Work Text:
It was an average sunny day in the Cloud Recesses. As always, the disciples would take care to be on their best behaviour. Usually in sunny afternoons, including this one, Hanguang-jun would be doing work in the library. Whether it be copying scriptures or marking papers, he would be there most of the time. The disciples could understand that -- noise is forbidden in the Library Pavillion, and it would be the best place to concentrate. Being a quiet person himself, Hanguang-jun would obviously require silence to concentrate on his work.
What they can’t understand, however, is how he always does his work with another blank piece of paper, another set of brush and inkstone, and a Gusu Lan rule book in front of him, even though there’s no one else sitting in front of him. Occasionally, he’d peek out of his own work, as if to look at someone else. But there was always no one there. As the minutes turn into hours, the brush never moved. There were no new strokes on the blank paper. At the end of the day, Hanguang-jun would put them away, only to set it up again the next time he was there.
As far as the disciples were concerned, it was always that way. It was a bit strange, but they decided not to question it. Perhaps there was a disciple who died when he was copying the rules or something, and Hanguang-jun had a strong sixth sense and wanted to help them move on.
But it was just speculation on their end. Eventually, the speculation died down -- the habit continued on for years, it’s impossible for the ghost to not have moved on after so long if it was true. Maybe they’ll never know why. But it’s not like they’re not used to this kind of thing. Hanguang-jun was always complex anyway.
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Both curfew and bedtime was at 9PM, although some of the teachers and elders would stay up a bit later than that. If it’s not night patrol, it’s grading papers. But it doesn’t mean that there are no disciples up and about at that hour. Sometimes people just have difficulties sleeping. And there were also those moments of having to get up to use the bathroom. It happens to everyone. That was how the disciples found out that the elders don’t always sleep at 9PM, anyways, including Hanguang-jun.
When they’re lucky -- or unlucky -- they would spot him just sitting by the Jingshi, just staring. Most of the disciples’ instinctive reaction to that was fear, thinking that they had been spotted wandering around at night. But after a few seconds of absolutely nothing happening, it would turn into intrigue. At first glance, it would look like that he’s gazing at the moon. Well, it’s quite normal. Even the most uptight people need to enjoy the little wonders of life once in a while.
But every disciple who had decided to linger long enough would notice that he’s not looking at the moon, but a wall. However, there was absolutely nothing on that wall. It was as if he was waiting for something to come out, but nothing ever came out. The disciples on night patrol would notice that as the hours passed, Hanguang-jun would still be sitting there, staring at a completely ordinary wall.
It was very peculiar, and even more strangely, it happened often enough that a lot of disciples had seen it. Eventually, it got to a point where the disciples who have never seen it would deliberately walk out of their bedrooms just to confirm if their fellows were telling the truth; and indeed they were.
Perhaps Hanguang-jun really does have a strong sixth sense. Maybe that’s why he’s so quiet and stoic all the time. They’ve long accepted that he is in his own league. They won’t hope to understand what he does. Maybe when they’re older. The best explanation they can come up with is that, perhaps, he lost more than a few comrades in the Sunshot Campaign, and he can still see them.
While Lan Sizhui would occasionally listen in to those discussions, he could never find it in himself to chip in with his own story. Remembering how he found Hanguang-jun staring at the wall just as a single tear rolled down his face was still too much for him.
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There was a big, old tree situated between the male and female territories in the Cloud Recesses. It didn’t look out of the ordinary, but it was almost impossible to miss when you pass by the area. A lot of the time, Hanguang-jun can be sighted playing Inquiry under it.
At some point, Lan Jingyi and a few of his friends asked a senior about it -- was there anything special about that tree? Why did Hanguang-jun play Inquiry there a lot of the time?
According to the senior, it really was a special tree. Lan An allegedly confessed to his future wife under the tree. Their love was so true that it touched the tree’s spirit. Ever since then, the tree had taken to blessing happy couples; if you confess your love under that tree and your confession is accepted, your souls and fatelines will be intertwined together forever. It was a widespread legend among his generation back when they were still young disciples -- including Sect Leader Nie, Sect Leader Jiang, and the now-deceased Yiling Patriarch.
The senior noted that he was there when Sect Leader Nie showed Sect Leader Jiang and the Yiling Patriarch back when they were fifteen year old disciples around the Cloud Recesses. When Sect Leader Nie talked about the tree and its legend, the Yiling Patriarch had laughed it off. Whether he was amused at it, or if he simply didn’t believe it, the senior didn’t hear clearly enough to tell.
