"Hey, I wonder how Senior Wei and Hanguang-jun met before." Zizhen wondered, his brow furrowed as his mind began to work, picturing a romantic scene in which Wei Wuxian crashed into Lan Wangji's chest. Wei Wuxian apologized and looked up, realizing that the man in front of him was a beauty, an untouchable and peerless jade. The wind picks up, causing their hair to dance, making them more appealing to the other. Under the sun, he and Lan Wangji locked their gazes on each other's eyes and—
Sizhui, who looks at Zizhen who is most likely daydreaming, shakes his head, "I don't think their first meeting is going to go well. They fought, according to Xian-gege."
"Really? Why hadn't I heard this before?" Jingyi turns to face Sizhui.
"Because I asked Xian-gege while he called me over the Jingshi," Sizhui explained. That time, he found Wei Wuxian on the porch, drinking emperor's smile. When he saw Sizhui, he called him over and invited him to sit next to him. They talked about their recent night hunts. Their discussion dragged on until Wei Wuxian brought up the Wens and Burial Mounds. Wei Wuxian also mentioned how he and Lan Wangji ran into each other again in Yiling. Then, without thinking, he inquired as to how they first met, which is how he ended up telling Sizhui they fought on the roof.
That is most likely why the 'Do not fight on the roof' rule was created.
"Wait, what were you doing there?" Jin Ling inquired, having overheard their conversation.
"I was just walking when he saw me and called me over," he answered.
"Wait a minute, why are you wondering how they met?" A Nie disciple next to Sizhui inquired.
"I mean, don't you all want to know how they met? They're like, the most talked about couple in the cultivation world right now," Zizhen said with a smile.
A Jin disciple smirks at Zizhen. "What gossip have you heard that you aren't sharing with us, Zizhen?"
Nie Huaisang then leaned in close, his fan still covering half of his face. "You'll be surprised, their previous relationship was quite interesting," he says, as the disciples all look at him, hoping to hear more details. "At least to me," he adds.
"They were like fire and water, Huaisang, that's not interesting at all." Nie Mingjue interjected. He's close enough to his younger brother and the disciples to hear what they're saying.
Nie Huaisang closes his fan and turns to face his brother. "Oh Da-ge, they are, but in a good way."
"Huh? Fire and water? That's not right." Zizhen and Jingyi stared at Nie Huaisang incredulously.
"Look at them, they're like inseparable. They might as well glue each other until they die." Jin Ling turns to face them, making a face that would make a Jiang disciple laugh.
"Yeah, it's quite hard to believe." Sizhui says, looking down. He can't say whether their fire-water relationship is good or bad, but his Xian-gege went through a lot of hardships to protect the Wens. He recalls his Uncle Wen Ning telling him that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's relationship deteriorated after he began protecting the Wens. Wen Ning wasn't present when they fought, but he could see how it affected Wei Wuxian.
"Mingjue," A voice called out. Nie Mingjue turns and sees Lan Xichen approaching him.
"Xichen," He faces him. He was well aware that when he died, he was transformed into a ferocious and vengeful corpse. His mind was not conscious too. All he wanted was to kill the person who killed him. He didn't know for sure, but he had a feeling he attacked Lan Xichen when he was in that state, and he was angry and upset of himself.
"I'm sorry," he said as he cupped his hand and bowed. He could hear cultivators whispering around him. The previous Sect Leader Nie bowing his head? Quite shocking, but he did not care, all he wants right now is to apologize to his sworn brother.
"What are you sorry for? I should be the one apologizing to you for not believing you." Lan Xichen sighs, his expression distraught. Until now, he is still affected by the events of Guanyin Temple. Then, he too, bowed in front of his sworn brother.
"I am sorry too, Mingjue." He sounds like he's about to cry, but he didn't. Instead, he rises and smiled once more, but a forced one.
"I admit I was upset that you did not believe me, but that's all in the past. You did nothing wrong." He strides forward and comes to a halt directly in front of Lan Xichen. He placed his hand on his shoulder and smiled slightly. Then he proceeds patting his shoulder. Across the room, Lan Wangji looked at his brother. He's relieved that he and Nie Mingjue are at least talking right now.
"Their relationship may not go back to normal." Wei Wuxian observes, and Lan Wangji nods.
"They have a lot of things to talk about." He says.
"Is it going to start now?" Jiang Wanyin asked the Immortal. Jiang Yanli could hear his annoyance in his tone, so she takes his hand in hers.
"A-Cheng, be patient, okay?"
He scoffed again, but tightened his grip on her sister's hand. "Fine."
