Lost of Oblivion: Chapter 35

A few days later, Jīn Líng paid another visit to Yúnshēn Bùzhīchù.

“You let chief instructor Zhāng join LánlíngJīn sect!” exclaimed Wèi WúXiàn, who was surprised to see that Jīn Líng had acted faster than Jiāng Chéng.

“That’s right.” Jīn Líng proudly replied, “When the rumours of Wěishàn Village started to spread, I thought that he would be in trouble.

“As expected, his superiors put the blame of those rumours on him, and, soon after, he was dismissed from his post.”

Since LánlíngJīn took in chief instructor Zhāng, the sect now could be regarded as his salvation.

“You have acted very quickly.” said Wèi WúXiàn, “So, what do you plan on doing next?”

“Nothing for the moment.” replied Jīn Líng, “I’ll wait. There’s no rush.”

Indeed, it would be inappropriate to ask how the authorities had handled Wěishàn Village’s matter to chief instructor Zhāng straight away. They needed to find a suitable time to bring the topic to the table.

Wèi WúXiàn was happy about it, however, he could not help feel a little bit disappointed for the wait.

“A-Líng, you become more coolheaded.” said Wèi WúXiàn, “You’ve even come to discuss it with me. Young Zōng-zhǔ, you have grown up.”

Surely enough, Jīn Líng had become more mature, clever and decisive. He had also gained insight in worldly affairs, and experience in social relationship.

This was a good thing for Jīn Líng to become an adult, since he was the leader of LánlíngJīn sect.

Wèi WúXiàn was happy for Jīn Líng, however, for now, his desire was to see him stay a kid for a little while, because they had not spent a lot of time together.

He wanted to catch up on years he had missed when Jīn Líng was still a child, he wanted to spoil him for a while.

With his face slightly turned red, Jīn Líng said, “I came here only to let know you about it, not to discuss it with you.”

“All right, so be it.” said Wèi WúXiàn, “A-Líng, I’m really happy to see how hard you are working for my sake.”

He then added, “A-Líng, thank you.”

“Why are you thanking me for?” said Jīn Líng, while blushing even more, “I didn’t do it for you. And I don’t care about you.”

Wèi WúXiàn shrugged his shoulders, and said, “Okay, then. Anyway, I still want to thank you.”

With his ears and neck slightly tinted in red, Jīn Líng turned his head away from Wèi WúXiàn.

After staring for a short while at the white rabbits hopping about, Jīn Líng then murmured, “Thank you, too.”

“What did you say?” asked Wèi WúXiàn.

“Thank you for the ring.” said Jīn Líng in a low voice, “I already know that for my one-month-old celebration you crafted it for me as a gift.”

“Oh!” uttered Wèi WúXiàn, “I will give you a more powerful gift.”

Jīn Líng stayed silent, he involuntarily touched the ring on his left thumb, and began to fiddle with it.

Often, in his head, he would call it ‘The Supreme Mythical Peerless Precious Ring’. However, he never said it out loud, because the name was too verbose.

Wèi WúXiàn watched him playing with the ring for a short while, then, he said, “A-ling, I remember something.”

“What is it?” Jīn Líng asked.

“I remember that you called me ‘uncle Wèi’. Did I hear you wrong?” uttered Wèi WúXiàn.

Jīn Líng suddenly felt embarrassed, and began to stammered, “I... I...I’m not ready yet.”

“It’s all right.” Wèi WúXiàn gently said. Then, he took Jīn Líng in his arms, and began to ruffle Jīn Líng’s hair.

At least, his little Jīn Líng was thinking about it. Right now, he needed some time before he could naturally call him ‘uncle’.

So, Wèi WúXiàn didn’t mind waiting for that time to come, and was looking forward to it.

Jīn Líng started to struggle to set himself free from Wèi WúXiàn’s cuddle, “What’s wrong with you? And stop messing up my hair.”

Then, they heard some faint noise of footsteps, and turned their heads towards the coming sound.

Wearing snow-like white clothes, Lán WàngJī was looking so graceful as through he was some kind of heavenly being.

