At thirteen, Wei Ying creates an array he calls 'Time Reversal' which he uses to save Jiang Cheng from drowning. At fifteen, he dies in a tragic accident. Two years after that, Wen Ruohan has overcome the Nie-Lan-Jiang rebellion. The small clans as...
Returning to Yunshen Buzhichu after that was... boring. Life without Wei Wuxian was dull. And lifeless. Thankfully, he had the Qishan Wen discussion conference to look forward to. And an entire week of competing against Wei Ying. And after that, his uncle had suggested the three of them travel to Bujing Shi to install the new wards for Nie Mingjue. Which would mean another month or two for them to be together.
He practiced archery and swordplay diligently, deciding that he would definitely be better than his only significant opponent.
For each win... he would demand a kiss.
Although... losing wouldn't be so bad if the forfeit was also a kiss.
He felt unsettled wearing the guest disciples' outfit. Even though it wasn't wedding red and every other junior was wearing the same outfit... he didn't like it. White was better. And the belt? He jingled when he walked! Jingled! He pulled at the round collar, hating how it felt against his skin. The cloth didn't lie correctly the way his own robes did. But pulling at the collar also pulled at his sleeves, which were tight to the wrist instead of loose and flowing.
His unease became worse upon hearing Jiang Wanyin's unmistakable voice yelling, "What did you do to yourself? You were fine last night! Now you're limping? Now you claim you hurt your shoulder? What game are you playing, huh? Are you trying to win sympathy points?"
He turned to see Wei Wuxian, also dressed in the revolting red guest uniform, using his left hand to cradle his right arm. "I'm not asking for sympathy, Jiang Cheng. I'm just not competing today."
As the sect heir stomped off, he quietly stepped away from the other Gusu Lan disciples. "How did you hurt yourself?"
Wei Ying flinched. "It doesn't matter. I'll be fine in a few days as long as I can rest."
"Wei Ying...." He looked around to make sure no one was paying them any attention. Unfortunately, there was a woman wearing deep violet robes on the viewing platform staring at them.
No. Staring at Wei Ying with a smirk on her face.
"Wei Ying... did Jiang Furen do this?"
"Stop asking stupid questions," Wei Ying glared. "Some things can be temporarily delayed, but not avoided entirely."
She whipped you?
Why am I shocked? Of course she did. Evil woman. "Was it because of your fight with Jin Gongzi?"
Wei Ying's face was tight. "Does it matter? It was only two lashes. It's just she's never...." He grit his teeth against the pain. "She wrapped Zidian around my arm three times, from just below my armpit to just above my wrist. I can't hold my sword or draw a bow. I could barely hold a spoon to eat congee at breakfast." He smiled through the pain. "I guess she did me a favor, though? I can't show off and outshine Wen Chao now, can I? So he won't be as upset with me as you wrote he was in the Indoctrination Session. One less reason to attack Lianghua Wu."
"He will find another reason. Are you going to be alright?" At Wei Ying's nod, he amended. "Don't lie to me. Make me a promise: when it's just the two of us, you won't lie. Ever."
"That's a bad promise, Lan Zhan."
"Promise me."
Wei Ying smiled shyly. "I promise that when I am alone with Lan Zhan I will always speak the truth.
"Yes, I will be fine. I can heal from two lashes in a few days. A week at most. My back will at least." He looked down at his injured arm. "I'm not sure how long this will take to heal."
He entered the archery competition and was careful to shoot only the mannequins that held the fierce spirits. He also made sure to shoot less than half of what Wen Chao did. The other jeered and crowed about his superiority; he kept his mouth shut and his eyes on the targets instead of mentioning the exact number of times Wen Chao had disqualified himself by shooting a mannequin without a spirit.
Once the contest was over, he tried to find Wei Ying. Instead, he found a group of Yunmeng Jiang disciples huddled together and crying. "What happened?"
Jiang Wanyin was there. "He's dead. Muqin whipped him with Zidian last night. I thought he was pretending to be ill. I yelled at him when I got back and pushed him. And he just... fell over. Six... he had six fresh whip marks on him."
"Six?" He felt his stomach roiling even as his chest felt tight. "He told me two."
"I don't know how he was walking!" Jiang Wanyin wailed.
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#SorryNotSorry
No. Really. You honestly thought the Violet Spider would let it go? Silly readers.
