Chapter Text
In the Cultivation World, the common folks had faith in Gods and Demons, worshiping local Deities to somehow grant their wishes.
For Cultivators whose journey was Immortality, to be a Perfect Being, the God whom those mortals referred to, they held different attitudes toward Demons and Deities.
In their eyes, those ancient Gods and Immortals in the Heavenly Realm were Beings that could indeed grant the wishes they had. Even the weakest Immortal would have the power to bury the sea and obliterate a continent out of existence. The stronger ones could reverse Yin and Yang, Day and Night, Youth and Elderly, or even Life and Death --- and to a certain extent, even Fate itself.
Certainly, if they ever met with those Celestial Beings, Cultivators would also greet them "Xianzun" and "Xianzi" with the utmost respect from the bottom of their hearts.
After all, those were Beings who had overcome Tribulations and perfected their Dao.
"...Immortals, huh..."
Lan Xichen closed the book he had been reading and put it on the small table.
The book's cover had a title of "Compendium of Daoist Immortal."
Coincidentally, at this time, a Lan disciple was heard calling him from outside of the Hanshi, "Zewu-Jun. I am here to send a report about the Sect's final contingent for next week's Baifeng Mountain Hunt."
"Wait a minute." Lan Xichen rose from his seat and walked toward the entrance, greeting the disciple.
"Zewu-Jun, this-," the disciple was about to report his work but upon witnessing Lan Xichen's visage, he couldn't help but stumble upon his words. "Ze-Zewu-Jun? Is everything alright?"
He knew that as a mere young disciple, it wasn't his place to express direct concern about his Sect Leader's well-being. However, he couldn't stop himself from blurting out those words the moment he saw Lan Xichen's current condition.
Everyone knew that Zewu-Jun was fairly young, only around 23 years old. But looking at him now, there's no youthful air around him at all.
The heavy eye bags. The black lines covered his eyes. His frazzled appearance.
The disciple even had an illusion that Zewu-Jun in front of him was someone who had to shoulder the fate of humanity, thus his weary countenance.
Lan Xichen blinked. He soon realized that the disciple should have been shocked by his ungraceful appearance.
"Ah...this is..." Absentmindedly rubbing his upper cheeks, he said, "I have been busy with some... important things lately."
He gave a little smile to the disciple and reassured him, "It is not much of a concern."
To say that Lan Xichen was currently being entrusted with humanity's fate, was perhaps quite suitable.
Lan Xichen himself felt so.
Sighing, the young Sect Leader massaged his forehead for the n-th time these days.
'Why must it be me who needs to get it done!'
It began around a month ago.
There was a visitor in Lan Xichen's dreams.
It was a Fairy.
Now, people would probably have a knowing smile and a tacit grin if someone were to say "A Fairy visits my dream".
However, in Lan Xichen's case, he knew the visitor was a Fairy or Female Immortal, due to her voice and her self-proclaimed introduction. There was no image or manifestation of the said Fairy at all.
If it wasn't for the fact that this Fairy was able to breach into the dream of a Cultivator of his own caliber over and over, Lan Xichen would have doubted even her identity as a "Xianzi".
How should he put it, even just from her voice, there's no Immortal-like grace at all in her bearing.
Speaking of which, this Xianzi who breached into his dreams, had been repeating the same warning like a broken record.
"There will be a catastrophe in the Cultivation World. Keep Wei Wuxian away from the Cultivation World for a few months and you shall avoid it!"
The first time Lan Xichen dreamt of her, he had tried to ask, "What kind of catastrophe does Xianzi mean? May I ask what the intention of keeping Wei Wuxian away from the world is?"
The Fairy didn't give him an answer.
Lan Xichen wondered if telling a future event and messing up with countless people's fate was prohibited, hence the reason why the Fairy could not answer.
As he dreamt of her the second time, he'd tried to ask another question, "Xianzi, how do I keep Wei Wuxian away? Is it by not letting him involve himself in the affair of the Cultivation World, or should it be done in another way?"
There's still no answer from the Fairy.
