Chapter 74 (1/2)
Chapter 74: Distance—Part One Translated by K of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
After the fight, because of Wen Ning's brutally gruesome performance, a somewhat unfortunate nickname was given to him. That, however, would be a story for later. Although he was stabbed in the stomach by Jiang Cheng, Wei WuXian wasn't concerned at all. He stuffed his intestines back into himself and like nothing ever happened, he even got Wen Ning to hunt down a few malign spirits as he bought a few large bags of potatoes.
When he returned to Burial Mound, Wen Qing bandaged his wound and scolded him as fiercely as possible, because it was radish seeds that she told him to buy.
After this, there came a number of ordinary days, when everyone lived in peace with one another. On Burial Mound, heading fifty-or-so of the Wen Sect's cultivators, Wei WuXian planted vegetables, repaired houses, refined corpses, and made new tools. Every day when he was free, he played with the toddler Wen Yuan, son of Wen Qing's cousin. He either let him hang on trees or buried him in the ground, fooling him that he'd grow faster if he was watered and bathed in sunlight. Then, he was scolded by Wen Qing again.
A few months pa.s.sed like this. Aside from how the world's comments on Wei WuXian worsened even more, there was no progress.
Wei WuXian couldn't go down the mountain often. Since he was the only one who suppressed all of the dark beings of Burial Mound, he couldn't venture too far or too long. Yet he was born an active person who couldn't stay in one place for an extended amount of time. He could only roam around the town time after time, his excuse being to purchase necessities. With how long Wen Yuan had been on the mountain for, Wei WuXian felt that they couldn't lock a child in such a place to play with mud all the time, and so one day, when he was shopping down the mountain, he took him along as well.
Having been to the town so many times, Wei WuXian was already familiar with it. He found his way to the vegetable vendor. Suddenly, he grabbed one and bristled, ”Your potato is sprouting!”
The vendor seemed to have encountered a great enemy, ”What do you want?!”
Wei WuXian, ”How about a bit cheaper?”
In the beginning, Wen Yuan was still holding onto his leg. Wei WuXian walked back and forth, picking out potatoes and bargaining. Hanging on his leg, Wen Yuan felt tired just a while later. His short arms were sore, so he let go to rest for a bit. Yet, in just a few moments, the rush of the people on the streets made him reel left and right, losing his sense of direction. His line of sight was quite low. He walked here and there, but couldn't find Wei WuXian's long legs and black boots. Everything in front of his eyes were pants so grimey that they were the color of dirt. He grew more and more petrified. As he spun around dizzily, he b.u.mped into someone's leg.
The person wore a pair of white, immaculate boots and was walking slowly to begin with. Having been b.u.mped into, he immediately stopped.
Wen Yuan looked up, jittering. First he saw a jade pendant hanging from the person's waist, then a sash belt embroidered with patterns of drifting clouds, then neat lapels without a single fold in them, and finally a pair of eyes as light as stained gla.s.s, as cold as winter frost.
Face solemn, the stranger looked down at him. Wen Yuan suddenly felt scared.
On the other hand, Wei WuXian picked and chose for a long time before finally deciding not to buy these sprouted potatoes. He might be poisoned if he ate them, but the vendor still refused to lower the price, only giving him a contemptuous humph. Turning around, though, he realized that Wen Yuan was gone. He almost turned pale, searching for the toddler all along the streets. Suddenly, he heard the wails of a child, and he immediately rushed over. Somewhere not far away, a group of nosey pa.s.serbys gathered into a bustling circle, pointing at something and chattering among themselves. He shoved through the crowds, and his eyes lit up at once.
Lan w.a.n.gJi, clothed in white and carrying b.i.+.c.hen on his back, stood frozen amid the crowd's encirclement. He even seemed somewhat at a loss. When he took another look, Wei WuXian laughed so hard that he almost tripped over himself. A little kid sat collapsed before Lan w.a.n.gJi's feet, bawling his eyes out. Lan w.a.n.gJi could neither stay nor leave, neither reach out nor talk to him. With a serious expression on his face, he seemed to be thinking about what to do.
One of the pa.s.serbys spoke up, nibbling on melon seeds, ”What's happenin' here? The young'un cried so hard it scared me to death.”
Someone commented a.s.suredly, ”He was definitely scolded by his dad.”
Hiding in the crowd as he heard the words 'his dad', Wei WuXian almost exploded with laughter. Lan w.a.n.gJi immediately looked up, denying it, ”I am not.”
Wen Yuan didn't know what the people were talking about. When children were scared, they always called out to those they were close to. And so, sobbing, he called, ”Dad! Dad…”
A pa.s.serby spoke up at once, ”Listen! Told you he's his dad!”
Some felt that they had good eyes, ”Definitely his dad. Their noses look as if they're carved out of the same mold. There's no doubt!”
Some were sympathetic, ”How poor. Look at how he's crying. Was he scolded by his dad?”
Some were confused, ”What's going on over there? Could you move? My carriage can't go through.”
Some scolded, ”He doesn't even know to pick the child up and make him feel better! So he's just letting his son cry on the ground? What a dad!”
