A Lan junior entered the house, quietly, as they all did, with his lunch the following day. "Wei Gonzi? May I ask a question?"
Wei WuXian was lying on his bed, feet propped up against the wall, head hanging down the side of the bed. "Of course."
"Grandmaster Lan said you're a decent archer," the disciple spoke quickly.
"First: decent archer? What an insult! Second: what's your name? Third: what does your grandmaster want from me?"
"Lan DeLi." The disciple bowed properly. "Grandmaster Lan suggested you might be willing to assist the sect and teach archery."
"He did?" Wei WuXian swung his legs down and body around so he could look at the disciple right side up. "And what do you think of that suggestion, Lan DeLi?"
The disciple placed the lunch tray on the dining table. "I would very much like to have an archery teacher, Wei Gongzi. Our previous teacher did not survive the war."
"If I'm going to be your teacher..." Wei WuXian did his best to look stern. "You will call me Laoshi instead of Gongzi."
"Yes, Wei Laoshi!" The junior uncharacteristically looked so happy, a broad smile lighting up his face.
Wei WuXian ate his food quickly, and casually strolled to the gate. No guards. Is it really that easy? Am I really going to be allowed to simply leave this place? He snickered to himself. Is Grandmaster Lan so lacking in instructors that he'd allow me to influence his baby disciples? Or is he upset that I've been just sitting here for months doing nothing? He stepped through the gate. No alarms. I don't feel like I set off any wards? Can I still feel them without a Core? He mostly remembered the way to the archery butts... but from the guest disciples housing, not from here. Nor did he know how to get to the guest houses! The path ended at his house, though, so following it in the only direction it led seemed like the best option.
He didn't quite blend in with the rest of the men walking around. His robes were white, as were everyone else's. His inner roes, though, were black, which was not a color seen on any GusuLan disciple. In addition, they wore their white ribbons tightly around their foreheads and their hair tied in varying degrees of elaborate guans, while he simply had his hair pulled up into a ponytail held by a white ribbon. A helpful disciple gave him directions to the archery grounds, which were far easier to get to via the disciple housing than the guest housing.
Teaching little ones.... And some not so little ones.... He'd loved this part of being YunmengJiang's head disciple. He was a good teacher, if absurdly unconventional for GusuLan. There were elders who heard the shrieks of laughter coming from the mouths of the littlest ones and frowned. They'd see the older children running around chaotically in between archery stations and want to interrupt. The oldest junior disciples could be found nowhere near the archery butts, instead they'd be found learning how to make and fly kites near waterfalls.
"Did you want me to teach them or not?" Wei WuXian demanded when he was hauled before Lan QiRen and lectured at for over a sichen.
"I want you to teach them. Properly," the elder insisted.
"Properly!" Wei WuXian scoffed. "What part of my teaching is not proper? Do your archers merely stand in place when fighting a battle? Because Jiang archers shoot on the run. Or on horseback. But you don't have space to practice shooting from a running horse here."
Lan QiRen snorted. "Proper is proper. Flying kites is not archery."
"That's why your lot did so poorly in the Qishan competition last time," Wei WuXian snorted right back. "Kites move. Like real people. It takes an immense amount of skill to be able to feel the wind and predict where the kite will be, and then hit the kite. As the kite flies further out, the stronger the archer has to be to reach the target. YunmengJiang can boast of having the best archers because we train for real battles, not to stand in one place and hope the enemy doesn't move once the battle begins." He deliberately left off the benefit of being able to predict where an animal would head, as hunting for food was forbidden.
At the thought of hunting, his mouth started watering. Pheasants roasting, juices dripping making the fire spit.
I should test out the token.... See if I really can go anywhere. The need to drink himself into oblivion hadn't lessened one iota; the desire for meat had only increased in intensity. He could go hunting outside Cloud Recesses and cook himself some proper food. Or head down to Caiyi and pay for someone else to cook it for him.
A few days after he'd been cleared to teach as he pleased, he returned home to see Lan WangJi standing by the gate. "Lan Zhan!"
The jade's mouth twitched in what might be suppressing a smile. "Wei Ying."
"I'm teaching your juniors now," Wei WuXian motioned for his friend to enter his yard. Are we friends? I suppose we are unless he says we're not! "Some of your elders are very stodgy, you know. Expecting the best archer in the jianghe to teach boring and predictable GusuLan archery instead of the vastly superior YunmengJiang techniques?"
