The Black pearl in the snow and clouds

Entering Cloud Recesses

The final weeks passed in the blaze of moon and sunlight, between training Xue Yang, helping her father out in choosing ten men and ten women to join going to cloud Recesses along with her mother, father and grandmother insisting that they come with until the welcoming ceremony is finished and completing her gift to Master Qiren, Wei Ying was tired but happy this would be the first time technically on her own and when she returns she will be seventeen and hopefully wiser if not more tamed.

On the other side of the cultivational world Wen RouHan was pacing his throne room his son Wen Xu had chosen his wife, brother, brother-in-law, Zhului and fifteen others since Xue Yang is still part of the Wen sect but that is not what is bothering him secret news was leaked that his butterfly has fallen for the stoic ice prince and at first he was angry but once his wife calmed him down enough for him to remember that a soulmate only comes once and that he must remember how difficult it was for them Wen RouHan chose to accept the boy but if he dared break her heart he would gut him and feed him to his dire owls... alive another thing that had the Wen family on edge was their butterflies unmasking, only those close to Wei Ying knew what she looked like, it kept her safe because the Wei sect wore masks as well to protect their maiden but now the whole cultivational world will know what she looks like and this in itself will cause more trouble. This is why his eldest insisted that his wife, her brother and Zhului go with more protection.

In the Nie sect MingJue was training his little brother, Wen RouHan sent books over is assassination and his own wife put down her fan cultivation with the help of Wei Ying Nie HuaiSang's training could be kept secret well it looked as thought he was training him with a saber, no one dared approach the brothers and their training otherwise they would meet their sect leader's rage.

And in Gusu ZeWu-Jun, his father and uncle was calmly adding the finishing touches to this years planning, they were very excited to finally get Wei Ying for a whole year and even under the guise of learning with master Qiren they all know that it was so she could learn from the Lan family themselves. When they returned home two weeks ago Lan Wangji and ZeWu-Jun approached them wanting to issue a challenge for the hand of Wei Ying for Lan Wangji which they gladly accepted. Once the told the elders of their plan the also accepted with notion that Wangji would be marrying into the Wei Sect, once they reached the topic of her private lessons the elders also jumped in stating that rather all future sect leaders and their cultivational partners should have different lessons to that of their disciples and quickly made arrangements and the announcements would be made at the welcoming ceremony.

Lan Wangji spent the last two weeks training when he was done with his other duties, with the new arts and exercises that immortal BoaShan Sanren had taught him he felt himself getting stronger and in peak condition. When he wasn't training or doing his duties, he was in the Jingshi wither painting, playing Wangji or reading, he knew this year would be hard as Wei Ying would not allow him to punish Nie HuaiSang and her being the most mischievous person the only punishment he ever wanted to give her is to kiss her senseless. After the feathered kiss his dreams took a turn for the embarrassing worst that he went to his mother for advice. Seeing her son flustered as he tried speaking of his problem, she decided to do the one thing only a mother could do. Every night before bed she would duel him that he got so tired that she had Lan QingHeng-Jun carry Lan Wangji back to the Jingshi to sleep and it worked except this night the last night as he patrolled, he couldn't help feeling excited that finally she would be here, they would duel every everything they had and he would show the world he was her equal and that she was his.

Lan Qiren and the elders found out about the bet that QingHeng-Jun had made and they secretly added to the pool which now floated around Nie and Wen sect as well, gambling is forbidden and so is pride but between the fairest and strongest the temptation was to much to ignore. The only person who had a different opinion in the matter was Wen Rouhan he bet 1000 gold pieces that his butterfly would slightly outmatch second young master Lan but it would still end a draw since Lan Wangji had more battle experience, hearing this the silent outcry in gusu matching Wen RouHan that Lan Wangji would outmatch Maiden Wei but being the gentleman that he was he would draw it even.