"I accept your offer. I shall teach you the breath-saving method I used on Wei Wuxian."
The GusuLan healers in the infirmary regarded Pan Wukun with stunned silence. Then they all looked at each other, their eyes lighting up.
Pan Wukun could've sworn she saw some of them smile, for just a split second.
The GusuLan healers bowed in gratitude. "Many thanks, Pan-xiushi. You shall be paid generously for your services. We shall handle accommodations. You and Meng-xiushi can continue to stay in a guest room here at the Cloud Recesses."
Pan Wukun felt relieved. At least she and Meng Xingyao wouldn't have to worry about housing and shelter for the duration of their stay here.
Hooray for making and saving money!
When Pan Wukun met up with Meng Xingyao again, he was visibly relieved that she was in good health.
When she told him that they were both going to stay at the Cloud Recesses a while longer, he went silent. A little too silent...
Ultimately though, Meng Xingyao agreed with Pan Wukun that working with the GusuLan sect's infirmary was beneficial to them.
Good for Meng Xingyao to be so deep and silent in thought when considering an important decision. Pan Wukun could always count on him for being the brains.
Wonderful. Everything was proceeding quite nicely...
Pan Wukun went out into the city just outside of the Cloud Recesses, enjoying a bowl of noodles inside a restaurant. It wasn't as good as Peng Jiu's, but at least it didn't murder her taste buds.
A waiter tapped Pan Wukun's shoulder. "Pardon me, sir. A young man named Wei Wuxian is asking for you."
"What?!"
"He's waiting for you on the first floor."
Pan Wukun left her table and looked downstairs.
"Chun-ge!" Wei Wuxian waved up at her enthusiastically. "I heard that you were still in Gusu so I decided to stop by and see you!"
He held up two jars of Emperor's Smile. "Come and drink with me! I've got some Emperor's Smile here! It's the most heavenly drink you'll ever taste! Trust me!"
Usually, Pan Wukun would've vehemently refused. But she needed to get closer to Wei Wuxian. This was her chance!
Pan Wukun placed her payment on the dining table. Wei Wuxian was lucky he arrived right when she just finished her noodles.
"All right, Wei-gongzi. I'll come with you," she said.
"Yes!" Wei Wuxian spun around happily with the jars of Emperor's Smile swinging in his hands.
He bounced in excitement as Pan Wukun followed him outside.
Pan Wukun didn't even have to seek Wei Wuxian out.
Wei Wuxian came to her himself.
How convenient...
She wasn't sure whether to consider that a blessing or a curse.
Wei Wuxian and Pan Wukun sat down at a secluded field of grass.
"What's with the two jars of Emperor's Smile?" Pan Wukun asked. "Surely, you don't expect the two of us to finish all of that without dying of alcohol poisoning?
"Oh! About that! Jiang Cheng and I are holding a drinking party in our room along with the other sect disciples!"
"Your room?" Pan Wukun raised an eyebrow. "You mean your room within the Cloud Recesses? Isn't drinking forbidden there?"
Wei Wuxian winked. "What the sticks-in-the-mud don't know won't hurt them." By "sticks-in-the-mud", he meant Lan Qiren and Lan Wangji.
Pan Wukun snorted. "Sneaking around, huh? Why did we stop here then? Aren't your friends waiting for the wine?"
Wei Wuxian chuckled. "They can wait a little longer." He opened up a jar of Emperor's Smile. "But I can't!"
Wei Wuxian graciously downed some of the Emperor's Smile. He sighed in pleasure. "So good!"
He held the jar out to Pan Wukun. "Go on! Have a drink!"
Pan Wukun stared down into the jar. The wine was clear, with no distinct color. Its fragrance was pleasant with a hint of sorghum.
She'd always wondered what Emperor's Smile tasted like. Sure, she didn't like alcohol, but it couldn't hurt to try a little.
Pan Wukun grabbed the jar and took a sip.
She promptly started hacking and coughing. - My throat! It burns! It burns!
She took out a gourd of water from her qiankun pouch, frantically gulping it down to soothe her throat.
Wei Wuxian laughed, patting her back. "Aw, Chun-ge! How is it that you can't drink it? Emperor's Smile has a sweet and fruity taste!"
Pan Wukun was baffled. - What? That's supposed to be sweet and fruity? It tastes awful! How is it that people enjoy drinking alcohol? Damn!
Pan Wukun handed the jar of Emperor's Smile back to Wei Wuxian.
