To prevent the old and young old-fashioned Lan from coming to him in the middle of the night to drag him out of bed and punish him, Wei Wuxian slept with his sword in his arms. Unexpectedly, the night was peaceful, and the next day, Nie Huaisang came to him with great joy: "Brother Wei, you are really lucky. I went to Qinghe last night to attend the Qingtan meeting at my house. You don't have to go to school these days!"

Without the old one, the young one is left. This is not easy to deal with! Wei Wuxian got up and put on his boots while saying happily: "It's really a blessing from heaven."

Jiang Cheng was carefully wiping his sword and pouring cold water on him: "When he comes back, you will still be punished."

Wei WuXian said, “Why would I care about what happens after death while I am still alive? I will just live as long as I can. Let’s go. I don’t believe that there won’t be a few pheasants on the Lan family’s mountain.”

The three of them walked arm in arm as they passed the elegant reception room of the Cloud Recesses. Wei Wuxian suddenly said “Huh?” and paused, wondering, “Two little Gu…Lan Zhan!”

Several people walked out of the elegant room. The two young men in the lead had the same appearance as a jade sculpture, and were dressed in white clothes as white as snow. Even the sword tassels on their backs swayed in the wind with the ribbons. Only their temperaments and expressions were very different. Wei Wuxian immediately recognized that the one with a stern face was Lan Wangji, and the calm one must be the other of the two heroes of the Lan family, Zewu Jun Lan Xichen.

Lan Wangji frowned when he saw Wei Wuxian, and glared at him almost "viciously", as if he would be defiled if he looked at him for a moment longer, and looked away, looking into the distance. Lan Xichen smiled and said, "Who are you?"

Jiang Cheng bowed and said, "Yunmeng Jiang Wanyin."

Wei Wuxian also bowed: "Yunmeng Wei Wuxian." The Years I Was a Taoist Priest

Lan Xichen returned the greeting, and Nie Huaisang said in a mosquito-like voice: "Brother Xichen."

Lan Xichen said, “Huaisang, I came from Qinghe not long ago, and your elder brother asked about your studies. How is it going? Can you pass it this year?”

Nie Huaisang said, "It's probably possible..." He looked at Wei Wuxian for help, as if he had been frosted. Wei Wuxian chuckled, "Zewu-jun, what are you guys going to do?"

Lan Xichen said, “To get rid of the water monster. We are short of manpower, so we came back to find Wangji.”

Lan Wangji said coldly: "Brother, why bother talking so much? Let's go now without further delay."

Wei WuXian hurriedly said, “Slow down. I know how to catch water ghosts. Can ZeWu-Jun take us with him?”

Lan Xichen smiled but said nothing. Lan Wangji said, “That’s against the rules.”

Wei WuXian said, “What’s against the rules? We often catch water ghosts in Yunmeng. Besides, we don’t have to go to school these few days.”

Enen Beijing's library

Yunmeng has many lakes and water, and is rich in water monsters. The Jiang family is indeed good at this. Jiang Cheng also wants to make up for the loss of face that the Yunmeng Jiang family has suffered in the Lan family these days, and said: "Yes, Lord Zewu, we can definitely help."

“No need. Gusu Lan Clan also…” Before Lan Wangji could finish, Lan Xichen smiled and said, “Okay, thank you very much. Let’s get ready and set off together. Can Huaisang come with us?”

Although Nie Huaisang wanted to join in the fun, he was reminded of his elder brother when he saw Lan Xichen, and was afraid to play around. He said, "I'm not going. I'm going back to study..." He acted like this, hoping that Lan Xichen would say a few good words to his elder brother next time. Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng went back to their room to prepare.

Lan Wangji looked at the two of them from behind, frowning in confusion: "Brother, why did you bring them along? It's not appropriate to joke around when exorcising evil spirits."

Lan Xichen said, “Master Jiang’s first disciple and only son have a good reputation in Yunmeng, and they are not necessarily good at joking and playing.”

Lan Wangji didn't comment, but his face was full of "I don't agree".

