Wen Chao was a pompous man who considered that it is natural for others to yield to him. He enjoyed attention, flaunting himself before other clans at various events. Despite this arrogance, he was unskilled in both sword work and archery, and tends to panic in dangerous situations.
And right now, he was embroiled in a rather extreme threatening situation that made him almost pissed himself silly. He could not comprehend the reason but, the younger man in front of him gave off a vibe of something he could not fathom. His survival instinct told him that the teen was someone way beyond his capabilities to defeat, which was enough to terrify him into momentary submission. In fact, if he had to compare him to anyone in the clan then Xiao Zhan was probably the most terrifying person he had ever met after his father and Wen Zhuliu. He looked up and could not help to think that he would have died if that arrow had gone through his head instead.
"I don't want to waste any more time arguing with you, so listen carefully," Xiao Zhan said slowly, looking down as he gripped him tighter, a smile playing on his lips but the murderous intent that filled him was unmistakable. "This is the only warning you will ever get from me, Second Master Wen. If I see anything even remotely suspicious from you in the future, don't think I'll be merciful to spare your life."
With a final glare, Xiao Zhan let his collar go and the stunned Wen Chao fell squarely on his butt with a thud. He then sauntered his way towards Lan Wangji's side as if nothing happened. Underneath the unbothered mask that he put on, he was struggling to hold himself back from killing that crazy son of a bitch.
Wen Chao's assistant scrambled to his feet to help his young master to get off the ground when the petrifying spell was broken the moment Xiao Zhan left the scene. Wen Chao threw a fuss about the whole incident as soon as he recovered from Xiao Zhan's sudden retaliation, which caused many people in the crowd to watch him with wide eyes. He felt like he was thoroughly humiliated by the mere thought of such a thing, especially with all those staring eyes focused onto him. He stormed away in a huff, grumbling about how Xiao Zhan is nothing less than a lunatic. He was also very adamant that this matter absolutely not over yet and he definitely would take his revenge.
Lan Wangji watched from where he stood as the confrontation ensued, he remained completely silent throughout the entire ordeal. He was not particularly surprised to see that Wen Chao got his ass handed over by Xiao Zhan, but he could still not help feeling unnerved by the aura that surrounded Xiao Zhan at the moment. There was a cold fury in his eyes which suggested that there was some sort of underlying danger lurking just below the surface accompanied by an ominous aura of death.
As Xiao Zhan halted his step right next to his lover, he took deep breaths in and out a few times, allowing it to fill his lungs and released the aggression and remnant of rage through the air that went out with his exhaled breath.
Lan Wangji reached out a tentative hand and placed it gently on Xiao Zhan's shoulder. He could feel the other relaxed gradually under his touch. His breathing turned back into its normal pace as the agitation on his face quickly melted away to reveal a cooled down expression.
"Wei Ying, you acted rashly." Lan Wangji remarked quietly when he felt the tension in his beloved's dissipated. There was a hint of worry in his voice. "You could 've killed Wen Chao."
Xiao Zhan replied indifferently, "But I didn't. I know my aim when I see it. I am sure I have proven it to you enough."
"That isn't what I meant," Lan Wangji replied in gentle manner as he stared intently into Xiao Zhan's eyes unblinkingly, searching for signs of remaining murky energy reigning over his emotion.
"I know, Lan Zhan." Xiao Zhan muttered as he rubbed a hand over his face tiredly, as if to wipe away the remnants of adrenaline that were still pumping through him. He mumbled, "What else could I do when someone tried to hurt you?"
Lan Wangji was taken aback and slightly startled by the words coming from Xiao Zhan's mouth. They echoed inside him, causing his heart to stutter uncomfortably inside his chest. He sighed as he shook his head fondly at Xiao Zhan. "You know I could handle that, Wei Ying."
"Yeah, I never doubt it for second that you could. It was purely a reflexive reaction." Xiao Zhan only reacted that way because Lan Wangji was aimed at as well and to him, it was unacceptable. He would not tolerate anyone trying to harm his beloved without a second thought. And God forbid if it were to happen, because the world would be a much worse place then. He stated flatly, "Anyway, things already happened, what can we change about it?"
Lan Wangji softened his gaze and noted, "This incident might be a new variable to our plan."
