Chapter 87: Loyalty—Part Nine

As he spoke, Wei WuXian grabbed two branches and began climbing up the tree trunk. He leaped effortlessly until he reached an area near the top. Wei WuXian finally stopped, “Hmm, it should be around here.”

He buried his face in the thick foliage and only looked down after a moment. His voice was high-pitched, punctuated by laughter. “It used to be so scary, but now, it doesn’t feel so high.”

As soon as he hugged the tree, Wei WuXian’s eyes felt warm. When he looked down, his vision was already blurry.

Lan WangJi stood directly beneath the tree, gazing up at it with his chin raised. He was also dressed in white. He wasn’t holding a lantern, but the moonlight shone down on him, almost enveloping him in a soft halo, making him appear radiant. He gazed at the treetop with a dedicated expression. He seemed to take a few steps closer, as if about to extend his hand.

Suddenly, an incredibly strong urge arose in Wei WuXian’s mind.

He wanted to fall again, like that time.

A voice inside him said,  If he catches me, I will…

Just as he was thinking, “I will,” Wei WuXian let go. Seeing him fall from the tree without warning, Lan WangJi’s eyes widened. He darted forward just in time to catch Wei WuXian, or rather, be caught by Wei WuXian.

Lan WangJi’s figure was slender. He looked like a young, scholarly teacher, but his strength was not to be underestimated. Not only was his arm strength extraordinary, his lower body was also stable. However, after all, the one who jumped from the tree was a grown man, so even though he managed to catch Wei WuXian, he staggered slightly, taking a step back. However, he quickly regained his balance. Just as he was about to let go of Wei WuXian, he realized that Wei WuXian’s arms were tightly wrapped around his neck, preventing him from moving even an inch.

He couldn’t see Wei WuXian’s face. Wei WuXian couldn’t see his face either, but he didn’t need to. When he closed his eyes, all he could smell was the cool sandalwood scent on Lan WangJi’s body.

His voice was hoarse, “Thank you.”

He wasn’t afraid of falling. He had fallen countless times over the years. But hitting the ground still hurt. If someone caught him, it would be beyond painful.

Hearing Wei WuXian say thank you, Lan WangJi’s body froze for a moment. The hand that was about to rest on Wei WuXian’s back paused for a moment before returning. 

After a moment of silence, Lan WangJi replied, “You’re welcome.”

After hugging for a while, Wei WuXian finally parted ways with her. Standing up straight as usual, he said as if nothing had happened, “Let’s go home!”

Lan WangJi, “No need to remember it anymore?”

Wei WuXian, “Yes, more memories! But there’s nothing to see if we walk any further. It’s definitely wilderness, and we’ve seen enough of that these past few days. Let’s go back to Lotus Pier. I’ll show you one last place.”

The two returned to the pier and entered the gates of Lotus Pier once more. They walked across the training grounds. As they passed a small, ornate building, Wei WuXian stopped and took a few more glances. His expression seemed different. Lan WangJi asked, “What’s wrong?”

Wei WuXian shook his head, “It’s nothing. My residence used to be here. It’s gone now. It’s completely torn down. This is all new.”

They passed through layers of buildings and arrived at a quiet spot deep in Lotus Pier, in front of a black, octagonal palace. As if afraid of startling anyone, Wei WuXian gently pushed open the door and entered. In front of the palace, rows of tablets were neatly arranged.

It was the ancestral hall of the YunmengJiang Sect.

He found a cushion and knelt down. Taking three incense sticks from their holders, he lit them by candlelight and stuck them into the bronze tripod in front of the stone tablets. He kowtowed three times to the two stone tablets, then turned to Lan WangJi, “I used to come here often.”

Lan WangJi put on an understanding expression, “Kneeling as punishment?”

Wei WuXian pondered, “How did you know? That’s right. Madam Yu punishes me almost every day.”

Lan WangJi nodded, “I’ve heard some things.”

Wei WuXian, “It’s so famous that even people outside Yunmeng, even you Gusu people, know about it—how could it be ‘a few things’? But, honestly, in all these years, I’ve never seen another woman with a temper as bad as Lady Yu’s. She makes me go to the ancestral hall and kneel, no matter how small the matter is. Hahaha…”

However, apart from this, Mrs. Yu had never done anything to truly hurt him.

Suddenly, he remembered that this was the ancestral hall and that Madam Yu’s tablet was right in front of him. He immediately apologized, “Sorry, sorry.” 

To make up for his unwise words, he lit three more incense sticks. Just as he raised them above his head, still apologizing in his heart, the sky beside him suddenly darkened. He turned around to find Lan WangJi also kneeling beside him.

