Jin Guangyao was taken aback. “Zixun, preparations are almost done. Just wait another hour at most…”
Sect Leader Yao chimed in as well. “Jin-gongzi, there’s no need for this!”
“There’s already no fairness to speak of in this Siege Hunt, so what use is there in waiting?” Jin Zixun said. “Sorry, but I’m not going to keep you all company.”
With that, he moved to mount his sword and leave with the cultivators under his command in tow. Jin Guangyao hurried over to try and persuade him otherwise. Some joined in the uproar, intending to leave with Jin Zixun, while some couldn’t make up their minds, not wanting to give up the hunt just yet. It was chaos.
Jiang Yanli shook her head and turned to Madam Jin. “Sorry for causing you trouble, Madam Jin.”
Madam Jin waved dismissively. “What’re you apologizing to your auntie for? If you want to yell at that silly brat Zixun, yell at him to your heart’s content. I don’t care about him. If yelling won’t appease you, I’ll help you give him a beating.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay…” Jiang Yanli assured. “Then, I’ll be heading back.”
“Back to the observation deck, right?” Madam Jin quickly said, shooting vigorous eye signals at Jin Zixuan as he continued to stand there in the distance. “I’ll tell Zixuan to escort us.”
“There’s no need,” Jiang Yanli said quietly. “I have some things to say to A-Xian, so he can escort me back.”
Madam Jin raised both her eyebrows up high and sized up Wei Wuxian. There was wariness in her expression, and she seemed somewhat displeased. “The two of you are a young man and woman. How is it appropriate for you to be together all the time, without supervision?”
“A-Xian is my little brother,” Jiang Yanli stated.
“Oh, please don’t be angry, A-Li,” Madam Jin pleaded. “Just tell me what stupid thing that foul, stubborn brat of mine has done this time. I’ll make him apologize to you properly.”
Jiang Yanli shook her head. “There really is no need. Madam Jin, don’t force him.”
“How am I forcing him?!” Madam Jin was anxious. “He’s not reluctant at all!”
Wei Wuxian nodded. “Please excuse us, Madam Jin.”
He and Jiang Yanli both bowed at the waist and turned to leave, but Madam Jin locked Jiang Yanli’s hand in a death grip, refusing to let her go. As they engaged in this tug of war, Jin Zixuan suddenly dashed over.
“Miss Jiang!”
Pretending not to hear, Wei Wuxian pulled Jiang Yanli away. “Let’s go, shijie, quickly.”
“That’s not it, Miss Jiang!!” Jin Zixuan yelled again.
There was no way they could pretend not to have heard that, so Wei Wuxian had to turn his head, as did Jiang Yanli. Even Jin Zixun’s group had their attention redirected from whatever they had been fussing about. Everyone was curious as to what Jin Zixuan had meant by such an outburst.
Jin Zixuan rushed over, seeming to want to catch up with them, but stopped short. Standing far away, he gasped a couple of times. Veins bulged on his forehead. A few moments later, he suddenly roared aloud.
“That’s not it, Miss Jiang! It wasn’t my mother! It’s not her will! I’m not reluctant, I’m not reluctant at all!” He held himself back for a few seconds, then yelled, “It’s me! It was all me! I’m the one who wanted you to come!!”
Jiang Yanli was speechless. “…”
Wei Wuxian was also speechless. “…”
Madam Jin, too, was speechless. “…”
Even Jin Zixun was speechless. “…”
Having made his declaration, Jin Zixuan’s fair face flushed so bright red it seemed ready to pop.
He staggered back a few steps before steadying himself with a nearby tree. He glanced up, then froze—apparently, he’d only just remembered that there were hundreds of people around. Recalling what he’d just said in front of such an audience, he was dumbfounded for a good, long while before he very suddenly snapped back to reality. With a honking shout, he bolted into the woods.
There was silence in the clearing for a long moment before Madam Jin screamed in outrage.
“You bonehead! What’re you running away for?!” She tugged at Jiang Yanli. “A-Li, we’ll talk back at the observation deck! I’m gonna go catch him first!”
Then she mounted her sword in a hurry and flew off with a group of cultivators, chasing Jin Zixuan in the direction he had fled and screaming all the while.
