The Tainted Jade of Gusu

Chapter 3 : The Tainted Jade Pendant

(Warning!!!
18+ content)

"Lan Zhan, you know, I initially planned to get you to dine with all of us at  Burial Mounds. But then I realised we had nothing but potatoes. We couldn't feed you just potatoes, could we? Wen Qing suggested we go out for a meal. I didn't bother you, did I Lan Zhan?" Wei Wuxian really did not bother telling Lan Wangji anything but the truth.

Lan Wangji was surprised. Although he was accustomed to living very sparsely, he could not imagine one person, much less a whole group of people surviving on one single crop.

Wei Wuxian shook his head, laughing. "You're surprised. Trust me, at first I couldn't believe it either. But when that is all you can afford to put on a plate, that is something you quickly grow accustomed to eating and surviviving off of."

Lan Wangji sighed and shook his head.

Wei Wuxian, however, seemed to have the attention span of a sparrow. He had already moved on from the topic of the conversation and was currently scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"Wei Ying?" Lan Wangji nudged him.

"Oh! Lan Zhan! I was thinking about something. Wen Qing said I should pick up a gift for my nephew!" Wei Wuxian grinned widely, "It's quite early for dinner, even by your standards. Why don't we go pick up a token for my nephew? The original present is going to be something else, but the token can add a nice touch! Why don't you help me pick up one? You have such amazing taste!"

"Mn"

"Really?" Wei Wuxian almost jumped up with joy, "let's go! There's only one shop we can go to here, let's hope we get something!"

Lan Wangji was again gripped by his wrist and dragged along. He knew there was no use resisting, so he just went along.

Like Wei Wuxian had mentioned, there really was only one gift shop at Yiling, and the selection of gift articles was pretty limited. 

"Lan Zhan, you have to help me choose the jade pendant! I'll look for the tassel." Wei Wuxian hopped off towards the section of the shop that displayed multiple colorful tassels. Lan Wangji shook his head. This was the man that the cultivation clans were terrified of? 

He focused on finding a jade pendant, as Wei Wuxian had requested him. There were quite a few of them, some with elegant shapes and some with beautiful carvings. However, the one that drew Lan Wangji’s attention was an extremely simple circular jade pendant with a hole in the center. 

It was a delicate shade of white, like fresh cream skimmed off the top of boiling milk. But what made it eye-catching was a verdant streak running through it. As if there was a glimmer of life and vitality in the pristine stone, and it was so strong the stone couldn't restrain it and keep it hidden anymore. He carefully raised his hand to inspect it closely, when he was interrupted by Wei Wuxian.

“Lan Zhan! Look! Isn’t this tassel pretty?” Wei Wuxian was holding a tassel that was white at the top but had lavender coloured trimming.

“Mn” Lan Wangji nodded appreciatively. 

“Aiya Lan Zhan, you found something too?” Wei Wuxian tried to get a closer look at the jade pendant Lan Wangji was holding.

Lan Wangji moved his hand so Wei Wuxian could take a better look at the pendant. Wei Wuxian simply grabbed it by the string and dangled it next to Lan Wangji’s face with a grin, “Lan Zhan, look, the pendant is almost the same colour as your skin! Ah, but look at these green streaks, you don't have flaws like them, you're a pristine white lotus from Gusu!”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji carefully took the pendant from his hands, “Everything has its separate unique features that make it seem non-perfect to human judgement.”