Elegant Unrestraint

Wei Wuxian had bought a heap of random odds and ends in Caiyi Town and brought them back to Cloud Recesses, distributing them all among the other clan disciples. Because Lan Qiren had gone to Qinghe, there were no lectures these days; the boys played themselves into a stupor, crowding into Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng's room to spread bedrolls on the floor and staying up all night eating, drinking, arm-wrestling, throwing dice, and looking at picture albums. One night, Wei Wuxian lost at dice and was sent over the wall down the mountain to buy Emperor's Smile—this time, everyone finally got their fill. Who would have thought, the next day before dawn, while they lay sprawled all over the floor like a field of corpses, suddenly someone opened the door.

The sound of the door startled a few. Through bleary eyes they saw Lan Wangji standing at the door, his face as cold as frost, and were scared instantly awake. Nie Huaisang frantically shook Wei Wuxian, who was sleeping with his head down and body up, saying, “Brother Wei! Brother Wei!”

Wei Wuxian, having been shoved a few times, asked blearily, “Who? Who else is coming?! Jiang Cheng? Let's fight, you think I'm scared?!”

Jiang Cheng, with a hangover headache from the previous night, lying on the floor with eyes still shut, reached back and grabbed something and hurled it at the source of Wei Wuxian's voice, saying, “Shut up!”

The object struck Wei Wuxian in the chest and fluttered open, flipping several pages. Nie Huaisang looked closely—what Jiang Cheng had thrown at Wei Wuxian was one of his treasured out-of-print spring-colour picture albums. He looked up and saw Lan Wangji with a piercing gaze, and almost had his soul smoke out through his mouth. Wei Wuxian clutched the book, mumbled a couple of words, and fell back asleep. Lan Wangji stepped into the room, grabbed him by the back of the collar with one hand, and hoisted him up, dragging him toward the door.

Wei Wuxian was dragged along for a while, dazed, then finally woke about halfway, turned his head, and said, “Lan Zhan, what are you doing?”

Lan Wangji said nothing, dragging him forward directly. Wei Wuxian woke a further three-tenths; the other sprawled corpses were gradually startled awake. As soon as Jiang Cheng saw Wei Wuxian being hauled by Lan Wangji again, he rushed out and said, “What's going on? What is this?”

Lan Wangji turned back and enunciated word by word: “Receive punishment.”

Jiang Cheng had been drunk and sleeping dully; now he remembered the mess in the room and how many Cloud Recesses clan rules they had broken last night. His face stiffened.

Lan Wangji dragged Wei Wuxian to in front of the ancestral hall of the Gusu Lan clan. Several older Lan disciples were already waiting there, eight in total, four of them holding unusually long sandalwood discipline rulers densely carved with square characters, all with cold, stern expressions. When they saw Lan Wangji drag someone over, two immediately stepped forward and pressed Wei Wuxian firmly in place. Wei Wuxian half-knelt on the ground, unable to struggle, and said, “Lan Zhan, are you really going to punish me?”

Lan Wangji gazed at him coldly, saying nothing.

Wei Wuxian said, “I do not accept this.”

At that moment, the boys who had more or less woken up rushed over, but were stopped outside the ancestral hall and could not enter. They all scratched their heads and ears; seeing the discipline rulers, they clicked their tongues in fright. Yet they saw Lan Wangji flip aside the hem of his white robes and kneel down beside Wei Wuxian as well.

Seeing this, Wei Wuxian was greatly shocked and struggled to rise, but Lan Wangji shouted: “Strike!”

Wei Wuxian, dumbstruck, hurriedly said, 'Wait wait wait I accept it, I accept it Lan Zhan, I was wrong—ah!'

