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Chapter Text

At youshi, Lan Wangji, the Second Young Master of Gusu Lan clan and the youngest of the Twin Blades of Gusu, with his older brother Lan Xichen, would visit their bedridden mother, Lan-furen, after their shufu's, Lan Qiren, class of advanced cultivation. Lan Xichen would not join him; he is tasked to accompany their father and sect leader, Qingheng-Jun, to attain "some sect leader's duties" at the southern border territory. It was a small matter of a mischievous yao, but Qingheng-Jun had deemed the situation worthy of his attention. It would also be a good experience for Lan Xichen in his preparation to succeed him. After all, as the oldest sibling and the eldest son of a sect leader, Lan Xichen's birthright is to inherit his father's position as the clan's sect leader. And thus, Lan Xichen would have to stray away from their routine of visitation. Lan Wangji frowned. 

Lan Wangji quelled his disappointment and restrained himself for showing that it would be shameful if the second young master displayed an unpleasant expression on his face. Lan Xichen thought otherwise; Lan Xichen found it endearing to see his younger brother want his presence. Lan Wangji would fervently deny it if Lan Xichen mentioned it. Nevertheless, it put him in a good mood and offered Lan Wangji a present as compensation. 

"No need," Lan Wangji began, "It is forbidden to spend frivolously, xiongzhang." 

Lan Xichen smiled and said, "Perhaps so; however, I do not consider this matter as spending frivolously, Wangji." 

Lan Wangji observed him. He knew instantly that Lan Xichen would not let it go smoothly. Lan Xichen's smile indicated that Lan Wangji would lose the argument if he pressed on this matter. Lan Wangji's spirit soared from the challenge thrown at him. 

Lan Wangji argued, "I have neither need nor want for xiongzhang to purchase such a thing. Neither do I see its importance of compensation that xiongzhang offers." 

"Right as you may be that there's no such importance of said compensation, I humbly confessed. However, if I like to appropriately put it in some other form, compensation, in this case, is me giving a gift to you." Lan Xichen's smile widened from Lan Wangji's confused expression. He continued, "Offering a gift is an activity not violating our clan precepts of forbidding one to spend frivolously. I humbly argued that it is rather considered an activity to display one's affection to one's loved ones. Frivolousness is absent here, for how come it is frivolous to warrant one to spend for the people he loves and cares? Such categorization will violate our clan teachings of family, whereinto remain faithful and affectionate towards one's family members. Since giving presents is an act of one's display of affection towards family, it is therefore allowed, whether what degree of importance you liked to put it." 

Lan Wangji was silent. He could not think of an argument to counter Lan Xichen. Giving gifts is not forbidden in the Cloud Recesses – that fact is true. Still, it is prohibited if it's done excessively. Lan Wangji was sure that it fell under 'excessiveness' since he currently did not have anything he needed nor wanted. He did not wish for Lan Xichen to compensate for his absence since the said act was unwarranted. 

Lan Wangji stood up his opinion and said, "Xiongzhang is correct. Notwithstanding xiongzhang's reasoning, I still do not see the need to offer me a gift as compensation. It may not be excessive in xiongzhang's view; I find it otherwise. To reiterate, I have neither need nor want of such thing – to put it in some other form, absence of necessity and desire is present in this case. Thus, xiongzhang do not need to offer this humble one a gift or compensation as xiongzhang had put it." 

Silence had fallen between the Twin Jades. Lan Xichen was deeply in thought and would offer another perspective when Qingheng-Jun arrived. With a fond smile on his face, Qingheng-Jun greeted his sons, ruffling their hairs out of amusement. 

"Goodness!" Qingheng-Jun exclaimed, "You both sound like your shufu when he is arguing with me. Don't learn your shufu's mannerism, or else, you will give your A-Die and your A-Niang a scare." Qingheng-Jun lamented. 

Lan Xichen laughed, and Lan Wangji sighed. Witnessing his two sons' different reactions, Qingheng-Jun laughed as well. Lan Wangji watched the two men as if they have a shanxiao at their backs. 

Qingheng-Jun said, "Let your da-ge give you a gift, Wangji. It is only right when you let someone give you one out of their kindness to you. It will be cruel to reject Xichen's offer since your da-ge offered it out of his love for you." 

Lan Wangji sighed and defeatedly said, "Mn." 

Lan Xichen ruffled Lan Wangji's hair. Lan Wangji fixed his uneven forehead ribbon due to the two men's earlier actions. Qingheng-Jun announced that they have to leave so that they could go back a day earlier. Lan Wangji accompanied them to the gates before the two men hopped on their swords and flew towards the south. Lan Wangji was left, gazing at them until their silhouettes were a speck of dust in the vast blue skies. 

~~~

At Qingheng-Jun's desk in Hanshi, Lan Wangji worked on his calligraphy assignment. His mother, Lan-furen, is knitting one pale blue robe, which Lan Wangji assumed was his father's. 

Lan Wangji focused on his task. His calligraphy is exceptional for his age, albeit he admitted that it still lacked comparison with Lan Xichen’s. Lan Qiren had once commented that his grip on the brush was stern and steady. He had also said that if Lan Wangji earnestly practiced calligraphy, his handwriting would be excellent and beautiful to the eyes. With pride, he carefully writes on his paper the characters he was assigned. 

With each stroke of his brush, he intensely looked at his paper and precisely calculated: how much stress he needs to put; how each stroke must be written; and how much ink he put on each character. It may be tedious for some, but it was comforting for him. He felt incredibly at ease with every mechanical step he took, as the process he established is slowly guiding him towards his goal. One finished character, with accurate and clean strokes, incessantly hums with exquisiteness. And in tune, he quietly felt satisfied with himself yet remained controlled since excessiveness of sentiments is forbidden in the Cloud Recesses.

As he finishes the last character, he puts aside the filled paper next to the books he had bought with him. He put out a new sheet of paper from the table drawer, where his father usually put his stationery materials. After this, he laid it out cleanly and put the paperweights on each of its corners. He rubbed the inksticks at the stone for a fresh batch of ink. He picked up his brush and began to write again. 

For the characters he needed to write on the new sheet of paper, Lan Qiren has instructed him to write one character, which is ying - a character for a baby. He despised the said character. No matter how much he tried to write it accurately, his writing would not be consistent with the rest. Sometimes, the longer stroke on the bei would have too much ink or too thin. Nü’s horizontal stroke would be uneven. He tried to put wider spaces between the bei and nü; it wasn’t pretty to look at. He attempted to write the characters separately numerous times before putting it into one character of ying; the same outcome awaited him. He sighed. He seldom fought the urge to rip his paper apart out of frustration, but he didn’t. He soothed himself by thinking that the ying, true to its denotation, is a naughty baby. Like an infant, it did not want to obey. It has a mind of its own and possibly, desires as well. He knew that characters are not living beings since it is made of ink. But the way his relationship with this ying, it is proven to be false. 

He sighed again, but he is determined not to succumb in defeat to this ying. He would conquer it and write it without fault. He would not allow this ying anymore to wreak havoc on his calligraphy process. Regardless of this ying’s will, he would not listen to it. Instead, it must submit to him, for he was responsible for writing the said character. Without his hand, this ying would neither exist nor finish its form. It would listen to him, and perhaps, if it did, he would be able to write the perfect ying. The thought of it made him happy, and thus, he put his hand to work. 

On the sixth ying in the first line of the paper, he could see a slight improvement. His strokes were not too thin or too thick. The spaces between bei and nü are passable. The ink’s weight of each stroke is getting consistent. He hummed, and he continued to finish the task at hand. 

After the eighth ying in the second line of the paper, he sighed. He was ultimately proven wrong. He could not be on friendly terms with it. The previous mistakes glaringly blasted in front of him: some of his strokes were lacking; the gravity of the ink’s weight was unbalanced; the characters were sloppy. Still holding the brush, he clenched his fist. 

Ah!

Oh, how much he wanted to shout and to air out his frustration! He liked to complain. He wanted to cry on his mother’s lap. His brother would surely know how to handle this annoying ying. He sought his advice. His brother would also offer his companionship, and he, too, would like to have it now. His father would laugh at him first for how silly he was, but he would help him write it. His mother, sick as she may be, would nevertheless give him comfort by hugging him so tight that he would forget this ying altogether. Ah, how much he wanted to throw a tantrum! But the Cloud Recesses forbid it, so Lan Wangji was left with no choice but to endure it. He sighed again and mentally took note of how much he was groaning.

He was about to continue his task when he heard his mother giggled. 

Madam Lan said, “A-Zhan, why don’t you stop for a while? It seems like your eyes will burn the paper into crisp.” His mother lovingly remarked. 

Oh, how he wished he could do that. 

Lan Wangji responded, “I can’t, A-Niang. Wangji wanted to finish it today.” 

“Did your shufu tell you that it is due today?” 

“No. Shufu said Wangji could pass it the day after tomorrow.” 

“Then, you don’t have to finish it today. Take a rest, A-Zhan. And possibly, help me in knitting?” 

Madam Lan was saddened by his son’s rejection. Guilty, Lan Wangji tried to scrabble for words for explanation to his A-Niang. He wanted to finish his calligraphy assignment to pass it a day earlier and for convenience. If he did it quickly, he could spend more time with her after classes for the next few days, which meant he could accompany her more to fill his brother’s and his father’s absences due to sect duties. Lan Qiren would be pleased to find out that he had accomplished his assignment before due. Lan Qiren might lessen the lessons’ hours and the workload to give more time to be with her. 

These explanations may be enough to warrant his rejection, but he could not find his voice to say it. Embarrassment slowly crippled on his neck while saying it. He didn’t have the courage even though his reasons are sensible. Torn between his calligraphy assignment and his A-Niang’s gloomy face, he softly sighed. 

He outstretched his arms and placed his hands horizontally, where the back of his hands faced towards the front, met precisely at the center point of his chest. His right hand over his left hand, forming the salute that Lan Qiren taught him. 

He slightly bowed his head and said, “A-Niang, Wangji is wrong. If A-Niang permits this humble one to join her, this humble one will gladly assist A-Niang on her activities.” 

She smiled. She put aside the robe she was knitting and patted a space beside her, inviting Lan Wangji to sit. Lan Wangji obliged. When he settled in, she held his right hand and caressed its back. 

Lan Wangji always liked being close with his A-Niang. He could smell the gentian perfume that A-Die gifted her on her birthday. Her presence, as he described it, was warm and jolly. He could hear her steady breathing, which he found relief; when her illness struck, her breathing would be labored and accompanied by a fit of violent coughing; blood frequently would drip from her mother’s mouth because of it. Her hands were warm yet soft. Her fingers were slim. Every time he looked at her, her bright smile would welcome him. 

For a moment, he forgot his squabbling with ying. 

“A-Niang, how are you feeling today?” 

 “I’m fine, A-Zhan. Thank you for asking.” 

She gave him another smile. 

Lan Wangji found his mother’s smile was similar to his brother’s. While his mother’s smile could be described as an early summer morning, his brother’s likewise full of warmth, but it could contain various meanings, which depended on the situation. His brother would keep smiling albeit he often noticed that it was devoid of the usual warmth of sunlight peaking at the first instance of a new morning. For instance, his smile would have a trace of amusement and sardonic when they caught disciples sneaking out on their night patrol. His A-Die and Lan Qiren’s meeting with a minor clan at the far east, which he was allowed to observe along with his brother, brought certain gifts for the clan; his brother’s smile was distant and cold as if he was forced. When younger disciples flocked to his brother, fondness could be seen. Often, he found himself silly for being jealous that he was sharing his brother’s genuine smile with the others. As long as he remembered, his brother was always smiling. It was rare not to see it. No matter what happened or whatever he was feeling, he always flashed that smile. 

His thoughts were interrupted when his mother giggled.

“What is it, A-Niang?” 

“It seems like you are already missing your brother, A-Zhan.” Madam Lan teased.

“I’m not.” 

“Is that so? Then how come I caught you doing that expression whenever you missed A-Huan?” 

“What expression? ” 

“That.” She teasingly laughed. Bewildered, he was sure that his expression was neutral. He didn’t feel that his mouth curved or any physical changes in his facial expression. He stared at her, fussing about what to say. 

 “Oh, A-Zhan. Why is my son so cute?” 

Lan Wangji felt his ears hot. Embarrassed from the sudden compliment, he looked away and softly muttered, “Ridiculous,” which earned him his mother’s laughs. 

Suddenly, her laughs had turned into fits of violent coughs. Alarmed, Lan Wangji turned to her and patted her back to soothe while calling her the way his A-Die taught him. When the coughing didn't stop, he knew that blood would soon come. Thus, without any moment to waste, he left his A-Niang to call for Lan Qiren.

Lan Wangji ran as fast as he could towards the Library Pavillion, where Lan Qiren mostly stayed after their class. When he had reached the Library’s doors, Lan Qiren suddenly opened it, making Lan Wangji throw off his balance. Puzzled by his nephew’s restless behavior, he was about to ask what’s wrong when Lan Wangji cut him off. 

“Shufu, A-Niang is!” Lan Wangji exclaimed. 

Lan Qiren paled. Without a moment to waste, Lan Qiren ordered Lan Wangji to call Physician Xiao. Lan Wangji nodded; he ran to the physician’s quarter, never looking back as Lan Qiren ran in the opposite direction towards Hanshi. 

~~~

To whom these cries be heard, 

To which these pleas be granted, 

To when these flowers be bloomed, 

To where these hands be held, 

Far into what it may bring, 

My life, I shall spend with yours. 

Lan Wangji put down the poems he was reading at the table and watched his A-Niang sleeping on the bed. He had written a letter addressed to Qingheng-Jun and Lan Xichen to inform them about the earlier situation. After a few days passed, he had received a reply, saying that they would be home soon, the day after tomorrow. Relieved, he sighed. 