"A-Zhan, how long have you and Wei Wuxian been together?" Madam Lan, who had been curious the entire time, couldn't help but ask. She missed a lot of things, especially her son's development.
Lan Wangji, who had been deliberating for some time, finally responded. "Three months."
Qingheng-jun, who is standing next to Madam Lan looked quite surprised. "I assumed you two had been together for a long time." Because of this, Wei Wuxian awkwardly laughs and scratched his nape.
"Well, a lot has happened, and I was a complete idiot back then."
Lan Wangji sighs and shakes his head. "No, you were not. You had….priorities."
"I did. But even if you had confessed back then, I would have rejected you right away."
He did confess after he had taken Wei Wuxian away from Nightless City. In a cave, he hid a wounded, dazed, lost, and grieving Wei Wuxian. He confessed, pouring out his heart while transferring spiritual energy to him. Until now, he still hears the word 'Get lost!' in his head. After years of reflecting on his actions, he came to realize that he should not have confessed to him at that time. He was well aware that Wei Wuxian was on the brink of going insane; he had no time to think about his words, but he was so desperate to save him—he did not want to lose him.
Wei Wuxian noticed his husband went completely still—he knew exactly why. "Hey," He cups his husband's face and gave him a smile. "Stop thinking about it. You know I was not in the right mind that time, right?"
Lan Wangji leans into his touch and closes his eyes. "Mn."
Madam Lan and Qingheng-jun stares at the two. They are suddenly curious, wanting to know everything that has happened and what these two have been through. Qingheng-jun then moves his gaze to Lan Qiren.
Lan Qiren sighs, "Everything was a mess before."
"I swear to God, Lan Qiren, if you have been harsh to my son, I will shave your beard once more," Cangse Sanren threatens, and Lan Qiren sweats, grabbing his beard to protect it from her. She's about to see it, and he's worried that it won't be his beard that she has to shave soon. (Soon, he might wake up with a shiny head, he shudders just by thinking of this.)
"Haha, Mother—" Wei Wuxian nervously laughs, suddenly afraid for Lan Qiren.
"I mean, Wei Ying isn't that bad," Wei Changze says, turning to face Lan Qiren. "Right?" He adds.
'He is as bad as your wife!' Lan Qiren screams internally.
"The screen is ready, be silent and sit." Baoshan Sanren snaps her fingers, and the screen lits up.
"Finally," Yu Ziyuan says quietly. Jiang Fengmian sighs as he looks at her out of the corner of his eye. He hopes there will be no fighting, but he sees it happening soon.
"A-Ling, come here," Jin Zixuan calls his son, who happily stands up and runs to sit with his parents. Then, in the screen, three words appeared.
"Twenty years ago."
"Wei Wuxian! Wei Wuxian! Wei Ying!" A young cultivator in purple robes appeared and called for his brother.
Jiang Wanyin froze when he saw his younger self.
Then, with jars of Emperor smile in hand, a person placed it carefully beneath the tree. The individual stands and spins around. This person was young Wei Wuxian, who had the same bright, blinding smile and joy as he was when he was a child. Laughing, he ran towards Jiang Wanyin, saying, "I'm coming!"
In the background, two people stood, their backs turned to Wei Wuxian. With their robes, they were easily recognized. These two people were Jiang Wanyin and Nie Huaisang.
"I was so short before." Nie Huaisang remarked. "And my hair as well," he adds. His gaze shifts to the younger Jiang Wanyin and he teases, "Jiang Cheng, you're short here too," earning him a glare.
"Shut it." He hisses, but there was no heat to it.
The screen goes black, and the words reappear.
"The 18th year of the reign of Xuanzheng, the year of Wuyin."
Then, the screen lits up again and the world came to view. It was night time.
"Gusu, Cloud Recesses."
"Wow, we're starting off in Cloud Recesses?" Jingyi was ecstatic; he couldn't wait to see a younger version of their Hanguang-jun.
"Please don't tell me we'll start into that," Sizhui sighed exasperatedly, palming his face. They just discussed how Senior Wei and Hanguang-jun met just now.
"Into what?" Zizhen inquired, suddenly tense.
"You were so sneaky back then, Wei-Xiong," Nie Huaisang smirks at Wei Wuxian.
Wei Wuxian then returns the smirk, saying, "I couldn't wait, I was curious about Gusu's famous wine," before turning to his husband and whispering, "Do you remember this, Lan Zhan?"
Lan Wangji gave a nod. "This was the time I fell in love with Wei Ying," he replied earnestly, making Wei Wuxian blush.
"Lan Zhan!"
Jiang Wanyin and Jin Zixuan sighed as they heard Lan Wangji's response.
