Chapter 126: Yunmeng

When Lan Wangji came back, Wei Wuxian had already counted past thirteen hundred.

"Thirteen sixty-nine, thirteen seventy, thirteen seventy-one..."

He was flicking his leg up and down, the colorful shuttlecock flying between his feet—soaring up, landing steady, flying higher again, drifting down—as if an invisible thread connected it to him, keeping it forever tethered to some part of Wei Wuxian's body.

And there was another invisible thread, tightly pulling the gaze of all the little kids watching nearby.

Then he heard Wei Wuxian say, "Thirteen seventy-two, thirteen eighty-one..."

Lan Wangji: "..."

Under the admiring gazes of all those little kids, Wei Wuxian was openly cheating like this. And the ridiculously large numbers had already robbed the snot-nosed children of any judgment—not a single one noticed anything off. Lan Wangji watched helplessly as Wei Wuxian jumped from seventy-two to eighty-one, then from eighty-one to ninety. Just as he was about to make his next leap, Wei Wuxian happened to spot him. His eyes lit up, like he was about to call out to him, but his timing was off, and that bright shuttlecock flew over his head and dropped behind him.

He caught sight of the shuttlecock about to be lost, hurriedly kicked backward, his heel saving it. This last kick was the highest, accompanied by a loud "Sixteen hundred!" that drew gasps and wild clapping from the little kids.

The verdict was in. A little girl shrieked, "Sixteen hundred! He won, you lost!"

Wei Wuxian felt no shame at all, accepted it graciously, full of swagger. Lan Wangji also raised his hand and clapped a few times. Pa, pa, pa.

At this moment, a little boy bit his finger, his brow furrowed into a knot, and said, "I feel like... something's off."

Wei Wuxian said, "What's off?"

The boy said, "How does ninety suddenly become a hundred? That can't be right."

The group of kids seemed to split into two factions. One, clearly already thoroughly corrupted by Wei Wuxian, chattered, "How could it not be? You're not trying to welch because you lost, are you?"

Wei Wuxian also argued, "How is ninety not followed by a hundred? Count it yourself—what comes after nine?"

The boy laboriously counted on his fingers for a long time. "…seven, eight, nine, ten…"

Wei Wuxian immediately said, "See? Nine is followed by ten, so ninety is definitely followed by a hundred."

The boy was half-convinced. "…Really? No way??"

Wei Wuxian said, "How could it not be? If you don't believe me, let's just grab some passerby and ask."

He looked around, slapped his thigh, and said, "Oh, found one. This young master here looks very reliable—please hold on a moment!"

"..."

Lan Wangji stopped. "What is it."

Wei Wuxian said, "I don't know if I could ask you a question?"

Lan Wangji said, "Go ahead."

So Wei Wuxian said, "Excuse me, what comes after ninety?"

Lan Wangji said, "One hundred."

Wei Wuxian bowed with hands clasped. "Thank you for your trouble."

Lan Wangji nodded. "You're welcome."

Wei Wuxian smiled and nodded, turned to the boy, and said, "See?"

The boy didn't quite trust the grinning Wei Wuxian, but one look at Lan Wangji—this young master in snow-white robes, jade hanging from his sword, his face so beautiful it didn't seem real, like an immortal—and he couldn't help feeling a wave of awe. His wavering heart was immediately convinced. He mumbled, "So that's how you count it…"

The kids chattered, "Sixteen hundred to three hundred—you lost!"

The boy said grudgingly, "Lost is lost." Saying this, he thrust the candied hawthorn stick in his hand toward Wei Wuxian and announced loudly, "You won! Here, take it!"

Once the kids had wandered off, Wei Wuxian, with the candied hawthorn stick dangling from his mouth, said, "Hanguang-jun, you really gave me face back there."

Lan Wangji walked over to him and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Wei Wuxian shook his head. "Not long, not long. You were only gone a little while. I only kicked the shuttlecock about three hundred times or so."

Lan Wangji said, "Sixteen hundred."

Wei Wuxian burst out laughing and bit off a hawthorn. Lan Wangji was about to say something when suddenly his lips went cool and his tongue tasted sweet—Wei Wuxian had shoved the candied hawthorn stick into his mouth.

Seeing his expression was off, Wei Wuxian said, "Do you eat sweet things?"

Lan Wangji held the candied hawthorn stick in his mouth, neither swallowing nor spitting it out, unable to speak. Wei Wuxian said, "If you don't eat sweet things, then give it back to me." He grabbed the thin stick trying to take it back, tried several times, but couldn't pull it out. It seemed Lan Wangji had it clenched in his teeth. Wei Wuxian smiled. "Are you eating it or not?"

