Who You Are

Chapter 110 - Intoxicating

The young waiter was true to his words. Most of the other liquor shops on this street had closed already, but their banner was still up and their lights were still on. The waiter was outside, eating from a large bowl.

Seeing them, he beamed, "You're back! We kept our word, didn't we? Did you two see anything?"

Wei Wuxian laughed as he answered. With Lan Wangji, he walked back to the table they sat during the day. With liquor jars crowding on the table and by his feet, he spoke, "Right, what were we talking about? Suddenly interrupted by the gravedigger, I still don't know how Chang Ping died."

Lan Wangji continued the explanation with simple, direct words.

Xue Yang, Xiao XingChen, and Song Lan left one by one. Some disappearing, some passing away. Quite a few years after the incident passed, one day, Chang Ping and the remainder of his clan's members died overnight due to lingchi. Moreover, Chang Ping's eyes were dug out.

This time, nobody could find out who the murderer was. After all, everyone apart of it had vanished. However, there was one thing that could be determined. From the wounds, it could be verified that the sword that was used to lingchi them had been Xiao XingChen's sword, Shuanghua.

The bowl of liquor that Wei Wuxian was holding stopped in front of his mouth. He was shocked by this turn of events, "He was lingchi-ed by Xiao XingChen's sword? Then was he the one who did it?"

Lan Wangji, "Xiao XingChen had disappeared. There were no conclusive evidence."

Wei Wuxian, "If he couldn't be found alive, then has anyone tried soul-summoning?"

Lan Wangji, "Yes. Nothing was found."

Nothing was found. He either didn't die, or his soul had dissolved. As a someone who specialized in the area, Wei Wuxian had to comment on the matter, "Things like soul-summoning, you can't rely on them too much. Time, place, and person all play a part in it, so of course it'd sometimes go wrong. I'm guessing that a lot of people think that it was Xiao XingChen's revenge? Hanguang Jun, what about you? What do you think?"

Lan Wangji slowly shook his head, "One should not comment without understanding the whole picture."

Wei Wuxian admired his attitude and principles a lot. Grinning as he drank another gulp of liquor, he heard Lan WangJi speak again, "What about you?"

Wei Wuxian, "Lingchi is a type of torture. Its meaning involves "punishment", anyways. Digging out the eyes also makes it quite hard not to associate it with Xiao XingChen, who also dug out his eyes. Thus, there's nothing wrong with these people guessing that it was Xiao XingChen's revenge. However," he thought about how to phrase it, "I think that, in the beginning, Xiao XingChen never asked for Chang Ping's gratitude when he first stepped in. I..."

Before he finished thinking of what should follow the "I", the waiter eagerly brought over two dishes of peanuts. Having been interrupted, Wei Wuxian didn't need to continue anymore.

He looked up at Lan Wangji and smiled, "Hanguang Jun, why are you looking at me like this? I'm not saying anything. Just like you, I don't understand the whole picture, so I'm not going to comment either. You're right. Before knowing all of the turns and twists, causes and effects, nobody should presume anything about anything. I only ordered five jars, but you bought five more jars for me, so I'm afraid I won't be able to finish all of them by myself. How about if you drink with me? This isn't the Cloud Recesses, so it doesn't violate anything, right?"

He had already prepared himself to be bluntly rejected, but who knew that Lan Wangji replied, "I will drink."

...