The boys were filled with the thrill of the story, and Wei WuXian was enraptured as he spoke. He forgot the fact that he was still on Jiang Cheng’s back, and gave Jiang Cheng’s shoulder a hard smack, “I said, ‘Fine!’. Then, I stopped dodging, threw myself over, clung to him, and plummeted outside the wall of the Cloud Recesses!”

“…”

Wei WuXian, “And so, the two of us fell outside the area of the Cloud Recesses together! It was such a bad fall that I saw stars before my eyes.”

"You really have guts to do that huh. And not to mention it was Lan-er-gongzi." said Jin Zixuan.

"It was Wei Wuxian after all. Of course he will do something like that." said Jiang Cheng.

Nie HuaiSang was dumbstruck, “… He didn’t break free?”

Wei WuXian replied, “Oh, he did try. But with me locking him in my arms and legs, he couldn’t break free even though he wanted to, unable to even get up from my body. He was as hard as a board. I said, ‘How about this, Lan Zhan? Now, you’re also outside the Cloud Recesses. We both broke the curfew, and you can’t be harsh toward others and loose toward yourself. If you punish me, you’d have to punish yourself as well. Equal treatment. How does that sound?’”

"So that's the reason why he himself also got punishment." said Lam Xichen.

"Such a clever idea to escape punishment." said Zizhen.

"But as you can see it didn't worked." said Wei Wuxian.

Wei WuXian, “After he got up, he looked like he really wasn’t in a good mood. I sat on the side and told him not to worry, that I won’t tell anyone else, and that the only ones who knew about this was the sky, the Earth, and us two. And then, he walked off without saying anything. Who knew that he’d do something like this in the morning… Jiang Cheng, walk slower. You’re almost shaking me off.”

"For a man who always follows the rule, of course he won't accept the he broke them without punishment." said MianMian.

"Lan Zhan!" called Wei Wuxian.

"Mn. Will never do that again." said Lan Wangji as if reading the man's mind.

Jiang Cheng wanted to not only shake him off, but, even more so, to make a few man-shaped dents on the ground by slamming his head down, “Is simply carrying you not up to your standards?!”

Wei WuXian, “I never asked you to carry me, in the beginning.”

Jiang Cheng was enraged, “If I don’t carry you, you’d probably stay in their ancestral hall and roll on the ground all day long. I don’t have that thick of a face to lose! Lan WangJi even had fifty more strikes than you, and he even walked by himself. Yet, you have the nerve to pretend that you’re crippled. I don’t want to carry you any more. Get off, now!”

"This is the proof that my brother really loves me." said Wei Wuxian, grinning at his brother.

"Jingyi and Jin Ling is also like that." said Zizhen.

"But they always argue all the time unlike a-niang and Jiang-jiujiu that supports one another even when causing mischief." said Sizhui.

"Jin Ling is ChengCheng while Jingyi is me. I wonder why he didn't become my son but he is really like me." said Wei Wuxian.

"Maybe a-cheng is always thinking of you during his pregnancy." laughed Jiang Yanli.

"Oh my brother love me so much." said Wei Wuxian dramatically.

Jiang Cheng just scoffed at him.

Wei WuXian, “No, I’m wounded.”

The group joked around on the narrow path made of white stones. They walked right into a person in white robes, holding a book as he passed by. Lan XiChen stopped with wonder and smiled, “What is going on, here?”

"I think it's not a coincidence." said Wei Wuxian.

"Not coincidence to what?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"We never met him everytime we cause troubles but now whe come across him." said Wei Wuxian.

"He wanted to meet Jiang-xiong." said Nie Huaisang.

"So maybe that's the reason why Jiang Cheng is spared from the punishment." said Jin Zixuan.

Jiang Cheng felt extremely awkward, not knowing how to reply. Nie HuaiSang answered before him, “XiChen-ge, Wei-xiong was punished with more than a hundred strikes of the ruler. Is there any medicine?!”

The person responsible for punishment in the Cloud Recesses was Lan WangJi. With Wei WuXian’s pained cries amid the group which surrounded him, it appeared as if his condition was extremely severe. Lan XiChen immediately came up to them, “Was this done by WangJi? Is Young Master Wei still able to walk? What in the world happened?”

"Sorry Wei Ying." said Lan Wangji in a little bit of sad tone.

"He's just faking it." said Jiang Cheng scoffed.

"How is it fake? Look, your husband is more worried about me than you." said Wei Wuxian with a whine.

"That's because I know too well." said Jiang Cheng.