Lan Wangji bit off a hawthorn too. "Eating."

Wei Wuxian said, "That's right. If you want something, just say so. You've been like this since you were little—want something, keep it locked in your chest, refuse to say it."

Wei Wuxian laughed at him for a while, then the two of them strolled casually into town.

Wei Wuxian had always been playful and greedy when shopping since he was little—ran fast, wanted everything. Saw some little trinket, he had to squeeze it. Caught a whiff of something delicious-smelling from the roadside, he had to snag a taste. Under Wei Wuxian's urging, Lan Wangji tried some snacks he never would have touched before. Every time Wei Wuxian watched him finish, he'd ask, "How was it? How was it?" Lan Wangji sometimes answered "Acceptable," sometimes "Very good," but more often "Strange." Every time that happened, Wei Wuxian would laugh and snatch it back, not letting him have any more.

They were originally going to find somewhere for lunch, but Wei Wuxian ate his way from west to east, stuffed to the gills, and was too lazy to walk by the end. So the two of them found a clean, respectable soup house and sat down for soup.

Wei Wuxian played with radish slices between his chopsticks while eating, waiting for the lotus root and pork rib soup he'd ordered. Seeing Lan Wangji stand up, he said in surprise, "Where are you going?"

Lan Wangji said, "Wait a moment, I'll be right back." After a short while, he did indeed return. Just then the lotus root and pork rib soup was also brought up. Wei Wuxian took a sip, waited for the waiter to leave, and quietly told Lan Wangji, "Not good."

Lan Wangji scooped a small spoonful, barely tasted it, and said, "What's wrong with it?"

Wei Wuxian stirred his spoon around the bowl. "You can't pick hard lotus root—the powdery kind is better. This place doesn't use enough seasoning, and they didn't simmer it long enough for the flavor to sink in. Anyway, it's not as good as my shijie's."

He'd only said it offhandedly, expecting Lan Wangji to at most listen attentively with a "mm." But not only did Lan Wangji listen attentively, he even asked, "How should one select the ingredients, and how does one get the flavor to sink in?"

Wei Wuxian finally noticed something and said in surprise, "Hanguang-jun, you're not thinking of making me lotus root and pork rib soup, are you? Did you just go observe the process?"

Before Lan Wangji could answer, Wei Wuxian had already started mocking: "Haha, Hanguang-jun, no offense, but with your family's never-do-housework ways, and the tastes you've developed eating that fancy stuff since you were little—whatever you make would be totally inedible just to look at."

Lan Wangji took another sip of soup, noncommittal. Wei Wuxian was waiting for him to take the bait, but who would have thought—he was steady as a mountain, not biting for the longest time. Wei Wuxian finally couldn't wait any longer.

He said shamelessly, "Lan Zhan, did you really mean it just now—about cooking for me?"

Lan Wangji was surprisingly composed, neither saying "yes" nor "no."

Wei Wuxian got a little anxious, suddenly stood up, braced his hands on the table corner, and said, "Just say 'mm.'"

Lan Wangji said, "Mm."

Wei Wuxian said, "So is it or isn't it? Come on, Lan Zhan, everything I said just now was just teasing you. If you really want to cook for me—even if you burned through the bottom of the pot and only a pit was left, I'd still dare to eat the whole pot just to show you."

"..."

Lan Wangji said, "It won't come to that."

Wei Wuxian was practically ready to jump on him and beg: "So are you going to make it or not? Make it, make it, Hanguang-jun, I'll eat it!"

Lan Wangji calmly steadied his waist and said, "Comportment."

Wei Wuxian warned, "Er-gege, you can't treat me like this."

Lan Wangji, finally worn down by his pestering, took his hand and said, "I've already made it."

"Huh?" Wei Wuxian was stunned. "Already made it? When? What did you make? How come I don't remember?"

Lan Wangji said, "The Family Banquet."

"…" Wei Wuxian said, "That night, I thought you'd bought the whole spread from that Xiang Cuisine Hall in Caiyi Town. You made it yourself?"

Lan Wangji said, "Mm."

Wei Wuxian was shocked.

He said, "That was made by you? Cloud-Deep Unknown Place has something like a kitchen?"

"…Naturally."

"You wash vegetables, cut them? You put oil in the wok? You mix the seasonings?"

"Mm."

"You… you…"

Wei Wuxian was shocked beyond words. Finally, one hand grabbing Lan Wangji's collar, the other hooking around his neck, he kissed him hard.

Fortunately, the two of them always picked the most inconspicuous, quietest spots, sitting against the wall. Lan Wangji pulled him close and turned with the motion, so from the outside, all anyone could see was his back, and Wei Wuxian's arm wrapped around his neck.

Seeing that his face wasn't red or out of breath, Wei Wuxian reached out and touched it—sure enough, scorching hot to the touch. Lan Wangji caught his restless hand and warned, "Wei Ying."

Wei Wuxian said, "It's already on your lap, what are you calling out for?"

"..."

Wei Wuxian said solemnly, "Sorry, I was just too happy. Lan Zhan, how can you be this good at everything? Even cooking!"

His praise was utterly sincere. Lan Wangji had heard countless praises and compliments since he was little, but never had any of them made him work so hard to suppress the urge to smile, as he did now. He only said lightly, "It wasn't difficult."

Wei Wuxian said, "No. It was very difficult. You don't know how many times I've been kicked out of the kitchen since I was little."

"…" Lan Wangji said, "Have you ever burned through the bottom of a pot?"

Wei Wuxian said, "Just once. I forgot to add water, and who knew the pot just caught fire. Don't look at me like that—really, just once."

Lan Wangji said, "What did you put in the pot?"

Wei Wuxian thought for a moment, then smiled. "That was so many years ago, how could I still remember so clearly? Let's not bring it up again."

Lan Wangji was noncommittal, but seemed to raise an eyebrow slightly. Wei Wuxian pretended not to notice his subtle expression. Suddenly remembering something, he smacked his hand in regret: "But why didn't you tell me earlier that you made it? I'm such an idiot—I barely touched the food that night."

Lan Wangji said, "It doesn't matter. I'll make it again when we get back."

Wei Wuxian had been pestering him all this time just for that one sentence. He was immediately over the moon, and even the soup didn't taste bad anymore.

After leaving the soup house, the two wandered for a while. Up ahead, a commotion rose—many people were gathered around a patch of ground covered with little trinkets, taking turns throwing little rings at them.

Wei Wuxian said, "This looks fun." He pulled Lan Wangji over, took three rings from the stall owner, and said, "Lan Zhan, have you ever played ring toss?"

Lan Wangji shook his head. Wei Wuxian said, "You've never even played this? Let me tell you, it's super simple. You take this ring, step back some distance, and toss it at something on the ground. If you ring it, it's yours."

Lan Wangji repeated, "If I ring it, it's mine."

Wei Wuxian said, "Exactly. Which one do you want? Whatever you want, I'll ring it for you."

Lan Wangji said, "Anything."

Wei Wuxian propped his elbow on Lan Wangji's shoulder and tugged the tail of his Blue Clan Forehead Band. "Hanguang-jun, brushing me off like this is kind of not giving me face, huh."

Lan Wangji said seriously, "Whatever you ring, that's what I want."

Wei Wuxian was stunned. "You—how can you say something like that in public?"

Lan Wangji didn't understand. "Like what?"

Wei Wuxian: "You're flirting with me."

Lan Wangji's expression was calm. "No."

Wei Wuxian: "You are! Fine, then I'll ring you… that one, that one there!"

He was pointing at a big white ceramic turtle placed far away. Saying this, he stepped back a few paces. Once he was over a yard back, the stall owner called out, gesturing: "That's enough, that's enough!"

Wei Wuxian said, "Not enough, not enough."

The stall owner shouted, "Young master, you're standing too far back. You won't hit anything like that, and don't blame me for swindling you later!"

Wei Wuxian said, "If I don't stand far back, you should worry about losing everything!"

The crowd laughed and said, "This young master is quite confident!"

A small trick, seemingly simple, but each item on the ground had some distance between them, and the control of force required was no small feat for an ordinary person. But for a cultivator, it was truly beneath mention—if he didn't step back far, where was the fun? Wei Wuxian stepped way back, even turned around to face away from the stall, and the onlookers laughed even harder. But the next moment, Wei Wuxian weighed the ring in his hand and tossed it backward. The ring landed easily on the ceramic turtle's back, perfectly ringing its head.

The stall owner and the crowd were all stunned. Wei Wuxian turned his head, broke into a bright smile, and waved the two remaining rings at Lan Wangji. "Want to try?"

Lan Wangji said, "Okay."

He walked over to Wei Wuxian. "What do you want?"

