Together

4. Classes

"Wei Wuxian! I told you not to cause trouble!" Jiang Cheng said angrily. Unable to bear him anymore, Wei Wuxian smacked him. "How is asking someone their name even causing trouble?! Seriously, Jiang Cheng! Why are you so dense?!" Wei Wuxian replied angrily, although he did not shout like Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng was about to say something but somehow wasn't able to part his lips. His expression turned shocked and hurriedly pointed at his lips to Wei Wuxian. "What happened? What's going on?!" Wei Wuxian asked him with a worried expression. "Don't worry Young Master. He is under the Gusu Lan Clan's silence spell." The guard answered. "Silence spell? What is that?" Wei Wuxian asked the guard. "It is a technique used by the Lan Clan to silence someone. It seals their lips together." The guard replied. Hearing this, both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng widened their eyes. "Does this mean he cannot talk again?" Wei Wuxian asked the guard. "Oh no young master. He can talk again after 30 minutes. The spell will lift itself unless he tries to break it by force." The guard replied. Wei Wuxian relaxed slightly however Jiang Cheng was still shocked. "Young Masters, please do freshen up for today's classes." The guard said. "We will show you your rooms now."

Another boy in white robes walked towards them and showed them their rooms. After discarding their things in the room and washing their faces to freshen themselves up, by which the time of the silence spell was over, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng made their way to the lecture hall. As Wei Wuxian started taking in his surroundings, he noticed the boy from this morning, Lan Wangji, sitting in the front row with his back as straight as possible. He looked straight ahead, waiting for the class to start.

Lan Qiren entered the room with extreme authority and started the class. Although most of the people were attentively listening, Wei Wuxian leaned forward and forced himself not to yawn after 5 minutes. Supporting his head on his hand, he nearly dozed off until he caught a glimpse of Lan Wangji who was sitting as straight as a rod. Wei Wuxian was stunned. 'How can he be so attentive for something this boring?' Unknown to him, a small smile formed on his lips again as he continued looking at Lan Wangji.

Lan Qiren, realizing that Wei Wuxian was looking at Lan Wangji instead of focusing on the lecture, instantly saw red. "Wei Wuxian!" Lan Qiren shouted, making Wei Wuxian almost unwillingly turn his head. "Here." Wei Wuxian said as he raised his hand and stood up. "Since you have no need for my lectures, let me ask you: Are yao, demons, ghosts and monsters the same?" Lan Qiren asked. "No." Wei Wuxian replied. "How are they different?" "Yao are formed from living non-human beings, demons are formed from living humans, ghosts are formed from dead humans while monsters are formed from dead non-human beings." "'Yao' and 'Monsters' are often confused. Give an example that distinguishes the two." "That's easy." Wei Wuxian said as he pointed at a tree outside the classroom. "For example, if that tree outside reads books, gets tainted with energy, cultivates into a conscious being and causes mischief, it will become a 'Yao'. If I took an axe and cut in the middle, so that only a dead tree stump is left, and then it cultivates into a conscious being, it would be a 'monster'." "What was the profession of the progenitor of the QingheNie Sect?" "A butcher." "The heraldry of the LanlingJin sect is white peony. What type of peony is it?" "Sparks Amidst Snow." "Who was the first in the cultivation world to focus on the rise of his clan than sect?" "The founder of the Qishan Wen Sect, Wen Mao." Hearing his answers, both Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng smiled, although Lan Wangji's was almost unnoticeable. However, Lan Qiren simply scoffed. "As a disciple of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect, you might have learned all these a long time ago and know them by heart. So, there is nothing to feel proud of even if you answered all of them correctly. Let me ask you again: There is an executioner with parents, a wife and children, but before he died, he executed more than one hundred people. He suddenly died in public and to punish him for his deeds, he was left on the streets for seven days. With the repressed energy of resentment, he started to haunt and kill. What should be done?"

This time, Wei Wuxian didn't answer right away. Touching his chin, he lowered his head and started thinking. "Stop looking at him!" Lan Qiren shouted at the others. "You also think. And don't open your books!" Everyone pondered on what should be done. A dead body left on the streets for seven days definitely meant that the executioner turned into a fierce corpse or ferocious ghost, which meant that the question was hard to solve. After a few moments, Wei Wuxian still didn't answer. Hence, Lan Qiren spoke again, "Wangji, you can tell him what should be done."