The Library Pavilion was blissfully quiet.

With the pleasant ambience of shuffling scrolls and books, Pan Wukun was being treated to a live Library Pavilion ASMR session.

Browsing the shelves, she spotted a book called Legendary Cultivators Throughout the Ages.

That looked like it could be useful. Legendary cultivators probably knew world-bending techniques to cross dimensions.

But there was one problem.

The book was atop a shelf that was way too high. And Pan Wukun was way too short.

She was about to get a stool when a shadow fell over her.

A white-sleeved arm reached over her and retrieved the book.

Pan Wukun felt disappointed that she would have to wait for someone else to finish reading it first.

She turned around to see Lan Wangji.

He held the book out to her.

"Oh!" Pan Wukun took the book, careful not to accidentally touch Lan Wangji's hands. "Thank you, Lan-er-gongzi!"

Lan Wangji nodded and left as quickly as he appeared.

Pan Wukun sat down at a table and read through sections on Jiang Chi, Lan An, the founder of the QingheNie sect, and Lan Yi. Then she finally came across the fabled Baoshan Sanren.

There was no mention of Baoshan Sanren being featured in any educational books in the original MDZS story. But the cultivation sects had to have heard of her from somewhere other than Cangse Sanren.

Much of what was written about Baoshan Sanren was based on personal accounts by Lan An, Wen Mao, and other cultivators alive during the founding of the Five Great Sects. After the personal accounts were research notes written by the educational book's authors.

"Baoshan Sanren has unparalleled medical prowess. She is said to be the oldest living cultivator. Perhaps her medical expertise combined with her powerful cultivation is what has allowed her to live for so long."

That was no surprise to Pan Wukun. Baoshan Sanren had successfully performed eye transplants for Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan in canon.

"Baoshan Sanren and the GusuLan sect leader Lan Yi maintained a close relationship, often meeting with each other privately. Other cultivators observed that the two of them held a strong bond and got along well."

...Pan Wukun was pretty sure those two were a couple. Her sapphic senses could not stop tingling.

"After Lan Yi's passing, Baoshan Sanren retreated into the mountains, closing herself off from the world."

Pan Wukun wished the book specified which mountain Baoshan Sanren stayed in. But she supposed that was knowledge no one knew except Baoshan Sanren and her disciples.

"Baoshan Sanren took on several disciples. Her first disciple who left her mountain and made his presence known in the cultivation world was Yanling Daoren."

Yanling Daoren? Who was that?

Pan Wukun didn't write down every minor detail from the original story in her Canon Timeline notebook.

Wait. Didn't Xiao Xingchen talk about Baoshan Sanren's other disciples when he told stories to A-Qing and Xue Yang once?

If Cangse Sanren left Baoshan Sanren's mountain before Xiao Xingchen, then the cultivator who left before Cangse Sanren must've been Yanling Daoren!

"As Yanling Daoren traveled the world, cultivators immediately took notice of him since no one had heard from Baoshan Sanren in ages. He was greatly admired for his skills as a cultivator. But one day, Yanling Daoren suddenly changed, becoming violent. He killed without mercy. He controlled living people like puppets with a piece of mystical iron. Some even said his cultivation methods were...demonic."

Pan Wukun blinked.

Xiao Xingchen never mentioned these specific details about Yanling Daoren.

Ghostly cultivation (gui dao) manipulated the dead while demonic cultivation (mo dao) manipulated the living.

While Wei Wuxian used gui dao, Yanling Daoren was actually the one using mo dao?

Was Yanling Daoren the first prominent demonic cultivator? The real grandmaster of demonic cultivation?

People had to learn about the existence of demonic cultivation from someone at some point in this world's history, after all.

"Yanling Daoren made the fields and oceans run red with blood. His reign of terror was finally brought to an end when he fell to thousands of swords by an army of noble cultivators."

So Yanling Daoren tormented the cultivation world way before the Wens did.

Good thing he was gone.

Pan Wukun made it to the end of the book and shut it in defeat.

Still nothing on interdimensional travel. Was she going to have to become an immortal cultivator herself for it to even be possible?

If only Baoshan Sanren and the other immortals weren't so secluded and hard to find, then Pan Wukun probably would've been a lot more powerful by now.

She wished she could access the Library Pavilion's secret restricted section. The same place where Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, and Lan Xichen found the songbook from Dongying that Jin Guangyao used to kill Nie Mingjue.

But she was on thin fucking ice.

The librarians were already suspicious of her because of what she did with Wei Wuxian.

...Should she consider asking Lan Wangji?

No, no, no. She couldn't break Lan Wangji's trust.

She didn't want to get kicked out of the Cloud Recesses for good and lose favor with the GusuLan sect.

Pan Wukun sighed.

