The Troublemaker Trio (Xicheng)

Chapter 8: Punished Again

Loud wailing could be heard echoing through the cloud recesses. The voice belonged to none other than Wei Wuxian. Feeling somewhat responsible for not stopping the trio from getting into trouble the day before Lan Xichen approached the sound to check on the state of the man who sounded like he was getting his limbs ripped out.

As he turned a corner he saw Wei Wuxian flailing about as he was carried on the back of Jiang Wanyin. The man seemed exhausted from carrying the weight of his brother, but seemed determined to prevail. Seems like the two really cared for each other, despite what their words might imply. Lan Xichen had never had such a relationship before. The Lans were always honest and straightforward. But as long as it worked for them it wouldn't be an issue.

Next to the brothers was Nie Huaisang, who was using his fan to provide the injured man with a light breeze. It seemed like the Nie had appreciated his gift. Or at least he made an effort to pretend he did, as the teen had been carrying it with him everywhere for the past couple of days.

"Zewu-jun" young master Jiang said as he noticed him standing there. Unable to bow with his brother on his back he gave a simple nod in greeting. "Apologies for the disturbance, my brother is being overdramatic."

"I'm not. I feel like I'm dying" Wei Wuxian threw his head back.

"Don't try that, Lan Wangji was perfectly fine. Be happy I'm not making you walk" Lan Xichen had heard from his uncle that Lan Wangji had waltzed over to his room first thing in the morning asking for punishment. Wei Wuxian had been there as well, kicking and screaming, but had been unable to escape Lan Wangji's tight grip on his wrist.

From Lan Wangji's account of what had happened he had caught young master Wei sneaking around outside the cloud recesses after curfew. At his hip was yet another jar of liquor. When the Lan had confronted the man he had dragged him outside the cloud recesses and argued that since they both broke the rules neither should get punished.

But he couldn't have been more wrong. Instead of keeping quiet Lan Wangji had taken the punishment along with him. Due to young master Wei being a repeat offender, within a very short span of time, the punishment had been much more severe than usual. They got hit by the discipline whip, twenty times.

Moving over to look at the wounds Lan Xichen confirmed that they were indeed quite severe. Not so bad that it wouldn't heal, but it would take some time.

"It will probably be at least a week until he recovers, maybe two"

"A week?" Jiang Wanyin exclaimed, clearly having thought it wasn't that bad. Having earlier stated his brother was overreacting. Not that he was wrong. Wei Wuxian's wails had been over the top from the beginning, but once he heard Lan Xichen's words he got even louder.

"I told you. I'm dying"

"Young master Wei isn't dying. But if you wish I can take you to a place which will heal you faster." Lan Xichen offered.

"Really?" Wei Wuxian lit up and jumped off of his brother's back. By a miracle he was suddenly perfectly capable of walking on his own. Jiang Wanyin scoffed, clearly regretting ever feeling worried about his brother's health status.

Leaving young master Jiang and Nie behind, Lan Xichen walked beside Wei Wuxian towards one of the many healing springs of the cloud recesses. There was one which would have been a shorter walk, but he thought young master Wei would prefer this one in particular.

"Now that you have been here for a couple of days. What do you think of the cloud recesses, young master Wei?" Lan Xichen asked.

"There's too many rules. How am I supposed to keep track of them all?" Lan Xichen didn't comment on the fact that out of the rules he had broken, there were those he had broken multiple times. Wei Wuxian had not been unaware.

"I'm sure you'll get familiar with them soon enough" If he kept at it he would surely be made to write the rules many times over during the next half year. By the time he left the cloud recesses he would not only know them by heart, but also be more intimately familiar with them than Lan Xichen himself.

"Zewu-jun, how do I get Lan Zhan to play with me?" Wei Wuxian asked earnestly. "Every time I approach him he just gets mad." Lan Wangji had never been one to play games. Even when they were young he had mostly spent his time studying or practicing his guqin. So on that end he couldn't really help. Instead he offered another piece of information.

"Lan Wangji usually just ignores people he doesn't care for. The fact that you've caught his attention is a step in the right direction." The young cultivator seemed very pleased with this response." Just try not to tease him too much and you'll do fine" Lan Xichen warned him, knowing that Wei Wuxian was sure to overstep his brother's boundaries.

"Here we are" Lan Xichen stopped. "Bathing for a couple of hours should make you as good as new."

"Thank you very much Zewu-jun" Wei Wuxian said as he rushed down towards the spring. Lan Xichen waited for a minute until he heard an excited Wei Wuxian exclaim "Lan Zhan! You're here too?"

Smiling to himself Lan Xichen walked back to his room. Making a mental note to empty his schedule for later when his brother would come complaining about what he had done.