.
.
Jiang Cheng felt extremely awkward, not knowing how to reply. Nie HuaiSang answered before him, "XiChen-ge, Wei-Xiong was punished with more than a hundred strikes of the ruler. Is there any medicine?!"
The person responsible for punishment in the Cloud Recesses was Lan WangJi. With Wei WuXian's pained cries amid the group which surrounded him, it appeared as if his condition was extremely severe. Lan XiChen immediately came up to them, "Was this done by WangJi? Is Young Master Wei still able to walk? What in the world happened?"
Of course, Jiang Cheng didn't dare to say that Wei WuXian was at fault. Thinking back, it was them who urged Wei WuXian to buy liquor. Each and every one of them should have been punished. He could only speak in a vague way, "It's fine, it's fine; it's not that serious! He can walk. Wei WuXian, why are you still up there?!"
Wei WuXian spoke, "I can't walk." He raised his red palms, which were swollen a few sizes larger, and complained to Lan XiChen, "ZeWu-Jun, your younger brother is so cruel."
Lan XiChen examined his palms, "Yes, the punishment is quite severe, indeed. It is likely that the swelling will not subside until after three or four days."
Jiang Cheng really didn't know that the beating was so severe. He exclaimed, "What? Not after three or four days? His legs and his back were also hit by the discipline rulers. How can Lan WangJi do this?!" He spoke the last sentence with resentment in spite of himself, and only realized it after Wei WuXian secretly smacked him. However, Lan XiChen didn't mind it at all. He smiled, "Nevertheless, it is not severe enough to require medication. Young Master Wei, let me tell you a way for your injuries to be healed in just a few hours."
"Lan XiChen", the old man couldn't hold back, "the Cold spring in cloud recess is for the sect members. How dare you let a guest disciple into that area? Especially when you say you knew WangJi's feelings for that boy, what if he was in an improper state there?"
"Ooohhhh uncle", Wei Wuxian chirped purposely to clear the gloominess in the cave after Jin Ling's outburst. "He definitely was. Your precious nephew was in the state of nature"
"Lan WangJiiiii", the veins on his forehead were popping and his voice tumbling with anger, Master Lan screamed. Wei Wuxian landed on the floor from his seat, laughing at his reaction.
"Wait .. I have something to ask", Nie HuiSang broke in.. "Now that I think of it, Wei Xiong, that was the only time you were punished, wasn't it ?"
"Nie HuiSang, where were you concentrating ? ", Wei Wuxian asked. "Didn't you see how I temporarily had a room in the library pavilion of Cloud Recess?"
"Noo Noo I mean that was the only time WangJi Xiong punished you. But he was the person who caught you every time you broke the rules"
"Yes.. What about that?", Wei Wuxian asked confusedly
"When he could have excused you like all the other times, Why did he punish you that time? If he didn't barge into the room, other Lans wouldn't even knew that we got drunk"
"Ooh ... that's right. Why did you punish me at that time? ", Wei Wuxian curiously asked Lan WangJi like he just opened Pandora's box.
"Because Wei Ying involved others this time", Lan WangJi said, "you were alone other times, but this time you had accomplices. Can't let it go"
"But you only punished me"
"Of course he can't let it go", Lan QiRen interfered. "It would affect the face of the clan if the news of guest disciples getting drunk inside Clod Recess goes out. And youu..", he pointed his fingers at Wei Wuxian with a conceit, "you are the mastermind. That's why he punished you"
"And not because your nephew himself broke a rule? ", Jiang Cheng, jeering at the old man's words, asked. "This time Lan WangJi punished Wei Wuxian because he himself broke rules and went out of Cloud Recess during the curfew time. I think he couldn't help but to punish himself for that. But that is not possible if he didn't punish Wei Wuxian with him."
"Is that why? " Wei Wuxian clutched onto WangJi's arms, shaking them to get his attention, "Lan Zhan, is that why you punished me?"
