Chapter 93

Chapter 93: Awakening Part 20 (4)

"..."

Wei Wuxian said, "Release me."

Lan Wangji held his head high, his icy gaze unwavering as he leaned slightly forward, sinking his teeth deeper into Wei Wuxian's finger, from the first knuckle to the second.

Wei Wuxian exclaimed, "Ouch, that hurts!"

Only then did Lan Wangji slightly loosen his grip, allowing Wei Wuxian to seize the opportunity to pull his finger back and roll away. The bite made his skin crawl; anything that could bite reminded him of dogs, and the thought of dogs made his hair stand on end. Before he could get far, Lan Wangji suddenly drew Bichen and forcefully stabbed it into the mat, pinning a corner of Wei Wuxian's robe to the ground.

The clothes they were wearing at the moment had been changed at Lotus Pier, made of special fabric that was not easily torn. Wei Wuxian, held back by the corner of his robe, couldn't roll far and casually muttered, "Lan Zhan, look what you've done! You've put a hole in the shop's mat and floor. You're going to have to pay for that..."

Before he could finish, he felt someone grab the back of his collar and drag him back. Wei Wuxian's back collided solidly with a chest, and a low voice sounded in his ear, "You'll pay!"

With that, Lan Wangji pulled Bichen from the ground, seemingly intending to stab it a few more times. Wei Wuxian quickly lunged forward to stop him, saying, "Hold up! What's gotten into you? You drink a little and suddenly you're causing trouble?"

His tone was reproachful. Lan Wangji looked at him, then at his own hand, and then at the hole in the ground, as if suddenly realizing something. He immediately threw the sword away. Bichen fell to the ground with a dull thud, rolling away. Wei Wuxian, holding the scabbard in his right hand, flicked it up with his foot, and Bichen slid smoothly and precisely back into the scabbard. He admonished, "Don't just toss around something so dangerous."

Hearing this, Lan Wangji sat up even straighter, lowering his head, looking as if he knew he had done wrong and was ready to accept the lesson. It was always Lan Wangji who seriously lectured him, and only when he was drunk did Wei Wuxian have a chance to turn the tables. Wei Wuxian, clutching Bichen under his arm, tilted his head to gaze at Lan Wangji, shaking with barely contained laughter.

He absolutely adored the drunken Lan Wangji!

With Lan Wangji drunk, all the dilemmas and frustrations Wei Wuxian had faced in the past few days instantly vanished, as if all the pent-up energy he hadn't been able to release had finally found an outlet. After circling the upright and proper Lan Wangji twice, Wei Wuxian spun around and sat down beside him, holding up the torn corner of his robe, saying, "Look what you did! You tore my clothes. You're going to have to fix this for me, got it?"

Lan Wangji nodded. Wei Wuxian asked, "Do you know how to mend?"

Lan Wangji shook his head. Wei Wuxian said, "If you don't know how, then learn. You're fixing my clothes, got it?"

Seeing Lan Wangji nod again, Wei Wuxian, satisfied, picked up a cushion and, while no one was looking, placed it over the hole Bichen had made, saying, "I'll cover this up for you, so no one finds out you made a mess."

Lan Wangji took out a small, exquisitely beautiful money pouch from his chest and handed it to Wei Wuxian, trembling as he said, "Pay."

Wei Wuxian said, "I know you're loaded, keep it safe... Wait, what are you up to?"

Lan Wangji stuffed the money pouch into Wei Wuxian's chest. Wei Wuxian felt the heavy bulge in his chest and asked, "This is for me?"

After stuffing the money pouch in, Lan Wangji adjusted Wei Wuxian's collar and patted his chest, as if afraid he might lose it, saying, "Make sure you keep it safe."

Wei Wuxian said, "Seriously? For me? That's a fortune!"

Lan Wangji replied, "Mmm."

Wei Wuxian, ever the pauper, beamed, "Thanks! I'm loaded now!"

However, Lan Wangji's brows immediately furrowed. He reached into Wei Wuxian's chest and snatched the money pouch back, saying, "No way!"

Wei Wuxian, who had just struck gold, was baffled, "What do you mean, no?"

Lan Wangji's face fell, his disappointment clear, though he remained composed. He shook his head silently, tucking the money pouch away with a dejected air, his expression tinged with sadness.

Wei Wuxian said, "Wait, you just said it was mine. Why take it back? Are you taking back your promise?"

Lan Wangji turned away, but Wei Wuxian grabbed his shoulders and turned him back, coaxing, "Hey, look at me. Don't you dare look away. Come on, eyes on me."

So Lan Wangji looked at him. They locked eyes, faces so close that Wei Wuxian could count Lan Wangji's long lashes. The sharp tang of sandalwood and the heady scent of alcohol mingled in the space between their breaths.

After a long moment, Wei Wuxian's heart raced, and he couldn't take it anymore, breaking eye contact first.

He said, "Fine! You win. Let's switch to a different game. Just like before, I'll ask and you answer, no fibbing..."

But as soon as he said the word "play," Lan Wangji suddenly said, "Okay!"