He watched her breathe; clenching his fist, he had wished that he could do something for her. He wasn’t adept in the art of medicine, let alone have the scientific knowledge of medical cultivation. He knew that if his mother cultivated, her illness would be cured; she would also be a normal healthy adult. But alas, fate is unfair to his A-Niang, and thus, she was given a body that could not cultivate and could not protect itself from ailments. If he could only give his A-Niang a healthy body, he would do everything he can to acquire it for her. 

He brewed himself another fresh batch of tea. He set aside the plate of almond cookies he had brought for his A-Niang. He was about to reread his poems when the door opened. To Lan Wangji’s surprise, Lan Xichen entered. Lan Xichen nodded at Lan Wangji; Lan Wangji nodded back – a gentle gesture of acknowledging each other’s presence not to disturb their resting mother. Lan Wangji watched his brother knelt beside the bed, solemnly looking at her. Lan Wangji stayed silent, quietly brewing another cup of hot tea for his brother. 

Lan Xichen moved to the table to join Lan Wangji in his afternoon tea. Lan Xichen sat at the cushion, placing him in front of Lan Wangji, as Lan Wangji set the hot tea in front of him. Lan Xichen drank a sip from it and stayed silent. Lan Wangji, as well, did not say anything. The silence between the siblings was neither filled with tension nor apprehension, despite their situation. Instead, the shared tranquility was soothing and familiar – no words were needed to admit the shared pain and fear. Lan Wangji knew that Lan Xichen was feeling guilty, leaving him alone to tend to their sickly mother; Lan Wangji tried to quell that guilt by offering Lan Xichen the almond cookies he had set aside for her. Lan Xichen smiled; he was about to refuse the offer, but Lan Wangji insisted.

Lan Wangji said,  “We have plenty.” 

Lan Xichen took a cookie before he sipped from his cup. Lan Xichen’s shoulders relaxed; Lan Wangji refilled his cup. 

“Wangji, there’s something we need to discuss.” Lan Xichen said. Lan Xichen smiled; Lan Wangji sighed. Whatever that something they were going to discuss, Lan Wangji knew that it might be something good as his brother’s smile was an indication of it. 

Lan Wangji waited for his brother to continue when Qingheng-Jun suddenly entered the room. The siblings immediately stood up and greeted their father. Qingheng-Jun smiled and nodded, an acknowledgment of their greetings. Qingheng-Jun went to bed and carefully sat at the space where he could sit without disturbing his beloved’s rest. They watched their father caress their mother’s cheek; he placed her hand in between his hands to alleviate the pain she was feeling. They quietly stood, afraid of disturbing their father’s attention to their mother. 

Lan Xichen tugged Lan Wangji’s sleeves, signaling that they needed to leave. Lan Xichen quietly walked towards the door and left; Lan Wangji followed suit. They both walked towards the pavilion, across from the Hanshi. Lan Xichen turned towards Lan Wangji; he continued where they had left off. 

“As I said earlier, there is something we need to discuss.” Lan Xichen began, “A-Die and I stumbled upon a young cultivator when we were attending to sect duties.” 

Lan Xichen examined his brother’s expression and then said, “The young cultivator belonged to the Yunmeng Jiang clan. I believed Wangji knew them, don’t you?” 

Lan Wangji nodded. Whoever did not hear of the Yunmeng Jiang clan must be living in a rock. The said clan was notorious for their “carefree” approach in cultivation. They didn’t have any strict regime towards cultivation training, but their young cultivators were unmistakably exceptional. Their clan’s motto, "Attempt the Impossible'', imbued courage and resilience to their cultivators. Their clan is notorious for embracing people from all walks of life, even the poor and homeless, to train them as cultivators. Yunmeng Jiang Clan is quite the opposite of the Gusu Lan Clan, which favored placidity and stability from their established rules that existed for generations.

Aside from that, their xishiong is particularly an infamous person, or so Lan Wangji had heard from the rumors. Lan Wangji was not a person who entertained baseless rumors, but he could not help to be curious about that xishiong. People told stories about this xishiong where one time, that person bravely saved a young girl from a collapsing building, injuring himself in the process; that he had also helped the elders in carrying their heavy bags; that he had voluntarily taught non-cultivation children in reading Five Precepts; and that his juniors greatly loved and admired him. There were also stories that he was a strong drinker and a good flirt. He is also mischievous and a trouble-maker. Based on what he had heard, Lan Wangji hypothesized that xishiong may have been a good person. He could not conclude that person's personality since Lan Wangji had not met him, and thus, he could only assume. 

Lan Xichen said, “Wangji?” 

Lan Wangji responded,  “Mn.” 

Lan Xichen looked at him for a few seconds before he went on, “As I said before, the young master is from the Yunmeng Jiang clan. I don’t know how but father instantly knew that he belonged to the Jiang clan when he was wearing a black and red set of robes.” 

The Twin Jades stopped in front of the pavilion, facing the garden of gentians. Lan Wangji caught sight of the said young cultivator’s back, looking at the pond. The cultivator’s red ribbon fluttered through the wind as if inviting Lan Wangji to accompany him. Lan Xichen tugged Lan Wangji’s sleeves, calling for Lan Wangji to pay attention. As if being caught red-handed, Lan Wangji cleared his throat and nodded at Lan Xichen to continue. 

Lan Xichen, “There is a great distance between Yunmeng and Gusu, let alone, traveling to the utmost southern part of our territory. We don’t know what and why he was there. A-Die said that it was best not to pry if he didn’t want to say his reasons, but father attested that the young master  is a good person.” 

Lan Wangji gave him a look. Lan Xichen simply smiled. 

Lan Xichen continued, “The young master actually helped us in finishing our duties there. That’s why we returned a day earlier than scheduled. A-Die took a liking to the young master, and I can’t deny that he grew on me, especially when he is adept in cultivation for his age and his personality likewise is commendable. He’s also good with children since he mostly dealt with them so they wouldn’t bother us in our tasks, which we are grateful for.” 

They silently entered the pavilion, carefully not to disturb the young cultivator engrossed with bothering the koi in the pond. Lan Wangji observed the young cultivator while he listened to Lan Xichen. 

Lan Xichen, “One night, we invited him to dinner. At first, he was hesitant, but he accepted it after father insisted.” Lan Xichen snickered, “We brought him wine since we learned that he liked to drink.” 

Lan Xichen fell silent. Lan Wangji immediately looked at Lan Xichen, alarmed at the sudden change of mood. No trace of earlier cheerfulness was seen in Lan Xichen’s face, and Lan Wangji knew its meaning. 

Lan Xichen, “The young master was definitely in a good mood after he had drunk three jars of wine. A-Die asked a seemingly harmless question at first, but it proved to be otherwise when the young master looked like he was cornered. Of course, A-Die apologized, but the young master assured him that it was alright since A-Die did not mean any harm.” 

The young master’s ribbon swayed when the gust of wind blew. Lan Wangji could smell the scent of the gentians as the wind scattered its petals. The young master, seemingly bored in bothering the koi, had suddenly turned his back, facing the Twin Jades. Surprised by them, the young master shouted and almost fell into the pond when he managed to grip his flying sword, steadying him at his place. The Twin Jades rushed to the young master, checking if he had sustained injuries that needed to be attended to. Lan Xichen offered his sincere apologies to the young master for their impoliteness since they had not introduced themselves when they first got there. The young master laughed. 

The young master said, “No need to apologize, Lan-gongzi! I’m also at fault. I did sense your presence, but I got distracted by your beautiful koi in your pond.” 

Lan Xichen laughed. 

The young master and Lan Wangji nodded at each other;  Lan Xichen smiled to himself. 

Lan Xichen said, “Wei-gongzi, this is my younger brother, Lan Wangji.” 

Lan Wangji politely offered his gesture of greeting and said, “Courtesy name, Lan Wangji. Birth name, Lan Zhan.” 

Wei Wuxian returned the gesture and smiled, “Courtesy name, Wei Wuxian. Birth name, Wei Ying. Nice to meet you, Lan-ergongzi.” 

 “The pleasure is all mine.” 

Lan Xichen went ahead to the pavilion, and the two men followed. When they settled down, Lan Xichen initiated a small talk with Wei Wuxian, and Lan Wangji watched. Lan Xichen commented on the koi, telling a story on how their ancestor and founder of the clan, Lan An, had built the koi pond and gentian garden as gifts to his wife. Each generation of the main family had taken care of it and treated it as an heirloom. Since the pond and the garden have significant value in their clan’s history, it fell into the sect leader’s family’s hands to take care of it. Wei Wuxian expressed his admiration by saying that today’s koi and gentians were the offspring of the previous generation; the Twin Jades agreed at that comment. 

The skies were painted orange; the sun is about to set. Dinner would be soon, and thus, Lan Xichen would like for them to rest for a while before dinner, which the two concurred. Lan Xichen had asked Wei Wuxian if he could give them a moment since he needed to talk to his younger brother. Wei Wuxian nodded and went back to the pond to gaze at the koi.

Lan Xichen whispered, “Wangji, we learned that Wei-gongzi ‘left’ the Yunmeng Jiang clan. We don’t know the details, but we decided not to inquire since we might step over the boundaries.” 

Lan Wangji remained silent.

Lan Xichen continued, “We can conclude that he might be traveling after he had left the Jiang clan and coincidentally met us when we were there. A-Die had decided to take him in as an important guest of the Gusu Lan clan.” 

Lan Wangji asked, “Did shufu agree?”

Lan Xichen shook his head and said, “I don’t know yet. A-Die had not talked to him. We went right away to visit A-Niang after we arrived. However, there is something more important to tell which requires your permission.” 

Lan Xichen beamed his signature smile. Despite not uttering a sound, Lan Wangji’s silence could be taken as if he had resigned to his fate. Lan Wangji stared at Wei Wuxian, who was giggling and bothering the koi again. 

Lan Xichen took it as a sign and cheerfully continued, “A-Die will like to ask you if Wei-gongzi can live with you at the Jingshi. You are the same age as him, so we think Wei-gongzi can be your friend and roommate, with your permission, of course.” 

Lan Wangji deadpanned, “The Cloud Recesses can accommodate a guest.” 

Lan Xichen laughed, “It is, didi. But Wei-gongzi is an ‘important guest’ of the main family. A-Die believes that you can take good care of him; it will also be a good opportunity to gain a friend of your age. Wei-gongzi also consented to this.” 

Lan Wangji knew where his xiongzhang was coming from; it was a good intention. But he was satisfied to be alone and not have friends of his age. He had Lan Xichen if he needed a company closer to his age if he liked. His A-Niang was also a good company; he loved every moment he shared with her. His A-Die too, despite sometimes his A-Die’s playfulness could be too much for him; likewise with his shufu as well. 

Wei Wuxian laughed, amused at something the Twin Jades could not see. Lan Xichen nudged Lan Wangji’s shoulder, prompting him to accept the arrangement. Wei Wuxian laughed again, and this time, the Twin Jades could see Wei Wuxian’s index finger circling above the pond, making fun of the koi. Lan Xichen chuckled at the scene; Lan Wangji was quiet. 

Lan Wangji resigned, “Very well.” 

Lan Wangji walked towards Wei Wuxian, leaving Lan Xichen at the pavilion. Lan Wangji called Wei Wuxian to escort him to Jingshi. Still laughing, Wei Wuxian turned to look at Lan Wangji. A sudden gust of wind blew, making the gentian petals flew all over the place. Lan Wangji did not utter a word as he watched Wei Wuxian smiling with the flower petals fluttering in his view. 

Wei Wuxian worriedly asked, “Lan-ergongzi?” 

Lan Wangji cleared his throat, “Wei-gongzi, I’ll escort you to the Jingshi.” 

Lan Wangji stumbled upon his feet when Wei Wuxian shouted, “Lead the way, husband!” 

Lan Wangji furiously turned his back to look at Wei Wuxian, who was laughing loudly. Lan Xichen’s laughter could be heard as well. 

“Ridiculous.” Lan Wangji uttered before he angrily walked towards the Jingshi, leaving the two behind convulsed with laughter. Lan Wangji knew that he would regret every waking chance of his life that he had agreed to live with Wei Wuxian at the Jingshi.

Chapter Text

Wei Wuxian was indeed such a character. He was a loud and carefree person, a troublemaker, and a heavy drinker. He slept almost everywhere - from the Jingshi's roof, the Library Pavilion to any random tree in the Cloud Recesses. He cared a little about the rules and proper decorum, but he knew how to be polite and obedient if a situation called for it. He has wild and extreme ideas on cultivation. Lan Qiren had angrily reprimanded that he was defying the natural order. 

The elders complained about Wei Wuxian's antics. They lamented how he was setting a bad example for his juniors as a senior disciple. Qingheng-Jun was aware of the elders' turmoil, especially Lan Qiren's. Still, he dismissed their grievances, saying, "Ah, let A-Xian do whatever he wants! That boy is a breath of fresh air for this stuffling place!", which made them even more furious. As their last attempt to salvage the Cloud Recesses crisis, Lan Qiren went to Hanshi to talk to his sister-in-law, Lan-furen, to 'hit some common sense' Qingheng-Jun. However, Lan-furen likewise had the same opinion as her husband's, saying that, "Ying-er is an energetic and vibrant child." with a smile on her face. Lan Xichen also held the same opinion. Ever since Wei Wuxian started living in the Cloud Recesses, the peace they once enjoyed became a pipe dream.

Unlike the other three, Lan Wangji concurred with the elders and Lan Qiren. Learning about this, Lan Qiren exceedingly thanked the heavens for having one sane person in the main family. Thus, it fell into Lan Wangji's hands to 'reform' Wei Wuxian to the Lan percepts. It only lasted three months before Lan Wangji yielded. 

