Chapter 84

Chapter 84: Danxin Part 19 (6)

Lan Wangji wrapped his right arm around Wei Wuxian's waist and brought him onto Bichen, and the two of them flew to the fishing boat. Wei Wuxian swayed slightly at first, but Lan Wangji steadied him. Wei Wuxian then asked, "What's going on with Wen Ning? Didn't you say you were just here to take a look?"

Wen Ning replied, "I'm sorry, Young Master. It's my fault. I couldn't hold back..."

Jin Ling turned his sword toward Wen Ning and shouted, "I don't need your insincere concern here!"

Wei Wuxian said, "Jin Ling, put your sword down first."

Jin Ling retorted, "I won't!"

Wei Wuxian was about to speak again when, unexpectedly, Jin Ling burst into tears.

This sudden outburst left everyone frozen in shock. Wei Wuxian, bewildered, took a step toward him and asked, "What... what's going on?"

Though tears streamed down his face, Jin Ling still managed to choke out loudly, "This is my father's sword. I won't let it go!"

In his arms, he tightly clutched Jin Zixuan's sword, Suihua. This sword was the only thing his parents left him.

At this moment, Jin Ling's wailing in front of everyone reminded Wei Wuxian of Jiang Yanli's heartbroken sobs in the past. For a young man like Jin Ling, some of his peers were already married, some even with children. Crying was considered a shameful act for them. To weep so openly in public, how much grievance must he have been holding in his heart?

For a moment, Wei Wuxian was at a loss for words. He glanced at Lan Wangji, seemingly seeking help, but Lan Wangji was even less likely to know what to do. Just then, a voice called out from the river, "A-Ling!"

Five or six large ships formed a perimeter around the fishing boat, each filled with cultivators, with a family head standing at the bow. The Yunmeng Jiang family's ship was to the right of the small fishing boat, closest to it, only about five zhang away. The voice came from Jiang Cheng, who stood at the ship's railing. Jin Ling, his eyes blurred with tears, saw his uncle and immediately wiped his face haphazardly, sniffled, and looked around before gritting his teeth and flying over to Jiang Cheng's side. Jiang Cheng grabbed him and asked, "What's going on? Who bullied you?"

Jin Ling rubbed his eyes fiercely, refusing to speak. Jiang Cheng raised his head, his cold gaze sweeping over the fishing boat. His icy eyes lingered on Wen Ning and were about to settle on Wei Wuxian when Lan Wangji subtly took a step forward, blocking Wei Wuxian from view. One of the family heads asked warily, "Wei Wuxian, what are you doing on that boat?"

His tone was suspicious, clearly suggesting that Wei Wuxian was up to no good, which made the atmosphere extremely uncomfortable. Ouyang Zizhen said, "Sect Leader Yao, why speak in such a tone? If Senior Wei wanted to do something, none of us would be sitting safely on these boats right now."

As soon as these words were spoken, many of the older cultivators felt awkward. Though true, no one wanted to hear it put so bluntly. Lan Sizhui immediately added, "Zizhen is right!" Several other youths chimed in agreement.

Jiang Cheng tilted his head slightly and said, "Sect Leader Ouyang."

The named Ouyang family head felt his heart skip a beat as Jiang Cheng coldly continued, "If I recall correctly, the one who just spoke is your son. Quite eloquent."

Sect Leader Ouyang hurriedly said, "Zizhen! Come back here, to your father!"

Ouyang Zizhen, confused, replied, "Father, didn't you tell me to stay on this boat and not bother you all?"

Sect Leader Ouyang wiped his sweat and said, "Enough! Haven't you made enough of a scene today? Come here!" Their family was based in Baling, close to Yunmeng, and their influence was no match for the Jiang family. He didn't want his son to keep speaking up for Wei Wuxian and earn Jiang Cheng's resentment. Jiang Cheng shot a piercing glare at Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji before leading Jin Ling by the shoulder back into the cabin. Sect Leader Ouyang sighed in relief, then scolded his son, "You, you, you! The older you get, the more disobedient you become! Are you coming over or not? If you don't come, I'll come and drag you over!"

Ouyang Zizhen said with concern, "Father, you should go inside and rest. Your spiritual power hasn't fully recovered yet. You definitely can't fly over, so don't attempt to use your sword recklessly."

Most people's spiritual power was still slowly recovering, and attempting to fly on their swords might cause them to fall headfirst. That was why they had to travel by boat. Sect Leader Ouyang was particularly tall and burly, and he truly couldn't fly over to grab his son at the moment. Frustrated, he flicked his sleeve and stormed into the cabin. Nie Huaisang, on another boat, burst into laughter. The other family heads looked at him, speechless, but they gradually dispersed. Seeing this, Wei Wuxian let out a long sigh of relief. As the tension eased, his face suddenly showed extreme exhaustion, and he tilted to one side.