...There was only one viable option available.

Marry a Lan.

Pan Wukun shook her head.

Perish the thought, Pan Wukun. You're here to study, not to get wed.

"Chun-ge! Nice to see you here!"

Wei Wuxian waved at Pan Wukun.

A librarian hissed at him not to be so loud.

Wei Wuxian chuckled and whispered, "Sorry. Sorry. I was just really excited to see Chun-ge here."

Wei Wuxian took a seat across from Pan Wukun. "So what are you reading, Chun-ge?"

Pan Wukun held the book up, showing him its title.

"Legendary Cultivators Throughout the Ages? Lan-xiansheng already gave us an entire lesson on Lan An and you want to read more about sect leaders?!"

"Past sect leaders still have much to teach us, Wei Ying. And one of the only ways we can still absorb their wisdom is through books."

Wei Wuxian snickered. "You're such a book lover, Chun-ge! I'm surprised the librarians haven't stolen you away from the healers!"

"We don't want him!" some of the librarians said under their breaths.

Wei Wuxian and Pan Wukun did not respond. But Pan Wukun's heart broke at being rejected by fellow bookworms...

Wei Wuxian pointed at Pan Wukun's table. "What's that stone you have, Chun-ge?"

It was the smartphone that got fried during the thunderstorm on the night that Pan Wukun first woke up in the MDZS world. She kept the scorched remains of her smartphone as a reminder of where she came from.

Wei Wuxian grabbed her smartphone and looked closely at it from every angle. "Chun-ge...you just carry around this strange-looking obsidian stone around with you all the time?"

"It's a good paperweight."

"This stone is so finely cut! It's so flat! And it has holes!"

Said holes were the charging port, speakers, and the headphone jack.

Pan Wukun never thought she'd get to witness Wei Wuxian's reaction to a smartphone (a burnt unworking one, anyway). It was quite amusing.

A lightbulb went off in Pan Wukun's head.

"Wei Ying. Are there any cultivation tools capable of instant communication?" - A cultivation tool that could transfer information as quickly as a smartphone.

Wei Wuxian tilted his head. "So...like a jade slip?"

"Jade is too expensive and scarce, Wei Ying. And it isn't instant. Its message still has to physically reach the recipient. There's got to be some kind of alternative somewhere. Something plain and inexpensive. Like...paper!"

Wei Wuxian shook his head sadly. "There isn't one." Then he grinned. "Yet!"

He took out a blank piece of paper and began scribbling on it.

Pan Wukun recognized the markings of a talisman. "Are you suggesting we make some kind of communication talisman?"

Wei Wuxian smiled slyly at Pan Wukun. "Are you suggesting we meet each other for private study sessions?"

"Don't say it like that! We're just helping each other with cultivation work! That's all!"

Wei Wuxian chuckled.

"So...you'll help me, Wei Ying?"

"Of course, I'll help you, Chun-ge! Anything is better than doing the assignments Lan-xiansheng forces on us!"

"Perfect! We'll meet outside at a grove instead of the Library Pavilion."

Wei Wuxian stood up and stretched his arms. "Great! It was getting stuffy in here anyway! I'll see you tomorrow, Chun-ge!"

The librarians simultaneously put their fingers to their lips.

"Shhh!"

Wei Wuxian and Pan Wukun laid out some blank pieces of paper on the grass and got to work.

"If jade can magically store information, so can paper," Pan Wukun said.

"Paper's also easier to carry! It's lighter and smaller!" Wei Wuxian remarked.

"And it's affordable and in abundance," Pan Wukun added.

Pan Wukun and Wei Wuxian thought about how to apply and combine the functions of jade slips and transportation talismans to their new instant communication talisman.

Jade slips allowed the recipients to absorb their information instantly. But they still needed to physically reach their intended recipient first.

Talismans that instantly transported an entire person from one place to another existed. So why not talismans that could provide instant communication like a smartphone?

But it was possible that an instant communication talisman may take up as much energy as a transportation talisman so it had to be used sparingly.

Pan Wukun thought that perhaps specific runes could be added to the talisman to attach to the right person, like using a phone number, a unique set of numbers to reach a specific person.

"The new talisman will only work with the intended recipient so that it isn't intercepted by unwanted guests," she explained to Wei Wuxian.

"Good security measure," Wei Wuxian said.

During the Sunshot Campaign, Wei Wuxian altered a spirit-repelling talisman to attract them instead. This allowed him to kill Wang Lingjiao using her undead guards. So it was possible to completely change the functions and types of talismans.

In a world where cultivation existed, there were feats that not even modern technology was capable of doing. It wasn't even possible to instantly transport a human from place to place in Pan Wukun's world yet. But with the existence of cultivation in this world, anything was possible. Even resurrecting the dead...