A figure emerged from the dark and dashed across the bridge. The scene then changed, and Wei Wuxian jumped onto the roofs of the buildings. He was so quiet and sneaky that no one heard or noticed him. He hops once more and takes a look around. When he noticed that no one was around, he took out the jar of emperor smile, brought it closer to his nose, and inhaled the intoxicating scent.
"I think I see where this is going," Madam Jin said.
Mianmian, who sit beside Madam Jin gives a nod. "I believe so as well."
Someone landed behind Wei Wuxian, prompting him to turn around. It was a man dressed in light blue robes, with a ribbon on his forehead and a sword in his hand. It was young Lan Wangji staring back at young Wei Wuxian.
The disciples eyed their Hanguang-jun, expecting some sort of reaction, but he just simply stared at his younger self.
"Wow, even at such a young age Hanguang-jun is still so attractive." remarked a female cultivator.
"I know," says another female cultivator, "though he looks completely different."
"Yeah, he looks stiffer and more rigid here."
The disciples heard the first and last remarks and must admit that they agree.
"Look at young Hanguang-jun, he looks scary." Zizhen said, shuddering. If the younger Hanguang-jun gives him a glare, he will instantly pee in his pants.
"Oh, come on, Hanguang-jun can't be that bad, can he?" Jingyi turns to face Sizhui, and the cultivators who heard him shudder.
'His younger counterpart is far worse than Jiang Wanyin!' All the cultivators except Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian, Lan Xichen screamed internally.
Instead of being concerned about being caught, he looks around once more to see if anyone is nearby. When he sees that no one is around and that only this young cultivator is in front of him, he turns to Lan Wangji and gives a playful smirk. Then, he held up the jar for him to see and offered it to him with a bright smile.
"Emperor's smile! I'll give you a jar, so could you pretend you never saw me?"
And the screen turns black again.
"That's how you met?" The disciples asked simultaneously that Wei Wuxian laughs.
"Yeah, what are you all thinking?" He smirks.
Jin Ling scoffs, his arms crossed. "Tch, no wonder there's a rule in the wall of discipline that says 'Do not fight on the rooftop.'"
Wei Wuxian looks at his nephew. "Hey! How do you know that?" He was quite offended by that.
"You were apprehended, Senior Wei, and you bribed Hanguang-jun with the Emperor's smile; obviously, you two are about to fight," Zizhen says as he turns to face Lan Wangji and lowers his head. Hanguang-jun is terrifying even when he isn't doing anything.
"I did not bribe him!" Wei Wuxian retorts.
"You did, Wei Wuxian." Jiang Wanyin sighs exasperatedly and Wei Wuxian clutches his chest as if he was shot.
"Chengcheng, you did not just expose me!"
"Wei Wuxian." Yu Ziyuan warns and he immediately stops. Lan Wangji's family, Wei Wuxian's parents, and the disciples all frowned at her before turning away. Jin Ling looks down, uneasy with the way she's treating Wei Wuxian. Why is she so mad because his uncle simply teased his other uncle? They were just teasing each other, what's wrong with that? Jiang Wanyin and Jiang Yanli just sighed, wishing they could just silence their mother.
"Xuan Zheng, Year 18, Gusu Cloud Recesses."
In the screen, they saw a Wei Wuxian running, and behind him is Jiang Wanyin. "We made it!" Wei Wuxian yells, still running until they reach the bridge and come to a halt. "Let's take a break, rest a bit!" Wei Wuxian says, panting heavily. Then Wei Wuxian stretches as Jiang Wanyin adjusts his robes before turning at Wei Wuxian.
"If you get up late again, I definitely won't wait for you."
Wei Wuxian responds with a laugh, running his fingers through his silky hair before turning around and smiling.
"Look, young Sect Leader Jiang isn't much scary here," a disciple murmured, fearful of being overheard and receiving a glare from Jiang Wanyin.
Jingyi gives a nod. "Right? He's like Young Mistress around here."
Jin Ling, who heard him, gave him a glare but did not respond as he was afraid of being scolded for being such a brat by his parents and his grandparents. Jiang Wanyin heard Jingyi but remained silent. Why would he argue with a kid? Jin Ling then turns to face the screen, staring at his Uncle, who has chubby cheeks and big round eyes. He gotta admit, it's strange to see his Uncle this way.
"Huh, you don't hate each other." Jin Ling says absentmindedly. When he realizes what he just said, he turns away from Jiang Wanyin.
"Of course not. We were—" He did not intend to finish the sentence and focused his attention to the screen. Of course, they were fine here, with the teasing and hitting and all. He doesn't want to admit it in his head, but in his heart, he missed these kinds of interactions with Wei Wuxian.
