In the morning, we received a message from Brother, saying that Jin GuangYao had just arrived in Guzu. He would surely come to see him. Brother asked us to be ready and listen to the conversation they would have.

We prepared his workroom for the occasion. Wei Ying and I hid behind the closing screen of the alcove. As we waited for our "guest" to arrive I meditated. Wei Ying had tried to do that too... but he had fallen asleep and fallen on top of me several times! Meditation was really not his forte!

Jin GuangYao came in and joined Brother who was waiting for him at the tea table. He put the jade medallion in front of him, which allowed him to come and go in YunShen Buzhi. Brother came out of his meditation and opened his eyes.

"What do you mean by that?"

Jin GuangYao replied that he was giving it back to him because it was time for it to return to its owner.

"Why are you here?" my brother asked.

"We still don't know where Han GuangJun and the Patriarch of Yiling are. I stopped them from searching YunShen Buzhi, but some are skeptical, full of doubts. "Big Brother" if it is convenient for you open your door for a few hours so that I can reassure them that there is nothing to fear"

Brother must have hesitated because he was slow to answer. He knew that if he refused, the other clans would take his answer as proof that he had something to hide and that he had betrayed them!

"Second Brother what is it? If you are worried about Wangji, you have nothing to fear. We have witnessed Han Guangjun's integrity for years. The acts he committed are not due to his own person."

Here I was sure, he is blaming Wei Ying ... no! he is doing this to coax my brother, to gain his trust by letting him believe that he is on his side!

"Besides, he hasn't done anything irreparable yet. As long as he tells us the truth about this, he'll be fine. I wouldn't give anyone time to create rumors "

About this? What did he mean? Rumors? I don't care about rumors, those who know me will know what is true and what is not. And as for the rumors themselves, if I understand correctly Brother, there are already a number of them circulating about you! As far as I am concerned, it is the first time! I don't know which of us is less credible after all!

"About this?" questioned Brother.

"We had purged the Burial Ground, since the battle of Jinlintai, strange things have been happening there. The puppets have reappeared and are heading for the Burial Ground.

"And what are they doing there?"

Good question! Brother knows that those puppets are not controlled by Wei Ying! He hasn't moved from here since Jinlintai! Jin GuangYao, by wanting to involve my love too much, you just made your 1st mistake towards my brother!

"We don't know, we think Wei Wuxian has created a magic circle and bring them together with the power of Yin Hufu"

Yin Hufu! So you know that the amulet has been partly restored!

"In Jinlintai, Jin Ling stabbed him. Can he still do all this?"

"Second Brother, when Wei Wuxian broke away from Yunmeng's Jiang Clan, he was severely injured and yet he was able to control the puppets right after! For the Yiling Patriarch, nothing is impossible!"

His last sentence made me smile. He couldn't have meant it that way! Nothing was impossible for him! After all, he had managed to come back from the realm of the dead!

"In order to remedy this, we will lay siege to the Burial Ground a second time. I've brought in other clans to discuss this in Jilintai. Second Brother, will you join us?"

"Yes, wait for me outside, I will join you."

Brother could not but accept his proposal, we were going to have to separate! I was worried about what was happening at the Burial Ground. Xue Yang was no longer there, so the masked man had to intervene. Because in all likelihood Jin GuangYao was going to be busy elsewhere with Brother.

Before leaving the room, Jin GuangYao asked Brother if he wanted to see their "Big Brother" because he was going to bury him. Brother agreed and watched him leave. We then went to join him.

We agreed to go our separate ways. Brother would go to Jinlintai and Wei Ying and I would go to the Burial Ground.

I was worried about my brother. I could see in his face that he was full of doubts! But I also saw determination.

"If he's hiding something, I can't stand it!

I was not mistaken, with his fair and upright soul, my brother could sometimes be as inflexible as Uncle. He had trusted Jin GuangYao, really considering him as his little brother! If he had the proof of his betrayal... I didn't dare to imagine what he would do. But now was not the time for guesswork. Wei Ying and I had to leave YunShen Buzhi as soon as possible before the inspection, requested by the clans, took place!

