Chapter 92: Longing (Part Three)

Wei WuXian sighed in his heart,  Forget about further investigation and whatnot… I’m more worried about whether the circumcision was transmitted through body sacrifice!

As he thought, the fatigue of the past few days began to set in. Wei WuXian massaged his temples. Lan WangJi, “You should rest.”

Wei WuXian, “Alright.” As he spoke, he sat on the bed, took off his shoes, and lay down, “HanGuang-Jun, you should also…” At this point, he discovered quite a tricky problem.

There was only one bed in the room. If Lan WangJi wanted to rest, he would have to share the same bed with him. Although they had already shared the same bed several times in the past few days, things had become complicated after Jiang Cheng’s words in the ancestral hall of Lotus Pier. Now, let alone having Lan WangJi share the same bed with him, he had considered everything for so long even when deciding how many rooms to share.

Lan WangJi, “No need.”

Wei WuXian straightened his body slightly, “How could you do that? You’ve already…” Right after he finished, he began to regret it. What if, after he said that, Lan WangJi thought that with all this trouble, they would have been better off with two rooms? Wouldn’t that be even more awkward?

Lan WangJi, “I’m fine. You can rest.”

Wei WuXian touched his chin, “…Oh. Then I’ll lie down for a while. Wake me up at three.”

Seeing how Lan WangJi had closed his eyes and begun to meditate, still sitting at the table, Wei WuXian finally lay down again.

He lay on his back and stared at the ceiling for a moment, then turned his back to Lan WangJi. Even after a while, his eyes were still wide open, unable to sleep. He couldn’t contain his irritation.

Back when he was playing crazy, he said he could only sleep next to Lan WangJi. Of course, it was all nonsense. But after some time, that nonsense seemed to have become reality. Wei WuXian thought,  What should I do now? Don’t tell me from now on, I won’t be able to sleep in a bed without Lan Zhan?

After a long struggle, Wei WuXian finally managed to close his eyes.

After a hazy sleep for who knows how long, when Wei WuXian woke up, the light had already disappeared from the window. It was probably past five o’clock.

Wei WuXian immediately sat up. A voice came from behind him. Turning around, he saw Lan WangJi had just closed his book. Wei WuXian, “Lan Zhan, why didn’t you wake me up? Didn’t I say I’d be up at three?”

Lan WangJi, “Let your mind and body recover completely. Don’t rush.”

Wei WuXian had slept for almost half a day. All day, Lan WangJi had probably only come downstairs and brought a book to read. He felt a little apologetic, so he jumped out of bed, “Sorry. I slept too soundly. You should lie down for a while, too.”

Lan WangJi, “No need.”

Just then, someone knocked on the door. The owner’s voice came from outside, “Young Master, I’ve brought dinner.”

Wei WuXian finally realized that it was already seven o’clock. Lan WangJi opened the door. On the tray the owner had brought him was a small pot of liquor and two small cups. As soon as he entered, he said, “Huh, it looks like you slept all night?”

Wei WuXian felt even more guilty and laughed dryly. The owner placed the tray on the table. “Young Master, where are you from? If you’re visiting from somewhere else, it must be very tiring. You can only continue your journey after you’ve had a good rest, right?” Wei WuXian answered without much thought, “We’re from Gusu.”

The owner, “Really! No wonder. I thought you two, such handsome figures, must come from a place rich in water and spirituality like the Jiangnan region*, Young Master.”

* Jiangnan (and places with lots of rivers and lakes in general) is known for its handsome people.

Lan WangJi looked as if he hadn’t heard anything. Wei WuXian laughed, “I can’t compare to him. He’s much more handsome than I am.”

The owner was quite articulate. He grinned, “He’s handsome, you’re cute. Different, but both beautiful! Oh, yes.” As if remembering something, he said, “If you’re here for a visit, you can come and see the Guanyin Temple in our town.”

Wei WuXian was just about to ask about the Temple when she suddenly brought it up, “We went to the Temple during the day. We rarely see Guanyin temples in cities.”

The owner, “Yes, I was also surprised when I first saw it.”

Wei WuXian, “Madam, when did you come to Yunping City?”

The owner, “It’s been about eight years.”

Wei WuXian, “That temple has been here for a long time? Have you ever heard why they built a temple in this city?”

The owner said, “I’m not sure about that. By the way, this temple is quite popular. In Yunping City, no matter what we encounter, we all go there and pray for Guanyin’s protection. I sometimes go there and light some incense.”

Wei WuXian asked, “Then why don’t you go look for the cultivation sect in charge of this area?”

He only remembered after asking. Wasn’t the cultivation sect that controlled this area the YunmengJiang Sect?

However, the owner pursed his lips, “Looking for them? How dare we?”

Wei WuXian, “Oh? Why not?”

The owner said, “Young Master, you aren’t from Yunping City, so you don’t know. The Jiang Sect is in charge of all of us throughout the Yunmeng region. The Sect Leader has a bad temper. It’s almost terrifying. His subordinates have been saying it for a long time. Only one sect is in charge of such a vast area. Every day, there are nearly a hundred cases of little ghosts or other creatures playing tricks on the living and so on. If every little thing has to be dealt with immediately, will there be enough time and energy? Those who don’t kill anyone aren’t evil spirits, and we shouldn’t bother them with trivial matters that aren’t evil spirits.” He complained, “What’s the meaning of this? Isn’t it too late if we wait until someone dies to find them?!”

