Chapter 87

Chapter 87: Danxin Chapter 19 Part 9

As he spoke, he grabbed two branches and began to climb up the tree trunk, swiftly and skillfully climbing up. When he reached near the top, Wei Wuxian stopped and said, "Hmm, this should be about the right spot."

He pressed his face into a cluster of dense leaves for a while before looking down, his voice light, almost laughing, "It felt terrifyingly high back then, but now it doesn't seem that tall after all."

As he hugged the tree, Wei Wuxian's eyes instantly grew warm. When he looked down, his vision was already blurred.

Lan Wangji stood beneath the tree, looking up at him. He was also dressed in white, without a lantern, but the moonlight bathed him, making him appear radiant and bright, as if surrounded by a soft glow. He tilted his head slightly, his expression focused, gazing at the treetop. He took a few steps closer to the tree, as if wanting to extend his hands.

Suddenly, an unusually strong impulse surged in Wei Wuxian's mind.

He wanted to fall again, just like he had back then.

A voice in his heart said, "If he catches me, I will..."

At the thought of "I will," Wei Wuxian let go. Seeing him fall from the tree without warning, Lan Wangji's eyes widened in surprise. He rushed forward in a flash, and Wei Wuxian fell into his arms.

Lan Wangji, though slender and appearing to be a refined gentleman, possessed remarkable strength, not only in his arms but also in his stability. However, catching a grown man falling from a tree still caused him to stagger slightly and take a step back. But he quickly steadied himself. Just as he was about to let go of Wei Wuxian, he found Wei Wuxian's arms tightly wrapped around his neck, making it impossible for him to move.

He couldn't see Wei Wuxian's face, and Wei Wuxian couldn't see his, but there was no need to look. With his eyes closed, the cool scent of sandalwood from Lan Wangji filled his breath.

In a hoarse voice, Wei Wuxian said, "Thank you."

He wasn't afraid of falling; he had fallen many times over the years. But falling to the ground still hurt.

If someone could catch him, that would be the best.

Hearing his thanks, Lan Wangji's body seemed to stiffen slightly. The hand that was about to rest on Wei Wuxian's back hesitated, then withdrew.

After a moment of silence, Lan Wangji said, "No need."

After holding on for a while, Wei Wuxian separated from him, standing up straight as if nothing had happened, and said, "Let's go back!"

Lan Wangji asked, "Not looking anymore?"

Wei Wuxian replied, "Looking! But there's nothing much to see out here. Further ahead is just wilderness, and we've seen enough of that these past few days. Let's head back to Lotus Pier. I'll show you one last place."

The two of them returned to the dock and re-entered the gates of Lotus Pier. Passing through the training grounds, they came across a splendid little building. Wei Wuxian paused and took a few extra glances, his expression a bit strange. Lan Wangji asked, "What's wrong?"

Wei Wuxian shook his head, "Nothing. This is where I used to live, but it's gone now. It's been torn down, and these are all new buildings."

They wound their way through the complex of buildings and arrived at a quiet area deep within Lotus Pier, in front of a black octagonal hall. As if afraid of disturbing someone, Wei Wuxian gently pushed the door open and walked in. In front of the hall, rows of ancestral tablets were neatly arranged.

The ancestral hall of the Yunmeng Jiang family.

He found a cushion and knelt down, taking three sticks of incense from the altar. He lit them over a candle flame and placed them in the bronze censer in front of the tablets. He bowed three times to two of the tablets and said to Lan Wangji, "I used to be a frequent visitor here."

Lan Wangji, understanding, said, "Punishment kneeling?"

Wei Wuxian, surprised, asked, "How did you know? Yes, indeed. Lady Yu would punish me every other day."

Lan Wangji nodded, "I've heard a little about it."

Wei Wuxian said, "If it's spread from Yunmeng all the way to Gusu, it's more than just 'a little.' But to be honest, in all these years, I've never met another woman with a temper as bad as Lady Yu's. Over the smallest things, she'd make me come here and kneel. Hahaha..."

But apart from that, Lady Yu had never truly done anything to harm him.

Suddenly, he remembered that this was the ancestral hall, and Lady Yu's tablet was right in front of him. He quickly said, "My apologies, my apologies." To make up for his earlier careless words, he lit three more sticks of incense and held them high above his head, silently apologizing in his mind. Just then, the area beside him darkened. He turned his head and saw that Lan Wangji had also knelt down beside him.