Amused, Lan Xichen said, "Wuxian is a formidable enemy." 

Lan Wangji annoyingly replied, "There are things that needed to be readdressed." 

Lan Xichen knew that Lan Wangji would not easily yield any challenges thrown at him; whatever the cost, Lan Wangji always produced perfect results. But Lan Xichen also saw that this was one thing Lan Wangji could not accomplish. Even more so if Lan Wangji persistently tried to 'reform' Wei Wuxian in their usual way. Thus, Lan Xichen teasingly said, "Wuxian will remain the victor." Hearing this, Lan Wangji angrily groaned and left Lan Xichen alone at the Library Pavilion. 

The cold breeze brushed Lan Wangji's sleeves as he went back to the Jingshi after he had dinner with the family. As if it's the only emotion he could feel for the past few days, displeasure was all he thought as Wei Wuxian remained absent at dinner. Lan-furen had inquired of Lan Wangji about Wei Wuxian's absence at the first few instances; Lan Wangji had failed to provide an answer since he was also not sure where Wei Wuxian was. Lan Wangji apologized for his inadequacy, which she reassured him that it was not his fault. 

Qingheng-Jun quietly placed down his chopsticks and said, "Let him be for a while. He might be trying to adjust to his new surroundings. Wangji, assist him if you think he needs it." 

Lan Wangji responded, "Mn." 

Lan Wangji did try to assist Wei Wuxian, but Wei Wuxian was always nowhere to be found. The only time when Lan Wangji could catch sight of Wei Wuxian was the time he woke up at maoshi; Wei Wuxian sleeping at his bed, directly across from the opposite side of the Jingshi. Lan Wangji had tried waking Wei Wuxian up after the maoshi bell, but Wei Wuxian would not even stir until it's weishi. Lan Wangji sought after Lan Xichen's advice; however, in Lan Wangji's dismay, his brother showed leniency like their parents. 

Aside from that, they were always at odds with one another. Lan Wangji would be tick off in every Wei Wuxian's moves that were contrary to the Lan percepts, which was most of the time they've spent with one another; Wei Wuxian would react coldly and run away from their conversation by jumping through the windows to the roofs or latching to a young cultivator, excusing himself that he would guide this junior in his cultivation studies, leaving Lan Wangji left a bad taste in his mouth. 

Lan Wangji opened the door of the Jingshi and was surprised to see Wei Wuxian, sitting beside the window and drinking Emperor's Smile, a Gusu specialty liquor. Lan Wangji frowned. 

Wei Wuxian noticed Lan Wangji and cheerly welcomed him, "Lan Zhan, welcome back!" 

Wei Wuxian drank from the jar again and wiped the alcohol dripping from his mouth with his sleeves. Lan Wangji sighed and walked towards Wei Wuxian. Sensing what Lan Wangji was about to do, Wei Wuxian hid the jar at his back. 

Lan Wangji reprimanded, "Wei Ying." 

"Ah, Lan Zhan! You're going to take my Emperor's Smile away from me. Let me have just one jar tonight, huh? You've been taking away my stash for the past months so let me just have one, okay? I know you don't drink since you're so stringent in following your clan rules. At least, show some leniency to this guest disciple." Wei Wuxian said as he drank from the jar. 

Lan Wangji stood firm, "Alcohol is forbidden in Cloud Recesses." Lan Wangji quickly grabbed the jar from Wei Wuxian's hands, but he failed as Wei Wuxian swiftly dodged it. Lan Wangji tried again; Wei Wuxian successfully evaded it again. They were stuck in this exchange: Lan Wangji irritatingly would try to get the jar, and Wei Wuxian simply dodged with a smug smile on his face. Lan Wangji knew that they would keep doing this until one conceded, but neither did every time they found themselves in the liquor squabble. Wei Wuxian was stubborn, so did Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian was a good rule-breaker; Lan Wangji was the opposite; thus, every fiber in his body was screaming for order and punishment. 

Lan Wangji suddenly stood still, yet his eyes were focused on Wei Wuxian and the jar. Wei Wuxian's playful smile turned into a cautious one. With one swift movement, Bichen, Lan Wangji's spiritual sword, flew from its stand towards Wei Wuxian, targeting the jar from his hand. Shocked by Lan Wangji's sudden hostility, Wei Wuxian managed to dodge it before it completely broke the jar into half. However, a crack was heard as Bichen returned to its master.

"Ah, Lan Zhan!" As Wei Wuxian yelled, the wine spilled to the ground. Lan Wangji was relieved, but it was soon shattered when the liquor suddenly turned into ashes. It only took a few seconds for Lan Wangji to understand what happened; he clenched his fist, suppressing the ugly emotion that would soon overwhelm him. 

Wei Wuxian couldn't help himself but laugh as the scene in front of him was too funny. The callous Lan-ergongzi was fuming; his face had turned into a shade of red. Wei Wuxian couldn't believe that he would be able to see this side of Lan Wangji. For the past few months of sharing a room, Lan Wangji's face remained devoid of emotion. Even in his scoldings, his face was passive, as if he had distanced himself from reality. The only time Wei Wuxian saw a hint of expression in Lan Wangji's face was when he accidentally witnessed Lan Wangji's smile at the Koi Garden with Lan-furen. Captivated by what he saw, he took it as a challenge to see what other expressions Lan Wangji could muster. And so, he caused trouble more than usual. He had annoyed Lan Wangji to the extent that a certain young master of the Jiang Clan would push him out of annoyance, but Lan Wangji showed none. Lan Wangji still scolded him every time he broke the rules, yet Wei Wuxian couldn't find what he sought. Thus, he resorted to this - a prank: an illusory talisman of an Emperor's smile that if it broke, it would turn into ashes. The joke was successful as Wei Wuxian watched an angered Lan Wangji holding Bichen tightly. 

"Lan Zhan, don't be so angry! It's only a childish prank." Wei Wuxian smiled as he folded his arms behind his head. 

Lan Wangji gritted, "Wei Ying." With Bichen in hand, Lan Wangji lunged towards Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian called his spiritual sword, Suibian, and unsheathed it. The two swords clashed. 

Wei Wuxian alarmed, "Lan Zhan! Calm down. It's only a prank." From that moment, Wei Wuxian knew that he had overstepped the mark. 

Lan Wangji continued his attack, directing Bichen in a series of furious slashes. Wei Wuxian parried with difficulty as each Lan Wangji's blow has an inhuman force. Lan Wangji ducked below Wei Wuxian's attack and slashed upwards in retaliation. Wei Wuxian stumbled upon his feet but quickly regained his composure to distance himself from Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian admitted that albeit he was equally strong as Lan Wangji in swordsmanship, he had difficulty in evading Lan Wangji as Lan Wangji quickly predicted where his hits would be going. Lan Wangji was quick, to Wei Wuxian's surprise; he knew Lan Wangji was more of a strength-type swordsman rather than an agility-type like himself. Wei Wuxian was aware that if he tried to run past Lan Wangji, Lan Wangji could easily catch him by the waist, and he wouldn't be able to free himself because of Lan Wangji's monstrous grip. Added that to his reflexes and the limited space they have, Lan Wangji had an advantage over Wei Wuxian. 

Lan Wangji continued his attacks while Wei Wuxian was stuck in defense. Wei Wuxian could not do anything since Lan Wangji was cornering him towards his bed. Wei Wuxian could try to evade, but he would hit the ceramic vases Lan Wangji treasured. He deflected each blow and looked for an opening where he could switch their positions.

Lan Wangji directed a blow towards Wei Wuxian's left rib cage. Suibian stopped Bichen midway and pushed him to the ground. Wei Wuxian sidestepped to the left to give himself a space to maneuver before he launched himself towards Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji easily met Wei Wuxian's frontal blow as he swung Bichen to the right, using the blade's spine, hitting Wei Wuxian's left side. Wei Wuxian stumbled but quickly recovered as Lan Wangji prepared to strike again. 

Wei Wuxian shouted, "Lan Zhan!" 

Wei Wuxian held Suibian down, showing that he had no more intention to fight. However, Lan Wangji, silently enraged, ordered Bichen to attack Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian likewise ordered Suibian in defense. The swords clashed in the air. The two swords danced as if one resembled a furious white dragon using its mighty claws and tail to strike, while the other a nimble red-ribbon fox demon matching the dragon's attacks. 

"Lan Zhan!" Wei Wuxian began, "Let's stop this! Fighting is forbidden in the Cloud Recesses, isn't it? We should stop before Qingheng-Jun and Xichen-ge catch us! You don't want to be punished for this, don't you? So, let's stop." 

Bichen flew back to his master. Lan Wangji held Bichen tightly and aimed the blade at Wei Wuxian and said, "Silence." 

Wei Wuxian cried, "Lan Zhan!" 

Lan Wangji lunged his sword to Wei Wuxian; Wei Wuxian blocked it and tried to pin Bichen down to the ground. It was a futile attempt as Lan Wangji easily swatted it. Lan Wangji remained to be unmerciful in his attacks; he continued attacking Wei Wuxian at the side, forcing Wei Wuxian to spend his energy evading while simultaneously blocking the succeeding attacks from the other side. Left with no choice, Wei Wuxian threw a talisman in the air and produced a fire, good enough to make Lan Wangji step back for a good few steps and careful not to burn anything in the Jingshi. 

Wei Wuxian tried to pacify the angry Lan Wangji and said, "I'm sorry! I won't do that again. I will stop playing pranks on you, so let's stop this, okay? I don't want to fight you anymore. So please, let's be reasonable." 

Lan Wangji stopped his attacks; in disbelief, he said, “Reasonable?” 

Wei Wuxian begged, “Yes, please. Lan Zhan, I’m sorry. I know you hate me, and I’ll stop bothering you. I’ll make sure you will never see me again, so let’s stop this, please.” 

Lan Wangji put Bichen down; Bichen flew back to its swordstand. Wei Wuxian sighed and sheathed Suibian back to its scabbard. Wei Wuxian was about to say something when he was caught off guard from Lan Wangji suddenly pounced himself to him. Wei Wuxian managed to dodge Lan Wangji. 

Flabbergasted, Wei Wuxian said, “Lan Zhan! I thought we’re done fighting.” 

Lan Wangji ignored him and swiftly punched Wei Wuxian in the stomach. Wei Wuxian staggered from the blow. 

Wei Wuxian snapped, “If you want to continue fighting, then let’s fight. I’m done with you!” 

Lan Wangji spat, “Who is done with who?” 

Wei Wuxian threw a punch at the left side of Lan Wangji’s face; Lan Wangji caught Wei Wuxian’s arm before it landed and pulled him towards him. Wei Wuxian kicked Lan Wangji’s right heel, making Lan Wangji release his grip from his arm. Wei Wuxian took a few steps back before he charged again, aiming at Lan Wangji’s stomach. Lan Wangji found his balance and was able to defend himself from Wei Wuxian’s blow. Lan Wangji caught Wei Wuxian’s arm again, pushing Wei Wuxian to the ground by placing all his weight. Wei Wuxian fell; Lan Wangji seized the opportunity, pinning Wei Wuxian down at his waist with his strong grip. Lan Wangji removed his forehead ribbon and tied Wei Wuxian’s hands. 

Wei Wuxian struggled, “Let go!” 

Wei Wuxian tried to sit up or kick Lan Wangji, but Lan Wangji’s hold made him immovable. Lan Wangji moved, shifting himself to a comfortable position where he could see Wei Wuxian clearly beneath him. Lan Wangji clenched Wei Wuxian’s waist tightly. 

Wei Wuxian frowned, “What are you doing, Lan Zhan? Let me go.” 

Lan Wangji impassively responded, “No.” 

They silently stared at each other. Lan Wangji quietly observed Wei Wuxian’s face, carefully absorbing every detail he could gather. It was a rare opportunity to see Wei Wuxian like this since they barely spent a few good minutes without bickering. Unable to see what he had wanted, Lan Wangji frowned. 

Wei Wuxian, insulted by Lan Wangji’s expression, angrily said, “What now? You don’t like my face? Is my face that ugly to you?” 

Lan Wangji sighed and weakly said, “No.” 

Wei Wuxian irritated, “Then what? Lan Zhan, move if you’re this difficult.” 

“No.” 

“Lan Zhan!”

“I will not move.” 

Wei Wuxian sighed and tried to move again when Lan Wangji’s hand pushed him down back to the floor. Lan Wangji scrambled for words as he did not think it through on what to do next after he had pinned Wei Wuxian down. Lan Wangji did not plan to end up this way, but the anger overtook his senses for him to be able to think rationally. He admitted to himself that he had reacted quite terribly to Wei Wuxian’s prank, but he had reached the end of his patience. Moreover, he did not know what to say. Perhaps, he could ask Wei Wuxian where Wei Wuxian usually went to or if Wei Wuxian could join them for dinner as Lan-furen’s request. 

Lan Wangji was about to say something when Wei Wuxian suddenly headbutted him; Lan Wangji toppled. Wei Wuxian was able to move away from Lan Wangji’s grip, but Lan Wangji pulled him back by his ankle, returning Wei Wuxian under Lan Wangji. 

Lan Wangji said, “Wei Ying.” 

Wei Wuxian was about to try it again when the Jingshi’s door opened. Lan Xichen and Qingheng-Jun looked at them disappointed. 

Qingheng-Jun said, “Wangji.” 

Silence fell at the Jingshi. Lan Wangji stood up and tried to help Wei Wuxian; Wei Wuxian refused his help. Lan Wangji watched him as Lan Xichen, who had come over to them, aided him in a sitting position and loosen the forehead ribbon tied at his hands. Lan Xichen returned the forehead ribbon to Lan Wangji; Lan Wangji clenched it to his fist. 

Qingheng-Jun looked at Lan Wangji and ordered, “Wangji, meditate at the Cold Springs.” And to Wei Wuxian, “Wei Ying, follow Xichen to see Physician Xiao.” 

