Beyond Death

Extra 6

The remaining snow was mottled, and the brown turf and gray thin rocks on the sunny side of the hillside had gradually appeared. But the snow on the shadow side was still two or three inches thick, which had long been solidified into hard snow lumps, only waiting for the spring sun to take three or five days to turn it into spring water that nourished the thick soil.

The sentry was located on this shady pass. On a moonless night, relying on the starlight reflected by the snow, the subtle movements within ten or twenty feet could be barely seen . But standing on the pass, looking far away, there was gleaming fire in the enemy camp under the mountain five miles away.

Lan Wangji's white boots stepped on the semi-wet muddy dirt trail slowly and walked towards the pass where the sentry was located. Although it was already spring, the breath became into ice on this cold mountain. The wind was strong. The Gusu Lan's cloak made of pure white fur blocked the harsh cold wind from head to toe, but the hilt of the Bichen on his back had already condensed a layer of frost.

A piece of wolf skin was padded on the rock under Wei Wuxian, barely isolating the cold and dampness of the underground. He was wrapped in a black and gray variegated cloak stitched together by unknown leather, and leaned lazily on an exposed rock, Staring motionlessly at the foot of the mountain. Hearing the footsteps behind him, without turning his head, he asked: "Lan Zhan?"

"Yeah." Lan Wangji replied in a low voice, walked to Wei Wuxian's side, sat sideways on another stone, and took out a small bronze stove with an eagle-faced eagle face from the cloak.

Wei Wuxian turned his head and watched Lan Wangji place the stove next to his feet with a pair of well-knotted slender hands, injecting spiritual power, the warm red light radiated from the hollow of the stove, soft and not dazzling. Immediately, warmth covered most of his body.

"It was New Year's Eve, why are you back again?" Wei Wuxian involuntarily stretched out his frozen hands from his cloak, approached the stove, moved his knuckles, and felt the seductive warmth closer. The red light reflected his complexion with a hazy rosy, like the flying clouds on the cheeks in the evening on a sunny day.

"During festivals, need to be more cautious in deploying defenses." Lan Wangji replied faintly, looking away from Wei Wuxian's face to Wen's barracks under the mountain. In the snow, faintly visible flags of the sun danced in the wind .

"Yes, no one knows whether Wen dogs will attack on New Year's Day." Wei Wuxian clenched his fists bitterly. During this year, due to the increasing reputation of the Yunmeng Jiang clan and the support of the Gusu Lan clan, the battlefield gradually expanded northward from the hinterland of Yunmeng. In the past month, they had entered a see-saw state and repeatedly fought several tough battles on the mountain.

"A few days ago, I heard that you went back to Gusu, thinking that you won't be back until the next year." Wei Wuxian turned to look at Lan Wangji's profile, smiled slightly, and said: "I didn't expect to see you on New Year's Eve." The voice sounded brisk in the frozen snow.

Lan Wangji looked back at him, the red light of the stove added a few indescribable enthusiasm to his cold and shallow eyes. He did not speak immediately. Seeing that Wei Wuxian seemed to be waiting for him to answer, Lan Wangji held the corner of his mouth faintly, and then asked, "How can you know that it is me, since you haven't looked back?" Hearing what Wei Wuxian said just now, it seemed that he was very happy to see him, but he couldn't believe it was true, so he wanted to test Wei Wuxian secretly.

Wei Wuxian let out a sigh of relief, as if he was unintentional and as if he was laughing, and said quietly, "Ah, even if I die and become into ashes, I can recognize your footsteps." After speaking, the corners of his mouth had a smile that was too late to hide.

Lan Wangji stared at his smile blankly, and silently bloomed a flower in his heart. Unexpectedly, a temptation that he was not prepared to receive a response would receive unexpected feedback. Although Wei Wuxian's words could not be interpreted as the love that he wanted, it was enough to comfort his secret lovesickness.

Maybe Lan Wangji's speechless gaze made Wei Wuxian discover a trace of unscrupulous indiscretion from the exhilaration that he blurted out. He held his mouth, flashing his eyelashes, wanting to take back a bit of face. ,He hurriedly said: "No, no! I'm talking nonsense! In fact, it's because only your steps in our camp are slightest. Heihei."

Lan Wangji lowered his eyes, covered the seemingly non-smiling expression in his eyes, turned his head in silence, and said in his heart: Isn't this the same?

"Hey, Lan Zhan, what is this stove? It doesn't need to be lit and so warm." Wei Wuxian changed the topic. He felt the embarrassment gone, and asked about the stove next to his foot.

"This stove is named Fire Owl Longevity, which is used to keep warm during the night watch." Lan Wangji replied.

"Fortunately, you come back and be on duty tonight . Thanks to you, or I will freeze soon after later." Wei Wuxian made an exaggerated expression, rubbing both hands on his cheeks.

He suddenly thought of something, and widened his eyes and asked Lan Wangji: "I remember, it seems that when I am on duty the night, you are also on duty the night most of the time? Such a coincidence?" "I feel same. When I am arranged to night shift, you are here most of time." Lan Wangji also felt strange. He would coincidentally choose the night that Wei Wuxian be on duty; But when he was on duty, Wei Wuxian often happened to be on duty too, which was very strange.

Wei Wuxian shut up immediately. Both of them looked at the Wen's camp at the bottom of the mountain unnaturally, letting the mountain breeze wrapped in fine snow blowing towards their faces. The fire owl longevity furnace exuded heat quietly in the middle. The soft red light clearly reflected the red and white faces of them two.

Finally, Wei Wuxian broke the silence in the cold snow and asked: "What do you guys do on New Year's Eve, Gusu?"

"Clan dinner." Lan Wangji replied. Before Yunshen was burnt down, the whole clan members gathered together on New Year's Eve and had a clan dinner. And then from the head of the clan, they sent blessings to each other, looking forward to higher cultivation and more prosperous clan. As soon as the new year came, they wouldl go to the ancestral hall to worship ancestors every year. This year, it was in the Shooting-Sun war, and the whole clan's young were fighting everywhere. They could not reunite even on New Year's Eve.

"We Yunmeng, on New Year's Eve, in addition to letting all the people in the Lotus Dock have a New Year's Eve dinner, we will put several big cauldrons on the playground and invite neighbors to eat a variety of food. Uncle Jiang didn't let us drink in ordinary days, but on New Year's Eve, we could have a good drink. No one stopped us. Usually the Sixth Junior Brother must be the first to get drunk, and Mrs. Yu would have a black face every time she saw it, but she couldn't scold, it's so laughable..."

Lan Wangji quietly listened to Wei Wuxian talking about Lotus Dock's New Year's Eve. He listened to him from eating to playing, from the Senior and Junior brothers to the grandmother who sells fried noodles. His voice became lower and lower, and his head lowered. In the end he was relying on the rock and fell asleep.

Lan Wangji carefully tightened the cloak from head to toe for him, preventing the wind from entering, and then moved the Fire Owl Longevity Furnace closer to him, and finally pulled out one pill from the mouth of the eagle-faced owl head on the stove. He put the pill next to his body, and then wrapped his cloak tightly, standing there like a rock.

This year's New Year's Eve was extremely long. When Wei Wuxian opened his eyes, he happened to meet Lan Wangji's gentle eyes. The sun light gradually climbed up in the distance, and the new year was here.

Writer: Shenfen(China), https://shenfen283.lofter.com/
Translator: Chou Langshi, for more stories and comics, please visit https://www.patreon.com/wangxianlove