Restart | Xue Yang

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Mo Dao Zu Shi and The Untamed do not belong to me. The settings, characters, and plot belong, respectively, to Mo Xiang Tong Xiu and the screenwriters of The Untamed. Here, only the plot of this fanfiction and my four OCs, Huang Minghui / Lan Minghui, Lan Biyun, Li Xingsi / Wei Xingsi, and Bai Yilian / Nie Yilian, are my creations. And an important reminder that this ISN'T REAL; please value your lives and do not try to get hit by a car to get this sort of adventure.

Lan Qiren led Lan Minghui and Lan Biyun into a room where Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji were waiting. Despite the fact that he was still very young, Lan Wangji was already wearing a stoic mask of a face. "Xichen, Wangji, introduce yourselves," Lan Qiren ordered.

Lan Xichen stood up. A smile bright enough to rival the sun adorning his handsome features like usual, he said, "I'm Lan Huan, courtesy name Xichen. I am eight years old."

Unlike Lan Xichen, Lan Wangji said, "My name is Lan Zhan, courtesy name Wangji. I am six years old," with a completely blank face. Lan Minghui found the sight very amusing and adorable.

After Lan Minghui made her greeting, Lan Biyun said that she was Lan Minghui's older twin sister. How does she know that? Lan Minghui wondered. But before she could ask, Lan Qiren cleared his throat and began to speak.

"As the two of you are now members of the Gusu Lan Clan and live in the Cloud Recesses, you must abide by the rules and principles. I will read them out for you, and the two of you will have them memorized by next week. Alcohol is prohibited. Talking behind other people's backs is prohibited. Running is prohibited..."

As Lan Qiren yammered on about the rules, Lan Biyun and Lan Minghui exchanged HELP-WE-NEVER-ASKED-FOR-THIS looks. Lan Wangji still had no visible emotion whatsoever, but Lan Xichen had a smile of sympathy.

"...Do not laugh without reason. Do not sit with a disgraceful pose," Lan Qiren finished.

FINALLY! IT'S ABOUT TIME!

Lan Qiren handed his nieces each a white book that seemed thicker than Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix. Opening it to a random page, Lan Minghui groaned inwardly as all the words stared back at her; it was a book full of the rules.

"Biyun, do you want to stay in my room for a while? We can practice the rules together," Lan Minghui offered as Lan Qiren excused them. Lowering her voice, she added, "And how did you know that you're the older twin?"

Lan Biyun shrugged. "I have no idea. It just suddenly came to me. Information is likely to keep coming to us. And sure, we can practice reciting the rules."

***************

"...Earn trust, believe sincerely, have a strong will and anything can be achieved, win friendships with kindness, see friends as neighbors-" There was suddenly a knock on the door, and Lan Minghui stopped.

Lan Xichen stepped in. "Minghui, I'm sorry about interrupting. You were doing great," he laughed.

"Was I?" Lan Minghui asked. "There are so many rules," she complained. "How are Biyun and I supposed to get them memorized in a week?! Oh wait, why are you here? Disturbing female cultivators is prohibited- Never mind, we're not cultivators yet, plus we don't really think it's disturbing."

Lan Xichen laughed. "See, you're catching on fast. I believe that you can get them memorized by next week."

"Xiongzhang, thank you for your praise," Lan Minghui said. "Is there anything you want us to know?"

"Right. Shufu would like you two to attend music lessons," Lan Xichen informed. "It'll be useful when you start cultivating."

Lan Minghui nodded eagerly. "Yes please! What instruments do we learn?"

"You'll see," Lan Xichen smiled.

***************

"The girls have their classes here," Lan Xichen whispered, pulling open the door to a classroom and leading Lan Minghui and Lan Biyun inside. There were neat rows of low tables where young girls dressed in the clothing of the Gusu Lan Sect sat, with a guqin on each. Lan Biyun anxiously tightened her grip on Lan Minghui's hand as their fellow classmates started whispering and pointing.

Just at that time, their teacher intervened. "Quiet! Meet the two new members of our sect: Lan Minghui and Lan Biyun. Grandmaster Lan has decided to adopt them as his nieces."

The chatter quickly died down, though a few girls still snuck a few glances at them every now and then. It seemed that they were learning the notes on a guqin and how to read the music. Out of the corner of her eye, Lan Minghui saw Lan Biyun drifting off. She wasn't really surprised; Lan Biyun had been an outstanding guqin player in her past life and could probably skip class if she wanted to. Lan Biyun had taught Lan Minghui the basics of guqin in their past lives, and according to the words of (many) others, she had a natural affinity for music. Lan Minghui tried to listen, but because her sister had already taught her this and because the teacher was speaking slowly and monotonously, she drifted off along with Lan Biyun.

"Lan Biyun! Lan Minghui!" Their instructor's voice snapped the girls back to life.

"Yes, Shifu?" They asked simultaneously.

"Just because Lan-xiansheng decided to take you in, you think you can slack off?! Lan Biyun, Lan Minghui, repeat what I was just explaining to our class!"

They stood up and bowed. "Shifu, we apologize for our inattentiveness," Lan Minghui began.

"But we can play something," Lan Biyun finished.

Their teacher raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Favoritism from Lan-xiansheng really made you arrogant, didn't it?"

Fighting the extremely tempting urge to argue back and/or roll their eyes, Lan Minghui and Lan Biyun started playing "Rest", also known as "An Xi", together, though Lan Biyun purposely played a little slower so that Lan Minghui could have a clear look at her finger positions in the case of an unknown note.

Surprised, their Shifu dismissed the class and brought the two of them to Lan Qiren.

"Lan-xiansheng, Lan-xiaojie and Lan-er-xiaojie didn't pay attention in class. At first, I merely believed that it was out of disrespect, but it turned out that they already seemed to know how to play," she explained.

Lan Qiren frowned. "Is that so?" He left the room for a while, returning with a book of guqin melodies. Opening to a random page, he asked, "Can you play this?"

Lan Biyun nodded immediately. Lan Minghui was a little hesitant, but still agreed to try. Together, the two of them played in balanced sync with each other. Lan Qiren's and the music teacher's eyes widen in shock. As the two girls finished, they nervously turned back to the two adults.

"...Let them have classes with Xichen and Wangji," Lan Qiren decided.

Glossary:
-Xiaojie (小姐) = Young lady/mistress; miss