Wei Wuxian’s fist flew out again. “Yeah, and what’re you gonna do about it?! What do you mean, ‘no reason’? What were you trying to do, grabbing my shijie just because you’re embarrassed and mad about it?!”
Jin Zixuan dodged and returned his strike with a slash of his sword. “What was I supposed to do, if not grab her? Let her roam the mountain by herself?!”
But Jin Zixuan’s sword glare was knocked askew by another, and the resulting crash sent both veering into the sky. When he saw the wielder, he was dumbstruck.
“Hanguang-jun?”
Lan Wangji sheathed Bichen and stood between the three of them, maintaining his silence. Just as Wei Wuxian was about to move forward, Jiang Yanli grabbed him.
“A-Xian…!”
Just then, they heard the thunderous sound of footsteps. An enormous, noisy party of cultivators and their escorts poured into the patch of woods.
“What’s going on?!” the one leading the horde demanded.
As it turned out, all the cultivators nearby had been alerted by the sight of Lan Wangji’s and Jin Zixuan’s sword glares shooting into the sky. A single glance was enough to tell that a fight had broken out, so they’d all rushed over and arrived just in time to witness the strange four-way confrontation. They said enemies were bound to meet on narrow roads—and sure enough, Jin Zixun was the one leading the horde.
“Zixuan, is that guy causing you trouble again?”
“It’s none of your business, don’t butt in!” Jin Zixuan snapped. Then he saw Wei Wuxian pulling Jiang Yanli to leave, and called out again, “Hold it!”
“You really wanna fight?” Wei Wuxian challenged. “Let’s go, then!”
“Wei Wuxian, what are you trying to do by always targeting Zixuan like this?” Jin Zixun demanded.
Wei Wuxian glanced at him. “Who are you?”
Jin Zixun was taken aback, then immediately flew into a rage. “You don’t know who I am?!”
Wei Wuxian was puzzled. “Why should I know who you are?”
When the Sunshot Campaign first erupted, Jin Zixun had been injured, unable to do anything but hang back and defend the rear. Unable to witness Wei Wuxian’s performance on the front lines for himself, he only had secondhand rumors to go on. Assuming those rumors to be hugely exaggerated, he didn’t have much respect for Wei Wuxian.
And earlier today, Wei Wuxian had summoned all the evil lurking on the mountain with a whistle. In doing so, he had called away many of the fierce corpses that Jin Zixun’s group were on the verge of capturing.
With all their efforts reduced to naught, Jin Zixun was already upset. And now Wei Wuxian was asking who he was! An inexplicable indignation rose within him—he recognized Wei Wuxian, but Wei Wuxian dared to not know him. Worse, he dared ask who he was in front of this giant crowd! He felt as though he’d greatly lost face, and the more he thought about it, the more incensed he grew.
But just as he was about to reply, streaks of gold flashed across the sky. A second wave of people had arrived.
This group descended on their swords and landed steadily. The one leading them was an older woman, a classic beauty who carried a sort of indomitability in the contours of her jaw. She rode her sword with gallantry and grace, and her slow steps were poised and stately.
“Bomu!” Jin Zixun greeted.
Jin Zixuan was blank for a moment. “Mother! Why have you come?”
It was then that he realized that both his and Lan Wangji’s sword glares had shot into the sky. Of course Madam Jin would come after witnessing that from the observation deck. He glanced at the many Jin Clan cultivators who’d come with her.
“Why did you bring so many people with you? I don’t need you to interfere with the Siege Hunt.”
Madam Jin clicked her tongue. “Don’t flatter yourself. Who said I’m here for you?!”
She saw Jiang Yanli shrinking behind Wei Wuxian. Her expression immediately softened, and she went over to take her hands and gently comfort her.
“A-Li, what a state you’re in.”
“I am fine, Madam, thank you,” Jiang Yanli replied.
Madam Jin was quick on the uptake. “Did that damned brat bully you again?” she asked.
“Oh, no,” Jiang Yanli quickly denied.
Jin Zixuan jerked. He seemed to want to speak but held himself back. As if Madam Jin wasn’t aware of what her own son was like! Easily able to guess what had transpired, she immediately flew into a rage and loudly rebuked her son.
