Book go woosh

1 Year Later...

"Wei-xiong!" Huaisang ran to his friend with two people following him "Huh? What's the problem again?" Wei Wuxian sighed "Eh? Are you both Nie disciples? How come I never saw you before? By the way I'm Wei Wuxian and this here is-"

The two respectfully bowed "Young master Jiang"

"I'm Jie Chun"

"Jie Xue. We were taken in by Sector Leader Nie"

Baffled, the Yunmeng duo stared at Huaisang demanding answers "How about we go over there and talk?"

They settled in a place not far from the room where class would be attended "Da-ge is so cruel for sending me here" Huaisang wails "Young Master Nie, if you just listened to him in the first place then there would've been a different outcome" Chun yawns "Atleast I can see Wei-xiong and Jiang Cheng"

Wei Wuxian, "So... When did you two come in? And maintaining such beauty with the brute training of Nie must've been hard" Huaisang could only smirk under his fan "We were taken in a year ago and training there isn't as difficult as what young master Nie makes it sound like" Xue nods in agreement "I'm surprised that sector leader Nie let you come with Huaisang, let alone take you in" Jiang Cheng commented "So were we" was Xue's short reply.

"Hey, hey, the teacher is very strict and formalist. He produces excellent cultivators. But hearing the first part want to run away" Wei Wuxian straightened himself "Do I not seem decent enough as of right now?"

Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes "You'd definitely be a mark of shame in his entire teaching career"

Xue ponders for a moment "The Lotus Pier of the Jiang Clan is much more fun than here, right?" Wei Wuxian laughed, "Fun or not fun depends on how fun you make it to be. There's definitely less rules than here, and no need to wake up so early" Chun also got curious "When do you guys wake up? What do you do during the day?" Jiang Cheng humphed, "Him? He wakes at nine in the morning and sleeps at one during the night. He doesn't practice his sword or meditate; he goes boating, swims around, picks lotus seedpods, and hunts for pheasants" Wei Wuxian replied, "No matter how much pheasants I hunt, I'm still number one"

Chun glances at Xue "How about next year, we'll go to Yunmeng to study?" Huaisang chimes in "That's right! Nobody can hold us back"

"Nobody would hold you back. Your older brother would just break your legs" he looked terrified. Mingjue had always taught his younger brother with extreme harshness, particularly caring for his studies. This was why, even though Huaisang respected him, he was the most scared of Mingjue mentioning his schoolwork "Chun-jie and Xue are more suitable with him and his ways of teaching" the Jie siblings have traits that made it easier for Mingjue to teach them and with the added care on their study for cultivation, they were outstanding disciples of Nie but both have their difference. Although Chun is persistent and passionate with only training and studying she can also be playful and rowdy, Xue can be as passionate as her but also have interests in art like Huaisang. As time passed Chun saw both as his younger brothers even if their age were just months apart.

Wei Wuxian, "Gusu can be quite fun as well"

"Wei-xiong, listen to a sincere advice of mine. The Cloud Recesses is nothing like Lotus Pier. remember that there's one person whom you shouldn't provoke"

"Who? Lan Qiren?"

"Not that old man. The one you need to be careful of is his proudest disciple, named Lan Zhan"

"The Lan Zhan from the Two Jades of Lan? Lan Wangji?"

"What other Lan Zhan is there? Yes, it's that one. Oh gosh, he's the same age as you and I, but he has none of the energy of a teen. He's stiff and strict, even worse than his uncle" Huaisang exclaimed. Wei Wuxian made the sound of an oh and asked, "Is he a lad who good-looking?"

Jiang Cheng sneered, "Is there anyone who's ugly in the GusuLan Sect? His sect doesn't even accept disciples with unclean features" Wei Wuxian briefly glanced at Chun, "White from top to bottom, wearing a forehead ribbon, and carrying a silver sword on his back. He looked rather handsome, but with his straight face, he looked like he was mourning" she nods

Huaisang spoke, "That's him!" Xue intervenes "Huaisang, on our way here didn't you say that he had been doing secluded meditation for the past few days. You just came yesterday; when did you have the chance to see him?"

"Yesterday night"

"Yesterday... Yesterday night?!" Jiang Cheng was stunned "There's a curfew in the Cloud Recesses. Where did you see him? Why don't I know about this?"

