Chapter 84: Loyalty—Part Six

Lan WangJi wrapped his right arm around Wei WuXian’s waist and carried Bichen. The two of them mounted their swords and landed on the boat. Wei WuXian’s body swayed slightly. He only spoke after Lan WangJi calmed him down, “What’s wrong with Wen Ning? Didn’t you say you were just going to take a look?”

Wen Ning, “I’m sorry, Young Master. It was my fault. I couldn’t help myself…”

Jin Ling pointed his sword blade at him and roared, “You don’t need to act so self-important!”

Wei WuXian, “Jin Ling, letakkan pedangmu dulu!”

Jin Ling, “I don’t want to!”

Wei WuXian was just about to speak again when Jin Ling suddenly cried.

As she cried, everyone froze. Confused, Wei WuXian stepped toward her, “What… What’s wrong?”

Even though tears were streaming down her face, Jin Ling still shouted, sobbing, “This is my father’s sword. I won’t put it down!”

What he hugged tightly was Jin ZiXuan’s sword, Suihua. This sword was the only inheritance from his parents.

Right now, Jin Ling, who was crying so hard in front of so many people, could almost see what Jiang YanLi looked like as she sobbed in utter despair. Among the boys Jin Ling’s age, some were already married, and the older ones were already fathers. For them, crying was quite a shameful act. Crying in front of so many people—how frustrated must he be?

For a moment, Wei WuXian didn’t even know what to do. He looked at Lan WangJi as if asking for help, but Lan WangJi was even less likely to know what to do. At that moment, a voice came from across the river, “A-Ling!”

About half a dozen large boats surrounded the fishing boat they were on. Each boat was filled with cultivators, with a sect leader standing at the very front. The YunmengJiang Sect’s boat was on the right side of the fishing boat. It was the closest, with no more than thirty meters between them. The one who called out was Jiang Cheng, who was standing near the edge of the boat. Still teary-eyed, as soon as Jin Ling saw his uncle, he immediately wiped his face and sniffed. He looked around and finally decided to fly over, landing beside Jiang Cheng. 

Jiang Cheng pulled her, “What happened to you? Who did this to you?!”

Jin Ling rubbed his eyes roughly, refusing to speak. Jiang Cheng raised his head, glaring at the fishing boat. His cold gaze passed Wen Ning, almost landing on Wei WuXian when Lan WangJi stepped out and blocked Wei WuXian’s silhouette, whether intentionally or not. 

One of the sect leaders was worried, “Wei WuXian, why are you on that ship?”

His hesitant and unpleasant tone of voice indicated that he thought Wei WuXian had ulterior motives. 

Ouyang ZiZhen said, “Sect Leader Yao, why are you talking like that? If Senior Wei really wanted to do something, I don’t think any of us would be able to sit on our ships as safely as we are now.”

As soon as he said this, many of the older cultivators looked a little awkward. Although it was true, no one wanted to hear it said so frankly. Lan SiZhui immediately followed up, “ZiZhen is right!” Many of the other boys also agreed.

Jiang Cheng lowered his chin slightly, “Sect Leader OuYang.”

Upon hearing his name, Sect Leader OuYang could feel his eyelids throbbing as much as his heart. He heard Jiang Cheng continue coldly, “If I’m not mistaken, it was your son who spoke, right? He’s certainly sharp-tongued.”

Sect Leader OuYang rushed over, “ZiZhen! Come back, come here!”

OuYang ZiZhen was confused, “Father, didn’t you tell me to get on this boat so that I wouldn’t disturb you guys?”

Sect Leader OuYang wiped away a few beads of sweat, “Enough! Haven’t you shown off enough today? Get over here this instant!” His sect was located in Baling, close to Yunmeng, but its power was unmatched. Naturally, he didn’t want Jiang Cheng to hold a grudge against his son just because he had defended Wei WuXian a few times. 

Jiang Cheng glared at Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi once more before returning to the cabin, his arm around Jin Ling’s shoulders. The OuYang Sect Leader breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to his son and scolded, “H-H-How dare you! You’re really listening to me less and less! Are you coming or not?! I’ll come get you if you don’t!”

OuYang ZiZhen looked worried, “Father, you should also go in and rest. Your spiritual power hasn’t recovered yet, so you won’t be able to come here. Please don’t rashly raise your sword.”

Currently, most people’s spiritual power was slowly recovering. If they forced themselves to ride the swords, they would probably fall flat on their faces. This was why they could only travel by water. Furthermore, Sect Leader OuYang’s physique was incredibly large. He simply couldn’t fly and go pick up his son. Angrily, he turned around with a flick of his sleeve and returned to the cabin. On the other boat, Nie HuaiSang burst out laughing. All the other sect leaders stared at him speechlessly, but most of them had already dispersed somewhat. Seeing this, Wei WuXian let out a long sigh of relief. As soon as he relaxed, a look of intense exhaustion suddenly flashed across his face. He fell to one side.