"Mm"
"No wonder, he only broke one rule but got the same punishment as Wei Xiong"
"So that means", Lan JingYi asked, "senior Wei can break the rules and he will not be punished as long as he doesn't involve others?? That's not fair", he pouted in annoyance.
It was night time, at the cold spring of the Cloud Recesses.
Lan WangJi's eyes were closed as he relaxed in the ice-cold water. Suddenly, a voice rang beside his ears, "Lan Zhan."
"..."
Lan WangJi's eyes sprang open. Sure enough, Wei WuXian was lying on his stomach, above the blue stones beside the cold spring, tilting his head and smiling at him.
"I thought I sent you to heal not to flirt with my brother", Lan Xichen laughed
"Why would I waste a rare opportunity?", he winked
"And he says he didn't have feelings for Lan WangJi", Jiang Cheng told the others. "He tailed him all day long like a lost puppy"
"Do you guys understand, he actually saw Han Guang-Jun in cold spring when he was a teenager. Not after when he came back from Mo village"
"That's true. We thought he was going to harass Han Guang-Jun, while he already had the entry pass to his life years ago", Lan SiZhui face palmed and JingYi asked him, "didn't you know that he was waiting for him?"
"Entire world knew, but yes I knew a little more. That's why I was shocked when he asked to take him to Jingshi. Because that was not the image of Yiling Laozu Wei Wuxian in my mind"
"So that means Han Guang-Jun was ready to relive every moment they missed together. Watching their past, his actions makes sense now"
Lan WangJi blurted out, "How did you come in?!"
Wei WuXian slowly crawled up, and spoke as he took off his sash belt, "ZeWu-Jun told me to come in."
Lan WangJi, "What are you doing?"
Wei WuXian kicked off his boots while leaving piles of clothing all over the ground, "I already stripped, so what do you think I'm here for? I heard that your sect's cold spring can cure injuries aside from helping with one's cultivation. So, your brother told me to come here and bathe with you. Except, it's really not nice of you to come here to heal alone. Eep! It really is cold. Brr..."
He went into the water, rolling about due to the freezing water of the spring. Lan WangJi quickly distanced himself a few meters away from Wei WuXian, "I came here for cultivation purposes, not to heal... Do not leap around!"
Wei WuXian spoke, "But it's so cold, it's so cold..."
"Lan Zhan, were you actually meditating?", Wuxian whisperer asked.
"Mm"
After getting me beaten with that ruler you came to meditate?", he questioned with a hint of bitterness in his voice
"Precisely ", Lan WangJi didn't take another second to answer. "Was feeling guilty for punishing Wei Ying. So went to cold spring to calm my mind"
"Ooohhhh Lan Zhan", he cooed, "do you what was better to do than that meditation? ", Wei Wuxian asked. Lan WangJi shook his head. "TALK TO ME".
"You could have talked to me. say a little sorry", he teased, "but seriously I would forget the pain if you just talk to me. You have no idea how I much I wanted you to behave friendly"
"Was scared"
"Huhhhh", Wei Wuxian thought he heard it wrong ", what did you say? Scared? Of what Lan Zhan ??"
"What if Wei Ying didn't like boys? What if I couldn't control myself around you? What if I mess up our relationship ? What if you don't talk to me anymore? What if " , Lan WangJi didn't know when his throat get dry or when his voice started shaking. But his words stopped abruptly with another pair of lips on his. It was just a peck but it did the work. That kiss melted the storm in his heart.
"Don't say anything", Wei Wuxian's breath swamped on Lan WangJi's face. "We are here now. And I'm happy that you are with me in this lifetime. That's all what matters"
This time, he didn't intend to emphasize or cause trouble. It was true that most people couldn't become used to the Gusu Lan Sect's cold spring in a short amount of time, feeling as if their bodies and blood would freeze if they stayed still for just a few moments. So, he could only jump around, intending to warm his body from the movement. Lan WangJi was originally meditating in peace, but with Wei WuXian jumping about, a few splashes of water were thrown on his face. A few droplets trickled down his long lashes and ink black hair. It was beyond his endurance, "Do not move!"