Seeing that it was Lán WàngJī who was coming towards them, Jīn Líng struggled even harder.

Wèi WúXiàn firmly held Jīn Líng, while waving at Lán WàngJī, “Lán Zhàn! Hurry up!”

And, without letting out a sound, Wèi WúXiàn moved his lips saying, “Hug us.”

Upon reaching them, Lán WàngJī hesitated for a brief second, then, he cooperated with Wèi WúXiàn, and hugged the two of them.

Jīn Líng immediately stopped struggling, and stayed still. His head was leaned against Wèi WúXiàn’s chest, and he could clearly hear Wèi WúXiàn’s heartbeat.

He was right in middle, surrounded by Wèi WúXiàn and Lán WàngJī.

Being hugged by Wèi WúXiàn was okay for Jīn Líng. However, when it was Lán WàngJī who hugged him, he felt a little bit frightened.

Jīn Líng was a twenty-years-old young man already, however, right now, it seemed to him that he had been treated as though he was still a child.

Furthermore, Jīn Líng got the feeling that they were doing even more shocking thing above his head, which caused him to be petrified.

In fact, Lán WàngJī only kissed Wèi WúXiàn slightly on the forehead, then, he leaned his own forehead against Wèi WúXiàn’s forehead, and both of them remained like this without doing anything else.

The sky above them was high and blue with some thin cirrus clouds looking like they were painted, and the grass beneath them was green and luxuriant with lovely colourful wildflowers. Like a caress, a gentle breeze completed the picture of this beautiful scenery.

Inwardly, Wèi WúXiàn said, “The ones I love and care about the most, also love and care about me, are right now by my side.

“There is a little bit of commotion out there. However, here is Yúnshēn Bùzhīchù, GūsūLán residence, where time is quiet and peaceful.”

... ... ...

The ten-mile of the lotus pond was a beautiful scenery with the refreshing breeze gently blowing. However, its owner was feeling depressed and irritable.

Jiāng Chéng never liked to deal with the authorities. For a long time, each of them had carried out their business without interfering with each other.

And the time when Jiāng Chéng asked the authorities for help had gone long ago; the Shooting Sun campaign, the reconstruction of Lotus Piers, and the revival of YúnmèngJiāng sect, those devastated periods were already buried.

Back then, he was a young and weak leader, surrounded by powerful opponents. He didn’t want to ask for help, however, it was his only option. He didn’t like to socialise, but he had to learn how to be social.

When the sect became more stronger, Jiāng Chéng gradually reduced his interactions with the authorities.

However, right now, he had to interact with them again, because the bad rumours about Wèi WúXiàn were originated from Yúnmèng territory.

A few days ago, when Jiāng Chéng had a small gathering with several influential personalities, one of them indirectly asked whether YúnmèngJiāng sect was behind all those rumours.

Even the small sects that were affiliated to YúnmèngJiāng sect also had such speculation.

“How ridiculous!” thought Jiāng Chéng, “If I wanted to deal with Wèi WúXiàn, why would I use such means?”

After the incident at the Guanyin Temple, Jiāng Chéng became extremely sensitive to provocations. So, he ordered someone to deliver a card announcing his visit to the prefect’s office.

However, when Jiāng Chéng had a meeting with the prefect, the latter’s attitude was very ambiguous.

Jiāng Chéng realised that the authorities would not help clarify the matter. So, he hinted that YúnmèngJiāng sect had to save face.

The prefect then kindly smiled and promised to give him an explanation.

Still, the authorities remained ambiguous about YúnmèngJiāng sect involvement on those rumours.

So, Jiāng Chéng took a drastic measure in purchasing a piece of barren land from the authorities at a high price, on the border of Yúnmèng, to put an end on Wěishàn Village’s matter.

Both parties agreed that, for the next two hundred years, the tolls imposed on merchants and travellers on this land would be collected by YúnmèngJiāng sect.

The purchase money had been used to compensate the villagers. The authorities gave them the exact amount that was originally written on the compensation plan. Then, they closed the matter of Wěishàn Village, and the rumours gradually faded away.