So coming up with a new communication talisman device shouldn't be this hard!

Pan Wukun and Wei Wuxian each had stacks of used paper and failed talismans.

Wei Wuxian was inventive. But even the inventive faced hurdles in their work.

Creativity was hard.

Pan Wukun rubbed her forehead. "Ugh...My head..." Her brain was fried from thinking too much.

"Don't worry, Chun-ge! We'll get it eventually!" Wei Wuxian smiled. "Let's take a break!" He took out a notebook from his qiankun pouch and absentmindedly doodled in it.

Pan Wukun looked over at Wei Wuxian's doodling with curiosity.

Canon never showed Wei Wuxian carrying around a sketchbook in a qiankun pouch. But he must've gotten skilled at drawing with lots of practice. And he needed somewhere to record the wild ideas and inventions he kept coming up with.

Wei Wuxian showed Pan Wukun his drawing "Ta-da! It's Snowball and Little Carrot!"

Pan Wukun smiled. It was a very cute picture.

Wei Wuxian handed Pan Wukun his brush. "Here! Chun-ge! You try drawing something!"

Pan Wukun gingerly took the brush. "...All right."

Oh dear, Wei Wuxian was going to see how she drew.

Pan Wukun was an amateur hobbyist artist. She guessed her drawings were...good enough.

Wei Wuxian blinked. "Oh! Is that a bear?"

"No...It's an electric mouse...called Pikachu."

"So this pointy-eared mouse has electric powers?"

"Yes."

Wei Wuxian laughed. "You have quite the imagination, Chun-ge!"

An amused smile appeared on Pan Wukun's face as she drew a hair bun, a hair ribbon, and robes on the Pikachu.

Wei Wuxian, recognizing who it was, laughed his ass off. "It's Jiang Cheng! It's Jiang Cheng!"

Wei Wuxian squinted. "Wait. How do you know he has an electric whip? That looks like Zidian!"

"Madam Yu is known for her prowess in battle with Zidian. Since Jiang Wanyin is the future leader of the YunmengJiang sect, she will definitely pass Zidian on to him in the future. Since Pikachu has electric powers, I thought it'd be fitting that Jiang Wanyin wields Zidian."

Jiang Cheng with Zidian was basically a purple Pikachu.

Wei Wuxian snickered. "Wait 'til Jiang Cheng sees this!"

He waved at Pan Wukun as he rushed away back to the dormitory. "I'll meet you here again at the same time, Chun-ge!"

"Right!"

Lan Wangji loved looking at the sketches of rabbits in the book, On the Care of Rabbits.

This was how he learned to properly look after Little Carrot and Snowball.

But it wasn't just rabbits that he was studying.

After Lan Wangji helped Pan Wukun get the book on a high shelf, he continued browsing the Library Pavilion. He was surprised to find books about the love between men tucked away in an obscure section.

"Pan Zhang and Wang Zhongxian fell in love at first sight. Both shared the same bed and were affectionate as husband and wife. They died at the same time and were buried together at the Peak of Mount Luofu. A tree grew there, its twigs embracing each other. This tree is considered a miracle."

Lan Wangji felt his ears grow warm.

Was that how he felt about Wei Wuxian? Falling in love with him at first sight?

Lan Wangji shook his head. He did not want to rush into things and ruin their friendship.

Lan Wangji never really talked to anyone outside of his family and sect. He would continue to spend as much time as possible with Wei Wuxian while he was at the Cloud Recesses.

And as for Pan Wukun...

Lan Wangji supposed the rogue cultivator was a capable and good company to have.

He would continue to attend The Legend of Evil Spirits Book Club to spend more time with Wei Wuxian and Pan Wukun. Especially since Lan Xichen encouraged it.

Lan Wangji looked outside his window, admiring the moon in the night sky.

He wanted to see it with Wei Wuxian again...

And perhaps Pan Wukun could join this time...

"..."

"So what do you think, Jiang Cheng?"

"Wei Wuxian...what in the Three Realms is this?"

"Isn't it adorable? It looks just like you!"

"Why the hell am I a strange long-eared mouse?!"

Glossary
Pan Zhang and Wang Zhongxian were a same-sex couple in a story from the Anthology Of Tales From Records Of The Taiping Era.

A/N: The version of this fanfic on FFN will stay "T" since there's a rule against explicit sex scenes and I'd rather not risk getting my account suspended. The most there'll be is fade-to-black in the distant future. But the AO3, Wattpad, and Quotev versions of this fanfic have changed their ratings to "M" for eventual sex scenes. Just letting you all know.

Hope you enjoyed this update! What do you think about the significance of Pan Wukun trying to create an instant communication talisman with Wei Wuxian?

Chúc mừng năm mới! Happy Lunar New Year!