After passing the arch bridge and entering the river paths, Wei WuXian started to go at it again.

"Someone is gonna drink a jar of vinegar." said Jiang Cheng.

"Maybe a ton of it." said Nie Huaisang.

Abandoning his paddle, he put one foot on the side of his boat and looked into his reflection in the water, examining if his hair was messed up. As if he didn't just catch tons of water ghouls and escaped from the mouth of the waterborne abyss, Wei WuXian assuredly threw a series of charming winks at both sides of the path, "Sisters, how much for half a kilogram of loquats?"

Sizhui looked at father whose face was dark while looking at the screen.

"Is he flirting?" asked Jin Zixuan.

"As you can see he is." said Jiang Cheng.

"What you see Lan Zhan is nothing. It's nothing at all." said Wei Wuxian nervously.

"Good luck to you, Wei-xiong." said Nie Huaisang.

His age was young, and his appearance was handsome. With such high spirits, it really was a scene of frivolous peach blossoms pursuing the running stream. One woman lifted her bamboo hat, smiling with her head raised, "Young beau, you needn't pay. How 'bout I can give you one for free?"

The Wu dialect was soft, sounding refreshing and sweet. The speaker's lips moved melodiously, and the listener's ears would be enveloped in fragrance. Wei WuXian cupped his hands together, "If it's given to me by Sister, then I definitely want it!"

Everyone can feel that the atmosphere suddenly turns cold.

Lan Wangji was gripping Wei Wuxian's waist so tight.

"Don't tell me he is really jealous." said Jiang Cheng.

"If you flirt with other girls, I will also get jealous. That's normal." said Lan Xichen.

"But I am not a flirt." said Jiang Cheng.

"And I am thankful for that." said Lan Xichen while smiling brightly.

The woman put her hand into the basket, and threw him a round, golden loquat, "You needn't be such polite. It's for how handsome you look!"

The boats moved at a fast speed. As the two boats met, they immediately passed each other. Wei WuXian turned around, perfectly catching it, and grinned, "Sister looks even prettier!"

"Ow Lan Zhan don't hold too tight!" exclaimed Wei Wuxian as Lan Wangji gripped his waist more tightly.

"Wei Ying is flirting." said Lan Wangji.

"Lan Zhan, are you really jealous?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"Don't worry Lan Zhan, I will never do that again and please don't hold too tight or else my waist will snap." he said while hugging the man.

As he showed off and flirted on the side, Lan WangJi was staring straight ahead, appearing quite virtuous. Wei WuXian smugly tossed the toquat in his hand, and suddenly pointed at him, "Sisters, do you think that he looks handsome?"

Lan WangJi didn't expect Wei WuXian to suddenly talk about him at all. Just as he was unsure of how to respond, the women on the river spoke in harmony, "Even more handsome!" Amid this, there seemed to be thelaughter of a few men.

Wei WuXian spoke, "Then, does anyone want to give him one? If you only give me and not him, I'm afraid he might be jealous when we go back!"

"No need for you guys to go back for him to get jealous because he is already from the moment you talked with those girls." said Nie Huaisang who along with Jiang Cheng.

"You even have to mention him while you are flirting. You're unbelievable." said Jin Zixuan in disbelief.

Chirp-like laughter echoed through the whole river. Another woman came from in front of them, standing on her boat, "Okay, okay, you get two. Heads up, young beau, catch!"

After the second one also landed in his hand, Wei WuXian shouted, "Sister, you're not only pretty, but you're nice as well. The next time I come here, I'm gonna buy a whole basket!"

"You shoul really stop." said Jin Zixuan.

"Yes he is right, a-niang you really need to stop or else it will be bad." said Sizhui.

"That's is already part of his nature. You can't change him." said Jiang Cheng.

The woman's voice was vibrant, and she was more daring than the other. She pointed at Lan WangJi, "Get him to come as well. You all can come here and get them!"

Wei WuXian held the loquat in front of Lan WangJi's eyes. Lan WangJi didn't move his gaze, "Move."

"Of course he won't accept it because you flirted with those girls just to get one." said Lan Xichen.

And, so, Wei WuXian moved it away, "I knew that you definitely wouldn't accept it, so I never intended to give it to you. Jiang Cheng, catch!"

Just then, the boat which Jiang Cheng was on whirred past. He caught the loquat with one hand, a slight smile appearing on his face, but immediately snorted, "You're being all flirty again?"

"Wanyin looks beautiful when smiling." said Lan Xichen making the man blush.

"And that's how fast my brother's expression change." said Wei Wuxian.

"Jiang-xiong knows you too well." said Nie Huaisang.

"I have to endure his flirty side every time we go out of the Lotus Pier." said Jiang Cheng.

Wei WuXian smirked, proud of his success, "Get lost!" Then, he turned around and asked, "Lan Zhan, you're from Gusu, so you know how to speak in this dialect, right? Teach me. How do you swear in the Gusu dialect?"

"Lan Zhan will you teach me?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"Mn. When we get back." said Lan Wangji.