"Maybe, but this surely fit our objective, no?" Xiao Zhan replied gruffly, "With this, Wen Ruohan surely pays even more attention to us. Which means, we don't have to worry about the covert mission being noticed then. Two birds, one stone."
Lan Wangji sighed again at the statement. His eyes flashed slightly when he caught sight of Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen approaching them with Jiang junior disciples trailed behind them.
"Wei Wuxian!" Jiang Cheng's voice rang out as he stormed over towards them. He glanced around uneasily as he eyed the increasing crowd at the surrounding of the arena, his brows furrowing into deep frown.
Ah, here we go again.
Xiao Zhan raised his eyebrow as he glanced at the fuming teenager with his arms crossed over his chest, waiting patiently as Jiang Cheng came to a halt next to him.
With a scowl, Jiang Cheng, roared angrily. He was obviously unhappy with Xiao Zhan's actions earlier. "What the fuck did you just do?"
"Stop shouting." Xiao Zhan shot back as he stared at him impassively, "That was called self-defense, obviously. What else Jiang Cheng?"
"Self-defense you say?" Jiang Cheng scoffed in disbelief, "But still, you didn't have to provoke that Wen snob like that!"
"Did you honestly expect me to stand still after someone attempted to murder us both??" Xiao Zhan growled as he glared daggers at Jiang Cheng.
"Well, no! " Jiang Cheng gestured wildly at their surroundings, "But did you not think of the consequences? We are in Qishan. The home of the clan which young master you just severely offended."
"Oh, please. I am sure you are not stupid, Jiang Cheng. But right now, I am questioning your ability to think." Xiao Zhan deadpanned, "He shot at us first. Just who offended who here?!"
Lan Wangji frowned at the interaction between the two, a small frown pulling at the corner of his mouth. "Jiang Wanyin, are you saying one cannot defend himself in a situation such as this?"
Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes at the implication, "Of course not. What I meant is, we are going to face some serious retaliation from the Wen Clan."
"So?" Xiao Zhan said carelessly with his eyebrow raised and tilting his head slightly.
Jiang Cheng paused, looking up at Xiao Zhan with his eyes almost bulging out of his skull, "Are you saying that you aren't bothered about this? There will be repercussion from your actions. You do realize that they might target our sect after this, right?"
Xiao Zhan looked up calmly at Jiang Cheng, "It doesn't matter. They already are targeting all sects as we speak."
"Huh?!" Jiang Cheng exclaimed loudly, staring at Xiao Zhan incredulously, "What do you mean!?"
"I am sure you heard about the takeover of three clans in Beijiang." Xiao Zhan said in a serious tone, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Do you think that it would end there?"
"But... That does not mean that they are coming for us." Jiang Cheng tried to argue despite knowing it very well deep in his heart that what his martial brother said was nothing but the truth.
"Why don't you put all your extra energy to yell at me to think about it a little more?" Xiao Zhan shrugged dismissively. He then turned away from Jiang Cheng whose face was currently displaying varying degrees of shock, concern and annoyance. "That's enough of talking. We are still in this competition after all, we need to win."
Jiang Cheng glowered with a look of frustration etched onto his face, "Fine! Let's just get this damn archery tournament over with already!"
He spun his heel around, huffing and puffing as he did so. The juniors looked expectantly at Xiao Zhan on what they should do. Eventually, they trailed behind Jiang Cheng after receiving a wordless instruction from their head disciple to follow their senior.
Lan Xichen, on the other hand, was too stunned to even say a word as the exchange took place. The display of dominance and ruthlessness earlier was nothing short of astounding and a little frightening, if he is to be honest. It was the first time since he had known the man that Xiao Zhan showed this kind of aggressiveness towards someone. He made a note in his mind not to piss him off in any future interactions. Not that he wanted to be on bad terms with Xiao Zhan. Of course not. Never. He even considered to tone down his teasing in future, just in case.
He took a glance at his little brother whose hand never left Xiao Zhan's back. He cleared his throat, "Are you alright, Young Master Wei?"
Xiao Zhan nodded his head slightly and smiled faintly, "Yes, Zewu-jun."
Lan Xichen acknowledged his reply with a soft smile before turning his attention onto people who were gathering around them. "Then, shall we finish this? There are not many of the targets left."
The pair agreed immediately and soon they were back in the game again.
