It had been three weeks since the incident in the library, and Meifeng had since finished writing up her three copies of the disciplines in time to be allowed loose from the confines of the Sect to enjoy the weather in a nearby fishing village that was currently a hub of activity. Apparently, the Two Jade brothers of the Lan Clan had business here in the water-side town, so a few students were allowed to assist them, though Meifeng doubted it was anything major since the residences of the town were all excellent swimmers and nothing catastrophic had happened in recent years.
As marketers were showing off their goods to prospective buyers in their small boats, a clear blue sky stretched as far as the eye could see down the clear river's surface... but all Meifeng's eyes could focus on was a small bowl in front of her that held a helping of a delicious cream dessert. With small pieces of fruit atop its surface like colorful ornaments, she had been waiting to taste it ever since she caught a glimpse of it earlier that evening. "We are really fortunate to be here! I don't know how much longer I could take being stuck in that place!"
Across from her at the same table, Jiang Cheng was watching the girl stuff her face with food with an expression of indifferent annoyance; how could Meifeng be thinking of her stomach at a time like this when they had been allowed on a trip with Lan Xichen and other disciples? Then there was the fact that, anytime Meifeng ran into the members of other greater cultivation clans, he had to remain alert to separate a fight should it happen... which was often the case between her and Jin Zixuan, who was standing not far from their table coincidentally enough.
Said individual was scowling at Meifeng, and he knew the Young Master of Jin had been offended by her words somehow; he actually hoped deep down the two could find some amends when his sister would marry the other man. However, Meifeng didn't seem the least bit concerned at his animosity, as usual of the relatively carefree girl, as she dug into her cold dessert until something else seemed to catch her attention: the smell of perfectly fermented rice wine.
Of course it would be alcohol; his sister drank more than anyone he knew, male and female alike. He knew of some disciples who had placed a running bet that, instead of blood, the fermented brew flowed through Wei Meifeng's veins with how much she took into herself.
Running to a small gondola boat, ignoring his warning not to run near the water's edge, Meifeng disappeared from his sight down the busy river market in search of her new interest, and Jiang Cheng was left sitting alone with a half-eaten bowl of ice cream. As Meifeng's eyes wandered aimlessly to and from the different stalls of food and other new items however, her attention had been off of her surroundings, and the sudden thud of her boat hitting something alerted to whom she had ran into... literally. Quickly bowing towards her victim, she apologized through gritting teeth.
"Mr. Jin. I apologize for running into your boat. I was not paying attention as I should have." Meifeng couldn't help but notice that the small cup that had contained tea was now splashed on his clothing from the incident. Of course, the guy had the nerve to accuse her of running into him on purpose, along with declining any of her efforts to apologize further to him and indirectly insulting the Yunmeng Jiang Clan. It took every bit of lingering self-control that the Jiang family had taught her not to punch the stupid yellow peacock in his stupid face. It would've given her so much satisfaction to do this, but also cause trouble between the two clans hoping to unite through a marriage.
As the standoff between them continued, their surroundings disappearing until all that was left was each other, Nie Huaisang's figure came into view with his fan as if to cool the rising tension. The young master of Nie Clan disliked confrontation with a passion, which was noted by many due to the fact that he never wore a sword like so many other men did. "Please, Wei Meifeng... Jin Zixuan.... Let's please calm down." Meifeng, not deterred by Huaisang's intervention, continued glaring at the other boy as her clenched fists turned white under their stressed state.
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After a surprise attack by water ghouls in the town even though the creatures were supposedly confined to Emerald Lake, it was apparent the situation was more dire than they had originally thought, and decided it would be best to go to the source of their problems... and what a mistake that had turned out to be. Traveling onto Emerald Lake with half a dozen gondolas, the disciples of Gusu Lan were met with high cliffs on either side of them that rose into the sky as they followed the path of thin, black tendrils that muddled the water's clean surface until they came to a net put there by the Wen Clan in order to keep any unfriendly spirits from moving downstream.
Dipping her hand into the water, Meifeng's hand came back tangled with the same strands she had seen in the water after the ghouls had attacked them, leaving a strange sensation of anticipation bury itself in Meifeng's stomach as she looked over the lake for any signs of the ghouls. However, it was not her find nor anything else that caught her attention at that very moment. Based on earlier decisions as they had rented the six boats from a merchant who could no longer sell them to fishermen on Emerald lake, Lan Wangji was the only one to stand in his boat, yet the boat was drifting heavier in the water as if carrying more people.
