𝗣𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 ━ MO DAO ZU SHI

CHAPTER TEN ━ TROUBLEMAKER

after class was complete and lan qiren dismissed his students - lan wangji and hai-feng trailed behind jiang cheng and nie huaisang as the two meet up with wei ying. both males came to a halt near one of the trees yet wei ying still seemed to have noticed their arrival.

he waved then called out. "bro wangji! bro hai-feng!"

hai-feng greeted him with a nod, however lan wangji turned and walked away. hai-feng glanced over at wei ying for a brief moment before hurrying after the other.

"lan wangji, hang on for a moment."

the male slowed his pace before coming to a complete stop, allowing hai-feng to catch up to him. once he found himself at lan wangji's side, the newest addition within cloud recesses met his unwavering gaze. though the two looked as if they were the same height, hai-feng couldn't shake the small wave of envy upon realizing lan wangji stood a few inches taller than him.

"what is it?"

"ah well, i actually want to speak with wei ying for a moment."

"if it has anything to do with what he said earlier in class, then it would be best for you to ignore him and his way of thinking."

"actually," hai-feng began, raking his brain to come up with a believable excuse. "i let him borrow one of my brushes the other day for class and need it back for our session later today."

lan wangji remained silent but proceeded to study him for a moment. whether he believed him or not was unclear. after another beat of silence, lan wangji nodded.

"i'll see you soon."

as hai-feng backtracked his steps to make his way back to jiang cheng, nie huaisang, and wei ying - he couldn't help but catch wind of nie huaisang's statement upon arrival.

"lan wangji usually....no, he's never this impolite," nie huaisang noted then gasped as soon as he noticed hai-feng who had fallen within ear shot. "oh hai-feng i didn't mean....we were just talking...."

"it's alright," the male reassured. "even though it hasn't been long since lan wangji and i met, you're right about him. since wei ying ticked him off last night, his bad mood seems to have carried over into the next day. not only are you going to get yourself in trouble, but lan wangji as well," hai-feng explained all while looking at wei ying who had the decency to look guilt.

the ravenette scratched the back of his neck, locking gazes with hai-feng. "ah so you heard about what happened?"

"of course he heard what happened," jiang cheng snapped. "didn't you notice him sitting next to lan wangji? and speaking of," jiang cheng looked over at hai-feng. "you two seem close."

the male hummed and offered him a smile which caused jiang cheng to look away before he cleared his throat. the faint rosiness that barely dusted his cheeks seemed to give away the reason behind his actions, yet hai-feng decided not to comment on it.

"do we? i wonder...i guess we just...get along really well?"

"lan wangji isn't as nice to others as he is with you. he seems more relaxed and open around you," nie huaisang mentioned.

"i second that," wei ying agreed. "maybe there's something going on between the two of you hmm?" wei ying joked as he hooked an arm over hai-feng's shoulder. "that's it, isn't it? am i right? lan wangji definitely has a thing for you."

"i don't think that's it," hai-feng responded, trying to brush the topic off with a small laugh.

"i agree with hai-feng," jiang cheng cut in, nudging wei ying away from him. "lan wangji was probably told to watch over him is all."

"yeah, but wasn't lan wangji the one who brought hai-feng here in the first place? ever since that day, lan wangji has practically been glued to his side."

"i think you all are just imagining things or looking too far into it. lan wangji is just guiding me and helping me to better understand your customs. i'm not from around here so all of this is pretty new and overwhelming at times. besides, lan wangji has more things to worry about other than me. he, like all the rest of you i'm sure, doesn't have much time to think about relationships. he's strictly focused with his studies."

"i suppose you're right," wei ying answered.

despite him uttering those words, hai-feng had a feeling the other wasn't simply going to let the topic slide by. he was positive wei ying was going to keep bothering him until he received an answer he was satisfied with.

"anyway," hai-feng pushed onwards. "i came over here because i wanted to talk about your theory in class earlier. i'm very interested to hear how far ahead you've thought of this. i had the same question regarding the type of energy that's used."

the playful male hummed. "this is just a thought but, if we can cultivate readily available resentful energy, then the spots brimming with it wouldn't be forbidden areas. even that corpse hill, yiling burial mounts. what do you think jiaozi?"

hai-feng raised an eyebrow at wei ying's...interesting selection of a nickname choice.

"why are you referring to me as a dumpling?"

"well they're obviously cute, small, and special, not to mention they-"

"enough," jiang cheng commanded, cutting wei ying off - knowing he had a tendency to speak freely and had trouble holding his tongue at times. "your nonsense is getting out of hand."

"regarding that thought of yours," hai-feng noted, thankful that they had shifted back on track regarding their previous topic. "it's a very interesting theory to have, but it would be best if it were to stay that way. it doesn't hurt to speak of it just don't ever walk that twisted path."

"why would i leave my broad paved road for a narrow plank on murky waters?" wei ying pondered. "if it's that easy, someone would've done it already. wouldn't you agree?"

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note ,

kind of have mixed feelings
about how i wrote this chapter.
despite going over it three times,
and editing things here and there
i still don't feel very satisfied
with the finished product.

but i guess in the end,
it is what it is right? anyway,
i hope you all enjoyed the update!

thanks for reading! next chapter
coming soon!