To avoid being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night for punishment by the stern Lan elders, Wei Wuxian slept with his sword in his arms. Surprisingly, the night passed peacefully, and the next day, Nie Huaisang came to him with great excitement: "Brother Wei, you're in luck! The old man left for Qinghe last night to attend a discussion at my family's place. We don't have to attend classes for the next few days!"
With the older one gone, only the younger one remained, which shouldn't be too hard to deal with! Wei Wuxian sprang up, pulling on his boots while rejoicing, "Truly, fortune smiles upon me! The heavens are on my side!"
Jiang Cheng, meticulously cleaning his sword nearby, poured cold water on Wei Wuxian's enthusiasm. "When he returns, you still won't escape punishment."
Wei Wuxian retorted, "Why worry about what happens after death when you're still alive? Let's enjoy each day as it comes. Come on, I refuse to believe we can't find a few pheasants on this Lan mountain."
The three of them, arms around each other's shoulders, passed by the guest hall of the Cloud Recesses. Suddenly, Wei Wuxian let out a surprised "Oh!" and stopped in his tracks, exclaiming, "Two little anc... Lan Zhan!"
Several people walked out of the elegant room, led by two young men. Their appearances were equally sculpted from ice and jade, their white clothes as pure as snow. Even the sword tassels on their backs swayed in the wind in unison with their ribbons. Only their demeanors and expressions differed greatly. Wei Wuxian immediately discerned that the one with the stern face was Lan Wangji, while the serene one must be the other of the Twin Jades of Lan, Zewu-jun Lan Xichen.
Upon seeing Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji frowned, almost "glaring" at him, as if looking for a moment longer would taint him. He quickly averted his gaze to the distance. Lan Xichen, on the other hand, smiled and asked, "And who might you two be?"
Jiang Cheng bowed respectfully, "Jiang Wanyin of Yunmeng."
Wei Wuxian also bowed, "Wei Wuxian of Yunmeng."
Lan Xichen returned the greeting, and Nie Huaisang's voice, as faint as a mosquito's buzz, said, "Brother Xichen."
Lan Xichen said, "Huaisang, I recently came from Qinghe. Your elder brother asked about your studies. How are they? Will you pass this year?"
Nie Huaisang replied, "I should be able to..." He looked like a wilted melon hit by frost, turning to Wei Wuxian for help. Wei Wuxian grinned and asked, "Zewu-jun, where are you all headed?"
Lan Xichen answered, "To exorcise a water ghost. We're short-handed, so I came back to fetch Wangji."
Lan Wangji coldly said, "Brother, there's no need for further explanation. Time is of the essence, let's depart now."
Wei Wuxian quickly interjected, "Wait, wait, wait. Catching water ghosts? I'm good at that. Zewu-jun, can you take us along?"
Lan Xichen smiled without speaking, while Lan Wangji said, "It's against the rules."
Wei Wuxian argued, "How is it against the rules? We often catch water ghosts in Yunmeng. Besides, we don't have any lessons these days."
Yunmeng, with its many lakes and rivers, was known for water ghosts, and the Jiang clan was indeed skilled in dealing with them. Jiang Cheng, also eager to make up for the face Yunmeng Jiang had lost in the Lan household these past days, said, "That's right, Zewu-jun. We can definitely be of help."
"There's no need. The Gusu Lan Sect also..." Before Lan Wangji could finish, Lan Xichen smiled and said, "Very well then, thank you. Prepare yourselves, and we'll depart together. Huaisang, will you join us?"
Although Nie Huaisang wanted to tag along for the excitement, the mention of Lan Xichen reminded him of his own older brother, making him nervous. He didn't dare to indulge in fun, saying, "I won't go. I'll go back and review..." He hoped that next time, Lan Xichen might put in a good word for him to his brother. Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng returned to their rooms to prepare.
Lan Wangji watched the two leave, frowning in confusion. "Brother, why bring them along? Exorcising ghosts is not a matter for jokes and play."
Lan Xichen replied, "The head disciple and only son of Sect Leader Jiang are well-known in Yunmeng. They might not just be here to play around."
Lan Wangji remained noncommittal, but his face clearly showed his disagreement.