The two men nodded. After a few minutes of suffocating silence, Qingheng-Jun left. Lan Xichen looked at Lan Wangji before he led Wei Wuxian to the physician’s quarters. Wei Wuxian followed suit, leaving Lan Wangji alone at the Jingshi. 

~~~

The Cold Springs was a place for Lan cultivators to meditate and to heal their wounds. It was also Lan Wangji's favorite place to meditate as the water's coldness helped to relax his muscles after a day of training, and every time Lan Wangji went to this place, it was for the purpose of cultivation. But this time, it was different; his A-Die had ordered him to go here to meditate, and it was clear that his intention was for Lan Wangji to cool his head. He also knew that he would receive his punishment for breaking the rules after he had calmed himself down at the springs. The punishment perhaps would be a copying of the Virtue for a month or seclusion if his A-Die and the elders would see to it appropriately. 

As for Wei Wuxian, Wei Wuxian might be at risk of leaving the clan. The elders had disapproved of Wei Wuxian from the beginning, and they might have used this opportunity to convince Qingheng-Jun to kick Wei Wuxian out of the clan. Lan Qiren had the same opinion as the elders, but Lan Wangji was unsure if Lan Qiren would approve of it since, as far as Lan Wangji could tell, Lan Qiren did not exactly hate Wei Wuxian, but rather perplexed on how to handle him. And thus, he had volunteered to 'reform' Wei Wuxian to the Lan precepts. Ironically, he had broken the same rules he was supposed to teach. If Wei Wuxian's punishment were expulsion from the clan, he would try to negotiate for a different punishment on Wei Wuxian's behalf. Lan Wangji sighed, losing words on what his next course of action would be when they would see each other again if Wei Wuxian allowed him to. 

Bare-chested, Lan Wangji moved to the center of Cold Springs. He took a deep breath and exhaled, forming a cloud of smoke. Normally, he would go straight into meditation; however, his current situation with Wei Wuxian was clouding his mind. A few months had passed since Lan Xichen had formally introduced themselves to each other, and the 'roommate' arrangement that Lan Xichen and Qingheng-Jun fervently recommended, or so as they put it. 

In the first few weeks, things were awkward between them since they haven't interacted on their own without having Lan Xichen initiating a conversation for them to at least talk to one another. Wei Wuxian is a good conversationalist while Lan Wangji was the opposite; thus, Lan Wangji found himself offering small comments or simply responding to 'Mn' to assert either his opinion or his concurrence in their conversation. Wei Wuxian is a good roommate; he respected Lan Wangji's boundaries and understood that this was Lan Wangji's first time sharing his room with an outsider. Wei Wuxian kept his space clean; he made sure his dirty robes had been properly put in the laundry basket. His books and papers were always scattered in his area. Lan Wangji had tried to organize them, but Wei Wuxian had stopped him, saying that his thinking would be disrupted if Lan Wangji had 'disturbed his precious babies in their rest,' which made Lan Wangji confused. 

The first time they argued was when Lan Wangji had caught him sneaking and drinking alcohol when Lan Wangji got back from the family dinner. Lan Wangji had ignored it at first and reminded him that alcohol was forbidden. Wei Wuxian nodded, stopped drinking, and went outside through the window. Lan Wangji had suspected that Wei Wuxian had gone away to drink his liquor in peace. In the second instance, Lan Wangji tried to get it from Wei Wuxian's hand, but he was unable to when Wei Wuxian swiftly evaded him. Wei Wuxian cheerfully laughed it off before he left through the window again. Their fight got worse when Lan Wangji discovered Wei Wuxian's secret stash of Emperor's Smile, hidden beneath the floorboards. Lan Wangji had confiscated it entirely; he returned the unopened jars back to the vendors without accepting any refunds while he threw the remaining liquor from the drunk jars behind the Jingshi. Wei Wuxian was furious when he had learned about this; as a result, he ignored Lan Wangji and rarely came back before Lan Wangji slept at haishi. Since then, there's stifling tension between them. 

Aside from their liquor squabble, they often had disagreements on certain topics, such as how to handle a yao in a particular situation or the use of resentful energy in handling ghosts. They have different approaches which contradicted one another; Lan Wangji played by the book, and Wei Wuxian prioritized efficiency and resourcefulness, which oftentimes required taking risks. And the one thing they could not see each other eye to eye was about resentful energy. Lan Wangji appreciated Wei Wuxian in sharing his wild ideas with him, but Lan Wangji could not turn a blind eye when he perfectly knew that some of Wei Wuxian's ideas went against the natural order. 

In cultivation classes and training, Lan Wangji had an opportunity to witness Wei Wuxian's skills. Wei Wuxian was an exceptional cultivator of his age. Wei Wuxian's swordsmanship was the Jiang clan's style; Lan Qiren had suggested for Wei Wuxian to switch to Lan clan's style that could be described as 'firm', but Wei Wuxian respectfully declined, saying that his swordsmanship style suited him which focused on agility and quick reflexes. Qingheng-Jun supported Wei Wuxian's decision, silencing any opposition from the Lan elders. 

Wei Wuxian had also possessed great intellect as he demonstrated great knowledge in talismans, ghosts, beasts, devils, demons, and gods. He was also well-versed in the Six Arts, which earned him a recognition of a modeled student. He's also clever and astute as he built himself a reputation as an inventor from his series of successful and failed creations in the Lan Clan; Lan Qiren approved and amazed by this skill and lamented if only Wei Wuxian was a 'little bit proper' in his behavior, he would be no doubt a perfect student that any clan could ask for. 

Lan Wangji had never felt any jealousy against Wei Wuxian's skills. Instead, he saw Wei Wuxian as an equal and perhaps, a good learning partner in honing their cultivation. He seldom caught Wei Wuxian teaching the other Lan disciples in their studies, especially in archery, which was the disciples' common weakness. After a few months of Wei Wuxian's tutelage, the disciples' archery skills had greatly improved. Wei Wuxian earned praise from Lan Qiren; Lan Qiren had also offered an archery teaching position to Wei Wuxian, which many were surprised since it was a rarity. Lan Qiren had offered such a position aside from his nephews. The news had also spread wildfire outside of the clan as a 'guest disciple' had managed to get in the ranks in the Lan education that was infamous for virtuous and austerity. Wei Wuxian accepted the offer and taught archery twice a week. He even provided private lessons for those disciples who needed extra guidance. 

Lan Wangji sighed. He was supposed to ask Wei Wuxian if Wei Wuxian could join them for dinner as Lan-furen had requested and found out what Wei Wuxian usually does. Lan Wangji was ashamed to admit that despite living together as roommates for a few months, he had no knowledge about Wei Wuxian’s daily activities aside from what he heard from the disciples’ gossip and Lan Xichen’s stories about him. The drift between them had become greater. He had acknowledged that he himself had lacked in communication and initiation in forming a relationship with Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian had tried multiple times trying to invite Lan Wangji on meals, pheasant hunting, shopping at the town, and walks; but Lan Wangji had declined every time, saying that it was against the rules to engage in frivolous activities; and it was no wonder that Wei Wuxian seldom invited Lan Wangji for the past few weeks. The pranks, as well, had turned from many to few in the past months as Lan Wangji had angrily dismissed him, oftentimes, with force and malice. Lan Wangji thought if he had approached things differently and communicated better, he would be able to at least form a friendship with Wei Wuxian. 

As the wind blew harder, Lan Wangji left the springs and wore his robes neatly. He decided that he would face his A-Die to receive his punishment so that he could apologize and try to patch things to Wei Wuxian. If he did his punishment, the sooner, the better, he would search for Wei Wuxian to properly talk to him. With a newfound resolve, Lan Wangji left Cold Springs. 

When he had reached the courtyard, a junior Lan disciple approached him and informed him that Lan-furen wanted to talk to him. Lan Wangji nodded and said his thanks to the disciple before he changed his direction towards Hanshi. Lan Wangji had an idea what his A-Niang would like to talk about, and he thought that it would probably best to consult his A-Niang on his next move. He had to admit that he and Wei Wuxian were like oil and water, but he had hoped that their relationship would become better. His A-Niang would surely give good advice. After all, a mother knew best.

Chapter Text

Lan Qiren was at the Library Pavillion, checking on the junior disciples’ reports on the latest night hunt assignment at the northern part of the clan’s territory. A disciple had informed him that Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian had fought at the Jingshi with swords and fists. Lan Qiren dropped his brush, put his palm at his head, profoundly sighing how the situation led to this. The disciple was concerned as Lan Qiren had paled, but Lan Qiren dismissed the disciple. The disciple bowed before he had left Lan Qiren alone.

Lan Qiren could only sigh. He knew of his xiongzhang Qingheng-Jun’s plan for Lan Wangji to have a roommate - hoping for Lan Wangji to ‘come out from his shell.’ When Qingheng-Jun had brought Wei Wuxian to the Gusu Lan Clan, the plan was definitely coming into force. He initially had objected to the idea, arguing that it’s not right to force his nephew to socialize if he did not want to. Still, when Lan Wangji was almost coming of age and remained to have similar issues, especially when it came to his peers, Lan Qiren had relented. Lan-furen had reassured him that if Lan Wangji had objected entirely to the idea of a roommate, they would respect his decision. But alas, Lan Qiren started to have doubts if it was a good plan at the beginning. 

He could only wait for the succeeding news from Qingheng-Jun. He already knew that Qingheng-Jun was already handling the situation, given that a disciple had informed him. Qingheng-Jun may be a carefree person.  But he knew his xiongzhang would be unforgiving and stern in a situation like this; he would uphold the Gusu Lan precepts if he needed it to be. However, he feared that Qingheng-Jun might be more lenient in punishing the two teenagers. The situation at hand called for a different approach. He sighed again. He admitted that he was not a suitable person to handle a teenager’s problem. It’s best to leave it to his xiongzhang since his xiongzhang was the one who had a teenager and let another teenager in to ‘socialize’ his child. 

A knock on the Library Pavillion’s door had broken him to his sighing fest. Smiling, Qingheng-Jun went to his table, sat at the vacant cushion, and indulged himself with tea. Lan Qiren silently watched Qingheng-Jun, puzzled by the unusual chirpiness of his xiongzhang, considering what had happened at the Jingshi. 

Lan Qiren irritatingly asked, “And what are you smiling for?” 

Qingheng-Jun hummed, and Lan Qiren rolled his eyes in exasperation. 

Lan Qiren said, “You clearly expected this outcome. Wangji had clearly reacted - violently even. And you’re here, sitting and drinking tea. What are you thinking?” 

Lan Qiren steadied his breath, pacifying the anger rising within him. 

“Now now, didi.” Qingheng-Jun began, “You are correct that I have expected it. Fear not, I’m not excusing A-Zhan’s violence to Ying-er.” 

Qingheng-Jun sipped from his tea and continued, “We both know that A-Zhan is unsociable and reclusive. I understand if he had chosen to remain this way if he’s an adult. A-Zhan is still a few years away from coming of age, and it will only bring him to a disadvantage if he did not properly socialize.” 

Lan Qiren replied, “Even so, forcing him to socialize will not encourage him to get close to his peers. Wei Wuxian is already a handful. Putting him with Wangji, who is the complete opposite of Wei Wuxian, is only waiting for a disaster to happen. And here we are, that disaster had already happened.”

Qingheng-Jun sighed, “It is inevitable, didi. We both know it is. A-Qin is worried if A-Zhan has continued to be this way, he will eventually lean on A-Huan. When the time comes for A-Huan to succeed me, A-Zhan will have to assist him, just like us. It will also not look good on A-Zhan, politically speaking. Suppose the Second Young Master of a prominent clan has difficulty in socializing. In that case, they will surely use it against him. They would create enemies against him by deliberately claiming A-Zhan’s behavior as a pure show of arrogance; when we know, it is not. Thus, it will be good if A-Zhan will have someone who can stand by his side, other than us, who will support and protect him. We cannot always be with him, but A-Zhan needed to stand on his own feet.” 

Lan Qiren was silent. He did not know what to say as Qingheng-Jun had made sense. In the eyes of the commoners, the cultivation world was a world of few and special people who possessed the ability to practice cultivation - a gift rarely given to anyone. They were righteous as they protected the weak from the evil that continued to cause havoc in the mortal world. But what the commoners did not know, behind that righteous mask, was an ugly beast hungry for power and dominance that had no hesitancy to kill anybody on their path to supremacy. 

On the few social occasions that Lan Wangji had appeared, cultivators have criticized his attitude as ‘something needed to be addressed by the Gusu Lan Clan.’  Lan Wangji did nothing but sat on his cushion silently, drinking tea and listening to their nonsensical political talks. Qingheng-Jun had severely taken it as a grave offense against the clan as he had caught a few cultivators in the act. Qingheng-Jun had publicly condemned the guilty cultivators, which shocked many since it was the first public incident of Qingheng-Jun’s anger.  

Lan Qiren sighed, “I know where you are coming from, xiongzhang. However, I do sincerely believe that this might not be a good way for Wangji. A roommate is a good idea since it will be a good step for Wangji to form relationships other than familial ones. But making Wei Wuxian, as his roommate, was putting a cub in a lions’ den. Wei Wuxian is definitely like his mother. Both of them are both carefree and cheerful people, but their playfulness was sometimes too much.” 

Qingheng-Jun could not help but laugh, “Ah, now I know why you are so indignant to Ying-er.” 

Lan Qiren looked away and quickly sipped his tea. Qingheng-Jun fondly reminisced about the time when Wei Wuxian’s mother, Cangsen Sanren, had shaved Lan Qiren’s goatee as a prank. Lan Qiren was so red that he almost resembled an angry deity who could summon storms and tsunamis. The Cloud Recesses have sadly needed to suffer for a few days for Lan Qiren’s anger to quell. After that incident, Lan Qiren had never grown his goatee even after Cangsen Sanren had left the Cloud Recesses. 

Lan Qiren cleared his throat; Qingheng-Jun softly smiled and sipped his tea. Lan Qiren decided to let the matter rest; if Lan-furen had also been involved in this, then the situation was already in control. Qingheng-Jun maybe his xiongzhang, but he had more trust in his dasao’s judgment. 

