"You can see ghosts."
"How... what are you talking about, Hanguang-jun?" Lan Jingyi stammered, breaking out into a nervous sweat and eyeing the door. Could he make a run for it? Surely Lan Wangji would not give chase, because running was forbidden in the Cloud Recesses...
"You are able to see and communicate with the spirit of the dead," Lan Wangji stated with certainty, amber eyes holding him trembling in place.
"Um... ah..." Lan Jingyi did not like lying in the first place, nor did he imagine himself able to lie out of the situation. Not with that piercing golden glare...
His shoulders drooped and he sighed. "Yes, I can. How did you know?"
"You are too honest..."
Honest? He lied all of the time to hide his ability.
"...and loud."
He must have been overheard talking to Shifu. If that was the case, it was a surprise no-one else had confronted him about his secret yet.
Lan Wangji's eyes did not leave Lan Jingyi as he continued, "a ghost has been haunting you."
"Yes..." Lan Jingyi said uncertainly, then quickly added, "she's harmless. She taught me a lot about medicine." He did not want Shifu to be exorcised, after all.
Lan Wangji watched him steadily. "What form do ghosts take? Do they appear as they did in life?"
"Yes. When I was younger, I found it hard to tell the difference between a live person and a ghost," Lan Jingyi said. "...Will you tell others?"
"No."
That was a comfort to know.
Lan Wangji continued, "it is your secret to tell." He then reached into his sleeve, and pulled out two sheets of paper, passing them carefully to Lan Jingyi.
"Have you seen this man before?"
It was two drawings of a young man dressed in black. In one, the man looked serious, almost sad. Wide grey eyes staring out from a thin face below hair that was tied up in a half ponytail.
The second drawing featured a smiling version of the same man. The extra curve of the lips and the happy eyes gave a carefree appearance to the handsome face.
He did not recall ever seeing such a handsome ghost, so he shook his head. "No, I've never seen him."
"Detain him and inform me immediately if he ever appears." Lan Wangji ordered.
"Yes, Hanguang-jun." Detain him? Was he a criminal? Why not exorcise him? Or did he steal something that belonged to Lan Wangji?
"Do you hear the qin language as words?"
Feeling grateful that Lan Wangji was not about to reveal his secret, he did not query about the Mystery Man.
"No, they just sound like normal guqin notes to me," he said, then he gushed, "Hanguang-jun, you understand what the ghosts say perfectly! How do you tell what the guqin notes mean?"
Lan Wangji walked to retrieve the silencing talisman from the door, folding it and placing it back in his sleeve. "Inquiry requires a connection between cultivator and guqin..."
Lan Wangji sat in front of a guqin and raised his hands over the strings.
And thus began Lan Jingyi's first lesson in Inquiry.
oOo
Leaving the lesson with his mind full of the new melodies he learned, he found Shifu floating around the pavilion, watching Lan Sizhui sitting on the stone seats. The pavilion itself was not large, but was ceilinged and had seats for one to relax and admire the open garden area. There were a few pine trees and large grey rocks making a formation among the sea of Lan Jingyi's happy rocks. The view radiated calm, and Lan Sizhui looked content relaxing there.
Lan Jingyi approached his teacher and his friend.
"Instructor Ming wasn't there! Hanguang-jun taught me instead!" Lan Jingyi announced.
"Wow, maybe Hanguang-jun does like you, after all!" Was Shifu's response.
Lan Sizhui sat up excitedly. "How did it go?"
"Well, his instructions were very clear. I think I've perfected the opening phrases!" Lan Jingyi said proudly.
Lan Sizhui patted Lan Jingyi's shoulder. "That's great!"
"Well, I struggled a bit with the slide at the end of the opening..." Lan Jingyi said, hands moving as though playing an invisible guqin.
"Yes, I needed to practice that section multiple times as well," Lan Sizhui nodded.
Shifu was smiling at them.
It never occurred to Lan Jingyi to tell her that Lan Wangji knew his secret and that she was haunting the place.