Perhaps the Fairy deemed that kind of thing should be Lan Xichen's part to think by himself. Her job was only to send an oracle.
By the third time that he dreamt of the Fairy, Lan Xichen asked, "Xianzi, may I ask, why must it be this Xichen whom Xianzi decided to reach out to? Is there anything that I have but other people do not?"
No answer was given either.
Lan Xichen finally concluded that the Fairy was only able to send the news one way, but unable to communicate directly into his dream.
As for the news she sent...
"Keep Wei Wuxian away, huh...?" Lan Xichen muttered.
He had been thinking and mulling about this very command for a month now.
There's a big question concerning this demand, mainly, on what account should he keep Wei Wuxian away? How was he supposed to accomplish this task? To what extent did "keeping him away" even mean? Did it mean to completely cut off Wei Wuxian's connection to the Cultivation World? Or just to make him stay on the low for a few months?
Taking a step back, Lan Xichen actually didn't understand what impact keeping the young man away should have?
The Fairy unfortunately didn't provide him with sufficient explanation for him to execute the plan.
Now though, Lan Xichen could have just decided to ignore this kind of unclear demand and regard it as a mere dream.
No, in fact, he had tried to do so last month. That was, until he ended up being terrorized by the Fairy who kept bombarding his dreams with her warnings.
In the first place, Lan Xichen rarely had a dream. The sign of a person having a good quality of rest is when they completely fall into the deepest consciousness. Sleeping from Haishi to Maoshi would just feel like a blink of an eye. The next moment they woke up, it was morning already.
Therefore, having consecutive dreams almost every day was truly not a sign of a simple happenstance.
Even if the identity of the "self-proclaimed Fairy" was still doubtful, he had no choice but to take the warning seriously.
Then, it circled back again to the main question,
'Can anyone tell me, how am I supposed to keep Wei Wuxian away??'
What he could deduce from the Fairy's warning was that, most likely, the so-called catastrophe in the future would be related to Wei Wuxian.
That being said, Lan Xichen wondered that if this was the case, why not just tell Lan Xichen what the crisis was for him to make a countermeasure or prevent it from happening?
Could it be, that the Fairy decided not to just tell him the specific incident because even if he knew, there would be little he could do to alter it?
Lan Xichen had also speculated that Wei Wuxian shouldn't have been the "Active Party" but the "Respondent". It meant, there would be a perilous time in the future whether the young man was there or not, however, Wei Wuxian's presence at the period would affect the trajectory.
There's a saying that "Those with power should be careful when using it". Either power comes from status, authority, or ability. The greater the power they had, the bigger impact they would have once they decided to exert their privilege.
Wei Wuxian surely didn't have the said power coming from one's Status and Authority. The only left would be, Ability.
"Wei-Gongzi's ability...'
Recalling the still freshly concluded war where darkness became the sky and corpses became mountains, Lan Xichen blankly concluded in his mind, 'Oh. He did have the ability to escalate the situation further.'
That being said, if the catastrophe might escalate due to Wei Wuxian's involvement, why didn't she warn him "To eliminate Wei Wuxian" instead?
Her command was to "Keep away" rather than "Eliminate" Wei Wuxian, did it mean, that eliminating Wei Wuxian wasn't the best course of action? Rather than preventing it, that might spark the problem from occurring earlier?
The more Lan Xichen pondered about it the more questions he had.
'If so, then how am I supposed to keep him away?'
Lan Xichen laughed wryly.
Going around and around to think about the situation, only to go back to square one.
To this day, Lan Xichen hadn't talked to anyone else about this predicament of his.
It wasn't because he was trying to voluntarily shoulder the burden himself. Lan Xichen was a Sect Leader. He was brought up to solve any issue with the assistance of others, not to take on problems alone. When in a quandary, he should share his troubles with the other Sect members and seek their aid, especially his Uncle and his younger brother.
Lan Xichen had considered informing his closest family members about this potentially serious issue in their Cultivation World.
Not long ago, during a casual meeting with his younger brother, he had attempted to open up the conversation by asking, "Wangji, how is your relationship with Wei-Gongzi lately?"
