Lán WàngJī versus Alcohol: Chapter Nine

As soon as the sound of his flute began to pierce through the air, countless of wronged souls and fierce corpses howled as they surged forward.

Their roars filled the air, and wherever they attacked, they would left several dismembered corpses in a pool of blood. In a short time, the place turned into a river of blood.

As he looked at the scene in front of him, Wèi WúXiàn suddenly felt exhausted, and said to himself, “Enough! I’m really tired.”

“A-Xiàn!”

At that precise moment, he heard a female voice, full of worry, calling his name. He was suddenly seized with fear, and his whole body began to shake uncontrollably. In the very next instant, he felt a frail body lying in his arms, covered with blood.

“No! I don’t want this to happen!” he said to himself.

A slender hand slowly touched his cheek. But Wèi WúXiàn was too scared to even cast a quick glance at her.

“A-Xiàn. Xiàn-Xiàn.”

“Shījiě.” Wèi WúXiàn uttered in response.

He really wanted to see his Shījiě’s face once more, but he lacked the courage to do so. Suddenly, she was taken away by Jiāng Chéng.

“Sis, it’s all right. It’s just a scratch from a sword.” Jiāng Chéng hurriedly assured Jiāng YànLí after checking her wound.

At that time, Wèi WúXiàn’s mind was occupied with only one thought: running away from here. Anywhere would be fine, as long as wasn’t here. He wouldn’t bear to see her die for the second time because of him.

He was no long in control of the battle around him. Paying no heed to what Jiāng Chéng was asking him, Wèi WúXiàn desperately crawled across the battlefield, then ran away from the bloody scene.

“That’s it. This is how it should be. I don’t want to implicate anyone any more. If someone must die, then it would be only me.” Wèi WúXiàn said to himself while he was running as if he had devil at his heels.

“Wèi Yīng!... Wèi Yīng!”

The call brought Wèi WúXiàn to a standstill, and his eyes lit up, “Lán Zhàn?” he said with surprise, “Lán Zhàn is here!” Then he called out, “Lán Zhàn, where are you.”

A glimmer of light suddenly appeared in the distance. Wèi WúXiàn looked carefully and noticed that the dim light was coming from a cave.

“Lán Zhàn must be in there!” Wèi WúXiàn began to run desperately towards that source of light.

Upon reaching the cave’s entrance, Wèi WúXiàn was extremely shocked by the scene he observed inside.

Lán WàngJī’s white clothes were in tatters, revealing several deep and shallow sword wounds; and his hair, usually perfectly tidy, was dishevelled. However, he paid no heed to all of this. He was kneeling on one knee in front of another Wèi WúXiàn, who was sitting on the ground, covered in blood, and looking as pale as a ghost.

Extremely anxious, Lán WàngJī was talking to his other self. This scene afflicted him more pain than that of his Shījiě; Wèi WúXiàn howled like an animal in distress; his knees failed him, causing him to slump to the ground.

In agony, he watched how Lán WàngJī held the face of his other self and whispered to him words he had never heard before.

“Wèi Yīng, can you hear me?”

“Go away!”

Lán Zhàn, don’t speak to him. He can’t hear you.

“Wèi Yīng, I feel regretful for not being able to confess my feelings to you.”

Please don’t speak.

“Wèi Yīng, I’ve never hated you. Believe me.”

I believe you. I really do.

“You’ve always been incredibly smart and outspoken, which make you stand out from the crowd. And I like the rabbits you gave me. I’ve also kept your painting.”

“I’ve always wanted to go with you to Yúnmèng, and do all those things you’ve told me. I know that you have your own reasons for acting the way you do. Can we work out together to find a solution?”

Lán Zhàn, I beg you, no more talking

“Wèi Yīng, no matter what the road ahead holds, I am willing to face it with you.”

At this point, Wèi WúXiàn began to sob.

“Wèi Yīng, I have feelings for you. Do you feel the same about me?”

“Lán Zhàn!” Wèi WúXiàn could no longer suppress his pain and cried out loud, repeatedly calling Lán WàngJī.

Suddenly, he felt two arms hugging him with tenderness. However, he kept on crying, and his tears dropped on Lán WàngJī’s thin garment.

Earlier, upon hearing Wèi WúXiàn howling in his sleep, Lán WàngJī closed the door and walked quickly to check on him.

He found Wèi WúXiàn having a nightmare—his slender body was curled up and shaking violently, while he was crying hard.

Deeply concerned, Lán WàngJī carried him on his laps and cuddled him close.

As Wèi WúXiàn continued to cry, Lán WàngJī held his face and tenderly kissed his eyelids, while gently stroking his back to soothe him.

Wèi WúXiàn didn’t know whether he should feel sad for Lán WàngJī, or be angry at himself for having such a bad memory.

Now that he had woken up, Wèi WúXiàn stared at Lán WàngJī with sadness—the same person, who was extremely worried about his other self in his dream, was now looked at him with concern.

Lán WàngJī had rarely seen Wèi WúXiàn in such a hysterical state. Moreover, he was still drunk and at loss; he didn’t know what to say or do. He just kept on kissing his eyelids as though it would stop Wèi WúXiàn’s tears from rolling down.

