'Okay, guys, let's gear up for the last part of this segment. I think after this we can go and rest.' Wei Ying announced.

'And how do you know that?' Jiang Cheng asked with an eyebrow raised.

'Well', Wei Ying began with a sickly sweet smile, 'If you saw clearly, you would have noticed that at the beginning of every segment, a small box appears at the bottom left corner of the screen showing how many parts are there. And this one had 8 parts. So obviously, this is gonna be the last one. Duh...'

And the others were left pleasantly surprised, for none of them had noticed that small detail, not even Lan Zhan. Even if small, it proved just how much observant Wei Ying was, even when he was so laid back.

Wei WuXian bought a bunch of quirky gadgets in Caiyi Town and took them back to the Cloud Recesses. After he arrived, everything was shared between the disciples from other sects.

Because Lan QiRen went to Qinghe and there were no classes for a few days, all of the boys played around in complete chaos, rushing into Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng's room to sleep there. All through the nights, they ate, drank, wrestled, gambled, and viewed picture books.

Everyone laughed as they realized, just what kind of terror Lan Qiren's absence brought.

'Truly, it's a testament to your ability as a disciplinarian, Lan-xiansheng, that these cretins were in a line all these days, even when together.' Madam Jin snorted, looking at all the chaos that these gremlins brought upon Cloud Recess.

Lan Qiren, on his part, sighed, thinking of those days when Cangse used to bring terror even in his presence. Gosh, only if these people knew that if she was alive today, this reputation of his would have been in tatters.

Right at that moment, he saw both his brother and Wen Ruohan smirking. And even if Ruohan had never met Cangse, he was too much interested in Qiren since they were kids, to have not remembered any of the rumors regarding QiRen going around back in those days.

During one of the nights, Wei WuXian lost in a game of dice and was sent to sneak down the mountain and buy jars of Emperor's Smile. This time, everyone finally had the chance to satisfy their taste buds. However, on the second day, before daylight even appeared, someone opened the door of the room, revealing the disciples who spread out on the floor in a tangle, sleeping as if they were a group of corpses.

Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng winced slightly as they remembered all that was about to follow and the ruckus they had created. Both of them glanced at Madam Yu from the corner of their eyes, trying to gauze her reaction before they thought of some contingency plans as they returned to Lotus Pier after this simulation and their studies were over.

The noise from opening the door startled a few people. As they saw the stone-faced Lan WangJi at the door through their sleepy eyes, they were instantly woken up. Nie HuaiSang furiously pushed Wei WuXian, who ended up in a position with his legs at the top and head at the bottom, "Wei-xiong! Wei-xiong!"

Few of the viewers giggled, especially the juniors. Even YanLi joined them, looking at her naughty brother.

'Wei-qianbei never fails to amuse us, isn't it?' ZiZhen asked in general.

'That, we can most definitely ascertain after witnessing all these here.' Said an amused XingChen.

Having been shoved for a few times, Wei WuXian spoke drowsily, "Who? Is anyone else up for it?! Jiang Cheng? The fight is on like I'm scared of you!"

The juniors were the most excited ones as they had no idea about this incident. After all, it didn't go down the history to be mentioned in books. So they were looking worriedly at their qianbei as Lan Zhan was already having a deadly expression on his face, well as much as his face could emote.

Jiang Cheng drank too much last night, and his head still ached as he lay on the ground with his eyes closed. He randomly grabbed something and hurled it at where Wei WuXian's voice came from, "Shut up!"

Madam Yu was literally at the end of her patience, already fuming and thinking, ' Wasn't it enought that the ungrateful brat was making a mess of my sect's image, now he has even corrupted my son's standing? Now let me see, who saves him from the wrath of Zidian. Just let my spiritual energy come back to me once. If I don't teach those brats a lesson, my name won't be Yu ZiYuan.'

Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying both felt a shiver down their their body with all the glaring that Madam Yu did. Gulping, they both looked away, trying to think of escape plans or, better to say, healing plans.

Wen Ruohan, on the other hand, was having too much fun looking at the spectacle that was being created in Qiren's Cloud Recess. And right then, they heard a loud giggle. Looking in the direction, they saw the kids rousing from their sleep and giggling at the screen. He thought, 'Well, at least someone shares my amusement.'

The object landed on Wei WuXian's chest, its pages flipping open. Nie HuaiSang eyed it, only to find that the item Jiang Cheng used to hit Wei WuXian was one of his treasured out-of-print illustrated pornography books (And before he could even duck, Nie Huaisang was smacked on the back of his head by a.... FAN... And that too by MingJue. But more than whining, he was shocked to see a fan on his brother.) As he looked up and saw Lan WangJi's frigid gaze, he almost died on the spot. Wei WuXian mumbled a few sentences, hugged the book to his chest, and went to sleep again. Lan WangJi stepped into the room. He used one hand to grip Wei WuXian's back collar, lifted him up, and dragged him in the direction of the door.

Madam Yu was delighted when she saw only Wei Ying being taken away. At least that way, Jiang Cheng seemed to have stayed away from the mess. The proof was that she hadn't gotten any news of her son's mischief in their own timeline. She breathed a sigh of relief.

After a few puzzled moments as he was carried by Lan WangJi, he was finally half-awake.
He turned around, "Lan Zhan, what are you doing?"

'What else Wei-xiong? Of course, he's punishing you.' Huaisang grinned like a sly cat.

ZiZhen, who understood the underlying insinuation, gagged at the thought. He might be a romantic at heart, but he didn't need a graphic description of the couple's bedroom stories, who he almost considered as his own parents.

'Everyone knows that Nie-xiong. Lan Zhan would only punish me, what with all the sect rules I had broken. I just hope that there will come one day, when he will let go of all my mistakes. Just wait and watch.' Wei Ying promised solemnly, not realizing just how true that fact was in the future. But the juniors were all sharing looks at the comment. Lan Zhan saw it as well and gulped, thinking of this weird future.

Nie HuaiSang, on the other hand, was banging his head mentally at his friend's sheer obliviousness. He still couldn't understand how Wei Ying, who had read through most of Huaisang's porn collection, had no idea what he was insinuating; or was he just pretending?

