Wei Ying adopted by HuaLian

Chapter (20): Xiu Li and Xiu Si

It was eight hundred years ago, when Xie Lian last saw a mask as this; snow-white with a crescent smile. It has been so long, but how could he forget? When he was in despair_ when he was in the lowest point of his life_ when he was misled by White No-Face to destroy the Yong'an Kingdom, the one who stayed by his side with no complaint; then, when he decided to save the Yong'an Kingdom by taking in the tens of thousands of resentful spirits, it was the one with this mask that sacrificed himself in Xie Lian's place by taking in all of the curses of the resentful spirits. Because the young man didn't reveal his name, Xie Lian had called him Wuming. Back then, White No-Face told Xie Lian about Wuming, the black clad man with the crescent smile mask. He was Xie Lian's sole believer when everyone shunned him. Xie Lian didn't even know his real face and his soul was dispersed while defending the Yong'an Kingdom hundreds of years ago. However, Xie Lian could never forget that mask. It was, and is, the biggest regret in his life.

Wei Ying, "Baba...? A-die...?"

Wei Ying was dumbfounded at his two fathers being cautious of him. He had no idea what was happening. Xie Lian knelt before Wei Ying and quickly took off the mask from Wei Ying. Under that snow-white with a crescent smile mask was a little dumbfounded face. Xie Lian was trembling as he remembered everything connected to this mask and his voice was stern.

Xie Lian, "A-Ying, tell me clearly. Did anything happen to this mask?"

Wei Ying now saw that the mask was not the white rabbit-shaped with silver butterfly patterns he was wearing before, but a plain white mask with a crescent smile. But as soon as he saw it, the mask dissipated into dust and disappeared.

Wei Ying, "A ...a big uncle picked it up when I dropped it at that side of the grass-field."

Xie Lian, "Do you remember what he looked like? Did he say anything?"

Wei Ying, "No...I can't remember his face...he looked plain..."

Xie Lian murmured, "He must have used a fake skin..."

Hua Cheng, "Gege, I think we should go back."

Xie Lian, "Yes, we should." Xie Lian immediately picked up Wei Ying and held him tight.

Wei Ying had no idea what was going on but he had never seen his fathers look so serious before. "Baba, what about the awarding ceremony...?"

"A-Ying, Baby. I'm sorry...but we have to go now. There's something dangerous here."

Wei Ying was a little dejected, not because he didn't get the reward for the first prize but because he was leaving abruptly without even saying goodbye to Lan Wangji. Wei Ying glanced over at the arena where everyone was gathered to give the awards, and at one particular white-robed young boy with an expressionless face. They made a bet and he said he'd talk to Lan Wangji if he won the first prize. Leaving suddenly like this made him a little sad, but he did decide_ that he would meet him and collect his debt again when the time came.

The awarding ceremony soon followed after the announcement of the winners. The first prize was a precious relic, a jaded headpiece, which could purify your mind and body and help you cultivate faster. This was an invaluable relic in the GusuLan Sect. Lan Qiren let it be the first prize of the archery contest because he was so sure that Lan Wangji would rank first. It is imaginable in how great of a turmoil he was in when he found out that the first place actually went to Little Rabbit. His heavy steps and heart only relaxed when Little Rabbit didn't show up for the awarding ceremony. Normally the award for the first place would return to the previous owner if the winner didn't show up during the awarding ceremony so the winner could retrieve it later. But by the reasonings given by Lan Qiren such as 'The Little Rabbit did not properly fill in his personal information. We will not be able to determine who he is later on if he does not show up during the awarding ceremony' and so on, Little Rabbit was excluded from this rule.