Chapter 90

Chapter 90: Awakening, Part 20

Wen Ning immediately fell silent. Amid the sound of water splashing against the oars, Wei Wuxian opened his eyes, his head throbbing with pain.

He was leaning completely on Lan Wangji and realized that they were no longer at Lotus Pier. It took him a moment to grasp the situation until he saw Lan Wangji's left hand, the sleeve dotted with blood, like a trail of plum blossoms fallen on snow. Only then did he remember what had happened before he fainted, and his face immediately twisted into an expression of unbearable distress. He suddenly sat up. Lan Wangji reached out to support him, but Wei Wuxian's ears were still ringing, and a metallic taste filled his chest, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Afraid he might vomit blood onto the fastidious Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian waved his hands frantically, turning to the side and leaning against the boat's edge to endure for a moment. Lan Wangji, knowing he was suffering, silently chose not to ask any questions. Instead, he placed a hand on Wei Wuxian's back, channeling a gentle stream of spiritual energy into his body.

After the metallic taste in his throat subsided, Wei Wuxian finally turned back and asked Lan Wangji to withdraw his hand. After sitting quietly for a moment, he cautiously spoke, "Hanguang Jun, how did we get out?"

Wen Ning's expression immediately tightened, and he stopped rowing. True to his word, Lan Wangji did not mention the incident Wei Wuxian had caused, nor did he make up an excuse. He simply replied, "We fought."

Wei Wuxian pulled out a hand to rub his chest, as if trying to ease the stifling feeling there. After a while, he exhaled as if he couldn't hold back, "I knew Jiang Cheng wouldn't let us go so easily. That brat... how infuriating!"

Lan Wangji's brows knitted slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "Don't bring him up."

Noticing the displeasure in his tone, Wei Wuxian was momentarily taken aback but quickly replied, "Alright, I won't mention him."

After a moment of consideration, he added, "By the way, Hanguang Jun, don't let what he said bother you."

Lan Wangji asked, "Which part?"

Wei Wuxian's eyelid twitched, "All of it. That kid has always been like this since he was young. When he gets angry, he says whatever comes to mind, no matter how harsh. He throws all manners and upbringing out the window. As long as it makes others uncomfortable, he'll spew all sorts of nonsense. He hasn't improved a bit over the years. Please don't take it to heart."

As he spoke, he secretly observed Lan Wangji's expression, and his heart gradually sank.

Wei Wuxian had initially hoped, or perhaps expected, that Lan Wangji wouldn't take those words to heart. But to his surprise, Lan Wangji's expression was far from pleasant, and he didn't even utter a simple "Hmm."

It seemed that Lan Wangji was more upset by Jiang Cheng's harsh words than Wei Wuxian had anticipated. Perhaps it was simply because Lan Wangji disliked Jiang Cheng as a person, or perhaps... he was particularly intolerant of being labeled as "shameless," "without propriety," or "a mess." After all, the Gusu Lan Family was a prestigious clan with "elegance and righteousness" as their family motto, and Hanguang Jun himself had never been associated with such terms.

Although over the past few days, Wei Wuxian had felt that Lan Wangji held him in some regard and treated him differently, he still didn't dare to speculate how much that "regard" truly weighed or whether the "difference" was really what he thought it was. Wei Wuxian had never considered confidence a bad thing and often took pride in it, even to the point of arrogance. The world spoke of the Yiling Patriarch's romantic escapades, but in reality, he had never experienced this kind of flustered, uncertain feeling before. He used to think Lan Wangji was easy to read, but now he found him inscrutable, fearing that he might be the only one overthinking things, being overly confident, and wishfully imagining things.

Lan Wangji remained silent. Wei Wuxian initially wanted to use his usual tactic of joking around to lighten the mood, but he was afraid of forcing humor and making things awkward. After a pause, he abruptly changed the subject, "Where are we heading?"

The topic shift was rather abrupt, but Lan Wangji cooperatively responded, "Where do you want to go?"

Wei Wuxian rubbed the back of his head and said, "We still don't know if Lord Ze Wu is safe or what those people plan to do. Maybe we should head to Lanling first..." Suddenly, he remembered something and added, "No, not Lanling. Let's go to Yunping City."

