Jin Ling, “We are talking about Xue Yang. Was what I said wrong? What did Xue Yang do? He’s worse than scum, and Wei Ying was even more disgusting than him! What do you mean ‘we shouldn’t generalize them’? These monsters are vermin to our world! We should kill, murder, and slaughter every single one of them!”

"A-ling." said Jiang Yanli with clear anger in his tone.

"I'm sorry." Jin Ling could only lower his head.

"Who taught you that?" she asked.

"It was the Jin Sect who always say that in front him that made him believe it. A-niang only talked about how bad and dangerous the demonic cultivation is and also how immoral it is." said Jingyi.

"But, isn't it Jiang Wanyin who told him to kill all those demonic cultivator." said Lan Wangji.

"Yeah, but he rarely talked about this to us. There are also times that a-niang let those demonic cultivator go but not most of the times." said Jingyi.

"But one can call themselves lucky if he did it because he always punished those who use that path.." he added.

"One reason that I know why he did that because he doesn't want them to end up like Wei-daijiu." he said with a shrug.

"But mostly the Jins who told me those. I was raised with their lies when I was there. Jiujiu was strict but at least he never lied to me." said Jin Ling.

"Jiang-jiujiu is the person you can call straightforward and blunt. He express his judgement in his words and action and one can feel insulted but that's just how he is." said Sizhui.

"But Jiang Cheng didn't kill me, right?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"That was just a rumour, a-niang. Jiujiu was there that time when your demonic cultivation backfired so the people thought it was him who ended your life." said Sizhui.

Wen Ning flinched. Wei WuXian gestured for him to stay still. On the other side, Lan JingYi joined in as well, “Why are you being so angry about it? SiZhui did not say that Wei WuXian should not have been killed. He just said that not everyone who cultivates the ghost path is the same type of person as Xue Yang. Did you have to throw things? I did not get to eat that one yet…”

"That time, we didn't understand the whole situation so well." said Sizhui.

"The elders refused to tell us what really happened. A-die never mention such thing while Jiang-jiujiu doesn't want to be reminded of the past." he added.

"You're quite close to you uncle, then?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"Mn. Sometimes it was him who take good care of me." answered Sizhui.

"But-." said Wei Wuxian.

"Jingyi is so Jiang Cheng that time. Look at how he give attention to the food that got wasted." laughed Wei Wuxian.

"Just like a-cheng, he throws a fit when he saw someone threw a food." said Jiang Yanli.

"But a-ling, don't be like that again. Such words isn't appropriate for someone at your age to say that." she said and Jin Ling nodded his head.

Jin Ling sneered, “Didn’t he also say that ‘the founder of this path may not have intended harm with it’? Who was ‘the founder of this path’? Go on, tell me, who else could it be except for Wei Ying?! I just can’t seem to understand you. Your GusuLan Sect is also a prominent sect, and back then you also lost quite a number of people in Wei Ying’s hands, didn’t you? Was it hard, killing all those corpses and whatnot that were under his control? Lan Yuan, why are you speaking from such a strange standpoint? From the way you talk, don’t tell me that you’re making excuses for Wei Ying!”

"You're really mad that you called him in his birth name in anger." said Wei Wuxian with a laugh.

"I'm sorry. Besides, didn't you call Hanguang-jun in his birth even before you became together." said Jin Ling.

"It's clear that he is making excuses for the man, it was his mother after all." said Su She.

"A-niang stop me. Stop me before I strangle this man." said Jingyi in anger.

"Why would I stop you? Do whatever you want." said Jiang Cheng.

"Wanyin, he is still a member of Lan Sect." said Lan Xichen.

"And?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"Yeah a-yi, you can do whatever you want." said Lan Xichen.

Lan Yuan was Lan SiZhui’s birth name. He protested, “I was not making excuses for him. I was simply suggesting that we may not want to make conclusions before we understand the entire situation. You know, before we came to Yi City, a lot of people also claimed that the YueyangChang Clan’s Chang Ping was killed by Daozhang Xiao XingChen for revenge, right? But what was the truth?”

Jin Ling, “Nobody actually saw whether or not Chang Ping was killed by Daozhang Xiao XingChen. All they had were guesses, so why are you calling them claims? Just try and count how many cultivators lost their lives to Wei Ying, to Wen Ning, to the Tiger Seal during the battles at the Qiongqi Path and the Nightless Day! These are truths that everyone accepts, that nobody can deny! And what else I’ll never forget is that he ordered Wen Ning to kill my father and mother!”