We went to look for "little apple", we couldn't leave her otherwise she would cause more trouble. We found her on the river bank with ... my rabbits! It had been a long time since I had taken care of them. I was a little ashamed, fortunately, I knew that SiZhui and Jingyi always took care of them in my absence. I suddenly realized that I hadn't seen them for a while. I hoped that everything was going well for them.

I put Bichen against a rock and picked up one of my rabbits. Wei Ying patted it, a little... abruptly on the back of his head!

"They only love you, they are loyal to their owner.

I wanted them to be loyal to you, just like I was. So I put him in your arms! And you began to caress him...vigorously!

"Lan Zhan, I know that our journey will be dangerous, but I am not afraid at all. Do you find it strange or not?" He had turned back to the rabbit, was he talking to him?

I was worried. We were walking into a trap, I was sure! But... did we have a choice? We had to find out what was going on against us!

"It's getting late, let's go!"

We left YunShen Buzhi. We used the second exit. When we reached the gate, we realized that the rabbits had followed us.

"They don't want you to go!" said Wei Ying,

He then complained that the animals, whoever they were, didn't like him!

At the same time, my love if you teased them a little less, they would put up with you better!

I went ahead. Wei Ying followed me, pulling "little apple" who did not want to come. We started our journey to Yiling.

Tired of waiting, because you couldn't get your donkey to obey me, I told you to get on it and I took charge of holding its bridle! Strangely enough, "Little Apple" followed me without any problems!

After a while you took out your flute and started to play! After several pieces you stopped, wondering aloud what you could play.

You had an idea and put the instrument to your lips again. The music rose soft and melodious. Our music .... I gave you a quick look. Why now?

Were you trying to tell me something?

So many memories came back to me when I heard it played by you. Our meeting on the roofs of Guzu, our afternoons in the library, our hunt for water ghouls, the cold cave and Lan Yi... and the moment we found the way out... in your haste, we fell and you ended up lying on top of me. I wouldn't have gotten so angry if it weren't for Jiang Chen and Wen Qing.

When my eyes fell on my ribbon tying our wrists, I was afraid they would know about this tradition of our clan and its meaning: marriage. In the Lan Clan, we only take off our headband in front of the person we love and on our wedding day, we tie our wrists to salute, our ancestors and our clan leader.

Wei Ying, it is since this day that I consider you as my culture partner and it is this evening that I composed for you this music which speaks about you.

"Lan Zhan, I was wondering, when we were in the Xuanwu cave at Muxi Mountain, what was the title of the song you performed?"

Would you have understood?

"Why do you ask?"

"Answer, what was the title? I think I finally found out how you recognized me.

I remained silent. If I told you the title of this song, you would understand right away!

"Tell me, what is this song? Who composed it?"

"Me"

"Did you compose it? What is the title?"

"Do you have an idea?"

" You ask for my idea? ... We could call it..."

In the end, you didn't really understand! I decide to interrupt you. I guess I don't really want to know what you're thinking about. You would probably say something stupid to tease me!

"I'm thirsty, let's get some water!"

We head to a nearby house. In the yard, there will surely be a well. But there doesn't seem to be anyone there! You see the melons in a basket and start feeling them to see if they are ripe. Just as I was about to leave money to pay for the melon you were planning to take, we heard voices! You grabbed me by the arm and we hid behind a haystack.

A couple with a little girl came into the yard.

"...what if you came face to face with the Patriarch of Yiling and his ghost general and they ate you alive? In that case, what could your mother and I do?"

Last time I checked, Wei Ying was not a child-eating monster!

"I'm not afraid, Mom said that all these stories are lies. The Yiling Patriarch doesn't hurt good people.

I don't know who this child's mother was, but she seemed to have ideas about the Yiling Patriarch that were contrary to the Clans!

"Qingyang, did you see, she is answering now"

"It's good Mianmian. Sit down and listen carefully dad!" said the mother.

Mianmian? But of course our friend from the past, the one who had left the Jin clan after expressing her disapproval of the clans' behavior towards Wei Wuxian. The one, whose life he had saved at the cave of Mount Muxi! The first person I was jealous of. 

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)