The Tainted Jade of Gusu

Chapter 21: The Deepest Scar of Them All

Wei Wuxian had, never in his entire life, woken up before the third hour of sunrise. By the time he woke up, the bed was empty, but a faint smell of sandalwood lingered in the air. He sat up with a yawn and a stretch, this sandalwood scented void reminding him of a turbulent night thirteen years ago. Lan Wangji had given him a stern look when he had accidentally been about to talk about it. He stretched and yawned and once again reminded himself to pretend nothing happened. 

Outside the Jingshi, a ruckus was going on. Some Lan disciples, including Lan Jingyi, were trying to drag the donkey away from the entrance of the Jingshi and it straight up refused to budge.

"What is going on here?" Wei Wuxian looked around.

"Can't you see?" Lan Jingyi, who had been trying to drag the donkey away from the entrance of the Jingshi clapped back.

"I can see quite well, Young Master," Wei Wuxian chuckled, "but I don't understand what you are trying to do."

"What do you think?" Jingyi scowled, "I'm trying not to earn myself another rule copying session at the library!"

"Oh, nothing has changed here," Wei Wuxian had a hearty laugh.

"How can you stand here and laugh?" Jingyi's face reminded Wei Wuxian of the rain clouds that gathered along the horizon of Lotus Pier right before a thunderstorm .

"Alright alright, " Wei Wuxian decided not to tease Jingyi anymore, "do you have an apple right now?" 

"An apple?" Jingyi was extremely confused, "Yes, why?"

"Give me," Wei Wuxian extended a hand, "I'll show you."

Jingyi cautiously took the apple he had plucked from the orchard and placed it on Wei Wuxian's outstretched palm.

Wei Wuxian, without dropping a beat, dangled the apple in front of the donkey. 

It seemed to work like a charm. The same donkey Jingyi had been trying to drag away from the entrance of the Jingshi for the past two hours happily followed the dangling apple, and stopped at the base of the tree Wei Wuxian tied him to.

"How!?" Jingyi demanded to know.

"He just loves apples," Wei Wuxian chuckled, "it's easy to get someone to do something once you know what they want.

"I see," Lan Jingyi nodded, "that sounds about right."

"Kid, I'm right most of the time."

"Hey!" Jingyi protested, "Who's your kid?"

"Ah, my mistake, my mistake, Senior Lan," Wei Wuxian tried to lighten the mood, "speaking of which, I don't see your Hanguang Jun anywhere. Last night we slept together, but when I woke up this morning, he was gone."

"Senior Mo, " Jingyi looked scandalized, "what are you saying about Hanguang Jun? He's not a cut sleeve! He's a cultivator of a great reputation!"

"Young master Lan," Wei Wuxian smiled patiently, "these two are not necessarily mutually exclusive. "

Lan Jingyi tilted his head slightly.

"For example," Wei Wuxian explained further, "would it make your Hanguang Jun any less respected or noble of a cultivator or a man in general if the person he has feelings for is a man and not a woman?"

Lan Jingyi scratched his chin thoughtfully in a manner that reminded Wei Wuxian of his own younger self.

"I guess you have a point." Jingyi finally agreed.

"Anyways, any idea where he went?" Wei Wuxian asked for a second time.

"Oh! Yeah, about that, " Jingyi scratched his head, "Sizhui said that Zewu Jun told that Grand Uncle told that...."