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'This is not what I pictured my morning to be' Wei WuHui thought groggily as she tried to stifle the incoming yawn while being guided from behind by two female disciples. She glanced back at them and saw cold expressions on their faces which were directed at her.

Dread was physically displayed on her face as Wei WuHui looked down with a worried look. 'This must be my punishment '

They soon arrived at an outside area where Wei WuHui heard an all familiar voice.

"The 530th rule of Gusu Lan Sect: Be strictly just and impartial—Meimei?" Wei WuXian suddenly paused in his sentence the moment he saw his little sister arriving at the area with two female disciples behind her.

"Kneel." One of the disciples ordered as she pushed Wei WuHui down to her knees, right beside her brother.

"W-Wait! Why is Meimei here? What did she do?" Wei WuXian asked quickly as he worriedly looked at his sister. That goes the same for Lan WangJi.

"Wei WuHui, you have broken four major rules and for that, you are to be punished with 30 hits from the discipline paddle."

"30 hits?! No, wait!" Wei WuXian shouted as he tried to break out of his restraints. The only thing on his mind was preventing his precious sister from getting hurt.

"I...understand." Wei WuHui said before turning to her brother and grabbing his hand, calming him down. "Gege, don't overreact. This is nothing compare to Madam Yu's punishments. I will be fine." She assured with a smile.

"Meimei..." Wei WuXian whispered before gasping as he watched Lan WangJi pushed away his robes and knelt down on Wei WuHui's left. "W-Wait, hold it! I concede."

"Hit." And with Lan WangJi's command, the disciples began swinging.

Pained grunts coming from the three echoed in the Hall as Jiang Cheng, Nie HuaiSang and the now arrived Nie MingJian watched with sympathy.

———

"Owwww..." Wei WuHui whimpered, burying her face in her sworn sister's shoulder as Nie MingJian effortlessly carried the poor maiden while walking in front of them was Wei WuXian equally in pain as his sister, Jiang Cheng who was carrying him and Nie HuaiSang flapping his fan at the older twin's aching back.

"S-Slow down, Jiang Cheng. I'm almost shaken off." Wei WuXian whined.

"I'm carrying you, yet you're complaining." Jiang Cheng fired back.

Wei WuXian huffed, looking to the side with a pout. "It's not like I asked you to carry me."

"If I don't carry you, you'll be rolling in their ancestral hall for a day. I can't beat your embarrassment. Lan WangJi took 50 more strokes than you and walked away by himself." Jiang Cheng stated. "Even Wei WuHui is not complaining and she only took 30 strokes! Aren't you ashamed of acting like a cripple? Get off! I'm done carrying you!"

"Nope!" Wei WuXian protested and tightened his grip. "I'm injured!"

"You..." Jiang Cheng scowled.

"You boys are so loud!" Nie MingJian exclaimed in annoyance as she came to their sides.

"Hm?" Nie HuaiSang then saw a glimpse of white and turned in that direction when he saw the two figures in white sitting. "Old Man Lan is back."

As petals flowed around them with a gentle breeze as Lan ChunTao picked up the teapot and pour the tea into the cup. "Shufu, you've had an exhausting journey. It must have been tough." She said as she offered the cup to Lan QiRen.

"The current journeys are not tough yet. But I'm afraid it will get really tough from now on." Lan QiRen replied.

Lan ChunTao's brows furrowed. "Because of the Wen Sect?"

"None of the cultivators spoke up during the Discussion Conference. During this round trip, I've heard about the Wen Sect's distortion of truths and misdeeds. Such cases are no fewer than a hundred. I already know about the Waterborn Abyss," then he put down his cup with harsh force. "They've really gone too far!"

"Wen Sect has numerous followers. For now, we have to abide. The Waterborne Abyss is extremely difficult to exterminate" Lan ChunTao frowned before standing up and saluting her uncle. "I'm afraid it will bother Uncle for a few more days."

"Human life is the top priority. So without further ado, I'll inspect it with you today." Lan QiRen said. "I almost forgot. I captured several feral zombies, the disciples could practise on them. First, let WangJi inquire the spirits to learn of their lingering obsessions before death."