Lan WangJi threw a "pathetic" at him, and got on another boat. Wei WuXian didn't expect him to really answer. He just wanted to tease him, after hearing the amusingly soft Gusu dialect and thinking that Lan WangJi undoubtedly also spoke this dialect when he was young. After raising his head to swallow another gulp of the rice wine, he carried the plump, jetblack jar in one hand, picked up the paddle, and charged over to beat up Jiang Cheng.

"Do you always beat one another like you were in the competition?" asked Jin Zixuan in disbelief.

"That's just how they play." said Jiang Yanli.

"Why? Do you want us to beat you." the two men asked.

Jin Zixuan gulped while avoiding the glares of the twin prides.

On the other hand, Lan WangJi stood side by side to Lan XiChen. This time, even their expressions were similar. Both looked as if they were preoccupied by troubles as they thought about things such as how to deal with the waterborne abyss and what to say to the mayor of Caiyi Town.

An extremely heavy boat came from in front of them, filled with buckets of large, golden loquats. Lan WangJi took one glance at it, and continued to look straight ahead.

Yet, Lan XiChen spoke to him, "If you want to eat loquats, should we buy one basket?"

"..."

Lan WangJi went off with a flick of his sleeves, "I do not!"

He went to stand on another boat.

"Lan Zhan, if you want one then why didn't you buy one?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"He said he doesn't want one, why are still asking? You two are disgusting!" said Su She with a clear disgust in his face and voice.

"Really? After my uncle risked his life just to save you, that's what you're going to say? You're really are something." said Jin Ling in disbelief

"He will bw punished when we get back." said Qingheng-jun.

Wei WuXian bought a bunch of quirky gadgets in Caiyi Town and took them back to the Cloud Recesses. After he arrived, everything was shared between the disciples from other sects. Because Lan QiRen went to Qinghe and there were no classes for a few days, all of the boys played around in complete chaos, rushing into Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng's room to sleep there. All through the nights, they ate, drank, wrestled, gambled, and viewed picture books. During one of the nights, Wei WuXian lost in a game of dice, and was sent to sneak down the mountain and buy jars of Emperor's Smile. This time, everyone finally had the chance to satisfy their taste buds. However, on the second day, before daylight even appeared, someone opened the door of the room, revealing the disciples who spread out on the floor in a tangle, sleeping as if they were a group of corpses.

"You!" shouted Lan Qiren glaring at the trio but they only laughed at him.

"That's seems fun." said Nie Huaisang while Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng agreed with him.

"Why didn't we do this kind of things?" asked Jin Ling.

"A-niang will surely kill us." asnwered Jingyi.

"Why would we let you? No one is allowed to cause mischief more than us." said Wei Wuxian.

The noise from opening the door startled a few people. As they saw the stone-faced Lan WangJi at the door through their sleepy eyes, they were instantly waken up. Nie HuaiSang furiously pushed Wei WuXian, who ended up in a position with his legs at the top and head at the bottom, "Wei-xiong! Wei-xiong!"

Having been shoved for a few times, Wei WuXian spoke drowsily, "Who? Is anyone else up for it?! Jiang Cheng? The fight is on-like I'm scared of you!"

"The first thing you thought while being shoved was to fight Jiang Cheng?" asked Jin Zixuan in disbelief.

"We're dead." muttered Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang.

Jiang Cheng drank too much last night, and his head still ached as he lay on the ground with his eyes closed. He randomly grabbed something and hurled it at where Wei WuXian's voice came from, "Shut up!"

The object landed on Wei WuXian's chest, its pages flipping open. Nie HuaiSang eyed it, only to find that the item Jiang Cheng used to hit Wei WuXian was one of his treasured out-of-print illustrated pornography books. As he looked up and saw Lan WangJi's frigid gaze, he almost died on the spot. Wei WuXian mumbled a few sentences, hugging the book to his chest, and went to sleep again. Lan WangJi stepped into the room. He used one hand to grip Wei WuXian's back collar, lifted him up, and dragged him in the direction of the door.

"Poor Huaisang." said Lan Xichen.

"Wei-daijiu, why are you hugging the book?" asked Jingyi.

"I don't know." said Wei Wuxian while his brother just shook his head.

After a few puzzled moments as he was carried by Lan WangJi, he was finally half-awake. He turned around, "Lan Zhan, what are you doing?"

Lan WangJi didn't say any words, continuing to drag him forward. Wei WuXian woke up a bit more, along with the lying corpses on the ground who gained consciousness one after another. Seeing that Wei WuXian was caught by Lan WangJi again, he hurried outside and asked, "What's happening? What are you doing?"

Lan WangJi turned his head, speaking one word at a time, "To receive. His. Punishment."

"Wait, why only him is getting punished?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"Yeah it supposed to be all of us." said Nie Huaisang.

"Did he do something?" asked Jin Zixuan.

Jiang Cheng had a slow reaction from his sleep and drinking too much, so he just remembered the mess of a floor in the room. Recalling that they broke a countless number of sect rules of the Cloud Recesses last night, his face immediately froze.

"It's not like Xichen-ge will punish you." said Nie Huaisang.

"That seems unfair for me." said Jiang Cheng.

"Why are we spared?" he asked again.

