Call On Me

32

Lan Zhan and I were dressed in San Bao colors. I had on emerald green robes with black and gold accents while Lan Zhan's were similar but instead of black, the accents were white and gold. To keep the customs of his birth sect, we had a forehead ribbon made with specially for him. It was white like normal, and it had the Cloud Motif at its center, but the ribbon itself had embroidered clouds and honeysuckles. I have to say, Lan Zhan could look good in basically anything.

(I showed Wei Wuxian's robes in a previous chapter, but here is some robes inspired for Wangji.)

Wen Qing and Wen Ning, who wore an appearance altering charm made by Baoshan, were right behind us. The two went by the name San Qing and San Ning. Some may question but at the same time, I felt no one would really notice the name change.

Our seats were settled by the Lan Sect as they were our allied sect. We sat down and decided to converse while we waited for the rest of the sects to arrive.

"Hello Zewu Jun, Master Lan," I greeted.

"Wei Gongzi, pleasure to see you again," Zewu Jun said, "Wangji."

Lan Zhan nodded, "Xiongzhang," he then bowed to his uncle, "Shufu."

"Wangji, I say, you look nice in green," Master Lan told him.

I smiled, "I told you," I said to Lan Zhan, "yet you did not seem to take my compliment seriously."

Lan Zhan smiled back at me. I knew then that he was actually tantalizing me. I huffed out a little chuckle and just shook my head.

"I take it you two are doing fine," Zewu Jun said.

"We are," I said, "aside from the...resentment issue, everything else is going just fine. We are hoping that something might come up today."

"We were actually a bit surprised that you decided to come," Zewu Jun said, "San Bao is small and has not been known long."

"We do not want to be well known really. The more people look our way, the more people want to snoop. My grandmother is already doing so much for San Bao," I said.

"I feel it would be difficult to snoop anyway with Wangji being your partner," Zewu Jun said, "many dare not offend him."

"If anyone tries to hurt Wei Ying, I will not let it slide," Lan Zhan said.

"Wei Gongzi, it's been a long time," a man said as he approached us.

I looked at the man, it was Lianfeng Zun, Jin Guangyao. I gave him one of my fake sincere smiles, "I have been busy building my own sect. So it would only make sense. I see you have been accepted by Sect Leader Jin?"

Jin Guangyao's smile faltered for a moment before going back to his normal composure, "he has, but I will never be as good as Jin Zixuan."

"You do not need to," I said, "you are kind, he is arrogant. You still respect people's rights, he does not. You are what the Jin Sect should be."

I was boasting his confidence, mostly because I feel like there is something up with him. If I act, I am sure I can get what I need from him, "you are too kind," he said, "but I actually came over because I am the one to make all the announcements for today."

"Ah," I nodded, "I am here to represent my sect, San Bao."

He nodded, "I am aware," he said, "I also wanted to congratulate you on your union with Hanguang Jun."

I smiled, "I appreciate it."

This man really is too cunning. He is definitely up to something. Almost like he is fishing for some information but I am not giving in.

"Are these the two who are here for the hunt?" He asked.

"Yes, these are a couple of my disciples, San Qing and San Ning. They are unfortunately the only two old enough at the moment to compete. All my other disciples are too young for today's event," I told him.

"Well, thank you for coming, I ask that your two disciples head over to the field and get in line. The competition is about to start," Jin Guangyao said.

"Thank you," I said and looked at Wen Qing and nodded.

She nodded and with Wen Ning, they went down to join the rest of the contestants, "the competition will start in a moment," Jin Guangyao said before leaving to speak with another sect leader.

"Why do I feel he was trying to rile me up or something?" I asked quietly.

"I do not know, but you did well," Zewu Jun said, "I'm sure A'Yao means no harm."

I nodded and then glanced at Lan Zhan. I remember Lan Zhan telling me that Zewu Jun had been spending more time with Jun Guangyao as of late. I just hope that Zewu Jun isn't sharing anything that he shouldn't.

"Are you alright?" I asked Lan Zhan.

"Mnn," he nodded.

"You were so silent. Did I say something wrong?" I asked.

"No," Lan Zhan said immediately, "you did nothing of the sort. It's him I do not trust," he said the last part to me quietly so his brother could not hear.

I nodded, "we will keep an eye on him throughout the competition," I said.

"Hello fellow sects and disciples," Jin Guangyao announced, "we welcome you to the Mount Baifeng night hunt competition."

The crowd clapped.

"First, I want to introduce to you the new sect that recently formed, and their leader. Sect San Bao and their leader, Sect Leader Wei Wuxian and his partner Hanguang Jun," he said.

There were whispers amongst the crowd. I could tell that the people were more curious about my union with Lan Zhan than the sect itself.

I stood and bowed, "thank you for inviting us to today's event. This is our first outing as a sect. We are a small sect but we still have some fighters. My two disciples here today are excited to join the competition today. I hope everyone here has a good day," I said and sat down.

"It is quite remarkable," Sect Leader Yao said, "it was announced a while back that Wei Wuxian went missing. Turns out, he left his previous sect to start his own."

I smiled, "I am grateful for the Jiang Sects support as I grew. It helped me become the person I am today. But everyone must know, I was not born into that sect and even though I was taken in as a child, once I was old enough, they made me a head disciple but I never got sworn in like a proper disciple should. I never made any vows to stay within the sect so when the sect fell, I was blamed and ridiculed. I left and made a better life for myself," I explained.

"So you're saying the previous sect leader, Jiang Fengmian, never made you an official member but you still worked for them? You basically did free labor. You were never compensated?" A Nie disciple asked.

"I do not need their compensation. I grew up there and I will always remember the good times I had there. However, things change and people grow. I wanted to do something different and make a sect that doesn't depend on a bloodline. We do things differently and we plan on keeping it that way," I said.

Jin Guangyao smiled, "you all can continue this conversation after the competition starts," he said. He made a few more comments and announced the rules. Once he did, the disciples competing were let go to hunt.

So far, everything was going as I expected it would. People trying to gain information about my private life. Let's see how far these people will go.