Since they came to the ancestral hall, it was only proper to show respect. Lan Wangji also took three incense sticks, pulled back his sleeves, and lit them on the red candle beside him, his movements precise and his expression solemn. Wei Wuxian tilted his head to look at him, a small smile tugging at his lips. Lan Wangji glanced at him and reminded, "The ash."

The three incense sticks in Wei Wuxian's hand had been burning for a while, and a small pile of ash had accumulated, about to fall. Yet, he hesitated to insert them into the incense burner, instead saying seriously, "Let's do it together."

Lan Wangji had no objections, so each holding three incense sticks, they knelt before the rows of ancestral tablets and bowed together to the names of Jiang Fengmian and Yu Zǐyīn.

Once, twice, their movements perfectly in sync. Wei Wuxian said, "That's enough," and then solemnly inserted the incense sticks into the bronze tripod.

Finally, Wei Wuxian glanced at Lan Wangji, who was kneeling with impeccable posture beside him, pressed his palms together, and silently prayed in his heart, "Uncle Jiang, Lady Yu, it's me again. I've come to intrude on your peace once more.

"But I really wanted to bring this person to show you. Those two bows just now can be considered as bows to heaven and earth and to parents. You two, please help me secure this person beside me. I'll owe the last bow for now and make it up later when the time is right..."

At that moment, a mocking laugh suddenly came from behind them.

Wei Wuxian, who had been silently praying, was startled and snapped his eyes open. Turning his head, he saw Jiang Cheng standing in an open area outside the ancestral hall, arms crossed.

He said coldly, "Wei Wuxian, you really don't see yourself as an outsider, coming and going as you please, bringing anyone you please. Do you still remember whose family this is and who the master is?"

Wei Wuxian had originally wanted to avoid Jiang Cheng when doing this, but now that he had been discovered, he knew he couldn't escape a barrage of harsh words. Not wanting to provoke further conflict, he said, "I didn't take Hanguang Jun to any other restricted areas in Lotus Pier. I just came to offer some incense to Uncle Jiang and Lady Yu. We're done now, so we'll leave."

Jiang Cheng said, "If you're leaving, then go as far away as possible. Don't let me hear or see you causing trouble in Lotus Pier again."

Wei Wuxian's eyebrow twitched, and seeing Lan Wangji's right hand pressing on the hilt of his sword, he quickly placed his hand over Lan Wangji's.

Lan Wangji said to Jiang Cheng, "Watch your words."

Jiang Cheng retorted rudely, "I think you should watch your actions more."

Wei Wuxian's eyebrow twitched more and more, and the sense of foreboding in his heart grew stronger. He said to Lan Wangji, "Hanguang Jun, let's go."

He turned and kowtowed a few more times in front of Jiang Fengmian and his wife's tablets, then stood up with Lan Wangji. Jiang Cheng didn't stop him from kowtowing, but he didn't hide his sarcasm either: "You really should kneel properly before them, coming here for no reason to defile their sight and disturb their peace."

Wei Wuxian glanced at him and said calmly, "It's just offering incense. Enough already."

Jiang Cheng said, "Offering incense? Wei Wuxian, do you have no self-awareness at all? You were already kicked out of our family. What kind of random people are you bringing to offer incense to my parents?"

Wei Wuxian had already been about to pass him and leave, but upon hearing this, he suddenly stopped and said in a deep voice, "You better explain clearly, who are these 'random people'?"

If he had been alone, Wei Wuxian could have ignored whatever Jiang Cheng said. But now that Lan Wangji was with him, he absolutely didn't want Lan Wangji to endure Jiang Cheng's increasingly harsh words and the malice directed at them.

Jiang Cheng sneered, "You have a short memory. What do I mean by 'random people'? Let me remind you. It's because you played the hero and saved the Second Young Master Lan beside you that the entire Lotus Pier and my parents were sacrificed for you. Wasn't that enough? After the first time, you had to do it again, even saving the Wen dogs, dragging my sister and the others into it. You're so great. And even greater is how magnanimous you are, bringing these two to Lotus Pier. Letting the Wen dogs linger at our doorstep, letting the Second Young Master Lan come in to offer incense, deliberately causing trouble for me and for them."

He continued, "Wei Wuxian, who do you think you are? Who gave you the right to casually bring people into our family's ancestral hall?"

Wei Wuxian had long known that Jiang Cheng had been holding onto this grudge, waiting to settle it with him.

Regarding the fall of Lotus Pier, Jiang Cheng believed that not only was Wei Wuxian responsible, but Wen Ning and Lan Wangji were also implicated. He wouldn't give any of these three a good look, let alone tolerate them gathering in front of him and coming to Lotus Pier. He was probably already seething with anger.