Chapter 54 Courage—Part Four

Feeling that they were probably far enough away for their location to be safe, Wei Wuxian turned around and gently laid Lan WangJi down on the ground.

His leg injury hadn’t fully healed from the start, and now that it had been bitten by a beast’s fangs and drenched, Lan WangJi’s white clothes were stained red with blood. It was visible to the naked eye, the rows of fangs stabbing him. He couldn’t stand at all, falling to the ground as soon as he was released.

Wei WuXian bent down for a moment to check his wounds. He stood up again and circled the cave a few times. Some bushes could be seen growing underground. After finally finding some thicker, straighter branches, he brushed the dirt off the surface with the hem of his shirt and crouched down in front of Lan WangJi. “Do you have any rope or ribbon? Hey, your forehead ribbon might work. Come on, take it off.”

Before Lan Wangji could answer, Wei Wuxian immediately reached out and untied his forehead ribbon. With a flick of his wrist, he used the ribbon as a bandage, straightened Lan Wangji’s legs, and tied them tightly to the branch.

Suddenly his forehead ribbon was snatched, Lan WangJi opened his eyes wide, “You…!”

With nimble hands, Wei WuXian finished tying the knot. Patting her shoulder, he consoled, “What do you mean ‘I’? We don’t need to worry, given our current situation. As much as you like that forehead ribbon, it’s not more important than your leg, right?”

Lan WangJi leaned back, either too tired to sit or simply frustrated and speechless. Suddenly, Wei WuXian caught a faint herbal scent. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small packet of perfume.

The wet bag hung from its tassels, delicate yet somewhat pitiful. Remembering that MianMian had said it contained medicinal herbs, he quickly opened it and found that there were indeed herbs, along with a few small flowers, half-dried and cut into pieces. He urged, “Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, don’t sleep. Sit down for a moment. There’s a perfume pouch here. See if there are any herbs we can use.”

Dragging, pulling, and refusing to give up, he finally managed to get Lan WangJi to sit up, no matter how exhausted he was. After examining the herbs, they actually found some that could stop the bleeding or remove poison. 

Wei WuXian said as he picked it up, “I can’t believe that girl’s perfume pouch is so useful. I’ll have to thank her properly when we get back.”

Lan WangJi replied coldly, “Are you sure you don’t mean to disturb him properly?”

Wei WuXian, “What are you talking about? It doesn’t count as harassment if I’m the one doing it. It only counts if the perpetrator looks as oily as Wen Chao. Come on, take off your clothes.”

Lan WangJi frowned slightly, “What?”

Wei WuXian, “What do you think? Take off your clothes!”

He did exactly as he was told. His hands gripped Lan WangJi’s collar, then opened it to the side, revealing his snow-colored chest and shoulders.

Lan WangJi was suddenly pushed to the ground, his clothes forcibly ripped off. His face was almost deathly pale, “Wei Ying! What do you want to do?!”

Wei WuXian took off all his clothes and tore them to shreds, “What do I want to do? Right now, it’s just the two of us here. I’ve already made it so clear—what do you think I want to do?”

When he was finished, he stood up and pulled on his belt. As if in polite response, he also revealed his chest.

With her sunken collarbones, her curves flowed smoothly. Despite her youthful appearance, her body brimmed with youthful energy and vigor.

Seeing his movements, Lan WangJi’s expression shifted between pale, dark, and nervous. His blood seemed to boil, threatening to spill out from between his lips. Wei WuXian smiled and stepped closer. Right in front of Lan WangJi’s face, he took off his drenched coat. He lifted it with one hand before releasing his grip, letting it fall to the ground.

Wei WuXian shrugged, his palms facing outward, “Now that the shirt is gone, it’s time to put on some trousers.”

Lan WangJi wanted to get up, but his leg was injured. Due to the battle they had been through and the anger burning inside him, the more anxious he was, the more he was unable to do it. His whole body felt tired. With the anger burning inside him, he actually coughed up blood.

Seeing this, Wei WuXian immediately crouched down and massaged several acupuncture points on his chest, “Enough, the bad blood is out. No need to thank me!”

After vomiting the black blood, Lan WangJi immediately felt the pain and irritation in his chest disappear. Recalling what Wei WuXian had done, he finally realized.

As they climbed Dusk-Creek Mountain, Wei WuXian noticed Lan WangJi looking even worse than usual. There must have been a dark energy building up in his chest, so he was deliberately trying to scare and provoke him, so he could release the blood he had been holding back.

Even though he knew it wasn’t out of good intentions, Lan WangJi still looked a little annoyed, “…Can you not make jokes like this anymore?!”

Wei WuXian protested, “This kind of blood is very unhealthy to hold in. But, it can come out with just a little bit of a scare. Don’t worry—I don’t like men, I won’t take advantage of this opportunity and do anything to you.”

Lan WangJi, “Ridiculous!”