Lan Xichen added: “Besides, aren’t you willing to let him go?”

Lan Wangji was stunned.

Lan Xichen said, “From your expression, it seems that you want Sect Master Jiang’s eldest disciple to go with you, so I agreed.”

In front of the elegant room, the silence was like ice.

After a long while, Lan Wangji said with difficulty: "Absolutely not."

Before he could explain, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng came over with their swords on their backs. Lan Wangji could only keep silent, and the group set off on their swords.

The place where the water ghost was haunting was called Caiyi Town, more than 20 miles away from Yunshenbuzhichu.

Caiyi Town is connected by waterways. I don't know if it's because of the dense network of rivers in the town or because the houses are densely packed on both sides of the spider-web-like waterway. The white walls and gray tiles, the river is crowded with boats, baskets, men and women. Flowers, vegetables, fruits, bamboo-carved cakes, beans, tea, silk and cotton are all traded along the river.

Gusu is located in the south of the Yangtze River, and all the sounds you hear are soft. Two boats collided head-on, and several jars of glutinous rice wine were overturned. Even the two boatmen's arguments sounded like the chirping of orioles. Yunmeng has many lakes, but there are few water towns like this. Wei Wuxian was surprised and paid for two jars of glutinous rice wine. He handed one to Jiang Cheng and said, "People in Gusu speak in a coquettish way. This is not a quarrel. Go and see how people in Yunmeng quarrel, it will scare them to death... Lan Zhan, look at me, why am I not buying it for you because I am stingy. People in your family cannot drink."

Without stopping for long, they took a dozen thin boats and rowed towards the gathering place of the water monsters. Gradually, there were fewer and fewer houses on both sides of the river, and the river became quiet. Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng each occupied a boat, competing to see who could row faster while listening to matters related to the water monsters in this area.

This river leads to a large lake ahead, called Biling Lake. Caiyi Town has never had water ghosts haunt it for decades, but in recent months, people have frequently fallen into the water in this river and Biling Lake, and cargo ships have also sunk inexplicably. A few days ago, Lan Xichen set up a formation and cast a net here, thinking that he could catch one or two, but who would have thought that he would catch more than a dozen water ghosts in a row. After washing the faces of the bodies and taking them to a nearby town for questioning, it turned out that many of the bodies were unclaimed and no one in the local area knew them. Yesterday, he set up the formation again and caught quite a few more.

Wei WuXian said, “If they drowned somewhere else and floated here, that doesn’t seem likely. Water ghosts recognize their own territory, and usually they only identify a body of water, which is where they drowned, and they rarely leave.”

Lan Xichen nodded: “That’s right. So I felt that this matter was of great importance, so I asked Wangji to come along, just in case.”

Wei WuXian said, “Zewu-Jun, water ghosts are very smart. If we row the boat and search slowly like this, what if they hide under the water and don’t come out? Wouldn’t we have to keep searching? What if we can’t find them?”

Lan Wangji said, “Until we find it. It’s our duty.”

Wei WuXian said: "Just catch it with a net?"

Lan Xichen said: “That’s right. Does the Yunmeng Jiang Clan have any other methods?”

Wei WuXian smiled but did not answer. Yunmeng Jiang Clan also used nets, but he relied on his swimming ability and always jumped into the river to drag the water ghosts out directly. This method was too dangerous and could not be used in front of the Lan family. If Lan QiRen heard about it, he would surely be reprimanded. He changed the subject and said, "It would be great if there was something that could attract the water ghosts to come like bait. Or it could point out its location, like a compass."

Jiang Cheng said, "Look down at the water and concentrate on finding yours. You are imagining things again."

Wei WuXian said: “Cultivating immortality and wielding a sword was once a wild idea!”

He lowered his head and was able to see the bottom of the boat that Lan Wangji was on. He suddenly thought and shouted, "Lan Zhan, look at me!"

Lan Wangji was concentrating on being alert, and he couldn't help but look at him when he heard the words, but he saw Wei Wuxian paddle with the bamboo pole in his hand, and the water splashed over. Lan Wangji stepped on the sole of his foot and lightly jumped onto another boat, avoiding the splash. He was annoyed that he was here to make fun of him, and said, "Boring!"

