One youth remarked, "Wei-xiong, you must have struck gold. He probably just got out of seclusion and went on night patrol, and caught you red-handed."</p><p>Jiang Cheng spoke, "Those who return at night won’t be let in before seven in the morning. How come he let you inside?"</p><p>Wei WuXian threw up his hands, "So, he didn’t let me in. He wanted me to move back the leg that had already stepped in. You tell me—how would I do that? And then, he came up, as light as a feather, and asked me what I had in my hands."</p><p>Jiang Cheng felt his head start to ache, indicating a foreboding feeling, "What did you say?"</p><p>Wei WuXian spoke, "‘It’s Emperor’s Smile! If I share a jar with you, can you pretend that you never saw me?'"</p><p>Jiang Cheng sighed, "… Alcohol is forbidden in the Cloud Recesses. That’s a worse crime."</p><p>Wei WuXian spoke, "He said the same thing to me. And I asked, ‘Why don’t you tell me what exactly is not forbidden in your sect?’ He seemed like he was a bit angry and wanted me to look at the Wall of Rules in front of the mountain. Honestly, there were over three thousand, and everything was written in <b>seal script</b>. Who would read them? Did you read them? Anyways, I didn’t. What’s angering about this?"</p><p>"That’s right!" Everyone felt the same way, and all started to complain about the strange, outdated conventions in the Cloud Recesses, regretting that they didn’t meet sooner, "Whose sect rules are over three thousand in number, and don’t even repeat? Things like ‘killing livestock within the area is prohibited, fighting without permission is prohibited, promiscuity is prohibited, venturing at night is prohibited, causing noise is prohibited, running is prohibited’ are tolerable, but there’re even ones like ‘sneering for no reason is prohibited, sitting improperly is prohibited, eating more than three bowls is prohibited’…" Wei WuXian suddenly added, "What? Fighting without permission is also prohibited?"</p><p>Jiang Cheng, "… Yes. Don’t tell me you fought with him."</p><p>Wei WuXian, "I did. And we broke a jar of Emperor’s Smile."</p><p>Everyone <b>slapped their legs</b> and exclaimed in regret.</p><p>In any case, the situation couldn’t have been any worse, causing Jiang Cheng’s focus to switch, "Didn’t you bring back two jars? Where’s the other one?"</p><p>"I drank it."</p><p>Jiang Cheng, "Where did you drink it?"</p><p>"In front of him. I said, ‘Okay, if alcohol is prohibited in the Cloud Recesses, then I won’t go in. I’ll drink it standing on the wall. That wouldn’t count as violating the rules, would it?’ Then I drank everything in one gulp, right in front of him."</p><p>"… And then?"</p><p>"And then we started fighting."</p><p>"Wei-xiong." Nie HuaiSang blurted out, "You’re so smug."</p><p>Wei WuXian lifted his brows, "Lan Zhan’s skills were quite good."</p><p>"You’re gonna die, Wei-xiong! Lan Zhan had never been at such a loss before. He’s probably after you. You should be careful. Although Lan Zhan doesn’t go to classes with us, he’s in charge of punishments in the Lan Sect!"</p><p>Wei WuXian was not frightened at all, waving his hand, "What’s there to be scared of? Didn’t everyone say that Lan Zhan had been a prodigy since he was very young? If he’s so smart from such an early age, then he probably finished learning everything his uncle taught and do secluded meditation all the time. How would he have time to come after me? I…"</p><p>Before his sentence was finished, as the group walked around a wall with a hollowed out window, they saw a white-clothed boy sitting in a rigidly upright position in the room, with long hair tied up and wearing a forehead ribbon, emitting an aura of ice and frost. He swept a cold look at them.</p><p>At once, it was as if the ten-or-so mouths were silenced. They quietly entered the room, quietly picked their seats to sit, and quietly avoided the desks around Lan WangJi.</p><p>Jiang Cheng patted Wei WuXian’s shoulder and whispered, "He’s after you. Hope for the best."</p><p>When Wei WuXian turned his head, he could see the side of Lan WangJi’s face. His lashes were long, appearing to be extremely delicate and elegant. His posture was also very upright, looking straight ahead. As he was just thinking about starting a conversation with him, Lan QiRen walked into the room.</p><p>Lan QiRen was tall and thin, standing with a straight back. Although he had a long, black goatee, he was definitely not old. And, according to the tradition of the GusuLan Clan producing beautiful men each generation, he was definitely not bad-looking either. Yet, unfortunately, with the pedantic and stiff air that surrounded him, nothing would feel wrong if one called him an old man. He entered with a scroll in one hand. The long scroll of paper rolled all over the ground as soon as he opened it, and he started to talk about the rules of the Lan Sect. The faces of everyone in the room started to grow dark. As Wei WuXian was bored, his gaze flew everywhere, and landed on the side face of Lan WangJi. He was shocked as he saw concentration and seriousness that were nothing like a facade, "How can he listen so attentively to something so boring?"