Wei WuXian had long known that Lan WangJi was in a particularly bad mood today. He stopped protesting and waved his hand, “Okay, okay. Silly. I’m just silly. I’m the most ridiculous.”

As he spoke, a chill from the underground air crept up his spine, making him shiver. He quickly stood up, gathered a pile of dry leaves and twigs, and then drew another fire talisman on his palm.

The leaves and twigs crackled into a blaze, occasionally sending out sparks. Wei WuXian ground up the herbs he had picked. He tore off his pants and sprinkled them evenly over the three horrific wounds that had just stopped bleeding.

Suddenly, Lan WangJi raised his hand and stopped him. Wei WuXian asked, “What’s wrong?”

Without saying a word, Lan WangJi took out some herbs from his palm and pressed them against Wei Wuxian’s chest.

Wei WuXian’s entire body trembled as he exclaimed, “Ah!”

He forgot that there was a new wound on his body too, caused by the iron, which was still bleeding and soaked.

Lan WangJi withdrew his hand. Wei WuXian hissed a few times, then slowly removed the herbs that had been pressed against his chest, throwing them back at Lan WangJi’s feet. “Don’t mind me. I get hurt often, and I play in Lotus Lake as usual, even when I’m injured. I’ve gotten used to it a long time ago. How many herbs can there be in a small perfume sachet? It’s not enough to begin with. I think your three orifices need it more… Ah!”

Lan WangJi’s face darkened. After a moment, he replied, “If you know it hurts, don’t be so rash next time.”

Wei WuXian, “I don’t have any other choice, do I? You think I enjoy being burned? Who would have thought Wang LingJiao would be so cruel. She almost stabbed an iron rod into his eye. MianMian is a girl, and quite pretty. If something like that got blinded or something like that landed on her face, she wouldn’t be able to get away with it for the rest of her life. How bad would that be?”

Lan WangJi said in a low voice, “The thing that is on your body right now will not be able to be removed for the rest of your life.”

Wei WuXian, “That’s different. It’s not on the face. I’m a man, after all—what am I afraid of? In a man’s life, how can he not get hurt and get a few scars?”

Naked, he crouched on the ground, picking up a twig and prodding the fire to make it burn brighter. “And, come to think of it, even though it’s impossible, this shows that I’ve protected a girl. And that girl will definitely remember me after this. She won’t be able to forget me for the rest of her life. Now that I think about it, this is actually quite good…”

Suddenly, Lan WangJi pushed him hard, raging, “So you also know that he won’t be able to forget you for the rest of his life!!!”

Falling to the ground, he broke out in cold sweat from the pain, groaning with his neck stretched forward, “… Lan Zhan, you… Did I do something to you?! … This is enough to avenge your father’s murder!”

Hearing this, Lan WangJi clenched his fists.

A moment later, he seemed to relax, as if he wanted to help Wei WuXian up. However, Wei WuXian sat up on his own and backed away several times, “Alright, alright! I know you don’t like me. Then I’ll sit a little further away. Don’t come over here! Don’t push me anymore. It hurts.”

The wound was on his left side, so it started to hurt every time he raised his left arm. Wei WuXian shrank to the side. Picking up the torn white garment, he threw it at Lan WangJi with his right hand, “You can tie it yourself. I’m not leaving.”

Then, he moved the clothes he had taken to the fire to dry.

A few moments passed, and neither of them spoke. Wei WuXian began again, “Lan Zhan, you’re really strange today. You’re so rude. And you don’t speak like yourself either.”

Lan WangJi, “If you don’t have such intentions, don’t flirt with others. You do as you please, but others will make a fuss.”

Wei WuXian, “It’s not you I’m teasing, so it’s not you who will be in trouble, unless…”

Lan WangJi asked harshly, “Except what?”

Wei WuXian, “Kecuali, Lan Zhan, kamu menyukai MianMian!”

A moment later, Lan WangJi replied in a cold voice, “Please don’t talk nonsense.”

Wei WuXian, “Alright then, I’ll put it  in one sense  .”

Lan WangJi, “Is this funny, playing with empty words?”

Wei WuXian, “Very funny. But, believe me, my words are as trivial as my movements, which means they are not funny at all.”

“…” Lan WangJi muttered to himself, “Why am I sitting here and having a useless conversation with you?”

Somehow, Wei WuXian had shifted to his side again and sat down, speaking without regard for the consequences, “Because there’s no other choice. We’re both the unfortunate ones here, aren’t we? If you don’t chat with me, then who are you going to chat with?”

Lan WangJi glanced at him, who seemed to have forgotten  all the pain of the past once his wounds had healed  . Just as Wei WuXian was about to grin widely, he suddenly saw Lan WangJi lower his head.

Wei WuXian wailed, “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh stop!!! Stop, stop, stop!!!!!”

Lan WangJi leaned down on his sickle-like elbow, biting his arm tightly. Hearing Wei WuXian, he bit down even more, his teeth digging in deeper.

