Chapter 115: Extra—Banquet (Part Two)

Despite everything, that night, neither of them got the chance to ‘try’ right away. Lan WangJi first had to meet and talk with Lan XiChen, who had been meditating alone for a long time.

Lately, Wei WuXian had developed a strange habit. He liked to sleep on top of Lan WangJi, either lying on top of him or leaning against his chest, facing him. However, without this human pillow, he couldn’t sleep. He shamelessly turned over the jingshi and managed to dig out a few things.

Lan WangJi had always been neat and meticulous in everything he did, ever since he was young. His calligraphy, paintings, and essays were all very orderly, arranged by year. Wei WuXian started with the handwriting exercises he had done as a young man, laughing and flipping through them eagerly. He felt his teeth ache every time he saw Lan QiRen’s red comments. However, even after thousands of pages, he only found one sheet of paper with an error. Afterward, Lan WangJi would use another sheet of paper to copy the wrong character with great care, a hundred times. Wei WuXian clicked his tongue, “  Poor child.” He probably didn’t even recognize the character after so much copying.

He was about to continue flipping through the old yellowed pages when a faint beam of light lit up in the darkness outside Jingshi.

He didn’t hear footsteps, but Wei WuXian nimbly rolled onto Lan WangJi’s bed, pulling the blanket from his feet to his head. When Lan WangJi gently pushed the door open and entered, all he saw was the illusion that the person inside was sleeping soundly.

Lan WangJi’s movements had been completely silent from the start. Seeing that someone was already “asleep,” he held his breath and slowly closed the Jingshi door. After a moment of silence, he finally approached the bed.

Before he could get close, his entire upper body was wrapped in a flying blanket.

Lan WangJi, “…”

Wei WuXian jumped down, tightly hugged Lan WangJi whose entire head was covered, and pushed him onto the bed, “Rape!”

Lan WangJi, “…”

Wei WuXian’s hands groped his body roughly, but Lan WangJi lay still as still as a dead man, letting him do whatever he wanted. Wei WuXian lost interest a moment later, “HanGuang-Jun, why aren’t you resisting at all? If you just lie there motionless, what’s the fun in me raping you?”

Lan WangJi’s muffled voice came from under the blanket, “What do you want from me?”

Wei WuXian advised, “When I hold you down, you’ll push me away and not let me climb on top of you. You’ll clamp your legs together and struggle with all your might, screaming for help…”

Lan WangJi, “It is forbidden to make noise in the Cloud Recesses.”

Wei WuXian, “Then you can ask for help calmly. Also, when I rip off your clothes, you have to do your best to resist and protect your chest.”

The blanket was silent for a moment.

A moment later, Lan WangJi replied, “That sounds a bit difficult.”

Wei WuXian, “Really?!”

Lan WangJi, “Mn.”

Wei WuXian, “Then, I’m out of ideas. How about we change the scene and you rape me instead…”

Before he could finish speaking, his vision spun and the blankets flew off him. Lan WangJi had already pushed him onto the bed.

Because she had been smothered by Wei WuXian under the blanket for so long, even her always neat hair tie and forehead ribbon were slightly crooked. Her hair was a bit messy, with a few strands hanging down, and her jade-white cheeks seemed to glow with a soft pink hue. Under the candlelight, she looked so beautiful and shy. Unfortunately, her arm strength was incredibly strong, encircling Wei WuXian tightly like iron pincers as she pleaded, “HanGuang-Jun, HanGuang-Jun, forgiveness is a virtue.”

Lan WangJi’s gaze remained unwavering, while the two bright candle flames seemed to tremble in his reflection. His expression was calm, “Yes.”

Wei WuXian, “Yeah, what? Handstand? Rape? Hey! My shirt.”

Lan WangJi, “You said it yourself.”

As he spoke, he sat between Wei WuXian’s legs and waited for a while. Wei WuXian waited for a while, but nothing appeared. “What!”

Lan WangJi straightened his body slightly, “Why didn’t you fight back?”

Wei WuXian squeezed his waist with his legs, rubbing them gently and not letting go. He grinned, “Then what can I do? When you pushed me, my legs opened on their own involuntarily. I couldn’t close them at all, so how could I have the strength to resist? It’s hard for you, but it’s hard for me too… Stop, stop, come here, let me show you something first.” He fished out a piece of paper from his collar, “Lan Zhan, I’m asking you—how could you make such a simple mistake in character? Didn’t you study properly? What’s going on in your head?”

Lan WangJi glanced at the paper and said nothing, but the meaning of his gaze was more than clear—how shameless would a person like Wei WuXian, who used wild cursive when copying scriptures and made so many mistakes in the process of lazing around, be to scold him for making a mistake on a single character.

Wei WuXian pretended not to understand the look in her eyes as he continued, “Look at the date you wrote below. Let me see… You were already fifteen or sixteen at the time, weren’t you? Making a mistake like this at your age, you…”

But when he thought about the date at the bottom more carefully, he found that it happened to match the three months he had spent studying in the Cloud Recesses.