As he spoke, he extended an arm, and put his hand on Wei WuXian's shoulder.
Wei WuXian instantly felt a surge of warmth coming from where their bodies connected. Feeling better, he couldn't help but to shift closer over there. Lan WangJi was wary of this, "What?"
"he can't even stand properly with the beatings he got but still is being shameless"
Wei WuXian replied in an innocent tone, "Nothing. It seems like your side is warmer."
Lan WangJi firmly kept his arm between the two of them, maintaining the distance. He sternly declared, "It is not."
"It is", Wuxian sat leaning more to Lan WangJi's body if it was even possible. "You are warmer". He pressed him more to himself as if they were still in the cold spring and his husband was freezing to death.
Wei WuXian wanted to get closer to Lan WangJi so that it was more convenient for him to flatter the other. Even though he couldn't go over and was given the cold shoulder, he wasn't angered at all. He glanced at Lan WangJi's palms and shoulder. The bruises were still there, meaning that Lan WangJi really wasn't here to heal. Wei WuXian spoke sincerely, "Lan Zhan, I admire you so much. You really did punish yourself as well, without treating yourself any better. I don't have anything else to say."
Lan WangJi shut his eyes again, without any words.
Wei WuXian spoke again, "Really, I've never seen someone as prim and proper as you. It'd be impossible for me to do something like this. You're so cool."
Lan WangJi still paid him no attention.
"Look at the Honorable Second Young Master Lan ignoring a mere disciple", He pouted. "I really wanted to be friends and trying to initiate a conversation with you but you out rightly rejected me"
"Wei Ying", WangJi called controlling the overflowing emotions. "Like I said before, I would never ignore you, not anymore" he promised. Wuxian felt a whole whirlpool of butterflies inside his stomach. "I was teasing", he said shyly. "But how many times should I ask you to warn me before saying something sweet"
After Wei WuXian stopped feeling cold, he started to swim around the cold spring. He swam for a while, but still went near Lan WangJi, "Lan Zhan, didn't you notice what I was doing when I talked to you?"
Lan WangJi, "I do not know."
Wei WuXian, "You don't even know about this? I was complimenting you, trying to become more casual with you."
Lan WangJi glanced at him, "What do you want to do?"
Wei WuXian, "Lan Zhan, why don't we become friends? We're already so familiar."
Lan WangJi, "We are not."
"He was really persistent", Lan Xichen said, eyeing his brother-in-law. "But I doubt if he knew what actually Lan WangJi had in his mind whenever Wei Wuxian tried to get close to him, would he have approached him?"
"Well at this point it was his prestige issue", Jiang WanYin replied, "but was it that bad? Lan WangJi's desires?"
"Ooo trust me.. You wouldn't want to know"
SiZhui said, "So this is the minimum effort we should put in to make friends?"
"Still he couldn't make him friends", HuiSang reminded the kid. "But he got a better deal himself"
Wei WuXian slapped the surface of the water, "Now, you're being boring again. Really. There are lots of benefits if you become friends with me."
Lan WangJi, "For example?"
Wei WuXian swam near the edge of the spring, and leaned back with his arms on the blue rocks, "I'm always really loyal towards my friends. For example, I'd definitely let you be the first person to look at new porn that I get hold of... Hey, hey, come back! It's fine if you don't look at them. Have you been to Yunmeng? Yunmeng is really fun. Yunmeng's food is also good. I don't know if it's Gusu's or Cloud Recess's problem, but the food in your sect is so bad. If you come to Lotus Pier, you can eat lots of delicious food. I can take you to pick lotus seed pods and water chestnuts. Lan Zhan, do you wanna come?"
"That is true ", Nie HuiSang shouted, "he is loyal to his friends. Sometimes extremely loyal and Yunmeng's food is better than Gusu's ". Both Jiang WanYin and Jin ling nodded.