"Some sects prefer techniques to remain proprietary."
"Shooting kites isn't proprietary. We did it in Qishan, remember?" Once inside, Wei WuXian hesitated. "Should I make tea? I don't think I have any snacks around to go with it, though."
Lan WangJi kept his eyes on the floor. "Would Wei Ying like to go to Caiyi with me? We can eat dinner in a restaurant there. Stay overnight. You can do some shopping if you need it."
"Leave Cloud Recesses?" Wei WuXian nodded. "Sure. Can I have a drink while I'm there?"
"One jar. No more." Lan WangJi allowed, his face appearing to lose some of its tension.
Wei WuXian was excited to leave the Cloud Recesses, even if just for a night. It was nice having Lan Zhan around again. He had missed their afternoon music sessions, missed spending time with the other. He hadn't missed their arguments....
It was strange to see Lan XiChen, Lan QiRen and several other senior disciples waiting at the gate to the Cloud Recesses. Lan XiChen's smile outweighed Lan QiRen's overt disapproval.
"Lan Zhan? What's going on?"
Lan XiChen answered for his brother. "We were headed to Caiyi to meet up with Nie ZongZhu and Nie HuaiSang to travel together to Lanling to attend the Jin's night hunt on Phoenix Mountain. However, WangJi encountered a bit of trouble while he was away, so we'll have to arrive a bit late. There are prisoners under guard in Caiyi and witnesses I would like to speak to before we escort them to Koi Tower." He paused, looking at his brother and perhaps receiving an answer. "I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on the matter, Wei Gongzi."
Lan WangJi gave his brother a curt nod. "Agree."
Lan QiRen sniffed. "We're wasting time."
As the Lans stepped through the gates and onto their swords, Wei WuXian murmured, "I can't fly."
"I know. Will take Wei Ying." And the younger man found himself pulled by the elbow through the gates and then up onto Bichen.
Strange. Lan Zhan doesn't like people touching him, but.... Why is he insisting on taking me? I could just as easily fly with one of the others. Well, maybe not just as easily. Lan Zhan is absolutely a stronger and faster flier than everyone else here. He swallowed, suddenly feeling a bit nervous.
More than a bit nervous. He could feel his hands starting to shake and his skin felt clammy and fear-cold instead of just wind-cold. I'm going to be sick. He felt a knee give out, and the arm holding onto him yanked him up.
"Wei Ying?"
"Just a.... Don't mind me. Suddenly reminded of my last flight. It wasn't pleasant." Wei WuXian gripped the arm holding him tighter as the other knee gave way.
"Wei Ying? What happened on your last flight?"
"Not much, really." He tried to keep his voice sounding jovial; it came out at a higher than normal pitch. "Just... Wen Chao's minions didn't hold me as tightly as you are. That's all."
"Wen Chao's minions?"
"Yeah. We flew over the Burial Mounds and... then I wasn't flying anymore. I really don't want to talk about it."
Bichen dipped; with his free hand, Lan WangJi motioned that he was fine to his brother. "We can walk."
"We don't need to walk!" Wei WuXian protested. He only half meant it. By now his stomach had joined in the 'let's not behave' game and was threatening to shove its contents out one direction or the other. Once on firm ground, he rubbed his belly, hoping it would assuage the upset feeling and let him keep some of his dignity.
"Wei Ying.... The soldiers at the Indoctrination Center when we retrieved the swords.... They said Wen Chao threw you into the Burial Mounds. I had thought it hyperbole.... But...."
"Yeah, we were flying pretty high when they tossed me in. Did you know the human body makes pretty interesting noises when it hits the ground from an extreme height? You break a lot of bones, too." Don't make me talk about it. Please. I... I see it so often in my nightmares. I feel it. Feel my bones shattering. Hear my own screams. I wake up to those screams.
"Wei Ying...."
"Don't pity me," he hissed. "Don't you dare pity me." He started walking in what he hoped was the way to Caiyi.
ok. Oops? I was re-reading this book to remind myself and found that there was something missing. Turns out, I uploaded a chapter wrong.
Uh oh.
So.... ummm... here is the missing chapter?
- Aitch.