“Jin Zixuan! Do you have a death wish?! What was it that you told me before you came out here?!”
“I…!” Jin Zixuan tried, but Wei Wuxian cut in.
“Who cares what your son told you, ma’am? From now on, he and my shijie should go their separate ways!”
In his anger, he wasn’t very polite with his words. Thankfully, Madam Jin didn’t care, preoccupied by comforting Jiang Yanli. But even though the woman herself wasn’t bothered, someone else used this as an opportunity to start trouble.
“Wei Wuxian, my aunt is your senior!” Jin Zixun barked. “Aren’t you being impertinent?”
The onlookers found him to be in the right here and voiced their agreement.
“I wasn’t targeting Madam Jin,” Wei Wuxian said. “Time and again, your cousin has addressed my shijie with callous, malicious words. If the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng were to tolerate this, it would bring disgrace on our name! How am I impertinent?”
Jin Zixun sneered. “How are you impertinent? How are you not impertinent? During today’s Siege Hunt, on a grand occasion such as this, haven’t you been stealing the stage at every opportunity? I bet you’re terribly pleased with yourself, stealing a third of the prey!”
Lan Wangji cocked his head. “A third of the prey?”
The hundreds of cultivators that had come with Jin Zixun were all heavy with resentment. When they saw Lan Wangji—who was rumored to be on very poor terms with Wei Wuxian—speak inquiringly, someone immediately leapt to respond.
“Hanguang-jun, you’re probably not aware of this, but as we hunted earlier, we made a shocking discovery! There is no longer a single fierce corpse or vengeful spirit to be found anywhere in all of the hunting grounds!”
“We only learned the truth after sending someone to inquire with Lianfang-zun on the observation deck. Not an hour after the hunt began, there was the sound of a flute! And then almost every fierce corpse and vengeful spirit went to the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng’s camp on their own to fling themselves into their traps!”
“Of the three major classes of prey on Mount Baifeng, only yao and monsters remain…”
“As for ghosts, Wei Wuxian summoned them all away…”
“You care for no one but yourself,” Jin Zixun spat. “How is that not impertinent?”
Wei Wuxian finally understood. When it came right down to it, Jin Zixun was only using the incident with Jiang Yanli as an excuse to go off.
“Weren’t you the one that said it?” he laughed sardonically. “That the opening shot didn’t matter, and we’d see what I was really made of in the field?”
Jin Zixun gave a derisive snort of laughter, seeming to find this hilarious. “You’re completely dependent on the demonic arts. Tooting your flute a few times can hardly be considered skill. Is that what you’re made of?”
“I didn’t employ any underhanded tricks, so why doesn’t it count?” Wei Wuxian asked in wonder. “You can try playing your flute too. See if any fierce corpses will listen to you.”
“A complete disregard for the rules is no better than underhanded tricks!”
Lan Wangji wrinkled his brows at this comment. Madam Jin finally seemed to have noticed the ongoing argument and admonished him.
“Zixun, that’s enough,” she said indifferently.
Wei Wuxian couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. He simply smiled. “Fine, then. Since it seems I don’t know what real skill is, why don’t you whip out your sword and beat me down with it? Let me learn something new.”
If he could actually have done that, Jin Zixun wouldn’t be this frustrated. He was struck speechless for a moment, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
“Well, it’s no wonder you don’t think you’re in the wrong,” he mocked. “It’s not the first time Wei-gongzi has disregarded the rules. First the flower-viewing banquet and now the Siege Hunt—you haven’t worn your sword at either event. Both were grand occasions, but you don’t care for the slightest bit of etiquette. And so how do you regard us, the ones who attend these events with you?”
Wei Wuxian ignored him entirely and instead turned to Lan Wangji. “Lan Zhan, I forgot to tell you—thanks for blocking that strike for me a few minutes ago.”
Seeing Wei Wuxian’s utter disregard, Jin Zixun clenched his teeth. “This is all the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng’s upbringing amounts to, huh?!”
Madam Jin’s expression hardened. “Zixun!” she rebuked.