Unruly (Between a rock and a hard place 4)

Chapter 9

Lan Qiren did not lose any time to explain the situation as he still hoped to make it back to the Cloud Recesses before curfew. He turned towards Jiang Fengmian and started warning him about the situation at hand. Although he would have wanted to perhaps use even stronger words and outright complain about one of the Yunmeng Jiang sect disciple's behaviour, he had his dignity. He would not admit that he was unable and unwilling to deal with Wei Wuxian any longer.

"Fengmian, my old friend, I come here in person to inform you about the unacceptable behaviour of your ward as I foresee it badly affecting your sect's reputation if a word of it got out. Wei Wuxian had been causing trouble during his entire stay in the Cloud Recesses, but that, I could overlook and correct myself. I had hoped he would learn from the punishments assigned to him but things only got worse over time. This last stunt of his is crossing all the lines.

Not only had he tried to break nearly all Gusu Lan sect rules, he also incited our own disciples to do the same. He has been a bad influence on everyone, I even fear that some other sects may start complaining about him as well because their disciples would become too wild and undisciplined. He has no respect for any authority, he is loud and an incorrigible troublemaker, and the worst of all, he is behaving shamelessly and unacceptably in public.

Fengmian, I came here to honour our old friendship. You have to discipline your head disciple before it would be too late and the Yunmeng Jiang sect would suffer because of his unseemly conduct."

He took out the letter he had prepared and slipped it on the table towards Jiang Fengmian before continuing: "I have written everything here. I of would course not dare to suggest you are not capable of disciplining your own ward, but out of the goodness of my heart, I wanted to help you in understanding how to best keep him in line as the Gusu Lan sect has many years of experience in disciplining its disciples properly.

Moreover, because of his bad influence, I have decided that Wei Wuxian should not stay in the Cloud Recesses anymore and should receive his punishment here, where he would not be able to be so shameless publically. I advise you to put him into seclusion for the time being, until he learns how to behave properly and not tarnish the Yunmeng Jiang sect's reputation. I would hate for you to have to deal with something like that because of him. He had already caused an incident in the Cloud Recesses which I have to take care of, better be safe than sorry on your side."

Jiang Fengmian looked at him with questioning eyes. He must have been wondering what exactly had happened in the Cloud Recesses. However, Lan Qiren would never be able to say any of it aloud. That was why he had all written it in the letter. Now he only gestured to it: "I have detailed everything in there. It is so terrible that I cannot beer to say it aloud."

Lan Qiren had spoken a lot but he felt lighter now. At last, he would be able to only deal with his misguided nephews and lead them towards the path of proper conduct again. He would not have to constantly keep watch on Wei Wuxian.

He looked at Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan in turn, to see how they reacted to the news. The Yunmeng Jiang sect leader was visibly taken aback and strangely aggrieved. He was clutching Lan Qiren's letter tight that there was a real danger he would crumble it before even being able to read it. Lan Qiren had expected a similar reaction, he had already known that Jiang Fengmian had always been way too lenient with the boy; and now he was asking him to finally step up and put him in line. A hard to accomplish task indeed. It would have been even for him personally, not that he had any desire to take care of it. The boy was way too similar to Cangse Sanren for his taste.

As for Yu Ziyuan, her reaction had not surprised Lan Qiren either. She was positively seething with rage. Her hands were clutching the edges of the table and Zidian was emitting mountains of sparkles from her finger. Lan Qiren was amazed, he could not understand how it could be that nothing was on fire yet and that Yu Ziyuan's hand was not gruesomely burned from their sheer amount. Then again, Zidian was her first class spiritual weapon, so it most probably could not be used as a tool for fire ignition.

It was clear that she was holding herself back, only barely though. Lan Qiren felt satisfied at once; if Jiang Fengmian would prove to be reluctant to carry out the prescribed punishment and keep Wei Wuxian properly disciplined from now on, Yu Ziyuan would take matters into her own hands. Seeing her right now, Lan Qiren actually pitied the boy a little bit. But at least he would learn his lesson sooner.

Lan Qiren was aware of Yu Ziyuan's temper and reputation, and in his younger days, he had actually sometimes been quite intimidated by her. Yes, now that she was aware of Wei Wuxian's troublemaking personality, she was sure to teach a boy a lesson he would not forget and keep his leash short. It was well taken care of, Lan Qiren mused, satisfied that he would not have to hopefully see Wei Wuxian ever again.

As if Yu Ziyuan had thought he needed some reassurance in this field, she promised in a dark tone: "Lan Qiren, do not fear, we will make sure that my husband's ward is taught discipline properly from now on. Thank you for inconveniencing yourself and coming to inform us in person. We greatly appreciate it."

Lan Qiren nodded to show his acknowledgement. It had really been quite bothersome to come here but it would at least serve the intended purpose. Now however, it was time for him to hurry back to the Cloud Recesses. He would have to go see Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen the first thing tomorrow morning and assure himself that they could still be saved from a life of depravity and rule breaking.

He stood up, followed by Yu Ziyuan and a little reluctantly looking Jiang Fengmian. It seemed like the Yunmeng Jiang sect leader still needed some time to digest the news. Lan Qiren himself would have at least needed it if he would ever be in his shoes. He could not even imagine what he would have done if someone had come to him like this, completely out of the blue, and told him that Lan Wangji was beyond saving. He would have been aggrieved for sure.

Lan Qiren excused himself, cutting goodbyes short as he was already in a hurry. He would have to push himself to arrive to the Cloud Recesses before the curfew. His job here was done and he did not want anything more than to go back to his calm and peaceful days when he had not known that someone like Wei Wuxian ever existed.