"Now that we've seen the younger Wei Wuxian, he's really good looking," a man from behind says, drawing strange looks from the other men around him.
A female cultivator who is overjoyed that a man appreciates Wei Wuxian's beauty concurs. "No because you're right! He looks far from those paintings of him for sale in towns."
"I also heard from before that Wei Wuxian was ranked 4th in the list of top cultivator gentlemen of his generation," another female added.
Lan Wangji heard them and smiled smugly, but quickly corrected his expression. His Wei Ying is really beautiful that it hurts. Lucky for him that Wei Wuxian is his.
"Senior Wei, I think I know why you get angry when you saw those pictures of yours." Zizhen chuckles.
"Why?" Changse Sanren inquires, curious, along with Wei Changze.
Wei Wuxian scoffs, "I would appreciate their efforts if I didn't look like a demon lurking in the dark and eat children in those pictures."
Wei Changze's eyes widen in disbelief, "Were you painted as a demon?"
"Cangse-gaoji, Wei-qianbei, the town folks had never seen Wei-gongzi before. They just assumed he looked like that because of the stories about him," Lan Xichen explains.
"Wei Ying?" Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze look at their son, just scoffed and crossed his arms.
"Believe me, the stories were ridiculous, and very.....creative." Wei Wuxian responds flatly.
"It's just being late. We'll be punished to stand at worst, what's there to fear?"
Behind the two were two men wearing golden robes walking to a nearby path, slowly approaching Jiang Wanyin and Wei Wuxian.
"Oh look, it's you, husband," Yanli says to Jin Zixuan, who blushes immediately. He was an arrogant and spoiled brat in the past, and he constantly badmouthed and disrespected Yanli. He just knows he'll get a lot of glares and threatening from Wei Wuxian, Jiang Wanyin, the Jiang Matriarch and Patriarch, his mother, and possibly his own son. He sighs, wishing he could get out of here and bury himself in shame.
"Father.." Jin Ling observes the young Jin Zixuan, his father.
"Jin-xiong, I pray for your life." Nie Huaisang whispers, pitying Jin Zixuan.
Despite the fact that he and Nie Huaisang were not close, he appreciated his pity. (He didn't.) "Thanks, I guess."
"Zixuan-xiong," Jiang Wanyin greeted. Wei Wuxian turns around and both of them gave a respectful bow to him. Jin Zixuan, looking arrogant and a brat as always, just cast them a nonchalant look before doing an incomplete disrespectful bow and walk off.
And Jin Zixuan cringed. He could feel the piercing gaze from his mother. If he could turn back time, he would really correct his mistakes.
"Zixuan, you are such a—" Madam Jin just sighs.
"Sorry Mother."
From the corner, he could feel Jiang Wanyin and Wei Wuxian silently snickering at him.
Jin Ling could somehow understand now why everyone kept pointing out that his attitude is a mix of his father's and his jiujiu. Then, he looks at Suihua being held proudly by his Father. It was now the sword he's using.
Wei Wuxian rises and huffs. "Jin-xiong is getting more pompous."
Jiang Wanyin, despite frowning a bit, agreed to Wei Wuxian's words, "Lanling Jin Clan is wealthy as a king. Jin Zixuan is god's favoured one, of course he's pompous."
Jin Zixuan, in disbelief, sighs and face palms, "Why do people think I'm God's favoured one?"
Jiang Wanyin shrugs.
"Zixuan-xiong, your family is very wealthy," Nie Huaisang says matter-of-factly. Madam Jin's brows might have twitched because of that statement. Jin Zixuan stares at Nie Huaisang for a moment before dismissing his response and turning to Yanli.
"Was I really that bad?" Jin Zixuan quietly whispered. Yanli chuckles and reaches for his hand.
Their sister was too kind; both brothers were certain she would respond with a kind 'no,' so the Jiang brothers simultaneously shouted "Yes!"
Because of this, some of the cultivators, including the disciples, laughed silently. Jin Ling was not sure what to feel at the moment.
"Oh, you two." Jiang Yanli sighs.
Bringing a hand to his chin, Wei Wuxian hummed mischievously, a thought flashing through his mind when Jiang Wanyin suddenly elbowed him, causing him to stumble.
"Ah!" He winced and rubbed his back to relieve the pain.
"Wait, stop thinking of mischief!" Jiang Wanyin lectures. "I'm warning you, Jin Zixuan is our sister's fiancé, and they'll marry one day. Bear with it even though you dislike him."
