Chapter 13 Perfection—Part Three

Later, Wei WuXian pondered the reasons why his relationship with Lan WangJi was strained. The crux of the matter was revealed: it all began when he was fifteen years old and came to the GusuLan Sect with Jiang Cheng to study for three months.

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In the GusuLan Sect, there was a virtuous and prestigious elder—Lan QiRen. Everyone in the cultivation world recognized three characteristics that defined him: meticulousness, stubbornness, and a strict teacher who produced outstanding disciples. While the first two traits made many people shun him, and some even secretly despise him, the latter made them do their best to send their children to study under him. He had raised quite a number of outstanding Lan Sect disciples. During their few years in his class, no matter how miserable they were when they first entered, they would at least appear decent when they left, especially in terms of appearance and manners. Many parents were so overjoyed that tears streamed down their cheeks when they picked up their sons.

In response to this, Wei WuXian stated, “Don’t I look good enough right now?”

Jiang Cheng replied thoughtfully, “You will definitely be a disgrace for his entire teaching career.”

That year, besides the YunmengJiang Sect, there were also young masters from other clans who were sent to study here by their parents who had heard of its reputation. The young masters were all around fifteen or sixteen years old. Since all the sects knew each other, even if they weren’t close, they had seen each other’s faces before. It was widely known that, although Wei WuXian’s surname wasn’t Jiang, he was the prime disciple of the YunmengJiang Sect’s sect leader—Jiang FengMian, and also the son of his deceased friend. In fact, the sect leader treated him like his own son. This, coupled with how young people cared less about status and lineage than their parents, they quickly became friends. After just a few sentences, everyone began calling each other “big brother” or “little brother.” Someone asked, “The Jiang Clan’s Lotus Pier is much more fun than here, right?”

Wei WuXian laughed, “Whether it’s fun or not depends on how much fun we make it. There are definitely fewer rules than here, and there’s no need to wake up so early.”

The GusuLan Sect woke at five in the morning and retired at nine at night, without delay. Others asked, “When do you all wake up? What do you do during the day?”

Jiang Cheng snorted, “Him? He wakes up at nine in the morning and goes to bed at one at night. When he wakes up, he doesn’t practice swordplay or meditate; he goes boating, swimming, picking lotus seeds, and hunting pheasants.”

Wei WuXian replied, “No matter how many pheasants I hunt, I’m still number one.”

A young man said, “Next year, I will go to Yunmeng to study! Nothing can stop me!”

A bucket of cold water was poured on him  , “No one can stop you. Your brother will definitely break your legs.”

The young man immediately collapsed. This was the second young master of the QingheNie Sect—Nie HuaiSang. His older brother, Nie MingJue, was very steadfast in following orders and was quite renowned in the cultivation world. Although they had different mothers, their relationship was quite close. Nie MingJue had always been very strict with his younger brother, especially when it came to his studies. Therefore, although Nie HuaiSang respected his older brother, he was most afraid of Nie MingJue bringing up his studies.

Wei WuXian said, “To be honest, Gusu is quite fun too.”

Nie HuaiSang said, “  Wei-xiong  , listen to my sincere advice. Cloud Recesses is nothing like Lotus Pier. On this trip to Gusu, remember that there is one person you must not provoke.”

Wei WuXian bertanya, “Siapa? Lan QiRen?”

Nie HuaiSang replied, “It’s not that old man. The one you need to be wary of is his most arrogant disciple, Lan Zhan.”

Wei WuXian berkata, “Lan Zhan dari Dua Giok Lan? Lan WangJi?”

The honorable title of Two Jade Lans was bestowed upon the two sons of the current GusuLan sect leader—Lan Huan and Lan Zhan. Right after they turned fourteen, they were regarded by the elders of their respective sects as role models comparable to their own disciples. They were extremely well-known among the juniors, so it was natural that everyone recognized their names. Nie HuaiSang said, “Which Lan Zhan is it again? Yes, him. My goodness, he’s the same age as you and me, but he lacks the vigor of a teenager. He’s stiff and stern, even worse than his uncle.”

Wei WuXian muttered  oh  and asked, “Is he a young man who looks quite handsome?”

Jiang Cheng sneered, “Is there anyone ugly in the GusuLan Sect? The sect doesn’t even accept disciples with dirty faces. If you can, find me someone with a plain face.”

Wei WuXian emphasized, “Very beautiful.” He pointed to her head, “White from top to bottom, wearing a forehead ribbon, and carrying a silver sword on her back. She looked quite handsome, but with her expressionless face, she looked like she was in mourning.”

“…” Nie HuaiSang said confidently, “It’s him!” After a pause, he spoke again, “But he’s been  meditating alone  for the past few days. You only came yesterday; when did you have a chance to meet him?”