During the recently concluded Sunshot Campaign, one of Lan Xichen's concerns that even Nie Mingjue knew about and other Cultivators had also heard about, was the unpleasant interactions between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian.
It was widely known that Hanguang-Jun often clashed with Wei Wuxian regarding his chosen Cultivation Path. The two young men were both stubborn, neither had a soft temper. Coupled with them being in the war, and having to go into battle once every few days, they're simply not in the best emotional state.
That being said, the war had ended. The Cultivators had begun to settle down and embrace a new peaceful era. It was expected that any animosity would dissipate.
Unfortunately, his younger brother's knitted eyebrows indicated otherwise.
There's not much that Lan Xichen could do. It's regrettable, but Lan Wangji appeared to have yet resolved the tension between him and Wei Wuxian.
In this case, telling him the newly arisen predicament regarding Wei Wuxian was out of the question. Given his care toward the other man as his friend, Lan Xichen was afraid that Lan Wangji might do something reckless in his haste, and worsen the relationship between the two of them instead. Accordingly, between the Lan Sect and Wei Wuxian as well.
There was no need for Lan Qiren to attend the hunt in Baifeng Mountain. He and Lan Wangji were sufficient representatives of the GusuLan Clan. Nevertheless, Lan Xichen felt obligated to inform his Uncle about the preparation, not as a requirement but as a formality to keep him informed about the Sect's affairs.
"Xichen? Did something happen?"
Looking at Lan Xichen's fatigued appearance, Lan Qiren frowned slightly.
"Nothing happened, I might just have been...too exhausted these days." Lan Xichen tried to pull a smile to convince his Uncle.
However, it seemed as though his smile was not that convincing as Lan Qiren frowned even more at his answer.
His Uncle ended up telling him, "Don't go too often to the Jin Clan's celebration. Focus on settling down our Sect first."
He assumed that Lan Xichen had gone to socialize way too often at the Jin Clan's banquet held every now and then. As someone who preferred tranquility, Lan Qiren considered socializing at such banquets to be stressful to one's body and mind.
Lan Xichen wondered if he should correct his Uncle's misunderstanding.
"No...Shufu, actually..."
Lan Xichen looked up and was about to talk about his dream to the Uncle, however, his eyes had inadvertently fallen toward the revised Book of Conduct from their House Rules.
The original form of their rules was too complicated, carved in a seal script, and too long to remember. Therefore, Lan Qiren rewrote the rules and separated them into several books according to their contents.
Among the Lan Cultivators, Lan Qiren was someone devoted to their House Rules the most, enough to be known far and wide as pedantic.
He wasn't just stern toward other disciples or other Clans' Young Masters learning under him. Rather, Lan Qiren was even more strict toward his two nephews. It was exactly because Lan ShuangBi were his nephews that Lan Qiren's expectations were higher.
Especially after Qingheng-Jun's past incident, Lan Qiren particularly hated people with bad conduct the most. Lan Double Jades thus were brought up while being pressured to be flawless in both conduct and achievements.
Wei Wuxian, on the contrary, was someone whose nature Lan Qiren frowned upon.
Lan Xichen had always known this. Back then, he told Lan Wangji not to tell his Uncle about who gave him the 2 rabbits, because he understood, his Uncle was opposed to anything regarding the other boy...
"What's the matter? Xichen?"
Lan Xichen stopped his train of thought as his Uncle called him questioningly.
"No, nothing..." Lan Xichen smiled and retracted his gaze from the book compiling their House Rules. Instead, he said, "Shufu is right. I should not come to others' celebratory banquets too often."
In the end, he could not tell Lan Qiren.
It was not a good idea.
If he were to tell him, considering his personal opinion about Wei Wuxian, his Uncle might resort to extreme measures.
In that case, the relationship between GusuLan and Wei Wuxian might go bad. It'd worsen the situation instead. With that young man's temper, it was impossible to just forcibly ground him or tell him to obey things.
Going back to his residence, Lan Xichen sat down in front of his work table and sighed once again.
Sharing the issue with his younger brother and Uncle was proven to be impossible.