Chuckling, Wei Wuxian responds, "Alright, alright."
"Honestly, if I'd known he was this arrogant, I would've let Wei Wuxian do his thing," mutters Madam Jin, causing Wei Wuxian to laugh. Jin Zixuan paled as he remembered how painful Wei Wuxian's punches were. He had gotten a lot of it in the past.
Jin Zixuan looks over at Jiang Wanyin. "I'm glad you stopped him."
"It wasn't for you," Jiang Wanyin deadpanned.
"Still."
The scene shifts, giving the cultivators a clear view of the Orchid room. When the Lan disciples saw this, they straightened their backs.
"The Orchid room." Wei Wuxian sighs "Its name is elegant, but the old master who teaches in there is stuffy."
Lan Qiren's brow twitches in annoyance as Cangse Sanren and Wei Wuxian snort. He was clearly not amused by this. Jiang Fengmian, Lan Xichen, and Nie Mingjue coughed to hide their laughter. Some of the cultivators found it amusing. Some older cultivators, however, will have to agree with Wei Wuxian for this.
"I'm sorry, Old Master Lan! You were not supposed to hear that."
Cangse Sanren continues to laugh as he shakes her. "No, no, child, it's true in any case; let him hear it and perhaps he'll try to change!"
"I. will. not!" He hisses, making Cangse Sanren laugh even harder.
"Cangse, stop now." Wei Changze was concerned about how red Lan Qiren's face was becoming; he was clearly irritated, and he appears to be on the verge of fainting.
"Brother, don't start fainting now." Qingheng-jun joins, giving Lan Qiren a full smile, his eyes held a bit of teasing and mischief.
The betrayal in Lan Qiren's face was so clear. "How are you even my brother?"
"But he's really capable though. Even a useless person could become a decent man after 1 or 2 years of his discipline."
"Wei Wuxian is clearly not one of them." Wen Qing says, shaking her head.
"Qing-jieeee!" Wei Wuxian whines. "I am a decent man!"
She released a fond sigh. "Sure."
Lan Qiren, despite hearing his students praised him, still frowned, refusing to be swayed by words.
Not far away from them, two cultivators dressed in dark green with gold robes. Hearing their voices made these two cultivators turn to face the pair.
"Am I not decent enough already?" Wei Wuxian asked.
The disciple at the distance was young Nie Huaisang, who smiled when he saw the two, and calls, "Jiang-xiong! Wei-xiong!"
"Woah, it's the Second Young Master Nie," A Nie disciple stares, quite surprised that nothing has changed to their Sect Leader except his hair got longer and he's taller now.
"Yeah, he looks cute too," says another Nie disciple. Nie Huaisang, who was nearby the disciples, laughs when he hears this.
"Thank you, kids."
"A-Ah…U-Umm, you're welcome, Sect Leader?"
"You'll definitely become the mark of disgrace on Master Lan's career in teaching." Jiang Wanyin says before acknowledging Nie Huaisang's greeting, giving him a short nod.
The other Nie disciple, beside Nie Huaisang, had his brow furrowed, "Wei-xiong is just a Yunmeng disciple; why would he come to Gusu to study?" He inquired, perplexed.
"He's not just a disciple from Yunmeng, he's my—" Jiang Wanyin closes his eyes and sighs. After everything that has happened, does he still have the right to call him brother?
"I mean, Senior Wei is a head disciple, and he's also a genius, so why not?" Jingyi says, rolling his eyes, drawing the attention of some cultivators. 'Why isn't this kid behaving like Lans does?' They all thought. Noticing their stares, Jingyi adds. "What? It's true!"
Ouyang Zizhen joins, nervous but determined. "Yeah! He deserves to study in Cloud Recesses!"
"God, I love them, Lan Zhan." Wei Wuxian giggles in Lan Wangji's chest while Lan Wangji strokes his husband's hair and responds with a heartfelt 'Mn.'
Nie Huaisang happily responds. "Wei-xiong is the son of the Clan Leader Jiang's old friend. He's been treated as his own son."
"Glad we have the same thoughts, Second Young Master Nie." Yu Ziyuan hissed under her breath. Even the rumours reached Qinghe. She hates this, she hates that his husband acknowledges Wei Wuxian more than their son. Jiang Fengmian avoided making eye contact with her, preferring not to have another argument with her in front of everyone.
Cangse Sanren clenches her teeth as she says, "Yu Ziyuan." Wei Changze took her hand in his to stop whatever she was planning, but the cultivators noticed the slight anger in his expression.
Nie Huaisang suddenly felt bad for saying that. He did not intend it in that way. He did hear the rumors about them, which was kind of convincing, so he quickly believed them. He realizes he should've looked into it further, but as a child, what we hear is what we believe.