Lan WangJi, "No."
Wei WuXian, "Don't answer everything with negative words. You sound so uncaring; girls won't like it. Let me tell you—the girls in Yunmeng look very pretty, different from the sort of pretty in Gusu." He winked his left eye at Lan in a proud way, "You sure you don't wanna come?"
Lan WangJi hesitated, but still replied, "No..."
"Lan Zhan", Wei Wuxian faked a shocked gasp. "You hesitated. You wanted to meet the girls in Yunmeng?", he held his hand above where his heart is. "I'm hurt, you know. Here I thought you were loyal but deep inside you still wanted to meet other maidens"
Lan WangJi immediately started panicking and his face lost all the colors. His eyes popped out of its socket. "Tha.. That's not true", he stuttered. "I don't know what I was thinking but f=definitely not about maidens. WangJi only wanted Wei Ying", he placed his own hand right above Wei Wuxian's . "It's only you. It was always been you"
The others looked at them and decided it's better to watch the drama than interfere and kill the joy. Wei Wuxian bit his bottom lip, preventing them from releasing the smile. "Then why does it seem as if you were having a second thought about rejecting my offer?"
"You said I was uncaring and girls won't like it", he whispered in a barely audible voice.. "I thought Wei Ying won't like me because of my nature"
"I said girls. G.I.R.L.S", he emphasized.
"But you are also from Yunmeng. What if you are also like them? ", WangJi voiced his thoughts.
"So basically", Lan Xichen interfered, sensing the trembling in his younger brother's voice, "it didn't matter whether you are a boy or girl. For him you are the only one and all the attributes suits you"
"Where did I go wrong in raising him? ", Lan QiRen wondered.
Wei Wuxian tried to release his hand which was now under WangJi's grasp. A dreadful fear ran through Lan WangJi's blood as he thought his words were not convincing and his husband was trying to get away. At a gallop Lan Wangji tightened his hold . A smile bloomed on Wei Wuxian's face as he couldn't hold it any longer. "Even if you were thinking of them", he started slowly, "I wouldn't be mad . Because watching how oblivious I was during those years, I should be happy that you actually waited for me. Even after my death"
Lan WangJi took his first normal breath after that scene played. He didn't particularly like his husband constantly mentioning the death but for now he chose not to pinpoint it. "So don't worry, I'm not mad", Wei Wuxian served him with his breathtaking smile and cuddled with him.
"I don't understand, at this rate, why Lan WangJi is getting worked up when this idiot starts pouting", Jiang Cheng said shaking his head in disappointment watching how his ShiXiong being dramatic, "he is just teasing him"
Lan Xichen who was also amusedly watching the couple whispered back, "Wangji loves to pamper Wuxian and Wuxian loves to get his attention"
"He was the same with our sister ", Jiang Cheng whispered. "A small inconvenience and he would run into her arms"
Wei WuXian, "Rejecting me without giving me any respect—aren't you scared that I'd conveniently take away your clothes when I leave?"
Lan WangJi, "Get lost!!!"
"And finally he managed to push all his buttons", the kids laughed
"Do you know How many times you got kicked out from Han Guang-Jun ", Lan Jingyi teased him. "I don't keep the count. But I'm the only one honored with the title", Wuxian grinned from ear to ear.
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❣hey my dear readers,
How are you all doing? I'm having a tight schedule nowadays with my part-time jobs.
What do you think about the story so far? Am I satisfying your curiosity??? If you have any suggestions about my writings and changes I should make I'd love to hear your thoughts. And as long as it doesn't affect my initial plot and story line, I am always ready to listen😀😀 . I happened to notice that many of you are reading this story but leaving with no votes or comments. So could you all please encourage me with votes and comments...... and if it's not too much please follow 😊
ohhhhh One more thing.
I'm thinking of a new YiZhan story, a modern one. And I would like if any of you could draw a cover picture for that. So any of my readers are interested please DM me through Instagram. I have already mentioned my Instagram acc link in My about section.