"Wonder why Lan ChunTao is here instead of ZeWu-Jun since he is the Sect Heir." Nie HuaiSang noted as he and the others crouched behind some nearby bushes, allowing them to eavesdropped the conservation.

Wei WuHui's shoulders stiffened which went unnoticed by everyone as her gaze lowered. 'XiChen...'

Lan ChunTao smiled. "Although we are the same age, Dada is already an expert in spirit inquiry. I will inform him about this."

"Just now, I heard disciples chattering about WangJi being dragged into trouble by Wei WuXian. Punishing himself as a result. I have never taught a student as roguish and contemptible as Wei WuXian." Lan QiRen explained.

"This...I'm damned." Wei WuXian whispered dreadfully. "My ears are gonna hurt again."

"It's true that Dada punished himself, but he wasn't dragged into it. Wei-Gongzi is a boy at heart. His love for mischief is only natural." Lan ChunTao said.

"Haha!" Wei WuHui and Nie MingJian stared at the older Wei in disbelief as he suddenly stood up from the bushes just to laugh before he was dragged down by both Nie HuaiSang and Jiang Cheng.

Lan ChunTao chuckled, covering her amusement with a hand while her Uncle glared at the bushes in annoyance before he huffed and turned around to leave.

Wei WuXian popped his head out. "What does that mean?"

Jiang Cheng followed afterwards. "He doesn't care enough to lecture you."

"Maybe he've given up on you." Nie MingJian added.

"There's no need to hide anymore, so you all can come out now." The group then heard Lan ChunTao called out to them as they slowly got out of their hiding spots and went over to her. All saluting her respectfully.

"Dajie..." Nie MingJian chuckled sheepishly as she supported Wei WuHui by the arm, the same goes for Jiang Cheng with Wei WuXian.

"Dada punished too heavily." Lan ChunTao noted as she noticed the state Wei WuXian was in. "It will probably take 3 to 5 days to recover."

Then she turned to Wei WuHui. "And for you, A-Yang, it will probably take 2 days." She added.

"What? 3 to 5 days? Lan WangJi is too harsh!" Jiang Cheng exclaimed. "How could-." As he was about to continue, Wei WuXian nudged him to stop.

"But it wouldn't be a problem. A-Yang, Wei-Gongzi, I'll teach you a method, and both of you will be fine in a few hours." Lan ChunTao suggested.

"Oh, Lan Gu-Niang. May I ask where Èr-Gē is? I mean, I thought he was the one supposes to meet with Grandmaster Lan." Nie HuaiSang asked.

"Ah, unfortunately XiongZhang was ordered to seclude himself in the Taishi and copy the rules 10 times..." Lan ChunTao explained sheepishly before giving a knowing glance to Wei WuHui, who blushed and fidgeted with her fingers.

"Ehh? First, it was Meimei now ZeWu-Jun!" Wei WuXian exclaimed, looking baffled before turning to Wei WuHui. "Mèimei, what did you do to get punished by the discipline paddle anyway?"

Her brow twitch as Wei WuHui glared at him in embarrassment. "L-Like I'm going to tell you, why don't you explain to me what you did that for Lan-Gongzi to be punished as well?"

"Why are you so mean to your Gēgē~!"

———

Lan XiChen sighed tiredly, settling down from his handstand as he placed down his brush, after finishing his 3rd copy of the rules, as he looked to his opened window in the Taishi.

'3 down, 7 more to go' Lan XiChen then released a sigh, rubbing his shoulder to ease the upcoming sores when a glimpse of silver caught his eyes.

He looked toward the source and saw the simple hairpin that he remembered buying when in Caiyi Town. He couldn't help but smile as he went to pick it up, gazing at it with gentle eyes. Admiring the magnolia blossom design as an image of a certain Wei flashes through his mind.

"That's right...I forgot to give this to her."

TRANSLATION NOTE:

— Èr-Gē: second brother

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(Please correct my translation if I'm wrong and the GIFs and pictures used in this chapter does not belong to me, but their rightful owners)