Lan Xichen added, "Besides, didn't you want him to come along?"
Lan Wangji was taken aback.
Lan Xichen explained, "I could tell from your expression that you seemed to want Sect Leader Jiang's senior disciple to join us. That's why I agreed."
Silence fell like ice in front of the elegant room.
After a long moment, Lan Wangji struggled to say, "Absolutely not."
He was about to defend himself further when Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng returned at lightning speed with their swords. Lan Wangji had no choice but to remain silent as the group set off on their swords.
The place where the water ghosts were causing trouble was called Caiyi Town, more than twenty li from the Cloud Recesses.
Caiyi Town was crisscrossed with waterways, making it hard to tell if it was a small city interwoven with a dense network of rivers, or if the spider web-like waterways were lined with tightly packed houses on both banks. White walls and grey tiles, the waterways crowded with boats and baskets, men and women. Flowers and vegetables, bamboo carvings and pastries, beans and tea, silk and cotton were all sold along the river.
Gusu, located in the Jiangnan region, was filled with soft, melodious sounds. Even when two boats collided, spilling a few jars of sticky rice wine, the argument between the two boatmen sounded like the chirping of orioles. Yunmeng had many lakes, but few water towns like this. Wei Wuxian found it fascinating. He bought two jars of sticky rice wine, handed one to Jiang Cheng, and said, "The Gusu people speak so sweetly. This isn't an argument at all. They should see how people in Yunmeng argue, it would scare them to death... Lan Zhan, why are you looking at me like that? It's not that I'm being stingy and not buying for you, but your family can't drink alcohol, right?"
Without further delay, they boarded over a dozen slender boats and headed towards the water ghost gathering spot. Gradually, the houses on both banks became fewer, and the waterway grew quieter. Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng each occupied a boat, racing to see who could row faster while listening to the details about the local water ghosts.
This waterway led to a large lake called Biling Lake. Caiyi Town had never had water ghost troubles in decades, but in recent months, people had been frequently falling into the water in this waterway and Biling Lake, and cargo ships had been mysteriously sinking. A few days ago, Lan Xichen had set up an array and cast nets here, expecting to catch one or two, but surprisingly caught over a dozen water ghosts. When they cleaned the faces of the corpses and brought them to nearby towns for identification, many bodies remained unclaimed, unrecognized by the locals. Yesterday, they set up the array again and caught even more.
Wei Wuxian said, "If we're talking about people who drowned elsewhere and floated here, it doesn't seem likely. Water ghosts are territorial creatures. They usually stick to the area where they drowned and rarely leave."
Lan Xichen nodded, "Indeed. That's why I feel this matter is not trivial, and I asked Wangji to come along, just in case."
Wei Wuxian asked, "Zewu-jun, water ghosts are quite clever. If we just slowly row around looking for them, what if they keep hiding at the bottom and never come up? Won't we just keep searching forever? What do we do if we can't find them?"
Lan Wangji coldly replied, "We search until we find them. It's our duty."
Wei Wuxian asked, "Just using nets to catch them?"
Lan Xichen confirmed, "That's right. Does the Yunmeng Jiang Sect have other methods?"
Wei Wuxian smiled without answering. Of course, the Yunmeng Jiang Sect also used nets, but he, relying on his excellent swimming skills, always jumped into the river to drag the water ghosts up directly. This method was too dangerous to use in front of the Lan Sect members; if word got back to Lan Qiren, he'd surely be scolded again. He changed the subject, "If only there was something like fish bait that could attract water ghosts, or something that could point out their location, like a compass."
Jiang Cheng said, "Keep your head down and focus on looking for them in the water. Stop with your wild ideas."
Wei Wuxian retorted, "Cultivating and sword-flying were once wild ideas too!"
As he lowered his head, he could see the bottom of Lan Wangji's boat. An idea struck him, and he called out, "Lan Zhan, look at me!"
Lan Wangji, who had been concentrating and on guard, instinctively looked towards him. He saw Wei Wuxian sweep his bamboo pole through the water, sending a splash of water flying towards him. Lan Wangji lightly tapped his foot and gracefully leaped onto another boat, avoiding the splash. Annoyed that Wei Wuxian was indeed here to joke around, he said, "Childish!"