Both received over a hundred strikes on palms and thighs. Lan Wangji needed no one to hold him down; his back remained ramrod straight the whole time, kneeling proper and upright. Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, wailed like ghosts and wolves, completely without restraint, making the watching disciples wince in sympathy, faces twisting. After the beating, Lan Wangji silently stood, inclined his head in a bow to the disciples inside the hall, then walked out, betraying no sign of injury whatsoever. Wei Wuxian was the complete opposite: once Jiang Cheng carried him out of the hall, he kept wailing 'ah ah' all the way. The crowd of boys swarmed around them, asking, “Brother Wei, what on earth happened?”

“Lan Zhan punishing you is one thing, but why did he get beaten himself too?”

Wei Wuxian, draped over Jiang Cheng's back, heaved a long sigh: “Ai! What a misstep, a misstep! It's a long story!”

Jiang Cheng said, “Cut the crap! What exactly did you do!”

Wei Wuxian said, “Nothing! Last night, didn't I lose at dice and go down to buy Emperor's Smile?”

Jiang Cheng said, “...Don't tell me you ran into him again.”

Wei Wuxian said, “You're exactly right. I don't know what kind of luck I have, but just as I was climbing back with the jar of Emperor's Smile, he caught me red-handed. I suspect he really is keeping an eye on me every day.”

Jiang Cheng said, “As if everyone is as idle as you. And then?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Then I still greeted him. I said, ‘Lan Zhan! What a coincidence, it's you again!’ Of course he ignored me again. Without a word, he struck at me with a palm. I said hey, why do you have to do this? He said that if an outside guest repeatedly violates curfew, they must go to the Lan clan ancestral hall to receive punishment. So I said, there are only the two of us here. If you don't say anything and I don't say anything, who will know whether I broke curfew or not, right? I promise there won't be a next time. We're so familiar with each other now, can't you do me this small favor?”

Everyone had an expression of unbearable agony.

Wei Wuxian continued, “As a result, he said with a stern face that he wasn't familiar with me, drew his sword and attacked, showing not a shred of goodwill. I had no choice but to set the Emperor's Smile aside and trade moves with him. He used both fists and palms, pressing me so hard I couldn't shake him off! Finally, when I couldn't stand the chase anymore, I said, you really won't let go? Won't let go?!”

“He still said: ‘Receive punishment!’”

The boys listened with hearts hanging. Wei Wuxian became animated as he spoke, completely forgetting he was still on Jiang Cheng's back, and slapped Jiang Cheng's shoulder with a palm: “I said, ‘Fine!’ Then I stopped dodging, lunged forward, threw my arms around him, and tumbled us both outside the walls of Cloud Recesses!”

“……”

Wei Wuxian said, “So the two of us fell together outside the boundaries of Cloud Recesses! We crashed so hard we saw stars.”

Nie Huaisang was already stunned: “...He didn't break free?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Oh, he tried, but I locked him tight with all four limbs. He couldn't break free, couldn't even get up off me, stiff as a board. I said, what about that, Lan Zhan? Now you're outside Cloud Recesses too. We both broke curfew. You can't be strict with others and lenient with yourself. If you punish me, you have to punish yourself as well, equal treatment, how about it?”

Wei Wuxian said, “After he got up, his expression was awful. I sat beside him and said, don't worry, I won't tell anyone. This matter is known only to heaven, earth, you, and me. And then he walked off without a word. Who knew he'd pull this this morning... Jiang Cheng, walk slower, I'm about to be thrown off your back.”

Jiang Cheng wasn't just thinking of throwing him off; he practically wanted to smash him headfirst into the ground to make a few craters: “I'm carrying you and you still find fault!”

Wei Wuxian said, “I didn't ask you to carry me in the first place.”

Jiang Cheng flew into a rage: “If I didn't carry you, you'd lie on the ground of their ancestral hall and roll around for a whole day, refusing to get up, and I can't afford that disgrace! Lan Wangji took fifty more strikes than you and he walked on his own; you have the nerve to pretend to be a cripple. I don't want to carry you anymore, get off right now!”

Wei Wuxian said, “I'm not getting down. I'm a wounded patient.”

