Yunmeng has many lakes. The "Lotus Pier", the immortal residence of the Yunmeng Jiang family, the largest immortal family stationed here, was built by the lake.

Starting from the dock of Lotus Pier, rowing downstream for a short while, we came to a large lotus pond, called Lotus Lake, which was probably hundreds of miles long. The green leaves were broad, and the pink lotuses were tall and swaying, brushing shoulders with each other. When the lake breeze blew, the flowers and leaves trembled, as if nodding frequently. In the freshness and beauty, there was also a bit of naivety.

Lotus Pier was not like other immortal palaces that were detached from the world. The gates were tightly closed, and ordinary people were not allowed to enter within a few miles. The wide pier in front of the gate was often crowded with vendors selling lotus pods, water chestnuts, and various pastries, making it very lively. Children from nearby families could also sneak into the training grounds of Lotus Pier with snot in their mouths to watch the sword practice. Even if they were discovered, they would not be scolded, and occasionally they could play with the Jiang family's children.

When Wei Wuxian was young, he often flew kites by the Lotus Lake.

Jiang Cheng stared at his kite, and occasionally glanced at Wei Wuxian's kite. Wei Wuxian's kite had already flown very high, but he still had no intention of drawing the bow. He placed his right hand between his eyebrows, raised his head and smiled, as if he felt that it was still not far enough.

Seeing that the kite was about to fly out of the distance where he was sure to hit it, Jiang Cheng gritted his teeth, put an arrow on the string, and shot out the white feather. The kite painted like a one-eyed monster was pierced by the arrow and fell down. Jiang Cheng raised his eyebrows and said, "Hit it!"

Then he asked, "Yours has flown so far, can you still shoot it?"

Wei WuXian asked, “Guess?”

He then drew out an arrow, aimed intently, drew the bowstring to its full length, and suddenly let go.

middle!

Jiang Cheng frowned again and snorted. A group of young men put away their bows and ran to pick up kites and rank them. The one that landed closest was the worst. Every time the last one was the sixth-ranked junior brother, who would be laughed at as usual. He was also very thick-skinned and didn't care. Wei Wuxian's kite fell the farthest, and next to him was the second-ranked Jiang Cheng's kite. Both of them were too lazy to pick it up. A group of young men rushed into the Nine-Curved Lotus Corridor built on the water. They were playing around by climbing walls and jumping over eaves when suddenly two slim young women appeared.

Both of them were dressed as armed maids, both carrying short swords. The taller one of them stood in front of them with a kite and an arrow, and asked coldly, "Whose is this?"

When the young men saw the two women, they all felt bad. Wei Wuxian touched his chin, stepped forward and said, "Mine."

Another maid snorted, "You are so honest."

They separated to the sides, and a woman in purple wearing a sword came out from behind.

The woman had a pale complexion, quite beautiful, with delicate eyebrows and eyes, but with a sharp look. The corners of her lips seemed to be curled, but not quite, and she was naturally sarcastic, just like Jiang Cheng. She had a slender waist, and was dressed in purple. Her face and the right hand that was holding the hilt of the sword were like cold jade. On her right index finger was a ring decorated with purple crystals.

When Jiang Cheng saw her, he smiled and called out, "Mother."

The other young men said respectfully, "Madam Yu."

Madam Yu is Jiang Cheng's mother, Yu Ziyuan. Of course, she is also Jiang Fengmian's wife, and was once his fellow practitioner. Logically, she should be called Madam Jiang, but for some reason, everyone has always called her Madam Yu. Some people speculated that it was because Madam Yu had a strong personality and did not like to take her husband's surname. The couple had no objection to this.

Madam Yu was born in the Meishan Yu family, a prestigious family. She was the third child in the family and was also known as Yu Sanniang. She had a nickname in the Xuanmen, "Purple Spider", which could scare a group of people. When she was young, she had a cold temperament and didn't like to deal with people. She was not pleasing to deal with people. After marrying Jiang Fengmian, she often went hunting outside at night and didn't like to stay in the Lotus Pier of the Jiang family. Moreover, her residence in the Lotus Pier was separate from Jiang Fengmian, occupying an area alone, where only she and a group of family members she brought from the Yu family lived. These two young women, Jinzhu and Yinzhu, were her trusted maids and never left her side.

Madam Yu glanced at Jiang Cheng and said, "Playing crazy again? Come here and let me see."

Jiang Cheng came close to her. Madam Yu pinched his arm with her slender fingers, patted his shoulder, and taught him a lesson: "You haven't made any progress in your cultivation. You are almost seventeen years old, but you are still like an ignorant child, fooling around with others all day long. Are you the same as others? Who knows where others will end up in the gutter in the future, but you are going to be the head of the Jiang family in the future!"

Jiang Cheng was swayed by her slap, and he lowered his head and dared not to defend himself. Wei Wuxian knew that this was another insult to him. A fellow apprentice quietly stuck out his tongue at him, and Wei Wuxian raised his eyebrows at him. Madam Yu said, "Wei Ying, what are you doing?"

Wei WuXian stood up as usual, and Madam Yu scolded him, “You’re like this again! If you don’t want to make progress yourself, then you shouldn’t have dragged Jiang Cheng along to fool around with you and lead him astray.”

