Part 9 – Another One
Wei Wuxian had never felt so worn-out in either of his lives.
More desperately than ever, he missed his dear Lil Apple. His laments turned to bitter curses as the day progressed. He was dragging his feet so much from sleeplessness that Lan Wangji had to practically drag him the rest of the way to Yunmeng.
No one could’ve been happier than Wei Wuxian as the dirt road gave way at last to paved stone. The bordering trees gave way to bordering shops, and all of a sudden they were back in civilization once again. Tears of sheer relief sprang to Wei Wuxian’s eyes. Still clinging to him like a somewhat more self-assured second shadow, Nie Huaisang gave voice to a question that seemed long overdue in the asking.
“Wei-xiong…don’t you need a sword to attend the discussion conference?”
Having rallied miraculously now that he was back in Yunmeng, Wei Wuxian replied brightly, “Ah, I had forgotten! But now you’ve reminded me, Nie Huaisang. Jiang Cheng has a little gift waiting for me.”
Nie Huaisang blinked. “…Truly, Wei-xiong? What sort of gift?”
Wei Wuxian’s look was flat. Lan Wangji’s expression betrayed no reaction at all. From ahead of them, Lan Jingyi snickered, as Lan Sizhui hushed him, and the other Lan juniors grinned between them. From behind them, the Qinghe Nie cultivators projected auras of even deeper resignation. Nie Huaisang still looked only politely curious.
“‘What sort of gift?'” Wei Wuxian retorted. “A new sword, obviously!”
“My, how exciting!” Nie Huaisang said as he beamed—seemingly oblivious to Wei Wuxian’s scathing tone. “Jiang Cheng is a good and generous friend, indeed.”
Wei Wuxian snorted. “‘Good and generous’ has nothing to do with it! Friendship neither, for that matter. Jiang Cheng just feels guilty because my old sword answers to him. He wants to balance the scales between us, that’s all.”
Thoughtfully, Nei Huaisang touched his folded fan to his chin. “Still…with this new sword, you can develop your golden core, Wei-xiong. Mo Xuanyu didn’t leave you much to work with…o-or so it seems.”
Wei Wuxian nodded. “Yes, it’s true—not that I really care that much about it. But the timing is good. Lan Zhan has been pressuring me to work at it, anyway.” Wei Wuxian smiled slyly, his voice lowering to a conspiratorial stage-whisper. “He’s threatened to hold out on me in bed if I don’t set my mind to it.”
“Oh!” Nie Huaisang said, blushing behind his fan.
Lan Wangji glared over. “Wei Ying.”
But Wei Wuxian merely waved. “What? It’s only the truth, Hanguang-Jun.”
Lan Wangji’s expression said clearly that Wei Wuxian didn’t need to advertise it. But Wei Wuxian begged to differ. Lan Wangji’s reaction alone was worth it. There was just a tiny hint of pink dusting those high-boned marble cheeks!
“…What name did you give your new sword, Wei-xiong?” Nie Huaisang asked.
Wei Wuxian chuckled, recalling the new name he’d already forgotten. The new name that had nearly made Jiang Cheng rescind his offer altogether.
“Suibian II,” Wei Wuxian answered, grinning.
Nie Huaisang shook his head.
Mo Dao Zu Shi © Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
For those of you who may be wondering – I’m working on a Control side-story, which as usual has turned out longer than planned 😅 , so that’s why I’m churning out these other updates in the meantime 😉
💕