Not too far away, Nie Mingjue saw the entire commotion and the first thing that came to his mind was the flashback of the hunt. To be precise, the moment when he saw Xiao Zhan's silhouette as he was engulfed in a terrifying kind of energy before he shredded a monster to pieces. The younger man was definitely not someone normal and not to be trifled with. And most of all, his youngest brother was proven to be fearless as well and he was so damn proud of him.
"Woah, that is definitely the demon trainer right there." Nie Huaisang chirped beside him, fanning himself excitedly.
Nie Mingjue narrowed his eyes at his biological half-brother, restraining himself from slapping the fan away from the grinning teen. He scorned, "Why don't you try and be like Wei Ying a little? Are you not ashamed that you were eliminated so early? You didn't even hit one!"
"Da Ge, isn't Didi alone is enough to make you proud?" Nie Huaisang pouted childishly. He added almost inaudible, "Can you get off my back now?"
Nie Mingjue gave him an exasperated look, he gritted his words, "You're really unbelievable!"
"Ouch. Da Ge~ Why did you hit me on the head again?" Nie Huaisang complained as a light slap landed on his head. He rubbed his head and pulled a puppy dog eyes at his elder brother, asking a rhetoric question, "What if I become stupid?"
Nie Mingjue sucked a deep breath before turning away, "Just shut up now and follow me!"
Nie Huaisang's steps were heavy, and he whined loudly, "But Da Ge, I am already ousted. Why do I have to hang around in the arena? Can I just go out of here and rest?"
"Huaisang, I will hang you on the nearest tree if you keep up with your nonsense!" Nie Mingjue barked at him.
With that threat, Nie Huaisang promptly shut up.
The duo did not waste any more second as they resumed hunting down the remaining Feral Ghost Targets in the vicinity.
The arrows whizzed forward one by one in a blur, taking down each mannequin right on the mark. Lan Wangji's arrow pierced through the center of the hundredth Feral Ghost with relative ease and the contest was finally over.
The final bellowing horn sounded throughout the arena signaling the end of the match.
"You did well, Wei Ying." Lan Wangji praised sincerely.
His words caused Xiao Zhan smile sweetly at him, "You too."
They both glanced towards where the sect leaders were gathering as all participants waited for the result of the competition in the field. They went to stand with their respective clans afterwards.
When the announcement was made, it was not a surprise to almost everyone on who took the top three spots.
"Qishan Discussion Conference, the archery competition. First place, Yunmeng Jiang, Wei Wuxian."
"Second place, Gusu Lan, Lan Wangji."
"Third place, Gusu Lan, Lan Xichen."
"Fourth place, Lanling Jin, Jin Zixuan."
Some whispers and murmurs erupted among the disciples; comments could be heard among them. Some were impressed and some directed a look of jealousy and envy. There were also gossips about the incident involving the victor of the game and the youngest son of the hosting clan.
The juniors of Jiang sects, on one corner, were rowdy as always as they cheered with pure pride and glee as their head disciple emerged as the winner.
"Indeed, you are our Da-shixiong! We win! Da-shixiong is awesome!"
"Wow! The two of the top four are from Lan Clan. As expected from the Twin Jades of Gusu Lan! They are amazing." They buzzed in admiration.
"Looking at the Wen Clan, the competition that was held by them, but they didn't even manage to get into the top 4! That must be embarrassing." One Shidi remarked.
"Shut it!" Jiang Cheng snapped at them. It was bad enough that his martial brother had offended Wen Chao. Things could only get worse if those remarks reached the ears of Wen Clan's members. He glanced sideways at Xiao Zhan who was getting a group hug from the other boys, his lips twitched upwards faintly. Despite their disagreement on certain things, he could not help but to feel proud over having such talented martial brother. But there was no way he was going to say it out loud at this moment.
Lan Wangji's knuckles tightened slightly on the bow in his hand as he watched the scene in front of him. He couldn't help it. There are a few things that he dislikes. One of them is physical touches with others. Except Wei Ying, of course. Now, he has another one in his list, any physical touches on his beloved by others.
He averted his eyes in order to keep his composure and as if it was on cue, he caught an amused stare directed at him. He sighed deeply.
"Not a word, Brother." He said before Lan Xichen could open his mouth.
Lan Xichen merely chuckled, ignoring his warning, "If looks could kill..."
Lan Wangji gave him a look that meant to kill his brother's words from continuing. That did not stop Lan Xichen from laughing though.