Wei WuXian was immediately overjoyed, and deliberately said, “Could it be that when Lan Er-gege was young, he didn’t pay attention to reading and writing because I was the only one on his mind?”

Back when Wei WuXian was grounded in the Library Pavilion, he threw tantrums and slacked off every day in front of Lan WangJi, annoying him in a hundred ways. He disturbed Lan WangJi’s peace of mind so much that it was hard for Lan WangJi not to ‘think about him,’ but not ‘think about him’ in that way. In such a situation, it was truly admirable that Lan WangJi managed to pull through, supervising Wei WuXian’s copying of manuscripts while he himself continued to do his own work, making only one mistake.

Wei WuXian, “Huh, why is it my fault again? You’re going to blame me again.”

“…” Lan WangJi’s voice was low, “Your fault!”

His breath hitched as he tried to reach for the piece of paper that had become a blemish on his otherwise perfect life. Wei WuXian was pleased when Lan WangJi was in such a bind. He quickly tucked the paper into his clothes and hid it close to his body, “Attack me if you’re so great.”

Lan Wangji didn’t hesitate at all as he reached for it. And he didn’t pull his hand away.

Wei WuXian, “You are truly amazing!”

The two of them were engrossed in play for more than half the night. It wasn’t until the second half that they were able to have a serious conversation.

Wei WuXian was still hugging Lan WangJi tightly, his face buried in his neck, the sandalwood scent on Lan WangJi growing stronger. He felt lazy, his eyes closed, “Is your brother okay?”

Lan WangJi hugged her bare back, stroking it repeatedly. After a moment of silence, he replied, “Not really.”

Both of them were sticky with sweat. Wei WuXian felt an itch spread from his skin to the depths of his being as Lan WangJi stroked him. He squirmed uncomfortably, swallowing Lan WangJi even deeper.

Lan Wangji lowered his voice, “In all my years of solitary meditation, Big Brother has always been the one to comfort me.”

But now the situation is the opposite.

Wei WuXian didn’t need to ask what Lan WangJi had been doing during his years of solitary meditation. He kissed Lan WangJi’s white earlobe and pulled the blanket over him, covering them both.

The second morning, Lan WangJi woke up at five as usual.

During the few months that he and Wei WuXian had been living together, he had tried to improve Wei WuXian’s sleeping habits, but it had always been in vain. After a disciple brought warm water for his bath, Lan WangJi, who had long since gotten dressed, would pull the starkly naked Wei WuXian out of the thin blanket and carry him to the wooden tub. Somehow, Wei WuXian managed to sleep even though he was submerged in water. Lan WangJi would gently nudge him, and he would take Lan WangJi’s hand, kissing it on the palm and the back, rubbing it against his cheek before going back to sleep. When the urge really started to bother him, he would whimper a few times and pull Lan WangJi down, his eyes still closed, cupping Lan WangJi’s face as he kissed him a few more times, murmuring, “Good boy, stop bothering me. Please? I’ll wake up soon. Yes.”

And with a yawn, he would fall asleep again, holding on to the edge of the tub.

Even though he knew that, even if the room burned down, Wei WuXian would probably find another place and sleep, Lan WangJi still persisted in waking him up at five, then endured dozens of kisses expressionlessly.

He brought breakfast for Jingshi and placed it on the table that had previously only contained ink, paper, and brushes, then took the fast asleep Wei WuXian out of the bathtub to clean him, dress him, and tie his sash. Only then did Lan WangJi finally take a book from the shelf and open the page with the bookends with a picture of dried flowers, then sat down by the table and slowly began to read.

As expected, it was almost eleven o’clock when Wei WuXian jolted out of bed with great punctuality before fumbling out of bed, as if sleepwalking. He first felt Lan WangJi, pulling him into his arms for a few rubs, then squeezed his thigh out of habit. After a quick wash of his face and brushing his teeth, he finally became a little more awake, drifting towards the table. Wei WuXian finished an apple in just a few bites. When he saw the pile of food in the lunch box, the corner of his lips twitched, “Didn’t you have a banquet today? Is it really okay to eat so much before?”

Calmly, Lan WangJi adjusted Wei WuXian’s hair tie and forehead ribbon that he had messed up while rubbing them, “Fill your stomach first.”

The Cloud Recesses cuisine was something Wei WuXian had encountered before. With a thin broth and vegetables as the main course, it was green and green all across the table, filled with medicinal herbs ranging from roots to bark. Each dish exuded a sharp bitterness, and amidst the bitterness was a strange tinge of sweetness. If not for this, Wei WuXian wouldn’t have even considered roasting the two rabbits. The banquets in their sect probably wouldn’t have satisfied one’s hunger much.