The group jostled and shoved each other along the white stone path, when they happened upon a person in white robes carrying books, who stopped in surprise. Lan Xichen smiled and said, “What's all this?”

Jiang Cheng was extremely embarrassed and didn't know how to answer, but Nie Huaisang blurted out, “Xichen-ge, Brother Wei was beaten over a hundred strikes, do you have any wound medicine?”

The one in charge of punishment at Cloud Recesses was Lan Wangji, and with Wei Wuxian wailing pitifully in the crowd's midst, as if seriously injured, Lan Xichen immediately approached and said, “Was it Wangji who punished him? Is Young Master Wei unable to walk? What exactly happened?”

Jiang Cheng naturally was too embarrassed to say what Wei Wuxian had done; after all, their whole group had egged Wei Wuxian on to buy the wine. If punishment was due, everyone had a share. He could only mumble, “It's nothing, nothing, it's not that serious! He can walk. Wei Wuxian, get down already!”

Wei Wuxian said, “I can't walk.” He held out his red, swollen palm and complained to Lan Xichen: “Zewu-jun, your younger brother is terribly fierce.”

Lan Xichen examined his palm and said, “Ah, this is indeed rather harsh. I'm afraid it won't subside for three or four days.”

Jiang Cheng hadn't known the beating was really that severe, and exclaimed in shock, “What? Three or four days? His legs and back were also struck by the ruler. How could Lan Wangji do this?!” The last sentence carried a bit of indignation involuntarily. Wei Wuxian quietly patted him, and only then did he react. Lan Xichen didn't mind, smiling, “But it's nothing to worry about. There's no need for wound medicine. Young Master Wei, let me tell you a method; it'll be better in a few shichen.”

That evening, Cloud Recesses, Cold Spring.

Lan Wangji was soaking in the icy spring water, resting with his eyes closed, when a voice sounded by his ear: “Lan Zhan.”

“……”

Lan Wangji snapped his eyes open. Sure enough, Wei Wuxian was sprawled on the blue stone by the Cold Spring, tilting his head and smiling at him.

Lan Wangji blurted out, “How did you get in?!”

Wei Wuxian slowly climbed up, undoing his belt as he did, and said, “Zewu-jun let me in.”

Lan Wangji said, “What are you doing?”

Wei Wuxian kicked off his boots, scattering clothes everywhere, and said, “I'm already undressing, what do you think I'm here for? It's said that your family's Cold Spring, besides being used for calming the mind and cultivating nature, also has the function of reducing swelling and healing injuries, so your elder brother told me to come in and soak with you. But coming alone to heal is a bit unkind of you. Wow, it's really cold, hiss—”

He entered the water and was so shocked by the bone-chilling cold that he thrashed around the whole pool. Lan Wangji swiftly put a zhang's distance between them and said, “I came here for cultivation, not for healing—stop flailing about!”

Wei Wuxian said, “But it's so cold, so cold...”

This time he wasn't deliberately exaggerating or causing trouble; it was genuinely hard for an outsider to adjust to the Gusu Lan clan's Cold Spring in a short time, as if staying still a moment longer would freeze one's blood and limbs solid. So he had no choice but to keep thrashing, wanting to move and warm up. Lan Wangji had originally been calmly cultivating in stillness, but with Wei Wuxian splashing about, spraying water all over his face, droplets sliding down his long lashes and jet-black hair, he could endure no more and said, “Don't move!”

As he spoke, he reached out a palm and pressed it on Wei Wuxian's shoulder.

Wei Wuxian immediately felt a warm current flow from the point of contact, making him feel better, and he instinctively moved closer. Lan Wangji alertly said, “What are you doing.”

Wei Wuxian said innocently, “Nothing. It just seems warmer on your side.”

Lan Wangji firmly pressed his palm between them to keep distance and said severely, “It is not at all.”