Deciding to investigate without drawing attention to the problem, Meifeng playfully splashed some water at Wangji, forcing the man onto his brother's boat. "Wei Meifeng, can't you be serious for once!?" Jiang Cheng cried out at her, his voice echoing off the steep hillside around them.
However, as other cries of indignation called out for Meifeng to explain herself, she pooled her strength into the bamboo-pole to flip it upside down, causing those around to gasp in shock at the black sight of three water ghouls hanging onto Wangji's boat before they were destroyed by a quick spell. Lan Xichen, who had been quietly watching the whole ordeal, was somewhat impressed at the girl's actions, however unnecessary they might have been. It proved to him that Wei Meifeng of Yunmeng Jiang was far more observant than she appeared.
Deciding to further confirm this thought of Wei Meifeng, he spoke up. "Ms. Wei, how could you have possibly noticed that those ghouls were there on Wangji's boat?" Meifeng answered with a cocky grin, targeted towards his brother, but also in his direction in a polite sense... Wei Meifeng was a strange girl.
Slightly bowing her head now, Meifeng stood straight again as she explained to him. "That is easy to say... even though Lan Wangji was the only one in his boat, it sat lower than that of a boat with two people. I figured that either something was wrong with the boat itself, or something was hanging underneath it." Lan Xichen nodded, impressed even more with her deduction that he had not noticed himself as he looked casually over at his younger brother, who dared not even look at Wei Meifeng.
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Not a few minutes passed after the discovery of the three water ghouls that Meifeng's odd feeling finally came to pass in the form of a fleet of ghouls, flying at them not unlike fish jumping upstream into a running waterfall, and a black presence alerting them to take to the skies on their swords. Meifeng, however, stopped short when she saw a disciple of Lan unable to take off after sending his sword to fight whatever was within the water's murky depths, struggling not to capsize into the white water. The raging current of water twisting itself around the panicking individual did not help either as the Lan lost his composure.
Foregoing her own safety, Meifeng plunged head first into the pool after the boy when she saw his craft had been weakened by the ferocious beasts below, and just as she would return out of reach with the others... something had grabbed ahold of her ankle, refusing to let go of its prey like a demented evil that had taken shape in the dark. Deeper and deeper she went, holding her breath even when it felt as if her chest would break at the pressure on top of her, and whether it was the pain bubbling inside her or something else entirely, she saw a strange red light that was beckoning her to come towards it...
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Just for a moment, her vision had gone black. She could neither see nor hear anything but the racing of her heart. Had she perhaps died in the hands of that evolved water ghoul that had dragged her away from the frightened eyes of her peers and Jiang Cheng? Away from Lan Wangji, whose face she could have sworn broke into a very un-Lan like expression of fear when she had been brought back under.
Suddenly there was light around her like a warm blanket that had laid in the afternoon sun, cradling her gently as her eyes fluttered to open themselves to see what had happened, but her body's sluggishness made this more of a struggle than waking up for Gusu's morning curfew on a weekend. Fighting back at the feeling, her bright silver eyes had seen the clear blue sky before she had noticed what was holding her... or rather, who.
The rustling of a white shoulder had clued her in that it was one of the Lan disciples who had rescued her from a very unflattering death by drowning, but no one else other than Lan Wangji had those piercing golden eyes like the watchful gaze of a hawk that saw all of her flaws as they were with a reluctant acceptance, knowing it was what made Meifeng who she was... and was holding her freaking princess-style!? "Lan.... Zhan? Why ... are you holding me like this?"
The man said nothing in reply to her accusing question, avoiding her gaze as they drifted out of reach from the swirling whirlpool accumulating under their feet as the brightening sky surrounded their figures, yet his grip on her body under her legs and shoulders only tightened somewhat. This action caused Meifeng to questionably look up at Wangji, and in the breaking sunlight that blinded her sight, she could see a trace of red dusting a pale ear that peeked from under a dark curtain of hair for the briefest of moments as their group gathered on the lake's shore.
Returning to the water-side town as a sky was lit in a brilliant sunset, while not all voiced their opinion, their concern for the villagers themselves did not decrease as what they had witnessed was not natural for a location that had not suffered such tragedy to birth a monster like what they had just faced.
Sorry for not updating like I do every 5 days! Take this chapter as an apology and enjoy! Still working btw on ch31, but you will have it by the time this story gets that far!