Wei WuXian knew that the GusuLan Sect valued this aspect highly. Whether they allowed him to attend the sect banquet or not was essentially a matter of recognizing his status as Lan WangJi’s cultivation partner. Lan WangJi had clearly been urging Lan QiRen repeatedly to obtain this privilege. He sighed and grinned, “Don’t worry. I’ll definitely do my best and won’t embarrass you.”

It was called a sect banquet, but the Cloud Recesses sect banquet was completely different from what Wei WuXian thought a sect banquet should be.

The YunmengJiang Sect’s banquet involved setting up a dozen large square tables on the outdoor training grounds of Lotus Pier. Everyone sat wherever they pleased and called each other as they pleased. The kitchen was also brought outside. Fires and aromas wafted into the air from rows of pots and stoves. One had to go and get whatever they wanted. More would be cooked if there wasn’t enough. Although he had never attended a LanlingJin Sect banquet before, their sect always sprinkled luxurious details everywhere, such as the famous sword dance performances as entertainment, coral trees and wine ponds, or miles of red brocade carpets. It was truly a breathtaking sight.

In comparison, the sect banquet in the Cloud Recesses was neither lavish nor extravagant.

The GusuLan Sect’s discipline had always been extremely strict, forbidding conversation while eating or sleeping. Even though the banquet hadn’t even begun, none of those seated there spoke. Except for those who had just entered the hall, who were whispering as they paid their respects to their seniors, almost no one spoke, and there was no laughter. They wore the same white robes, the same white forehead ribbons adorned with fluttering cloud patterns, the same solemn, almost numb expressions—as if they had been carved from the same pattern.

Seeing the entire hall filled with ‘mourning attire’, Wei WuXian pretended not to notice the shocked or even hostile expressions from the others, commenting inwardly, “  Is this a sect banquet? Even more solemn than a funeral.”

At this moment, Lan XiChen and Lan QiRen entered the banquet hall. Lan WangJi, who had been sitting quietly beside Wei WuXian, finally moved slightly.

Perhaps because Lan QiRen had a heart attack every time he saw Wei WuXian, he decided not to look at him, staring straight ahead. Lan XiChen was as friendly as ever, with a faint smile on his lips that always seemed like a spring breeze. However, perhaps because of his solitary meditation, Wei WuXian felt that ZeWu-Jun looked a little fragile.

After the sect leader sat down, Lan XiChen began with a few simple words of courtesy, and the banquet began.

The first course is soup.

Drinking soup before meals is a custom of the GusuLan Sect. The dish is served in a plain bowl made of fine black porcelain, small enough to hold in the palm of your hand. Beneath its tiny lid, as expected, lies a profusion of green and yellow leaves, roots, and bark.

Just looking at it made Wei WuXian’s eyebrows twitch. After he put a spoonful into his mouth, even though he was ready, he couldn’t help but close his eyes and bury his forehead in his palms.

Soon, he snapped out of the daze caused by his severely affected senses. He managed to prop himself up on his elbows, thinking,  If the founder of the Lan Sect was a monk, he must be a hermit.

Wei WuXian couldn’t help but reminisce about the large pots of lotus root soup and pork ribs on the training grounds when Lotus Pier held the sect’s banquet. The aroma wafted for miles around, luring the surrounding children, who clung to the outer walls of Lotus Pier and peeked in, saliva dripping from their mouths. When they got home, they all sobbed and begged to become disciples of the YunmengJiang Sect. In comparison, right now, he didn’t know whether to pity himself, who was so overcome with a strange bittersweetness, or Lan WangJi, who had grown up with this taste since birth.

However, as he watched all the other Lan Sect members finish the medicinal soup without a change in expression, their movements and expressions a mix of calm, elegance, and naturalness, Wei WuXian couldn’t bear to leave so much soup in his bowl. Furthermore, in the four thousand sect rules—no, he didn’t know how many thousands there were now—he remembered the rules of table manners, such as no picking, no wasting, and no more than three bowls. Although he felt these rules were utterly ridiculous, he didn’t want to be ridiculed by Lan QiRen just yet.

However, just as he was about to devour the entire bowl of strange medicinal soup in one go, he suddenly realized that the bowl in front of him was already empty.

Wei WuXian, “???”

He couldn’t help but pick up the tiny bowl, thinking,  I only took a small sip, didn’t I? Is there a hole in the bottom that’s leaking out?

But the table was clean and tidy, without a single bit of soup residue.

Wei WuXian glanced to the side. Meanwhile, Lan WangJi took the last sip of his soup as if nothing had happened. After closing the porcelain lid, he lowered his head, and was now using a white handkerchief to wipe the corners of his mouth.

But Wei WuXian clearly remembered that Lan WangJi had long since finished his bowl.

He also noticed that Lan WangJi’s table seemed much closer to him than before the banquet began. It was as if the table had been moved secretly.

Wei WuXian, “…

He raised an eyebrow, muttering to Lan WangJi—  HanGuang-Jun, your movements are quite fast, aren’t they?

Lan Wangji put down his handkerchief. He looked at it for a moment before calmly looking away.