Some showed their understanding, ”Look at how young he is. First time being a dad, huh? Back then I was like this too. I didn't know anything. He'll get it after his wife bears him a few more. We all had to take our time…”
Some tried to comfort the child, ”Good boy, don't cry. Where's your mom?”
”Yeah, where's the mom? The dad doesn't do anything, so where's his mom?”
Amid the flooding noise, Lan w.a.n.gJi's expression grew stranger and stranger.
How unfortunate that he'd been a chosen one ever since he was born. Everything he did was more righteous than righteous, more exemplar than exemplar. He'd never been put in a situation where everyone was pointing at him. Wei WuXian had already laughed to his death, but as he saw how Wen Yuan was crying so hard that he was almost choking, he could only step out.
Pretending that he only just saw the two, he spoke in a surprised tone, ”Huh? Lan Zhan?”
Lan w.a.n.gJi looked up with force. The two's eyes met with each other's. Wei WuXian himself didn't know why either, but he averted his gaze quickly. Hearing his voice, though, Wen Yuan got up at once. Dragging two long, flowing trails of tears behind him, he hung onto Wei Wuxian's leg again.
The crowd went on, ”Who is this? Where's the mom? Just where on Earth is the mom? Which one is the dad anyways?”
Wei WuXian waved his hand, ”It's over, it's over.”
Seeing that their fun had ended, the pa.s.serbys finally scattered slowly. Wei WuXian turned around and smiled, ”What a coincidence. Lan Zhan, why are you at Yiling?”
Lan w.a.n.gJi, ”A night-hunt. I pa.s.sed by.”
Hearing that his voice was no different from before, without any sense of hatred or enmity, Wei WuXian finally felt a part of him relax. He suddenly heard Lan w.a.n.gJi speak up, ”… The child?”
Wei WuXian's mouth moved on its own as soon as his heart was settled, lying, ”Mine.”
Lan w.a.n.gJi's brows twitched. Wei WuXian laughed, ”Of course I'm joking. He's someone else's. I took him out to play. What did you do? How come you made him cry?”
Lan w.a.n.gJi's voice was indifferent, ”I did not do anything.”
Wen Yuan hugged Wei WuXian's leg. He was still sobbing. Wei WuXian understood. Although Lan w.a.n.gJi's face looked pretty, such a young child was still unable to tell the beautiful from the not. He could only tell that this person wasn't friendly at all. In fact, he was cold and seemed to be quite strict. Frightened by the bitter expression, it was only natural that he felt scared. Wei WuXian picked Wen Yuan up and played with him for a while, turning him over and over, and said a few comforting words.
Suddenly, he saw that a street vendor was still laughing as he looked at them, so he pointed at the colorful things in the baskets that he carried on two ends of a pole, asking, ”Yuan, look over here. Aren't they pretty?”
Wen Yuan's focus was s.h.i.+fted. He sniffed, ”… Yeah.”
Wei WuXian, ”Don't they smell nice?”
Wen Yuan, ”Yeah.”
The vendor quickly added, ”Looks pretty and smells nice—Young Master, buy one, won't you?”
Wei WuXian, ”Do you want one?”
Wen Yuan thought that he was going to buy one for him. He spoke embarra.s.sedly, ”Yeah.”
Yet, Wei WuXian walked in the opposite direction, ”Haha, let's go.”
Wen Yuan seemed to be shocked. Tears filled his eyes again. Having been watching the scene unfold, Lan w.a.n.gJi finally couldn't bear it any longer, ”Why did you not buy one for him?”
Wei WuXian mused, ”Why should I buy one for him?”
Lan w.a.n.gJi, ”You asked him whether he wanted one or not. Did it not mean that you would buy one for him?”
Wei WuXian answered purposely, ”Asking and buying are two different things—why should I have to buy it for him if I asked?”
With such a rhetorical question, Lan w.a.n.gJi was surprisingly at a lost for words. He glared at him for a long while before he turned to Wen Yuan. Due to his stare, Wen Yuan started shaking again.
A moment later, Lan w.a.n.gJi asked Wen Yuan, ”Which one… do you want?”
Wen Yuan hadn't understood what was going on yet. Lan w.a.n.gJi pointed at the things in the vendor's baskets, ”Of the things here, which one do you want?”
Wen Yuan stared at him in terror. He didn't even dare let out a single breath.
An hour later, Wen Yuan finally stopped crying. He kept on feeling his pockets, stuffed full of the playthings that Lan w.a.n.gJi bought for him. Seeing that his tears finally stopped, Lan w.a.n.gJi seemed to be relieved. Yet, with a blus.h.i.+ng face, Wen Yuan snuck over quietly and wrapped his arms around his leg.
Looking down, Lan w.a.n.gJi saw the extra object on his leg, ”…”
Wei WuXian laughed madly, ”Hahahahaha! Lan Zhan, congratulations! He's taken a liking to you! He hugs the leg of whoever he likes, and he never lets go.”
Lan w.a.n.gJi walked a few steps forward. As Wei WuXian said, Wen Yuan clung onto his leg steadily, not at all intending to let go. The hug was quite tight as well.
Wei WuXian patted his shoulder, ”In my opinion, you can save your night-hunting for later. How about we get some food first?”
Lan w.a.n.gJi looked up at him, his tone unwavering, ”Get some food?”