Chapter 66 Tenderness—Part Four

Descending the mountain path, they left the Cloud Recesses through a hidden shortcut. They walked further and further, finally leaving the usual activity area of ​​the GusuLan Sect disciples. Wei WuXian suddenly exclaimed, “Ouch, my stomach hurts.”

Lan WangJi immediately stopped, “Rest first. Apply some new ointment.”

Wei WuXian, “It’s okay. I’ll just sit there.”

Lan WangJi, “Sit.”

Wei WuXian’s expression was pained, “But the movement of riding the donkey is too great. I’m afraid it will affect the wound.”

Her wound had long since healed. This was a clear display of shamelessness. Lan WangJi stopped, turned around, and looked at her. Suddenly, he reached out. Making sure not to touch any injured areas, he lifted her waist, gently lifted her, and placed her on Lil’ Apple’s back.

Of the two, one sat on the donkey while the other pulled the reins. On Lil’ Apple’s back, Wei WuXian grinned with curved eyes. 

Lan WangJi asked, “What?”

Wei WuXian, “Nothing.”

As if he had played a trick on someone, he felt somewhat pleased with himself.

Although he doesn’t remember much of what happened when he was young, there is one incident that has always been etched in his memory.

A narrow road, a small donkey, and three people. A man dressed in black gently lifted a woman dressed in white. He lifted her and placed her on the donkey’s back. Then, he lifted a very small child up and placed him on his shoulders.

He was still a child, barely tall enough to reach a human foot. Sitting on the man’s shoulders, he suddenly became very tall, very majestic. Sometimes he pulled at the man’s hair, sometimes he caressed his cheek. He shouted something, swinging his legs. The woman in white sat on the donkey’s back, her back swaying. Watching them, she seemed to smile. The man had always been quiet. He didn’t say much. He just pushed her a little higher, making her taller, more upright. One hand held the donkey’s reins. The three of them squeezed together on the same narrow path, slowly moving forward.

It was one of the rare memories he had.

It was his father and mother.

Wei WuXian, “Lan Zhan, ambil kendali, ya?”

Lan WangJi, “Why?”

Little Apple is quite smart. It’s not like he doesn’t know how to follow someone. Wei WuXian said again, “Give me some face and just take it, okay?”

Although he still didn’t understand why Wei WuXian’s smile was so bright, Lan WangJi listened and still took Lil’ Apple’s reins, holding her in his arms.

Wei WuXian muttered to himself, “Hm. Now there’s only one little one left.”

Lan WangJi, “Apa?”

Wei WuXian chuckled, “It’s nothing. Lan Zhan, you’re a good person.”

With this trip to Yiling, it was clear that their future was still uncertain, even somewhat dangerous. Wei WuXian couldn’t feel nervous at all. Sitting on the donkey with Lan WangJi holding the reins, leading them along the path, his entire heart pounded, feeling as if he were walking on air. Even if a group of sects suddenly attacked from the side of the road, other than destroying the scenery and ruining his mood, he didn’t think he would feel too bad. He even had the spirit to enjoy the fields under the moonlight, pulling the bamboo flute at his waist. As usual, he played a tune.

The flute had a clear timbre. Lan WangJi’s footsteps faltered slightly as Wei WuXian felt something inside him suddenly ignite.

He said, “Lan Zhan! Let me ask you, back then, under Xuanwu Cave on Dusk-Creek Mountain, the song you sang to me, what was its title?”

Lan WangJi looked at him, “Why did you suddenly remember to ask this?”

Wei WuXian, “Just tell me. What’s your name? I think I can already guess how you recognize me.”

One night on Dafan Mountain, the tune he somehow played was the exact same tune Lan WangJi had played beside him, when he was feverish beneath the Xuanwu cave on Dusk-Creek Mountain!

Lan WangJi refused to say anything. Wei WuXian pressed him, “Tell me, what song is that? Who composed it?”

Lan WangJi, “I did.”

Wei WuXian, “You composed it?!”

