A Clan of Our Own | The Untamed/Chen Qing Ling/ Modao Zushi

Drunken Curiosity

The boys were far too eager for the weekend to arrive, especially Jingyi. They were practically glowing with excitement, earning them some glares from Su She. And for once, Jingyi was far too cheerful to care. He was ecstatic, and if that traitor disapproved that was his problem. He would be as jovial as he desired, thank you very much.

Zizhen had been smart enough to have the foresight to suggest drinking in their room again and not another tavern, seeing as if they were to get wasted chaos would be inevitable. And as amusing it would be to see a inebriated Jin Ling trip over himself trying to continue chugging liquor and fight the air, it would not be worth the beatings from Zewu Jun or the bastinado if they would be caught in public. So once again, Jingyi put Zizhen in charge of sneaking in the bottles, Jin Ling on lookout and Jingyi would sneak Sizhui into the tavern. He probably should've told him earlier that technically Sizhui was not allowed to be there, but he had already broken the rules by being in a relationship with him: what was another little crime?

Everything had been put into place: the only thing left was the little butterfly to fly in.

As promised, Sizhui waited for Jingyi at the same spot as last time. He nervously riddled his thumbs as he wondered how the alcohol they chose would taste: he thought of the unpredictable taste he got from eating lotus seeds, where either could be sweet and tempting to the tongue or as bitter as the medicines and concoctions his uncle brewed whenever he fell seriously ill. And he wondered how much he would have to drink in order to get buzzed, though he would have to be careful to not be completely drunk in case he raised suspicions.

When Jingyi did show up, Sizhui pulled him into an affectionate hug, which Jingyi was quite happy to reciprocate by wrapping his arms around his waist. And if Sizhui did feel something poking him in the front, he never mentioned it to Jingyi.

"You ready?" Jingyi asked, a small blush rising on his cheeks and his sword held in front of him.

Sizhui nodded enthusiastically. He grabbed Jingyi's hand and allowed Jingyi to lead him to the inn they stayed at. Yet when they arrived, Jingyi's demeanour changed from bashful excitement to cool faced, and he let go of his hand.

"Okay, so technically you're not supposed to be here with me. But you look like a Lan disciple anyways, so nobody will ask. Just follow me and  act as if you belong and nobody will question it."

"Is that why you wanted me to wear white?" Sizhui remarked. "After all, our robes look pretty similar."

"Yeah...heh." Jingyi admitted, a small smile returning. "Once we get to our room, it'll be fine."

He opened the door and both of them walked into the building. The inn was full of cultivators wearing either white, gold or red and blue hanfu. Some groups were enjoying a late meal whilst other poured themselves a few cups of wine. As Jingyi alluded to earlier, none of the white clad disciples touched any alcohol, preferring to sip tea. This was certainly the Lan Clan. It was a stark contrast to the disciples in gold, who were continuously drinking and refilling their cups and the red and blue cultivators who were mainly enjoying food. Sizhui concluded that they were the Jins, and quickly turned his head around just in case Jin Chan saw him. If he were to spot him, both he and Jingyi would land in hot water.

Jingyi sneakily motioned for Sizhui to follow him to the staircase by the right. As they made their way up a few steps, a drunken disciple dressed in dark robes stumbled to them and tugged onto Sizhui's hem as if he were an impatient child.

"Oi..." he slurred.

Before he could sloppily articulate what he wanted to say, two embarrassed disciples in similar clothing pulled him off Sizhui's clothes, profusely apologised and went on their way. They hadn't even noticed that Sizhui wasn't supposed to be here, instead focused on not losing face from the drunk actions of their fellow cultivator.