"I see, that explains why they don't look like master and servant, they seem like brothers."
The scene shifts to Jiang Wanyin and Wei Wuxian, who are playfully nudging each other as they walk towards Nie Huaisang, a smile on their lips.
Wei Wuxian smiled sadly, staring wistfully at the screen while Jiang Wanyin looked down on the ground. They are still brothers...
They are...
They were...
Jin Ling's chest tightened as he observed his two uncles interacting as if they were the happiest brothers in the world. He could see how close Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng are; they both cared for and loved each other dearly, but war happened, and their bonds severed. Sacrifices were made, which was even more painful than Wei Wuxian's defection to the Jiang Sect.
After the events of Guanyin Temple, neither brothers had time to talk or reconcile, as Jiang Cheng went into seclusion and Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji eloped. He stares at the screen before promising that he will do everything in his power to bring these two idiots together. Their relationship may not be the same as it once was, but at least they could communicate without upsetting the other.
Some of the cultivators were at loss for words. In the past, Jiang Wanyin expressed his hatred for Wei Wuxian, led the siege, and killed him (this is what the cultivators believed, which clearly wasn't the case), but seeing this scene in front of them, they could not believe. 'Were they really this close?' They all thought. They were accustomed to seeing Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin arguing all the time during the Sunshot Campaign, so it was strange to see them being playful to each other.
"Jiang-xiong, Wei-xiong, this is your first visit to Gusu. It's boring here, isn't it?" Nie Huaisang curiously asked.
"Not really,"
Without turning to Wei Wuxian, Jiang Wanyin began recalling his complaints from before, "You whined about how stuffy Lans are on the first day, and complained about how bland their foods are, and how many rules they have—"
Wei Wuxian, of course, had to stop him as he was getting a glare from Lan Qiren, while Madam Lan and Qingheng-jun chuckled. "Chengcheng, shut up! It was a joke okay? I love Cloud Recesses now."
Jiang Wanyin rolled his eyes. "That's because your husband is there."
"The problem is getting up too early," Wei Wuxian says as he stretches again.
"Here we get up at 5:00am seems fine," Nie Huaisang opens his fan and began fanning himself. "When do you get up?"
"Him?" Jiang Wanyin scoffs, his arms crossed as Wei Wuxian yawns. "He gets up at 9:00am and rests at 1:00am. Once awake, he doesn't train or meditate, but goes canoeing, plucks lotus, and hunts pheasants."
"I'm still the best in pheasant hunting!"
The majority of the cultivators rolled their eyes at his proclamation, while a few smiled.
"Senior Wei still does that," Sizhui says with a smile.
"Of course he does, he's Wei Wuxian," Wen Qing mutters.
"And Hanguang-jun lets him."
Wen Qing sighs, "And of course he does."
Closing his fan, Nie Huaisang spoke, "I want to study in Yunmeng next year! No one can stop me!"
Nie Mingjue immediately turns to his younger brother and raised a brow. Nie Huaisang, although hiding his face behind his fan, could tell that his elder brother was opposed to this.
"You want to go Yunmeng when you haven't passed your studies at Gusu?"
"Y-Yunmeng seems fun," Nie Huaisang responds. "But don't worry about what my younger self said; it was a long time ago!"
The other Nie disciple puts his hand on Nie Huaisang's shoulder and says, "Huaisang-xiong, no one will stop you, but your elder brother will break your legs." Nie Huaisang deflated and sighs.
Wei Wuxian laughs at the response, then he says, "Actually, Gusu is kinda fun."
All the disciples, including Lan Qiren turns their attention to Wei Wuxian, their eyes narrowed as if his words are not believable.
'But Gusu was indeed fun! If the rules just did not exist at all.'
"Don't look at me like that; I had a great time while I was there," he smirks turning to Nie Huaisang who was now giggling.
Jiang Wanyin turns to look at him, "You mean breaking every rules and annoying Lan Wangji?"
"A-Cheng, it's not annoying Second Young Master Lan, but wanting attention from Second Young Master Lan," Yanli explains and smiles as he catches Lan Xichen smiling as well. Wei Wuxian, however, nods furiously in agreement.
"No A-Jie, he—"
Lan Xichen then joins in, saying, "I agree with Miss Jiang Yanli," and Jiang Wanyin's eyes widen.
"You too?!"
Cangse Sanren laughs. She could picture his son breaking every rules and annoying Lan Wangji, especially Lan Qiren's reaction. Even she could hear his yelling and complaints in her head.