Wei WuXian kicked the side of the boat he was standing on, and with a bamboo pole, he flipped the boat over, exposing the bottom of the boat. On the wooden board at the bottom of the boat, there were three water ghosts with swollen faces and pale skin clinging to them!

The disciples who were close by immediately restrained the three. Lan Xichen smiled and said, "Master Wei, how did you know they were at the bottom of the boat?"

Wei WuXian knocked on the side of the boat: "Simple! The draft is wrong. He was the only one standing on the boat, but the draft is heavier than a boat with two people. There must be something stuck on the bottom of the boat."

Lan Xichen praised: “You are indeed very experienced.”

Wei Wuxian used the bamboo pole to gently paddle the water, and the boat sped away until it was parallel to Lan Wangji. When the two boats were close to each other, he said, "Lan Zhan, I didn't mean to splash you with water just now. The water ghosts are very smart. If I tell them, they will hear and run away. Hey, pay attention to me. Look at me, Second Young Master Lan."

Lan Wangji condescended to pay attention to him, looked at him, and said, "Why did you come with me?"

Wei WuXian said sincerely, “I’m here to apologize to you. I was wrong last night. I was wrong.”

Lan Wangji's brows turned dark. He probably hadn't forgotten how Wei Wuxian had apologized to him before. Wei Wuxian asked knowingly, "Why do you look so bad? Don't be afraid, I'm really here to help you today."

Jiang Cheng couldn't stand it anymore and said, "If you want to help, stop talking nonsense and come here!"

One of the students shouted, "The net is moving!"

Sure enough, the net rope shook violently. Wei WuXian was excited: "Here it comes!"

Thick black silk-like hair fluttered beside dozens of small boats, and pairs of pale hands climbed onto the side of the boats. Lan Wangji drew his sword with his backhand, Bichen unsheathed it, and cut off more than a dozen wrists on the left side of the boat, leaving only the palms with fingers deeply dug into the wood. Just as he was about to cut the one on the right, a red light flashed, and Wei Wuxian had already sheathed his sword.

The movement in the water stopped, and the net rope calmed down again. Wei Wuxian's sword had just come out very quickly, but Lan Wangji had already seen that the sword he was carrying must be a top-grade spiritual sword, and asked solemnly, "What is the name of this sword?"

Wei WuXian said, “Whatever.”

Lan Wangji looked at him. Wei Wuxian thought he didn’t hear clearly, so he said again: “Whatever.”

Lan Wangji frowned and refused: "This sword has a spirit. It would be disrespectful to call it casually."

Wei Wuxian sighed and said, "Think about it. I'm not telling you to call it whatever you want, but the name of my sword is 'Suibian'. Here, take a look." He handed it over, letting Lan Wangji see the words on the sword. There were two ancient characters engraved in the pattern of the scabbard, and they were indeed the words "Suibian".

Lan Wangji was speechless for a long while.

Wei WuXian said considerately, "You don't have to tell me. I know. You must want to ask me why I named it this way. Everyone asks if there is any special meaning. Actually, there is no special meaning. It's just that when Uncle Jiang gave me the sword, he asked me what I wanted to call it. I thought of more than 20 names at the time, but none of them satisfied me. I thought I would let Uncle Jiang give me one, so I answered 'Whatever!' Who knew that the sword was forged and when it came out of the furnace, these two words were on it. Uncle Jiang said, 'In that case, let's call this sword Whatever.' Actually, this name is not bad, right?"

Finally, Lan Wangji squeezed out two words from between his teeth: "... Ridiculous!"

Wei WuXian put the sword on his shoulder and said, “You are such a boring person. What a funny name. It’s a perfect fit for a prude like you. Haha!”

At this time, a long black shadow flashed past the boat in the emerald green lake. After Jiang Cheng had killed the water monster on his side, he was still keeping an eye out for any missing ones. When he saw the black shadow, he immediately shouted, "Here it comes again!"