Then, how about his other two Sworn Brothers?
A cataclysm related to their Cultivation World should have been discussed with other important figures from the Hundreds of Clans.
At least, with the Major Sects.
It should have been the case.
But Lan Xichen couldn't bring himself to inform either Nie Mingjue or Jin Guangyao.
Deep down inside, Lan Xichen wondered, who would be able to stir up trouble in the Cultivation World, enough to be called a catastrophe?
As he had thought earlier, "People with power will cause greater impact due to their use of privilege."
If Wei Wuxian's power stemmed from his Ability, then, the people who had power derived from Status and Authority would be...
The 4 Major Sects,
Or, to be exact, the Cultivators on the higher ranks.
"GusuLan...QingheNie...LanlingJin...YunmengJiang..."
As he wrote each of the Major Sect onto some paper, he started to circle each Sect's name.
Which of these Sects would be the "Active Party", the one initiating the said disaster?
"GusuLan..." As he murmured the name, Lan Xichen shook his head.
If GusuLan was the one being involved, the Fairy would not have reached out to him.
"For now, I can conclude GusuLan as the neutral force." His brush made a perfect circle on the paper.
"How about QingheNie?"
There were some reasons why Lan Xichen hadn't talked to Nie Mingjue about the precognitive dream yet.
While he did trust Nie Mingjue's integrity and believed he shouldn't be the instigator, but if he were to inform him, his reaction would likely be as extreme as his Uncle's.
Furthermore, he couldn't be certain if Nie Mingjue would not be the one "unintentionally" causing the spark of upheaval either. Both his and Wei Wuxian's tempers seemed to be on the same poor side. If the two of them were to be involved in some incident one way or another, he couldn't guarantee some fierce clash would not occur.
A neat line was drawn under QingheNie Sect's name on the paper.
QingheNie remained in a questionable stance.
"Next, LanlingJin..."
As he moved his brush toward the Sect's name, Lan Xichen pondered the possibility of this Sect's stance.
Ever since he was informed about the said catastrophe, Lan Xichen had also tried to predict what kind of incident could occur in the following months.
As far as he knew, there were no notable disturbances that might escalate into a worse state.
If there was one to be mentioned, it was probably...
--- LanlingJin's subtly building momentum to position themselves as the leader of the Cultivation World.
'Will their ambition lead to something worse?'
There's no way of telling for now.
But just to be cautious, Lan Xichen decided not to tell Jin Guangyao about his dreams.
His brush made another neat line underneath the Jin Sect's characters on the paper.
"As for YunmengJiang..."
Here came a question, for Wei Wuxian to be heavily involved in the World's cataclysm, enough for a Fairy to send a precognitive dream, what could be the reason behind it?
It should have been obvious. His own Sect, YunmengJiang, must have been involved in it. Therefore, their Sect was not a neutral force, but a related party.
As a bystander, people could become rational enough and fair in judgment. On the contrary, those involved might find it difficult to set aside their emotions and personal feelings to make a wise decision.
In this case,
The brush made a slow yet firm line underneath the YunmengJiang's characters on the paper. "YunmengJiang might also fall under a questionable stance..."
Four Major Sects.
Three of which were uncertain.
Leaving the remaining GusuLan Sect.
However, even in his own Sect, the highest-ranking members, one of them was simply impossible to be informed, and another one was not in a favorable situation to face this problem. In the end, the only person left to shoulder the impending doom was Lan Xichen.
'So this is the reason why Xianzi decided to reach out to me...'
It was a process of elimination. Picking the most suitable person who had a neutral stance, high authority to devise plans, and the ability to face Wei Wuxian without too much prejudice or personal emotion.
That question that had gone unanswered by the Fairy before had become clearer the more he pondered about various considerations.
Even the Fairy's choice to reach out to him was not just something done casually but it turned out had been the result of careful scrutiny.
The more he realized, the more somber Lan Xichen's face became.
The Fairy's ability to breach into his dreams...
The Fairy's unspoken wisdom beyond her choice and action...
If that was the case, then...her warning must have been genuine.