"He's just like you, Cangse," Wei Changze says fondly to her ears, and she agrees wholeheartedly.
"Are you kidding me, Wei-xiong? Here's my sincere advice," Nie Huaisang leans in to whisper, not wanting anyone to hear him. "Cloud Recesses is not like Lotus Pier. During your visit in Gusu, do remember not to provoke a certain person."
Wei Wuxian turns to him and asks, "Who? Lan Qiren?
With or without Wei Wuxian's provoking, Lan Qiren will still be provoked by his mere presence, or him just mentioning his name, it's ridiculous.
Wei Wuxian smirks, leaning to his husband's ear. "Lan-er-gege, guess who my younger self should not provoke?"
Lan Wangji sighs fondly, however he did not respond to his husband's teasing, but Wei Wuxian laughed anyway.
"Not the old man, it's his favourite disciple. One of the Twin Jades of Lan—Lan Zhan."
Then a man's forehead came to view, fixing his ribbon, it was young Lan Wangji, smoothening his hair.
"Lan Zhan?"
"My future husband." Wei Wuxian says, smirking and the hand in his waist tightens. Wei Wuxian hopes it will leave a mark.
"Lan Wangji?" He asks again for confirmation.
"Yes, exactly. He's a model example of the legendary 'other people's children' that parents tell you to look at. Heavens, he's the same as us, but he has none of the energy of a youth. He's stiff and strict, even worse than his uncle! He also supervises punishments and is high-skilled, so everyone is scared of him, but he cultivated in seclusion for years, so we don't see him often." Nie Huaisang explains.
And that's how Nie Huaisang ended up bowing to Lan Wangji and Lan Qiren, muttering 'I'm sorry' over and over until both Lans simply nodded at him. Lan Wangji is well aware of how bad his attitude was in the past. He was raised in a home where rules were applied in their daily lives and spoken like prayers, so it's understandable why he's like that. Years of reflecting on his actions in the past made him realize how badly he had treated his husband—becoming angry at him, refusing him, and pushing him away, it was painful to remember, but at that time, he was entirely confused, if not, intimidated by the unknown feelings forming in his heart that he had not yet felt from anyone else.
Until now, the disciples had paled when they heard Nie Huaisang's words.
"Is he a boy who looks quite handsome?" Wei Wuxian asks.
Madam Lan laughs as she says, "A-Zhan, your ears are burning."
Jiang Wanyin who was following behind them, asked, "Is there anyone who looks ugly in the Gusu Lan Sect? His sect doesn't even accept disciples with unclean features. If you can, find me one who has an average face."
Wei Wuxian nods twice as he recalls the young man's face, "Very Handsome."
The female cultivators may have screamed, while the men simply scowled.
'That's right, be envious; you all look like street rats in comparison to Hanguang-jun!' All the female cultivators thought.
Then Wei Wuxian continues, "He's dressed in white, wearing a forehead ribbon, carrying a silver sword on his back with a sour face that he looks like he's at a funeral."
That shouldn't be funny, but it was funny. Majority of the cultivators laughed at that while Lan Qiren was displeased. Wei Wuxian knew better, it was not funny, even for Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian frowns and returns his attention to his husband. When he noticed a slight change in emotion in his husband's eyes, his expression softened. Longing and regret.
"Lan Zhan, I—"
"I know, don't worry."
The three enters the orchid room, completely unaware of young Lan Wangji's presence who was sitting perfectly straight at the side. "Yes, that's him. However, he prefers to meditate alone, so how did you see..." Nie Huaisang turns and immediately shrieks upon seeing the person they're discussing right now. Lan Wangji's sitting posture is straight as his back is against them, his hair blew both ends of the ribbon and his long hair, and he slowly turns his head to face them. From there, he appears even more dashing.
"He's so pretty!!" Some cultivators squealed, and some men felt even more envious. Why weren't they blessed with such beauty? The Second Jade is really…
Wei Wuxian began to feel slightly nervous, completely caught off guard by his presence. Then, he smiled awkwardly, "Why is he here?"
Recovering from his shock, Nie Huaisang pointed his fan to Lan Wangji to follow his gaze and his fan come to a halt at Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian turns away, refusing to make eye contact. Seeing this suspicious reaction, Nie Huaisang opens his fan and covers face of his face as he stares suspiciously at his suspicious friend.
"Wei-xiong, did you step out of line?" He asks.
"He did, didn't he?" Nie Mingjue sighs.
Madam Jin chuckles, though her eyes are slightly disapproving. Lan Xichen, knowing where this is going, laughs quietly while Lan Qiren shakes his head.
