Everyday means everyday: Untamed fanfiction

Extra Chapter 30: Junior Quartet Adventure

"This is all your fault, Jingyi! Why did you have to be so curious?"

"You wanted to come too, Young Mistress Jin!"

"Hey, how dare you still call me that?! I'm a clan leader now, don't you forget it!'

Sizhui sighs and examines the cave around them, ignoring the bickering voices of Jingyi and Jin Ling.

"So sorry to offend you, Clan Leader Jin," Jingyi cackles.

"You two, cut it right now!" Zizhen says sternly. "How about you use that head of yours to figure a way out of here instead of thinking of insults to throw at one another?" It took a lot to make Zizhen upset, but this time, he was really too annoyed with them.

"Right...sorry," Jingyi says quietly. He walks around the cave once, his eyes examining the tunnels in the dark.

"I can feel a breeze coming through!" Jingyi says suddenly. Jin Ling, Sizhui, and Zizhen hurry to his side. He was right. The breeze was faint, but it was enough to shift their hair.

"Stay on alert. We don't know what could be lurking in the dark," Sizhui tells them. They nod and keep their swords in front of them as well as a torch they had lit with a fire talisman.

"I hope the signal got sent out before the rocks caved us in completely," Jingyi sighs.

"Quiet," Jin Ling says suddenly. "I hear something." He tightens his hands on Suihua and goes to the front of the group until he's standing in front of both Sizhui and Jingyi. Zizhen steps in beside him. Despite being the youngest of their group, as clan leaders, both of them felt the sense to protect the other disciples behind them.

"I can see something moving. Is it a human or a monster?" Jingyi hisses, keeping his sword drawn out in front of him. Something scurries near his feet and all four of them let out a shriek of surprise.

"It's just a rat," Jin Ling says, his voice irritated. "What's there to be afraid of?"

"You also screamed like a little girl just now, Young Mistress!"

"Did not! That was just your voice echoing because it's so loud!" Sizhui sighs, holding back his smile as he watches his two close friends bicker. Even when he became clan leader, Jin Ling didn't change much. Jin Ling leaves Jingyi behind and falls into step with Sizhui in the front.

"Are you okay? I know you're not a huge fan of caves or the dark." Jin Ling's question takes him by surprise. Sizhui indeed disliked both of them. Other than his fear of large fires, the thought of caves also gave him flashes of bad memories from his past. He had tried not to show his fear earlier as he was trying to be the level-headed one of the group in order to get everyone out. How had Jin Ling noticed? Especially when he was bickering with Jingyi

"I'm alright," Sizhui tells him. Jin Ling nods in response but Sizhui can tell he's still looking at him.

"Oh you two lovebirds. Why won't you just become cultivation partners already? It's not too soon for an engagement!" Jingyi says loudly. Jin Ling spins around and sputters,

"W-what're you saying? We're not even of marrying age yet!"

"Jingyi!" Sizhui exclaims. "Why are you saying such things?"

"He must have hung out with Senior Wei and Hanguang-jun too much. He really observes these kind of things too well," Zizhen sighs.

"I can see a bit of light up ahead. We're almost there!" Sizhui says to quickly change the topic. As the light grows brighter, the sound of a dog barking gets louder and more excited.

"Fairy!" Jin Ling exclaims and hurries up ahead.

"A-Yuan! Clan Leader Jin!" Wen Ning's relieved voice greets them as they come out from the cave.

"A-Yuan, why is your face red?" Zizhen glances over at Sizhui and Jin Ling.

"O-oh! It's nothing. It was just a bit hot because Jin Ling was holding a torch," Sizhui says hastily. He can see Jin Ling crouching down next to Fairy, but Sizhui can tell his face was also red.

"Thank goodness you found your way out! What would I tell Clan Leader Jiang and Master Wei if you got trapped in that cave somewhere?"

"Let's just..avoid exploring caves from now on, okay?" Jingyi groans.

"But what if there are monsters we need to night-hunt in caves?" Zizhen points out.

"We shouldn't worry about that now. Let's go. Next time we take a shortcut, we won't go through some unknown cave, alright?" Sizhui sighs. "Now we should hurry. We mustn't keep A-Niang, A-Die, and the others waiting."

"Oh? You're really calling Senior Wei 'A-Niang' now?" Zizhen teases.

"Well..they're both my parents, right. Anyways, no more talking. Let's go." Leaving Fairy with one of the Jin Clan disciples, they head towards Caiyi Town.

They ended up eating at one of the spiciest restaurants in Yunmeng. Although they request the least spicy dishes, Jingyi, Sizhui and Zizhen all end up scrambling for several cups of water. Jin Ling however, is able to handle the spicier dishes, having eaten so many of them during his stays at Lotus.

"Your alcohol tolerance is surprisingly good, Sizhui. Jingyi passed out after one cup," Zizhen gestures at Jingyi's form slumped over the table. Sizhui smiles.

"Well...,considering I wasn't born inside the Lan Clan, I assume that is the reason."

"You do strange things when you're drunk," Jin Ling mutters. Sizhui looks over at him with a confused look.

"Don't tell me you forgot what you did?" Zizhen gapes at him. Wei WuXian nearly chokes on his wine out of laughter. Jiang Cheng simply focuses on eating with his eyes staring straight ahead.

"It was something," Lan Wangji says mildly. Sizhui is itching to know the details. When Jin Ling tells him what had happened, Sizhui feels so embarrassed, but he couldn't help but laugh along with his friends.

Later that night in the inn, he lies awake, thinking about the story Jin Ling had told. He may have been drunk when he had tied his forehead ribbon to the other's wrist, but that was not the reason he had been embarrassed. He had been embarrassed because he had exposed his feelings in such a way. Maybe one day, he would be able to tell him straight. Sizhui turns his body to face the other side of the room where Jin Ling sleeps on his own bed.

I'll tell him one day. I'll be like my father and be honest with my feelings. 

A/N: yes i totally hint at ZhuiLing so much in the extra heh heh. I know I didn't write much about them in the actual story, but I'll definitely try my best with that for Untamed Hearts. Hope you enjoyed these extra chapters!