“Last night”

“Yesterday… Last night?!” Jiang Cheng was stunned, “There’s a curfew in the Cloud Recesses. Where did you see it? Why didn’t I know about this?”

Wei WuXian pointed, “Over there.”

He pointed to the top of a very high wall.

The others were speechless. Jiang Cheng even felt his head swell and gritted his teeth, “We just arrived and you’re already causing trouble! What’s wrong?”

Wei WuXian replied with a grin, “Not much, actually. When we were there, we passed a liquor store called ‘The Emperor’s Smile,’ right? Last night, I had a headache and couldn’t take it anymore, so I went down the mountain to town and brought two jars back. But we didn’t have time to drink these in Yunmeng.”

Jiang Cheng, “Then, where is the liquor?”

Wei WuXian, “Well, when I just jumped off the wall, before I even had one foot in, I was already caught by him.”

A young man commented, “Wei-xiong, you must be lucky. He probably just came out of seclusion and went on night patrol, and caught you red-handed.”

Jiang Cheng said, “Those who come home late won’t be allowed in before seven in the morning. How could he let you in?”

Wei WuXian raised his hand, “So, he wouldn’t let me in. He wanted me to move the foot that was already in. Tell me—how? Then, he came over, light as a feather, and asked what was in my hand.”

Jiang Cheng felt his head start to hurt, showing a bad feeling, “What did you say?”

Wei WuXian said, “‘That’s the Emperor’s Smile! If I share a jar with you, can you pretend you never saw me?’”

Jiang Cheng sighed, “…Alcohol is prohibited in the Cloud Recesses. That’s a more serious crime.”

Wei WuXian said, “He said the same thing to me. And I asked, ‘Why don’t you tell me what exactly isn’t forbidden in your sect?’ He seemed a bit angry and wanted me to look at the Wall of Rules in front of the mountain. Honestly, there are over three thousand of them, and they’re all written in  seal script  . Who would read them? Would you read them? Besides, I don’t read them. What are you so angry about?”

“Exactly!” Everyone felt the same way, and all of them began to complain about the strange and archaic conventions in the Cloud Recesses, regretting that they hadn’t met sooner, “Whose sect rules number over three thousand, and they don’t even repeat themselves? Things like ‘killing livestock within the area is prohibited, fighting without permission is prohibited, promiscuity is prohibited, going out at night is prohibited, making a fuss is prohibited, running is prohibited’ are still tolerable, but there are even things like ‘sneering without reason is prohibited, sitting inappropriately is prohibited, eating more than three bowls is prohibited’…” Wei WuXian suddenly added, “What? Fighting without permission is also prohibited?”

Jiang Cheng, “… Yeah. Don’t tell me you fought with him.”

Wei WuXian, “Right. And we broke a bottle of Emperor’s Smile.”

Everyone  patted their feet  and exclaimed in regret.

However, the situation couldn’t have been worse, distracting Jiang Cheng, “Didn’t you bring two jars? Where’s the other one?”

“I drank it.”

Jiang Cheng, “Where did you drink it?”

In front of him. I said, ‘Okay, if alcohol is banned in Cloud Recesses, I’m not going in. I’ll drink standing against the wall. That won’t be considered breaking the rules, right?’ Then I drank it all in one go, right in front of him.

“… Then?”

“And then we started fighting.”

“Wei Xiong.” Nie HuaiSang exclaimed, “You are so arrogant.”

Wei WuXian raised his eyebrows, “Lan Zhan’s abilities are quite good.”

“You’re going to die, Wei-xiong! Lan Zhan has never been this confused before. He might be targeting you. You have to be careful. Even though Lan Zhan isn’t in the same class as us, he’s the one in charge of punishment in the Lan Sect!”

Wei WuXian wasn’t afraid at all, waving his hand, “What’s there to be afraid of? Didn’t everyone say Lan Zhan was a genius from a young age? If he was so smart from such a young age, he probably learned everything his uncle taught him and was always meditating in seclusion. How could he have the time to chase after me? I…”

Before he could finish his sentence, as the group walked around the wall with the sunken windows, they saw a boy dressed in white sitting upright in the room, with long hair tied up and a forehead ribbon, exuding an aura of ice and frost. He was staring at them coldly.

Instantly, the ten mouths seemed to be silenced. They quietly entered the room, quietly chose their seats, and quietly avoided the tables around Lan WangJi.

Jiang Cheng patted Wei WuXian on the shoulder and whispered, “He’s after you. I wish you the best.”

When Wei WuXian turned his head, he could see the side of Lan WangJi’s face. His eyelashes were long, looking very delicate and elegant. His posture was also very straight, staring straight ahead. Just as he was about to start a conversation with him, Lan QiRen entered the room.

