A serenade of the past

Chapter 5

Finally, the day everyone had been waiting for arrived — the day when everyone would go to study in the Cloud Recesses. 

The birds chirped happily as Wei Wuxian woke up. Jumping out of bed, he put on his Yunmeng Jiang sect robes and combed his hair into a ponytail at lightning speed. He couldn’t believe it. He was finally going to meet Lan Zhan and Huan-ge!

A knock came from the door and Wei Wuxian leapt to open it. Jiang Yanli stood in front of him, eyes as large as saucers. “A-Xian! You’re up early today,” she exclaimed after freezing momentarily. “Aren’t those robes…”

Wei Wuxian followed his shijie’s eyes and fiddled with his robes. “Oh, you mean the robes?” he answered, flashing a bright grin at her. “Madame Yu made me wear this. Something about me still being a member of the Jiang clan and how I should be wearing this to Gusu.”

Jiang Yanli smiled. The protective way her mother had been treating both of her brothers these few days hadn’t gone unnoticed, and A-Xian had certainly been a lot happier around her. Even A-Cheng had gotten close to her, which was quite a shock for everyone. After all, Jiang Wanyin of the Yunmeng Jiang sect was never the type of person to get emotionally attached easily.  

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Jiang Yanli said, “We should go. Everyone is waiting.”

When the two stepped into the yard where breakfast was served, the disciples were shocked to see Wei Wuxian wearing the Yunmeng Jiang robes, to which Madame Yu glared and asked if anyone had a problem with that. No one dared to question the change in Madame Yu’s attitude towards their shixiong, and no one certainly dared to voice out. 

After breakfast, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng raced each other back to their rooms to fetch their things. When they arrived at the pier, they found a large crowd of disciples and residents of Yunmeng waiting to send them off. Wei Wuxian recognized some, like the kind lady who always gave him free sesame flatbreads whenever he dropped by her store, were even crying, waving at them tearfully with handkerchiefs. 

Sitting next to Jiang Cheng on the boat, Wei Wuxian turned to look at the Jiang residence and saw Uncle Jiang and Madame Yu standing on the porch. The Twin Prides of Yunmeng knew their parents, although they didn’t show it, will miss them very much, and both swore not to let them down in their hearts as the boat sailed away from the Lotus Pier. 

After a few hours of traveling, Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng, and Jiang Yanli finally reached the city of Gusu. Leaving the boat, they headed towards the closest inn and bumped into Jin Zixuan and his little brother Meng Yao, or rather Jin Guangyao, the name he used nowadays, in the lobby. 

Exchanging small talk over dinner, to which Jin Zixuan offered to treat them (Wei Wuxian noted that he had been much nicer after showing him the vision), Wei Wuxian asked about the reason behind Meng Yao’s new name. Meng Yao, no, Jin Guangyao replied that Madame Jin had accepted him as her son days before and gave him the new name of Jin Guangyao. Hearing this, the three of them congratulated him and invited them to travel with them to the Cloud Recesses together. 

After resting for the night in Gusu, the Jiang siblings and the entourage of the Jins traveled to Caiyi Town where they split up. Jin Zixuan had mentioned he wanted to spend some bonding time with his step-brother in Caiyi Town, and the two brothers bid their farewell. Parting ways with Jin Zixuan and Jin Guangyao, Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng, and Jiang Yanli hiked up the mountains of Gusu and stopped in front of the white gates of the Cloud Recesses, where they saw three younger cultivators waiting. Two of them had the Lan disciple forehead ribbon, while one wore a golden peony robe. 

Sizuhi, Jingyi, Jin Ling immediately recognized two of the three Yunmeng disciples when they approached them. Jiang Cheng, just like his future self, looked serious, but there wasn’t a scowl on his face. Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, had a flashy grin, and if that didn’t scream “Wei Ying”, the three juniors doubt anything else would. The third disciple, a young maiden with kind eyes and a gentle smile, could only be Jiang Yanli, the eldest of the Jiang siblings and Jin Ling’s mother. Tearing up, Jin Ling so desperately wanted to hug her and tell her he was her son, but it was not possible. They couldn't let anyone know about their true identities, at least not now.