It turned out that his earlier swaying wasn't due to the instability of the fishing boat but because he was truly too weak to stand.

The youths didn't mind the bloodstains on him and rushed to support him, just as they had done for Lan Sizhui earlier. But they didn't need to. Lan Wangji bent slightly, wrapping one arm around Wei Wuxian's back and the other under his knees, lifting him horizontally.

Carrying Wei Wuxian like this, Lan Wangji walked into the cabin. There was no place to lie down inside, only four long wooden benches. Lan Wangji used one hand to hold Wei Wuxian's waist, letting his head rest on his shoulder, while the other hand arranged the four benches into a makeshift bed. He gently laid Wei Wuxian down.

Lan Sizhui suddenly noticed that, despite Hanguang Jun being covered in blood, the bandage Wei Wuxian had torn from his sleeve to dress a small wound was still neatly tied around his left finger.

Earlier, there had been no time to tend to appearances. Now, Lan Wangji took out a handkerchief and slowly wiped away the dried blood clots from Wei Wuxian's face. Before long, the once snow-white handkerchief was stained black and red. After cleaning Wei Wuxian's face, Lan Wangji still hadn't wiped his own.

Lan Sizhui hurriedly offered his own handkerchief, saying, "Hanguang Jun."

Lan Wangji took it, lowered his head, and wiped his face. The handkerchief came away pure white, and the youths finally breathed a sigh of relief. Indeed, Hanguang Jun looked most himself when his face was as cold and pure as ice.

Ouyang Zizhen said, "Hanguang Jun, why did Senior Wei collapse?"

Lan Wangji replied, "He's tired."

Lan Jingyi exclaimed in surprise, "I thought Senior Wei would never get tired!"

The other youths were also somewhat incredulous. The legendary Yiling Patriarch, who they thought could easily deal with walking corpses with just a casual gesture, had actually collapsed from exhaustion. Lan Wangji shook his head and simply said, "He's human."

Humans get tired, and they collapse.

The long benches had been pushed together by Lan Wangji, forcing the youths to squat in a circle. If Wei Wuxian were awake, cracking jokes and bantering with everyone, the cabin would surely be lively. But now, with him lying there, only Hanguang Jun remained seated upright beside him. Normally, someone would try to lighten the mood with some chatter, but since Lan Wangji remained silent, no one dared to speak. After a long while, the cabin was still eerily quiet.

The youths all thought to themselves, "...So boring."

They were so bored that they started communicating with their eyes: "Why isn't Hanguang Jun saying anything? Why hasn't Senior Wei woken up yet?"

Ouyang Zizhen rested his chin on his hands, subtly pointing at this and that, as if to say, "Does Hanguang Jun always stay silent like this? How does Senior Wei manage to spend all day with him..."

Lan Sizhui nodded solemnly, silently confirming, "Hanguang Jun has always been like this!"

Suddenly, Wei Wuxian frowned and tilted his head to one side. Lan Wangji gently adjusted his head to avoid straining his neck. Wei Wuxian murmured, "Lan Zhan."

Everyone thought he was about to wake up and was overjoyed, but Wei Wuxian's eyes remained closed. Lan Wangji, as calm as ever, responded, "Hm. I'm here."

Wei Wuxian fell silent again, seemingly content and secure, snuggling closer to Lan Wangji and continuing to sleep. The youths stared at the two of them, and for some inexplicable reason, their faces flushed. Lan Sizhui was the first to stand up, stammering, "H-Hanguang Jun, we'll step out for a moment..."

They almost fled to the deck, where the night breeze dissipated the stifling feeling. One of them said, "What just happened? Why did we rush out? Why?"

Ouyang Zizhen covered his face and said, "I don't know what happened, but I suddenly felt it was inappropriate to stay inside!"

They pointed at each other and exclaimed, "Why are you blushing?"

"I blushed because I saw you blushing!"

Wen Ning hadn't gone to help Wei Wuxian earlier, nor had he followed them into the cabin. He had been squatting on the deck. Initially puzzled by his absence, they now recognized the Ghost General's wisdom.

There was simply no room for a third person in there!

Seeing them come out, Wen Ning seemed to have expected it and made space for them to squat. However, only Lan Sizhui walked over and squatted beside him. The other youths whispered among themselves, "Why does Sizhui seem so familiar with the Ghost General?"

Wen Ning asked, "Lan Sizhui, may I call you A Yuan?"

The youths were all inwardly shocked: "...Wen Ning is such a natural at making friends!"

Lan Sizhui replied cheerfully, "Of course!"

Wen Ning continued, "A Yuan, have you been well these years?"

Lan Sizhui answered, "I've been well."

Wen Ning nodded and said, "Hanguang Jun must have treated you very well."

