Chapter 111 - WangXian (Part One) (1/2)

Translated by K of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

The sun hadn’t risen yet. It was still quiet over the streets. Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi walked together, hearing only the soft taps of the donkey’s hooves clicking on the ground.

Sitting on the back of the donkey, Wei WuXian gave its buttocks a few pats. The pouch at its girdle was full and hard, filled with apples that were probably snacks from the Lan Sect’s juniors.

Wei WuXian fished out an apple from inside and placed it near his mouth. Staring at Lan WangJi’s handsome face from the side, he gave it quite a loud crunch. Watching its apple be shamelessly stolen, Lil’ Apple was so furious that it flared its nostrils, slamming its hooves. Wei WuXian had no time to pay attention to it, giving it a few more slaps as he stuffed the unfinished apple into its mouth, “Lan Zhan, did you know? The one named SiSi seemed to have been a friend of Jin GuangYao’s mother’s.”

Lan WangJi, “I did not.”

Wei WuXian didn’t know if he should laugh, “I was only making a comment, not that I was really asking you. I saw it back at the Guanyin Temple, in Empathy with the ghoul woman. She looked after Jin GuangYao and his mother quite well.”

With a moment of silence, Lan WangJi replied, “Thus, Jin GuangYao let the woman go.”

Wei WuXian, “It should be the case. I was afraid ZeWu-Jun would go soft on him again, so I didn’t say everything. Even now I still don’t we should tell him.”

Lan WangJi, “If he should ask in the future, I will let him know.”

Wei WuXian, “Might as well.”

He turned and glanced back, letting out a rare sigh, “I don’t want to care about any of those nasty things anymore. This is it.”

Lan WangJi nodded and tightened Lil’ Apple’s reins. He continued to walk with it.

Each could only deal with their own troubles. Even if Lan XiChen was his brother by birth, Lan WangJi couldn’t do anything to help him right now. Comfort was useless. It’d all be in vain.

After a pause, Lan WangJi spoke, “Wei Ying.”

Wei WuXian, “What?”

Lan WangJi, “There is something I have never told you.”

Wei WuXian somehow felt his heart skip a beat, “What is it?”

Lan WangJi stopped and stared straight at him. Just as he was about to speak, from behind the two of them came a series of rushed footsteps. Wei WuXian, “Goodness, somebody’s already caught up with us?”

Somebody had caught up indeed, but it was much better than expected. Lan SiZhui ran over, panting, “H-HanGuang-Jun, Senior Wei!”

Wei WuXian propped his arm on the donkey’s head, “SiZhui-er, I’m eloping with HanGuang-Jun. Why are you here? Aren’t you scared Old Mr. Lan would scold you?”

Lan SiZhui blushed, “Senior Wei, do not be like this. I-I came to ask a very important question!”

Wei WuXian, “What is it?”

Lan SiZhui, “I remembered a few things that I could not confirm, so… so I came to ask HanGuang-Jun and Senior Wei.”

Lan WangJi glanced at him before he looked to Wen Ning. Wen Ning nodded. Wei WuXian, “What things?”

Lan SiZhui puffed up his chest and drew in a deep breath. He began, “Claimed he had top-notch cooking skills, yet made dishes that were pungent both to the eye and to the stomach.”

Wei WuXian, “Huh???”

Lan SiZhui added, “Buried me in a field of carrots, saying I would grow taller quickly with water and sunlight, and maybe a few more children would sprout and play with me.”

Wei WuXian, “…”

Lan SiZhui continued, “Promised to treat HanGuang-Jun to a meal but ran off before paying, leaving HanGuang-Jun to pay again.”

Wei WuXian widened his eyes. He almost couldn’t steady himself on the donkey’s back. He stammered, “You… You…”

Lan SiZhui’s eyes were glued to Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi, “Maybe because I was too young, I cannot remember most of the things from back then. But, I am sure that… my surname used to be Wen.”

Wei WuXian’s voice trembled, “Your surname was Wen? Isn’t it Lan? Lan SiZhui, Lan Yuan…” He murmured, “Lan Yuan… Wen Yuan?”