Lan WangJi didn't say any words, continuing to drag him forward. Wei WuXian woke up a bit more, along with the lying corpses on the ground, who gained consciousness one after another.

Seeing that Wei WuXian was caught by Lan WangJi again, he hurried outside and asked, "What's happening? What are you doing?"

Lan WangJi turned his head, speaking one word at a time, "To receive. His. Punishment."

The junior's were the most confused ones of the group because they had never seen HanGuang-Jun take an offense to Wei-qianbei's shenanigans. In fact, he always seemed to be encouraging him instead. So this was weird yet interesting.

But the one question that popped in Lan Zhan's head was, 'What changed so much in the future for me to have changed so much?'

Jiang Cheng had a slow reaction from his sleep and drinking too much, so he just remembered the mess of a floor in the room. Recalling that they broke a countless number of sect rules of the Cloud Recesses last night, his face immediately froze.

Jin Ling giggled inside his head, looking at the expression his jiujiu was making. The future Jiang Cheng was always in control, and in general, you would never be able to catch him off guard or with a foolish expression on his face. Also, Wei WuXian's relationship with his brother wasn't mended to such an extent that he could rile up his brother like old days. So it was refreshing to see the new sides of Jiang Cheng.

Lan WangJi dragged Wei WuXian to the front of the Lan Sect's ancestral hall. There were already a few older disciples of the Lan Sect waiting there, eight in total. Of them, four carried discipline rulers made of sandalwood, which were extremely long in length, having numerous square-shaped characters carved onto them.

Wei Ying winced thinking about the punishment. He could still feel the phantom pain of the ruler. Punishments weren't new to him, but what hurt him more was his pride crushing in front of Lan Zhan. It was that what was mortifying. But... he sighed and pouted at his luck, still smirking thinking about the next series of events that followed.

Lan Zhan heard his slight wince and felt a slight ache in his heart. His heart beats changed their pace, and he felt weird. But why? He had no idea.

It was a solemn-looking scene, indeed. As Lan WangJi dragged the person over, two of them immediately came up, firmly holding Wei WuXian in place. Wei WuXian half-knelt on the ground, being allowed no room for struggle, "Lan Zhan, are you going to punish me?"

Lan WangJi stared at him coldly, maintaining his silence. Wei WuXian spoke, "I won't accept this."

XiChen saw through the silence of his brother and whispered, 'WangJi, are you sure you really didn't want to punish him your way right then?'

In response, he glared at his brother and whispered, 'Xiongzhang, do not be promiscuous.'

XiChen only giggled and looked at him with a sly look in his eyes. MingJue saw the entire exchange and shook his head at his friend's antics. But he was also smirking on his own, looking at the way the Jiang heir was staring at XiChen smiling. He seemed to be completely whipped. Now, this was going to be fun as both the lovers seemed to be completely unaware of each other's feelings. He sat back and waited to enjoy the show.

At this point, the boys who had woken up also rushed over, but they were blocked outside the ancestral hall, not allowed to go in. They scratched their heads, scared speechless from seeing the discipline ruler. Then, however, Lan WangJi lifted the bottom of his white clothes and knelt down beside Wei WuXian.

Except for the Lan family and the students who were present in Cloud Recess, everyone was shocked. They all turned to look at WangJi, who sat resolutely, not at all worried about his reputation. The juniors and QinghengJun had never known of this topic. So they were shocked, but more than that, they doubted that it had more to do with Wei Ying than WangJi actually breaking any rule.

Yu ZiYuan was just rejoicing at the fact that her own son was spared from all the humiliation. She didn't care for the brat, only that he was besmirching their sect's image, for which she would inflict her own set of punishments. She muttered to herself, 'Just let the brat come back to Lotus Pier', which Jinag FengMian heard, but ignored her by just shaking his head with a disappointed expression on his face

Wen Ruohan, though shocked, looked at Lan Zhan with critical eyes. Wei Ying was already an oblivious genius, and he knew that. It was a fact by now. But he had to yet gauze Lan WangJi. He didn't give away anything so easily after all. But Wen Ruohan was sure that by the time he left the simulation, he would have a much better insight at everyone else. Though the same could be said for everyone else also, it was also a fact that the gentry tend to keep their eyes closed to obvious truths. So it depended on them, if they used the fact for their own benefit or not. He shrugged mentally.

Seeing this, Wei WuXian turned pale with fear. He tried to get up, but Lan WangJi commanded, "Strike!"

Wei WuXian gaped with astonishment. He hurriedly spoke, "Wait, wait, I accept this, I accept this, Lan Zhan. I was wrong... Gah!"

With that painful voice, everyone pitied him but was still confused with Lan Zhan's actions. It didn't make much sense. But their concentration was divided between Lan WangJi's actions and Wei Ying's panic at seeing Lan WangJi getting himself punished in real.

JingYi leaned into SiZhui's ears and muttered, 'Why the hell is HanGuang-Jun getting himself punished? Isn't it better to hide whatever transgressions Wei-qianbei did? I mean, they could both be spared from this pain. Why torment oneself with punishment when no one even knew of the transgression?'

'Hey, you idiot don't you know just how much ridiculously righteous your HanGuang-Jun is?' Jin Ling sneered at him.

'Of course I know, young mistress. But that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it. Huh...' JingYi retorted.

The both of them were about to go on with their banter when ZiZhen interrupted, 'Hey, SiZhui, didn't you say that HanGuang-Jun has only a few mentioned punishments since his study days? I think this is one of them.'

Sizhui nodded but didn't say anything more. He was still thinking about those "fever-laden" days when he had arrived at Cloud Recess. It's true that he didn't remember much of those days, but what he could distinctly remember was seeing his Baba completely bed ridden and unable to take care of him.

He wasn't left alone, though. XiChen, QiRen, or the other adults in the sect took care of him. He remembered being joint at hip with JingYi because his mother looked after him many times as he and JingYi were around the same age.

But the fact was that his Baba, even though injured, had yearned to keep A-Yuan by his side. The problem was that along with his inability, HanGuang-Jun was also not allowed to spend much time with SiZhui.