Nor did he consider telling her about the Mystery Man in the drawing. That was Lan Wangji's personal matter.
oOo
He wondered what reasons Lan Wangji must have given Instructor Ming for taking over his classes, but lesson after lesson, Lan Wangji came to teach Lan Jingyi one-on-one. He also wondered why the famed Second Jade of Lan would personally oversee his lessons.
They did not speak again of his ghost-seeing abilities or the Mystery Man in subsequent lessons.
Lan Jingyi was grateful for Lan Wangji's teaching; the man's understanding of the subject was profound and his instruction precise. When Lan Jingyi made errors, they were swiftly diagnosed and corrected.
The reasons for the personal attention became apparent when it came time for him to practice interpreting the qin language.
Of course, the student would interpret the teacher's qin playing before moving on to practicing out in the field with real ghosts. But in the case of Lan Jingyi, he could not realistically practice his understanding of the qin language with real ghosts, so was limited to only practicing with his teacher's qin.
Lan Jingyi exhaled, and played the beginnings of Inquiry. 'What is your name?'
Lan Wangji played a response to his question.
"Li Ping." Lan Jingyi interpreted the response.
Lan Wangji shook his head.
"Li Bing?"
Another shake.
"Lin Ping?"
As their lessons continued, it was clear that although Lan Jingyi could play the set phrases and questions well, he did not have any natural talent for this method of communication. There were moments of frustration when he was tempted to throw his guqin across the room. After all, he did not need a guqin to speak to ghosts. However, his temptations were always quelled by Lan Wangji's calm, clear gaze.
He understood that ghosts were compelled to honesty when communicating through Inquiry, which was the sole benefit of learning and communicating this way.
Lan Wangji was not prone to expression. Therefore, as a teacher, Lan Wangji was not particularly encouraging.
"Li Ling?"
Another head shake.
Nevertheless, Lan Wangji was patient with Lan Jingyi's lack of progress.
oOo
Although he did not make much progress in his Inquiry lessons, he did manage to survive Shifu's potentially poisonous mushroom test.
Shifu had been pleased with his success.
"Hey, my life was on the line! Of course I had to do well!"
In saying so, his mother had been present during the test, and he knew that Shifu would not have let any harm come to him.
oOo
Lan Jingyi and Lan Sizhui were on their way to feed the rabbits when they came across Lan Xichen, accompanied by a guest.
"Xichen-ge, I have no business to discuss at this year's Conference! I can just enjoy the sights of Yunmeng to my heart's content..."
"Zewu-jun," they both bowed in greeting. "Sect Leader Nie."
Of course, they had met Nie Huaisang before. He had visited Cloud Recesses in the past on multiple occasions. This time, Nie Huaisang did not look like a shifty student who had broken rules and was looking out for Lan Qiren.
"He doesn't look like he needs a calming tonic this time," Shifu remarked, and Lan Jingyi had to stifle a chuckle.
Lan Xichen smiled at them, ignoring Lan Jingyi's reaction. "Sizhui, Jingyi. Are you going to feed the rabbits?"
"Yes, Zewu-jun."
"Rabbits? I thought pets were not allowed at Cloud Recesses?" Nie Huaisang questioned.
"There were... extenuating circumstances for the continued presence of these rabbits," Zewu-jun said. The junior disciples knew that the rabbits belonged to Lan Wangji, but it never occurred to them that it was against the sect rules. Everyone was now curious about these extenuating circumstances, but Lan Xichen simply looked upon them serenely and did not elaborate further.
"Sizhui, Jingyi, you will be attending this year's Discussion Conference at Lotus Pier with me."
Both boys looked at each other, equally delighted shock on their faces, then hurried to bow.
"Thank you, Zewu-jun!" Lan Jingyi said. Loudly.
"It would be an honour to attend the event with Zewu-jun," Lan Sizhui said. Less loudly.
The two sect leaders smiled indulgently at them. Lan Xichen said, "it will be an opportunity to broaden your horizons."