</p><p>Immediately, in the front, Lan QiRen slammed the scroll onto the ground and smiled bitterly, "I am only repeating this one by one because nobody reads it, even though it was carved onto the rock wall. Hence, nobody will be able to violate them using ignorance as an excuse again. Even if I do this, there are still people who do not pay attention. Very well, I will proceed to talk about something else."</p><p>Although his words could be applied to everyone in the room, Wei WuXian’s intuition told him that it was a warning directed at him. As he expected, Lan QiRen spoke, "Wei Ying."</p><p>Wei WuXian answered, "Here."</p><p>"Let me ask you. Are yao, demons, ghosts, and monsters the same things?"</p><p>Wei WuXian smiled, "No."</p><p>"Why not? How are they differentiated?"</p><p>"Yao are formed from living, non-human beings; demons are formed from living humans; ghosts are formed from dead humans; monsters are formed from dead, non-human beings."</p><p>"‘Yao’ and ‘monsters’ are often confused. What is an example that distinguishes the two?"</p><p>"That’s easy." Wei WuXian pointed at the viridian tree outside of the room and replied, "For example, a living tree was tainted with the energy of books, cultivated into a conscious being, and causes mischief, it would be a ‘yao’. If I took an axe and cut it in the middle, so that only a dead tree-stump was left, and then it cultivates into a being, it would be a ‘monster.'"</p><p>"What was the profession of the progenitor of the QingheNie Sect?"</p><p>"A butcher."</p><p>"The heraldry of the LanlingJin Sect is a white peony. Which type of white peony is it?"</p><p>"<b>Sparks Amidst Snow</b>."</p><p>"Who was the first in the cultivation world to focus on the rise of his clan rather than his sect?"</p><p>"The progenitor of the QishanWen Sect, Wen Mao."</p><p>His fluent answers made everyone’s hearts skip a few beats. Although they felt lucky, they all prayed for him to not be stumped by any questions, so that Lan QiRen wouldn’t have the opportunity to pick on other people. Yet, Lan QiRen spoke, "As a disciple of the YunmengJiang Sect, you should have been very familiar with these and known them by heart since long ago, so there is nothing to be proud of even if you answered correctly. Let me ask you again—there is an executioner with parents, a wife, and children, but before he died, he executed more than one hundred people. He suddenly died in the public and, to punish him for his deeds, he was left on the streets for seven days. With the repressed energy of resentment, he started to haunt and kill. What should be done?"</p><p>This time, Wei WuXian didn’t answer immediately. The others thought that he was confused, and were all feeling restless. Lan QiRen scolded, "Why are you looking at him? Think about this as well. Don’t open your books!"</p><p>The disciples took their hands away from the books that they intended on quickly flipping through. They were confused as well—having died in the public and left on the streets for seven days, it was definitely a fierce ghost and a ferocious corpse, and therefore a question hard to solve. Everyone hoped that the old man Lan wouldn’t pick on them to answer. After a few moments, seeing that Wei WuXian didn’t answer, Lan QiRen seemed like he was thinking, and spoke again, "WangJi, you can tell him what should be done."</p><h3>Translator’s Notes
Chapter 15 Refinement—Part Five</h3><p>Wei WuXian was someone who was skilled at finding fun for himself, especially talented in the area of seeking joy amid dull circumstances. Since there wasn’t anything else to play with, he could only play with Lan WangJi. He called, "WangJi-xiong."</p><p>Lan WangJi remained motionless.</p><p>Wei WuXian, "WangJi."</p><p>He appeared as if he didn’t hear anything.</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Lan WangJi."</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Lan Zhan!"</p><p>Lan WangJi finally stopped writing, and looked up at him with a cold gaze. Wei WuXian shifted backward, raising his hands as if he was defending himself, "Don’t look at me like this. I only called your name because you didn’t answer when I called you WangJi. If you’re upset, you can also call me back with my name."</p><p>Lan WangJi spoke, "Put your legs down."</p><p>Wei WuXian’s sitting posture was extremely improper, with a slanted body and legs propped up. Seeing that he finally teased Lan WangJi to the point that he started to talk, the former silently chuckled to himself, as if he finally saw the clouds disperse and the moon appear[1]. Listening to Lan WangJi’s words, he put his legs down, but his upper body inched unnoticeably closer, and he pressed his arms onto the desk. It was still an unacceptable sitting posture. He asked in a serious tone, "Lan Zhan. Let me ask you a question. Do you… really hate me that much?"</p><p>Lan WangJi looked down, his lashes casting light shadows onto his jade-like cheeks. Wei WuXian hurriedly added, "Hey, don’t be like this, ignoring me again after saying so few words. I want to admit my fault and apologize to you. Look at me."</p><p>After a pause, he spoke again, "You don’t want to look at me? Sure, then. I’ll just start talking. It was my fault during that night. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have climbed the wall, I shouldn’t have drank alcohol, and I shouldn’t have fought with you. But, I swear! It wasn’t that I provoked you on purpose—I really didn’t look at the sect rules. The sect rules in the Jiang Sect are all told verbally; none of them are written down. Or else, I definitely wouldn’t have done that." <i>I definitely wouldn’t have finished the jar of Emperor’s Smile in front of you. I would have tucked it away and carried it back into my room, secretly drinking it every day and sharing it with everyone until we all had enough.</i></p><p>Wei WuXian continued, "And, let’s be reasonable—which of us attacked first? It was you. If you didn’t attack, we could’ve communicated nicely and cleared everything up. However, if someone hits me, I’d have to hit them back. This isn’t all my fault. Lan Zhan, are you listening? Look at me. Young Master Lan?" He snapped his fingers, "Second Brother Lan[2], why don’t you do me a favor and look at me?"</p><p>Lan WangJi didn’t even lift his eyes, "Copy it one additional time."</p><p>Wei WuXian’s body immediately slanted, "Don’t be like this. It’s my fault, alright?"</p><p>Lan WangJi exposed his lie mercilessly, "You do not feel any remorse."</p><p>Wei WuXian spoke as if he didn’t have any dignity, "I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I can repeat it however many times you want me to. I can even say it while kneeling down."</p><p>Lan WangJi put his brush down. Wei WuXian thought that the other couldn’t endure it any longer and finally wanted to beat him up. Just as he got ready to put on a goofy grin, he discovered that his upper and lower lips seemed like they were glued together, so he couldn’t laugh.</p><p>His face quickly changed. He struggled to talk, "<i>Mmph</i>? <i>Mmph</i><i>mmph</i><i>mmph</i>!"</p><p>Lan WangJi closed his eyes and let out a faint breath of air. When he opened his eyes, the calm expression returned again. He picked up the brush again, as if nothing had happened. Wei WuXian had been aware of the hated silencing spell of the Lan Sect since long ago, and he refused to believe it. Yet, after making every effort, scratching the corners of his lips red, he still couldn’t open his mouth no matter what. And so, he grabbed a piece of paper, wrote as if his brush was flying, and threw the paper over. Lan WangJi glanced at it. "Pathetic," he responded, crumpling it into a ball and tossing it away.</p><p>Wei WuXian was so angry that he rolled around on the mat, climbed up, and wrote another one, slamming it in front of Lan WangJi. Again, it was crumpled into a ball and tossed away.</p><p>The silencing spell was only removed after he finished copying. The second day, when he came to the Library Pavilion again, the balls of paper which landed everywhere were all taken out.</p><p>Wei WuXian had always forgot about the pain after the cut healed[3]. Although, on the first day, he suffered greatly from the silencing spell, after a few moments, his mouth started to itch again. After recklessly speaking a few times, he was silenced once more. He couldn’t open his mouth, so he scribbled on paper and pushed them to Lan WangJi, who crumpled it and threw it onto the ground. The same thing happened on the third day.</p><p>He was silenced time after time. However, on the last day of him having to "face the wall and reflect," Lan WangJi noticed that Wei WuXian seemed somewhat different.</p><p>During his stay at Gusu, he left his sword all around the place, and was never seen carrying it properly. Yet, he took it with him today, loudly slamming it onto the desk. He even went as far as to start writing without a word, contrasting his usual behavior of relentlessly harassing Lan WangJi in every way possible. He was so obedient that it was strange.