And no, he didn't realize it on his own. He had overheard a few elders talking of how it was karma that HanGuang-Jun was now suffering because of his own transgressions by supporting the YiLing Patriarch. According to them, it was for SiZhui's own good that he was kept away from Lan WangJi until he had repented for his crimes.

A young SiZhui was scared shitless hearing the vitriol filled conversation of those elders. He ran, forgetting all rules, towards JingShi, scared of being separated from his parent yet again. He had no idea why there was an "again" in his head. He would think about that later. But he knew one thing for certain, he wouldn't leave his Baba's side come whatever may. If needed, he would serve the punishment with his Baba. But being separated was not an option. And he had said as much to XiChen and WangJi as soon as he had entered JingShi.

Back then, both the brothers had shared a look that young SiZhui hadn't understood, but looking at Wei WuXian's scared, crying face, he was reminded of that horrible day when his Xian-gege left him alone. And he finally understood that look of pain, pity, and understanding.

Remembering those days was always a pain, but it was bittersweet, too. He distinctly remembers waking up with weird nightmares of yellow, red, and brown blobs. A black blob accompanied a soothing tune. It never had made much sense to him back then. The elders who initially had not allowed him to stay at JingShi had to finally surrender, looking at his teary face and ill body. To be honest, he had charmed them all since the first say he had arrived at Cloud Recess. But he heard some mutters of how he reminded them all of Young Lan Zhan and young ZeWu-Jun, even though he wasn't related to them by blood. Thus taking pity on him and Lan Zhan's clear threatening -of who knows what, until A-Yuan gets to stay with his Baba- A Yuan, began staying with Lan Zhan.

In all this, A-Yuan understood one thing. His Baba was the most righteous person to ever exist. So he would never do or support something wrong. He also saw the real faces of many of the sect elders throughout his childhood. Thus started A-Yuan's secret rebellion by not learning anything taught without any logic. By subtle ways, he manipulated the teachers into agreeing where they were wrong. He never cross questioned on YiLing Patriarch's topic, but he always questioned their own actions in his own subtle ways.

It took years for XiChen to even realize what was going on. By the time he met Wei WuXian again for the first time after his resurrection, he realized that he didn't have as much hate for him as he had anticipated. He chuckled at his nephew's mischievous ways but had more understanding of why he did, what he did. Though, it took him Jin GuangYao's treachery to see the world more clearly than ever.

Jin Ling elbowed his partner to bring him out of the trance and then smirked at him while whispering, 'Never knew that the most disciplined disciple of Lan Clan was so devious.'

'Don't forget the Wen blood and Baba and A-die's nurturing flowing inside me. I have many more sides than anyone has ever seen. But don't you worry. I will show all sides to you, behind the closed doors. What say?' SiZhui sent over their link along with a picture of Jin Ling moaning SiZhui's name in pleasure while being tied to the bed.

Listening to him while looking at the picture, A-Ling almost moaned out loud, as a very pleasant shiver ran throughout his limbs. Controlling himself with extreme difficulty, he sent a picture of smacking SiZhui on his head before turning back to the screen pouting, because his beloved seemed to emulate his father by having no change in his facial expression. Frustrated, he decided to take revenge later.

The palms and legs of both of them received about a hundred strikes of the discipline ruler.

Lan WangJi didn't need anyone to hold him down. His back was upright, and his kneeling position stayed proper for the whole duration.

Wei Ying never said it, but he had been damn worried and guilty about Lan WangJi that day.

On the other hand, Wei WuXian wailed and howled without holding back at all, making the disciples watching the scene cringe from imagining the pain. After the beating finished, Lan WangJi silently stood up and walked outside after saluting toward the disciples in the ancestral hall, showing no evidence that he had been injured. Wei WuXian was the exact opposite. After he was carried onto Jiang Cheng's back, he groaned for the whole way.

Everyone was looking at the scene incredulously. Nope, not because of Wei Ying. By now, they were all slightly more than accustomed to his antics. But what surprised them the most was Lan WangJi's absolute lack of expression in the face of punishment. Of course, they knew for a fact that Lan WangJi, the younger of the twin jades, was as cold as jade itself. But they had expected that it would at least crack in the face of punishment. He was a teen, after all. But that did not seem to be the case. It was weird to see just how stoic he was. The most incredulous part was Lan WangJi taking his punishment by his own volition. Even the other Lan members slipped sometimes. And it was understandable, considering they had to follow so many rules, so they must be suffocating. But this...Just how much righteous was he?

SiZhui was suddenly imagining his Baba getting whipped by the discipline whip instead of the discipline ruler, and a shudder passed through his body. He wasn't alone, though. XiChen, QiRen, and QinghengJun imagined that scene too and simultaneously looked at the unmarred Lan Zhan, who was too innocent for the cruel world. He might appear as a stone cold jade statue to everyone else. But for them, he was their baby and for SiZhui, his entire world.

Wei Ying didn't even try imagining that scenario. In fact, he had to actively shut down his mind from going that route. He had a taste of Zidian and knew the pain. And to imagine Lan Zhan in so much more pain, scared him. His heart beats fastened, and his hands became sweaty. He knew these were the signs of an oncoming panic attack. But this was neither the time nor the place. But before he could think more, YanLi entwined her hand with his very subtly. Jiang Cheng noticed that and held his other hand, too.

Though he looked elsewhere, to not make him conscious of his actions, jiang Cheng was relieved to find Wei Ying relaxing, and the three of them sat like that for the rest of the time. But what none of them noticed was Madam Yu's hard glare, Wen Qing's suspicious healer eyes and the three of their admirers smiling softly at them.

The youths all surrounded them, asking, "Wei-xiong, what in the world happened?"

'Lan WangJi happened', Wei Ying muttered under his breath.

"It's understandable for Lan Zhan to punish you, but why did he himself also get the beating?"

Wei WuXian sighed, leaning on Jiang Cheng's back, "What a miscalculation! It's a long story!"

Jiang Cheng spoke, "Cut the crap! What on Earth did you do?!"

Wei WuXian answered, "I didn't do anything! Last night, didn't I lose the dice game and go down to buy some Emperor's Smile?"