"What?" asked Wen Qing.

"But brother will never." she added.

"Why would I do that? Shijie is the most important person to me. Why would I bring harm to her?" asked Wei Wuxian.

If Wen Ning had a single trace of blood in his complexion, it would’ve already drained out of his face.

He breathed, “… Maiden Jiang’s son?”

Wei WuXian stayed still.

"Did my brother really do that?" asked Wen Qing.

The juniors refused to answer.

"It's better if we find it out ourselves." said Lan Xichen.

Jin Ling continued, “My uncle grew up with him, my grandfather saw him as his own child, my grandmother wasn’t horrible to him either, but what did he do? He made Lotus Pier the lair of the Wen Sect, he wrecked the entire YunmengJiang Sect, he caused the deaths of both my parents and grandparents, and now my uncle is the only one left! He brought about his own death through the havoc he created and ended up leaving not even a whole corpse behind him! Just which part of the entire situation do you not understand? Just what excuses are you still making for him?!”

"That was not entirely true." said Jin Ling.

"You made a mistake there." said Jiang Cheng.

"You don't know my a-niang to say that." he added in a whisper.

"I don't know your past." said Jin Ling.

"Is she really horrible to him?" he asked in a whisper.

"What do you think?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"My a-niang is never kind." he added.

He argued forcefully, while Lan SiZhui didn’t reply at all. A moment later, another boy spoke up, “Why are we suddenly getting so heated over such a thing? Let’s just drop the subject, alright? We haven’t finished eating yet. The food’s gonna go cold.”

Judging from the voice, he was the “sentimental” one that Wei WuXian poked fun at. Someone else agreed, “ZiZhen is right. We should stop arguing. SiZhui simply forgot to choose his words carefully. It was only an offhand comment—how could he have thought about so much? Sit down, Young Master Jin. Let us continue to eat.”

“That’s right. All of us had just left Yi City, so technically we’ve already been through life and death together… We really shouldn’t argue over such a careless mistake.”

"Right, don't argue like that again." said Wei Wuxian.

"You should strengthen your relationship with one another because sooner or later you will become sect leaders, the four of you." he added.

"Jin Ling and Sizhui are already a Sect Leader." said Jingyi.

"What about you?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"A-niang said, I have to reach the age of 20 to succeed in his position. I don't want to bring downfall on the sect the my a-niang made with a lot of struggles and sacrifices." said Jingyi.

"But you're a troublemaker." said Jiang Cheng.

"You too, yet you became a good leader." said Jingyi.

Jiang Cheng just shrugged his shoulders.

Jin Ling snorted. Lan SiZhui finally responded, his tone as polite as ever, “I am sorry. I should have put more thought to my wording. Young Master Jin, please sit back down. We would not want to continue and bring HanGuang-Jun down here as well.”

The mention of HanGuang-Jun was truly a splendid move. Immediately, Jin Ling stopped, not even making another noise. The sounds of moving tables and chairs came through. It seemed that he sat back down again. The hall quickly refilled with clamor, and the boys’ voices were soon drowned out by the clinks of bowls and dishes. However, Wei WuXian and Wen Ning still stood silently in the grove, their expressions stern.

"You won't argue like that again, okay." said Jiang Yanli.

"I am the one who is going to discipline you if you did." she added.

"She will make you question your life." said Jiang Cheng.

Without making a sound, Wen Ning kneeled down again. Wei WuXian only noticed him after a short pause. Waving his hand weakly, he responded, “It wasn’t your fault.”

"Just what really happened?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"Just watch." said Jiang Cheng.

"My curiosity is eating me." said Wei Wuxian.

"Then, kill it." said Jiang Cheng.

Just as Wen Ning was about to open his mouth again, he suddenly looked behind Wei WuXian and hesitated. Before Wei WuXian could turn around, a white-robed figure walked past him and kicked Wen Ning’s shoulder.

Wen Ning created another man-shaped dent on the ground.

"Wangji!" exclaimed Lan Xichen.

"Lan-er-gongzi, I don't care if you are drunk or not but what did my brother do to you." said Wen Qing.

"Don't be mad, Wen-guniang, my Lan Zhan in this timeline didn't do anything yet." said Wei Wuxian.