He grabbed Wei Wuxian's hand and, like a gust of wind, bolted out of the room and down the stairs. Wei Wuxian was pulled along, bewildered, to the lobby, where the landlady and her clerks were gathered around a long table eating. Lan Wangji didn't even glance at them, pulling Wei Wuxian straight toward the door. The landlady stood up and asked, "What's wrong? Gentlemen, is the food not to your liking?"

Wei Wuxian, amid the commotion, managed to say, "It's fine! Especially the wine, it's really strong..." Before he could finish, Lan Wangji had already dragged him out of the inn.

Once they were on the street, Lan Wangji showed no intention of stopping, continuing to sprint. Wei Wuxian asked, "Where on earth are you headed?"

Lan Wangji said nothing, running until they reached the front of someone's courtyard, where he suddenly stopped. Wei Wuxian, confused, was about to ask when Lan Wangji raised a finger to his lips and said, "Shh." He then slipped an arm around Wei Wuxian's waist, leaped lightly, and landed on the eaves of the courtyard wall. Holding onto the roof tiles, he whispered, "Look."

Curious about Lan Wangji's odd behavior, Wei Wuxian followed his gaze and saw a chicken coop in the courtyard.

"..." Wei Wuxian said, "This is what you brought me here for?"

Lan Wangji murmured, "Go."

Wei Wuxian asked, "What’s the plan?"

Lan Wangji leapt down suddenly, landing in the middle of the courtyard.

If the owner of the house had been awake and suddenly saw an ethereally handsome man in white robes descending under the moonlight, they might have thought a celestial being had descended to the mortal world. But Lan Wangji's actions were anything but celestial. He slowly prowled around the courtyard, and Wei Wuxian, growing increasingly uneasy, followed him down from the wall. He tugged at Lan Wangji's headband and asked, "What exactly are you trying to do?"

Lan Wangji, one hand holding his headband, reached into the chicken coop with the other. The hens, sleeping soundly, were startled awake and flapped wildly, trying to escape. Lan Wangji's eyes narrowed, and with lightning speed, he grabbed the fattest one.

Wei Wuxian stood stunned.

The yellow hen clucked loudly in Lan Wangji's hand, and he gravely handed it to Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian asked, "Huh?"

Lan Wangji said, "Chicken."

Wei Wuxian replied, "I know it's a chicken. Why are you giving it to me?"

Lan Wangji, his expression serious, said, "For you."

Wei Wuxian said, "For me... fine." It seemed that if he didn't accept it, Lan Wangji would get upset again. Wei Wuxian took the chicken and said, "Lan Zhan, do you know what you're doing? This chicken has an owner. This is stealing."

The thought of the esteemed Hanguang Jun, a renowned cultivator, being known for stealing chickens while drunk... was beyond imagination.

But at this moment, Lan Wangji only listened to what he wanted to hear, ignoring the rest. He continued to focus on his task, and the chicken coop was soon in chaos, with hens clucking and eggs breaking, a scene too pitiful to describe.

Wei Wuxian said, "This wasn't my idea."

Each holding a trembling hen, they climbed over the wall and walked for a while. Wei Wuxian was still puzzled as to why Lan Wangji suddenly wanted to steal chickens. Could it be that he wanted to eat them? Then he noticed a chicken feather stuck in Lan Wangji's jet-black hair.

With a "pfft," Wei Wuxian couldn't hold back and reached out to remove it. But before he could, Lan Wangji leaped up into a tree.

The tree, growing in someone's courtyard, had branches that extended over the wall. Lan Wangji sat on one of the branches, and Wei Wuxian looked up and asked, "What are you doing now???"

Lan Wangji looked down and said, "Shh."

Hearing this, Wei Wuxian guessed that whatever Lan Wangji was about to do next would be similar to stealing chickens. Sure enough, Lan Wangji reached out, plucked something from the tree, and tossed it down. Wei Wuxian, holding the hen with one hand, caught it with the other and saw that it was a large, round jujube, still half-green and half-red.

Of course. After stealing chickens, now he was stealing jujubes!

Stealing chickens and jujubes was nothing new to Wei Wuxian. In his youth, he had loved doing such things, often dragging a group of people along to make a big scene. But doing it with Lan Wangji as his accomplice was downright terrifying. No, not an accomplice—Lan Wangji was clearly the mastermind.

At this thought, a sudden realization struck him.

Earlier, at Lotus Pier, he had taken Lan Wangji to see the old sights of Yunmeng and told him many stories from his childhood, including numerous "glorious deeds" like this. Could it be that Lan Wangji had listened, remembered, and now wanted to experience it for himself?

Very likely!

The Gusu Lan Family was known for its strict discipline. Lan Wangji had been confined to studying and practicing calligraphy since childhood, his every word and action following the standards set by his elders. He had never engaged in such unruly behavior. Sober, he couldn't do it, so he was taking advantage of being drunk to act out?

Lan Wangji moved like the wind in the jujube tree, and in no time, he had stripped the tree bare, collecting all the jujubes. He stuffed them into his sleeve and then jumped down, opening his sleeve to show Wei Wuxian his "spoils." Looking at the round jujubes, Wei Wuxian was at a loss for words. After a while, he praised, "...So big, so many, so impressive! Well done!"