WJ Chapter 136

Wild Vines in the Field (3)

The way events unfolded after that was completely beyond Guan Wujue’s expectations.

It was only the second day when Wen Feng came banging on the door of his Qingjue Residence.

“Guan Wujue! Come clean — what on earth did you do to the Sect Leader!?”

Protector Guan had been sitting at his desk leafing through a book when he heard this. His mood immediately lifted, and he tossed a smiling, sidelong glance at the visibly indignant attendant. Resting his chin on the back of his hand, he said languidly, “You’re asking the wrong question. You should be asking what the Sect Leader did to me.”

Wen Feng said in exasperation, “Stop throwing a tantrum — the Sect Leader is genuinely not right! Did the two of you — did you two have a quarrel? Did you say something unkind to him?”

“……No,” Guan Wujue frowned slightly and let his smile fade. He knew Wen Feng would never joke about anything concerning Yun Changliu. “What happened to the Sect Leader?”

Wen Feng was deeply anxious. “Didn’t he go to meet you yesterday? When he came back, his expression was enough to make anyone uneasy. Sure enough, the Sect Leader spent the entire day in a daze, shut himself in the study, wouldn’t even eat, and when I asked him he wouldn’t say a word!”

“I tried to carefully feel out whether the Sect Leader’s low spirits had anything to do with you, but he reacted extremely strongly and told me not to mention your name……”

Guan Wujue felt something sink inside him.

That thrill of secret excitement he had been nursing since yesterday was suddenly smashed to pieces by Wen Feng’s words, scattering miserably across the floor.

Why……

Could it be — had he been indulging in wishful thinking?

Guan Wujue was immediately filled with regret.

Yesterday he had been too reckless. His original intention had only been to tease the Sect Leader a little, but he hadn’t expected the teasing to go too far — it truly should not have happened. Yun Changliu had known nothing of romantic matters since childhood, due to Fengchun Sheng poison; then came five years of cultivation in the Wuze Realm, leaving him with even fewer chances to experience love. For him to have so wantonly provoked the Sect Leader the day before — and to have plied him with wine — perhaps he had……truly caused the Sect Leader to momentarily lose control.

But what if all the kindness the Sect Leader had shown him over these years was not the feeling that the Young Sect Leader Changliu had once held for Ah Ku — what if it had truly only ever been a master’s fond appreciation for a subordinate?

If that were the case, then yesterday’s farce was of no consequence to himself — he might even be said to have come out ahead. But the Sect Leader must now be consumed by inner torment……

Guan Wujue’s expression shifted several times. The guilt and self-reproach in his heart grew heavier and heavier. He forced down the bitterness rising in his throat, keeping his outward composure without betraying the slightest sign of disturbance. “Is the Sect Leader now in Yangxin Hall?”

Wen Feng said helplessly, “He went up to Wolong Platform last night……You still haven’t told me — what happened between the two of you?”

Guan Wujue shook his head, rose to his feet, and said quietly, “It’s hard to explain……It’s my fault. I was wrong. I’ll go to Wolong Platform.”

……

Beneath Wolong Platform, the pine path lay blanketed in snow.

The Zhuyin Sect Leader was in seclusion in a restricted area, and naturally no outsiders were permitted to enter without leave. But Protector Guan went straight there sword in hand, intent on forcing his way in. The black-robed guards stationed outside the pine grove were utterly unable to stop him, and could only watch helplessly as he went right through.

Emerging from the pine path, Guan Wujue saw at a glance the towering stone pillars of Wolong Platform, and between the pillars, nine layers of white curtains strung up.

……Truth be told, Guan Wujue had never been able to accept Yun Changliu’s peculiar aesthetic sensibilities. He had always thought that the way Wolong Platform looked with all those billowing white curtains was unmistakably, no matter how you looked at it, exactly like a funeral hall. Thinking further of the Sect Leader’s signature white robes — it was simply too much to bear.

Then dark shadows descended in a flurry before him. Yin Ghosts advanced with drawn swords, blocking his path. “Coming armed into Wolong Platform without authorization is tantamount to treason. Protector, please halt and withdraw!”

Guan Wujue didn’t hesitate for a moment. He hurled both swords —Pixing and Daiyue — down into the snow, then swept aside his robes and dropped heavily onto both knees in the snow, kneeling there and calling upward:

“Four Directions Protector Guan Wujue requests an audience with the Sect Leader!!”

His voice, channeled with internal energy, carried upward into the distance and echoed endlessly around Wolong Platform. Behind those white curtains, all remained silent — not a breath of response.

In moments, several long blades of the Yin Ghosts closed in around the Four Directions Protector’s shoulders and neck, attempting to press him into retreating. The leader repeated, “No disturbances are permitted at Wolong Platform. Protector, please withdraw!”

Guan Wujue gritted his teeth. Things had come to this — he had nothing left to lose. He tilted his head up and called out again toward the top:

“Yesterday outside the city, Wujue lost his senses for a moment and attempted to seduce his lord for personal favor — a truly outrageous act of insubordination! This subordinate now recognizes the gravity of his offense and has come especially to beg the Sect Leader to mete out punishment. This one implores the Sect Leader——”

This tactic proved effective, as expected. Before Guan Wujue had even finished his sentence, every Yin Ghost’s gaze upon the Protector had changed.

