The world is still such a bright place

Chapter 66

Wei Wuxian could not sleep well during the night, partly because he was still worried about how things could go wrong because of him joining the night hunt party, but mostly because of his overwhelming excitement. He had always been somewhat sad when he had been saying good bye to Lan Zhan before one of his night hunts. It was true that his brother had never failed to invite him, however until today, he had no courage to actually come along, even as an observer.

He was now staying at the main gate of the Cloud Recesses, his spiritual sword in hand. He had of course learned how to fly it, though he never went on such a long journey. Since he could not see, Lan Zhan had established a special arrangement for him. He could try following just his friends' and brothers' spiritual energies, it could however prove dangerous if he strayed from the right path for some reason. So the Second Jade had prepared a spiritual rope for each time they would practice flying. He was now holding one end of it, the other one was in Wei Wuxian's hand. This way, his brother could even catch him should he stumble and start falling down.

Wei Wuxian was so excited he could not stay in one place anymore and he was bouncing up and down, waiting for his uncle to finish wishing them good luck. Finally, they got onto their swords and he let himself be guided by the gentle and subtle directions passed through the rope. Wind was playing with his hair and he found it very pleasant and extremely liberating. He hardly realized they have already left the Cloud Recesses, the place he did not set one foot out of in almost ten years.

Luckily, everything went fine and they have landed earlier than he had anticipated. He was not even tired, and they also had plenty of time to scout the surrounding before the walking corpses would show up at the nightfall.

Wei Wuxian stayed back with Jin Zixuan and Lan Zhan while Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng went to the nearby village to ask for more information. He was sitting on the ground, enjoying the warm sunlight and the cool breeze. "Somehow, it is the same as back home in the back mountains, but at the same time, it is also totally different... I cannot believe I am going to participate in a real night hunt. I am so excited! I hope I will not be a burden or a distraction for the others; they have assured me repeatedly that everything would be fine, I am however not as confident as them...

I had never had an opportunity to test my skills in a real fight, what if they are not high enough? No! I cannot think like this; I just have to do my best while being careful to not swing my sword in the direction of my companions. It will surely be fine, I know their spiritual energies and I have no problems reading them. I have even sparred for a while with everyone yesterday just to make sure I remembered them. And I know how resentful energy feels, I will not confuse them. Yes... everything is going to be just fine, I should enjoy myself instead of worrying. It is such a rare opportunity; I am not going to waste it."

His determination gathered and his worries pushed to the back of his mind, Wei Wuxian jumped up to his feet and carefully went to where he could feel Jin Zixuan was standing. Ever since they had confessed to each other, he and the Lanling Jin sect heir had been steadily growing closer. He was now fine with having his hands held and also with being hugged, although he was not sure he was ready to go any further than that just yet, Jin Zixuan understood and he did not push him.

He reached out his hand and tentatively touched where he thought the other's hand was. He had only missed his intended target by a few inches, grabbing the Lanling Jin sect heir's forearm instead. Silently berating himself for his mistake, which could not have been avoided seeing that he was blind, he quickly corrected himself and took hold of Jin Zixuan's hand instead. He grinned widely when his touch was reciprocated.

Jin Zixuan's voice was only slightly worried when he asked: "Is everything alright, Wuxian? Are you ready for the night hunt? It is still only midday, and Jiang Wanyin and Lan Xichen did not come back from the town yet, we still have some time."

"Mn, I am fine" hummed Wei Wuxian in response and stepped a little closer to the Lanling Jin sect heir. He could feel that Lan Zhan, bless his ever so considerate brother, had just left the clearing they were staying in, they were now alone.

He decided to use the opportunity and slowly passed his free hand around Jin Zixuan's waist. He rejoiced when the other did the same. The Lanling Jin sect heir tugged at his hand a bit and prompted him to follow, sitting down with their backs against a tree. They drew even closer and Wei Wuxian snuggled against the other's chest, Jin Zixuan started to gently stroke his hair.

They stayed like that for a while, both silent, just enjoying the shared moment. Then Jin Zixuan spoke, his voice soft and somewhat sleepy and dreamy: "You know, Wuxian, we are now not too far from my home. I wish I could introduce you to my parents and finally start to court you properly. Perhaps they would even agree if we wanted to become engaged... although it is perhaps a little too soon after the last engagement was broken. That is such a shame..."

His voice disappeared into nothingness and the next moment, Jin Zixuan's hand stopped playing with Wei Wuxian's hair and fell on his shoulder, the Lanling Jin sect heir apparently fell asleep.

The Gusu Lan sect disciple was getting sleepy as well. He felt great; the sun was warm, the birds were singing happily, lulling him to sleep, and he was being embraced by the one he loved. What could he wish for anymore?

Jin Zixuan's words were replaying in his mind while his consciousness was slipping away from him: "Why did Zixuan sounded like that? Almost regretful and sad, as if it was all only a wish that could never be granted... I would also like to meet his parents and have our union officially acknowledged and blessed... I am just not sure that I am ready to go back to the Koi Tower.

But what could go wrong? I will have Zixuan by my side the whole time, no one will bully me anymore. No one will even dare to throw things at me or beat me up when I would be walking around with the Lanling Jin sect heir... If I ask, I am sure Lan Zhan would also come with us. So why the hell not? I really want to go visit Zixuan's home..."

Wei Wuxian fell asleep and for once, his dreams were not filled with the nightmares of his time in the Koi Tower. Instead, he was remembering all the happy and funny times he had spent there and all the people who were nice to him and helped him.

He had long forgotten that his past was not filled only with bad experience, there had been good times too, he had just been too caught up in the painful memories to be able to remember clearly before now. Unconsciously, he smiled from his sleep.