Street-side small-time business—there wouldn't be any fine goods, just passably made trinkets that looked okay from afar. The big ceramic turtle Wei Wuxian had just won was already the best-looking one. Wei Wuxian looked around, and the more he looked, the more he felt they were all ugly, none of them wanted, hard to choose. Suddenly he caught sight of an extremely ugly little stuffed donkey—so ugly it was impossible to overlook at a glance. He said happily, "That one's nice, looks like Little Apple, come on, that one."

Lan Wangji nodded, stepped back a yard further than Wei Wuxian had, and also turned around. The ring hit its target without the slightest error.

The crowd roared in approval, clapping wildly. Lan Wangji turned to look at Wei Wuxian, who laughed out loud and jumped into the stall, snatched up the little donkey from the ground, tucked it under his arm, clapped the loudest, and said, "Again, again!"

Lan Wangji still had one ring in his hand. He held it, weighed it lightly and steadily twice, and this time, after a long pause, tossed it backward, then immediately turned around to check.

With this throw, a chorus of "Oohs" rose around them. It turned out the ring flew wildly off-course, didn't even come close to the edge of the stall, but landed precisely on Wei Wuxian, ringing him.

Wei Wuxian was stunned for a moment, then couldn't hold back his laughter. Though the crowd felt it was a pity, they all opened their mouths to comfort: "Not bad!" "Yeah, you've already won several." "Very impressive!"

The stall owner, immensely relieved, rolled his eyes, exhaled, jumped up and gave a thumbs up: "Yeah, too impressive. What the young master said is really true—if you ring a few more, I'll lose everything!"

Wei Wuxian laughed, "Alright, I know you don't dare let us play anymore. We've had our fun too, haven't we? Lan Zhan, let's go, let's go."

The stall owner said happily, "Take care!"

Not until the two walked side by side and disappeared into the bustling crowd did he suddenly remember: "The third ring! They didn't return it to me!!"

Wei Wuxian, turtle in his left arm and donkey tucked under his right, walked for a while and said, "Lan Zhan, how did I never notice before that you have so many little schemes?"

Lan Wangji took the heavy ceramic turtle from his hand. Wei Wuxian took the ring off his own neck and put it on Lan Wangji's head. "Don't pretend you don't understand what I'm saying. I know you did that on purpose."

Lan Wangji, holding the ceramic turtle in one hand, said, "This—when we get back, where should we put it?"

Wei Wuxian was actually stumped by the question.

The turtle was big and heavy, the craftsmanship really wasn't great, with a head that looked like it had died of sheer stupidity, barely scraping the edge of "endearingly clumsy." But on closer inspection, Wei Wuxian noticed the craftsman had been very careless—a pair of green-bean eyes seemed to have been dotted as cross-eyes. In short, no matter how you looked at it, it was completely out of place at Cloud-Deep Unknown Place. Where to put it was really a problem.

Wei Wuxian thought for a moment. "The Jingshi?"

Just as he said it, he immediately shook his head repeatedly, vetoing himself. "The Jingshi is only suitable for playing the qin and burning incense—that kind of place with curling sandalwood smoke for clearing the mind. Putting such a big turtle there would be too ugly."

Hearing Wei Wuxian describe the Jingshi as "only suitable for playing the qin and burning incense, a place for clearing the mind," Lan Wangji glanced at him, seeming to want to say something but holding back.

Wei Wuxian added, "But if we don't put it in the Jingshi, anywhere else at Cloud-Deep Unknown Place, it'll definitely be thrown out immediately."

Lan Wangji silently nodded.

Wei Wuxian held it in for a long time, but in the end couldn't bring himself to say "let's sneak it into your uncle's room and not tell anyone we did it." He slapped his thigh. "Got it. Let's put it in the Lan Room."

Lan Wangji thought for a moment and asked, "Why the Lan Room?"

Wei Wuxian said, "You don't get it, do you? Put it in the Lan Room. When you're giving lessons to Sizhui, Jingyi, and the others, if they ask about it, you can tell them this big turtle was specially commissioned by an elusive, unrestrained master craftsman to commemorate your slaying of the Butcher of Xuanwu. It contains enormous and profound meaning, intended to inspire the juniors of your Gusu Lan Sect to look up to their predecessors' heroic bearing and forge ahead with vigor. Although the Butcher of Xuanwu is gone, there must still be things like the Slaughtering Vermilion Bird, the Brutal White Tiger, the Bloody Azure Dragon waiting for them—they must accomplish deeds that surpass their predecessors and shake heaven and earth."

"..."

"How about it?"

After a long moment, Lan Wangji said, "Very good."

So, a few days later, when Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi, and others were receiving Hanguang-jun's guidance, if they looked up, they would see a crudely crafted, blankly staring big ceramic turtle perched on the desk behind Lan Wangji.