In other words, if he failed to heed her command, failing to keep Wei Wuxian away as intended, then...the said catastrophe would truly happen.
As for him, Lan Xichen, who knew beforehand and had the ability to stop it yet was unable to prevent anything,
...Even in the next life, he wouldn't be able to wash off his guilt!
Thinking about this, Lan Xichen heaved a deep sigh.
'All things considered but..is there a way to keep Wei Wuxian grounded without him resenting the one doing it?'
"GusuLan Sect!"
....
"Xiongzhang?"
"Huh?" Lan Xichen was shaken awake from his reverie.
Furtively swiping his glance around at the people who were also looking at them, he realized it should have been their Sect's turn to enter.
Bringing his hand to calmly adjust his still flawlessly attached Forehead Ribbon, Lan Xichen took another unobtrusive glance from the corner of his eyes to another side of the Square. A bright and charming young man was seen talking and laughing with several female Cultivators.
Shifting his attention back to the front, Lan Xichen smiled and gracefully pretended that he was just preparing himself just now.
The belated response definitely was not because he was in a daze!
Ever since they were 13, at the age when men would start to be regarded as a "young man", GusuLan's Double Jades had been used to the opposite sex's admiration for them. Things like being showered with flowers were common happenings.
The two of them gracefully accepted the gesture, neither bashful, flustered, conceited, nor annoyed.
During this flower shower, Lan Xichen whose focus had been secretly put on a certain someone surnamed Wei -- the current target of his task from the Fairy -- noticed the youth's discreet action as he swiftly threw a flower in their direction.
Since he had been paying attention to him, henceforth when that person suddenly threw something in his direction, Lan Xichen's reflex would be to catch it. Before his brain could discern, his body reacted faster. As fast as the flower was sent out, similarly, he swiftly extended his hand and intercepted the flower before it reached their place.
"Huh?"
Wei Wuxian, who was preparing to pretend chatting with the female cultivator beside him failed to keep his pretense and blurted out a surprised exclamation instead.
Lan Xichen stared at the fresh Peony held in his fingers blankly. When he looked up, he discovered Lan Wangji was also staring at the said flower blankly. Turning his head to look at the perpetrator, Lan Xichen finally saw Wei Wuxian's, however minute it was, surprised reaction.
Shifting his gaze back to the delicate Peony flower on his palm, Lan Xichen belatedly realized that Wei Wuxian should have intended to throw it onto Lan Wangji, just as he usually teased his younger brother in the past.
Despite the goal achieved having been utterly different from the original aim, it wouldn't be Wei Wuxian if his mouth wasn't glossed with honey.
Instead of saying, "Sorry, that isn't meant to be for you, Zewu-Jun," but now since Lan Xichen had caught his flower instead, he would not embarrass the other party.
So he said, "Zewu-Jun, the Ladies give you flowers to express their admiration, therefore, please accept Wei-mou's admiration for Zewu-Jun's gallantry as well." He smiled and cupped his fist, offering a salute to Lan Xichen's direction.
The girls beside him were giggling.
Lan Wangji glared at the flower and then glared at Wei Wuxian. It was unknown what offended him more, the flower bud or the brazen person. However, his expression clearly didn't look good. Perhaps, he took offense upon Wei Wuxian's seemingly being too casual with Lan Xichen, his Senior.
He coldly warned, "Wei Ying!"
The recipient of his frosty glare, on the other hand, had his eyes lit up instead. As if he was suddenly thinking of a good idea.
In reality, indeed, Wei Wuxian was thinking about teasing Lan Wangji and finally throwing him his share of flowers as well. "What? Lan Zhan, do you-,"
At this time, however, Jiang Wanyin cut him off, "Zewu-Jun, Hanguang-Jun, apologies. Don't pay attention to him."
Lan Xichen drifted his gaze from the flower to the young man who was smiling opposite and returned his smile. "It is fine. Well then, Xichen shall accept Wei-Gongzi's appreciation."
He tucked the flower into the small gap between his front collars.
Noticing his younger brother's intense stare at the flower, he pacified him as well, "Do not worry. I won't take offense upon this kind of thing."