Wei Wuxian had wanted to get closer, to cozy up and make conversation easier, but couldn't edge over and only met with a rebuff; he didn't get angry though. He glanced at Lan Wangji's palms, shoulders, and back—indeed the marks hadn't faded, so he truly wasn't here for healing. Wei Wuxian said sincerely, “Lan Zhan, I really admire you. You said you'd punish, and you actually punished yourself as well, with no lenience or holding back. I have nothing more to say.”

Lan Wangji closed his eyes again, silent and calm.

Wei Wuxian added, “Really, I have never seen anyone as utterly earnest and true to their word as you. I could certainly never do what you do. You're amazing.”

Lan Wangji still ignored him.

Once Wei Wuxian was no longer cold, he started swimming around in the Cold Spring. After a while, he still couldn't help swimming in front of Lan Wangji and saying, “Lan Zhan, haven't you figured out what I was just doing?”

Lan Wangji said, “I don't know.”

Wei Wuxian said, “You don't know even that? I was complimenting you, trying to get closer.”

Lan Wangji glanced at him, “What do you want.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Lan Zhan, let's be friends. We're already so familiar.”

Lan Wangji said, “Not familiar.”

Wei Wuxian slapped the water and said, “This is no fun. Really. Being friends with me comes with many benefits.”

Lan Wangji said, “Such as?”

Wei Wuxian swam to the edge of the pool, leaned back against a blue stone, and draped his arm over it. “I'm always very loyal to my friends. For example, any new spring-colour pictures I get my hands on, I'll show them to you first... Hey, don't leave! It's fine if you don't want to look. Have you ever been to Yunmeng? Yunmeng is a lot of fun, and the food is really delicious. I don't know if it's a Gusu problem or a Cloud Recesses problem, but your family's food is just terrible. If you come to Lotus Pier, you can eat lots of good things. I'll take you to pick lotus pods and water chestnuts. Lan Zhan, will you come?”

Lan Wangji said, “Won't go.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Don't always start your sentences with ‘no,’ it sounds so cold. Girls won't like that. Let me tell you, the girls in Yunmeng are especially pretty, a different kind of pretty from the ones here in Gusu.” He winked his left eye at Lan Wangji and said smugly, “Really not coming?”

Lan Wangji paused, then still said, “No...”

Wei Wuxian said, “Rejecting me like this, not giving me any face at all—aren't you afraid I'll casually take your clothes with me when I leave?”

Lan Wangji said, “Get lost!!!”

After Lan Qiren returned to Gusu from Qinghe, he did not send Wei Wuxian to roll off to the Library Pavilion to copy the Lan clan rules again. Instead, he gave him a thorough dressing-down in front of everyone. Stripping away the classical allusions, the gist was that he had never seen anyone so utterly incorrigible and shameless. Please get lost, quickly get lost, the farther the better. Do not go near any other students, and especially do not defile his prized pupil Lan Wangji.

While he was scolding, Wei Wuxian listened with a grin the whole time, not a trace of embarrassment, not the least bit angry. As soon as Lan Qiren left, Wei Wuxian sat down and said to Jiang Cheng, “Only now telling me to get lost far away, don't you think it's a little late? You're telling me to leave after I've already defiled the person—too late now!”

The Waterborne Abyss in Caiyi Town caused the Gusu Lan clan enormous trouble. The thing could not be completely eliminated, and the Lan clan could not drive it elsewhere like the Wen clan did. The Lan clan leader was in secluded cultivation all year round, and Lan Qiren exhausted much energy over it. The lecture periods grew shorter and shorter, while Wei Wuxian spent more and more time leading people around the mountains.

That day, he was again being ushered out by seven or eight youths when they passed by the Lan clan's Library Pavilion. Glancing up from below through the screening magnolia branches, he could just make out Lan Wangji sitting alone by the window.

Nie Huaisang wondered, “Is he looking our way? No, we weren't making much noise just now. Why does he have that look?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Most likely thinking about how to catch our mistakes.”

Jiang Cheng said, “Wrong. Not ‘our’—‘my’. I saw him staring only at you.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Heh. Just wait. When I come back, see how I deal with him.”