It seemed that he was wobbly not because he couldn’t keep his balance on the boat, but because he was so tired that he couldn’t stand up straight.

The boys didn’t care about the blood and dirt on his body. They all rushed over to him, wanting to help him up like they had Lan SiZhui. However, without even asking for their help, Lan WangJi bent down slightly. With one hand on his arm and the other behind his knee, Lan WangJi immediately picked Wei WuXian up.

Carrying Wei WuXian like this, he walked into the cabin. There was no place to lie down inside, only four long benches. So, Lan WangJi held Wei WuXian’s waist with one hand, letting his head rest on his shoulder, and with the other, he arranged the four benches into a platform wide enough for him to lie down. He gently laid Wei WuXian down on them.

Lan SiZhui suddenly realized that although HanGuang-Jun was covered in blood, the bandage that Wei WuXian had torn from his sleeve and wrapped around his small wound was still tied properly, wrapped around the fingers of his left hand.

Previously, he hadn’t had time to care about his appearance. At that moment, Lan WangJi finally took out his handkerchief and slowly wiped away the blood clots on Wei WuXian’s face. Soon, the white handkerchief was stained red and black. Although he had finished wiping Wei WuXian’s face, he hadn’t wiped his own.

Lan SiZhui immediately handed over his unused handkerchief, “HanGuang-Jun.”

Lan WangJi took it and looked down. With the handkerchief, his face turned pale again. The children finally calmed down. As they had suspected, HanGuang-Jun only looked normal when his face was ice-cold.

OuYang ZiZhen, “HanGuang-Jun, why did Senior Wei faint?”

Lan WangJi, “Kelelahan.”

Lan JingYi was amazed, “I thought Senior Wei would never get tired!”

The other boys were also somewhat surprised. That the legendary YiLing Patriarch could collapse from exhaustion after dealing with a walking corpse—they all thought the YiLing Patriarch should be able to calm them down with just a snap of his fingers. However, Lan WangJi shook his head. He only said four words, “We are all human.”

They were all human. How could humans be so tireless? How could they stand forever?

Lan WangJi had already arranged all the chairs, so the children could only squat in a circle, looking anxious. If Wei WuXian were awake, he would have joked around, teasing one and then the other. Right now, the cabin would have been very lively. However, he was lying down, and HanGuang-Jun sat beside him, his back as straight as ever. Normally, someone would have said something to liven things up, but if Lan WangJi didn’t speak, the others didn’t dare to speak either. After they squatted for a while, silence still enveloped the cabin.

All the boys commented silently, “… So boring.”

They were so bored that they started communicating with their eyes, “Why isn’t HanGuang-Jun saying anything? Why isn’t Senior Wei awake yet?”

With both hands folded across his cheeks, OuYang ZiZhen silently pointed here and there, “Has HanGuang-Jun always been so quiet? How can Senior Wei stand being around him all the time…”

Lan SiZhui nodded seriously, assuring him in his heart, “HanGuang-Jun has always been like this!”

Suddenly, Wei WuXian frowned, his head tilting to the side. Lan WangJi gently tilted his head back to prevent his neck from stiffening. Wei WuXian murmured, “Lan Zhan.”

Everyone thought he had woken up. They were very happy, but Wei WuXian’s eyes were still tightly closed. Lan WangJi, on the other hand, looked as usual, “Mn. I’m here.”

Wei WuXian fell silent again. As if feeling safe, he shifted closer to Lan WangJi and continued sleeping. The boys stared blankly at the two of them. For some reason, their cheeks suddenly turned red. Lan SiZhui was the first to stand up, stammering, “H-HanGuang-Jun, we’re going out and getting some fresh air…”

They nearly fled the scene, rushing out onto the deck. The night breeze blew in, and the suffocation they’d felt earlier seemed to vanish. One of them asked, “What’s going on? Why do we have to get out?! Why?!”

OuYang ZiZhen covered his face, “I don’t know what happened either, but I suddenly feel like we shouldn’t be there!”

Some of them pointed at each other, “Why are you blushing?!”

“I blush just because you blush!”

Wen Ning never stepped forward to help Wei WuXian up. He also didn’t follow them into the cabin, squatting on the deck. At the time, everyone had wondered why he hadn’t entered. Now, they realized that the Ghost General had truly made the right decision.

No one can get in!

Seeing them come out, Wen Ning made room for them to squat down, as if he had expected this. However, only Lan SiZhui walked over and squatted down beside him. Several boys muttered to themselves, “Why does SiZhui seem so close to the Ghost General?”

Wen Ning, “Young Master Lan, may I call you A-Yuan?”

All the boys felt their hearts flutter,  … So the Ghost General made friends so quickly?!

Lan SiZhui replied happily, “Of course!”

Wen Ning, “A-Yuan, have you been well all this time?”