Lan Qiren sighed before he had set aside the juniors’ reports. Qingheng-Jun knew what he was about to do; thus, he cleaned the table, setting aside the teapot and cups at a reachable distance. Lan Qiren had placed a map at the center of the table and a few documents surrounding it. Qingheng-Jun had gone to the library shelves to get certain books they needed. After they had finished, both men sat at their respective cushions, silently scrutinizing the red marks scattered on the map. 

Lan Qiren held one of the junior’s reports, circling the northern part location where the juniors had held their night hunt. 

Lan Qiren said, “In Xiao Qionglin’s report, the cause of the disturbance at the Dai village is a vengeful spirit of a woman who had committed suicide by drowning herself at the lake. The woman was a guqin musician at a brothel. A certain high-ranking cultivator had visited the establishment and had acquired her services. At first, she was reluctant, but he promised her that if she indulged him, he would marry her and become his concubine.” 

Qingheng-Jun’s face was a mixture of pity, for the woman and disgust, for the man himself. Hearing all these similar stories for the past weeks, he knew how the story would end. Watching Lan Qiren sharing the report with him, Lan Qiren had distanced himself from the all too familiar story that he also had read several times at the juniors’ reports and heard from the rumors at the towns. 

Qingheng-Jun said, “In summary, the man had got what he had wanted and left her for good. Unable to bear the betrayal, she drowned herself to save the remaining dignity she had.”  

Lan Qiren nodded, “And I think I don’t need to say who that man was.” 

Qingheng-Jun solemnly responded, “Mn.”

Lan Qiren sipped from his tea, “If only his philandering and fraudulent methods could be restricted in their clan’s territory, we wouldn’t have to deal with vengeful ghosts more than the usual. It is, after all, our clan’s policy to help the weak, and it is not a problem if we have to settle it. However, it is another matter if we’re cleaning up another clan’s mess due to their clan leader being unable to keep his pants on.”

Qingheng-Jun warned, “I will bring up this matter at the next conference. But do be reminded that there might be no favorable results.”

Lan Qiren exasperatedly said, “Oh, do so, do so. I don’t mind as long as they know that we all know too well about their loose cloth.” 

Qingheng-Jun laughed. 

Lan Qiren read the report in the southern territory where Qingheng-Jun and Lan Xichen had personally dealt with it a few months ago. The report detailed that a corpse of a daughter of a high-ranking official at the Imperial Court had been found floating at the river near the village. It was initially thought of as a murder-vengeance case since the said official had been involved in the estafa scandal that caused another official to lose his position at the Court, which eventually led his family into ruins. It was a common tale in the world of civil politics and a perennial occurrence in affluent families. They tried to interrogate the shamed official but later found out that he had killed his entire family before he had committed suicide. The case was closed, but the victim’s father forcefully demanded to reopen the case, angrily ordering it to be reinvestigated again due to an ‘atrocious manner to deliver justice to his beloved daughter.’

The officials later discovered that the wounds on the body were too barbaric in a closer inspection. Fatal animal-sized bite marks at the neck and torso that cause internal bleeding; severe traumatic brain injury, secondary to a subdural hematoma, which indicated that the victim had been struck by a heavy blow at the cerebral area; severe muscle torns at the right shoulder and at the Achilles tendon that resulted to a missing right arm and foot, shown that it was forcefully ripped at the body. It was too unimaginable that a person would inflict such grave injuries, but a human being could do anything beyond reason if he had fallen enough to the pit. 

The officials concluded that it might be the work of an insane serial killer who traveled around in search of victims, as numerous sightings of corpses with the same degree of injuries had been found around the country, especially near the lakes and rivers. But then again, it was impossible to comprehend that it was the work of a person. Thus, the officials had added the possibility of a savage beast. They made an announcement to the public warning about its presence, limiting the number of potential victims that would fall to its claws. Curfew was imposed; security was tightened at the towns, especially at the Capital. Despite all of these measures, the corpses had increased tenfold, from ten victims to thirty victims in one month. The Emperor had released a royal decree that whoever had managed to kill the beast would be rewarded handsomely. Numerous hunters had participated; unfortunately, they only managed to be included in the death count. Left with no solutions, the victim’s father, the high-ranking official, had decided to personally handle the situation, even visiting the site where they found his daughter’s body. 

The said high-ranking official recalled that his daughter had asked permission if she could travel for a few months to see and to learn more about the world, which he had granted as his daughter had few opportunities to explore due to her fragile health. Along with a few attendants, his daughter had started her journey to the north. His daughter had dutifully sent him letters wherever she stopped at a certain place to visit or whichever she found amusing to share with him. The letters had continued until he didn’t receive any in the second month of her trip. The officials had found the missing attendants’ bodies near the lake at the south of Qishan, a few weeks before the daughter’s corpse had been discovered at the river, south of Gusu. The high-ranking official had visited the Qishan Port where his daughter was last seen, boarding a ship heading towards Yunmeng. He initially thought that the ship members were the culprit, but they had an alibi, and the passengers at the time had testified to prove their innocence. 

One witness had shared that his daughter and her companions were friendly to them; he commented that she was enthusiastic about listening to their common folk stories, which for them was too boring to tell, but it was an ‘educational experience’ for her. At first, they were offended, but she apologized, explaining that she had been sickly as a child; thus, it was difficult for her to see the world beyond the four corners of her room. Guilty of accusing a child, they gave her peaches and persimmons. She rejected it but gave in when they fervently convinced her to accept their gifts. They last saw her at the succeeding Port, still within Qishan. 

The high-ranking official’s investigation had come into a standstill. He found no more leads other than the last letter. He tried to seek help from the cultivator clan at Qishan, but he has led away as they couldn’t accommodate him. He wanted to protest for the lack of hospitality and respect for the position he held at the Imperial Court. Eventually, he gave up when the man Wen Rouhan, the clan leader, personally appeared to him. Wen Rouhan was an intimidating and oppressive man; the said official was not a dunce to challenge Wen Rouhan as he could tell that this man was unafraid of anything, even if a god would give His divine order to aid his plight. 

Wen Rouhan said, “Do yourself a favor and leave my territory. I have no qualms in affairs of your kind.” 

And he left without complaints. 

After a few weeks of trying to get a lead, he was back at the site. He was at the bridge on the river where his daughter’s body had been floating for how long he couldn’t imagine. Overwhelmed with losing his only child and his only living family, he stood at the bridge’s ledge where he planned to jump to the river to drown himself when a certain young man in black robes had approached him. 

The young man said, “Master, please get down from there. You’ll get hurt.” 

The high-ranking official replied, “I do plan that, young man, if you haven’t noticed it yet.” 

“I do notice it. However, if the Master is willing to listen to this one’s plea, this humble one will listen to your story and will render services to aid you.” 

Hearing this, the said high-ranking official laughed, “Young man, how can you help me? Countless men have tried to aid me, even the Emperor himself, but nothing has happened! Even a powerful cultivator clan at Qishan couldn’t do anything because of their sheer arrogance not to associate with ‘my kind’! Thousands of men had already failed. I may be a Court Advisor at the Imperial Court, but I’m powerless! I couldn’t even give my only child justice and peace for her horrendous death!” 

The young man was silent, and the Court Advisor wept. The Court Advisor felt immense shame and guilt for his deceased daughter. He had thought that it was better if his child had been killed by his enemies, rather than being dismembered by a savage beast. That way, he would feel a little bit of ease to believe that she had died a dignified death. But alas, his dear daughter was slaughtered like an animal. 

Closing his eyes, he jumped. He waited for the impact to crush his body, but he felt that he had stopped midway. When he had opened his eyes, he was horrified; his body was suspended in the air. 

He shouted, “What did you do?!”

The young man didn’t answer him; he made a circular motion using his two fingers, and the Court Advisor’s body was slowly approaching him. The Court Advisor had finally stood in front of the young man, but the Court Advisor was terrified of what he had witnessed of the young man’s power. If this young man was the same as Wen Rouhan, he knew that it was better to stay quiet to wait for the young man’s next move. 

The young man smiled and simply said, “Advisor Hu, like what I had said, I’m willing to hear your story and aid you to give peace to your daughter.” 

The Court Advisor was stunned. He didn’t know how the young man had known his name and his rank at the Imperial Court when he hadn’t introduced himself yet. However, seeing how the incident is well-known even on the outskirts, it was no longer surprising if this young man had known him. He was ashamed to admit it; the estafa scandal had also been a factor that enabled his name to be widespread in the country. 

The Court Advisor cleared his throat and said, “Young man, may I know your name first to be more acquainted?” 

The young man flashed a toothy grin and offered his greetings by stretching his arms forward and placing his palms on top of one another, “Master, I’m a rogue cultivator named Wei Wuxian. I have traveled around the country to aid people on their plights and solve transcendent beings’ cases. If I’m unable to meet your expectations, you can have my head as compensation.” 

The Court Advisor remained skeptical about Wei Wuxian. Still, he was already desperate to give his daughter peace so that she could move on to her next life. It was bad enough that he could not repair her body before he had sent her to reincarnation. He also had no options left for him to be overfastidious and overly suspicious. After all, Wei Wuxian offered his head compensation if he had failed to meet his words. 

The Court Advisor nodded in acknowledgment. Wei Wuxian had suggested going to an inn to discuss, and the Court Advisor agreed. When they had found a suitable inn, the Court Advisor shared his story, including those that hadn’t been relayed to the public. Wei Wuxian listened intently and offered that it would be best to ask a cultivator clan for help. It would be more preferred if it was the Gusu Lan Clan since it is within the clan’s territory that the daughter’s body had been found. 

Hearing this, the Court Advisor angrily said, “You! You have promised that you can help me to grant my daughter justice! And you are here asking for a cultivator clan’s assistance.” 

Wei Wuxian drank a jar of Emperor’s Smile and calmingly replied, “Master, my words are true, and I definitely fulfill my promise. However.” Wei Wuxian put away the dishes at the table, save for a few Emperor’s Smile jars, and placed a map at the center of the table as well as his notes. The Court Advisor examined the notes and couldn’t understand a single thing aside from the drawing of a beast. It was a large three-headed hound with a rock-surfaced rounded club-shaped tail and four sharp claws that could easily slice a human in half. 

Wei Wuxian continued, “As you have seen in my notes, this beast is the culprit of your daughter’s death as well as numerous corpses for the past months. No ordinary human can kill it as, despite its enormous size, it is agile and quick. Aside from its physical attributes, the beast also has a peculiar ability, which enables it to make its prey fall into a certain state of stupor. It may seem that way at first, but what really happened was the victim’s spirit was forcefully taken out of the body. Some may have survived; however, the beast would use its tail to make its victim unconscious if they did. And out of spite, the beast would also dismember the victim’s body, and its favorites are the arms and the foot.” 

The Court Advisor’s face paled, and he didn’t want to hear Wei Wuxian’s following words. 

Wei Wuxian continued, “Your daughter, Young Lady Hu, was able to wake herself up out of trance, thanks to her strong spiritual energy.” 

Wei Wuxian looked at the Court Advisor and solemnly sighed, “Master is definitely an intelligent person, and I do not have to say what happened afterward.”

The Court Advisor wailed, “My dear daughter! My dear daughter! If only I had been there, I can easily offer myself as your replacement. My dear daughter! My dear daughter!” 

Wei Wuxian stayed silent and glared at the people who gave them looks. Wei Wuxian patted the Court Advisor’s back and gave him a jar to placate. Wei Wuxian waited for the Court Advisor to settle down before he suggested a course of action. 

Wei Wuxian said, “The beast is definitely a powerful and intelligent creature. I can easily create talismans to defeat the beast; however, it will take several days to make an ample amount of it. It will be best to seek the assistance of a prominent cultivator clan with knowledge of the terrain. Thus, I suggest we ask for the Gusu Lan Clan’s support.” 

The Court Advisor replied, “I rather not seek their help. When I asked for a cultivator clan’s aid, their clan leader berated me in front of my subordinates. I don’t want to experience that humiliation again!” 

Wei Wuxian smiled and said, “Master, I assured you that Gusu Lan Clan will not do that to you. They are known to be a merciful and gracious clan. They always helped the weak and the needy even without recompense. Out of all the cultivator clans, they have a good reputation with the public. Surely, you have heard about the Twin Jades of Gusu and their clan leader Qingheng-Jun?” 

The Court Advisor had indeed heard about the people Wei Wuxian mentioned. He might not have the vast knowledge about cultivator clans; Gusu Lan Clan has frequently been mentioned in ordinary folks’ mouths, saying that they were also righteous, chivalrous and compassionate aside from their beautiful and handsome appearance. The clan leader Qingheng-Jun was known for his smiling appearance and no hesitation to offer his assistance to those who needed their clan’s aid. 