He saw Lan Wangji having a complicated gaze in his eyes, but before Lan Xichen could ask him further, he turned his head and shifted his attention away.
After this small episode, Lan Xichen faintly heard Jiang WanYin talking to Wei Wuxian, "Why are you throwing out flowers along with the girls?"
Wei WuXian, "I think he looks nice. Can't I throw a few as well?"
Jiang WanYin pointed his nose into the air. "How old are you? Who do you think you are, still playing tricks like that?"
Wei WuXian looked at him, "You want one too? There's still a lot left on the ground. Should I get one for you?" As he spoke, he pretended to bend down.
Jiang WanYin, "Get lost!"
At this point, Jin GuangYao's voice rang above the square, "The QingheNie Sect's riding formation enters!"
There's a 7-ring target that Cultivators must shoot at using their bow to prove their ability. The closer the arrow embeds to the center, the more privileged their entrance to the Baifeng Mountain will be.
Lan Xichen pulled the string of his bow taut, making a brief preliminary check before shooting the target, absentminded.
His focus was divided between the Square and the dewy fragrance emanating from the fresh Peony on his chest. His hand couldn't help but move to his chest and stroke the petals thoughtfully.
Peony.
A symbol of romantic affection.
His gaze turned to the other side of the Square once again, to the young man smiling brightly as he pinned the flower thrown by Maiden Jiang for her younger brother and Shidi at his front collar.
'To keep Wei Wuxian grounded for months without causing enmity, huh...'
A bold idea was vaguely forming in his mind.
In the Square, the riding formations of the Major Sects were being concluded with LanlingJin Sect as the Host entering the square.
Jin Zixuan showcased his talent and shot at the red center of the target from on top of his horse.
The crowd cheered for him.
Lan Xichen noticed that Wei Wuxian displayed no emotion to speak of on his face as he witnessed Jin Zixuan flaunting his excellence.
Even then, a Jin Cultivator whom Lan Xichen was not familiar with, suddenly came forward and sneered, "If anyone here remains unconvinced, then feel free to try if you can shoot better than ZiXuan!"
Wei Wuxian smiled and seemed to understand the Jin Cultivator was there to provoke him.
The other party didn't hide that he was referring his challenge to Wei Wuxian either. However, upon receiving no response from Wei Wuxian, he smiled in satisfaction.
As the YunmengJiang Sect's riding formation closed in on the target arena, Wei Wuxian turned his head to Lan ShuangBi who were drawing their bows.
"Lan Zhan, want to help me?"
Lan Wangji glanced at him. "What?"
Wei Wuxian grinned. "Can I borrow your Forehead Ribbon?"
The people whose hearts skipped a beat at this proposal weren't just Lan Wangji, but also Lan Xichen.
His hand pulling the bowstring taut became stagnant for a beat. There were sounds of puzzles falling into pieces. It was as if someone had finally broken the Jar of Ideas he had been pickling in his mind.
On the other hand, Lan Wangji's figure appeared to be trembling all over, unknown whether from fury or other emotions. The corners of his eyes inadvertently glanced to his side, at his older brother, and the striking Peony pinned at his chest. His mind recalled the scene of Wei Wuxian throwing the flower to Lan Xichen earlier.
It had always been like this.
To that person, it was so easy for him to tease other people however he wanted.
He had no intention, but others were left in turmoil...
Lan Wangji's voice was hoarse, as if growling from between his tightly clenched teeth, "Wei Wuxian!"
The volume of his voice was not loud, but it caused Wei Wuxian's heart to palpitate.
'This is bad...Did I go too far?'
Wei Wuxian, for the first time, felt a bit timid. Lan Wangji's face was absolutely clouded with fury over there. It seemed like Hanguang-Jun could no longer let the offense that Wei Wuxian had done toward his older brother earlier, and now, also toward himself to just be brushed off.
"Wait a minute! Lan Zhan, on a second note, actually-,"
Before Wei Wuxian tried to save himself, a flurry of white and a soft feeling of cloth falling into his hand had beaten him to it.