Lan Wangji asked, "Yunping City?"

Wei Wuxian nodded, "Yes, Yunping City in Yunmeng. I told you before, right? When I was at Jin Lingtai, I found my manuscripts in the secret room of Fangfei Hall. Along with my manuscripts, there was also a property deed for a place in Yunping City. The Jin family of Lanling is wealthy and powerful. If there wasn't something significant, Jin Guangyao wouldn't have specifically kept that property deed. Maybe we can find something there."

Lan Wangji nodded. At this moment, Wen Ning spoke up, "Young Master, is Yunping City in this direction?"

Wei Wuxian exclaimed, "What?!"

Both he and Lan Wangji had been sitting with their backs to the stern of the boat, so they hadn't noticed Wen Ning. Startled by the sudden voice from the stern, Wei Wuxian's scalp tingled, and he rolled over in shock, turning to ask, "Why are you here?!"

Wen Ning looked up, confused, "Me? I've been here the whole time."

Wei Wuxian said, "Then why didn't you say anything?"

Wen Ning replied, "I saw you and Hanguang Jun talking, so I didn't..."

Wei Wuxian said, "But you should've made some noise?!"

Wen Ning raised the oar in his hand and defended himself, "Young Master, I've been rowing the whole time. I've been making noise all along. Didn't you hear me?"

"..." Wei Wuxian waved his hand, "I didn't notice. Forget it, stop rowing. The river current is strong at night. We don't need to row; the boat will move fast enough."

He grew up in Yunmeng, splashing around in these waters since he was a kid, so he knew the area like the back of his hand. Wen Ning nodded, set down the oar, and sat awkwardly at the stern, keeping a good six feet between himself and Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian. They reached Lotus Pier at the crack of dawn, and after some hustle and bustle, the sky was now tinged with a pale blue-white, revealing the outlines of the mountains and rivers along the banks.

After glancing around, Wei Wuxian suddenly announced, "I'm starving."

Lan Wangji raised his eyes. Wei Wuxian, of course, wasn't the least bit hungry—he'd just wolfed down three pancakes from a stall outside Lotus Pier. But Lan Wangji had only had one. And that was pretty much all he'd eaten in the last two days. Wei Wuxian was worried about this, and with no sign of life ahead, it looked like they'd be on the water for a while before hitting a town to grab a bite.

Lan Wangji thought for a moment and asked, "Should we pull over?"

Wei Wuxian said, "Not many folks around here, but I know a spot we can check out."

Wen Ning grabbed the oar and started rowing where Wei Wuxian pointed. Soon, the boat veered into a side channel and, after a bit, glided into a lotus-filled lake.

Lotus leaves dotted the lake at different heights, standing tall like umbrellas. The narrow boat pushed through the thick lotus stems as it moved further into the pond. From above, the boat left a wake of swaying green leaves. As they weaved through the overlapping green canopies and pushed aside a big lotus leaf, they suddenly spotted plump lotus pods hidden underneath. In that moment, it was like they'd found a little treasure chest. Wei Wuxian, grinning, was about to grab one when Lan Wangji suddenly said, "Wei Ying."

Wei Wuxian asked, "What's up?"

Lan Wangji asked, "Does this pond belong to someone?"

Wei Wuxian answered, all innocence, "Of course not."

Of course, it did. Ever since he was eleven, Wei Wuxian had been swiping lotus pods and water chestnuts from Yunmeng's lakes. He'd quit the habit years ago, but now, needing some grub for the road, he had no choice but to fall back on his old tricks.

Lan Wangji, however, said coolly, "I've heard all the ponds around here are owned."

"..." Wei Wuxian said, "Hahaha, really? What a bummer. You know so much, I had no idea. Let's bounce then."

Caught red-handed, Wei Wuxian was too embarrassed to drag Lan Wangji into his shenanigans. The thought of the noble Hanguang Jun pilfering lotus pods was just ridiculous. Feeling sheepish, he was about to grab the oar when Lan Wangji raised his hand and, taking the initiative, picked a lotus pod.

He handed the pod to Wei Wuxian and said, "Only this time."