Disclosed Regrets

Dafan Mountain II - The Present (5)

Revised 07/05/23

Had a brief spark of inspiration which led me to spending about 3+ hours rewriting this, haha! I altered the Jiang Trio's interactions and hope I brought the characters the justice they deserve! Thank you for reading! :)

***

The boy scowled. "There are around four hundred deity-binding nets in the mountain, and you guys have already broken more than ten of them!"

'Four hundred?!' Wei Ying gasped, 'Super wealthy!'

"..."

"Yeah, no... I have no words."

"Young Master, please do us a favour and let us down," pleaded one of the rogue cultivators.

Jin Ling crossed his arms, furiously exhaling a large breath. "You should just stay here in case you get in my way again! I'll let you down after I catch the spirit-consuming beast, that is, if I still remember."

"A-Ling," Jiang Yanli chided, gently prodding her son on the cheek. "Mind your manners."

"Well, it's not my fault they got in my way..." After a scolding look from both his mother and father, Jin Ling slumped into himself and acquiesced. "Sorry, A-Niang.."

"Don't say sorry to me, you need to just mind your words in the future."

"...Okay."

Wei Wuxian pursed his lips, 'It seems that the cultivators from earlier didn't retreat because the prey was difficult, but because this sect was one to be careful about.'

The rogue cultivators' pleas got quieter, "If we stay in the mountain for the whole night, we'd only be able to wait as our souls are sucked dry..."

The donkey was undeniably moved by their pitiful situation and began to tear up. It angrily charged towards Jin Ling, only to be held back by Wei Wuxian, who was tugging on the reins in an attempt to cease its sudden rampage.

"Now isn't that just the sweetest thing?" said a young cultivator. "Oh, I wish it was mine , that way it would beat up all of those men lining up to get my name."

"What arrogance," said the girl seated beside her. "I think I would have more use for it. Besides, you'd just scare it off."

"What did you just say?!"

" Why ?" said Jingyi solemnly into the air. "Just... Why would you fight over that demon? Please enlighten me."

The donkey easily threw him aside, but instead of allowing himself refuge, Wei Wuxian persistently continued to pull on the reins. "Come back! Stop, stop, stop!"

Hearing the commotion, Jin Ling turned around, evidently irritated at being interrupted, but his lips pursed in surprise as he noticed Wei Wuxian. Then his face contorted in disgust. "So it's you!"

Lan Jingyi doubled over in laughter, clutching his stomach tightly as he attempted to reign in his giggles. "Hahaha! The immediate change, Jin Ling, did you see your face?! Hahaha!"

"Jingyi... I don't think it's a good idea to be teasing Jin Ling..." Sizhui trailed off, his face paling. Just metres away, Jin Ling's face was bright red and he seemed to be wrestling with his father, trying to get to Jingyi, his sword in hand. "Oh dear."

Wei Wuxian stared in surprise, 'So he knows Mo Xuanyu?'

"For a moment there, I thought the Young Master knew it was Wei Wuxian... but that isn't likely as he would have struck him down moments ago, knowing what he supposedly did to his parents."