Who You Are Book 2

Chapter 34 - Empathy with Chifeng Zun Pt. 7

After such a wonderful night, Wuxian and Wangji woke up very well refreshed and rested. They met up with everyone in the screening room after breakfast to start the memories back up.

...

A series of clamor suddenly came from the other end of the hall. Wei Wuxian heard his own raging shout, "Jin Zixuan! Don't you forget about what things you said and what things you did? What do you mean by this, now?!"

Wei Wuxian remembered, "So it was this time!"

On the other side, Jin Zixuan also fumed, "I was asking Sect Leader Jiang, not you! The one I was asking about was also Maiden Jiang. How is that related to you?!"

Wei Wuxian, "Well said! How is my shijie related to you? Back then, who was the one whose eyes grew on the back of their head?"

Jin Zixuan, "Sect Leader Jiang—this is our sect's flower banquet, and this is your sect's person! Are you going to look after him or not?!"

Lan Xichen, " Why have they begun to argue again?"

Lan WangJi looked over there, yet his feet were still stuck to the ground. A while later, as if he was finally determined to do something, he stepped forward.

He was about to go over when Jiang Cheng's voice came, "Wei Wuxian, you can just shut your mouth. Young Master Jin, I'm sorry. My sister is doing quite well. Thank you for your concern. We can talk about this next time."

Wei Wuxian laughed coldly, "Next time? There is no next time! Whether or not she's doing well isn't any of his business, either! Who does he think he is?"

He turned around and started to leave. Jiang Cheng shouted, "Get back here! Where are you going?"

Wei Wuxian waved his hands, "Anywhere is fine! Just don't let me see that face of his. I never wanted to come, anyway. You can deal with whatever's here yourself."

Having been abandoned by Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng's face immediately clouded over. Jin Guangyao had been busying himself with all sorts of things in and out of the place. He faced all guests with smiles, all problems with action.

Seeing that something went wrong over here, he emerged again, "Young Master Wei, please wait!"

Hands behind his back, Wei Wuxian walked at a fast pace. His face was dark, and he didn't pay attention to anyone. Lan Wangji walked a step toward him, but before he had a chance to speak, the two of them brushed shoulders and parted.

Jin Guangyao couldn't catch up with Wei Wuxian. He stomped his foot on the ground and sighed, "And there he goes. Sect Leader Jiang, just... just what should I do?"

Jiang Cheng stowed away the clouds on his face, "Don't mind him. Look at how impolite he is. He's used to such rude behavior at home."

He then began to converse with Jin Zixuan.

Watching the two, Wei Wuxian let out a long sigh in silence. The good thing was that Nie Mingjue wasn't too interested in the things going on here. He quickly looked away, and Wei Wuxian wasn't able to see them anymore.

...

"Back then, during empathy, I didn't want to believe how much my attitude had changed. After seeing it for myself, I now believe it. I'm sorry for how I acted back then," Wei Wuxian said to everyone.

"It's okay, A'Xian," Lan Xichen said, "resentful can really tamper with someone's emotions."

"I just...I'm sorry...Jin Zixuan, I'm sorry," Wei Wuxian told him.

Jin Zixuan looked at Wei Wuxian a bit in shock. He wasn't expecting for Wei Wuxian to apologize to him, and for what, "why?"

"I'm sorry for how I treated you," Wei Wuxian told him.

"I wasn't exactly being all that kind to you either," Jin Zixuan said, "but I forgive you, especially for being there for Jin Ling, no matter how much he nagged at you."

Wei Wuxian nodded with a smile and turned back to the screen.

...

The Qinghe Nie Sect's residence, the Unclean Realm—

Nie Mingjue was sitting on a mat seat. A guqin lay horizontally before Lan Xichen as he brushed his fingers over the strings. When the song finished, Jin Guangyao laughed, "Well, now that I've heard Brother's guqin skills, I might as well smash my guqin the moment I get home."

Lan Xichen, "Your skills are also considered quite fine outside of Gusu. Were they taught by your mother?"

Jin Guangyao, "No. I taught myself by watching others. She never taught me such things. She only taught me reading and writing, and bought a handful of expensive sword and cultivation guides for me to practice."

Lan Xichen seemed surprised, "Sword and cultivation guides?"

Jin Guangyao, "Brother, you haven't seen them before, have you? Those small booklets sold by the common folk. First jumbled sketches of human figures, then deliberately mystified captions."

Lan Xichen shook his head, smiling. Jin Guangyao shook his head as well, "All of them are scams, especially to fool women like my mother and ignorant children. You won't lose anything by practicing them, but you definitely won't gain anything either."

He sighed in a rueful way, "But how could my mother have known this? She bought them no matter how expensive they were, saying that if I returned to see my father in the future, I had to see him with as much competence as possible so that I don't fall behind. All of the money was spent on this."

Lan Xichen strummed the strings of the guqin, "You are very talented, having achieved so much from simply watching others. If a master could offer you advice, you would make rapid progress."

Jin Guangyao grinned, "The master is right before my eyes, but I'd never dare to trouble him."

Lan Xichen, "Why not? Young Master, sit, please."

And Jin Guangyao sat down in front of him, his back straight and still. He pretended as though he was a student humbly listening to advice, "Teacher Lan, what will you be teaching?"

Lan Xichen, "How about Sound of Clarity?"

Jin GuangYao's eyes lit up, but before he could speak, Nie Mingjue looked up, "Sound of Clarity is one of the GusuLan Sect's exclusive teachings. It shouldn't be leaked."

Lan Xichen, though, didn't seem to mind. He smiled, "Sound of Clarity is different from Sound of Vanquish in that its usage is to clear one's mind. How selfish must I be to withhold such a therapeutic technique? Besides, why would teaching it to our third brother be considered as a leakage?"

Seeing that his heart was set, Nie Mingjue didn't say anything further.