******
Wen Ruohan put down his cup roughly upon hearing the names of the four winners. His expression darkened considerably as he turned his gaze upon the other clan leaders, sneering sarcastically, "Very good! People of talents emerged of succession from four clans. How interesting! How very interesting! I think I should congratulate the winners personally tomorrow!"
Wen Chao gulped as his father menacing glare fell upon him, a look of pure fury radiating from those icy orbs, boring into his very soul. His father was aware of the stunt that he pulled earlier and right now, it seemed like his old man was rather displeased at him.
"What a disappointment." Wen Ruohan mumbled under his breath bitterly before he abruptly stood up from his seat. Wen Chao followed behind him meekly together with his group of men. The other sect leaders left one by one after his departure.
"Oh dear. Sect Leader Wen is obviously displeased. We hogged the limelight at Qishan. I now feel fear for our act of arrogance," Jin Guangshan muttered anxiously, glancing nervously towards the direction of where the furious leader's figure disappeared. He was a cautious man; the mere thought of the wrath that Wen Ruohan must harbor terrified him.
"Youths are innately more free-spirited. The future of the cultivation clans still depends on these youths. Moreover, it's hard to determine what could happen in the future." Jiang Fengmian kept his calm demeanor, pouring himself another cup of drink.
"Sect Leader Jin," Qingheng-Jun spoke up, "It's a fair play. The young ones did their best. It has nothing to do with arrogance. Are you that afraid of retaliation?"
Jin Guangshan laughed, "Why shouldn't I be afraid? We are in a precarious position. The Wen Clan could strike at us at any moment."
"Sect Leader Jin, are you suggesting that we should all bow down to him?" Qingheng-Jun inquired with a frown; his golden eyes narrowed. He understood now why Xiao Zhan did not want to get this man to be involved in their plans.
Jin Guangshan shook his head dismissively, "No, of course not. It's not like that. I am merely pointing out that we don't know when the Wen will retaliate against us."
Sect Leader Nie scoffed contemptuously, "Different words, same meaning."
Jin Guangshan shot him a nasty look but refrained from arguing with him. This conversation wasn't exactly in his favor anyway. He changed the topic as his eyes turned towards Jiang Fengmian. "Sect Leader Jiang, aren't you worried for your clan? Your head disciple had insulted Second Young Master Wen earlier. Are you not going to punish him?"
"Why should I? It was not his fault," Jiang Fengmian replied with a light shake of the head.
Jin Guangshan blinked at the statement, "I beg to differ, Sect Leader Jiang. Your nephew's behavior could possibly provoke Wen Ruohan. I would assume that a person of your status and prestige wouldn't want anything to happen to your family, especially when you have two children of your own."
Jiang Fengmian's face hardened visibly at the implication of the statement, "I believe it's none of your business, Sect Leader Jin."
"I am only advising you on this because our children are engaged. You should not let a son of a servant go too far before he could ruin your reputation. You must punish that brat accordingly so that-"
His speech was cut off as Sect Leader Nie slammed a palm atop the table making everyone's gaze settle onto the source of the sound.
"I will not tolerate such language towards Wei Ying." Sect Leader Nie stated icily as he got to his feet slowly. He glared daggers at Jin Guangshan, "How dare you speak disrespectfully towards my son?"
Jin Guangshan's brow scrunched together in confusion, "Huh? What do you mean 'my' son, Sect Leader Nie? I never said anything about your children."
"Wei Ying is my youngest son." Sect Leader Nie answered, his razor-sharp eyes were locked onto the Lanling Jin's sect leader. His voice carried an intimidating aura in its entirety. The atmosphere immediately turned tense when he finished.
Jin Guangshan's jaw dropped incredulously upon hearing this news. He shook his head and laughed heartily, "What kind of joke is this?"
"It's not a joke." Jiang Fengmian interjected in a tone that left no room for doubt.
Jin Guangshan's laughter died away after witnessing how serious Sect Leader Nie's expression is. The stern look in Jiang Fengmian's face convinced him that they were not kidding at all. Even Qingheng-Jun gave him a displeased glare. He raised a shaking hand to his forehead as he massaged it with disbelief, addressing Sect Leader Nie, "How can he be your son?"
"I adopted him, witnessed by the heavens themselves." Sect Leader Nie answered firmly.
One second. Two Second. And Jin Guangshan eyes widened dramatically.