Wei Wuxian had never imagined such a development. After witnessing this farce, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“What the hell’s wrong with him?! Shijie, let’s go.”
Jiang Yanli seemed a little dazed and only nodded. Wei Wuxian waved at Lan Wangji.
“I’m off, Lan Zhan.”
Lan Wangji inclined his head and didn’t speak, but only stared at Wei Wuxian’s and Jiang Yanli’s retreating backs as they gradually disappeared into the woods. On the other side of the clearing, Jin Guangyao was ultimately unable to stop Jin Zixun and his group. Griping and grumbling, the mob left on their swords. A good half of the crowd that had been so densely packed in the clearing suddenly cleared out. With no spectacle to watch, the ones left behind began to slowly scatter too.
Jin Guangyao wiped the sweat from his face and chuckled wryly. “Honestly…”
Lan Xichen patted his shoulder. “Today’s incident was no fault of yours.”
Jin Guangyao heaved a sigh and pinched between his brows. “I’m afraid two hours won’t be enough for the preparations…”
“Why not?” Lan Xichen asked.
“The truth is, not only did Wei-gongzi take a third of the prey, da-ge cleaned out over half of the yao beasts,” Jin Guangyao explained.
Lan Xichen laughed at this. “As expected of da-ge.”
Lan Wangji, meanwhile, remained pensive.
“The range of the hunting grounds will probably need to be enlarged even more than expected,” Jin Guangyao said, sounding troubled.
“Let us go take care of that, then,” Lan Xichen said.
Jin Guangyao was apologetic. “Sorry about this, er-ge. You’re here to participate in the Siege Hunt, but I still had to trouble you to help me at the last minute.”
Lan Xichen grinned. “It’s fine. Wangji, we will be leaving. Or will you give us a hand as well?”
Lan Wangji silently summoned Bichen. “I will help.”
Once they had left on their swords, only a few remained in the forest, still chitchatting about the recent show. Not long after, someone strode out from amidst the trees and was slightly taken aback at the scene before him.
The newcomer was Jiang Cheng. While on Mount Baifeng, he’d heard people gossiping about seeing Lan Wangji and Jin Zixuan’s sword glares, how it seemed the two had gotten into a fight. Worried that Jiang Yanli was with Jin Zixuan, Jiang Cheng had come to check things out—but he’d botched the timing and everyone was already gone. Of the scattered few people still around, he found a vaguely familiar face in Sect Leader Yao.
“Sect Leader Yao, what happened here?”
Sect Leader Yao gave him a look. “Sect Leader Jiang, your esteemed sect’s Wei Wuxian certainly is a character, eh?” he said in a meaningful tone.
Jiang Cheng furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”
“I dare not say what I mean.” Sect Leader Yao laughed. “There’s no need to take my words to heart, Sect Leader Jiang.”
Jiang Cheng’s face darkened, knowing what was being said was nothing good. I’ll have to find Wei Wuxian and sort it out later.
He had no intention of continuing to feign civility with someone purposely trying to be mysterious, so he turned and left the woods. As he walked, he faintly heard whispered discussion behind him. Their voices were hushed, as if they were afraid of him overhearing, but his senses were sharp and he caught every word clearly.
One of the family heads said, sounding sour, “Lotus Pier is such a show-stealer this year. Almost every fierce corpse and vengeful spirit was summoned to the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng’s camp. They must’ve gotten a lot of cultivators interested in joining their clan.”
“What can you do? We haven’t got any Wei Wuxians in our clan,” said Sect Leader Yao.
“Having a Wei Wuxian isn’t necessarily a good thing. I certainly wouldn’t want someone like that in my house, causing trouble for me every day.”
“Wei Wuxian is much too impertinent… Either way, in the future, I’ll not attend any Night Hunts he’s participating in.”
Someone sneered. “Heh. Interested in the Jiang Clan? I don’t think so. Let’s be blunt—aren’t they solely interested in Wei Wuxian? After all, it was only because of Wei Wuxian that the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng’s fame shot up during the Sunshot Campaign…”
Jiang Cheng became shrouded in gloom.
It was as if something had cast an indelible shadow on his face and heart.