Wei Wuxian closed the jar. "Oh well. More for me then!"
Pan Wukun and Wei Wuxian stayed seated on the grass, one of the jars of Emperor's Smile placed between them.
Wei Wuxian stared at the sword strapped to Pan Wukun's hip. "Yuyun? Why name your sword 'Rain Cloud'?"
Pan Wukun sighed. Wei Wuxian was interested in her sword even though she'd shown no interest in Suibian? He really didn't know how to stop asking questions. "Actually, it's 'Nimbus'. Its name is inspired by Sun Wukong's Jindou yun. But I couldn't give my sword the same name as his sword. I would've gotten unneeded attention and Sun Wukong would've been most displeased."
Pan Wukun was sure that Sun Wukong would've descended from the Heavens himself to give her a rebuking hand chop[1] on the head, saying, "Sorry, kid. That name's taken." And Pan Wukun would've apologized profusely. "Xin lỗi[2], Tôn Ngộ Không[3]."
Wei Wuxian laughed. "But a rain cloud isn't spectacular like the immortals' nimbus clouds."
"A nimbus cloud is a rain cloud, Wei-gongzi," Pan Wukun pointed out. "And besides, it's not so bad, not wanting to be spectacular."
"Huh?" Wei Wuxian stared at Pan Wukun in disbelief. "But you are spectacular, Chun-ge! Would a mediocre person have faced a Waterborne Abyss to save my life?"
"I-! Well-! Anyone else would've done the same thing I did if I wasn't there!" Pan Wukun protested. Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji definitely would've tried to save Wei Wuxian somehow, no matter what.
Wei Wuxian waved his hand playfully. "No need to be so modest, Chun-ge! Older guys are confident, right? They take pride in the things they accomplish!"
"Ah-! But-!" Pan Wukun's mouth opened and closed. She went quiet, unable to think of any more to say.
Wei Wuxian truly admired her, didn't he? Why? Why did he think so highly of her for just doing her duty of saving him?
"Hehe." Wei Wuxian simply gave Pan Wukun a big grin. Then he sighed contentedly and lay down on the grass. He looked up and gasped. "Whoa! The stars are so pretty!"
Pan Wukun turned her head towards the night sky.
The sky was strewn with tiny bright dots of light, so many that it would take an eternity to count them all with one finger. The stars blanketed the vast dark expanse. It was all so…dreamlike.
Pan Wukun found herself laying down on the grass next to Wei Wuxian.
Wei Wuxian looked over at her with a smile. Pan Wukun simply looked back with a neutral expression. Wei Wuxian's smile turned into a huge grin. Then he and Pan Wukun turned their eyes back to the sky.
Crickets chirped all around them.
Pan Wukun's eyes stayed fixated on the stars. A sense of peace and calm came over her.
She recalled a memory from many years past.
When she was still not used to Xuhou, Pan Wukun had stayed in bed in a state of idle gloom. She felt terribly homesick and was consumed by a sinking feeling of confusion and helplessness. She wondered if there was any hope for her to return home or if she was doomed to be lost forever.
One night, Pan Heng took Pan Wukun outside for a walk. "You need some fresh mountain air," he said as he carried her higher up into the mountains.
Once they reached the top of a mountain slope, Pan Heng pointed up at the sky. "Look."
Pan Wukun looked, and the sight of the stars scattered across the sky took her breath away. "Wow. The stars are so bright and clear here."
Pan Heng was puzzled. "Where do you live that you can't even see the stars clearly?"
"Where I come from, we use so much light that it blocks out the view of the stars." There was always so much light in the suburbs back home, making it hard to see many stars at all.
Pan Heng smiled. "I'll make your first time stargazing fun then." He told Pan Wukun about the constellations, his soft voice lulling her into a peaceful sleep.
Now, as Pan Wukun watched the stars together with Wei Wuxian, something flashed in her vision.
Pan Wukun and Wei Wuxian both sat up in surprise.
Small lights shone and floated all around them.
"Hoh! Fireflies!" Wei Wuxian exclaimed.
Pan Wukun breathed softly, taking in the gentle glow of the fireflies as they danced around the grassy field.
It was like something out of a fairy tale...
SMACK!
Pan Wukun's head whipped around to see Wei Wuxian's hands cupped around a firefly. "Hey! Don't squish them!" she shouted.
"I'm not! I'm not! Look!" Wei Wuxian turned his hands for Pan Wukun to see that the firefly still glowed underneath his closed palms.
