He Smells Good

Chapter XXVIII

"Urk—!"

Another unfortunate soul was sent flying towards what could now be called a pool of youths, looking devoid of life, who, one after another, had just suffered the same fate: fighting spirit driven by their naïve stream of thoughts as though they were still wet behind the ears and, in the end, falling prey after exchanging only a few moves with the timid and weak-looking sheep who, turns out, was actually a demon in disguise, shrewd enough to lead his opponents into thinking he wasn't anyone to look out for with his frail stature and let their guards down!

The pool either lied on the ground with pained groans and intermittent breaths or just sat there like statues frozen in time, minds occupied with who-knows-what, mouths hanging slightly open, quietly looking at the distant sun rising.

"Why don't we all come out for a breather?" suggested Bailing Ouyang Sect's head disciple, Ouyang ZiZhen, the moment they all finished breakfast earlier. He emptied the remainder of his tray, wiped his hands and mouth with the handkerchief he whipped out of his pocket, and then faced the rest of the guests, his hands clasped together as he looked at them with eagerness. The smile on his face and the crescent eyes it formed shot arrows of warmth into the hearts of many.

And so, everyone agreed. They were then brought to a field that would've taken only five minutes if they had ridden on their swords. But Ouyang ZiZhen insisted that going on foot would be much more preferable since walking amongst the exquisiteness of nature would supposedly clear their minds. Hence, ten minutes were added to the expected five-minute trip.

They were then greeted with an empty grass flat after leaving the forest of flowers. The sunlight was cloaked by the trees. Only a couple of light beams managed to seep through the holes of the leaves intertwined with each other so the temperature was perfect and mild.

Upon arriving, each disciple scattered around to do their own, of course with the head disciple's permission. Some used this time to practice with their swords, some admired the picturesque scenery, some continued to walk around, some quietly played with their friends, while some meditated, one of which was Lan WangJi.

Wei WuXian who had only been occasionally sneaking glances along the way found himself drawing nearer and nearer until he was finally seated beside the rock the older was meditating on. It was flat on top and had a soft texture so it wasn't at all uncomfortable. From a distance, he found a bush of bright yellow flowers, and there rose the idea of spending the rest of his free time making a flower crown. Tossing his sword aside like a ragged doll, he rushed to pick up those flowers.

The onlookers could only hear the sword's pitiful cries after being mistreated by its owner.

Nie HuaiSang was one of those who chose to admire the scenery, having no other idea of things to do. He planned to go play around with his Wei-xiong but the older already ran off to Second Young Master Lan. Jiang WanYin followed him, as he had no idea what he should do. He looked as though he was doing the same thing for similar reasons, but his eyes were glued on his senior brother in case he would cause trouble again.

Wei WuXian skipped back to his spot, turned his back to Lan WangJi, and leaned on the rock whereas his head was snugly lying on the other's lap. The latter didn't seem to mind at all and didn't make any gestures of trying to push the other away nor was his expression that of helpless irritation. He even broke out of his meditation, discreetly shifting his legs to help the other find a more comfortable position before closing his eyes and assuming his aloof and otherworldly quality of air once again.

If it weren't for the boy innocently making flower crowns lying on his lap, they would've believed if someone were to tell them that the person with the forehead ribbon was an untouchable immortal.