Lán XīChén’s hearing ability was very good, nothing had escape his perception. He clearly heard Wèi WúXiàn crying, and got worried. After a short moment of hesitation, he knocked on the door, and asked “WàngJī, is WúXiàn all right?”

Wèi WúXiàn was startled when he heard Lán XīChén’s voice, he asked, “Lán Zhàn, why is Dà-gē here?”

Lán WàngJī gently wiped the tears from the corners of Wèi WúXiàn’s eyes, then replied, “I don’t know.”

Wèi WúXiàn was a little bit surprised by Lán WàngJī’s reply, then realised that since Lán XīChén had asked about him, therefore he must have heard him crying. He suddenly felt embarrassed.

Then it crossed his mind that Lán XīChén might have something important to tell them, and since he was sleeping, it was probably inconvenient for him to come in.

He sat up and tried get out of Lán WàngJī’s arms, but Lán WàngJī put him in bed, and pulled the duvet over him, he said, “You haven’t had enough sleep. Just keep resting.”

Wèi WúXiàn was amused as well as helpless, he said, “Lán Zhàn, you shouldn’t let Dà-gē waiting outside.”

“As an older brother, he should be tolerant and patient with me.” Lán WàngJī remarked.

Meanwhile, outside the door, Lán XīChén, who was about to knock again, paused as he listened to what his young brother was saying.

Wèi WúXiàn couldn’t believe his ears, thinking that Xiǎo-gǔbǎn* became really bold while he was drunk. His words could cause anyone to feel like stuck by lightning.

He then tugged gently at Lán WàngJī’s sleeve and, in a coaxing voice, said, “Lán Zhàn, you’re not being reasonable. Dà-gē must have something important to tell us. Let him in.”

As Lán WàngJī didn’t say anything, only pursed his lips, Wèi WúXiàn thought that he agreed with him. However, when he was about to invite Lán XīChén in, all of a sudden, Lán WàngJī kissed him on the lips.

He was usually the one who surprised Lán WàngJī with a sudden smooch, and being gazed at so closely after the kiss, Wèi WúXiàn felt his body flush with heat.

As he looked at Wèi WúXiàn, Lán WàngJī’s eyes became lustful. He then curbed his desire, leaned his forehead on Wèi WúXiàn’s, and said, “Xiōng-zhǎng, right now, it’s not appropriate for you to come in.”

As he noticed that Wèi WúXiàn was shocked by what he just said, with his head, Lán WàngJī gestured for him to look in the direction of the screen divider. And when he did, Wèi WúXiàn could not believe in his eyes how messy it was.

If Lán XīChén came in and saw this mess, they would be too embarrassed to face him. Wèi WúXiàn quickly composed himself, and said, “Sorry, Dà-gē, could you please wait a moment?”

Lán XīChén replied, "No problem, I’ll wait." He then went and stood in the grassland opposite Jingshi.

Not far away, many white rabbits huddled close and grazed on the grass, and since they were familiar with Lán XīChén, they were not afraid, even two of them came over to his feet.

That brought a smile on his face. Lán XīChén picked one up and stroked it gently on the back.

At that moment, the rustle of clothes coming from the room reached his ear. As a gentleman, he knew that he shouldn’t listen to whatever happened inside Jingshi. So, he moved farther away.

Soon after, he saw the door open, and Lán WàngJī stepped out holding a pile of clothes, gently closed the door behind him using his foot, and headed towards the laundry.

An instant later, he saw him return into the room, and realised the extent to which his young brother doted on his partner. He chuckled while gently shaking his head.

As he was about to put the rabbit down, Lán XīChén sensed a strong spiritual pressure approaching.

Drawing close to Jingshi, Jiāng Chéng noticed ‘Lán WàngJī’ dressed in white standing in the grassland with a large group of the rabbits.

“Does Lán WàngJī raise rabbits?” Jiāng Chéng couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth at that thought.

He then realised that it was Lán XīChén, since the two brothers looked similar in appearance, but differed in their personality.

Lán XīChén looked surprised to see Jiāng Chéng, but showed no sign of wariness or hostility.

Jiāng Chéng knew that he had trespassed on Yúnshēn Bùzhīchù, but he was determined to find what happened to Wèi WúXiàn.

As he came closer to Lán XīChén, he said, “Zéwú-Jūn, I have an important matter to discuss with Wèi WúXiàn, and I hope you will forgive my intrusion.”

Lán XīChén put the rabbit down, smiled and replied, “Jiāng Zōng-zhǔ, there’s no need to apologise. You actually arrived at the perfect timing.”

Since Lán XīChén wanted to discuss the issue that had occurred in Yúnmèng, Jiāng Chéng’s presence was indispensable. He also thought that having a face-to-face talk instead of helping each other secretly would improve the relationship between Wèi WúXiàn and Jiāng Chéng.

Lán XīChén’s words surprised Jiāng Chéng, since he was thinking that GūsūLán didn’t want the news of Wèi WúXiàn being injured to get spread. At the same time, he felt relieved, and asked, “Zéwú-Jūn, what do you mean by that?”

As Lán XīChén was about to reply, the door of Jingshi opened again, and the first thing that came into view was a large wooden bathtub slightly damaged. Both, Jiāng Chéng and Lán XīChén, were speechless.