On his palm, a 2-finger width moire patterned Forehead Ribbon lay quietly.
"I will lend mine to Wei-Gongzi instead."
Looking up, there was Lan Xichen who had unknowingly steered his horse to approach Wei Wuxian's side and was currently smiling at him at a close distance.
"Do you mind if it is my Forehead Ribbon?"
As Lan Xichen had not only kindly offered his own Ribbon and even took the trouble of sending the Ribbon by himself here, there's no way for Wei Wuxian to refuse, "I don't want yours. I want Lan Zhan's!"
In the end, all he could say as a response was,
"...I don't mind...but, is it alright with you, Zewu-Jun?"
"It is Wei-Gongzi, so I will not mind." Lan Xichen's smile deepened.
Wei Wuxian didn't pay attention to the abrupt silence around him and simply tied the Ribbon over his eyes.
He drew his bow, and after reaching a steady aim, released the arrow.
It perfectly nailed to the red point in the center.
Wei Wuxian hurriedly pulled off the Forehead Ribbon and intended to give it back to Lan Xichen.
If it was Lan Zhan's he would probably play with it for longer, and tease the owner for some more, before finally returning it.
However, it was Lan Xichen's!
It felt like what he was holding was not the smooth fabric but a scalding hot potato.
'It's terrible! Zewu-Jun is really too kind!'
Facing this kind of response, which was too good to be true, Wei Wuxian didn't feel any accomplishment in teasing someone at all. It was like children whose guilts for doing mischief were heightened as they saw the adults smiling at them and playing along with their flimsy excuses.
"Zewu-Jun, thank you for your kindness, here is your-,"
"No need to give it back. Wei-Gongzi, you can keep it."
"Huh??"
"Xiongzhang?!"
Wei Wuxian's bewilderment was immediately broken by Lan Wangji's uncharacteristically loud shout. His eyes drifted to the other side and saw Lan Wangji there, visibly trembling in rage. That Xiao-Guban who fervently sticks to the rules must have been incensed that his older brother decided to play along with Wei Wuxian's mischief.
His attention, however, was soon taken back to Lan Xichen as this Senior of his suddenly grabbed his wrist and tied the Ribbon carefully yet swiftly around it.
The next time Wei Wuxian knew, his wrist had been beautifully wrapped by the spotless white Forehead Ribbon.
Again, before he had time to react to the situation, others had beaten him to it.
"Let go of his hand!"
It was Lan Wangji.
"Wei Wuxian, get back here!"
It was Jiang Cheng.
"ErGe??"
"Xichen??"
It was the other two of Lan Xichen's sworn brothers.
There was also a chorus of other Lan Cultivators crying out desperately, "Zewu-Jun!"
However, their reactions were soon blown away by the thunderous roars of the ladies from the Watching Towers.
For some reason, Wei Wuxian had a feeling that those Ladies didn't cheer for his archery ability, but for something else.
But it should be only his imagination.
For now, he looked at the people with extreme emotions plastered on their faces, and wondered, 'Aren't their reactions a bit too much here?'
Wasn't it just a Forehead Ribbon?
It wasn't like Lan Xichen was offering his chastity on a silver platter.
In contrast, Lan Xichen appeared as if he heard nothing, paying no heed to others' strangely exaggerated interferences.
He said calmly, "This is what it looks like. Xichen will not hide his intention."
'Huh?? What intention?'
As he inwardly reacted to Lan Xichen's words, he saw Lan Wangji had reached their spot in the blink of an eye and Wei Wuxian subconsciously reached for ChenQing. Just in case the enraged Hanguang-Jun would lose control and throw Bichen at his face, he would have to pary it.
To his surprise, before he could move his hand to his waist, it was quickly apprehended by Lan Xichen's other hand.
"Wei-Gongzi, I will be honest with you. The truth is, I have been thinking about you a lot."
That was not a lie.
Lan Xichen had truly been "mulling over things" regarding Wei Wuxian lately.
He had been pondering in his head, on how to keep Wei Wuxian away.