Jiang Cheng said, “Don't you complain that he's boring and dull? Then stop provoking him. You're plucking whiskers from a tiger's mouth, digging on the head of Taisui, courting death every day.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Wrong. Precisely because a living person can be dull to such an extent, that is what makes it so very interesting.”

Close to noon, they returned to Cloud Recesses. Lan Wangji was sitting upright by the desk, tidying a stack of papers he had written, when he suddenly heard a light creaking at the window lattice. He looked up to see someone flip in through the window.

Wei Wuxian had climbed up the magnolia tree outside the Library Pavilion, and said with great relish, “Lan Zhan, I'm back! Well, several days without copying books—miss me?”

Lan Wangji was like an old monk in meditation, regarding all things as nothing, even somewhat numbly continuing to tidy the mountain of books. Wei Wuxian deliberately misinterpreted his silence: “Even if you won't say it, I know. You must have missed me, otherwise why were you looking at me from the window just now?”

Lan Wangji immediately shot him a look full of silent reproach. Wei Wuxian sat on the windowsill and said, “See, you take the bait after just two lines. Too easy to hook. So unable to keep your composure.”

Lan Wangji: “Leave.”

Wei Wuxian: “I won't. What, you'll push me down?”

Looking at Lan Wangji's face, Wei Wuxian suspected that if he said one more word, Lan Wangji would truly abandon his last shred of restraint and nail him to the window sill, so he quickly said, “Don't be so scary! I came to deliver a gift and make amends.”

Lan Wangji refused without a second thought: “Don't want it.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Really don't want it?” Seeing a hint of wariness in Lan Wangji's eyes, he conjured up two rabbits from his bosom, holding them by the ears like two plump, round snowballs. The snowballs were still kicking wildly. He brought them right under Lan Wangji's nose: “This place is weird too, no pheasants, but plenty of wild rabbits that aren't even scared of people. So, fat or what? Want them?”

Lan Wangji looked at him coldly.

Wei Wuxian said, “Fine. Don't want them? I'll give them to someone else. My mouth has been feeling bland these days anyway.”

Hearing the last sentence, Lan Wangji said, “Stop.”

Wei Wuxian spread his hands: “I wasn't leaving.”

Lan Wangji said, “Who are you giving them to?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Whoever roasts rabbit meat best.”

Lan Wangji said, “Within the bounds of Cloud Recesses, killing is forbidden. It is the third rule on the Wall of Discipline.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Fine then. I'll go down the mountain, kill them outside the bounds, then bring them back up to roast. Anyway, you don't want them, what's it to you?”

“...” Lan Wangji enunciated each word: “Give them to me.”

Wei Wuxian sat on the windowsill and chuckled: “Want them now? See, you're always like this.”

Both rabbits were fat and round, like two fluffy snowballs. One had dead fish eyes and lay on the ground, slow and unmoving for ages, chewing vegetable leaves with a methodical pink three-lipped mouth. The other seemed to have swallowed a cricket-fighting pill, never stopping its hopping and leaping, crawling and rolling over its companion, twisting and bouncing ceaselessly. Wei Wuxian tossed a few vegetable leaves he'd picked up from who knows where, then suddenly said, “Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan!”

The active rabbit had earlier stepped into Lan Wangji's inkstone, leaving a black ink footprint on the desk. Lan Wangji didn't know what to do and was holding a sheet of paper, seriously pondering how to wipe it off. He originally didn't want to pay attention to Wei Wuxian, but hearing the unusual tone, thought something was the matter, and said, “What is it?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Look at them stacked up like that, are they...?”

Lan Wangji said, “Both of these are male!”

Wei Wuxian said, “Male? How strange.” He lifted one by the ears, looked, and confirmed, “So they are. Male it is. I hadn't even finished my sentence, why so severe? What did you think of? Come to think of it, I caught them and didn't even notice their sex, yet you've actually looked at their...”