Wei WuXian, “Will you stop?!?! I’ll kick you if you don’t! Don’t think I won’t kick you just because you’re injured!!!!!!”

Wei WuXian, “Stop biting! Stop biting! I’m leaving! I’m leaving!!! I’m leaving, I’m leaving if you stop, I’m leaving!!!!!!”

Wei WuXian, “Lan Zhan, you are crazy today!!!!!! You are a dog!!! You are a dog!!!!!!!! Stop biting!!!!”

When Lan WangJi was finally done and satisfied, Wei WuXian jumped up and rushed to the other side of the cave, “Don’t come any closer!”

Lan WangJi straightened his back slowly. Adjusting his hair and clothes, he said nothing, his eyes looking down calmly. It was as if the person who pushed, shouted, and sank his teeth into the other person had nothing to do with him. Wei WuXian glanced at the bite marks on his arm and crouched down, still trembling. Curled up in the corner, he continued to poke at the fire, completely clueless about the situation.  How could Lan Zhan do this? Even though he saved me, you could say I saved him too, right? It’s not that I want him to thank me or anything, but why can’t we still be friends, even after so much has happened? Don’t tell me… that I’m really as annoying as Jiang Cheng says?!

Just as he was starting to doubt himself, Lan WangJi spoke up, “Thank you.”

Wei WuXian felt like he had misheard. He looked at Lan WangJi, who was also looking at him. Seriously, he repeated, “Thank you.”

Seeing her slightly lowered head, Wei WuXian was afraid that she would kneel down and worship him. He quickly stepped aside, “No need, no need. There’s something wrong with me. I can’t stand it when others thank me, especially when someone like you does it so seriously. It’s so creepy that it gives me goosebumps. Kneeling down and worshipping is, of course, even more unnecessary.”

Lan Wangji replied indifferently, “You think too much. Even if I wanted to worship you, I wouldn’t be able to move.”

It seemed like he was finally back to normal, and he even thanked Wei WuXian twice. Wei WuXian was so happy that he couldn’t resist the urge to move again. He was the type of person who liked to be shoulder to shoulder with others, but the faint pain from the bite mark on his arm reminded him that Lan Zhan had just gone berserk a moment ago, and he would probably go berserk again soon. 

He quickly collected himself and looked up at the black cave ceiling, then said in a flat voice, “Since Jiang Cheng and the others have escaped, it will take them a day or two to descend the mountain. After descending, they will definitely return to their residences, instead of reporting to the Wen Sect. But since their swords have been taken away, I don’t know how long it will take them to find help. I think we might have to stay underground for quite some time. We need to find a way to resolve some issues.”

After a pause, he continued, “Fortunately, the monster stayed in the pool and didn’t chase us. But what’s worse is that it didn’t come out. Since it’s guarding the hole under the pool, we won’t be able to get out either.”

Lan WangJi, “Maybe it’s not a monster. What do you think?”

Wei WuXian, “A turtle!”

Lan WangJi, “There is a holy being who takes such a form.”

Wei WuXian, “Binatang suci  Xuanwu  ?”

Xuanwu, also called Nether Xuanwu, is a combination of a turtle and a snake. He is a water god who resides in the North Sea. Because the Nether is also in the North, he is known as the Northern Sky God.

Lan WangJi nodded. Wei WuXian bared his teeth. “How could a divine beast look like this? Its mouth is full of fangs and it eats human flesh. It tastes a bit different from the legends.”

Lan WangJi, “Of course it’s not a true Divine Xuanwu. Rather, it’s the half-finished product of failing to attain divinity and transforming into a yao. In other words, it’s a defective Divine Xuanwu.”

Wei WuXian, “Cacat?”

Lan WangJi, “I once read about it in an ancient text. Four hundred years ago, a ‘fake Xuanwu’ appeared and rampaged through Qishan. It was enormous and devoured people alive. A cultivator called it the ‘Xuanwu of Slaughter’.”

Wei WuXian, “The creature Wen Chao brought us to hunt is a four-hundred-year-old beast—the Xuanwu of Slaughter?”

Lan WangJi, “It seems larger than what is recorded in the text, but that is how it should be.”

Wei WuXian, “It’s been four hundred years, so of course it’s developed. Wasn’t the Xuanwu of Slaughter already killed by then?”

Lan WangJi, “No. Some cultivators had joined an alliance and were preparing to assassinate him, but one winter day that year, there was a heavy snowfall, and the weather was extremely cold. Then, the Xuanwu of Slaughter disappeared and was never seen again.”

Wei WuXian, “It’s hibernating.”

Translator’s Notes

All the past pain comes back after the wound heals  : This is a proverb that describes how quickly a person forgets the past consequences caused by his actions. 

Xuanwu  : In Chinese folklore, xuanwu is a legendary black tortoise and one of the four gods who rule the heavens.