In Parallelity, In Perpendicularity |XICHENG|

V | spoke more than talked

A letter to Lan Qiren was wiser than to Sect Leader Lan.

In the end, ZeWu-jun had never heard anything from Jiang Cheng, and ZeWu-jun, in turn, had never mentioned it again. It wasn't an overdue talk, anyway. Perhaps he figured Jiang Cheng had already gone to discuss whatever they were supposed to "talk about" with Lan Qiren.

(Sometimes, Jiang Cheng wondered what ZeWu-jun would have felt from that: A fellow Sect Leader regarding a Sect-Leader-in-acting-only despite the actual Sect Leader being out of his self-imposed seclusion. Then he imagined that ZeWu-jun would probably feel insulted, and Jiang Cheng didn't think he'd feel bad. Then again, he couldn't mull about this much. There was much more information that required his full attention more than some petty desire to get back at a long-past experience.)

Previous letters established that Lan Qiren—nor ZeWu-jun—was very unaware that some of his students would be sent on a special learning experience, implying that those who went were not permitted nor had they gone there as students of GusuLan but simply for themselves.

Apparently, someone had tried to suggest to go, and Wei Wuxian—Jiang Cheng was hardly surprised—had heard of it in passing and had the galls to interrupt class to convince Lan Qiren that it would be a good idea. Obviously, the elder had refused. After class, these students had heard Wei Wuxian would be going and tried to go with.

Wei Wuxian had refused, but he had made a small off-hand comment that apparently gave these students ideas that were clearly wrong. They had gone the next day, then, with the usual group from GusuLan who were meant to patrol. And all this time, everyone thought they'd been permitted.

Everything had all been a misunderstanding in the end.

Jiang Cheng was ill at ease not to bash his head against something when he felt the first signs of throbbing.

Of course, Wei Wuxian would, in some way or another, directly or indirectly, cause some sort of a trouble yet again. (Jiang Cheng waved away another traitorous voice attempting to voice the doubts hidden beneath the layers and layers of complex emotions he was getting a bit too good at ignoring.)

The four injured disciples had all recovered, thanks to the Li Sect's healing prowess, and Nie Huaisang mostly put the blame on himself, especially after the accused person to have "accidentally" severed the barrier was a Nie, and was obediently trying to investigate. It wasn't only a disciple of the Li Sect who had seen him. The Jin disciple who had been unconscious but recovered also testified to seeing it.

There was another thing that bugged Jiang Cheng, however. Just why on earth would there be a corpse attack when the resentful energy had long been contained and the surrounding area had otherwise been patrolled constantly by the rotation of disciples? There would have been no grounds to attract them, unless they were led there.

"Liwei-ge sent another report!"

Hanan slid the door open with an excited smile. He wasn't waving the letter like a child, but he was vibrating so much it was close enough.

This kid had a strange affinity with problem-solving it was almost chilling.

"Read it and tell me," Jiang Cheng replied indifferently as he penned yet another customary letter to allied minor sects. He wasn't fond of doing it—the paperwork it took was tedious—but he had to keep the relations going to feed his people.

"Of course."

Hanan rushed to kneel before him, thin long fingers already pulling the paper open. He did a quick scan of it—another point that Jiang Cheng found both strange and astonishing until he got used to it—then reiterated what it said diligently: