Chapter 10
Yunmeng Trio...
"A-Cheng...don't tire yourself too much...Tomorrow is the start of the official lectures..."
Jiang Yanli said seeing her brother train hard...
"A-Ji...Since we came to gusu..i can't help but notice that Wei Wuxian has changed..."
Jiang Cheng said...
"Let him be A-Cheng...Even though it is hard for him to cope with these rules and discipline, he is doing it to uphold Yunmeng Jiang clan's honor... "
"A-Ji...All our ancestors were born as free wanderers...They advocated comfort, straightforwardness, magnanimity and being unrestrained...wasn't THAT Wei Wuxian's nature...?"
Jiang Cheng said in an irritating tone..
Jiang Yanli laughed hearing her brother...
"A-Cheng...Weren't you the one who kept lecturing him to behave so that he doesn't let down our clan...?"
She asked her brother who pouted...
"Don't be too worried..."
She added...
"I told myself that his free spirited ways were the reason why father likes him so much...I always kept wondering if father would like him as much if Wei Wuxian is not like that...and i tried hard to change him...to make him more like myself..."
Jiang Cheng said to his sister...
"But now seeing him devoid of his usual theatrics...seeing him act just like me...I...realized that I wanted to change him because I was jealous of him...jealous of how he enjoyed life...jealous of how free he was..."
He added...
"I miss him A-Ji...i miss him so much..I... never wanted this to happen..."
"A-Cheng..."
Jiang Yanli called placing her hand on her brother's shoulder...
"I can't even be good with my own brother...i should be able to protect him the way he is right...?how will I ever be a good sect leader if i cant protect my own brother the way he is...?"
He asked his sister...
"Jiang Cheng...We never know what future holds for us...but I know for sure that you will be an amazing person and also an amazing sect leader...you just need to understand that each person is different...what one person needs may be different from what other needs..."
"You are more like...our mother...strict... tough..always in control ...but you need to know that it is OK to unrestrained...you don't have to try so hard to prove anything to anybody..."
"And coming to A-Xian...On the outside...Your words for A-Xian are harsh, but inside you really worry about him..."
Jiang Yanli said her brother...
"I do not..."
Jiang Cheng said pouting...
Jiang Yanli laughed...
"You all are here..."
Wei Ying said as he ran inside like his tail was on fire...
"You again...?"
Jiang Cheng snapped...
"Keep your voice down...do you want to write the 3500+ rules of Lan Clan 300 times before the lecture even starts...?"
Wei Ying asked him...
"What's it to you...?I'll write the rules 300 times if I want to...or more if I feel like it..."
Jiang Cheng said to Wei Ying...
"You know what....Shout all you want...don't come crying to me when you struggle and your hands go numb..."
Wei Ying said...
"Wei Wuxian...you..."
"Stop it you two..."
Jiang Yanli said to the two of them...
Wei Ying smiled sheepishly at his shiji...
"By the way who chased you here...?why were you running...?"
Jiang Cheng asked...
Wei Ying ignored the question as he catched the wonderful aroma of the vegetable soup his sister made...
"Woah..."
Wei Ying said inhaling deeply...
"Shiji...XianXian is very hungry..."
He said cutely rubbing his stomach...
"You are right on time then..."
Shiji said laughing as they sat down to eat...
"XianXian...how old are you...?"
Jiang Yanli asked laughing...
"I'm three already..."
Wei Ying said and Jiang Yanli patted on his head laughing...
Wei Ying remembered the conversation he had with Shiji in the past when he was worried about her marriage with Jin peac- Jin Zixuan...
**************
"Why would someone like another person? I mean that kind of like..."
Jiang YanLi paused for a moment, musing...
"Why are you asking me about this? Do you like someone? What kind of a maiden is she?"
"No. I won't like anyone. At least not too much. Wouldn't it be the same as putting a rein on my neck?"
***********
Both of them knew what he was asking about...And Shiji had teased him about him being more of a 1 year old than 3 year old...
He knew what she was telling him was that he will understand in time...
Now he knew that Shiji had saw something in her relationship with Jin Zixuan that was worth putting a rein on her neck for...
Would it be like that in every relationship...?
What relationship...?
You are mad Wei Wuxian...
You are going to make the one person who is there with you in this ordeal to loathe you...
"What are you daydreaming about Wei Wuxian...?"
"I was thinking about how ugly you are upclose..."
Wei Ying retorted...
"Wei Wuxiannnnn..."
Jiang Yanli served soup to her two brothers and watched them bicker with each other...
"That enough you two...Stop fighting and have the soup before it gets cold..."
She said to them giving them the soup bowl...
Wei Yings stared at the soup bowl remembering the last time he had had the soup his shiji made...That was in Yiling when she had come to see him to tell him about her wedding with Jin Zixuan...
Wei Ying placed a spoonful in his mouth and his eyes teared up unknowingly...
"What is wrong A-Xian...?"
Shiji asked him cupping his cheeks...
"Nothing Shiji...The soup is so tasty that i got emotional...it's not always one gets to have the soup his shiji makes..."
Wei Ying said laughing...
Jiang Yanli smiled but she noticed the sadness in Wei Ying's eyes that he tried to hide with the laughter...
"My Shiji is the best..."
He added hugging his sister sideways...
Jiang Yanli patted on his head...
"What is with you and Second Master Lan...?"
Jiang Cheng asked Wei Ying out of blue...
Wei Ying choked...
He coughed hard and soon his eyes started to water...
Jiang Yanli rubbed on his back worried...
"A-Xian...Are you ok...?"
"Yes...Shiji..."
He managed to say in a hoarse voice...
"Second Master Lan..."
Jiang Yanli said seeing Lan Zhan walk towards them and both Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying turned abruptly almost causing neck sprain...
"I just came to remind Wei Ying to take the medicine incase he forgot..."
Lan Zhan said looking at Wei Ying...
Wei Ying smiled looking at Lan Zhan...
Jiang Cheng coughed dramatically...
Wei Ying sighed...
Wei Wuxian...get your thoughts straight...
He thought slapping himself on his face...
Don't let your crazy thoughts ruin your relationship with Lan Zhan...alright...?
Because if the man knows the thoughts you are having about him...he would draw and quarter you for sure...not to mention the fact that he would be so repulsed by it...
Lan Zhan cared for him a lot...And his affection was visible till the very end in the past life and even now after they got a second change...
There wasn't another person who had stood by his side throughout other than Lan Zhan...
Even though he kept reprimanding him about turning to crafty arts about how it messed up with ones mind, he was still there with him when he really lost his mind as the nevernight...never once judging him...
And they were best friends...soulmates...
Wouldn't that be enough to keep this wonderful man in his life...?
Do you have to give weird dimensions to it now Wei Ying...?
"We were having dinner...would you like to join us...?"
Jiang Yanli asked him with a warm smile...
"Shiji...but Lan Zhan eats bunny food..."
Wei Ying blurted out and both Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng looked at him weirdly...
"I mean vegetarian food..."
He said knowing what Shiji was doing...
"Which would be an issue if we were having non vegetarian soup which we are not...Second Master Lan...Come on in...let me get you a bowl..."
She said to him...
Lan Zhan sat on the vacant chair beside Wei Ying...
"Are you ok...?"
He asked Wei Ying...
Wei Ying nodded with an embarrassed smile...
Shiji gave a bowl of soup to Lan Zhan...
"Aren't you having dinner Jiang guniang...?"
Lan Zhan asked...
"I already did..."
She said to him smiling...
She had had her dinner with others while her brothers skipped as they were busy...
Lan Zhan took a mouthful...
"It's very tasty..."
He said to Jiang Yanli...
Wei Ying looked at Lan Zhan surprised by the gesture...
"Lan Zhan hates spicy food..."
Wei Ying said to his sister...
"You don't have to put yourself through this..."
He said to Lan Zhan...
Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng looked at Wei Ying and then at Lan Zhan wondering how their brother knew so much about the youngest of the Twin jades of gusu...
"I'm Sorry Second Master Lan...These two normally want their tongues to go numb with spice...so i made it a little bit spicy...If I had known that you would drop by I would have..."
"It's...OK...I can manage...it's not that uncomfortably spicy..."
Lan Zhan said to Jiang Yanli...
Jiang Yanli laughed knowing that Lan Zhan was saying that because he didn't want to hurt her feelings...Though his expression gave away nothing, his cheeks were already red...
"Let me mash these vegetables into the soup for you...it will bring down the spice a notch.."
She said to him...
"Don't worry Jiang guniang...it's fine..."
"Lan Zhan...You should try Shiji's Lotus Root Soup with Pork Ribs..."
Wei Ying said to Lan Zhan...
"Once you do...you will permenantly relocate to Yunmeng Jiang clan..."
He added beaming widely...
Lan Zhan smiled at Wei Ying...
Wei Ying gulped realizing what he had just said to Lan Zhan...
Did he just say what he thought he said...
Relocate to Yunmeng Jiang sect...?
What are you even saying Wei wuxian...?
Jiang Yanli smiled watching the two...
"Second Master Lan...Have you ever been to Yunmeng...?
Jiang Yanli asked smiling...
"I have...A couple of times..."
Lan Zhan said to her...
"Oh is it...?Is that how you met Wei Wuxian...?"
Jiang Cheng asked Lan Zhan...
*SPLASH*
Wei Ying choked on the soup...Jiang Cheng you are going to die today...
He thought to himself glaring at the man...
Until now Lan Zhan had totally ignored Jiang Cheng...Not even for courtesy sake did he acknowledge him...The man didn't even spare him a glance which irritated Jiang Cheng...
"Did you come meet only Wei Wuxian...?Because I don't remember seeing you..."
Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan stared at each other...neither one backing down...Wei Ying sighed knowing the reason for the animosity...
The air started to get dense around them...so much that they could cut the tension with a knife...
"Jiang gongzi...isn't that your problem...?that you don't "remember" seeing me...?"
Lan Zhan asked him...
"Haha...ha...Lan Zhan...I can see Yunmeng's spicy soup talking through your mouth..."