He pointed to a the top of a very tall wall "There"

Jiang Cheng clenched his teeth, "We just came and you got into trouble! What's the matter about?"

"We passed that liquor shop called 'Emperor's Smile', right? Yesterday at night, I went down the mountain, into the city, and brought back two jars. Mind you, we don't have the chance to drink this in Yunmeng"

Jiang Cheng, "Then, where's the liquor?"

Wei Wuxian started explaining -how he got caught, shattered a jar of emperor smile, and drank the last one in front of Lan Wangji- as they made their way to the classroom.

"Honestly, there were over three thousand written carved. Who would read them? Did you read them? Anyways, I didn't. What's angering about this?"

Chun, "It's best to be aware of the rules to be show a little respect to their ways" Huaisang gasped at her "Chun-jie, that's so unlike you" she chuckled "I said be aware, I didn't promise that I'll follow it" Xue and her high-five each other while Huaisang said how smug she is.

"You've already broken some rules haven't you?" Jiang Cheng asked in contempt and the rest waited for her answer but she just gave a sly smile and shrugged.

"Both of you are dead if you actually get caught and dragged! Although Lan Wangji doesn't go to classes with us, he's in charge of punishments in the Lan Sect!" Huaisang shivered.

The two rule-breakers weren't fazed at all "Who said I'll let myself get caught and besides that guy is a prodigy is he not? he probably learnt everything he needs" Wei Wuxian nods in agreement "If that's the case, he'll do secluded meditation all the time"

The group walked in and saw a white-clothed boy sitting rigidly upright in the room, with long hair tied up and wearing a forehead ribbon, emitting an aura of ice and frost. He swept a cold look at them. They quietly entered the room, quietly picked their seats to sit.

Jiang Cheng gazed at the two, Jie Chun who sat beside Xue and behind Wei Wuxian before whispering, "He's already onto you so behave" Xue stiffled a laugh "As if my sister would listen to you" this earned him a glare.

Lan Qiren walks into the room with a scroll in one hand. The long scroll of paper rolled all over the ground as soon as it was opened, and he started to talk about the rules of the Lan Sect. The faces of everyone in the room started to grow dark. As Chun and Xue got bored, their gaze flew everywhere, and landed on Lan Wangji who's concentration and seriousness that were nothing like a facade, "How can he listen so attentively to something so boring?" Xue asked in disbelief "He's too attentive that I'll think he's a statue if he wasn't blinking" Wei Wuxian was the one to answer and the three laugh to themselve.

Immediately, Lan Qiren slammed the scroll onto the ground and smiled bitterly, "I am only repeating this one by one because nobody reads it, even though it was carved onto the rock wall. Hence, nobody will be able to violate them using ignorance as an excuse again. Even if I do this, there are still people who do not pay attention. Very well, I will proceed to talk about something else"

"Wei Ying"

Wei WuXian answered, "Here"

"Let me ask you. Are yao, demons, ghosts, and monsters the same things?"

Wei WuXian smiled, "No"

"Jie Xue"

"Here"

"How are they differentiated?"

"Yao are formed from living, non-human beings; demons are formed from living humans; ghosts are formed from dead humans; monsters are formed from dead, non-human beings"

"Jie Chun" He didn't spare the female cultivator "'Yao' and 'monsters' are often confused. What is an example that distinguishes the two?"

Chun points at the viridian tree outside of the room and replied, "A living tree was tainted with the energy of books, cultivated into a conscious being, and causes mischief, it would be a 'yao'. If I chopped it and only a dead tree-stump was left, and it cultivates into a being, it would be a 'monster'"

"What was the profession of the progenitor of the QingheNie Sect?"

"A butcher"

"The heraldry of the LanlingJin Sect is a white peony. Which type of white peony is it?"

"Sparks Amidst Snow"

"Who was the first in the cultivation world to focus on the rise of his clan rather than his sect?"