The Court Advisor looked at Wei Wuxian before he called the inn owner. He had asked for paper and a brush. When the inn owner had given it to him, he wrote a letter. After which, he gave it to one of his subordinates and said, “Go. Give this to Qingheng-Jun of Gusu Lan Clan. Make sure that this letter reaches him.” 

The subordinate bowed and left the two men at the inn, drinking their jars of Emperor’s Smile.

Chapter Text

When the letter had arrived at Qingheng-Jun, Qingheng-Jun had immediately called for Lan Xichen to prepare the necessities for their journey to meet the Court Advisor and the rogue cultivator Wei Wuxian. He ordered Lan Xichen to gather two groups of senior-junior disciples, each composed of five senior disciples and seven junior disciples, to exterminate the beast. He informed Lan Qiren about the matter, and they worked together to gather more information about it - hoping that it was recorded in their collection of ancient books. Unfortunately, they have found none that could help, at least to identify it. 

Lan Qiren recalled, "If I'm not mistaken, your spirits were quite high that day, considering that you are about to be thrown, along with A-Huan and the disciples, to an unknown beast." 

With mockery in his eyes, Lan Qiren looked at Qingheng-Jun. Qingheng-Jun smirked, sipped his tea, and said, "Do not accuse me in such a way, didi. Perhaps you have forgotten that false accusation is forbidden in our clan rules." 

Lan Qiren rolled his eyes, tired of the ways his xiongzhang could grate his nerves. Truth to be told, his xiongzhang is a good clan leader; no one could dispute that fact even the common people. However, they didn't know that Qingheng-Jun could be quite unusual - the only way Lan Qiren put it without being impertinent. Lan Qiren could not precisely comprehend his xiongzhang's thoughts as they seldom found themselves in the opposite spectrum when it came to such things. Yet, they always tried to reconcile their opinions as they both respected each other. Thus, regardless of his stance on such issues, he gave his xiongzhang’s more credence since Qingheng-Jun was their clan leader, and he trusted his xiongzhang not to put the clan in danger whatever his decisions may be. 

Moreover, self-proclaimed political scholars, a group of people that Lan Qiren has a strong aversion to, considered Qingheng-Jun as one of the great political clan leaders of the cultivation world. They stated that Qingheng-Jun's eloquence in public speaking made everyone in the room listen attentively to his words; Lan Qiren could not deny that fact as his xiongzhang has a gift of it. Added with Qingheng-Jun's unblemished reputation, people were quick to trust his words and to take his position in conferences, which irked some clan leaders. Because of this, the Gusu Lan Clan had been put into a position of power that they could only savor - the clan has almost either the final say or the weighted conjecture into the issues raised in the conferences. 

Lan Qiren sighed, "We're getting side-tracked."

Qingheng-Jun simply nodded. 

Lan Qiren held down the report and sipped his tea. Qingheng-Jun scanned a few documents; Lan Qiren flipped to the next page of the report before he continued reading it. 

The succeeding pages detailed what happened when Qingheng-Jun and Lan Xichen and the senior and junior disciples met Wei Wuxian and the Court Advisor. When they rendezvoused at the said inn in the letter, Wei Wuxian wasted no time in pleasantries, explaining that the three-headed hound beast was discovered by his invention of a surveillance-type talisman attached at the trees, within the vicinity. Qingheng-Jun immediately ordered the disciples to set a barrier that would envelop the whole town. Lan Xichen went off to the townhead to prepare the people for evacuation in case the situation went beyond their control. The Court Advisor was tasked to do basic medical aid for those people who would get caught by the beast. 

The Court Advisor irritatingly said, "Why do I need to render aid to the common folk?! If they are willing to be food for the beast due to their clumsiness and feebleness, then let them be! I will not waste any of my subordinates for such people!"

Qingheng-Jun was about to refute the Court Advisor when Wei Wuxian slammed the table, silencing the people in the area. Lan Xichen worriedly looked at Qingheng-Jun, but Qingheng-Jun dismissed Lan Xichen, mouthing, Observe well . 

Wei Wuxian plainly said, "Advisor Hu, the esteemed Gusu Lan cultivators, and I would be occupied in defeating the beast. Don't worry; we will also assist in giving medical aid. However, since we like as much as possible to be fully concentrated on exterminating the beast and ensuring that all of you would be safe, we seek your gratuitous abetment in our cause. Surely, a court advisor's men are competent to provide basic protection and aid to the townsfolk?" 

The Court Advisor cleared his throat and stuttered, "Of-of course! Such a mindless task is an easy feat for my men. I will greatly compensate you when the beast is dead. I wish you luck in exterminating the beast, esteemed cultivators of Gusu Lan Clan, and young master Wei Wuxian. Now, I shall take my leave. Farewell!" 

The Lan disciples watched in awe how the rogue cultivator cleverly used his words to 'persuade' the arrogant Court Advisor. Qingheng-Jun smirked; Lan Xichen softly laughed. Seeing Lan Xichen's reaction, Wei Wuxian came towards him and inquired what Lan Xichen thought about the Court Advisor. 

Lan Xichen smirked, "A person must have a face; a tree must have a bark." Wei Wuxian boisterously laughed, catching everyone's attention.

The two cultivators talked about random things, which earned them confused looks from the disciples as if they were not in a dire situation. They expected Qingheng-Jun to reprimand the two for their carefree behavior, especially Lan Xichen, but Qingheng-Jun did not. The disciples expressed their grievances to one another in a hushed tone. Qingheng-Jun had caught wind of this, and thus, he walked towards them and simply said, "Will a roast chicken and dumplings be a good dinner for tonight?" 

A disciple bravely attempted to raise the issue; however, Qingheng-Jun simply said with a smile, "Sitting at ease in a fishing boat despite the storms." 

The disciple humbly bowed and went back to his group. Even though the disciples' worries were still prevalent, the tense atmosphere had somehow been soothed. 

Wei Wuxian briefed the disciples again about the beast for their safety. He reminded them to escape when the situation had turned worse immediately. The three-hounded beast is an unknown entity discovered recently traveling from Qishan to Gusu. Its last victim, the Court Adviser's daughter, had been found floating at the river near the said village in Gusu. Her last whereabouts were at the southern port in Qishan. Still, the mystery of how her body had floated a great distance away from Qishan to Gusu remained unsolved. The beast has three dog heads, and it used its club-shaped tail to smash its victim unconscious before devouring them. As for its power to suck spiritual energy, Wei Wuxian could only form a hypothetical guess that it might be from its eyes. By looking at the said beast directly from its eyes, the victim would fall into a trance-like state that disabled them to react, causing their spiritual energy to become paralyzed. Then, they would become tremendously pale. The victim has a low chance to escape from this paralysis, especially if their spiritual energy is below average. There's a slight chance of survival if the victim's spiritual energy is high. However, it was still futile if the victim was a civilian. Considering that the beast's victims were ordinary folks, Wei Wuxian's theory was proven correct. However, he didn't know if a cultivator had a chance against the said beast since he hadn't encountered it personally. There were no reports of cultivators meeting it. 

Lan Xichen said, "The beast may have purposely avoided cultivators."

Wei Wuxian replied, "It is a clever beast."

Qingheng-Jun went towards them and added his conjecture, "Perhaps so. If you look carefully at its path and its killing spots, it tells otherwise."

Lan Xichen confused, "What do you mean, A-Die?"

Qingheng-Jun brought out the map from his robe, and he laid it out on the air, using his spiritual energy, for them to see. The map was marked with red circles on the places near the riverbank, and a red line connected each circle, forming a path from Qishan to Gusu. Qingheng-Jun placed his finger over Gusu, and blue circles emerged in the region. The village where they are was also marked by a blue circle.

"Pay attention to the beast's path." Qingheng-Jun began, "the beast had first appeared south of Qishan and steadily went towards Gusu. If the beast had purposely avoided the cultivators, it wouldn't deliberately continue headed to southwest since you'll encounter cultivator clans. A beast that size wouldn't be left unnoticed."

Lan Xichen asked, "If that is so, then why did the cultivators not notice it if it's in close proximity?"

Qingheng-Jun said, "Qiren and I had speculated that the beast may have a special ability. That the beast may have the ability to make himself invincible – both physically and spiritually. Thus, cultivators had failed to detect it."

Lan Xichen was shocked. If the beast has such ability, it would be difficult to fight it. Fighting such a beast was like fighting without your golden core. Lan Xichen knew they would have a hard time fighting it as they were only composed of groups of senior-junior disciples. Let alone; they were only small in numbers.

Lan Xichen worriedly said, "A-Die, if you and shufu had this theory, then why did you ask me to gather only two groups?! Isn't it best if we notified other cultivator clans like Lanling Jin and Yunmeng Jiang for assistance?"

Qingheng-Jun was silent. Wei Wuxian said, "The theory is proven false, isn't it?"

Qingheng-Jun solemnly replied, "Yes, indeed. Last week, I received a report that the beast was seen near the territory of the Huang clan, at the east of Gusu. They tried to capture it, but they failed to do so. It suddenly disappeared when they tracked it. However, the beast's appearance was confirmed; thus, that is the one thing we know is a fact."

Lan Xichen knew that the Huang Clan was capable as they had talented disciples despite being a small cultivator clan without influential power. The main clans somewhat acknowledge their cultivation techniques and abilities, especially the Gusu Lan Clan. Their clan leader Huang Hua is a compassionate and charismatic person. Lan Xichen had heard many stories about his efforts in making their clan known to the public while helping the common folk in expelling the ghosts that occasionally plagued the villages and towns in their territory. He once met their shixiong, Huang Li, who showed tremendous potential in becoming one of the leading disciples of their generation. Lan Xichen had only good opinions about them.

Lan Xichen said, "If the Huang Clan had trouble in capturing it, we could not underestimate its power. Perhaps, it is best if we ask other clans for help before the beast has arrived." 

Wei Wuxian hummed, "There is no need for that. We can handle it easily with our numbers. Wouldn't this be a great opportunity for the disciples to have practical training? Surely, a class can only do so much, in contrast with practical application." 

Qingheng-Jun remarked, "Yes, indeed." 

Lan Xichen looked at the two as if they had grown another head. Wei Wuxian smirked and handed him a notebook. The notebook contained notes about the said beast. Everything they already knew was listed there. Hence, Lan Xichen wasn't sure what he was supposed to know. Qingheng-Jun snapped his finger, which made the map scroll itself, and he handed it to a disciple. 

Wei Wuxian began, "It is not uncapturable if that is your impression, Xichen-ge. I did say that it is a 'clever beast.' It certainly has unique abilities that we've never seen before. But that is not to say that it is way too powerful for it to be outside of an ordinary cultivator's capability." 

Lan Xichen confusingly said, "Apologies. I do not follow." 

Wei Wuxian continued, "The Huang Clan wasn't able to capture it, not because the beast outpowered them. But because it suddenly disappeared ." 

Qingheng-Jun was about to give Lan Xichen the answer when the primary talisman, which Wei Wuxian held that connected from the surveillance talismans attached within the area, suddenly burst into flames. Wei Wuxian looked at both of them and nodded - acknowledging that the beast had finally arrived.

Chapter Text

The forest outside of the village was filled with surveillance-type talismans–created by Wei Wuxian himself with a distance of 3km between each other. In the middle of the forest, the Lan disciples formed a circle with a pentagram on the ground. On each point of the pentagram is a sword with a series of white talismans attached to its hilt. Each sword was purified by purification spells and drenched with pure water. It was a purification spell for a beast that was magnitude in size. 

As Qingheng-Jun instructed, the Lan disciples were further divided into two groups. Lan Xichen led the first group, while Wei Wuxian led the second group. Lan Xichen group was assigned to guard the pentagram formation and maintain the five swords with spiritual energy. The five swords needed to sustain spiritual energy for the talismans to remain effective. The swords’ purpose then was to be spiritual energy channels for the talismans to remain pure and potent. When the beast was successfully lured into the pentagram, the talismans would continuously burn to conduct the purification spell. On the other hand, Wei Wuxian group would act as a “bait” to lure the three-headed hound beast to the pentagram formation. Wei Wuxian gave each group member a talisman with writing inked with red and instructed them to put it safely in their robes so that the beast’s ability would be slightly mitigated. 

Qingheng-Jun stayed behind in the village. His role was to stand guard and protect the village if they failed to contain the beast. 

Lan Xichen concerned, “A-Die, will you not at least have a few disciples with you?" 

Qingheng-Jun smiled, "There is no need, my child. Focus on your task, and I'll be glad if you finish it well." 

Lan Xichen smiled and saluted his A-Die before he joined the others. 

Wei Wuxian gave Lan Xichen a yellow paper talisman with writings on black ink. Wei Wuxian explained that if they had found themselves in great danger while protecting the formation, Lan Xichen would have to throw the talisman in the air. It would be a temporary protective barrier until Wei Wuxian and his group would come to his aid. 

Lan Xichen remarked, "Wei-gongzi has a lot of inventions. Cultivation clans will like to have a cultivator like you at their ranks." 

Wei Wuxian casually said, "I'm simply a wandering cultivator with a lot of time in his hands." 

"Well," Lan Xichen began. Wei Wuxian looked at Lan Xichen. Lan Xichen has a slight smile on his lips. Wei Wuxian studied him, looking for any suspicions or doubts casted on his face. But Wei Wuxian found none. 

"If there is no clan you fancy at the moment, would you like to stay at our clan as a guest disciple?" 

Wei Wuxian stopped walking and looked at Lan Xichen as if Lan Xichen had grown another head. 

Lan Xichen smiled and said, “It is A-Die’s idea, and I like for you to stay at Gusu as well.”

Wei Wuxian cleared his throat, “This humble one is flattered. But–”

Lan Xichen interrupted Wei Wuxian and said, “There’s no need to rush to make a decision.” 

Lan Xichen smiled and left Wei Wuxian behind as Lan Xichen joined his group to exterminate the three-headed beast. 