"Why not confess his feelings to avoid jealousy." said Wen Qing.

"I bet, even if they are together Lan Wangji will still get jealous." said Jiang Cheng.

"That means, he doesn't trust his lover." said Wen Qing.

"If you trust that your lover wouldn't cheat on you then there is no need to get jealous." she added.

Wei WuXian hurried to pull back Lan WangJi, who seemed as though he wanted to kick again, “HanGuang-Jun, HanGuang-Jun! Calm down!”

It appeared that the time for “sleeping” had passed, while the time for “being drunk” had arrived, and thus Lan WangJi found his way outside.

The situation felt somewhat familiar—history really did repeat itself, didn’t it? However, this time, Lan WangJi looked even more normal than last time. He didn’t wear his boots wrong, either. Even when he rudely kicked over Wen Ning, his expression was still perfectly righteous. Nobody could find any fault on him. After Wei WuXian pulled him back, he fixed his sleeves and nodded. He stood proudly where he was, stopping himself from kicking again.

"I am having a bad feeling." said Jiang Cheng.

"While I am having a good feeling. Stop being negative, Jiang-xiong." said Nie Huaisang.

"I'm quite sure of it." said Jiang Cheng.

"Knowing that both of them are shameless." he added.

Wei WuXian used the time to ask Wen Ning, “How are you?”

Wen Ning, “I’m fine.”

Wei WuXian, “If you’re fine then stand up! What are you still kneeling for?”

Wen Ning crawled up and hesitated, “Young Master Lan.”

"Don't do that again, Wangji. Don't kick anyone just because you're jealous." said Lan Xichen.

"As if you didn't do the same." said Jingyi with an eye roll.

"I will never." said Lan Xichen.

Jingyi just shrugged.

Lan WangJi scrunched his brows and covered his ears. He then turned around with his back toward Wen Ning. Facing Wei WuXian, he used his own body to block their eye contact.

Wen Ning, “…”

Wei WuXian, “It’s best if you don’t stand there. Lan Zhan, uh, doesn’t really like seeing you.”

Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng bursted in laughter.

"Wei Ying." said Lan Wangji.

"Ah Lan Zhan, it's not like I mean it." said Wei Wuxian.

"You're not sure about that." said Jiang Cheng.

Wen Ning, “… What happened to Young Master Lan?”

Wei WuXian, “Nothing much. He’s just drunk.”

“What?” Wen Ning’s face was blank, as though he couldn’t accept such a thing. After a while, he finally continued, “Then… What are you going to do?”

"Something you will never imagine." said Jiang Cheng.

"It will be shock especially to the Lan." said Jingyi with a laugh.

"As expected." said Nie Huaisang.

Wei WuXian, “Well, what can I do? I’m gonna carry him inside and tuck him in.”

Lan WangJi, “Okay.”

Wei WuXian, “Hmm? Aren’t you covering your ears? How come you’re suddenly able to hear me again?”

"So childish, my didi." teased Lan Xichen.

"Do Lans really act like a kid when they're drunk." asked Jiang Cheng.

"Find it out yourself, a-niang. So that you will know how to handle a-die." said Jingyi.

"That's why I'm asking you." said Jiang Cheng.

This time, Lan WangJi refused to answer, pretending that the one who interrupted them a moment ago wasn’t him. Wei WuXian wasn’t sure of how to react. He turned to Wen Ning, “Be careful, yourself.”

Wen Ning nodded. He couldn’t help but look at Lan WangJi again. Just as he was about to leave, Wei WuXian stopped him, “Wen Ning, why don’t you… find somewhere to hide first?”

Wen Ning paused for a second. Wei WuXian added, “One can say that you’ve died twice already. Go get some good rest.”

"Yeah, just hide a-ning so that no one will harm you." said Wen Qing.

"More like he can't harm anyone. That man is dangerous." said Su She.

"If you don't shut up, I will poison you." said Wen Qing with a glare.

After he left, Wei WuXian took away the hands that Lan WangJi blocked his ears with, “Alright. He’s gone. You can’t hear or see him anymore.”

Lan WangJi finally let go of his own ears. He stared blankly at Wei WuXian with the pair of light-colored eyes.

His eyes were so clear, so honest that a desire of mischief surged through Wei WuXian. As though something inside of his body had been ignited, he smiled teasingly, “Lan Zhan, you’re still gonna answer whatever I ask? Do whatever I tell you to?”