</p><p>Lan WangJi didn’t have a reason to silence him, so he took a few more glances at him, as if he didn’t believe that Wei WuXian was finally willing to behave himself. As he had expected, after a short while of sitting down, Wei WuXian repeated his past conduct again, giving Lan WangJi a piece of paper for him to see.</p><p>Lan WangJi originally thought that it was going to be a mess of lame phrases again, but after a coincidental glimpse, he was surprised to find the drawing of a person, sitting upright and </p><p>Seeing that he didn’t avert his gaze at once, Wei WuXian curled his lips, and raised his eyebrow with a wink. No words were needed, since the meaning was plain to see—<i>Does it look like you? Is it good?</i></p><p>Lan WangJi slowly spoke, "You have spare time, yet you scribble instead of copy the text. In my opinion, the day of your release from this punishment will never come."</p><p>Wei WuXian blew on the ink which hadn’t dried yet and spoke nonchalantly, "I already finished copying, so I won’t be coming tomorrow!"</p><p>Lan WangJi’s slender fingers seemed to have paused before flipping over the next yellow-tinted page. Surprisingly, Wei WuXian wasn’t silenced. As he didn’t provoke any reaction, Wei WuXian lightly threw the drawing, "It’s yours."</p><p>The drawing was thrown onto the mat, but Lan WangJi didn’t have any intention of picking it up. During these days, the paper which Wei WuXian wrote on to curse him, cajole him, apologize to him, beg him, and other messy scribbles all ended up this way. He was used to it and didn’t mind. He suddenly added, "I forgot. I need to add something else."</p><p>After his words, he picked up the paper and his brush, and added a few strokes. He glanced at the drawing, then, the actual person, and fell toward the ground in laughter. Lan WangJi put down the book, and saw that Wei WuXian added a flower onto the drawing, where the side of his head was.</p><p>The corners of his lip seemed to have twitched. Wei WuXian crawled up and spoke before him, "‘Pathetic’, right? I just know that you’re gonna say pathetic. Can’t you switch to something else? Or add another word to it?"</p><p>Lan WangJi replied coldly, "Extremely pathetic."</p><p>Wei WuXian clapped his hands, "So you really added another word to it. Thank you!"</p><p>Lan WangJi turned his gaze away, picked up the book which he put on the desk, and opened it again. He only took one look at before he hurled the book away, as if he was burnt by fire.</p><p>He was initially reading a Buddhist text, but when he had looked at the page flipped open, he was presented with naked, intertwining figures, intolerable to his eye. The book that he was reading was substituted with a pornographic book, its cover disguised as a Buddhist text.</p><p>Even someone without a brain would have guessed who had done the deed. It must have been done when when <i>somebody</i> took the opportunity that opened up when his attention turned to the drawing, let alone the fact that Wei WuXian didn’t even bother to cover it up, slapping the table as he laughed hysterically, "Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"</p><p>As the book was thrown on the ground, Lan WangJi seemed as if he was escaping from snakes or scorpions, falling back to the corner of the Library Pavilion in less than a second. He roared with rage, "Wei Ying——!"</p><p>Wei WuXian almost rolled under the desk from laughter, raising a hand with much difficulty, "Here! I’m here!"</p><p>Lan WangJi swiftly drew his sword, Bichen. Ever since they had met, Wei WuXian had never seen him appear so discomposed. He hastily grabbed his own sword. Drawing his sword so that a third of the blade was out, he reminded Lan WangJi, "Manners! Second Master Lan! Watch your manners! I brought my sword today as well. If we start fighting, would your Library Pavilion be fine?" He knew that Lan WangJi would be shamed into anger, so he went out of his way to carry his sword for self-defence, so that he wouldn’t be accidentally stabbed to death. The blade of Lan WangJi’s sword pointed at him. Fire could almost be seen sprouting from his pair of light-colored eyes, "What sort of person are you?!"</p><p>Wei WuXian responded, "What sort of person could I be? A man!"</p><p>Lan WangJi lashed out "You have no shame!"</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Do I need to be ashamed about this? Don’t tell me you’ve never seen something like this before. I don’t believe you."</p><p>Lan WangJi’s weak point was that he didn’t know how to argue. After a moment of silently holding back, he pointed his sword at Wei WuXian. He spoke with a frigid face, "You, go outside. We have fought before."