'That means, you surely did something', Jiang Cheng scoffed, still holding his hand.

'ChengCheng, come on, you can't be suspicious of me all the time. See. Look at my eyes. They are so innocent.' Wei Ying whined. But his siblings knew he was kidding, so YanLi giggled while caressing his hand, and Jiang Cheng slightly elbowed his shoulder. They were still wary around him because of his almost panic attack, and that wouldn't do, according to Wei Ying. He wanted them to be free and not feel burdened by him.

Jiang Cheng immediately recognized that look, so he scoffed, 'Oh please! Innocent and that too you? Don't think that you can fool me with that. I know well, just how much "innocent" your eyes are. (Leaning into his ears) As much porn as you have read, I don't think there is any kind of innocence left in your eyes or brain.'

Wei Ying's eyes widened while he smacked his shidi this time, causing Jiang Cheng to laugh at having one up over Wei Ying this time. The brothers enjoyed amongst themselves, while Lan XiChen once again directed his fond gaze towards the Yunmeng Heir. His brain supplied him with such beautiful images of his A-Cheng that he had to meditate to shut down those images. Otherwise, he might just go ahead and engulf the ball of feisty cuteness.

Though, Nie Mingjue would actually deny that anything such as 'Fiesty Cuteness' existed in this world in relation to Jiang Cheng. He just didn't know how to bring his Lan friend back from his dreamland. As if Huaisang wasn't enough, he had to make friends with the devious XiChen.

Jiang Cheng, "... Don't tell me you met him again."

Wei WuXian, "That's actually it. Who knew what was wrong with my luck-when I carried the jars of Emperor's Smile and came up here, he stopped right in front of me again. I'm doubting that maybe he really watches me every single day."

Lan Zhan's ears had turned red thinking of all the time he spent watching the wierd creature, known as Wei Ying, who just didn't understand personal space.

Everyone was too busy looking at the flashback scenario unfold, in interest to notice Lan Zhan's flushed skin. Well, everyone except Wen Qing, who knew that Wei Ying must be up to something mischievous yet again. She wasn't that interested in watching it as she still hadn't completely forgiven him for what he did to her brother. She might have agreed for a truce right now, but that doesn't mean that anybody could get away after making her innocent and naive brother suffer so much. That's why she was the only one to notice Lan Zhan' ear tips reddening at Wei Ying's statement. She smirked but didn't say much as it would spoil all the future fun.

Jiang Cheng, "Not everyone has so much time on their hands. What happened next?"

Wei Ying pouted beside him. Jiang Cheng shrugged and ignored him. Wei Ying pouted even more. Lan Zhan had to control his brain from conjuring extremely shameless images in his head regarding that pout.

Wei WuXian, "And then I said hello to him again. I said, 'Lan Zhan! What a coincidence - it's you again!'.

Of course, he ignored me again. His hand came at me without any words. I said, 'Hey, what's the use of doing this?'

He said that if a guest disciple violates the curfew so many times, they need to go to the Lan Sect's ancestral hall to receive their punishment.

By now, Wei Ying's voice was playing in the background, while they could see the actual scenario playing out. Lan WangJi's eyebrows were twitching very slightly. And you could see it if you squinted your eyes.

Looking at this scene as a third person, Wei Ying was enjoying all the flutter on emotions on Lan Zhan's face. Basically, they were irritation, anger, and slight, if only present, befuddlement at his audacity.

And I said, 'There's only the two of us here. If you don't say it, and I don't say it, then nobody would know whether or not I violated the curfew, right? I promise that there's no next time. We're already this familiar with each other, so can't you just do me a small favor?'"

Everyone looked as if they couldn't bear to listen to this any longer.

XiChen also couldn't bear it. Not about listening, though. He just couldn't hold back his chuckles, looking at his didi having such a cute, frustrated face. Everyone else might perceive Lan Zhan as some ascetic figure. But XiChen would always see his cute little didi, who was always hiding behind his shufu's hanfu or clutching on XiChen's. He might have grown up, but his behavior was almost still the same. It's just that, instead of staying behind both of their's hanfu, Lan Zhan kept quiet and tried to fade into the background. Huh... as if it were that easy.

Lan was always larger than life for others. He sighed, thinking about all this, and pitied his brother's loneliness. May be that's the reason. He was so excited to see Wei Ying breaking down all of WangJi's walls and creeping inside his heart slowly but steadily.

Wei WuXian continued, "In the end, he said that we weren't familiar with a long face, grabbed his sword, and charged over. He paid no heed to our friendship or whatsoever, so I could only put down the Emperor's Smile and start passing a few moves. His attacks were fast and chased after me so close that I couldn't even throw him off! Eventually, I really was annoyed by him chasing me. I asked, 'Are you really not gonna let go? Huh?!''

"He still said, 'Take your punishment.'"

The boys were filled with the thrill of the story, and Wei WuXian was enraptured as he spoke.

And so were the viewers looking at the actual fight happening in front of their eyes. If you asked Meng Yao, he would say, 'Are all the cultivators this cool when fighting, or is it just these two? What with their high level of cultivation? They were literally looking like two heroes out of a cultivation novel.'

He might still be confused at his presence in this group, but that doesn't mean that he wasn't excited. One thing that he knew for sure was that extra knowledge never harmed anyone. And if he got this advantage just like the others in this simulation, he wasn't complaining.

Plus, there was this other thing that was nagging him at the back of his mind. The future Jin-gongzi must know something about him. Otherwise, he wouldn't be glancing at him every now and then, so somberly. He tried to be subtle, but it seemed that subtlety wasn't his forte. That was something to be considered later when he had more knowledge. So he concentrated back to the magic unfolding on the screen.

He forgot the fact that he was still on Jiang Cheng's back and gave Jiang Cheng's shoulder a hard smack, "I said, 'Fine!'. Then, I stopped dodging, threw myself over, clung to him, and plummeted outside the wall of the Cloud Recesses!"

"..."