Wei Wuxian made a small opening in his hands. He looked into his hands with a single eye. "Whoa! It's really bright!" He grinned. "Come on, Chun-ge! Have a look!"
Pan Wukun grimaced. "Uh-I don't really like bugs-!"
Without warning, Wei Wuxian rushed over to Pan Wukun. His hands brushed with hers as he pressed the firefly between her palms.
Pan Wukun squeaked as she felt the firefly make contact with her hands. The firefly crawled a little, making her hands tickle.
A grin remained on Wei Wuxian's face. "Go on."
Pan Wukun sighed and looked through the small opening in her hands. The firefly's luminescence flashed on and off. Funnily enough, it made her think of her mechanical keyboards with LED lights from back home.
"Whoa…" she uttered softly.
Wei Wuxian chuckled. "Pretty bright, right?"
"Yes..." Pan Wukun pulled her head away from her hands. She and Wei Wuxian probably scared the poor firefly for long enough.
She released the firefly and it rejoined its brethren in their nightly flight.
Pan Wukun stood still, the fireflies' lights reflecting in her eyes. This was the first time she'd ever seen fireflies up so close like this. Witnessing one of nature's beauties was so…magical.
"Hahahahahaha!" Wei Wuxian pointed at Pan Wukun, laughing.
Pan Wukun blinked. "What? What's so funny?"
"Hah! I got you to smile!" Wei Wuxian said triumphantly.
Pan Wukun's eyes widened.
Shit! Resting Bitch Face Activate!
Pan Wukun quickly schooled her face back into a neutral expression. She crossed her arms and turned her head, looking away from Wei Wuxian.
Wei Wuxian slung an arm over Pan Wukun's shoulder and poked her cheek with his finger. "You know, Chun-ge, you look more handsome when you're happy. Pretty girls will flock to you, no doubt!"
Pan Wukun punched Wei Wuxian in the arm, making him pull away snickering.
Then Wei Wuxian looked up at the sky. The full moon had risen much higher than earlier. "We should get going."
Wei Wuxian grabbed one of the jars of Emperor's Smile and held it out to Pan Wukun with a big smile. "So Chun-ge, will you come drink with me and my friends?"
For a moment, Pan Wukun stared silently at Wei Wuxian, whose bright smile never seemed to ever leave his face.
She had to go.
Like it or not, this was her only chance to become close to Wei Wuxian.
Her only chance to get closer to home…
Pan Wukun sighed. "I don't like drinking. But I suppose it wouldn't hurt for me to loosen up with others tonight."
Wei Wuxian's smile brightened with dazzling force and he absolutely glowed.
He laughed and grabbed Pan Wukun's hand. "Come on then! We've got a party to go to!"
Glossary
[1] Hand chop: formally known as a knifehand strike, but most commonly called the "Karate Chop". But it's a move also used in Chinese and Korean martial arts.
[2] Xin lỗi: "Sorry." in Vietnamese.
[3] Tôn Ngộ Không: Sun Wukong's name in Vietnamese.
A/N: Food poisoning sucks lmao.
My advice: Don't eat the raw oysters at All-You-Can-Eat restaurants and Happy Hours. It's not worth the risk.
I vomited, slept for most of the day, and was very dehydrated. So much damage from eating one oyster.
Damn shame too because the oyster actually tasted good…
Don't worry, I've recovered by now. The incident was over a few months ago when I ate at an All-You-Can-Eat Sushi restaurant with my cousins during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
I went on a camping trip with my cousins in a yurt next to a lake.
There was no wifi but I had my fanfics downloaded in Google Docs to work on them offline (Life Hacks!).
Wow, the crickets were so loud and all around me at night there. Definitely not the same as a few crickets in the garden outside my window.
There were birds, bugs, spiders, moles, squirrels, and raccoons that got pretty close to my family! Yes, all of them got pretty close! They must be used to the presence of people. The spider on my bed scared the shit out of everyone. The raccoons were peeking out from behind a tree at night, eyeing our leftover marshmallows. Raccoons' eyes glow yellow when you shine a light on them. Eerie!
There were so many stars in the sky too. Wished I could lay down on a blanket and stare at them all night if the ground wasn't so sandy…
I think I even heard wolves howling and barking in the distance around 2 or 3 a.m.
I also went to my cousin's wedding in a tuxedo instead of a dress for the first time, freely expressing my gender nonconformity. Yeah, it was a hard fight against some of my traditional relatives but I did it.
Hope you enjoyed the latest update!