Lan Sizhui felt even closer to Wen Ning upon hearing the respect in his tone when mentioning Lan Wangji. He said, "Hanguang Jun has treated me like an older brother and a father. He even taught me to play the qin."

Wen Ning asked, "When did Hanguang Jun start taking care of you?"

After thinking for a moment, Lan Sizhui replied, "I can't quite remember. It might have been when I was four or five years old. I don't have many memories from that young age. But even earlier, Hanguang Jun probably couldn't have taken care of me, as it seems he was in seclusion for several years back then."

He suddenly recalled that the first siege of the Burial Mounds had occurred during the time when Hanguang Jun was in seclusion.

In the cabin, Lan Wangji looked up at the door that the younger generation had closed behind them when they rushed out, then looked down at Wei Wuxian, whose head had tilted to the side again. Wei Wuxian's brows furrowed once more, as if he was uncomfortable, and he twisted his head back and forth. Seeing this, Lan Wangji stood up, walked over to latch the wooden bolt, then returned to sit beside Wei Wuxian. He gently lifted Wei Wuxian's shoulders and let him lean against his chest.

Finally, Wei Wuxian's head stopped moving, nestling into Lan Wangji's chest as he found a comfortable sleeping position. Seeing him settle, Lan Wangji lowered his head, gazing at the face of the person in his arms. Wei Wuxian's long, dark hair cascaded down, and suddenly, with his eyes still closed, Wei Wuxian grabbed Lan Wangji's collar, his fingers catching hold of the forehead ribbon.

He held on tightly. Lan Wangji pinched one end of the ribbon and tugged lightly, but instead of freeing it, Wei Wuxian's eyelashes fluttered, and he soon woke up.

When Wei Wuxian slowly opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the wooden ceiling of the cabin. He sat up, and Lan Wangji was standing by a wooden window in the cabin, gazing at the full moon hanging over the river.

Wei Wuxian said, "Huh, Hanguang Jun, did I pass out just now?"

Lan Wangji's profile remained calm as he replied, "Yes."

Wei Wuxian then asked, "Where's your forehead ribbon?"

"..."

After asking, Wei Wuxian looked down and exclaimed in surprise, "Huh, what's going on? Why is it in my hand?"

He swung his legs down from the bench and said, "I'm really sorry. I tend to grab onto things when I sleep, or else I just toss and turn. Sorry about that, here you go."

Lan Wangji was silent for a moment before taking the ribbon Wei Wuxian handed over and said, "It's fine."

Meanwhile, Wei Wuxian was struggling to hold back his laughter, nearly bursting inside. He had indeed felt a moment of drowsiness earlier, but he wasn't so weak as to faint at the drop of a hat. Who would have thought that just a slight tilt of his head would prompt Lan Wangji to swiftly scoop him up? Wei Wuxian had been too embarrassed to open his eyes and say, "Hey, you don't need to do that, I can stand on my own." Besides, he hadn't wanted to be put down. Why stand when you can be carried?

Wei Wuxian touched his neck, feeling both secretly pleased and regretful. "Ah, Lan Zhan, you're really... If I had known, I wouldn't have woken up. I could have stayed in his arms the whole way."

By the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), they arrived at Yunmeng.

The entrance to Lotus Pier and the docks were brightly lit, their lights casting a golden shimmer on the water. In the past, the dock rarely saw so many boats of various sizes gathered at once. Not only were the guards at the entrance stunned, but even the elderly men who had set up stalls by the river to sell late-night snacks were left gaping. Jiang Cheng was the first to step off the boat, issuing a few commands to the guards, after which a flood of fully armed disciples poured out of the gates. The group disembarked in batches, arranged by the guest disciples of the Yunmeng Jiang family. The Ouyang family head finally caught up with his son, reprimanding him in a low voice as he pulled him away. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji stepped out of the cabin and jumped off the fishing boat.

Wen Ning said, "Young Master, I'll wait for you outside."

Wei Wuxian knew that Wen Ning wouldn't enter the gates of Lotus Pier, and Jiang Cheng would never allow it, so he nodded. Lan Sizhui said, "Mr. Wen, I'll keep you company."

Wen Ning was surprised but pleased. "You'll keep me company?" Lan Sizhui smiled and said, "Yes, after all, the seniors are going in to discuss important matters, and I wouldn't be of much use inside. Let's continue our conversation. Where were we? Did Senior Wei really plant a two-year-old in the ground like a radish?"

Though he spoke softly, the two ahead had exceptional hearing. Wei Wuxian stumbled slightly, while Lan Wangji's brow twitched briefly before returning to normal. Only after the two figures disappeared through the gates of Lotus Pier did Lan Sizhui continue in a low voice, "That poor kid. But actually, I remember when I was little, Hanguang Jun once put me in with a bunch of rabbits. They're actually quite similar in some ways..."