Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: I Have Acquaintances in the Heavenly Realm - Chapter 13

The next day, when Wei Wuxian woke up, Lan Wangji was already nowhere to be found.

Supporting his aching waist, he got out of bed and noticed that the wooden tub had already been replaced. The new one was spacious enough that having a “mandarin duck bath” together would be no problem at all. Thinking about how he could play in the water with Lan Zhan every day from now on, Wei Wuxian felt a strange surge of excitement.

However, this current body was simply too weak. If it were his original body—back when his Golden Core was still intact—he could let Lan Zhan play however he wanted, and the next day Wei Wuxian would still be as lively as ever.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt he should find a way to improve this body. If he could form a core again, that would be even better.

Wei Wuxian was standing in front of the tub, one hand on his waist and the other rubbing his chin, lost in thought, when he suddenly heard a knock at the door.

Strange, he thought. Aside from Lan Zhan, no one usually comes to the Jingshi. If it were Lan Zhan, he wouldn’t need to knock.

Wei Wuxian cleared his throat, preparing to ask who it was, when a voice came from outside.

“Senior Wei, are you awake?” It was Lan Sizhui.

Happy to hear him, Wei Wuxian walked to the door and opened it. “Sizhui, Jingyi! What are you two doing here?”

The moment Lan Jingyi saw Wei Wuxian, his jaw dropped. Lan Sizhui’s face turned bright red, and he quickly looked away. “Senior… Senior Wei… you…”

Wei Wuxian looked at their reactions, completely bewildered. Is there something wrong with me?

He looked down at himself and—Slam!—shut the door instantly. “Sorry, sorry! You two little ones, wait just a moment!”

Wei Wuxian had been barefoot, wearing only his inner robes—which happened to be Lan Wangji’s—and most fatally, his neck was covered in marks left over from the night before. He dressed himself at lightning speed, pulling his outer collar high to hide the marks, and opened the door again.

“Come in,” he called out.

Only then did Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi enter, placing a food box on the table.

Sizhui spoke first. “Senior Wei, Hanguang-jun mentioned that you would likely wake up during the Hour of the Snake (9:00 AM – 11:00 AM), so he asked us to deliver breakfast to you at this time.”

Wei Wuxian sat down with a smile. “Hard work for you two. Sit, sit.”

Lan Jingyi blurted out, “It’s not hard at all! I’d much rather deliver breakfast to you than go to morning lessons. I finished today’s class and already have to copy the sect rules several more times. I really don’t want to do it anymore; I can practically recite them backward now.”

Sizhui gave Jingyi’s sleeve a gentle tug. “Jingyi, Hanguang-jun said that schoolwork cannot be neglected. He will check it tomorrow.”

Jingyi let out a mournful wail. “Aah? I thought I wouldn’t have to copy them today. After all that, I still have to do it?”

Wei Wuxian looked at Lan Jingyi with a smile, feeling deep empathy. After all, he too lived under the shadow of the Lan sect rules. However, seeing as Lan Jingyi was a Lan disciple, it was a wonder how a personality like his managed to survive among four thousand rules.

Patting Jingyi’s shoulder comfortingly, Wei Wuxian said, “Listen to your Hanguang-jun and copy them properly. Otherwise, the punishment might be more than just copying rules.”

Jingyi frowned. “Senior Wei, can’t you plead with Hanguang-jun for me? Just let me skip the copying for today.”

Wei Wuxian took a couple of sips of porridge. “I can’t guarantee that. You know your Hanguang-jun—so serious, so meticulous, so… anyway, I don’t think he’d listen to me.”

Jingyi insisted, “You are an exception. As long as you say the word, Senior Wei, Hanguang-jun will definitely listen to you.”

Wei Wuxian spread his hands with a wry smile. “I’m afraid I’m going to disappoint you. I have to copy the sect rules after I finish eating, too.”

Jingyi was incredulous. “Really? Hanguang-jun would have the heart to make you copy rules? I feel like he’d rather punish himself than punish you, Senior Wei.”

Wei Wuxian nearly choked on his porridge. This kid really knows his Hanguang-jun.

Sizhui cleared his throat. “Ahem… Jingyi, that’s enough. Hanguang-jun isn’t checking until tomorrow; he isn’t checking today.”

“Sigh! Fine,” Jingyi said reluctantly.

By then, Wei Wuxian had finished his breakfast and packed the dishes back into the food box.

Sizhui asked, “Senior Wei, it’s almost time for the midday meal. Should we… deliver lunch later?”

Wei Wuxian waved them off. “No need for lunch. I’ll wait for your Hanguang-jun to come back and have dinner together.”

Sizhui bowed with his hands together. “Very well then. We won’t come back later. Senior Wei, please rest well. We shall take our leave. Jingyi, let’s go.”

Jingyi rose and bowed. “Farewell, Senior Wei.”

As the two walked away with the food box, Wei Wuxian suddenly realized he had forgotten to ask Sizhui how Wen Ning was doing. Oh well, I’ll ask next time. Time for wine and inventions.

He went to grab a jar of Emperor’s Smile, only to find there were even more jars than yesterday. A warm feeling surged in his chest. If Lan Wangji were here right now, Wei Wuxian would have lunged into his arms.

He took a jar, had a sip, and sat down at his desk to start drawing. Before he knew it, he had finished three jars of wine, and the floor was once again a mess of discarded papers.

Finally, Lan Wangji returned.

Hearing the door open, Wei Wuxian dropped his brush and looked toward the entrance. Seeing the person he was thinking of, he immediately flew toward him and lunged into Lan Wangji’s embrace.

“Lan Zhan! You’re finally back! If you took any longer, I would have finished all the Emperor’s Smile.”

Lan Wangji replied, “No matter. I will buy more.”

Wei Wuxian’s smile widened. “Er-gege is the best. Xianxian loves Er-gege the most.”

Lan Wangji looked down tenderly at the man acting spoiled in his arms, gently stroking his hair. “Wei Ying, remember what you said.”

Wei Wuxian nodded vigorously. “Mhm, mhm! I’ll definitely remember. I’ll remember everything about you.”

“Mhm,” Lan Wangji grunted.

Wei Wuxian let go and went to grab another jar of wine. Lan Wangji began tidying up the mess of paper on the floor, piling it with the scraps from yesterday.

Wei Wuxian pulled Lan Wangji over to the desk and took another sip of wine. “Lan Zhan, yesterday I saw Daozhang Xie speaking directly to someone far away. I was thinking, could we do that too? Without the trouble of writing letters—just direct conversation.”

Lan Wangji replied, “That would be excellent.”

Wei Wuxian sat down. “I haven’t succeeded yet, but I’m thinking… since that protective talisman he gave me can contact him directly, maybe I can use a talisman to achieve the same effect—even over long distances.”

Lan Wangji looked at him firmly. “I believe you can do it.”

Wei Wuxian tilted his head back for a swallow of wine and said with a beaming smile, “I believe in myself too! I can definitely do it! Hahahaha!”