Moonlit Hearts

Chapter 74: Two Years Later

Lan Jingyi was shouting again.

"Jin Ling, if you swing your sword like that one more time, you're going to take my ear off!"

They were sparring in the training yard, blades clashing under the late afternoon sun. Jin Ling rolled his eyes, sharp and exasperated. "Maybe if you'd stop rushing in without thinking, I wouldn't have to correct your sloppy form every single time."

"Sloppy—?!" Jingyi's voice cracked. "Sizhui! Did you hear him? Tell him my form isn't sloppy!"

Nearby, Sizhui sighed — the same patient, long-suffering sigh he had perfected over the years. "Your form is... energetic," he said diplomatically.

Wei Ying, watching from the veranda with his chin propped in his palm, laughed so hard he nearly tipped backward. "Energetic! Oh, that's perfect. You've learned to dodge questions just like your father, A-Yuan."

Sizhui flushed faintly, but smiled.

Beside Wei Ying, Wangji stood in his usual composed silence, though his eyes lingered on the sparring juniors with quiet attention. His hand rested loosely at his side until Wei Ying leaned just enough to brush against it. Without looking, Wangji shifted his fingers so they twined together, as natural as breathing.

And then Xuanyu's voice stirred, low in Wangji's mind. If I had trained like that, Odin would've struck me across the yard before my blade even left the scabbard.

Wangji's reply was calm, inward. They are not you. We are not Odin, Slowly They will learn.

Wei Ying, oblivious to the inner exchange, was already on his feet, calling out cheerfully, "Alright, enough yelling. Let's see who's brave enough to take me on!"

The juniors groaned in unison.

"You!" Jingyi jabbed his sword in Wei Ying's direction. "No unfair tricks this time!"

Wei Ying gasped in mock offense, clutching at his chest. "Me? Unfair? I would never."

"You literally buried me in talismans last time," Jingyi shot back.

"And you still lost," Jin Ling muttered, earning himself another round of bickering.

Sizhui only shook his head, adjusting his grip on his own sword. "I'll spar with you, Father," he said evenly.

That earned him an instant grin. "That's my A-Yuan!" Wei Ying bounded down the steps, already rolling up his sleeves.

Wangji moved to follow, but Wei Ying caught his hand and pressed it back to his side. "Sit. Watch. I've got this." His smile softened, quick and private. "Besides, you always win. Let me shine a little."

Wangji inclined his head. "Mn."

The match began with quick, sure steps — Sizhui graceful and precise, Wei Ying mischievous and unpredictable. The juniors shouted from the sidelines, alternating between cheers and complaints. Even Xuanyu's presence hummed faintly in Wangji's mind, watchful, curious.

When Wei Ying finally lost his balance and landed on the grass with a laugh, Sizhui offered him a hand up. Wei Ying took it, dramatic as ever, and declared loudly, "You see? My son is the strongest cultivator here! Hanguang-Jun, did you see? That's your son, that's our son—!"

Jingyi groaned into his hands. "Please stop embarrassing us all."

"Secondhand shame is a deadly condition," Jin Ling muttered.

"Then you'll both die young," Wei Ying teased, dusting himself off.

By the time the bell rang for dinner, the yard had dissolved into laughter and mock-challenges, no one remembering whose turn it had been to spar.