Of course, Jiang Cheng didn’t dare to say that Wei WuXian was at fault. Thinking back, it was them who urged Wei WuXian to buy liquor. Each and every one of them should have been punished. He could only speak in a vague way, “It’s fine, it’s fine; it’s not that serious! He can walk. Wei WuXian, why are you still up there?!”

Wei WuXian spoke, “I can’t walk.” He raised his red palms, which were swollen a few sizes larger, and complained to Lan XiChen, “ZeWu-Jun, your younger brother is so cruel.”

"It's not fake!" exclaimed Wei Wuxian.

"A-die!" exclaimed Sizhui glaring at his father.

"You will never do such thing again." he said and the man immediately nodded his head.

Lan XiChen examined his palms, “Yes, the punishment is quite severe, indeed. It is likely that the swelling will not subside until after three or four days.”

"That's worse." said Nie Huaisang.

"Lan Wangji!" shouted Jiang Cheng, standing up and ready to punch the man when he was yanked back by Lan Xichen.

"Wanyin, calm down." he said guiding the man back to his seat.

"Only you can calm him down other than shijie. Good job, brother-in-law." said Wei Wuxian which receive a smack in the head by his brother.

Jiang Cheng really didn’t know that the beating was so severe. He exclaimed, “What? Not after three or four days? His legs and his back were also hit by the discipline rulers. How can Lan WangJi do this?!” He spoke the last sentence with resentment in spite of himself, and only realized it after Wei WuXian secretly smacked him. However, Lan XiChen didn’t mind it at all. He smiled, “Nevertheless, it is not severe enough to require medication. Young Master Wei, let me tell you a way for your injuries to be healed in just a few hours.”

"Just look how he didn't give a damn of what you said about my Lan Zhan even though it was his brother. He really love you." teased Wei Wuxian.

"Can you shut the f*ck up?! Why don't you focus on more important things?" yelled Jiang Cheng.

"That's important for me." Wei Wuxian said with a grin.

It was nighttime, at the cold spring of the Cloud Recesses.

Lan WangJi’s eyes were closed as he relaxed in the ice-cold water. Suddenly, a voice rang beside his ears, “Lan Zhan.”

“…”

"Xichen!" shouted Lan Qiren but the said man smile in amusement.

"Why do I don't know that this happened?" asked Sizhui.

Lan WangJi’s eyes sprang open. Sure enough, Wei WuXian was lying on his stomach, above the blue stones beside the cold spring, tilting his head and smiling at him.

Lan WangJi blurted out, “How did you come in?!”

Wei WuXian slowly crawled up, and spoke as he took off his sash belt, “ZeWu-Jun told me to come in.”

"Nice one, Zewu-jun." said Nie Huaisang.

"You really set them up?" asked Jiang Cheng in disbelief.

"That's one of my important job as an older brother." said Lan Xichen.

Lan WangJi, “What are you doing?”

Wei WuXian kicked off his boots while leaving piles of clothing all over the ground, “I already stripped, so what do you think I’m here for? I heard that your sect’s cold spring can cure injuries aside from helping with one’s cultivation. So, your brother told me to come here and bathe with you. Except, it’s really not nice of you to come here to heal alone. Eep! It really is cold. Brr…”

"Cold spring is only for the Lans." said Lan Qiren.

"He's going to be part of the family one day so just let it." said Qibgheng-jun.

He went into the water, rolling about due to the freezing water of the spring. Lan WangJi quickly distanced himself a few meters away from Wei WuXian, “I came here for cultivation purposes, not to heal… Do not leap around!”

Wei WuXian spoke, “But it’s so cold, it’s so cold…”

That's why it was called cold spring because it's called." said Su She.

"How did you guys be endure that?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"The weather in Cloud Recesses is quite cold so we are already used to that." answered Lan Xichen.

"Do you want to go there?" he asked which the man quickly rejected.

"I prefer warm weather." he said.

This time, he didn’t intend to emphasize or cause trouble. It was true that most people couldn’t become use to the GusuLan Sect’s cold spring in a short amount of time, feeling as if their bodies and blood would freeze if they stayed still for just a few moments. So, he could only jump around, intending to warm his body from the movement. Lan WangJi was originally meditating in peace, but with Wei WuXian jumping about, a few splashes of water was thrown on his face. A few droplets trickled down his long lashes and inkblack hair. It was beyond his endurance, “Do not move!”

As he spoke, he extended an arm, and put his hand on Wei WuXian’s shoulder.

"Wei Wuxian was born to disturb him." laughed MianMian while the other girls giggled.

"They look so cute though." said a random female cultivator.