Lan WangJi, “Mn.”

Wei WuXian had thought it was a secret song of the GusuLan Sect. Upon learning of it, he was both surprised and delighted. What surprised him was obvious. However, he wasn’t sure what exactly made him happy. He guessed, “If you really recognize it just from this, it must mean—this song, you’ve never let anyone else hear it?”

Lan WangJi, “Never.”

Wei WuXian was so excited that he kicked Lil’ Apple. Lil’ Apple screamed angrily, kicking its hind legs as if trying to get him off its back. Just in time, Lan WangJi pulled the reins tight. Wei WuXian hugged Lil’ Apple’s neck, “It’s okay, it’s okay. That’s just the way it is. It just kicked a few times. Let’s continue. Then, what exactly is its name?”

Lan WangJi, “What do you think?”

Wei WuXian, “What do you mean what I think? Does this have a name or not?” he muttered to himself. Would Lan WangJi’s style of naming things be the same as Jiang Cheng’s? Impossible! He asked, “You want to know my opinion? I guess why don’t you just name it…”

After more than eighty names he submitted were rejected by Lan WangJi, Wei WuXian’s enthusiasm finally began to fade.

If they encountered any cultivators searching the area while walking on the main road, the two of them simply chose remote country roads on their journey. A day later, Wei WuXian was feeling rather tired and thirsty. As they happened to see a farmhouse by the roadside, Lan WangJi stopped Lil’ Apple.

After they knocked, no one answered. When they pushed, the door opened by itself. A handmade wooden table sat in the center of the courtyard, with a bowl of unshelled peanuts on it. A tall pile of straw stood against the dirt wall, a rake protruding from it. Chicks chirped and scurried about across the grounds, picking rice.

Wei WuXian saw several melons piled up in a corner of the courtyard. He went over and picked one up, saying seriously, “The owner isn’t here. HanGuang-Jun, let’s pick some ourselves.”

Just as Lan WangJi was about to place the coin on the table, footsteps rang out from outside the wall. One in front and one behind, most likely the homeowners who had just returned. Wei WuXian didn’t know why, but when he heard the footsteps, he immediately pushed Lan WangJi down, causing him to fall behind a pile of straw.

Luckily, Lan WangJi was always calm and collected, so he didn’t make a sound even after being pushed. However, he clearly didn’t understand why they had to hide. Wei WuXian also realized, ”  Right, why are we hiding? These villagers won’t likely recognize us. Can’t we just be honest and say we’re here to buy food? Maybe I’ve done too much harm and gotten used to it.”

However, with that push, he pushed Lan WangJi’s entire body down onto the soft pile of straw. The somewhat forced position evoked a strange sense of joy within him. He decided not to get up. Pretending to be quiet, he raised his index finger, signaling Lan WangJi to be quiet. Then, he pretended to be helpless. Comfortably, he lay on top of Lan WangJi, filled with an indescribable, hidden joy.

The sound of a wooden bench being pushed came from the yard. The two farm owners were seated at the table. A woman’s voice could be heard saying, ”  Hey, Gege  , I can hug him.”

Hearing ‘Er-Gege’, Lan WangJi paused for a moment.

A man’s voice said, “You just have to peel the peanuts.” Then a child’s voice mumbled in his sleep.

It appeared to be a young couple. The wife was preparing dinner while the husband cuddled their sleeping child.

With a grin, Wei WuXian winked his left eye at Lan WangJi, whispering, “What a coincidence. The owner of this farm is also an ‘Er-Gege’.”

His tone rose, his teasing intent becoming more and more obvious. With heavy eyes, Lan WangJi glanced at him briefly before turning away. Wei WuXian felt his heart melt. He lay down beside his ear and called out softly, “Lan Er-Gege.”

Lan WangJi’s breath hitched, and his gaze seemed to convey a warning.

In the yard, the wife chuckled, “You don’t know how to hold her properly. Later, if you manage to wake her up, I’ll be the one comforting her again, right?”