Lan QiRen was tall and thin, standing upright. Although he had a long black beard, he was clearly not old. And, according to the GusuLan Clan’s tradition of producing handsome men every generation, he wasn’t bad-looking either. However, unfortunately, with the stiff and pretentious aura surrounding him, it wouldn’t be out of place to call him an old man. He entered with a scroll in one hand. The long scroll rolled to the floor as soon as he opened it, and he began to speak of the Lan Sect’s rules. Everyone’s faces began to darken. Because Wei WuXian was bored, his gaze wandered around, landing on the side of Lan WangJi’s face. He was surprised to see the concentration and seriousness that weren’t even pretended. “How can he listen so attentively to something so boring?”

Immediately, in front, Lan QiRen slammed the scroll onto the ground and smiled bitterly, “I only repeated it one by one because no one read it, even though it was engraved on the stone wall. That way, no one would be able to break it again due to ignorance. Even if I did this, there would still be people who didn’t pay attention. Alright, I’ll move on to other things.”

Although his words could have been addressed to everyone in the room, Wei WuXian’s intuition told him that it was a warning directed at him. As he expected, Lan QiRen said, “Wei Ying.”

Wei WuXian replied, “This.”

“Let me ask you. Are yao, demons, ghosts, and monsters the same thing?”

Wei WuXian smiled, “No.”

“Why not? How are they differentiated?”

“Yao are formed from non-human living creatures; demons are formed from living humans; ghosts are formed from dead humans; monsters are formed from non-human dead creatures.”

“’Yao’ and ‘monster’ are often confused. What are some examples of the differences between the two?”

“It’s easy.” Wei WuXian pointed at the viridian tree outside the room and replied, “For example, a living tree that was tainted by the energy of a book, cultivated into a sentient being, and caused harm, it would become a ‘yao’. If I took an axe and split it down the middle, leaving only a dead tree stump, and then cultivated it into a sentient being, it would become a ‘monster’.”

“What is the job of the ancestor of the QingheNie Sect?”

“A butcher.”

“The symbol of the LanlingJin Sect is the white peony. Which type of white peony is it?”

“  Sparks in the Snow  .”

“Who was the first person in the cultivation world to focus on the rise of his clan rather than his sect?”

“The ancestor of the QishanWen Sect, Wen Mao.”

His eloquent answer made everyone’s hearts pound. Although they felt fortunate, they all prayed that Lan QiRen wouldn’t be confused by any questions, that he wouldn’t have a chance to tease anyone else. However, Lan QiRen said, “As a disciple of the YunmengJiang Sect, you should be very familiar with these things and have memorized them long ago, so there’s nothing to be proud of even if you answer correctly. Let me ask you again—there was an executioner with parents, a wife, and children, but before he died, he executed over a hundred people. He suddenly died in public and, as punishment for his actions, was left on the streets for seven days. With pent-up resentment, he began to haunt and kill. What should be done?”

This time, Wei WuXian didn’t answer immediately. The others thought he was confused, and everyone felt uneasy. Lan QiRen scolded, “Why are you staring at him? Think about it. Don’t open your books!”

The disciples withdrew their hands from the books they had been intending to skim through. They were also at a loss—having died in public and been left on the streets for seven days, it must have been a vicious ghost and a gruesome corpse, making it a difficult question to answer. Everyone hoped that Old Man Lan wouldn’t press them for an answer. After a while, seeing that Wei WuXian hadn’t answered, Lan QiRen seemed to think, and spoke again, “WangJi, you can tell him what to do.”

Translator’s Notes

A bucket of cold water was poured on him  : This should be interpreted figuratively, not literally. There is a saying that means pouring or throwing a bucket of cold water on someone, which implies that someone’s words have reduced the other person’s hopes for something.

Wei-xiong  : The suffix  “xiong”  means “older brother.” However, it doesn’t necessarily refer to the speaker’s older brother. This suffix is ​​typically used to show respect to someone older than you, as it’s impolite to address someone (especially an older person) directly by name.

Solitary meditation  : In cultivation, a common practice is to engage in solitary meditation, or meditating alone for long periods in a secluded place. The length of this period depends on the cultivator’s skill level.

Seal Script  : This is simply the “font” or type of script used by the ancient Chinese during the Qin Dynasty. In the context of this novel, since it is not based on a specific dynasty or historical period, this implies that seal script is difficult to read and not commonly used by most people in the world.

Leg slapping  : A common reaction that occurs after a sudden realization or other emotion that requires a shout (or sigh, in some cases) is leg slapping.

Sparkling in the Snow  : Actually, this is a type of peony native to China. The literal translation is  Golden Star/Sprinkling in the Snow Wave  , but the name has been shortened to better match the translation.