"You're planning something." said Jiang Cheng.

"I think I am." said Wei Wuxian.

"I hope it's not that worse." said Jin Zixuan.

Lan WangJi, “Mnn.”

Wei WuXian, “Take off your forehead ribbon.”

"Wei Wuxian!" Lan Qiren shouted.

"What? It's just a ribbon." said Wei Wuxian.

"There's a meaning behind it, Wei-xiong." said Nie Huaisang.

"What?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"Sooner or later you will find it out, a-niang." said Jingyi.

"I think it's not that important." said Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian nodded.

The Lans just looked at them in disbelief.

Obediently, Lan WangJi reached behind his head and slowly untied the strands. He took off the white forehead ribbon, which had been sewn with the motif of drifting clouds.

Holding the ribbon in his hands, Wei WuXian turned it over a few times, examining every angle of it, “So there really isn’t anything so special about it, is there? And I thought that it’s hiding some sort of a gigantic secret. Back then, though, why were you so mad when I took it off?” Or perhaps the past Lan WangJi simply hated him, alongside everything that he did?

"Who wouldn't?" asked a Lan disciple.

"He already took it off before this." said Lan Xichen.

"Oh my didi!" he exclaimed.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"It sailed." said Lan Xichen.

"What sailed?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"Oh my Wanyin, I will tell when the screen won't show it." said Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng frowned.

"Why not now?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"It's not the time yet." answered Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng frowned deeper.

"Stop frowning or I will kiss you." said Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng immediately smacked his head.

"Dream on!" he shouted.

Suddenly, he felt something tighten at his wrists. Lan WangJi had tied both of his hands together using the forehead ribbon and was starting to make knots over it.

Wei WuXian, “What are you doing?”

He wanted to see what exactly Lan WangJi wanted to do, so he let him continue. After Lan WangJi secured his hands together, he first tied a simple knot. He thought for a while and, as though he felt that something wasn’t quite right, he changed it to a tighter knot. He then thought about it some more, still unsatisfied, and tied another knot on top.

"What are you planning, my didi?" aksed Lan Xichen with a tease.

"Xiongzhang." said Lan Wangji with warning but Lan Xichen only chuckled.

The GusuLan Sect’s forehead ribbon was a strip of fabric that hung down at the back after it had been fastened. When one moved, it fluttered elegantly in the air, which was why it was rather long. Lan WangJi tied seven or eight knots on the ribbon, forming a stack of small, ugly-looking lumps, and finally felt pleased enough to stop.

Wei WuXian, “Hey, do you still want this ribbon of yours?”

Lan WangJi’s frown dissolved. Holding onto the other end of the forehead ribbon, he lifted Wei WuXian’s hands in front of himself, as though he was admiring what a masterpiece he had just created. With his hands suspended in the air, Wei WuXian thought to himself, I probably look a lot like a criminal right now… Wait, why am I playing with him like this? Wasn’t I supposed to be the one playing him?

"Yeah, you do." said Jiang Cheng.

"I don't." said Wei Wuxian.

"But why is he tying me?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"You'll know." said Lan Xichen while hugging Jiang Cheng.

Wei WuXian finally realized, “Take it off.”

Lan WangJi happily reached for his collar and sash, repeating the exact same approach as before. Wei WuXian shouted, “Don’t take this off! Take off the thing on my hands. The thing that you’re tying me with. The ribbon.”

If Lan WangJi not only tied his hands together but also stripped him of his clothes, the scene would be scary beyond belief!

"Lan Wangji, you're more shameless than him." said Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji blushed hearing that.

"As I said, Lans are shameless, jiujiu." said Jin Ling.

Hearing his request, Lan WangJi furrowed his brows again, and proceeded to do nothing. Wei WuXian raised his hands and coaxed, “You said that you’ll listen to me, didn’t you? Be a good boy and take it off.”

Lan WangJi glanced at him, then silently moved his sight away, as though he couldn’t understand what Wei WuXian was saying and had to ponder upon it for a while longer. Wei WuXian complained, “Oh, now I get it! You’re all hyped if I tell you to tie me up, but you can’t understand it if I tell you to take it off. Is that so?”