In the next instant, the white curtains of Wolong Platform billowed and flew open.

In a single blur of motion, Yun Changliu’s snow-robed figure had already landed below the platform.

Having hidden away and seen no one for a full day, Yun Changliu’s complexion was pale and haggard. Visibly provoked to no small degree by the Protector’s words, he said to Guan Wujue with an icy coldness, “Well done……Not only does the Four Directions Protector trespass into a restricted area without leave, he even dares to spout such absurd nonsense. Have you any sense of propriety left in you now!”

The reprimand was sharp and severe, yet the kneeling Guan Wujue felt no fear at all — on the contrary, something in his chest softened. He understood that Yun Changliu was protecting him: “the Four Directions Protector seducing and bewitching his lord” was no trivial charge to bear. With just a few words, the Sect Leader had reduced it to mere “nonsense” — making it no more than a minor lapse in decorum, something that warranted a stern talking-to and nothing more.

……No matter what else might be said, the Sect Leader still cared for him.

Guan Wujue felt a quiet, private delight stir within. The Protector had only ever wanted to force the Sect Leader to come out and face him — now that his wish had been granted, he naturally followed the slope, readily admitted his fault, and obediently pled for mercy.

Yun Changliu turned his back and refused to look at him, then dismissed the Yin Ghosts.

Once the Yin Ghosts had gone, the area below Wolong Platform felt even more desolate and cold. The wind cut with a biting chill. Guan Wujue bowed his head, kneeling there with a few strands of dark hair falling across the sides of his face, and was just considering whether he ought to speak first when he heard Yun Changliu say in a hoarse voice. “You are using yourself to threaten this lord.”

Guan Wujue quickly said, “No — Wujue is genuinely at fault. Yesterday this subordinate overstepped, and if the Sect Leader feels troubled and cannot let it go, you are welcome to punish Wujue as you see fit.”

Yun Changliu turned around abruptly to look at him, disbelief evident in his expression. “You are at fault!?”

“Of course the fault lies with this subordinate,” Guan Wujue said in a low, earnest voice. “Sect Leader, Wujue knows what is troubling you. That matter……truly cannot be blamed on you — if anyone is to be blamed, it can only be this subordinate.”

“You……you……”

Yun Changliu was stunned and agitated. But the color drained further from his face, and suddenly a flash of anguish crossed his eyes. He bent sharply, covering his lips with his hand, and with a single “cough,” several flecks of blood fell through the gaps between his fingers.

“——Sect Leader!!?”

This was too much — Yun Changliu coughing up blood nearly stopped Guan Wujue’s heart cold with fright. The Protector scrambled to his feet and rushed over. He wanted to support the Sect Leader but didn’t dare reach out; in the end he hovered, barely catching the hem of Yun Changliu’s robe, then sank to both knees again, crying out in distress:

“It’s all Wujue’s fault, it’s all Wujue’s fault……Where are you hurting?”

The blood Yun Changliu had just coughed up had been caused by suppressed inner turmoil — internal energy rebounding against itself — and in truth it was nothing serious. But having just barely endured that wave of suffocating pain and opened his eyes to the sight of Guan Wujue looking so flustered and frantic, his heart clenched again.

……His Protector — a figure second in standing only to himself, above ten thousand others — had been wronged by him, his Sect Leader, in that fashion, and yet here he was, kneeling before him and confessing fault over and over again.

Guan Wujue was frantic with worry, and in his anxiety entirely missed the guilt and remorse now written across Yun Changliu’s face. He could only think to beg, “Wujue truly knows he was wrong, Sect Leader — could you please come back with Wujue to Yangxin Hall first? As for yesterday’s matter……”

“Yesterday!”

Yun Changliu cut him off, staring at him fixedly, as if searching desperately through the Protector’s expression for even the faintest trace of resentment or displeasure — even the smallest hint of hurt — and said word by word, “Yesterday……it was clearly this lord who took liberties with you. Whatever anger or resentment you feel toward this lord is entirely justified!”

Guan Wujue was inwardly troubled. He had expected this — the Sect Leader had indeed tied himself in knots over it. With complete sincerity he said, “No, no — nothing of the sort. It was this subordinate who used cunning, deliberately deceiving the Sect Leader into that intimacy.”

Unexpectedly, the corners of Yun Changliu’s eyes reddened slightly. He reached out both hands to help Guan Wujue up, his voice catching, “Enough. How can the Protector demean himself so……”

Guan Wujue shifted on his knees and stepped back. Seeing the Sect Leader’s resolve begin to soften, he grew bold again, stubbornly refusing to rise, and said, “I beg you to come back with this subordinate.”

What could Yun Changliu do with him?

“Very well, let us go back first.” Yun Changliu forced himself to remain composed and pulled the Protector to his feet — while inside, a dull ache he could not suppress rose again. “This lord……also has things to make clear with you……”

He truly did not know how he would ever find the words to say them to Wujue.