And due to some inexplicable intimidation, not a single person dared ask why it was there. But that's a story for another time…

After stashing their spoils in their qiankun sleeves, the two of them made a triumphant retreat.

Before coming, Wei Wuxian had bragged to Lan Wangji at length about the beautiful scenery of Lotus Lake's hundred-li stretch of endless green in Yunmeng, so naturally he had to drag him out for a boat ride. He did want to get some fancy painted pleasure boat to live luxuriously, but after searching for a long time, only a tiny wooden boat was tied up at the lake's edge, bobbing on the water, looking so delicate that one light step from a person would sink it. Squeezing two grown men into it seemed a bit of a stretch, but there was no other choice.

Wei Wuxian said, "You sit at this end, I'll sit at that end. Sit steady and don't wobble—one careless moment and the boat will capsize."

Lan Wangji said, "It's fine. If we fall in, I'll save you."

Wei Wuxian said, "The way you say that, it's like I can't swim."

The little boat brushed past huge, plump lotus flowers, each one a full, rich pink. Wei Wuxian lay in the boat, his arm under his head. Because the boat was really too small, his legs were practically resting on Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji said nothing about this utterly unrestrained and graceless behavior.

The lake breeze was gentle, the water quietly flowing. Wei Wuxian said, "This is the season when the lotus blooms. Too bad the pods aren't ripe yet, otherwise I could take you to pick pods again."

Lan Wangji said, "We can come again."

Wei Wuxian said, "Yes! We can come again."

He casually paddled a few times, then stared off into space for a while and said, "There used to be an old man around here who grew lotus pods. Seems like he's gone now."

Lan Wangji said, "Mm."

Wei Wuxian said, "He was already very old when I was little. Now it's been over ten years—if he hasn't passed, he's probably so old he can't walk or get out on a boat anymore."

He turned his face toward Lan Wangji and said, "Back then at Cloud-Deep Unknown Place, when I egged you on to go play at Lotus Pavilion, I especially wanted to take you along to steal pods from his place. Do you know why?"

With Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji always answered every question and granted every request. He said seriously, "I don't know. Why?"

Wei Wuxian winked at him with his left eye and said with a grin, "Because that old man's bamboo pole hitting skills were really fierce—getting hit by him hurt way more than your family's Disciplinary Ruler. Back then I thought, I have to trick Lan Zhan into coming over and let him get hit a few times too."

Hearing this, Lan Wangji smiled slightly. The cold moon's clear light over the whole lake melted into that smile.

In an instant, Wei Wuxian felt a wave of dizziness. Involuntarily, that smile spread to his own face.

He said, "Alright, I admit…"

The world spun, and with a tremendous splash, water sprayed up several feet high. The little boat capsized.

Wei Wuxian surfaced, wiped his face, and said, "I JUST said sit steady and don't wobble—one careless moment and the boat will capsize!"

Lan Wangji swam over. Seeing him still so calm and composed despite being in the water, Wei Wuxian laughed so hard he almost choked and swallowed a few gulps: "Who leaned over first, anyway? Look at this mess!"

Lan Wangji said, "I don't know. Maybe me."

Wei Wuxian said, "Fine, maybe me!"

The two of them laughed in the water, grabbed each other, and pulled each other close, kissing.

After their lips parted, Wei Wuxian raised his hand and continued from where he'd left off: "I admit, I was talking nonsense just now. Back then, I just purely wanted to play with you."

Lan Wangji boosted him from behind at the waist. Wei Wuxian was back on the boat, turned and reached out a hand to grab him. "So, you come clean too, Lan Zhan."

Lan Wangji also got on the boat, handed him a length of red cord, and said, "Come clean about what?"

Wei Wuxian bit down on the red cord, used both hands to gather up his loose black hair and tie it back, and said, "About whether you were thinking the same thing as me." He said solemnly, "Do you know how you coldly and ruthlessly rejected me every single time back then? It really made me lose face."

Lan Wangji said, "You can try now and see if there's anything I would refuse you."

That unexpected line struck straight to the heart. Wei Wuxian choked for a moment, but Lan Wangji was still as calm and composed as ever, as if he had no idea what he'd just said. Wei Wuxian held his forehead. "You… Hanguang-jun, let's make a deal—give me a heads up before the sweet talk, otherwise I can't handle it."

Lan Wangji nodded. "Alright."

Wei Wuxian said, "Lan Zhan, you really are something!"

A thousand words unsaid—only laughter and embrace.