Lan Wangji finally shoved him off the Library Pavilion.

Wei Wuxian, in midair, went: “Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!”

With a bang, Lan Wangji fiercely slammed the window shut and collapsed back beside the desk.

He swept a glance over the floor strewn with messy rice paper and ink footprints, and the two white rabbits rolling around dragging vegetable leaves. He closed his eyes and covered his ears.

The clusters of trembling magnolia branches were shut outside the window now, but no matter how he resisted, the sound of Wei Wuxian's merry, unrestrained laughter could not be shut out.

The next day, Lan Wangji finally stopped coming to attend lectures.

Wei Wuxian's seat changed three times. Originally he sat together with Jiang Cheng, but Jiang Cheng was studious and wanted to perform well to bring honor to the Yunmeng Jiang Clan, so he moved to the first row—a spot too conspicuous for Wei Wuxian to mess around. Wei Wuxian then abandoned Jiang Cheng and moved to sit behind Lan Wangji. While Lan Qiren lectured up front, Lan Wangji sat as straight as a wall of bronze and iron; behind him, Wei Wuxian either slept like the dead or doodled at random. Aside from the occasional times Lan Wangji suddenly raised his hand to intercept the paper balls he threw at others, it was an excellent spot. But later Lan Qiren noticed the scheme and switched their positions. From then on, the moment Wei Wuxian's posture relaxed even a little, he felt two icy, piercing stares boring into his back, and Lan Qiren would glare fiercely as well. Constantly monitored by one old and one young, front and back, it was utterly unpleasant. After the spring-colour picture incident and the two-rabbit incident, Lan Qiren concluded that Wei Wuxian was a pitch-black dye vat, and fearing his prized pupil would be tainted by him—one turns black near ink—he hurriedly told Lan Wangji he need not attend lectures anymore. So Wei Wuxian returned to his old spot, and things were peaceful for a small half month.

Alas, for someone like Wei Wuxian, good times never last long.

Within Cloud Recesses, there is a long Lattice Window Wall. Every seven steps, there is an openwork carved window in the wall, each carving different—some showing one playing the qin on a high mountain, some riding a sword through the sky, some slaying monstrous beasts. Lan Qiren explained that each lattice window on this wall depicts the life story of an ancestor of the Gusu Lan clan. The four oldest and most famous ones tell the four scenes from the life of Lan An, the founding ancestor of the Lan clan.

This ancestor was born in a temple, grew up listening to Buddhist chants, possessed profound wisdom, and was a renowned monk from a young age. At the capping age of twenty, he took the surname ‘Lan’ from ‘qielan’ (sangharama), returned to lay life, and became a musician. On his journey seeking immortality and the Dao, he met the ‘destined person’ he was searching for in Gusu, became cultivation partners, and together they laid the foundation of the Lan clan. After his immortal partner passed away, he returned to the temple to end his own life. These four lattice windows are accordingly named ‘Sangharama,’ ‘Learning Music,’ ‘Cultivation Partner,’ and ‘Return to Stillness.’

After so many days, it was rare to get something so interesting, even if Lan Qiren presented it as a dry chronology. Wei Wuxian finally paid attention. After the lecture he laughed: “So the Lan clan's ancestor was a monk. No wonder. For one person he entered the mortal world, and when that person was gone, he too departed, leaving no dust behind. But an ancestor like that—how could he produce descendants so utterly devoid of romance?”

The group had never imagined that the Lan clan, renowned for its rigid discipline, had such a founding ancestor, and they all began discussing it. As the discussion went on, the topic shifted to ‘cultivation partners,’ and they started exchanging their ideals of an immortal companion and appraising the famously known Fairies of each clan. Then, someone asked: ‘Brother Zixuan, which Fairy do you think is the best?’

Hearing this, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng simultaneously looked toward a youth in the front row of the Orchid Room.