Now that they were in the ancestral hall, out of courtesy, he naturally had to show his respect. Lan WangJi also took three incense sticks, then pushed his sleeves aside, and lit them using one of the red candles. His movements were precise, and his expression was somber. Wei WuXian tilted his head to look at him, his lips curling upward almost uncontrollably. Lan WangJi glanced at him and reminded him, “The ashes.”

The three incense sticks Wei WuXian held had been burning for quite some time. A little ash had gathered at the top, almost falling off. However, he still refused to put them into the tripod, instead saying, “Let’s do it together.”

Lan WangJi didn’t object. So, each with three sticks of incense, the two of them knelt between the rows of tablets and bowed together to the names of Jiang FengMian and Yu ZiYuan.

Once. Twice. The movement was exactly the same. Wei WuXian, “Already.” Finally he placed the incense into the tripod.

Finally. Wei WuXian glanced at Lan WangJi, who was kneeling neatly beside him. He clasped his hands together and muttered to himself, ‘Uncle Jiang, Lady Yu, it’s me again. I’m here to bother you two again. But I really wanted to bring her here and show her to you. Let the two kowtows we just made count as kowtows to Heaven and Earth, to Father and Mother. Please help me take care of the person beside me for now. I owe you one last kowtow for now, and I’ll find a chance to make it up to you in the future…’

*In a traditional Chinese wedding, one must kowtow three times: once to Heaven and Earth, once to Father and Mother, and once to Husband and Wife (each other).

At this moment, a cold laugh suddenly came from behind the two.

Wei WuXian was praying in his heart. Hearing the voice, he trembled and his eyes widened. He turned around and saw Jiang Cheng standing in the middle of the open field outside the ancestral hall, his hands folded.

Her voice was cold, “Wei WuXian, you really don’t consider yourself an outsider, do you? You come and go whenever you want. You bring whoever you want. Do you still remember whose sect this is? Who owns it?”

By doing this, Wei WuXian wanted to distance himself from Jiang Cheng from the start. Now that he had found them, he knew they would definitely face harsh comments. He didn’t want to argue, “I didn’t take HanGuang-Jun to any other, more secretive place in Lotus Pier. We just came to greet Uncle Jiang and Lady Yu with a few sticks of incense. We’re done, and we’ll be leaving now.”

Jiang Cheng, “If you want to leave, please go as far as possible. Don’t let me see or hear you messing around at Lotus Pier again.”

Wei WuXian felt his eyebrows twitch. He saw Lan WangJi’s right hand pressing down on his sword and immediately stopped it.

Lan WangJi turned to Jiang Cheng, “Watch your words.”

Jiang Cheng was quite blunt, “I think you are the ones who should be careful in your actions.”

Wei WuXian’s brow furrowed, and a bad feeling appeared in his mind. He said to Lan WangJi, “HanGuang-Jun, let’s go.”

He then turned around and prostrated himself a few more times in front of the Jiang couple’s tablet before standing with Lan WangJi. Jiang Cheng didn’t stop him from prostrated himself, but he also didn’t hide his mocking tone, “You really should kneel before them properly, after dirtying their eyes and polluting their peace.”

Wei WuXian glanced at him, then said in a calm voice, “I’m just here to burn incense. That’s enough, right?”

Jiang Cheng, “Burning incense? Wei WuXian, are you really that stupid? You were expelled from our sect so long ago, and now you’re bringing uninvited people to burn incense for my parents?”

Wei WuXian was about to pass by and leave. Hearing this, he suddenly stopped, his voice low, “Okay, say it out loud. Who is the unwanted person?”

If he were alone here, he could pretend not to hear anything Jiang Cheng said. However, with Lan WangJi with him, no matter what, he didn’t want Lan WangJi to suffer from Jiang Cheng’s vulgarities and obvious hatred alongside him.

Jiang Cheng sneered, “Look at how forgetful you are. What’s an unwanted person? Then let me remind you. Because you played the hero and saved Second Young Master Lan, who is standing beside you right now, the entire Lotus Pier and my parents went down with you. And that wasn’t enough. After the first incident, immediately came the second. You even had to save the Wen Dogs and drag my younger brother with you. You’re truly an extraordinary person! Furthermore, you were so generous as to bring them both to Lotus Pier. Those Wen Dogs were strolling in front of my sect’s gate; Second Young Master Lan came here to burn incense. You came here on purpose to remind me, to remind them.” He continued, “Wei WuXian, who do you think you are? Who gave you the face to bring anyone you want into our sect’s ancestral hall?”

Wei WuXian knew that Jiang Cheng had to settle this with him no matter what.

Jiang Cheng believed that not only Wei WuXian was responsible for the destruction of Lotus Pier, but also Wen Ning and Lan WangJi. He wouldn’t look kindly upon the three of them, especially when they were walking right in front of him inside Lotus Pier. He was probably angry.