The viewers gasped at the same time as the teens on the screen. The juniors sighed as this wasn't something they were unfamiliar with. Their Wei Qianbei was much more shameless than this one as Lan Zhan supported all his antics, unlike his teen self, who acted like an obstacle on his path at every other turn.

And even though, Huaisang, Jiang Cheng and ZiXuan - who had also heard in passing - had known about it, looking at the actual scene, they all looked at Wei Ying incredulously whose eyes were set on the screen.

Madam Yu was tired at this point by continuously glaring at the brat. So she resigned herself and tried calm down by the fact that they weren't called to Cloud Recess yet, so all was as well as it could be, considering that brat's presence.

Wei WuXian, "And so, the two of us fell outside the area of the Cloud Recesses together! It was such a bad fall that I saw stars before my eyes." Nie HuaiSang was dumbstruck, "... He didn't break free?"

Wei WuXian replied, "Oh, he did try. But with me locking him in my arms and legs, he couldn't break free even though he wanted to, unable to even get up from my body. He was as hard as a board.

And they could all see what was happening. Lan Zhan had gone red, remembering the feeling of them being so close. And even though Lan Qiren had tried changing his mindset, the scene in front of him took him one step closer to Qi-deviation. You can't blame it, though; it was his innocent nephew after all.

Nobody execpet XiChen and QinghengJun saw the redness creeping into WangJi's skin. But what everyone did notice was Wei Ying turning red looking at the closeness. Back at that time, he hadn't realized it much. But looking at it now and the level of intimacy that scene was screaming, it embarrassed him. Along with that, Nie HuaiSang was an absolute menace for whistling in the background. Wen Ruohan cheered from the side, too. It was really very mortifying.

Lan Qiren glared at the Wen Sect Leader only for him to smirk back, winking at him and mouthing something at him. Qiren understood him, though, and this time, it was his turn to flush. But he glared through it all only for Ruohan to mouth, 'Kě'ài de (cute)', only for Qiren to shut up completely in embarrassment.

Nobody saw the entire exchange. Well, nobody except Wen Qing, and that seemed to have left her completely traumatized.🤭🤭🤭

I said, 'How about this, Lan Zhan? Now, you're also outside the Cloud Recesses. We both broke the curfew, and you can't be harsh toward others and loose toward yourself. If you punish me, you'd have to punish yourself as well. Equal treatment. How does that sound?'"

Everyone blinked their eyes in understanding. But they were still bewildered by Lan WangJi. Wen Chao and Jin Zixun sneered at him conversing between themselves, 'What an absolute idiot. Who in the world actively takes on punishment for such trivial things?'

Zixun chuckled, 'Only idiots do.' Both of them ended up laughing silently at the amusing joke they had made. Though none except Jin GuangShan must have shared their enjoyment, had he been concentrating on them. Instead, he was concerned about something else altogether.

GuangShan, in his mind, 'Ummm... what should I do so that this Lan WangJi thinks that it's his mistake? I am sure, once I make him feel guilty or indebted towards me, I can very easily control him. After all, his righteousness seems to be his only weakness. What a weird guy! But it doesn't matter until he is of use to me. Huh...'

Oh! Only if he knew... Jin Ling and JingYi had immediately sensed the malicious intent from Jin GuangShan and knew what kind of wheels were tuning in his mind. They both glared and looked at each other, deciding on something firmly.

What was it? Well, only time will tell.

Wei WuXian, "After he got up, he looked like he really wasn't in a good mood. I sat on the side and told him not to worry, that I won't tell anyone else, and that the only ones who knew about this were the sky, the Earth, and us two. And then, he walked off without saying anything. Who knew that he'd do something like this in the morning... Jiang Cheng, walk slower. You're almost shaking me off."

Jiang Cheng wanted to not only shake him off, but, even more so, to make a few man-shaped dents on the ground by slamming his head down, "Is simply carrying you not up to your standards?!"

Wei WuXian, "I never asked you to carry me in the beginning."

'Hahaha... how very generous. As if you could survive without Jiujiu,' Jin Ling scoffed looking at We Ying's ridiculous antics.

'More like, shielding A-Cheng from his own anger', YanLi reminded them.

'Yeah, I guess. But I haven't seen much of their normal interactions, as much as their anger laced brotherhood.' Jin Ling shrugged, absolutely unconcerned at the glares he got from his uncles for having ratted them out, as YanLi turned sad eyes at both the brothers.

Instead, he thought, 'Good for them. At least that way, they won't have to pull their heads out of their arses in the future. Mum can surely keep them in line.'

SiZhui sent a smirk through their link and said, 'Well, I am discovering this new devious side of yours for the first time. That's quite sexy.'

Jin Ling shied away without saying much.

Jiang Cheng was enraged, "If I don't carry you, you'd probably stay in their ancestral hall and roll on the ground all day long. I don't have that thick of a face to lose! Lan WangJi even had fifty more strikes than you, and he even walked by himself. Yet, you have the nerve to pretend that you're crippled. I don't want to carry you anymore. Get off, now!"

Wei WuXian, "No, I'm wounded."

'What a double-faced man! Is he even manly enough?' Jin ZiXun sneered and guffawed along with Wen Chao, when YanLi flipped him off, 'Of course, yes. But you won't understand, because he is much above your level. Sorry, but not sorry.'

ZiXuan absolutely loved the gobsmacked expression both on his cousin's and the Wen heir's face. They were so shocked that they went speechless. Before Wen Chao could further insult his own heritage, Wen Ruohan smacked his head and glared at him to keep quiet. All the while, cursing at his wife for not even teaching their son properly.

The group joked around on the narrow path made of white stones. They walked right into a person in white robes, holding a book as he passed by. Lan XiChen stopped with wonder and smiled, "What is going on here?"

Jiang Cheng felt extremely awkward, not knowing how to reply. (XiChen smiled listening to this. Jiang Cheng peaked a glance at the older Jade and was confused seeing him smile. But he couldn't deny the fact that being in his continuous presence all this time, he felt more positive than he had felt in his own sect. To be honest, he could always see traces of his A-jie in him, which is why he felt at peace around him. The smiles he so freely gave everyone was similar to how his A-jie so generously smiled at everyone. Her smile was the only thing that kept him from going mental in that household, between his parents) HuaiSang answered before him, "XiChen-ge, Wei-xiong was punished with more than a hundred strikes of the ruler. Is there any medicine?!"