However, Wei Wuxian kicked the side of the boat Lan Wangji had just been on, using his bamboo pole to flip it over, exposing the bottom. To everyone's surprise, three water ghosts with bloated faces and deathly pale skin were clinging tightly to the wooden planks of the boat's bottom!
The disciples nearby immediately subdued the three ghosts. Lan Xichen smiled and said, "Young Master Wei, how did you know they were under the boat?"
Wei Wuxian tapped the side of the boat, "Simple! The water displacement was off. There was only one person standing on the boat, but it was sitting lower in the water than boats with two people. Something must have been clinging to the bottom."
Lan Xichen praised, "Indeed, you're quite experienced."
Wei Wuxian gently pushed his bamboo pole through the water, sending his small boat gliding until it was parallel with Lan Wangji's. With the two boats side by side, he said, "Lan Zhan, I wasn't trying to splash you earlier. Water ghosts are clever; if I had said anything, they would have heard and run away. Hey, pay attention to me. Look at me, Second Young Master Lan."
Lan Wangji deigned to acknowledge him, glancing his way and asking, "Why did you come along?"
Wei Wuxian replied sincerely, "I came to apologize to you. Last night was my fault. I was wrong."
A faint darkness seemed to appear between Lan Wangji's eyebrows. He probably hadn't forgotten how Wei Wuxian had "apologized" to him before. Wei Wuxian, feigning ignorance, asked, "Why do you look so upset? Don't worry, I'm really here to help today."
Jiang Cheng, unable to watch any longer, said, "If you're here to help, stop talking nonsense and come here!"
A disciple shouted, "The net is moving!"
Sure enough, the net ropes suddenly began to shake violently. Wei Wuxian perked up, "Here they come!"
Dense, long black hair like black silk surged up around the dozens of small boats, and pairs of pale hands grasped the sides of the boats. Lan Wangji drew his sword, Bichen, slicing off more than a dozen wrists on the left side of the boat, leaving only fingers deeply embedded in the wood. Just as he was about to cut those on the right side, a red flash passed by—Wei Wuxian had already drawn and resheathed his sword.
The disturbance in the water ceased, and the net ropes settled back down. Wei Wuxian's sword strike had been incredibly fast, but Lan Wangji had seen that the sword he carried must be a high-quality spiritual sword. He solemnly asked, "What is the name of that sword?"
Wei Wuxian replied, "Whatever."
Lan Wangji looked at him. Wei Wuxian thought he hadn't heard clearly and repeated, "Whatever."
Lan Wangji frowned, refusing to accept this: "This sword has a spirit. To address it casually is disrespectful."
Wei Wuxian sighed and said, "Think outside the box a bit. I'm not telling you to call it whatever you want. The name of my sword is actually 'Whatever.' Look, see for yourself." He handed the sword over, letting Lan Wangji see the characters clearly. Indeed, engraved within the patterns on the scabbard were two ancient characters that spelled out "Whatever."
Lan Wangji was speechless for a long moment.
Wei Wuxian considerately said, "You don't need to say anything. I know what you're thinking. You want to ask why it's called this, right? Everyone asks that, wondering if there's some special meaning. Actually, there isn't any special meaning. When Uncle Jiang was bestowing the sword on me, he asked what I wanted to call it. At the time, I thought of more than twenty names but wasn't satisfied with any of them. I thought I'd let Uncle Jiang name it, so I just said, 'Whatever!' Who knew that when the sword was forged and came out, these two characters were on it. Uncle Jiang said, 'Well then, let's call this sword Whatever.' It's not a bad name, right?"
Finally, Lan Wangji managed to squeeze two words through his teeth: "...Absurd!"
Wei Wuxian rested the sword on his shoulder and said, "You're no fun at all. This name is so playful. It's perfect for teasing uptight people like you. Gets them every time, haha!"
At that moment, a long black shadow flashed by in the green lake water, circling around the small boats. Jiang Cheng, having finished dealing with the water ghosts on his side, was still on alert for any stragglers. Seeing the black shadow, he immediately shouted, "Here comes another one!"