True Happiness

62. Archery Competition

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian were walking into the conference meeting behind Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen and his wife Lan Feng. They actually left Haiyue with Lan Feng's parents in Lanling. They wanted to spend some time with her while Jin Guangshan was out of town, meaning at the archery competition.

Upon entering the competition grounds, Wuxian could sense eyes on him. Aside from Wen Ruohan who seemed to be watching him like a hawk, but the Jiang's are looking towards Wei Wuxian too. Though, the Jiangs looked more agitated. Wuxian sighed knowing that it was impossible to avoid them. He knows that the Jiangs are going target him about something.

Wei Wuxian didn't want to give them any sort of satisfaction so he did what he could to ignore them. He and Lan Wangji were the strongest people in the area, but no one really knew that other than Lan Qiren, Lan Xichen, and Lan Feng. Like they would go around sharing that information though. Wei Wuxian was actually the strongest person in the area as he could kill everyone here extremely quickly if he went full dragon, but he was not that kind of person. He didn't want to use his dragon half unless it is necessary.

Wuxian and Wangji were standing in the group of disciples who were participating in the competition. All juniors are required to wear a uniform of a red round-collar robe, with sleeves that had tight openings and a belt of nine golden rings. Wuxian smiled, "Lan Zhan, just like on our wedding night, I can still say you look good in red."

"Wei Ying looks even more beautiful in red," Wangji flirted back.

Wuxian giggled at his compliment, "to bad I was scared out of my mind that night, but I did get a great husband from it."

Wangji smiled, "I wasn't necessarily scared, just nervous. I also got a good partner in the process."

Before Wuxian could say anything else, Wen Ruohan stood to make a little speech, "hello everyone, welcome to this year's archery competition. As usual, the event is simple, you will be shooting paper effigies possessed by fierce spirits while leaving the unpossessed decoys alone. Shoot as many ghosts as you can without missing or hitting the wrong target, and the clan who nets the most hits wins. I am expecting you to follow the rules but I also want you to have fun. The competition may begin."

With that, Wangji and Wuxian entered the competition. They stuck close together. Even though they were on the same team, they decided who can get the most points between each other. A competition between each other within a competition. The two were fairly close in the number of targets they hit, but they were having fun for the most part.

Lan Wangji had somehow already walked near him. With each shot, Wei WuXian brought one down. Although he was slow, he never missed once. The number of arrows in the quiver soon decreased by seventeen or eighteen. With his back facing Wuxian and front to a paper mannequin, he was in the process of drawing his bow. The ends of his forehead ribbon danced in the breeze, gently brushing against Wei Wuxian's face. Wuxian giggled at the feeling. After taking his shot, Wangji looked at Wuxian to see why he was laughing.

Wangji smiled upon seeing the sight. He adjusted his ribbon and pulled Wuxian close to himself, "was it bothering you?" He asked.

"Nothing about you bothers me," Wuxian replied.

"Alright," Wangji said and placed a kiss on Wuxian's cheek.

"Ugh, do you two have to be like that here?" A loud and familiar voice said.

Wuxian looked at the person and sighed, "sorry Jiang Wanyin, didn't mean to make you feel lonely."

"Why you little—"

Wangji stood between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian, "you so as much lay one finger on my husband you will regret it," he said.

"You are still so blindly ignorant and loving that fool?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"Jiang Gongzi, why are you so obsessed with harassing your former sworn brother?" Another voice said from behind them.

"Jin Zixuan?" Wuxian asked.

"Normally I wouldn't have stepped in but the Jiang's have been a problem for my family as of late," Jin Zixuan said, "even going as far as ending my engagement with Yanli, and I didn't want that to happen."

"You like her?" Wuxian asked.

"I do," he answered.

"Just so you know, her family disowned her and she is currently living in a safe place. I promise you," Wuxian told him.

"If you see her again, can you tell her I am sorry that she is going through all this?" Jin Zixuan asked.

"Of course," Wuxian replied.

"Oh, a little warning, Wen Chao decided to enlist in the competition and proceeds to harass the other disciples here. He misses his targets which should in his dismissal from the competition. He refuses to quit, even shooting an arrow at those who confront him," Jin Zixuan warned, "be careful."

"Thank you," Wuxian said and watched Jin Zixuan walk away. Jiang Cheng left unnoticed somehow, as he was always the loudest person in an area, Wuxian and Wangji pondered on how they missed him leaving. They just shrugged it off and continued on with the competition. They did eventually run into Wen Chao who was indeed, harassing other participants.

Wangji and Wuxian only intervened when it looked like someone was about to get hurt. After a bit of confrontation, Wen Chao was humiliated, so he says, by Wangji and Wuxian and storms off but spoke first, "my father remembers you, Lan Wangji. He knows of your new life with your husband. He is curious how he got your attention and not the woman he gave you."

Wangji shook his head and ignored him. Wuxian was a bit worried, "will they target our family if the Wen Sect gets more bold?"

"Potentially, but we will not let them get to us," Wangji said, "when we return home, we can work on improving our evacuation plans and protection barriers."

"That is something we can look into," Wuxian said, "but we have the trial coming up soon too."

"I know, but we will not let anything happen to the family," Wangji said, "we have trained so much and we know what to do."

"Things can change depending on the circumstances," Wuxian said, "but I believe you. I just don't want you hurt."

"I will be okay, and I promise to be careful, as long as you do the same," Wangji said.

"I will," Wuxian said, "unless I am full dragon then I make no promises as you know how hard it is for me to control him."

"I believe in you," Wangji said.

The two preceded to finish the competition. In the end, Wangji and Wuxian ended up tying for first place. Jin Zixuan was second or third, and Jiang Cheng was fourth. After the competition, the Lans went to the inn that had reserved for the night.