Mo Dao Zu Shi: Astray

The Pursuit of Knowledge, Part Twelve

"Chun-ge! Look who's here!"

Pan Wukun looked up from her communication talisman drafts to see...

Lan Wangji?!

Lan Wangji stood beside Wei Wuxian, stoic as usual. He didn't seem reluctant to be there. Wei Wuxian wasn't forcibly holding him by the robe sleeve to stay.

Wait. Did that mean Lan Wangji actually agreed to go somewhere with Wei Wuxian? Willingly?

...That wasn't supposed to happen during the Cloud Recesses arc. Did Wei Wuxian's prolonged stay at the Cloud Recesses make Lan Wangji a little friendlier with Wei Wuxian?

That was actually a good thing. Maybe they would get together quicker this time and save themselves a lot of heartache.

"I invited Lan Zhan over to help us out! He agreed to let us study how his guqin's communication music works. I told him the GusuLan sect will get the new talisman we make along with the YunmengJiang sect," Wei Wuxian explained.

Pan Wukun carefully considered Wei Wuxian's words. By "guqin's communication music", he must be referring to Inquiry. That was used to communicate with the dead. But if Wei Wuxian managed to use Empathy and the GusuLan sect used music to communicate with the dead, there had to be a variety of ways to communicate with the living too. It would also be interesting to study how Lan Wangji attacked enemies with the force projected by the sounds of his guqin.

Pan Wukun nodded in approval, not caring that she was going to be the third wheel as long as they actually got the new communication talisman done. "Good thinking, Wei Ying!"

"Ehehehe." Wei Wuxian grinned proudly.

Lan Wangji set down his guqin and strummed its strings. He would not be using Inquiry here since they didn't want to disturb the dead. Pan Wukun and Wei Wuxian listened closely to the qin language and took notes. Lan Wangji told them the amount of spiritual energy he used whenever playing his guqin in offense, defense, or Inquiry.

As Pan Wukun and Wei Wuxian made adjustments to their talismans, a sound startled them.

They all gasped.

"Did you hear that? Sound just emitted from the talisman!" Wei Wuxian said excitedly.

"Well, that was unexpected...Maybe we could also try making a voice recording talisman..." Pan Wukun said.

"Good idea!" Wei Wuxian set the sound talisman aside to keep as the framework for the voice and sound recording talisman.

Now there was double the work to be done.

When Lan Wangji wasn't playing his guqin for research, he even joined in drafting the new talismans.

Two piles of failed talismans became three.

Pan Wukun's eyes felt sore and her fingers ached from writing so much.

"Don't worry! We'll get it eventually!" Wei Wuxian smiled brightly at Lan Wangji and Pan Wukun without a worry in his eyes.

Pan Wukun wished she had Wei Wuxian's unwavering confidence.

Lan Wangji wished to hold Wei Wuxian's smile in his heart forever.

"I'll bring a jade slip next time," Lan Wangji said.

Wei Wuxian grinned. "So you're going to keep coming here, Lan Zhan?"

Lan Wangji nodded.

"...How much for the jade slip? We could split the costs," Pan Wukun said. She couldn't afford to pay full price for a jade slip as a rogue cultivator.

"No need. I can pay for it in full," Lan Wangji said.

"Thank you, Lan-er-gongzi."

Wei Wuxian looked at Pan Wukun with confusion. "Wait. Are you seriously still calling Lan Zhan 'Lan-er-gongzi' at this point, Chun-ge?"

Pan Wukun fidgeted. "Well, I'm not sure if I could even be on such informal terms with Lan-er-gongzi."

"Hmm..." Wei Wuxian's expression turned thoughtful. "Lan Zhan...are you fine with Chun-ge calling you that?"

Pan Wukun felt Lan Wangji's eyes focus on her, making her nervous. She didn't dare turn to make eye contact with him, not wanting to pressure him.

"...Yes," Lan Wangji finally said.

Wei Wuxian laughed. "Great! Chun-ge! Try saying his name!"

"La-Lan...Zhan..." Lan Wangji's birth name sounded strange coming out of Pan Wukun's mouth. No one but Wei Wuxian called him that in canon. She looked at Lan Wangji with uncertainty.

"Pan Chun..." Lan Wangji brought a hand to his mouth. "Pan Chun..." He moved his mouth slowly as if testing the sound of Pan Wukun's name in his voice.

Pan Wukun felt lighter. Oh good, Lan Wangji did not hate her guts.

Wei Wuxian giggled. "Aw! Look at you two! You're acting so shy about this!"

"...It'll take some time to get used to," Pan Wukun said.

Lan Wangji nodded in agreement.

Wei Wuxian lay flat on the grass and sighed. He stretched his limbs out. "Let's rest."

Lan Wangji strummed his guqin again, playing a soothing melody this time.

Pan Wukun and Wei Wuxian shut their eyes and relaxed.

The three of them enjoyed the peace they shared in the moment.