In fact, refusing to act unless it was an evil spirit was a tacit rule agreed upon by all the major sects. Although “being present wherever chaos is” was widely praised, the only one who truly adhered to it was Lan WangJi, who was currently beside him.

The owner continued, “Besides, Lotus Pier is a truly scary place. How could anyone dare to go there again?”

Wei WuXian averted his gaze from Lan WangJi’s calm face with a hint of surprise, “Lotus Pier is scary? How could Lotus Pier be scary? Have you ever been there?”

Owner, “I’ve never been there myself, but I know someone who went there because the house was very haunted. But it was all because of bad luck. That Sect Leader Jiang swung a fiery whip right on the training field.

Wei WuXian had long heard of Jiang Cheng searching for ghost path cultivators who had apparently snatched other people’s bodies, bringing them all to Lotus Pier to be tortured and interrogated. The owner’s friend probably happened to encounter him while he was venting his anger. It wasn’t hard to imagine how terrifying Jiang Cheng looked, so it was no wonder a normal person would have run away.

The owner, “I also heard that there are other people who are afraid to go.”

Wei WuXian, “Afraid of what?” It was impossible for Jiang Cheng to whip someone again, right? How often did Jiang Cheng catch people and whip them?

The owner said, “No, no. It was his misfortune. That person was surnamed Wen, and Sect Leader Jiang’s archenemy also happened to be surnamed Wen. He hated everyone in the world with the surname Wen. Every time he saw them, he would gnash his teeth in hatred, wishing to skin them alive. How could he possibly give even the slightest bit of a friendly look to…”

Wei WuXian lowered his head and massaged his brows. He didn’t say anything. Fortunately, he didn’t need to. After rambling on for so long, the owner was satisfied, “I’ve delayed your dinner with all this chatter, haven’t I? I’ll go downstairs and not bother you any more. Please let me know if there’s anything else you need.”

Wei WuXian thanked him and sent him off. He turned around, “It seems like the person we’re looking for must be more than eight years old. Tomorrow, let’s ask some locals who know this place well.”

Lan WangJi nodded slowly. Wei WuXian, “But we probably won’t be able to get anything either. Eight years is too long. Enough to forget a lot of things.”

Just as he was about to pour the wine, he paused, immediately warning himself, “  If he doesn’t drink, then so be it. If he does, I’ll just ask a few questions. I definitely won’t do anything else. I just need to know what he’s thinking. He won’t remember anything after he wakes up anyway… It won’t be a problem.”

Only after making that promise did he steadily pour the cup to the brim. As if nothing had happened, he pushed it in front of Lan WangJi. He was prepared for Lan WangJi not to drink it, but perhaps because Lan WangJi was also busy, he didn’t even notice him as he lifted the cup and took a sip.

Wei WuXian brought his cup to his lips, paying attention to whatever was happening, whether intentionally or not. However, after taking a small sip, he choked and coughed for a long time. He thought, “  The owner is truly an honest man.” I told him, “The stronger the better,” and he actually gave me a very strong cup.

In reality, he had managed to drink a liquor ten times stronger than this. This time, he choked because he was in a daze. He wiped the wine off his clothes. When he looked up again, as he had expected, Lan WangJi was already lost in thought.

This time, he fell asleep right on the sitting mat. He was still sitting properly. Aside from his eyes being closed and his chin tilted downward, his sitting posture was no different from usual. Wei WuXian waved his hand a few times in front of his face. When there was no reaction, he finally felt relieved. He reached out, gently lifted Lan WangJi’s chin, and whispered, “I’ve been holding it in all this time. HanGuang-Jun, you’re finally in my arms now.”

Asleep, Lan WangJi obediently lifted his chin. When his eyes were open, his face looked indifferent, stern, and distant, due to his thin pupils and cold gaze. But when his eyes closed, their edges softened, forming the jade statue of a handsome young man. His calm serenity possessed an extraordinary charm. The more Wei WuXian looked, the more captivated he became. Holding his chin, he couldn’t help but lean in closer, until their faces were almost too close. Amidst the cool scent of sandalwood, he suddenly remembered where he was. He cursed inwardly as he quickly withdrew his hand. Lan WangJi’s head dropped again.

Wei WuXian’s heart pounded. To calm himself, he rolled a few times on the ground before jumping up. Trying to keep his mind clear, he slowly backed away and sat in front of Lan WangJi. He sat quietly for a while, waiting for him to wake up, but he still didn’t give up, this time poking his cheek. After a few pokes, he somehow realized that he had never seen Lan WangJi smile before, so he pinched the corner of Lan WangJi’s lips and pulled them up, wanting to see his smiling face. Suddenly, he felt a slight pain in his finger. Lan WangJi had already opened his eyes. He was staring at him with a cold gaze.

And one of Wei WuXian’s fingers was already clamped in his mouth.