Lan WangJi dragged Wei WuXian to the front of the Lan Sect's ancestral hall. There were already a few older disciples of the Lan Sect waiting there, eight in total. Of them, four carried discipline rulers made of sandalwood which were extremely long in length, having numerous square-shaped characters carved onto them. It was a solemn-looking scene, indeed. As Lan WangJi dragged the person over, two of them immediately came up, firmly holding Wei WuXian in place. Wei WuXian half-knelt on the ground, being allowed no room for struggle, "Lan Zhan, are you going to punish me?"

"As you can see he will." said Jin Zixun.

"Don't tell me I will be flogged by that ruler." said Wei Wuxian nervously.

Lan WangJi stared at him coldly, maintaining his silence.

Wei WuXian spoke, "I won't accept this."

At this point, the boys who had woken up also rushed over, but they were blocked outside the ancestral hall, not allowed to go in. They scratched their heads, scared speechless from seeing the discipline ruler. Then, however, Lan WangJi lifted the bottom of his white clothes, and knelt down beside Wei WuXian.

"Why is Lan Zhan getting punished too?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"What did he do?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"Maybe he is guilty for hurting his beloved." said Nie Huaisang.

Seeing this, Wei WuXian turned pale with fear. He tried to get up, but Lan WangJi commanded, "Strike!"

Wei WuXian gaped with astonishment. He hurriedly spoke, "Wait, wait, I accept this, I accept this, Lan Zhan. I was wrong... Gah!"

"That seems painful." said Wei Wuxian.

"Mn. Sorry Wei Ying." said Lan Wangji.

"It didn't happened yet besides, I know that you will never do that again." said Wei Wuxian hugging the man.

The palms and legs of both of them received about a hundred strikes of the discipline ruler. Lan WangJi didn't need anyone to hold him down. His back was upright and his kneeling position stayed proper for the whole duration. On the other hand, Wei WuXian wailed and howled without holding back at all, making the disciples watching the scene cringe from imagining the pain. After the beating finished, Lan WangJi silently stood up and walked outside after saluting toward the the disciples in the ancestral hall, showing no evidence that he had been injured. Wei WuXian was the exact opposite. After he was carried onto Jiang Cheng's back, he groaned for the whole way. The youths all surrounded them, asking, "Wei-xiong, what in the world happened?"

"Our question, really." said Nie Huaisang.

"Jiang-gongzi really love his brother because he even carry him on his back." said Meng Yao.

"If not then, what? Leave him there?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"It's understandable for Lan Zhan to punish you, but why did he himself also get the beating?"

Wei WuXian sighed, leaning on Jiang Cheng's back, "What a miscalculation! It's a long story!"

"What did you do?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"I don't know!" exclaimed Wei Wuxian.

Jiang Cheng spoke, "Cut the crap! What on Earth did you do?!"

Wei WuXian answered, "I didn't do anything! Last night, didn't I lose the dice game and go down to buy some Emperor's Smile?

"Don't tell me he caught you." said Jiang Cheng.

"That's the only possibility." said Jin Zixuan.

Jiang Cheng, "... Don't tell me you met him again."

Wei WuXian, "That's actually it. Who knew what was wrong with my luck-when I carried the jars of Emperor's Smile and came up here, he stopped right in front of me again. I'm doubting that maybe he really watches me every single day."

"Wuxian is right." said Lan Xichen.

"Wangji-xiong only gives attention to Wei-xiong." said Nie Huaisang.

Jiang Cheng, "Not everyone has so much time on their hands. What happened next?"

Wei WuXian, "And then I said hello to him again. I said, 'Lan Zhan! What a coincidence-it's you again!'. Of course, he ignored me again. His hand came at me without any words. I said, 'Hey, what's the use of doing this?' He said that if a guest disciple violates the curfew so many times, they need to go to the Lan Sect's ancestral hall to receive their punishment. And I said, 'There's only the two of us here. If you don't say it, and I don't say it, then nobody would know whether or not I violated the curfew, right? I promise that there's no next time. We're already this familiar with each other, so can't you just do me a small favor?'"

"Did you just try to bribe him again?" asked Jin Zixuan in disbelief.

"But of course Lan Zhan won't listen to me." saod Wei Wuxian with a pout.

"Will always listen to Wei Ying." said Lan Wangji hugging the man more closer.

Everyone looked as if they couldn't bear to listen to this any longer.

Wei WuXian continued, "In the end, he said that we weren't familiar with a long face, grabbed his sword, and charged over. He paid no heed to our friendship or whatsoever, so I could only put down the Emperor's Smile and start passing a few moves. His attacks were fast and chased after me so close that I couldn't even throw him off! Eventually, I really was annoyed from him chasing me. I asked, 'Are you really not gonna let go? Huh?!''

"He still said, 'Take your punishment.'"

"You're really unbelievable." said Jin Zixuan.

"You should have know better." said Jiang Cheng.

"But my question wasn't answered yet. Why did he punished Wei Wuxian only?" Jiang Cheng asked only.

"Be thankful that brother-in-law love you so much that you're spared from the punishment." said Wei Wuxian.

"And how is that connected to my question?" asked Jiang Cheng with a deadpanned look.