The person responsible for punishment in the Cloud Recesses was Lan WangJi. With Wei WuXian's pained cries amid the group that surrounded him, it appeared as if his condition was extremely severe. Lan XiChen immediately came up to them, "Was this done by WangJi? Is Young Master Wei still able to walk? What in the world happened?"

'You know, looking at this memory, even though it had happened just a few days back, it seems like a lifetime ago now', XiChen commented.

'Yeah, it seems like that, isn't it?' Huaisang chuckled.

Of course, Jiang Cheng didn't dare to say that Wei WuXian was at fault. Thinking back, it was them who urged Wei WuXian to buy liquor. Each and every one of them should have been punished. He could only speak in a vague way, "It's fine, it's fine; it's not that serious! He can walk. Wei WuXian, why are you still up there?!"

XiChen giggled openly, while Jiang Cheng was embarrassed at his inner thoughts being aired. It wasn't his fault that he seemed to freeze around Lan XiChen. YanLi and Wei Ying shared a conspiratorial look at each other, thinking of new ways to provoke Jiang Cheng.

Oh! Don't be surprised, YanLi had a mean streak in her that was a wide long. It's just that, between her parent's failed marriage, her bitter fiancee, and two brothers to take care of, her own self seemed to shut itself up somewhere deep inside her. But now that they were in this room, she was finally free from all her responsibilities, thus she was able to finally speak her mind, all the while trying to be at peace with her own self. She wasn't there yet. But she was trying hard.

Wei WuXian spoke, "I can't walk."

He raised his red palms, which were swollen a few sizes larger, and complained to Lan XiChen, "ZeWu-Jun, your younger brother is so cruel."

Lan Zhan looked at the image of Wei Ying's hand and felt immensely guilty. He turned his concerned gaze towards Wei Ying, who caught him. Lan Zhan was embarrassed. But more than that, he was worried. He hadn't expected to feel so bad looking at the boy's injuries. He hadn't even felt anything except confusion over the cause when he had seen his own back in a mesh of whiplashes. But the pain he felt over Wei Ying's injuries truly rattled him. He looked away, unable to gauze his own reactions.

QinghengJun saw the entire interaction and covertly put his hand on Lan Zhan's shoulder in silent support. Lan Zhan was startled and looked up to see the sad expression in his father's eyes. The expression was similar yet different. The amount of pain his father held in his eyes brought Lan Zhan to a sudden realization: What Wei Ying was to him was similar to what his mother was to his father. They might not be entirely the same. But Wei Ying definitely wasn't just another human to him. He was much more than that.

At this realization, he looked at SiZhui and suddenly understood what he meant for him in the future. It wasn't that much of a surprise as he had already anticipated with the way the juniors behaved. They tried to be subtle; but it seemed that subtlety wasn't their strong trait. He was overwhelmed with so many emotions right now that his brain was about to shut off. Instead, he started meditating to control his thoughts from going haywire. He would deal with all these emotions later in solitude.

Lan XiChen examined his palms, "Yes, the punishment is quite severe, indeed. It is likely that the swelling will not subside until after three or four days."

The shocked expressions on the viewers' faces were not different from the ones on Jiang Cheng's. Though, Madam Yu and Wei Ying didn't faze much. They had a history of that with each other after all.

'Lan Xiansheng, isn't it a bit too much, just for drinking? I mean, Wei WuXian wasn't even from your own sect...' Madam Jin asked, hesitation lacing her voice. She was scared for her only son going through such harsh punishments, for something that was considered as just a trifle in their own sect.

Lan Qiren thought about the scenario. His eyes met Ruohan's, and he was sent back into the flashback of his own younger days when something similar had happened. He contemplated and was about to answer when he was cut off by his brother, 'Actually, it's right. We, as a clan, that descended from Lan An, might be very righteous. But that doesn't give us the right to dictate what disciples from other sects do. Yet, I would like to specify here that they were in the Cloud Recesses, and that is our home. So when they are at our home, I think they have to respect some of our rules, if not all. I think that's the whole reason for this study exchange. The heirs and disciples learn more about different sects to coexist in this world peacefully.

Also, it needs to be mentioned that we can't expect them to be completely strict with the rules as they haven't been brought up in our culture. So the punishment was justified, but the severity of it was not. This incident has already become a subject of the past, but still, it was an oversight on our part. Thus, I would like to ask forgiveness from Wei-gongzi on behalf of whole Cloud Recess, for any and all the injustice he might have faced on our grounds; be it intentional or unintentional.'

Wei Ying's eyes widened at the apology from the sect leader. He immediately tried yo stop him from bowing, 'Lan-zonghzu, that's completely not required. That punishment was justified. When I had gone down the mountain that evening, I knew I had set myself up for a punishment. Agreed, I hadn't expected it to be so severe, but then it wasn't anything new. Also, Lan Zhan took the punishment with me, along with the extras, too. He could have saved himself, but he did not. That means he really believed that it was justified.

So, if Lan Zhan thinks it's right, I agree with it. After all, we have suffered together. That makes us closer than before. I don't want to lose on that closeness, with your apology. Though, I seriously appreciate it. Am I right, Lan Zhan?' He looked at Lan Zhan, only to find him looking at him intensely. A second later, he just nodded. But that one nod and his eyes were enough to express all that he was unable to say.

No one said anything more, but they had all noticed Wei Ying casual mention of such heavy punishments not being unusual for him. They didn't ask him anything, though, as they wanted him to open up at his own pace. Also, the simulation would certainly hold answers to their questions. Though they wished, it would not. They all sat back and thought about the situation as the simulation continued once more.

Jiang Cheng really didn't know that the beating was so severe. He exclaimed, "What? Not after three or four days? His legs and his back were also hit by the discipline rulers. How can Lan WangJi do this?!"