Lan SiZhui nodded heavily. His voice was shaking as well, “Senior Wei, I… I am A-Yuan…”

Wei WuXian hadn’t yet wrapped his mind around what was going on, still confused, “A-Yuan… Didn’t he die? He was left alone on Burial Mound back then…”

Before he finished, Lan XiChen’s words echoed beside his ears, ‘They say those years were him reflecting on his mistakes, but in reality he was entirely bedridden. Even so, when he knew of your passing away, he still dragged such a body to Burial Mound to take one last look, no matter what…’

He spun to look at Lan WangJi, “Lan Zhan, was it you?!”

Lan WangJi, “Yes.” He gazed at Wei WuXian, “This was what I never told you.”

For a long time, Wei WuXian couldn’t say anything.

At least, Lan SiZhui couldn’t hold it any longer. With a loud cry, he leaped up. One hand around Wei WuXian and the other around Lan WangJi, he pulled the two into a tight embrace. Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi bumped into each other from the hug. Both of them were surprised.

Lan SiZhui buried his head between their shoulders, “HanGuang-Jun, Senior Wei, I… I…”

Hearing his muffled voice, Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi exchanged a look, only inches apart. They both saw something soft within each other’s eyes.

Wei WuXian fixed his mood and put his hand on Lan SiZhui’s back, patting, “Enough, what are you crying for?”

Lan SiZhui, “Not crying… Just… I suddenly feel so frustrated, but so happy as well… I do not know how to describe it…”

After some silence, Lan WangJi laid his hand onto his back as well and patted. Lan WangJi, “There is no need to describe it then.”

Wei WuXian, “That’s right.”

Lan SiZhui didn’t say anything. He hugged them even tighter.

Soon, Wei WuXian exclaimed, “Hey, hey, hey, why are your arms so strong? Definitely deserving of HanGuang-Jun’s teachings…”

Lan WangJi glanced at him, “You taught him as well.”

Wei WuXian, “No wonder he grew up so nicely.”

Lan SiZhui, “Senior Wei never taught me anything.”

Wei WuXian, “Who said I didn’t? You were just too young back then. You forgot everything I taught you.”

Lan SiZhui, “I did not forget. Now I remember. I think you did teach me.”

Wei WuXian, “Right?”

Lan SiZhui had on a serious face, “You taught me how to disguise pornography as normal books.”

Wei WuXian, “…”

Lan Wangji glanced at Wei WuXian.

Lan SiZhui added, “You also taught me that when pretty maidens walked by…”

Wei WuXian, “Absolute nonsense. Why do you remember these things only? You must be dreaming. How could I teach these to young children?”

Lan SiZhui looked up, “Uncle Ning can testify. He should also have been present when you taught me these things.”

Wei WuXian, “Testify what? No such things happened.”

Wen Ning, “I… I don’t remember anything…”

Lan SiZhui swore, “HanGuang-Jun, every word of mine is true.”

Lan WangJi nodded, “I know.”

Wei WuXian threw a tantrum atop the donkey, “Ugh, Lan Zhan!” With another thought, he asked, “Speaking of it, How did you remember, SiZhui?”

Lan SiZhui, “I do not understand either. Something just felt really familiar when I saw Chenqing.”

As expected, it was Chenqing. Wei WuXian, “Oh, of course it’d feel familiar. You loved eating Chenqing back then. You always drooled on it and made it so that I couldn’t play it.”

Lan SiZhui’s face flushed red at once, “R-Really…”

Wei WuXian, “Yup, or else why did you remember everything the moment you saw it? You wanna listen to more stories of when you were young?” He made two butterflies with his hands, “HanGuang-Jun, do you remember the time I treated you to a meal, when he held a pair of butterflies and mumbled around, saying ‘I like you’, ‘I like you too’…”

Lan SiZhui’s face grew even redder. Wei WuXian added, “Oh right, that time you even called HanGuang-Jun ‘Dad’ in front of everyone’s eyes. Poor HanGuang-Jun. What a pure, wholesome young man he was back then, yet he inexplicably became someone’s dad…”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Lan SiZHui yelled, blushing, “HanGuang-Jun, I apologize!”

Lan WangJi looked at the grinning Wei WuXian and shook his head, his eyes gentle.

Wei WuXian spoke again, “Right, Wen Ning, you knew about this?”

Wen Ning nodded. Wei WuXian was shocked, “Then why didn’t you tell me?”