~~~

For safety reasons, Wei Wuxian ordered the disciples to go into pairs to locate the beast much faster. Four pairs of disciples were formed. Wei Wuxian further instructed them and gave the yellow talismans, similar to what he had given to Lan Xichen, to each pair. He explained to them how the talismans worked and demonstrated how to use them. When the disciples learned about it, Wei Wuxian nodded, and they set forth. 

Wei Wuxian went to the northeast side. He found traces of the beast’s foot marks near the surveillance-type talisman. He followed it. 

Numerous trees have fallen. Scratch marks, ten times larger than an average canine would make, are found everywhere. Drops of black blood formed a trail. A putrid smell etched along the trails, leading Wei Wuxian to the beast himself. When he had come across trees covering a cave, he had to cover his nose due to its overbearing smell. He gulped. His instincts yelled at him not to enter; however, his duty told him otherwise. 

He carefully approached the cave entrance, trying to perceive where the beast was. The more he came closer to the cave, the rotten smell became more robust. He stopped right at the front of the cave’s entrance. Shock was an understatement to describe what he felt. Human skeletons were scattered. Half-eaten humans at the corners of the cave, and some splattered at the cave’s walls like it’s a wall decoration. Dark red-thick blood covered the cave’s stones. 

Wei Wuxian stepped back and assessed that the cave was the beast’s lair. He hypothesized that the beast may have traveled from here to the Qinghe area and returned to its lair after it had satisfied its fill. However, there’s a village, and a few kilometers from it, a busy town was nearby. The beast could easily target those places for its appetite, yet it decided to travel across. 

Wei Wuxian decided to call back his team since his intuition told him that it would be dangerous to continue their plan. He couldn’t explain why, but it’s best to rearrange themselves to reassess the situation. They might have a short time frame since the beast wasn’t located yet, and it didn’t show itself again. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and cursed himself for such oversight.

Wei Wuxian left the cave and ran towards the surveillance talisman at the west. When he was about to turn, a sudden force hit him to a tree, hitting his back. He groaned. A nasty breath towered over his body. His eyes looked at the ground, and he could see the pool of saliva formed. He didn’t want to look up. Fear enveloped his body. He tried to scream but couldn’t as his throat was locked. His limbs were paralyzed, and he had already started to have difficulty breathing.

The beast is finally here. 

The three-headed beast roared, showing its dominance over all living beings in the forest. Wei Wuxian could feel that the beast was about to make his move - snapping at his neck for his death. Beads of sweat dropped, forming on his face. He wanted to move, but he couldn’t. The beast has used its power to immobilize him completely. He couldn’t do anything. The beast roared again, and Wei Wuxian braced for his death. 

“Wei-gongzi!” 

Lan disciples quickly defended Wei Wuxian from the beast. Senior disciple Lan Qiang led the attack formation against the beast. Senior disciple Lan Ming led the defense team for Wei Wuxian. Lan Qiang shouted directions and reminded them about its peculiar power to paralyze its victims. They lunged to attack the beast. Lan Qiang and senior disciples Lan Guo and Lan Shu attacked the beast’s three pairs of eyes, making it stumbled and roared its rage. The junior disciples quickly prepared to subdue ropes, a Gusu Lan special spiritual device, while the senior disciples distracted the beast. 

Lan Ming immediately checked Wei Wuxian’s vitals and found some of his spiritual energy was gone, confirming that the beast had used its power. Wei Wuxian was still breathing heavily, and Lan Ming could tell that Wei Wuxian was still shaken up. Lan Ming instructed the junior disciple to use the talisman to contact Lan Xichen’s group and the flare signal for reinforcements. Lan Ming could tell that the number of disciples present couldn’t lure the beast properly to the pentagram formation as Lan Qiang’s team was struggling. The beast may be above their current strength level. 

“Fuck! You ugly dog!” Lan Qiang shouted in frustration. 

“Language!” Lan Shu reprimanded. 

“Oh shut up, you!” Lan Qiang retorted.  

Lan Qiang encircled the beast and jumped at its back - landing a critical strike. Lan Shu and Lan Guo headed for its legs, dealing tremendous strikes to tear it apart. However, their attempt was futile as the beast showcased its strong regeneration power. Lan Qiang tried to slice one of its necks but failed as the beast used its tail to strike against him. Lan Qiang luckily dodged it without having his head rolled down to the ground. Lan Guo shouted at Lan Qiang to try again, striking at the same neck, while Lan Guo and Lan Shu joined him in cutting it. Lan Qiang maneuvered himself to attack again. Without fear, he leaped towards the beast, followed by Lan Guo and Lan Shu. Lan Qiang could reach its neck again, but the beast evaded it. It turned its body, and with its full weight, it lashed toward the three senior disciples. Unfortunately, they didn’t manage to dodge it. Lan Qiang was thrown away and collided onto a tree with a loud smack. Lan Guo received its tail, making his ribs crack. Lan Shu’s foot was broken entirely by the sheer weight of its foot when his foot was caught. At the sight of the three senior disciples being incapacitated, the Lan disciples panicked. 

“Remain calm!” Wei Wuxian shouted. 

Wei Wuxian gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stand up. Lan Ming supported him while he shouted for the junior disciples to collect the three unconscious senior disciples quickly. Lan Ming ordered one of the junior disciples to help Wei Wuxian in his stead as he ran towards the defense team to finish the subduing ropes. 

The beast turned itself towards Wei Wuxian’s group. It bore its sharp tooth with visible remaining human flesh attached to it. As if it readied itself to attack, it wagged its tail with such a tremor that such action produced harsh winds. 

‘What luck. It is freshly fed.’ Wei Wuxian thought. 

Wei Wuxian smacked his face so hard, which stunned the junior disciple supporting him. 

‘This is not the time to be such a liability, Wei Wuxian. These juniors need you!’ He shouted at himself. 

Wei Wuxian yelled instructions to the junior disciples with him. He couldn’t let his fear overcome him as the senior disciples were out for battle except for Lan Ming. Since Lan Ming was finishing the preparations for the subduing rope, it fell into Wei Wuxian’s hands to continue distracting the beast. And so, he led the junior disciples to attack the beast.

“Just buy time for Lan Ming’s group to finish the ropes!” Wei Wuxian shouted. 

The junior disciples formed the same attack formation as Lan Qiang’s group. Junior disciples encircle the beast, making the beast singlehandedly target them. Wei Wuxian ordered his spiritual sword Suibian to attack the beast. The disciples followed suit. The beast was overwhelmed by the numerous spiritual swords swirling around and attacking it. It roared and lunged toward a pair of junior disciples. Panicked, the disciples ran in opposite directions to escape the beast’s attack. However, junior disciple Lan Xi was unfortunately caught by the beast’s claw - an ugly laceration at his waist. Lan Xi screamed. Wei Wuxian changed Suibian’s trajectory towards Lan Xi to defend the disciple from the beast. With two junior disciples, Lan Haoyu and Lan Yuhang, Wei Wuxian ran towards Lan Xi. The two junior disciples directed their spiritual swords before the beast, blocking its view of them. Suibian followed the two spiritual swords and slashed the eyes of its center head. The beast growled in anger. 

Junior disciple Lan Yichen, who was also caught in the earlier attack with Lan Xi, went beside Lan Xi and pressed down the wound. Wei Wuxian ordered another junior disciple to channel spiritual energy to Lan Xi. Wei Wuxian instructed Lan Haoyu and Lan Yuhang to fall back to protect the disciples treating Lan Xi and to support him as he lunged towards the beast. 

Wei Wuxian bit his lip as he called for Suibian to his hands. The spiritual swords of Lan Haoyu and Lan Yuhang continued their attacks to distract the beast. However, the beast swirled its tail, knocking the spiritual swords away from its face. Because of this, the beast turned to face Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian stopped in his tracks. Fear, once again, regained its clutches on him. The beast snarled at him. Wei Wuxian froze, unable to move his limbs. The junior disciples were shouting at him, trying to catch his attention. But Wei Wuxian couldn’t hear anything. He couldn’t even hear his own heartbeat. 

At an instance, Lan Haoyu and Lan Yuhang ran towards Wei Wuxian. Their spiritual swords strike through the beast’s chest, making it screech. Lan Haoyu shook Wei Wuxian from a trance while Lan Yuhang stood before them, guarding them. It growled as if the beast’s patience had run out from their childish games, unleashing oppressive spiritual energy. The beast’s spiritual energy has installed fear into them, making every disciple paralyzed at their foot. The three pairs of eyes were fixated on them. Its uneven tooth, with a length from 5 inches to 9 inches, bared at them. Fresh from their cultivation lessons from Lan Qiren, the disciples have tasted their first taste of death. 

Wei Wuxian cursed at himself and forced his limb to move. But he couldn’t. Aside from his fear, the brutal force of its spiritual energy was planting him firmly on the ground. Wei Wuxian couldn’t do anything as he watched the beast slowly raise its rock-hard tail. 

“Now!” 

Ropes filled with talismans enveloped the beast. The spiritual energy from it instantly burst, allowing the disciples who were under its control to breathe. Wei Wuxian looked towards where the voice was and saw Lan Ming’s group had finished the subduing ropes. Lan Ming went in front of the injured Lan Xi’s group, planted his spiritual sword, with the subduing rope tied on its hilt, and burst his spiritual energy into it. The remaining members of his group scattered to different directions, forming a circular formation of subduing ropes and spiritual energy where the beast was trapped at the center. The beast growled. It slowly slumped to the ground. Lan Ming sighed, relieved that the ropes were working. 

Lan Ming’s group continued to channel spiritual energy to their swords, where the end of the ropes was tied to its hilt. When the ropes were given spiritual energy, it acted as an unbreakable spiritual chain that even a high-rank yao would have difficulty escaping. The beast slowly lost its energy, and gradually, it became pliant. 

Lan Ming said, “Continue channeling spiritual energy to the ropes until Lan-gongzi’s group arrives.” 

Wei Wuxian regained his mobility and took a long sigh. It would be hard to lure it to Lan Xichen’s group in the current situation. With the ropes securing it, it would be best to move the pentagram here. Wei Wuxian went to injured Lan Xi to properly cure the junior disciple. He channeled his spiritual energy into Lan Xi’s wound, and it gradually lessened the severity of it. However, they still needed a physician to heal it completely. 

Wei Wuxian instructed the three disciples Lan Yichen, Lan Haoyu, and Lan Yuhang, “Wrapped it up with bandages. When Lan-gongzi arrived, you guys need to bring Lan Xi to Qingheng-Jun for treatment.” 

The three nodded. 

After a few minutes, Lan Xichen’s group arrived with the dismantled pentagram spell. Lan Xichen hurriedly went to Wei Wuxian while the disciples from his group scattered to check on the other disciples. 

Wei Wuxian filled Lan Xichen on what had transpired. To say that it was a relief that they had successfully subdued the beast was an understatement. It was a miracle that no one had died in dealing with the three-headed beast except for some senior disciples who had been severely injured. 

Lan Xichen sighed, “Maybe it will be best to inform Qingheng-Jun about this. We have successfully captured the beast temporarily, but we still have not yet purified it. Still, we don’t know how long we can contain it.”

They both looked at the beast, and the beast gave them icy glares. It bared its sharpened tooth as if warning them that it would go straight at their necks if it managed to escape. 

Wei Wuxian nodded, “It will take a little while for the pentagram spell to be re-arranged again. I agree with you that it is best to inform Qingheng-Jun. We need further assistance, especially for a senior cultivator’s guidance.” 

Lan Xichen said, “Very well.” 

Lan Xichen nodded to a junior disciple beside him. The junior disciple shot a signal flare for reinforcements. With this, Qingheng-Jun would be notified of their predicament. What they could do now was to continue to watch over the beast. At the same time, they simultaneously began fixing the pentagram spell. 

Lan Xichen returned to his group and started to do the pentagram spell around the subdued beast. Meanwhile, Wei Wuxian tended to the severely injured senior disciples. Things were going smoothly until a sudden earthquake emerged. Lan Xichen shouted at the disciples to remain calm and to get cover. Alarmed, Wei Wuxian went to Lan Ming’s group to help them secure the spiritual ropes. The earthquake destabilized their footing, which made their hold on the spiritual swords unstable. Wei Wuxian shouted to try to hold their spiritual swords steady, or else the beast would escape. However, the spiritual swords were knocked down with a sudden blast of wind, making the ropes fall. On cue, the beast forcefully stood on its foot. 

The earthquake stopped. The beast has escaped from its ropes. Dreaded with fear, Wei Wuxian could only shout for the disciples to run as the beast was preparing to blast a powerful paralyzing spell.

Chapter Text

Wei Wuxian was certain that he had shouted for the disciples to run before he blacked out. He couldn’t remember what happened before that - whether the beast had unleashed its paralyzing spell or whether the disciples were safe. Lan Xichen miraculously performed the pentagram purification spell. It may be wishful thinking if the latter had happened, but a dead man could only do so much. 

Wei Wuxian cursed at himself for his inability to take down the beast. He couldn't even overcome his fear of dogs, resulting in him being a liability. If not for the Lan disciples' competency, they would be dead before they could battle the beast headon. Darkness was only his companion, and thus, he couldn't do anything, other than chastise himself verbally with colorful words - words that an ordinary man would pee himself to shame. 

Regrets of not doing better, being helpful, and being conceited engulfed him. If only he had exercised more caution, it wouldn't happen this way. Maybe afterall the Purple Spider was right that he couldn't do anything correctly without bringing people to their deaths. 

Your only worth is to cause trouble for everybody. An insect with a lifespan of mere five minutes has more value and usesfulness than your pathetic life. 

He couldn’t do anything but to hear those words all over again. What could he do about his current predicament, anyway? Nothing. He couldn’t do anything as long as his being was a mere stream of consciousness. He didn’t know what he would do to escape from this situation. Even if he had the answer, would it change anything? The answer remained to be nothing. Regardless of remembering what he had been taught when he was a senior disciple under a prominent clan, his efforts still would be futile. Afterall, he is a dead man. A corpse whose purpose was to rot for eternity. 

Wei Wuxian surrendered to his misery. Maybe, he could take this opportunity to allow himself to finally succumb. For what he could do at this rate but to wail himself from self-pity. 