The husband, “He played too hard today. He must be so tired. He won’t be able to get up.”

The wife peeled peanuts while saying, “Er-Gege, you really need to discipline  A-Bao  . He’s only four years old and he’s already like this. What will he be like when he grows up? How many times has their child cried? He says he doesn’t want to play with A-Bao anymore.”

The husband, “But she keeps coming back to him every time. She says she doesn’t want to, but deep down she clearly wants to play with A-Bao.”

Wei WuXian laughed out loud  ,  “Lan Er-Gege, what do you think about this? Do you agree?”

Lan WangJi, “Stop talking.”

At such a loud volume, an average person wouldn’t be able to hear him at all. The couple chatted about ordinary things, while on the other side, right beside Lan Wangji’s ear, Wei Wuxian had already been repeating ‘Lan Er-gege’ nonstop, softly and lightly, more than six times. Lan Wangji seemed to have run out of patience. He suddenly turned around.

His movements were swift and steady. The straw didn’t move at all, but Wei WuXian was already beneath it.

Lan WangJi’s voice was low, “Any more than that, and you will be silenced.”

Wei WuXian reached out his hand toward his face, but Lan WangJi immediately caught it. Wei WuXian’s tone was serious, “HanGuang-Jun, there’s a straw on your forehead.”

Hearing this, Lan WangJi’s hand finally relaxed. Wei WuXian helped him pick up the thin straw, holding it up to his eyes as he cheered, “See? I’m not lying, am I?”

Before he could be proud for too long, he heard his young wife speak again, “But even if this is true, we must not let A-Bao bully others.”

Her husband said calmly, “Just let it go. Boys, don’t they bully others just because they like it? They just want to be seen by others.”

Hearing this, Wei WuXian’s smile froze.

At that moment, the little boy seemed to have woken up. He was mumbling something softly. The couple hurried to comfort him together. Soon, the child fell asleep again. The young wife said, “Er-Gege, I told you to discipline A-Bao not only because of this. But also because it hasn’t been very safe lately. Tell him not to play outside too much and to come home early.”

The husband, “I know. Is this because the old graves around the village have been dug up?”

The wife said, “I heard it’s not just our village that’s experiencing this. Even among the people in the city, many have experienced misfortune at their ancestral graves. It’s so strange. A-Bao should be playing at home more often. He shouldn’t be out so often.”

The husband, “That’s right. It would be terrible if she met the YiLing Patriarch.”

Wei WuXian, “…”

The young wife said softly, “I’ve been listening to stories about the YiLing Patriarch since I was little. I always thought that ‘if you don’t obey, the YiLing Patriarch will come back to find you and take you back to be eaten by his ghosts’ was just an adult’s teasing of children. Who knew that such a person actually existed? And that he actually came back?”

His wife: “Yes. As soon as I heard about the grave digging, I immediately thought of him. It’s true. The rumor has spread all over town.”

Considering the fact that he was tied to the act of ‘grave-digging,’ Wei WuXian couldn’t help but feel helpless. Truth be told, he had indeed done many things like this in the past. The most famous was during the Sunshot Campaign, when he dug deep into the ground to turn over all the ancestral graves of the QishanWen Sect and turned all the corpses into puppets. And for every Wen Sect cultivator he killed, he also made them into puppets before controlling them to kill their friends and family before they died. 

During the Sunshot Campaign, all of these things were praised and used to inspire the public. However, the further the Sunshot Campaign progressed, the more people became afraid of it. Not only others, but even when he thought about it afterward, he felt he had gone too far. Besides, his identity had only been revealed a few days ago, it wasn’t his fault that others mistook him for the YiLing Patriarch when they heard someone was digging graves everywhere.

Translator’s Notes

Er-Gege  : And the comments section tells me that Er-Gege would sound more intimate than Brother… Thanks everyone for the comments ^^

A-Bao  : A-Bao is a name parents often use to call their babies. It can be their given name or simply ‘baby’ or ‘precious’.