A Flower Of Youth

Chapter 6

"What is your name' and 'How did you die' are the two easiest Inquiry questions to learn. Repeat the notes after me."

Lan Sizhui nods and watches Hanguang-jun carefully, studying the way his fingers move over the strings as he does every single session. He plays the notes back. After the lesson, he practices in his room. When he finally finished, it was almost 9. Jingyi still hasn't returned back to the dorm. He hadn't been at dinner either, nor had Jin Ling and Ouyang Zizhen. When Zewu-jun had inquired about it, he simply informed him that his friend was most likely in the guest quarters.

Is he still in the guest quarters room? What is he up to?

Against his better judgement, Sizhui leaves his room and heads towards the guest disciple quarters.

"Jingyi!" he hisses at the entrance to Jin Ling's guest room. "Are you there?"

A loud crash from the inside answers him, then the sound of someone fumbling to open the door.

"Jingyi," Sizhui groans in exasperation. "Please do not tell me you drank." He goes inside the room and quickly shuts the door behind him.

"Sorry," Zizhen hiccups from the other side of the room. Sizhui sighs.

"I could have covered for Jingyi, but I can't cover for all of you....How about...we just all take the punishment together?"

"But Sizhui!" Jingyi protests. "You're a role model among all the younger disciples and Zewu-jun, Master Lan and Hanguang-jun dote on you. What would they think?"

"I can't be perfect all the time. Besides, we got into all sorts of trouble when we were younger. Why should that change now?"

"Who got who into trouble?" Jin Ling snorts. Zizhen lets out a laugh from the back of the room.

"Where did you even get alcohol? Did you sneak off to town while I was having my lessons with Hanguang-jun?"

The guilty looks that the other boys exchange answers his question.

"Jin Ling and Jingyi were arguing and they both challenged one another to a contest. I didn't want to miss the fun," Zizhen says sheepishly.

"What am I going to do with all of you?" Sizhui groans. "Young Master Jin, what will Sect leader Jiang say when he gets a letter saying that you got punished?"

Jin Ling's face pales when Sizhui says this.

"I didn't account for that," He rasps. "Jiujiu is going to break my legs..."

"If we clean up this mess before morning, we should be fine," Sizhui says decisively. The other boys nod in agreement and start cleaning up the jars on the table. Turns out though, it wasn't easy to clean up every last bit of their mess before all of Cloud Recesses woke up at 5am. Within one shichen, one of the older disciples had come knocking at their doors just as they hid the last of the jars under the floorboard.

"Lan Sizhui," The disciple, Lan Ying says sternly. "And Lan Jingyi. What are you doing in the guest quarter disciples?"

"We...were hanging out last night and forgot to return back to our own quarters," Lan Jingyi says quietly. Lan Sizhui's flicker over to look at his friend. It wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't entirely true either.

"And why do I smell alcohol?"

The four of them gulp a little too loudly and that is enough for Lan Ying to send them to Master Lan and Zewu-jun. Lan Sizhui is relieved to see that Hanguang-jun wasn't there. He wouldn't know how to face him.