Dance of the blades

Chapter 53 Slipups

Having said those words Lan Jingyi promptly slammed his hand over his mouth. He hadn't taken into account how rude his words might have sound without contexts and blurted it out in front of the aforementioned party. Gulping his remaining words back into his throat, a beam of sweat dripped down from his brows as he apprehensively gaze at Lan Sizhui, expected some form of outrage.

To his astonishment, Lan Sizhui did not seemed at all affected by his slipup. In fact a bright smile even dawned on his face, blinding anyone who looks too closely at it with the radiant light emitting from it.

If Lan Sizhui had to be honest, he felt that the distrust Lan Jingyi harbored in his heart against him was not unwarranted. A demon slayer no matter how morally righteous they acclaim to be, traveling with a demon as a companion would nonetheless warrant suspicion.

So with a small smile on his lips, Lan Sizhui gently shook in amusement and gravitated his attention to Jin Ling's side. Seeing his nonchalance, the tension Lan Jingyi didn't know he had on his shoulders loosen in relief. 

"Jingyi weren't you the one who protest the loudest when I was questioning Sizhui's credibility. How come your already taking your words back, didn't your clan teach you to stick to your words?" Jin Ling sneered with a mocking tone. Taking delight in seeing Lan Jingyi's irked expression, a smirk took shape on Jin Ling's lips.

"Well that...that's" Lan Jingyi rose from his spot, stammering uncontrollably and struggling to complete his speech. With a face flushed bright hues of red from embarrassment, he lets out a huff of breath when noticing the smug grin on his friend's face.

"I didn't meant it like that alright! I'm was just saying that cause now everyone else won't have a reason to suspect Sizhui! You believe me right Sizhui?" Lan Jingyi quickly exclaimed, looking expectedly at Lan Sizhui. To his dismay, he received a sidelong glance of amusement from Lan Sizhui.

"Sizhui you..." Lan Jingyi felt his face dropping to a considerably miserable degree, unshed tears threating to fall from this betrayal. His mood was made even worse when he heard a discrete snicker from Ouyang Zizhen, unbothered to even hide his amusement at hole Lan Jingyi had dug himself into.

"Think before you speak and plan before you act, Lan Jingyi." Ouyang Zizhen said while mustering up a solemn and reprimanding tone, but the mischievous glint in his eyes exposed his real sinister intentions. His voice went even louder and said, "How can a revere junior clansmen of Gusu Lan act with such vulgar!"

As he said this a muffled 'pff' resonated through the room, causing a tint of red to emerge on Lan Jingyi's cheeks. Although he tried to appear unmoved by the rushing waves of humiliating mockery surging to him, deep down a venom coated arrow had already hit him straight to where the injury hurt the most!

It was said that during the start of Lan Jingyi's junior years, his clan had hosted a clan wide lecture encompassing of a plethora of different young demon slayers. Unfortunately, Lan Jingyi was not the most received representative of his clan. He would get bombarded by his teachers and cause Qi devastations everywhere he went. 

In the end one of his teachers ended up screaming so loud that he had a sore throat for the entire duration of the lecture. And the words he spoke? Exactly the same ones Ouyang Zizhen had just spewed!

"Zizhen is right. Remember that one time when one of the young ladies from my mother's maternal clan asked everyone whether the new hanfu she bought suited her stature. Who would have known that Jingyi would outright say that it didn't just look bad on her but that she should exchange it with the shopkeeper because the way the robes wrapped around her made her look like she gained weight!"

Lan Jingyi sweated, who would have known that Jin Ling would enthusiastically said this without remorse! His entire face was flushed red, he no longer knew whether it was from embarrassment or anger at this point.

Unfortunately for him, it seemed that the world really was out to get him as not a moment later Ouyang Zizhen also started nodded along and added fanned this burning flame.

"Ah I remember now. Jingyi even received a slap on the face from her after! She was so angry that she stormed off cursing at his name" 

Lan Sizhui who had acquired countless love advice during his adolescence from his dad let out an 'ahh' in understanding, he could actually sympathies with the young lady's feelings.

As he thought of this he couldn't help but shook his head and he turned to Lan Jingyi in a reprimanding tone, "Jingyi perhaps you should heed your teachers word and take them more seriously now. That is not how one should comment towards a woman. I fear your future prospects might be in danger"

Lan Jingyi was rendered speechless,"..."

Hold on a minute don't you think that your treading down far beyond your boundary already! Get back here! 

"That's right poor Jingyi, his big mouth had already terrorize countless maidens into being scared witless! Truly I applaud him. Not even my uncle who's been blacklisted by the matchmakers could accomplish what Jingyi here could do in one day" Jin Ling continuously  added, leaving no room for the cornered Lan Jingyi to defend himself against the onslaught of attacks.

Left with no where to run and facing fierce waves at his front, center and back, he weakly retreated back into his shivered up shell and refuted pitifully, "I'm really not like that..."