"You boys will enjoy the attractions! The sun setting over the pier is a sight to behold! There's this place owned by a Master Huang that has the best sweet lotus buns that are simply divine..." Nie Huaisang said, large colourful fan open and fanning himself excitedly.
Lan Jingyi and Lan Sizhui listened to Nie Huaisang with rapt attention.
"There are pressure points that can silence a person..." Shifu said when there was finally a break in dialogue.
Oh yes, he wanted to learn how to do that!
oOo
They were in the office next to the physician's ward, sitting across from each other. Lan Jingyi's mother was in the ward, attending to Lan Zhengyi who came back from a night hunt with stomach pains from eating some village street food.
"I'll place my needle in you now," Lan Jingyi said.
Lan Sizhui's eyes swept to the other room, comforted by the Head Physician's presence. As supportive of his friend's learning as he was, there was genuine cause for concern when he could see Lan Jingyi's hand shaking.
"Are you sure you can do this now?" Lan Sizhui said uneasily.
In his training, Lan Jingyi would sometimes practice needling techniques on Lan Sizhui when the other physicians were unavailable. He could not practice on his mother, because they needed a fully functioning expert on the premise in case there was an accident. There were some techniques he could practice on himself, but some required another person to practice on.
After his first few months in his acupuncture training, Lan Jingyi was no longer nervous about piercing a person's skin with needles. Shifu was a constant presence, ready to instruct him if he was about to make an error.
Lan Jingyi really should not handle needles after doing handstands though. He had only lasted two months this time before receiving another punishment. He could not help dashing in search of his best friend when he finally interpreted a qin response correctly!
Too bad Lan Sizhui had been talking to Lan Qiren, who promptly dished out punishment for his running.
"Postpone your session, try the silencing pressure point instead," Shifu said, eyes on his hands.
Lan Jingyi put his needle back in his needle pouch, "I'll try this another time. Can I try sealing some pressure points instead?"
"Of course!" Lan Sizhui said with obvious relief.
"You do not need to use a lot of strength. The speed is more important for this one. It will paralyse one's vocal cords, hence disabling the ability to make sound," Shifu said, pointing to the pressure points that could be used to silence a person.
"If I seal this pressure point, it would paralyse your vocal cords and you would not be able to make any sound," Lan Jingyi explained to his friend.
Lan Sizhui nodded in consent, and his pressure point was swiftly sealed.
"Try talking," Lan Jingyi said.
Lan Sizhui opened and closed his mouth, eyebrows rising in surprise and shaking his head.
The pressure point was quickly unsealed, and Lan Sizhui said, "wow, that felt so bizarre!"
"I guess we don't need to learn the silencing spell at all! Here, I'll show you how to do it!" Lan Jingyi moved to show his friend the location of the pressure point.
oOo
"I will be going to this year's Discussion Conference," Lan Jingyi informed Lan Wangji at the end of their next lesson.
Lan Wangji, who was setting aside his guqin, stopped mid-movement and turned to him with a calculating gaze.
"At Lotus Pier?"
"Yes, Hanguang-jun."
There was a moment of silence.
"Keep a look out. The ghost may appear." The man's face was expressionless as usual, but there was a slight tremor in his voice.
"Yes, Hanguang-jun," Lan Jingyi said again, slightly surprised. Lan Wangji had not spoken of the Mystery Man since their first lesson.
Of course, Lan Jingyi had wondered at the identity of the Mystery Man, but did not know Lan Wangji well enough to make any educated guesses.
Lan Wangji was not known to have friends, not that Lan Jingyi was aware of. If Lan Wangji really wanted to speak with this dead man, the only reasons Lan Jingyi could think of were that the Mystery Man was not a friend but must have stolen something or owed him something.
So the Mystery Man, who potentially owed Lan Wangji something, or was a thief, lived in Yunmeng?
He was excited to see if he could discover something about the Mystery Man's identity in Yunmeng!