He responds, "Well..." with a sidelong glance at Nie Huaisang.
Then, the surroundings darkened, the scene shifting to where Lan Wangji caught Wei Wuxian on the roof. "Late returners are not allowed in until the end of 7:00am," he said with a cold glare. "Leave."
"Ah, Hanguang-jun looks so regal." The disciples stared in awe at their revered young Lan Wangji.
"I was such an idiot before for not kissing you at that moment," Wei Wuxian wiggles his brows, causing Lan Wangji to laugh a little. For a brief moment, Qingheng-jun and Madam Lan were taken aback by their son. They would not have heard it clearly if they had not been standing next to their son. Their son laughed, THEIR SON LAUGHED!
Thrusting one jar of Emperor's Smile forward to young Lan Wangji, he responded with a grin, "I'll give you a jar, so could you pretend you never saw me?" Wei Wuxian waited for a moment, but the man remained silent. Getting no reaction from him, he continues, "Make a smile! You'll be much cuter."
"Shameless!"
If would've been better if it was Lan Wangji who said that, but it was the Old Master Lan, staring at the young Wei Wuxian disapprovingly.
"Alcohol is forbidden in the Cloud Recesses."
Lan Xichen laughs at this irony. Before, Lan Wangji detests people who does not adhere the Sect's rules and punishes them, yet, it was now him breaking the rules for Wei Wuxian. Their Uncle almost went Qi Deviation after discovering his nephew is hiding a bunch of Emperor's Smile in the Jingshi.
"Are you gonna fight here, Senior Wei?" Zizhen is trembling with excitement. He is desperate to see these two fight. He had heard rumors before that Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian were equals in terms of fighting and cultivation.
"Yes, though I don't have my sword here, but anyway, watch carefully kids," he winks, and all of the disciples stare at the screen, not blinking or turning away.
"What exactly is NOT prohibited in here?" Wei Wuxian counters.
"You." Lan Wangji whispers, and Wei Wuxian may have combusted at this point.
Jiang Wanyin sighs, "Ugh, am I gonna taste dog food until this ends?"
"I'm afraid all of us will." Jin Zixuan responds and Jiang Wanyin glares.
"You've got A-Jie; you'll be like those two later," Yanli and Jin Zixuan couldn't decide whether to laugh. Jin Ling would prefer not to imagine his parents as lovey-dovey as Hanguang and Wei Wuxian.
"It's clearly written on the Wall of Discipline. Go and read it."
Sighing, he sat at a nearby tree branch. "There are over 3,000 family rules without repetition, who even reads them."
By his response, Lan Wangji's glare deepened.
Lan Qiren promptly massages his temples. Cangse Sanren giggles at this.
"Okay, alright, I won't go in." He bends his head down and tear the jar's cover with his mouth. "I'll sit and drink it here, that's not breaking any rules, right?" Slowly, he lifts the jar above his head. The wine pours out as he drank it, but some of it did not reach his mouth, so it began trailing down to his neck. With the moonlight at the background, it gave a divine view of Wei Wuxian.
The disciples gaped in disbelief, "So bold, Senior Wei!"
Jiang Wanyin rolled his eyes, "Well, there goes the rule 'Don't drink on the roof'." He sighs. This was also the first night they arrived at Gusu. When he discovered that Wei Wuxian was missing from their room, he became concerned, thinking that the idiot was causing trouble again, and to see it here...
"Wow," Nie Huaisang and the female cultivators gasped, clearly taken aback by Wei Wuxian's shamelessness. Several cultivators scoffed, not even trying to hide their disgust on their faces.
"I knew you could not behave. First day at Gusu and you're already causing trouble?! How far are you going to embarrass the Jiang Sect's name, Wei Wuxian?!" Yu Ziyuan snaps. She earned a glare from several people but she did not care.
"The audacity of breaking the rules.."
"He is so shameless."
Cultivators began to whisper in response to Yu Ziyuan's words. Jiang Wanyin was on the verge of yelling at his mother after noticing Wei Wuxian shrinking further into his husband's arms, while Yanli sighs, disappointed in her mother. Jiang Fengmian holds her arms tightly.
"San-niang, just please—"
Wen Qing, having enough of Yu Ziyuan's bullshits, she spoke sharply, "With all due respect Yu-furen, Wei Wuxian is a free-spirited person. He causes trouble because it is a way to express himself. He is untamed, and he will remain that way." All eyes turns to her. Some were surprised, while others were enraged. She then adds, "And he belongs to Lan Sect now as what Hanguang-jun had said. You are no longer required to be angry with him or to humiliate him. He will never bring your Sect's name into disrepute ever again."