Wei WuXian instantly felt a surge of warmth coming from where their bodies connected. Feeling better, he couldn’t help but to shift closer over there. Lan WangJi was wary of this, “What?”

Wei WuXian replied in an innocent tone, “Nothing. It seems like your side is warmer.”

Lan WangJi firmly kept his arm between the two of them, maintaining the distance. He sternly declared, “It is not.”

"You better stay away, Wuxian. My didi's self restraint is falling off." said Lan Xichen.

"I hope you won't say or do something to completely fall off a-die's restraint." said Sizhui.

Wei Wuxian was confused.

Wei WuXian wanted to get closer to Lan WangJi so that it was more convenient for him to flatter the other. Even though he couldn’t go over and was given the cold shoulder, he wasn’t angered at all. He glanced at Lan WangJi’s palms and shoulder. The bruises were still there, meaning that Lan WangJi really wasn’t here to heal. Wei WuXian spoke sincerely, “Lan Zhan, I admire you so much. You really did punish yourself as well, without treating yourself any better. I don’t have anything else to say.”

Lan WangJi shut his eyes again, without any words.

"As what bofu said, better stay away a-niang." said Sizhui.

"What are you talking about? It's not like he is going to kill me." exclaimed Wei Wuxian.

'Yes he won't but that's not what I mean. I know my a-die is more shameless than you and he never had a second thoughts especially with you', thought Sizhui while closing his eyes.

Wei WuXian spoke again, “Really, I’ve never seen someone as prim and proper as you. It’d be impossible for me to do something like this. You’re so cool.”

Lan WangJi still paid him no attention.

After Wei WuXian stopped feeling cold, he started to swim around the cold spring. He swum for a while, but still went near Lan WangJi, “Lan Zhan, didn’t you notice what I was doing when I talked to you?”

"You're flirting again." said Jin Zixuan.

"I wonder how Wangji-xiong fell in love with you." said Nie Huaisang.

"You should wonder how Lan Wangji keep up with him instead." said Jiang Cheng.

Lan WangJi, “I do not know.”

Wei WuXian, “You don’t even know about this? I was complimenting you, trying to become more casual with you.”

Lan WangJi glanced at him, “What do you want to do?”

Wei WuXian, “Lan Zhan, why don’t we become friends? We’re already so familiar.”

"Oh that hurts." said Lan Xichen teasing his little brother.

"Friends? Really? You offer him friendships? With all those flirtings you only consider him as a friend?" asked Jin Ling in disbelief.

"You should've known better. As I said he is oblivious and dense." said Jiang Cheng.

Lan WangJi, “We are not.”

Wei WuXian slapped the surface of the water, “Now, you’re being boring again. Really. There are lots of benefits if you become friends with me.”

Lan WangJi, “For example?”

"Wangji is getting interested." said Lan Xichen.

"You should really stop Wei Wuxian. You don't know what will happen next." said Jiang Cheng.

Wei WuXian swam near the edge of the spring, and leaned back with his arms on the blue rocks, “I’m always really loyal towards my friends. For example, I’d definitely let you be the first person to look at new porn that I get hold of… Hey, hey, come back! It’s fine if you don’t look at them. Have you been to Yunmeng? Yunmeng is really fun. Yunmeng’s food is also good. I don’t know if it’s Gusu’s or the Cloud Recess’s problem, but the food in your sect are so bad. If you come to Lotus Pier, you can eat lots of delicious food. I can take you to pick lotus seed pods and water chestnuts. Lan Zhan, do you wanna come?”

Lan WangJi, “No.”

"You offer him spicy foods when his taste buds is really bland? Of course he is going to reject you." said Jiang Cheng.

"Lan Zhan." whined Wei Wuxian.

"Will go with Wei Ying." said Lan Wangji.

Wei WuXian, “Don’t answer everything with negative words. You sound so uncaring; girls won’t like it. Let me tell you—the girls in Yunmeng look very pretty, different from the sort of pretty in Gusu.” He winked his left eye at Lan in a proud way, “You sure you don’t wanna come?”

"You even dare to offer him girls." said Jin Zixuan in disbelief.

"But he will only like you, Wuxian." said Lan Xichen.

Lan WangJi hesitated, but still replied, “No…”

Wei WuXian, “Rejecting me without giving me any respect—aren’t you scared that I’d conveniently take away your clothes when I leave?”

Lan WangJi, “Get lost!!!”

"Why don't you take it away, Wei-xiong." said Nie Huaisang.

"I'm really going to do that someday." said Wei Wuxian.