Wen Ning gave Lan WangJi a glance, speaking carefully, “Young Master Lan didn’t say to tell you, so…”

Wei WuXian was infuriated, “Why do you listen to him so much? You’re the Ghost General—why should the Ghost General be afraid of HanGuang-Jun? Doesn’t it make me lose face?”

Lan SiZhui was still shouting, “HanGuang-Jun, I apologize!”

…

The four parted ways in a forest at the edge of Yunping City.

Wen Ning, “Young Master, we’ll be going this way.”

Wei WuXian, “Which way?”

Wen Ning, “Didn’t you ask me what I wanted to do when everything ended? I’ve talked to A-Yuan about it. We’ll be going to Qishan first to bury the ashes of our people. I also wanted to look around there to see if I could find the things from when my sister was still alive, to build her a cenotaph.”

Wei WuXian, “A cenotaph. I built one for you and her back on Burial Mound, but they were burned down. We can go to Qishan too.”

He turned around to ask Lan WangJi, yet Wen Ning answered, “There’s no need.”

Wei WuXian hesitated, “You won’t be going with us?”

Lan SiZhui, “Senior Wei, you should go with HanGuang-Jun.”

Wei WuXian was about to speak again when Wen Ning spoke again, “Really, it’s fine, Young Master Wei. You’ve done enough.”

After a moment of silence, Wei WuXian asked, “Then what about after you’ve done these things?”

Wen Ning, “Send A-Yuan back to the Cloud Recesses, and then I can take some time to think about what to do next. You can let me walk the rest of the way on my own.”

Wei WuXian nodded slowly, “… I might as well.”

It was the first time in all these years that Wen Ning made his own decision and stopped walking the same path he walked. Wei WuXian guessed that perhaps he had something he wanted to do out of his own will.

It was what he hoped all this time. Each to their own path. But now that they day really came, watching Wen Ning and Lan SiZhui’s figures walk slowly, slowly away until they finally disappeared, he felt somewhat dejected.

Lan WangJi was now the only one who stood by his side. Luckily, Lan WangJi was also the only one he wished to have by his side.

Wei WuXian, “Lan Zhan.”

Lan WangJi, “Mn.”

Wei WuXian, “You taught him very well.”

Lan WangJi, “There will come many instances for you to meet again.”

Wei WuXian, “I know.”

Lan WangJi, “After Wen Ning sends SiZhui back to the Cloud Recesses, he can settle down nearby. You will be able to see him often.”

Wei WuXian looked at him, “Lan Zhan, you’re really scared of me telling you ‘thank you’, aren’t you? I suddenly remembered. Many of the times we parted ways in my past life, I said ‘thank you’ to you right before. And every time we separated, I worsened the next time we met.”

The time they killed Wen Chao and Wen ZhuLiu at the courier station, the time they met each other through the flowers at the tower in Yunmeng, the time they parted at Yiling’s Burial Mound. Every time, he used the word to mark a clear line between him and Lan WangJi, stretching out the distance between them.

With a long while of silence, Lan WangJi replied, “Between you and me, there is no need for ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry’.”

Wei WuXian grinned, “Sure, then let’s talk more about some other things, like…”

His voice lowered as he gestured with his hand for Lan WangJi to approach him, as if he was going to whisper something to him. Lan WangJi approached as expected. Yet, Wei WuXian reached out his right hand, lifted Lan WangJi’s chin, and bent down to press his lips onto Lan WangJi’s.

Only after a long time did Wei WuXian part the tiniest bit. Eyelashes brushing against each other’s, he whispered, “How is it?”

Lan WangJi, “…”

Wei WuXian, “HanGuang-Jun, give me some reaction, won’t you?”

Lan WangJi, “…”

Wei WuXian, “You’re so cold. Right now, shouldn’t you be pinning me onto the ground…”

Before he could finish, Lan WangJi wrapped his hand around his neck. With rough motions, he pressed Wei WuXian’s head down, and the two started kissing again.

Lil’ Apple was flabbergasted. Even his apple-chewing mouth was left hanging. He was as frozen as donkey statue. Soon, Lil’ Apple was no longer able to hold up Wei WuXian. Lan WangJi held his back with his left hand and knees with his right. At once, he carried Wei WuXian off of the donkey.

As he wished, Wei WuXian was pinned onto the ground and smooched for a long while. Suddenly, he exclaimed, “Wait, wait!”

Lan WangJi, “What?”