The youth had proud, handsome features and a cinnabar mark between his brows; his collar, cuffs, and sash were embroidered with white Sparks Amidst Snow peonies—none other than the young scion Jin Zixuan, sent by the Lanling Jin Clan to Gusu for instruction.

Another person said, “Don't ask Zixuan-xiong that, he already has a betrothed, so he'll definitely say his betrothed.”

Hearing the word ‘betrothed,’ Jin Zixuan seemed to curl his lip slightly, showing a hint of displeasure. The disciple who first asked couldn't read the atmosphere and kept happily pressing: “Truly? Which clan's maiden? She must be astonishingly talented and peerless!”

Jin Zixuan raised an eyebrow and said, “No need to bring it up again.”

Wei Wuxian suddenly said, “What do you mean, no need to bring it up?”

Everyone in the Orchid Room looked at him, astonished. Usually Wei Wuxian was always grinning, never truly angry even when scolded or punished. But now there was a clear trace of ferocity between his brows. Jiang Cheng, too, unusually refrained from scolding Wei Wuxian for stirring up trouble, sitting beside him with an extremely unpleasant expression.

Jin Zixuan said arrogantly, “Are the four words ‘no need to bring it up’ difficult to understand?”

Wei Wuxian sneered: “The words aren't hard to understand, but exactly what dissatisfaction you have with my shijie—that is what's hard to understand.”

The others whispered among themselves, and after a few words, they understood. Those earlier remarks had inadvertently kicked a hornet's nest. Jin Zixuan's betrothed was none other than Jiang Yanli of the Yunmeng Jiang Clan.

Jiang Yanli was Jiang Fengmian's eldest daughter and Jiang Cheng's own sister. She had a mild disposition, no dazzling looks; her speech was even and calm, without memorable flavor. Her appearance was above average, and her talent not world-shaking. Amid the array of clan maidens vying in splendor, she inevitably seemed a bit pale. Her betrothed Jin Zixuan was exactly the opposite. He was the only son of Jin Guangshan's official wife, with striking looks and brilliant talent. If one considered Jiang Yanli's own qualifications, by ordinary reasoning she was indeed not his match. She did not even have the qualifications to compete with the maidens of other clans. The reason Jiang Yanli had been betrothed to Jin Zixuan was that her mother hailed from the Meishan Yu Clan, and the Meishan Yu Clan and Jin Zixuan's mother's clan were family friends; the two madams had grown up together and were close.

The Jin clan's household style was prideful and arrogant, and Jin Zixuan had inherited this in full, with exceedingly high standards. He had long been dissatisfied with this betrothal. Not only was he dissatisfied with the bride, but he was even more unhappy that his mother had decided his marriage without his consent, growing more rebellious. Today he seized the chance to vent. Jin Zixuan shot back: “Why don't you ask what exactly about her could possibly satisfy me?”

Jiang Cheng shot to his feet.

Wei Wuxian pushed him aside, stepped in front, and sneered, “You think you're so satisfying yourself? Where do you get the nerve to be so picky here!”

Because of this betrothal, Jin Zixuan had always held no goodwill toward the Yunmeng Jiang Clan and had long resented Wei Wuxian's behavior. Moreover, he considered himself peerless among his generation and had never been looked down upon like this. A surge of blood rushed to his head, and he blurted out: “If she's not satisfied, tell her to break off this betrothal! I certainly don't cherish your precious shijie. If you cherish her so much, go ask her father for her! Isn't he even kinder to you than to his own son?”

Hearing this last sentence, Jiang Cheng's gaze froze, and Wei Wuxian, furious beyond control, lunged forward with a raised fist. Jin Zixuan, though on guard, hadn't expected him to strike so swiftly; before his words fell, Wei Wuxian was upon him. He took a punch that numbed half his face, and without a word immediately fought back.

This fight alarmed the two great clans. Jiang Fengmian and Jin Guangshan rushed from Yunmeng and Lanling to Gusu that very day.