……

Having finally persuaded Yun Changliu back to Yangxin Hall, Guan Wujue still could not put his heart at ease.

He had long since taken the Sect Leader’s pulse and knew there was likely nothing seriously wrong — and yet a faint, lingering dread remained. He entreated Yun Changliu to lie down and rest, then, remembering what Wen Feng had said about the Sect Leader not eating a thing the day before, sent an attendant to prepare hot broth and set about coaxing the Sect Leader to drink it down.

Yun Changliu was thoroughly miserable.

He felt it had been he who had behaved so improperly toward the Protector, and then hidden from him for a full day without so much as a word — utterly irresponsible to the extreme. And now it was Guan Wujue who was busy running back and forth attending to him. What kind of situation was this!

Yet every time Yun Changliu attempted to explain himself, Guan Wujue managed to cut him off precisely at the beginning.

Once or twice might have been coincidence, but after this repeated several times, Yun Changliu could hardly fail to realize the Protector was doing it deliberately.

He at once let his expression cool, turned aside from the spoonful of soup Guan Wujue was offering, and said, “So you truly have no intention of letting this lord explain.”

Guan Wujue set the porcelain spoon down in the bowl and gave a helpless nod. “Then go ahead and explain. Wujue is listening.”

Yun Changliu said, “I……”

Guan Wujue said, “Yes?”

Yun Changliu looked pained, and labored on. “I……”

Guan Wujue slapped his thigh and said, with every air of being perfectly in the right. “You see! You can’t manage to explain it in a few words either!”

Wen Feng, standing to one side, could barely suppress a smile. The red-robed Protector leaned against the head of the bed, laughing softly, then drew closer and began to coax and cajole in a gentle voice. “Come now, drink this mouthful of soup first……Really now, look at how much fuss you’re making over such a small thing. Sigh — it was only a kiss, wasn’t it?”

But it was precisely this breezy, dismissive attitude that made Yun Changliu flare up, and he blurted out. “What if this lord has genuine feelings for you — would that not be a great matter in the Protector’s eyes either!?”

“……” The smile on Guan Wujue’s face froze for a moment, before finally dissolving into a sigh.

He blinked, and said with a measure of wistfulness. “Sect Leader — by Wujue’s reckoning, he has followed you for four years now. If you had truly given your whole heart to someone, you would not hide like this.”

An expression of grief and anguish swept once more across Yun Changliu’s face. He said softly, “This lord is not……”

Guan Wujue gave a few casual murmurs of acknowledgment to indicate he understood, and turned to Wen Feng. “In a little while, have Guan Muyan come by to look in on the Sect Leader as well — I can’t truly put my mind at rest.”

Wen Feng nodded. “I’ll see to it. Don’t worry.”

Yun Changliu very nearly wanted to cough up another mouthful of blood.

He had seen it clearly now — Guan Wujue simply had no intention of listening to his explanation. That manner, soft on the surface yet unyielding within, plainly showed that he was still troubled deep down……!

Which was precisely why he had to say it plainly, however clumsy or humiliating it might be — he owed Wujue at least that much.

With the look of a man going to his death, Yun Changliu closed his eyes and seized the Protector’s wrist. The Sect Leader was nearly forcing the words out of himself — fumbling and muddled, too disordered to put his thoughts into proper shape. “Wujue……you must listen, listen to what this lord has to say……I……”

Guan Wujue had just been handed a cup of hot tea by Wen Feng, and had barely taken a sip when he came back to himself. “Hm?”

Yun Changliu’s breath came with difficulty. The very thought of what he was about to confess to Wujue sent his head spinning with anguish. “I……there was once someone……mutual feelings……a promise of marriage……”

An odd expression crossed Guan Wujue’s face. He reached out and pressed his hand to Yun Changliu’s forehead, saying blankly, “No fever……What are you talking about.”

He had grown up at Yun Changliu’s side from childhood until the age of fifteen; then, after those five years apart — Ghost Gate and the Wuze Realm — they had reunited and remained inseparable ever since. When had he ever seen the Sect Leader share mutual feelings with anyone, let alone pledge himself in marriage!?

And hearing those careless, quiet words from Guan Wujue, Yun Changliu suffered a hundredfold more acutely — feeling as though every organ in his chest were being wrung and ground to pieces.

He truly did not know why fate had to toy with people in this way — that only after he had done that to Wujue, only after the line had already been crossed and there was no going back……would he find himself remembering that there had once been another person!

Yun Changliu swayed against the headboard, looking as though he were on the verge of collapse, his lips drained white. “It is……true. Wen Feng should know.”

Wen Feng stared in stupefaction, words falling apart. “Sect Leader……what on earth are you saying?”

“That person’s name……”

Yun Changliu steadied his breath, and finally forced out those last few words through gritted teeth. “Their name is……Ah Ku.”

“——Pfft!!!”

Guan Wujue had, by reflex, just been about to take another sip of tea to steady himself — and was so startled by that name that he promptly choked and sprayed it everywhere.