Lan SiZhui, “Baiklah.”

Wen Ning nodded, “HanGuang-Jun must treat you well.”

Hearing him speak of Lan WangJi in such a respectful tone, Lan SiZhui felt even closer to him, “HanGuang-Jun treats me like a brother or a father. He even taught me how to play the guqin.”

Wen Ning, “When did HanGuang-Jun start taking care of you?”

After thinking for a moment, Lan SiZhui replied, “I don’t remember either. It was probably around four or five years old. I don’t have much memory of things that happened when I was young, but at that time, I doubt HanGuang-Jun was capable of taking care of me. I think HanGuang-Jun had been in solitary meditation for many years by then.”

He suddenly remembered that when HanGuang-Jun was in secluded meditation, the first siege on Burial Mound happened at the same time.

Inside the cabin, Lan WangJi looked up at the door that the juniors had closed as they hurriedly exited. He then looked at Wei WuXian, whose head had once again tilted to the side. Furrowing his brows once more, Wei WuXian glanced left and right, as if feeling extremely uncomfortable. Seeing this, Lan WangJi stood up, walked over to lock the door, and sat back down beside Wei WuXian. He shrugged and gently let Wei WuXian lean against his arm.

This time, Wei WuXian’s head finally stopped moving. He shifted to his chest, finally finding the best position to sleep. Seeing him relax again, Lan WangJi lowered his head, observing the figure in his arms. Her ink-colored hair cascaded down her shoulders. Suddenly, with his eyes still closed, Wei WuXian grabbed his collar. His fingers happened to curl around his forehead ribbon.

His grip was quite tight. Lan WangJi pinched one end of the ribbon and tugged. Not only did he fail to pull it off, but he even made Wei WuXian’s eyelashes flutter. Soon, he woke up.

When Wei WuXian finally opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the wooden ceiling of the cabin. He sat up. Lan WangJi stood in front of the wooden window, gazing at the full moon shining over the edge of the river.

Wei WuXian, “Huh, HanGuang-Jun, did I faint?”

Lan WangJi looked slightly to the side, answering calmly, “Yes.”

Wei WuXian asked again, “Where is your headband?”

“…”

After asking, he looked down and exclaimed, “Huh, what happened? Why is this thing in my hand?”

She swung her legs down from the bench, “I’m sorry. I like to hug things when I sleep, or else I tend to reach for things. I’m sorry, okay?”

After a moment of silence, Lan WangJi took back his forehead ribbon, “It’s fine.”

However, Wei WuXian was trying so hard to hold back his laughter that he nearly suffered an internal injury. There were times when he really wanted to sleep, but he wasn’t so weak that he would just pass out. However, just as he was slightly unsteady, Lan WangJi immediately lifted him up. Wei WuXian didn’t even have the guts to open his eyes and say, “Hey, there’s no need for this, he can stand up on his own.” Besides, he didn’t want to be put down again. If he could be carried, why would he stand?

Wei WuXian touched his neck. Silently, he rejoiced and lamented,  Lan Zhan, he really… If only I had known, I wouldn’t have woken up. If I had stayed unconscious, I would have been able to lie in his arms the entire journey!

At three in the morning, they arrived in Yunmeng.

The lights shone brightly in front of the gate and pier of Lotus Pier, reflecting in the water like golden flakes. It was rare in the past for so many boats of such varying sizes to gather at the pier at once. Not only the guards at the gate, but even the old men still selling midnight snacks were wide-eyed in amazement. Jiang Cheng was the first to disembark. He spoke a few words to the guards, and countless armed disciples immediately rushed out of the gate. People disembarked one by one, led in by the visiting cultivators of the YunmengJiang Sect. Sect Leader OuYang finally caught his son. With a low shout, he dragged him away. Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi exited the cabin and jumped off the fishing boat.

Wen Ning, “Young Master, I will wait for you outside.”

Wei WuXian knew that Wen Ning wouldn’t enter the gates of Lotus Pier. Jiang Cheng definitely wouldn’t let him in either. He nodded. 

Lan SiZhui spoke up, “Master Wen, allow me to accompany you.”

Wen Ning, “You will accompany me?” He was very happy, never expecting this. 

Lan SiZhui smiled, “Yes. The seniors are in to discuss important matters. I don’t need to be there. Let’s continue chatting. Where were we just now? Did Senior Wei really plant a two-year-old child in the ground like a radish earlier?”

Although his voice was low, the two people walking in front had sharp hearing. Wei WuXian nearly tripped over his own feet. Lan WangJi’s brows furrowed, but quickly returned to normal. 

When their silhouettes finally disappeared at the gate of Lotus Pier, Lan SiZhui finally continued, whispering, “Poor child. But, actually, I remember that when I was little, HanGuang-Jun also placed me among a pile of rabbits. They’re actually quite similar in some ways…”