"The progenitor of the QishanWen Sect, Wen Mao"

They alternatively answered which made everyone's hearts skip a few beats. Although they felt lucky and hoped they'll get it all right so that Lan Qiren wouldn't have the opportunity to other people. Yet, Lan Qiren spoke, "As disciples of QingheNie Sect and a disciple of the YunmengJiang Sect, familiarity with these information are easy, so there is nothing to be proud of even if you answered correctly" He faced Wei Wuxian "Let me ask you again—there is an executioner with parents, a wife, and children, but before he died, he executed more than one hundred people. He suddenly died in the public and, to punish him for his deeds, he was left on the streets for seven days. With the repressed energy of resentment, he started to haunt and kill. What should be done?"

This time, Wei Wuxian didn't answer immediately. The others thought that he was confused, and were all feeling restless but Xue was about to be the one to answer yet Lan Qiren scolded, "Why are you looking at him? Think about this as well. Don't open your books!" The disciples took their hands away from the books that they intended on quickly flipping through.

After a few moments, seeing that Wei Wuxian didn't answer, Lan Qiren seemed like he was thinking, and spoke again, "Wangji, you can tell him what should be done." Lan Wangji did not look at them. He nodded to indicate respect and spoke in a monotonous voice, "First, liberate; second, suppress; third, eliminate. The initial approach is to utilize the gratitude of his relatives and grant his dying wish, set free what he could not let go of. If it fails, suppress it. If the crimes were extremely wrongful, and its energy of resentment does not dissipate, exterminate it completely. The cultivation world should precisely keep to this order of measures. No errors should be allowed" Lan Qiren nodded with satisfaction

"Not a single mistake was made" with a pause, Lan Qiren spoke again, "No matter in terms of cultivation or as a person, one needs to be as solid as this. If one becomes complacent and proud just because they defeated a few simple mountain beings in their home and hold some empty reputations, one would definitely bring disgrace upon themselves, sooner or later."

Wei Wuxian spoke, "I have a question"

Lan Qiren replied, "Speak"

Wei Wuxian, "Although 'liberation' comes first, it is often impossible. 'To grant his dying wish' sounds simple—it would be easy, if the wish was a new piece of clothing, but what if the wish was to kill lots of people for revenge?"

Lan Wangji, "Thus, suppression assists liberation. If it is necessary, elimination would also follow"

Wei Wuxian smiled, "It wasn't that I didn't know of this answer, I was only thinking of a fourth path" Lan Qiren spoke, "I have never heard of any fourth paths"

Wei Wuxian started explaining, "The executioner died in such a way, it 's only natural that he turned into a ferocious corpse. Since he executed more than one hundred people before he died, why not dig up the graves of these people, arouse their energy of resentment, collect the heads of those hundred people, and use them to fight with the ferocious corpse..."

Lan Wangji finally turned around to look at him. His brows were knit, still expressionless. Lan Qiren was so angered that his goatee was quivering. He shouted, "How dare you!"

Everyone in the room was stunned. Lan Qiren sprang to his feet, "The essence of exorcising demons and annihilating ghosts is to liberate! You do not study the methods of liberation, and even think about increasing their energy of resentment! You reverse the natural order, and ignore ethics and morality!"

Wei Wuxian replied, "There are some things that have no use after liberation, so why not find a way to make use of them? When Yu the Great tamed the flood, obstruction was the inferior method, and redirection was the superior. Suppression is the same as obstruction, so isn't it inferior..." Lan Qiren hurled a book towards him forgetting that Jie Chun was behind him but she easily caught it. They all stared at Lan Qiren as if telling him of the wrong doing he just did.

Chun puts down the book, "Spiritual energy is energy; resentful energy is energy as well" she stated as if supporting Wei Wuxian who continued to talk "Spiritual energy is stored in the dantian. It can split mountains and fill oceans, available for human use. If so, then why can't resentful energy also be used by humans?"

Lan Qiren almost threw another book but just spoke harshly, "Then, let me ask you again! How do you make sure that the resentful energy only listens to you and does not harm others?"

Wei Wuxian scratched his head, "I haven't thought of it yet!" Chun intervenes "Find something or a way to channel, like how Nie Sect use resentful energy of beasts and other creatures on their weapon"

Lan Qiren raged, "If both of you thought of it, the cultivation world would not allow your existence! Get out!" Chun pretends to mutter under her breath "Atleast he could've apologized for almost smashing my face with a book" and surely most of the people heard her. Xue and Huaisang casted a worried glance at Chun but she just smiles at the as she and Wei Wuxian quickly went out.