But perhaps the legend was indeed only a legend. It was what they used to believe when they were young. As time went by, more and more things happened and more facts seemed to overshadow the legend. Even after the Wens burned the Cloud Recesses about 18 years ago, the tree remained intact; not a single leaf was burned. The tree was still there when Lan Xichen rebuilt it with the help of Lianfang-zun, too. Over time, the legend about love faded away, as it was meant to be. No matter what people believe, the truth would always come out eventually, the senior pointed out.
The tree must be some sort of guardian spirit of the Cloud Recesses, and Hanguang-jun was likely inquiring the tree spirit for cultivation advice. The tree had been there ever since Lan An’s time until now. It had witnessed the rise and fall of sect leader after sect leader, and even the Cloud Recesses itself. If it’s not a deity by now, it would at least have enough power to rival one. It would know how to vanquish evil and how to attain immortality and enlightenment. By the time you’re at the level of someone like Hanguang-jun, there’s nothing that the Elder, Lan Qiren, can teach you.
The senior added that, perhaps Hanguang-jun is asking the tree on how to deal with the Yiling Patriarch once he returns. At least, even after more than a decade, a noticeable part of the cultivational world believes he will. But even if he doesn’t, who’s to say that an even worse evil wouldn’t appear to take his place or something? It never hurts to be prepared.
Ouyang Zizhen, who was with Lan Jingyi’s group at the time, lamented how the legend faded away, and brought up the possibility of both theories being true: the tree is a very strong guardian spirit, but it would also do favours for couples who love each other so much they are willing to jump over the walls just to see each other, the same way as the Cowherd and the Weaver.
The senior accepted that Zizhen had a point, and so did the other disciples. They didn’t say that they hope that he’s right.
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Both of the Twin Jades of Gusu paint, although, to the surprise of no one, Zewu-jun is the more skilled one. But it doesn’t mean that Hanguang-jun’s paintings weren’t pleasing to look at. In fact, on occasion the disciples would be more fascinated with Hanguang-jun’s pictures. One of his most talked-about work was a series of paintings called “Lady Meng Jiang Reunites With Qi Liang,” because it provided an alternate happy ending for the star-crossed lovers.
In the original story, Qi Liang, Lady Meng Jiang’s husband, was conscripted to build the Great Wall, and died due to the poor working conditions. She found out when she went on a journey to give his winter clothes to him. When she had arrived at the wall, she was told that he had died. But his corpse was buried within the wall, not even given a proper burial. She wept bitterly in front of the wall, and it crumbled to show her husband’s bones. At the end of the story, after her husband was properly buried, Lady Meng Jiang lamented that she has no father, no husband, nor a son, and all she can do is die.
Most, if not all of the variations of the story the Lan disciples know only expands on the story. They have never known of someone completely changing the course of the story, let alone expect for it to be Hanguang-jun of all people. The surprise factor was part of why the series of paintings intrigued the disciples so much. It got so famous among the Lan disciples to the point they can recite Hanguang-jun’s alternate ending at any time.
The first painting of the series was set in the middle of the original story. But instead of Lady Meng Jiang, the one depicted was Qi Liang. He was shown to be longing for his wife as well, who was waiting for him. The second painting jumped straight to the divergence, when Lady Meng Jiang reunited with Qi Liang, who was still alive. The third painting was of Lady Meng Jiang and Qi Liang running away from the construction site, with the guards hot on their heels.
The fourth painting depicted Lady Meng Jiang and Qi Liang walking side by side in the wilderness. They were on the run, isolated from civilization and hoping that they will be forgotten sooner than later. But still, they were happy. They were together, and it was what matters. The fifth and final painting was of the couple with a son. Both husband and wife were inside a simple house, and the scenery of the mountains from the fourth painting can be seen, showing that they settled down in the quiet mountains, content with simply having each other and their son.
The original story of Lady Meng Jiang was a sad story depicting the painful disconnect between the upper class and the common folk, as well as the unfortunate pair of lovers stuck in the circumstances of the world they live in. It touched many hearts, and although the disciples were surprised that Hanguang-jun would go to the extent of coming up with a happy ending for the couple, they found comfort in the fact that he is, in fact, still human.
Even so, they couldn’t completely understand one of Hanguang-jun’s other paintings; his depiction of the Butterfly Lovers. One butterfly was red and black, the other blue. Most paintings of them depict the butterflies as looking exactly like each other. Hanguang-jun’s version was, to most, if not all of the disciples, the only version where the butterflies look very different. Oh well. Even if he is a human like them, Hanguang-jun is still the distant, complex Hanguang-jun.
Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi noticed that in some areas in the Butterfly Lovers painting, there seemed to be flaws in the picture, as if small drops of water touched those spots in the middle of painting. It was confusing; Hanguang-jun is not the least bit careless. In the end, they decided not to try and figure out why.