The two clan leaders examined the two kneeling as punishment, then went before Lan Qiren to receive a thorough reprimand. Both wiped sweat from their brows, exchanged a few polite words, and Jiang Fengmian raised the intention of dissolving the betrothal.

He said to Jin Guangshan, “This betrothal was originally insisted upon by A-Li's mother; I never agreed. As things now stand, neither side is very happy. Let's not force it further.”

Jin Guangshan was taken aback and hesitated. Breaking off a betrothal with another great clan was, after all, no good thing. He said, “What can children understand? Let them squabble; Brother Fengmian, you and I need not concern ourselves.”

Jiang Fengmian said, “Brother Jin, though we may arrange their betrothal, we cannot fulfill it for them. After all, it is they themselves who must spend a lifetime together.”

This marriage had never been Jin Guangshan's idea. If he wanted to consolidate power through clan alliance, the Yunmeng Jiang Clan was neither the only nor the best choice. He just had never dared to go against Madam Jin. Since the Jiang family was the one proposing the dissolution, and the Jin family was the groom's side with fewer concerns than the bride's, there was no need to fuss. Besides, he knew Jin Zixuan had always been dissatisfied with Jiang Yanli. After some consideration, Jin Guangshan boldly agreed.

At this time, Wei Wuxian still didn't know what his fight had undone. He was kneeling on the gravel path Lan Qiren had designated. Jiang Cheng walked over from afar and said sarcastically, “You're kneeling quite obediently.”

Wei Wuxian gloated, “I often kneel, you know that. But that fellow Jin Zixuan, pampered all his life, definitely hasn't knelt before. If he isn't kneeling here wailing for his parents today, my surname isn't Wei.”

Jiang Cheng bowed his head for a moment, then said flatly, “Father has come.”

Wei Wuxian asked, “Shijie didn't come, did she?”

Jiang Cheng said, “Why would she come? To see how you brought shame on her? If she had come, wouldn't she have come to stay with you and bring medicine?”

Wei Wuxian sighed and said, “...If only shijie had come. It's a good thing you didn't throw a punch.”

Jiang Cheng said, “I was about to. If you hadn't pushed me away, the other side of Jin Zixuan's face would be unwatchable too.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Better not, his asymmetrical face is even uglier now. I heard that peacock cares so much about his own face. I wonder what he thinks when he looks in the Mirror now? Hahaha...” After pounding the ground with laughter, Wei Wuxian added, “Actually, I should have let you do it while I stood aside and watched. Then maybe Uncle Jiang wouldn't have come. But I couldn't help myself!”

Jiang Cheng snorted softly and said, “In your dreams.”

Wei Wuxian had spoken casually, but Jiang Cheng's emotions were very complex. Because he knew full well that it wasn't a lie.

Jiang Fengmian had never, for any reason concerning him, rushed to another clan within a single day. Whether good news or bad, major or minor matters.

Never.

Seeing his gloomy expression, Wei Wuxian thought he was still upset about Jin Zixuan's words, and said, “Go on, no need to stay with me. If Lan Wangji comes again, you'll be caught. Go have a look at that idiot Jin Zixuan kneeling as punishment.”

Jiang Cheng was slightly surprised: “Lan Wangji? Why would he come? Does he still dare to see you?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Yeah, I also think his courage is commendable for daring to see me. Probably his uncle sent him to check if I was kneeling properly.”

Jiang Cheng had an ominous premonition: “So were you kneeling properly at the time?”

Wei Wuxian said, “I was kneeling properly then. After he had walked a distance, I picked up a twig and, head down, started digging a hole in the dirt nearby—right by that pile near your feet, there was an anthill I'd finally found. When he turned back and saw my shoulders heaving, he must have thought I was crying or something, and came to ask me. You really should have seen his face when he saw the anthill.”

“...” Jiang Cheng said, “You'd better hurry and roll back to Yunmeng! I think he'll never want to see you again.”

So that very night, Wei Wuxian packed his things and rolled back to Yunmeng with Jiang Fengmian.