The Lan Sect’s forehead ribbon was made from the same material as its uniform. Although it looked flimsy, it was actually quite sturdy. And, since Lan WangJi wrapped it tightly around and tied a long strand of knots, Wei WuXian couldn’t struggle out of it no matter how hard he tried. He commented in silence, I really did shoot myself in the foot, didn’t I? Good thing that it’s only a forehead ribbon, not some weird magical ropes, or else he would’ve really tied me up.

"You reaped what you'd sown. Well deserve." said Jin Zixuan with a laugh.

"You should not do that again." said Qingheng-jun.

"We can't assure what will happen next." he added.

Lan WangJi stared into the distance as he tugged at the ends of the forehead ribbon, contently swinging them around. Wei WuXian pleaded, “Can you please take it off? HanGuang-Jun, how can someone as graceful as you do such a thing? What’s the use of tying me like this? It’s gonna look so bad on you if someone sees us like this, right?”

Hearing the last sentence, Lan WangJi started to drag him toward the streets.

"Oh this." laughed the juniors.

"But wait!" exclaimed Jingyi.

"What?" asked Jin Ling.

"We're dead." said Jingyi and realization hit them.

"Don't go in." the three shouted.

"You can't stop them." said Sizhui.

Pulled around by Lan WangJi, Wei WuXian staggered, “W-w-wait a sec. What I meant was that it’d be bad if someone sees this, not that you should let someone see this. Hey! You’re just pretending to not understand me, aren’t you? Are you doing this on purpose? So you’re only gonna understand what you want to understand? Lan Zhan, Lan WangJi!”

Before he even finished speaking, Lan WangJi had already dragged him out of the grove. They walked around onto the street and entered the main hall again through the first floor.

"Why are you guys looking pale?" Nie Huaisang asked the juniors.

"I am not sure If I will be living after this." said Jingyi.

"Don't be so dramatic." said Jiang Cheng.

The juniors were still eating and fooling around. Even though a minor disagreement happened, young people were always quick to forget these matters. They were in the middle of playing a drinking game. Some of the bolder juniors of the Lan Sect wanted to sneak a few sips as well. There would always be somebody watching the stairway that led to the second floor, keeping an eye out for Lan WangJi. None of them expected that Lan WangJi would suddenly drag Wei WuXian through the main entrance, where they never paid attention to. All of them were shocked after they turned around.

As Lan JingYi hurled himself at the cup of liquor on the table, hoping to cover it up, he knocked over a few bowls and dishes along the way. The object that he wanted to cover up became even more conspicuous. Lan SiZhui stood up, “H-HanGuang-Jun, why have you come inside through this entrance again?”

"Un-lan!" Jiang Cheng shouted.

"You!" exclaimed Lan Qiren.

"Why are drinking?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"It's not like I will get drunk." said Jingyi.

"Yeah, right. Jingyi is the only Lan who has a high tolerance in alcohol." said Jin Ling.

"Let it be, as long as he is not in Gusu." said Lan Xichen.

"I won't." said Jiang Cheng.

"You're so overprotective, ChengCheng." said Wei Wuxian.

"Shut up!" Jiang Cheng shouted and they just laughed at him.

Wei WuXian laughed, “Haha. Your HanGuang-Jun was feeling a bit too hot and decided to take a stroll outside so that he could also catch all of you off guard. You see? Here you are, drinking when you’re not supposed to.”

He secretly prayed that Lan WangJi would haul him upstairs directly, without doing or saying anything unnecessary. If he kept silent and maintained the cold appearance, nobody would notice anything wrong with him.

Just as the thought passed through his mind, Lan WangJi dragged him toward the juniors’ table.

"It will be a big shock to them especially to the Lan disciples." said Lan Xichen.

"Why?" asked Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng.

"You should've listen to Lan Qiren's teachings to know about it." said Jin Zixuan.

"Fine, you're the good student." said Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian.

Lan SiZhui was beyond shock, “HanGuang-Jun, your forehead ribbon…”

Before he could finish his words, he saw Wei WuXian’s hands.

HanGuang-Jun’s forehead ribbon was tied around Wei WuXian’s wrists.

As though he felt that not enough people noticed this fact, holding the ends of the ribbon, Lan WangJi held up Wei WuXian’s hands and displayed it for everyone to see.

"Why are they looking pale?" asked Wei Wuxian.

"You shouldn't have done that in the first place." said Jiang Cheng.

'Mn, Wei Ying is mine now officially,' thought Lan Wangji.