Wei Ying said laughing out loud awkwardly...
"Soup is getting cold...by the way..."
He reminded them...
Awkward silence prevailed...
**********
"I don't like him..."
Jiang Cheng said after Lan Zhan left...
"You don't like anybody...So your opposition doesn't count..."
Wei Ying retorted as they helped Shiji clean up...
"I like him..."
Jiang Yanli said joining in on the conversation...
"You like everybody...So your support doesn't count either A-Ji..."
Jiang Cheng said to her...
They laughed at how that conversation went...
"Well...I like him...And neither do I dislike everybody nor do i like everybody...so i am sure it counts..."
Wei Ying said as they finished cleaning up and wiped his hands...
Gasp...
Seriously what is wrong with you Wei Wuxian...?
"What I meant is..."
Wei Ying said wanting to clarify but Jiang Yanli interrupted with a knowing smile..
"Oh..I understand it more than you think A-Xian...And I think your opinion is what counts the most here..."
Jiang Yanli said smiling...
Jiang Cheng huffed...
"Since when did you and Lan Wanji become such bossom buddies...?And why didn't I know about it...?"
"It's a long story...I'll tell you ALL about it when I AM free..."
Wei Ying said wishing his sister goodnight he walked away...
"You come back here..."
Jiang Cheng hollered after him...
Wei Ying waved his hands...
He made his way to his room and then on impulse took a detour...
As he walked in he saw Lan Zhan sitting on the stairs of his room holding a black ball of fur in his hands...
"I am sorry I wasn't there with you when you got injured...but I promise that going forward I'll be there with you always...you will not have to go through it alone again..."
He heard Lan Zhan say to it...
"Lan Zhan..."
Wei Ying called...
"Wei Ying..."
Lan Zhan acknowledged him looking up...
"For a person who doesn't like rabbits...you sure associate a lot with them..."
Wei Ying said patting on the rabbit's fur softly...
"It's not that I don't like rabbits..."
Lan Zhan said abruptly...
"It's just that keeping pets isn't allowed at Cloud Recesses..."
"But still you kept them..."
Wei Ying said to him...
"Hmm..."
"I thought you were going to take rest..."
Lan Zhan asked him...
"I wanted to speak to you..."
Wei Ying said cautious about every word he uttered, not wanting to mess up the relationship they shared...
Lan Zhan nodded...
"Wei Ying...Earlier..."
Lan Zhan started to say but was interrupted by Wei Ying...
"Lan Zhan...Do you think what we are doing now will change the past from repeating...?"
He asked abruptly not wanting Lan Zhan to get a wind of his thoughts earlier...
But as soon as he asked that he was pulled back into the real world from the dream land he was in..
Wei Ying sighed...
All the more reason to keep his head straight...
He thought to himself...
Lan Zhan shook his head...
Everything that happened in the past flashed in Wei Ying's mind...throwing him once again into deep pit of despair...
"Wen Qing was here examining the back of the mountains...The barrier that Brother and shufu managed to get back up is holding...She still hasn't figured out a way to get past the barrier...But we have time only until it breaks...Wens are waiting right outside for the signal from her..."
"There is a possibility that they will come for Gusu Lan and Falling Flower Petal House once they know that the Yin Metal is gone...but it's all a big if..."
"You mean we may have kick started the events prematurely...?"
Wei Ying asked...
Please lie...Please lie...Please lie...
He pleaded looking at Lan Zhan...
Wei Ying clenched his arms tightly to stop it from shivering...He wasn't ready for this...
What sort of crappy life is this...?That he was living knowing how it will all end...knowing what was waiting for them at the end...
It was like he was an helpless puppet...dancing to the tunes of somebody...Hoping against hope that everything would be OK...but in the end...was nothing but a tool, a scape goat to get stuff happen...
Maybe it was a mistake...it was a mistake to think that he could change things...
Maybe he should have let it be...
Now he had asked for a second chance and things were going to end the same way it had before...
"Wei Ying..."
He heard Lan Zhan called and realized that he was hyperventilating...
"Wei Ying calm down..."
Lan Zhan kept whispering placing his hand on his...
"Just tell me Lan Zhan...tell me we aren't going off to the same ending again..."
Wei Ying asked him...
Lan Zhan was the only one he would trust to tell him the truth at this point...
Lan Zhan sighed...
"It is all bound to happen somehow...We just don't know when it will happen...or how..."
Lan Zhan said to him...
"They have already come prepared to attack the sects for the Yin metal...The Yin Metal shard they possess must have lead them here...but now that they are indeed here the barrier is throwing them off track...which is why they are waiting..."
"Disciples who went outside for nighthunt saw Wen Chao with his troupes...The Wens aren't really attempting to hide even...they are just waiting there in the open...ready to strike...What we don't know is how they would react when they see that the Yin Metal is gone..."
"We have until the lecture finishes...they wouldn't dare attack when the disciples from all clans are present..."
"I just hope that atleast this time I don't get left behind..."
Lan Zhan added...
Wei Ying looked at Lan Zhan and sighed...
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