The Purple Spider has always drilled into him that his purpose in life was to give his life for the next heir of her clan. He did not have any objections about it since, without them, he wouldn’t be able to cultivate and live a spoiled life, despite the disparaging remarks from the Purple Spider. He loved his siblings, who taught him as their own as well. He had junior disciples who looked up to him and wanted to be like him when they grew older. He had everything then, yet he was forced to give up on it. He couldn’t allow himself to cling to such things if it meant his siblings would suffer. He wouldn’t allow them to get hurt on his behalf, even if it would result in him betraying them. How could he live peacefully at the expense of his siblings’ happiness? And so, he chose to sacrifice himself for them. 

Remember this, Wei Wuxian! All the things that this clan gave to you will be your penance in your next life. Be glad that this would only be your punishment. 

He cried to himself. He couldn’t handle remembering his shijie ’s distraught face and his side’s anger at him. He thought he did the right thing even though he had hurt their feelings immensely. He followed through what the Purple Spider made him to believe. He gave his word, yet he had hurt the only people who genuinely cared for him. 

An earth-shattering quake intruded on his consciousness. Its abruptness made him panicked as he didn’t know where it came from. It suddenly stopped for a few seconds and began again for a good minute before it stopped again. After a few minutes, it once again started. This pattern continued for who knows how long before it decided to continue its quake without halting.

He was confused about what was happening with him as it didn’t make sense. How can a dead man experience such physical activity if he’s dead ? It was absurd for him to feel like his head was vigorously shaken by something he couldn’t decipher. It was even more preposterous that a migraine was immediately crashing at him. 

Few mumble voices were accompanied by the quakes. He couldn’t hear properly what the voices were saying, but the sound was distinctly humane. The voices were softer at first until it gradually became harsher. He couldn’t handle it as the gritted voices became hardly tolerable. He laughed at himself and thought maybe he had arrived at the Underworld and was receiving eternal punishment. Ah, the situation he was in was indeed laughable. 

“Wei-gongzi!” 

Wei Wuxian was sure that someone was calling him, but he couldn’t pinpoint where the voice coming from. He was desperate to find the voice as it may be his way to escape from the darkness. Silence befell him again, and he tried to listen intently for the voice again. However, after a few minutes of nothingness, the voice was no longer there. He laughed at himself. How can he delude himself to have hope since he was a dead man already? However, can a man who has already passed through the gates of the Underworld could hear voices? Maybe, it was part of his torture, but he wasn’t sure about that hypothesis. Yet, he’s also unsure what would happen to someone in the Underworld other than the ancient texts about it. Death was a mysterious stranger in a living being’s mundane life. 

“Wei-gongzi!” 

He heard the voice anew. But this time, it sounded more frantic and rough. He could tell that someone was trying to reach him. 

He shouted, “Try calling me once again!” 

He hoped that the person had heard him. He didn’t know what to do except shout at the void for the person whose voice belonged to. 

“Wei-gongzi! Wei-gongzi, wake up! Wei-gongzi!” 

“Where are you? I don’t see you. I’m here!”

“Wei-gongzi!” 

“Can you hear me? Please, tell me if you hear me!”

“Wei-gongzi! Wei-shixiong!” 

Hope birthed anew in Wei Wuxian. Even though they were not responsive, the voice at least continued to call his name. There was still a way for him to go back to make things right - to finally annihilate the beast and to make up for his inadequacies to the Lan disciples. He couldn't let himself be defeated by this void. He could get away from this and return to reality. 

All at once, a white blast blinded him - making his view pure white. The blinding light was treacherous, but while moments had passed, the voice was increasingly numerous and louder. He could hear voices calling his name. He could tell that those were familiar to him. He couldn't pinpoint which voice belonged to but could feel in his bones that they were desperate to get him. At that thought, he sighed in relief. 

"Wei-gongzi, wake up!" 

As the voice had called for him, the blinding light burst once more before darkness anew. 

"Wake up, please! Wake up." 

He could feel his body was being shaken. He could feel his bones were aching, and the pain was torturing his physical body. At once, he opened his eyes and saw a panicked Lan Ming. 

"Finally, you wake up!" 

Wei Wuxian tried to get up, while Lan Ming assisted him. His ears still had difficulty processing the sounds, but he could tell it was destructive. From it, he hypothesized that Lan Xichen was fighting the beast. 

True enough, when his senses were fully adjusted, he saw Lan Xichen and other disciples fighting the beast. Some of the disciples obtained numerous wounds, and yet, they still continued to stand with Lan-gongzi. Blood dripped from Lan Xichen's forehead, and his white robes were dirty. Lan Xichen clenched Shuoyue before he struck the beast in its chest, dealing a critical blow. 

Lan Xichen shouted, "Maintain the formation! Land your strikes precisely, and sync your movements with others!"  

Lan disciples maintained their circular formation in caging the beast. Lan Xichen led the charge while the disciples followed suit. Lan Ming instructed a junior disciple to assist Wei Wuxian while he and the others would prepare the purification spell again. Wei Wuxian held Suibian as he would join the fight, but the junior disciple prevented him. 

“You can’t, Wei-gongzi! You only gained consciousness after you have been knocked out for a long time!” 

Wei Wuxian protested, “Move!” 

“You can’t!” 

When Wei Wuxian stubbornly stood up, a tremendous pain from his ribcage made him kneel down. He cursed at himself as several of his ribs were severely broken. If he forced himself to fight, he could worsen it, eventually leading to contusions and heavy breathing. While he had managed to be awakened, all he could do now was to watch Lan Xichen and the other disciples battle the beast. 

Another quake resulted from the beast strongly stomping its tail on the ground. Lan Xichen knew that it would be best if they could be sliced it. However, this task would require several heads to fly to accomplish it. And so, he changed his plan to slash at one of its heads to minimize its vision. 

Lan Xichen shouted instructions to back him up as he attempted to slice its left head. Some of the disciples protested such an idea as it would be dangerous for him. Nevertheless, Lan Xichen proceeded with his plan and immediately charged at the beast’s left head. 

The beast sensed what Lan Xichen was planning. With inhumane speed, it brought its tail upwards and struck it downwards to Lan Xichen’s direction. Lan Xichen managed to dodge it, but the force of its attack had slashed the upper eyelid of his right eye. He stumbled. The disciples rushed to defend him. The beast snarled and beared its teeth against them. Senior disciples jumped at the beast, trying to slash at one of its heads. However, they couldn’t manage to do it as the beast easily evaded their attacks. 

Lan Xichen bit his lip and wiped the blood obscuring his sight. He readied himself to attack again, but the junior disciples held him back. 

The beast released a mighty and vicious roar. Fear subdued all of them to the ground as they could tell that it was gearing again to unleash the previous powerful spell. Lan Xichen shouted at the disciples to run, but no foot started to run. Wei Wuxian yelled at them and dragged the junior disciples he could to safety.

When the beast was about to unleash its spell, a thundering strike cruised down the beast onto the ground. Wei Wuxian couldn't believe this magnitude of force came out of nowhere to save them from the beast. However, he didn't expect that the source of that force would be Qingheng-Jun. 

Qingheng-Jun was on top of the beast, subduing it with his spiritual sword Yunshen*. His face held on a serious demeanor, a complete contrast to his usual easygoing facial expression. The disciples were relieved and shouted Qingheng-Jun’s name. With Qingheng-Jun’s presence, the morale was boosted and the doubts quelled in their hearts were instantly alleviated. 

Qingheng-Jun dodged its tail with elegant movements when it went over him to smash his head. Sensing a formidable foe, the beast focused all its attention on Qingheng-Jun. Qingheng-Jun held a small smile as if he had accepted its challenge. And so, they turned against one another to see their heads rolled. 

Lan Xichen quickly gathered himself and instructed to prepare the pentagram spell while Qingheng-Jun was fighting it. Lan Ming led the pentagram spell group to quickly hasten and purify the swords. Lan Xichen and senior disciples who could still fight assisted Qingheng-Jun from the sides. But Wei Wuxian could tell that they wouldn’t be needed. 

Wei Wuxian couldn’t believe that he was witnessing Qingheng-Jun in a battle. He only heard the rumors of the said man’s prowess from the idling mouths of cultivators. They said Qingheng-Jun could singlehandedly take down a magical beast. At the same time, some didn’t believe it since it would take thousands of cultivators to exterminate a magical beast. Without Bai Ze’s knowledge and chance encounter with Huang Di, cultivators would not be able to exorcise all evil creatures. 

However, the rumors were quite proven true as Qingheng-Jun easily deflected each blow the beast handed him. He swiftly dodged one of its heads when it went to his torso to tear it off. When its left head was exposed in a single opportunity that it would be difficult to have it again, Qingheng-Jun unwaveringly went close to it and struck upwards towards its left head. As a result, the left head was dangling at the side before it completely fell off to the ground. The beast winced and roared with great pain. However, Qingheng-Jun didn’t give it another chance to recover. Thus, with Yunshen, he landed another strike at its torso, creating a massive open wound. The beast staggered on its feet while black blood oozed out of its torso. Qingheng-Jun’s spiritual sword, Yunshen, remained spotless as if it didn’t slice the beast open. 

Yunshen was a pure white sword with its hilt has engravings of white and blue clouds, symbolizing the Gusu Lan Clan. A blue jade tassel attached to its hilt, and its scabbard was white and blue covered with an engraving of the Cloud Recesses. Seeing Yunshen in action, especially only hearing it in rumors and how the sword was beautiful and pleasing to the eyes, was a great treat for Wei Wuxian.  

Yunshen perfectly complimented its user’s ability and strength. With each strike of Qingheng-Jun, Yunshen released a strong spiritual pressure that caused a tremendous air pressure surrounding it. It was as if Yunshen was announcing its presence as the martial sword of the Cloud God*. 

The beast’s decapitated left head had started to turn into ashes, while its neck was slowly regenerating a new left head of its own. Before it successfully created a new one, Qingheng-Jun went full force against the beast, giving it huge blows after one and another. He didn’t let it recover even an ounce of its strength. Astonished, Wei Wuxian couldn’t help but to engrave this scene in his brain. Oh, how much Wei Wuxian wanted to be a strong cultivator like Qingheng-Jun!

The beast grew frustrated while Qingheng-Jun continued his offense against it. The beast couldn’t find a way to counterattack. Hence, as a last effort to survive its battle against Qingheng-Jun, it suddenly shrank its size to a normal-sized white fox with one tail. It completely transformed its appearance of a three-headed hound beast into a fox similar to another magical beast. 

Lan Xichen was flabbergasted when he saw this. But it made sense to him now why the beast had “disappeared” when the Huang Clan tried to capture it. It was an understatement to say it disappeared as it fully changed its appearance to another creature. It has a shape-shifting ability rather than invincibility, as Qingheng-Jun and Wei Wuxian hypothesized. And its shape-shiting capabilities were top-notch for a Yao ! 

Wei Wuxian thought that the beast may be a magical beast instead of a Yao . If so, the purification spell would be useless. Magical beast has a core since they are capable of cultivation. They could reach the highest level of cultivation; if they did so, it was believed that they could have a human form. They were challenging to exterminate as their power often transcended a cultivator’s strength. Likewise, they usually have divine powers like Baihu and Xuanwu. Since the beast had merely transformed itself into another type of creature, it could infer that it had not yet reached a high level of cultivation. They could still kill it if they could locate its core, but it would be tricky. 

Wei Wuxian was about to shout to catch everyone’s attention when the beast started to run toward the forest. It was escaping!

Without any moment of waste, Qingheng-Jun threw a subduing rope from the purification spell to its hind legs. The rope wrapped its legs, making it stumble to the ground. The beast growled at Qingheng-Jun. Qingheng-Jun was about to strike its chest when the beast suddenly returned to its three-headed hound form. The suddenness of its transformation caught Qingheng-Jun off guard, and he flew toward the trees. He adjusted his body to a standing position so that he could land safely on his foot, which he managed to do so. 

Wei Wuxian gritted his lip until blood dripped from it. He forced himself to stand up, got Suibian from his side, and ran towards the beast. The junior disciple shouted at him while he watched Wei Wuxian run. Qingheng-Jun saw Wei Wuxian running towards it, and as if he knew what Wei Wuxian was doing, Qingheng-Jun quickly held Yunshen tightly and went straight head-on against the beast. Seeing the two cultivators going after it, the beast geared toward Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian gulped and could feel his bones freezing from fear, but nevertheless continued his attack. He could see that the instantaneous transformation from one form to another took a significant toll on its body. And from that, Wei Wuxian took this opportunity to strike it to its end. 

The beast raised its claws toward Wei Wuxian. With difficulty, Wei Wuxian fell below the beast and sliced it open from its torso to its tail. Simultaneously, Qingheng-Jun went above it. With Yunshen, he tried to cut it in half for the core to be located. Because of Wei Wuxian and Qingheng-Jun’s actions, an ugly mixed and matched three cores, three cores, which looked as if it was hastily glued to one another, were exposed from its back. Lan Xichen went after it without a second thought, channeled great spiritual energy to Shuoyue, and struck the three cores into pieces. 

The beast roared once more due to the immense pain. It let out ear-piercing cries, which made them close their ears. It thrashed itself in different directions before it collapsed against the trees. 

Qingheng-Jun went to Wei Wuxian and assisted him in standing up. Lan Xichen went to the beast’s corpse while it slowly disintegrated into the ashes. The pieces of three cores were scattered on the ground before they turned into ashes along with its body. Lan Xichen looked at Qingheng-Jun and Wei Wuxian. Without any word, Lan Xichen could tell there was something more, perhaps a more sinister motive, behind the beast. He knew his eyes were not deceiving him when those cores looked like a cultivator’s core. And he could not fathom the idea that a person could do this.