</p><p>Wei WuXian shook his head a couple of times, pretending to be docile, "Nope, nope. Didn’t you know, Young Master Lan? Fighting without permission is prohibited in the Cloud Recesses." He proceeded to pick up the book which was thrown away, but Lan WangJi went before him, snatching it in his hand. Wei WuXian quickly guessed that he was going to use this as evidence to report him. He deliberately spoke, "Why are you grabbing it? I thought that you didn’t want to read it. Now you do? Actually, even if you want to read it, you don’t have to fight for it. I borrowed it exclusively for you, anyways. Now that you’ve seen my porn, you’ve become my friend. We can continue to exchange opinions, and…"</p><p>Lan WangJi’s whole face turned white. He spoke one word at a time, "I. Will. Not. Read. It."</p><p>Wei WuXian continued to distort the facts, "If you won’t read it, why did you grab it? Secretly keeping it? You can’t do that. I borrowed this from someone else, so I’d have to return it after you read it… Hey, hey, hey, don’t come here. You’re too close; I feel nervous. Let’s talk nicely. You’re not gonna hand this in, are you? Hand it in to whom? Old… Your uncle? Second Young Master Lan, do you think that you can let the elders see this? He’d definitely think that you already read it. With a face as thin as yours, you’d be so ashamed that you’d die…"</p><p>Lan WangJi filled his right hand with spiritual energy, and the book broke into thousands of millions of pieces, fluttering downward. As Wei WuXian saw that he successfully provoked Lan WangJi to the point that the evidence was destroyed, he finally felt relieved, and spoke with fake regret, "What a waste!" Then, he picked up a piece of paper which had fallen on his hair, raising it up to show the fuming, pale-faced Lan WangJi, "Lan Zhan, everything about you is great, except that you like to throw things everywhere. Tell me, how many wads of paper have you thrown onto the ground, in these past few days? Today, you aren’t even satisfied with throwing paper wads anymore, and instead ripped paper. You ripped it, so you clean it up yourself. I’m not gonna help." Of course, he had never helped anyway.</p><p>Lan WangJi tried again and again to put up with him, but he couldn’t do it any more. He thundered, "Get lost!"</p><p>Wei WuXian spoke, "Well, well, look at you, Lan Zhan. Everyone says that you’re a gentleman of excellence, a bright pearl in the world, carrying yourself with incomparable courtesy, so it seems that this is all there is. Didn’t you know that causing noise is prohibited in the Cloud Recesses? And, you actually told me to "get lost." Is this the first time that you used this phrase on somebody…" Lan WangJi drew his sword and went at him. Wei WuXian hurriedly hopped onto the windowsill, "Get lost it is, then. Getting lost is my best skill. It’s not necessary for you to see me out!"</p><p>He jumped down the Library Pavilion, laughing like a maniac as he barged into the forest. There was already a group of people waiting for him. Nie HuaiSang asked, "How did it go? Did he read it? What was he like?"</p><p>Wei WuXian replied, "What was he like? Ha! Didn’t you guys hear that loud shout he gave?"</p><p>Nie HuaiSang was full of admiration, "I heard it—he told you to get lost! Wei-xiong, it was my first time hearing Lan WangJi tell someone to ‘get lost’! How did you do it?"</p><p>Satisfaction was plastered all over Wei WuXian’s face, "Good thing that I helped him achieve this ‘first’. You all saw it, didn’t you? The self-restraint and etiquette that Second Young Master Lan was praised so strongly for were all weak and useless against me."</p><p>Jiang Cheng scolded with a darkened expression, "What are you proud of?! What is there to be proud of with this?! Do you think that it’s a glorious thing to be told by someone to get lost? You bring so much shame upon our sect!"</p><p>Wei WuXian spoke, "I really wanted to apologize to him, but he never paid attention to me. He silenced me for so many days, so what’s wrong with me having a little fun with him? I presented him the book with a nice intention. HuaiSang-xiong, what happened to your treasured porn was really a pity. I didn’t even get to finish it; it was so good! Lan Zhan definitely doesn’t understand proper relationships. I gave it to him, yet he was still unhappy. It’s such a waste of that face of his."</p><p>Nie HuaiSang blurted, "It’s not a pity at all! You can have as many as you want."</p><p>Jiang Cheng sneered, "You’ve seriously offended both Lan WangJi and Lan QiRen. Just wait for your death tomorrow! Nobody’s gonna bury your corpse."</p><p>Wei WuXian waved his hands, putting his arm around Jiang Cheng’s shoulders, "Who cares, as long as I tease him first? You’ve already buried my corpse so many times, so what’s wrong with once more?"</p><p>Jiang Cheng responded with a kick, "Shoo, shoo, shoo! Next time, if you do such a thing, don’t let me know! Don’t ask me to watch, either!"</p><h3>Translator’s Notes

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