Lan Zhan felt really bad at this. But it's not like he could do much as it was already done and dusted. The juniors, on the other hand, found this much more weird. ZiZhen tilted towards SiZhui muttering for only his friends to hear, 'I never imagined that there would be a day when we would see HanGuang-Jun punishing Wei-qianbei so severely, and Jiang-zonghzu standing up for him. In our time, the relationship has changed so much.'

His friends nodded and thought about it as well. They knew that "wars changed people." But I didn't expect there to be a 180-degree change in them. This was one of the first examples they witnessed. They couldn't even imagine what all was waiting for them in the near future.

He spoke the last sentence with resentment in spite of himself and only realized it after Wei WuXian secretly smacked him. However, Lan XiChen didn't mind it at all. He smiled, "Nevertheless, it is not severe enough to require medication. Young Master Wei, let me tell you a way for your injuries to be healed in just a few hours."

Lan Zhan slightly narrowed his eyes at the statement, for he recognized that look in his brother's eyes. It was mischievous, and nothing bode well for WangJi. He tried to remember what had happened that day. But oddly enough, he couldn't remember it. It cemented the fact that it must be something terribly embarrassing or WangJi wouldn't have actively hidden those memories in the deepest corner of his brain, that even he was unable to recover on his own.

It was nighttime, at the cold spring of the Cloud Recesses. Lan WangJi's eyes were closed as he relaxed in the ice-cold water. Suddenly, a voice rang beside his ears, "Lan Zhan."

And all of a sudden, Lan Zhan had the onslaught of memories. He was stumped when he realized what was about to be shown. But it's not like he could do much. So he resigned himself to the first hand embarrassment he was about to face.

Everyone else, on the other hand, felt a sense of deja vú at the cold pond scene. It wasn't much different from what they had seen in the future. The one most excited was Wen Ruohan because he was slowly getting reminded of his own romance with a certain fuddy-duddy, too.

"..."

Lan WangJi's eyes sprang open. Sure enough, Wei WuXian was lying on his stomach, above the blue stones beside the cold spring, tilting his head and smiling at him.

'And he says he isn't flirting with Lan-er-gongzi. Huh... I can fully understand your pain, WangJi-xiong.' Huaisang thought out loud, feeling pity for Lan Zhan, causing Wei Ying to splutter in embarrassment. While Lan Zhan was thankful that at least someone seemed to understand his plight. His brother already seemed to be a lost cause as he had joined the devil in making WangJi life a hell.

Lan WangJi blurted out, "How did you come in?!"

Wei WuXian slowly crawled up and spoke as he took off his sash belt, "ZeWu-Jun told me to come in."

Lan Zhan gave a stink eye to his Xiongzhang, only for him to giggle like the devil he was. MingJue shook his head at his friend, who seemed to be having way too much fun at WangJi's expense. And though, he did not begrudge him, he surely shoved him in his sides as a revenge on behalf of WangJi, who nodded at him seriously.

All this exchange was seen by Lan Qiren, who was torn between wanting to rebuke them for all the fooling around, and being happy at seeing both the brothers having fun and finally behaving like the teens they were.

Lan WangJi, "What are you doing?"

The viewers were just as embarrassed as Lan Zhan. Well, most of them, if not all. Jin GuangShan might not like Wei WuXian, but he appreciated beauty when he saw one. His brain surely was concocting all kinds of vulgar images regarding both the boys. Madam Jin seemed to have sensed it too, for she kicked him in the shin, making him almost swear in pain. When he turned to berate his attacker, he saw his wife's terrifying eyes and cowered back because he was suddenly reminded exactly who she was before getting married to him. She was the Violet Spider's soul sister because they were equal in power. And Madam Yu wasn't to be taken lightly at all.

Wei WuXian kicked off his boots while leaving piles of clothing all over the ground, "I already stripped, so what do you think I'm here for? I heard that your sect's cold spring can cure injuries aside from helping with one's cultivation. So, your brother told me to come here and bathe with you. Except, it's really not nice of you to come here to heal alone. Eep! It really is cold. Brr..."

Wei Ying was in his under robes, at least. Or Lan Zhan would have died of embarrassment. This wasn't the case for the other teens as they were immune to a certain level of nudity. The Lans, on the other hand.....

He went into the water, rolling about due to the freezing water of the spring. Lan WangJi quickly distanced himself a few meters away from Wei WuXian, "I came here for cultivation purposes, not to heal... Do not leap around!"

'Aiyah, WangJi-xiong, don't be shy around Wei-xiong. Otherwise, how will my ship sail?' Huaisang commented, hiding behind his fan. Lan Zhan frowned and decided that Nie HuaiSang could never be on his side. He was the devil incarnate himself.

XiChen laughed and hi-fied with HuaiSang, causing MingJue to mutter under his breath, something about idiotic brothers and crackpots.

Wei WuXian spoke, "But it's so cold, it's so cold..."

This time, he didn't intend to emphasize or cause trouble. It was true that most people couldn't become use to the GusuLan Sect's cold spring in a short amount of time, feeling as if their bodies and blood would freeze if they stayed still for just a few moments. So, he could only jump around, intending to warm his body from the movement.

Hearing out the spirits' point of view, Lan Zhan felt guilty as he had not realized that Wei WuXian might seriously be in discomfort in their sect. He hadn't grown their afterall. How the hell had he missed out on it? He berated himself. While Madam Yu, on the other hand, thought just the opposite.

She whispered to Madam Jin beside her, 'Let me tell you, Zihao, this brat is absolutely faking it all to gain some sympathy. Doing all this, he is bringing such shame to Jiang Sect. But it's not like Jiang FengMian is much worried. And if I say anything, all these idiots here will launch a war against me. So I am quiet. But it doesn't mean I will let that brat sully my sect's name on a whim.'

Jin Zihao literally was shocked at the level of vitriol her friend was spewing. She hadn't imagined her childhood friend to be so antagonistic towards a child, an orphan at that. She had to think of something to talk her back into her senses. But she still wanted to wait until the Jiang Sect segment was shown. She was sure that they would be shown. That's when she will decide what to do with her sister-like friend.

Lan WangJi was originally meditating in peace, but with Wei WuXian jumping about, a few splashes of water were thrown on his face. A few droplets trickled down his long lashes and ink-black hair. It was beyond his endurance, "Do not move!"