If he merely sent the young man somewhere, however, Wei Wuxian had a pair of legs and a set of eyes. He could find a way to go back on his own.
If he were to keep Wei Wuxian grounded in a fixed place, he wouldn't be able to achieve that without a proper reason. Unfortunately, Lan Xichen was unable to present a good one due to the unreliable information from the Fairy.
Besides, on the off-chance that he did that wrongly, causing an enmity to form between him - consequently the Lan Sect that he led - and Wei Wuxian, that would be disastrous. If Wei Wuxian had lost trust in him and the Lan Sect, in that case, when keeping Wei Wuxian away turned out to be unable to stop whatever calamity that might come, it'd be hard to ask for his cooperation in that future.
Therefore, Lan Xichen had been thinking, if there was a way to keep Wei Wuxian, without the young man feeling like he needed to fight his way out.
A manner in which Wei Wuxian would be less offended with.
So this is it.
Lan Xichen knew that Wei Wuxian was a romantic. He was particularly fond of flaunting his charm to the opposite sex.
He had recognized this trait of his ever since their first interaction at Biling Lake. At that time, even after facing a life-and-death situation with the Waterborne Abyss, Lan Xichen had observed Wei Wuxian still taking the time to fix his appearance through the river water's reflection, and later throw a flirtatious glance at the ladies on the shore.
Today, upon seeing the supposedly bad temper Wei Wuxian treated the female cultivators gently, Lan Xichen was even more convinced in his heart.
Wei Wuxian, has a soft spot for those who may have a romantic affection for him.
Then, so be it.
In the Lan Clan, a life partner was referred to as A Destined Person. The implication was sacred. Meeting them, developing affection for them, and later being able to spend a life together with them was seen as a miracle, a work of Fate.
Lan Xichen was also supposed to wait for his Destined Person.
However,
If casting his Destiny away meant he could save the world,
Then Lan Xichen would devote even his whole life and future to achieving it!
Lan Xichen once again took a deep breath to reaffirm his resolution, clenching Wei Wuxian's bonded wrist even tighter.
His stare was intense.
Wei Wuxian who was caught off guard, subconsciously parroted, "Thinking about me?"
Inadvertently, his gaze fell upon Lan Xichen's face.
The dark shadows under his eyes were strikingly obvious in contrast to his fair complexion. The slightly swollen bags under his eyes were also incongruent with the overall jade-like skin. No matter how one sees it, the man looked like he hadn't slept well for quite a long time, or was being plagued by a tormenting thought, wearing down his spirit.
Lan Xichen looked at him in the eye and proposed,
"Wei-Gongzi,"
"Hm?"
"I will give you this Forehead Ribbon of mine..."
"Wait, Zewu-Jun,"
To tell the truth as well, actually, I'm not in urgent need of a Forehead Ribbon!
Again, Wei Wuxian was unable to say that.
Lan Xichen, regardless, continued, "In return, I would like you to do me a favor."
"What kind of favor?"
His voice was sincere, and Lan Xichen intended it from the bottom of his heart, "I wish you will stay by my side."
Wei Wuxian, "!!"
Shifting his gaze toward his younger brother, the other Sect Members, and then toward Jiang Cheng and other YunmengJiang Cultivators, he firmly declared,
"Wangji, Sect Leader Jiang, my apologies, but until I gain the approval of my admiration toward Wei-Gongzi from both GusuLan Sect and YunmengJiang Sect, until that day comes, I, Lan Xichen, shall not return to the Cultivation World!"
It was unknown where he procured it from, or perhaps it was to be expected that Lan Xichen had prepared it, but before anyone was able to react, Lan Xichen had thrown a Teleportation Talisman to the ground, engulfing both his and Wei Wuxian's figures in the greenish light, vanishing from the Baifeng Mountain Square in less than a breath.
Everyone was momentarily astounded by such a sudden turn of events.
Even Wei Wuxian himself couldn't stop himself from shaking his head and praising, 'Such a flashy way to announce an elopement! Well done!'
That said,
'But as the related party, I don't remember agreeing to this elopement yet, Zewu-Jun!'