As he spoke, he extended an arm and put his hand on Wei WuXian's shoulder. Wei WuXian instantly felt a surge of warmth coming from where their bodies connected.

Feeling better, he couldn't help but shift closer over there. Lan WangJi was wary of this, "What?"

Wei WuXian replied in an innocent tone, "Nothing. It seems like your side is warmer."

Lan WangJi firmly kept his arm between the two of them, maintaining the distance. He sternly declared, "It is not."

Everyone, except the certified bastards, we're quite embarrassed because they could surely feel the undertones of intimacy in the scene. It seemed like they were interrupting a private moment between a couple.

But the two people who were actually in the scene were transported back into the flashback of that night. Looking at the scene as a third person, even they could feel some different undertones. Yet, they weren't able to pinpoint on it.

SiZhui tried hard to look at the scene, but it was difficult. These both weren't just two teens falling in love, but his parents. It was overly embarrassing to see all this.

Wei WuXian wanted to get closer to Lan WangJi so that it was more convenient for him to flatter the other. Even though he couldn't go over and was given the cold shoulder, he wasn't angered at all. He glanced at Lan WangJi's palms and shoulder. The bruises were still there, meaning that Lan WangJi really wasn't here to heal.

Wei WuXian spoke sincerely, "Lan Zhan, I admire you so much. You really did punish yourself as well, without treating yourself any better. I don't have anything else to say."

Wen Qing really wanted to smack Wei Ying's head at his obliviousness. He could compliment so easily, yet he couldn't understand why it was so important for him to stay closer to Lan Zhan.

Lan WangJi shut his eyes again, without any words. Wei WuXian spoke again, "Really, I've never seen someone as prim and proper as you. It'd be impossible for me to do something like this. You're so cool."

Lan Zhan was starting to get red once again, just like that day. He couldn't understand why his heart fluttered so much when Wei Ying said anything sincerely. Wei Ying was close to him, and he understood that, but this level of nervousness was completely new to him.

Lan WangJi still paid him no attention. After Wei WuXian stopped feeling cold, he started to swim around the cold spring. He swum for a while, but still went near Lan WangJi, "Lan Zhan, didn't you notice what I was doing when I talked to you?"

Lan WangJi, "I do not know."

Wei WuXian, "You don't even know about this? I was complimenting you, trying to become more casual with you."

'Congratulations to you', Jin ZiXun and Wen Qing deadpanned together. They hoth looked at each other completely disgusted at having said something so similar to each other.

The amount of disgust that flashed on her face somehow seemed yo amuse Nie MingJue of all people as he thought to himself, 'She doesn't seem to be that idiotic. Might be good to get to know her. Let's see.'

Lan WangJi glanced at him, "What do you want to do?"

Wei WuXian, "Lan Zhan, why don't we become friends? We're already so familiar."

Lan WangJi, "We are not."

Wei WuXian slapped the surface of the water, "Now, you're being boring again. Really. There are lots of benefits if you become friends with me."

Lan WangJi, "For example?"

Jiang Cheng sighed while the rest of the viewers were still chuckling, looking at the two bickering like old married couples. Jiang Cheng literally wanted to close his ears because he knew that Wei Ying was about to spout all sorts of nonsense. But then he had to be conscious to do any kind of damage reparation, if needed.

Wei WuXian swam near the edge of the spring and leaned back with his arms on the blue rocks, "I'm always really loyal towards my friends. For example, I'd definitely let you be the first person to look at new porn that I get hold of... (At this, Jiang Cheng finally snapped and smacked him on his head, muttering about idiotic brother not knowing when to filter.) Hey, hey, come back! It's fine if you don't look at them. Have you been to Yunmeng? Yunmeng is really fun. Yunmeng's food is also good. I don't know if it's Gusu's or the Cloud Recess's problem, but the food in your sect is so bad. If you come to Lotus Pier, you can eat lots of delicious food. I can take you to pick lotus seed pods and water chestnuts. Lan Zhan, do you wanna come?"

Now, Jiang Cheng seemed to agree as he nodded in acceptance. Lan XiChen smirked at his brother's plight and also noted down Yunmeng's specialties as it would be a must during his courtship with WanYin. He was already planning so much.

Lan WangJi, "No."

Wei WuXian, "Don't answer everything with negative words. You sound so uncaring; girls won't like it. Let me tell you-the girls in Yunmeng look very pretty, different from the sort of pretty in Gusu."

At this statement, both the brothers frown and looked so similar that it almost looked creepy, had anyone concentrated on them both. Jealousy was a common factor for them as it concerned both the Yunmeng brothers. The sound of so many beautiful girls being present in the same area as Jiang Cheng or Wei Ying was like a red alert for them. QinghengJun had already noticed both his sons, though and sighed, finding what he had found in himself years ago, when his wife was yet to look at him in any romantic sort of way.

He winked his left eye at Lan Zhan in a proud way, "You sure you don't wanna come?"

Lan WangJi hesitated but still replied, "No..."

Wei WuXian, "Rejecting me without giving me any respect-aren't you scared that I'd conveniently take away your clothes when I leave?"

Lan WangJi, "Get lost!!!"

Jiang Cheng smacked him once again, at which Wei Ying mock cried, 'ChengCheng, it hearts. I am not made of iron, you know.'

Jiang Cheng scoffed in return, 'As if. If you don't wanna be beaten, why do you keep spouting out nonsense. Don't you know when to use filter on that mouth of yours?'

Wei Ying doing the most mature thing - poking out his tongue - ran away from him before smacking him in return, too. Jiang followed him around the rooms, trying to catch that little shit, who was too busy laughing and running away.
                       **************
Heya dear friends,

Back with a new chapter. I hope you are enjoying it. Wei Ying is absolutely a little shit. What do you all think about WRH and LQR?

Well, this chapter was already very long. So when I added the reactions, it just extended too much to update in one chapter. So I have divided it into two parts.

Please vote and comment because that really encourages me to write faster and give better updates. As you all know, constructive criticism is also welcome.

Until the next time... have a happy reading...❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Love ❤️
Nimika