Wei WuXian was surprised and asked, “Don’t I strive to improve myself? Am I not the most motivated person in Lotus Pier?”

Young people have a low tolerance for words, so they just want to retort. Upon hearing this, Madam Yu's eyebrows showed a murderous look, and Jiang Cheng hurriedly said, "Wei Wuxian, shut up!"

He turned to Madam Yu and said, "We want to stay in the Lotus Pier and shoot kites, but now no one can go out. The Wen family has designated all the night hunting areas as their territory. Even if I want to go out for night hunting, there is nowhere to start. Don't you and father have told us to stay at home and not go out to cause trouble or compete with the Wen family for prey?"

Madam Yu sneered and said, "I'm afraid that even if you don't want to go out this time, you will have to go out anyway."

Jiang Cheng was puzzled. Madam Yu ignored them and walked through the corridor with her head held high. The two maids behind him glared at Wei Wuxian fiercely and followed their master.

It was not until the evening that they realized what it meant to "go out even if you don't want to."

It turned out that the Qishan Wen Clan had sent a special envoy to deliver a message. The Wen Clan claimed that other aristocratic families were not good at teaching and wasting talents, and asked each family to send at least 20 family members to Qishan within three days, so that they could send someone to teach them personally.

Jiang Cheng was stunned and said, "Can anyone from the Wen family really say such a thing? How shameless!"

Wei WuXian said, “They think they are the sun in the sky, the leader of all families. It’s not the first time that the Wen family has been shameless. Relying on their great power and influence, they stopped other families from hunting at night last year. They have robbed others of their prey and occupied so much territory.”

Jiang Fengmian sat at the head of the table and said, "Be careful with your words. Let's eat."

There were only five people in the huge hall, and each of them had a small square table in front of them, with several plates of food on it. Wei Wuxian lowered his head and moved his chopsticks, when someone suddenly pulled at the corner of his clothes. Turning around, he saw Jiang Yanli handing him a small plate with several peeled lotus seeds on it, plump, white, fresh and full.

Wei WuXian whispered, “Thank you, Senior Sister.”

Jiang Yanli smiled slightly, and her plain face suddenly became more lively. Yu Ziyuan said coldly, "Why do we need a meal? We don't know if there will be any food for them when we get to Qishan in a few days. It's better to go hungry for a few more meals now to get used to it!"

They could not refuse the request made by the Qishan Wen Clan. As countless previous examples have proven, if any family dared to disobey their orders, they would be accused of strange crimes such as "rebellion against the immortal sect" and "harm to the hundreds of families", and they would be annihilated openly and justifiably based on this.

Jiang Fengmian said calmly: "Why are you so anxious? No matter what happens in the future, you still have to eat today's meal."

Madam Yu endured it again and again, slamming the table and saying, "I'm anxious? I'm right to be anxious! How can you still be so lukewarm? Didn't you hear what the people sent by the Wen family said? A maidservant dares to be so arrogant in front of me! Among the twenty children sent, there must be a direct descendant of the family. What do you mean by direct descendant of the family? At least one of Ah Cheng and Ah Li must be among them! What are they sending them over for? To educate? How can they, the Wens, interfere with how other families educate their own children?! We are sending people over to be controlled by them and used as hostages!"

Jiang Cheng said, "Mother, don't be angry, I'll go."

Madam Yu scolded, "Of course you should go! Are you going to let your sister go? Look at her. She is still happily peeling lotus seeds. Ah Li, stop peeling. Who are you peeling for? You are the master, not someone else's servant!"

Hearing the word "house servant", Wei Wuxian didn't care. He ate all the lotus seeds on the plate in one breath, chewing them with a hint of cool sweetness in his mouth. Jiang Fengmian raised his head slightly and said, "Sanniang."

Madam Yu asked, "Did I say something wrong? House servant? Don't like to hear this word? Jiang Fengmian, let me ask you, this time, are you going to let him go?"

Jiang Fengmian said: "It's up to him. If he wants to go, he can go."

Wei WuXian raised his hand and said, “I want to go.”

Madam Yu sneered, "That's great. If you want to go, you can go. If you don't want to go, you can definitely not go. Why does Ah Cheng have to go? You raised someone else's son and raised him like this. Sect Leader Jiang, you are such a good person!"

She was full of resentment and just wanted to vent it out. There was no reason for it. The others just let her vent her anger quietly. Jiang Fengmian said, "Third Madam, you are tired. Go back and rest." Jiang Cheng sat where he was, looked up at her, and said, "Mother." Madam Yu stood up and sneered, "What did you ask me to do? Like your father, you asked me to say less? You are a fool. I told you a long time ago that you will never be able to compare with the guy sitting next to you in your life. Your cultivation is not as good as the night hunter, and you can't even shoot a kite! There is no way, who made your mother not as good as other people's mothers? You can't compare. Your mother is unfair for you. How many times has she told you not to fool around with him, and you still speak for him. How could I give birth to a son like you!"

She walked out, leaving Jiang Cheng sitting there, his face turning pale and blue. Jiang Yanli quietly placed a plate of peeled lotus seeds next to his food table.

After sitting for a while, Jiang Fengmian said, "I will count the eighteen people again tonight, and you will set off together tomorrow."

Jiang Cheng nodded, hesitating about what to say. He never knew how to communicate with his father, but Wei Wuxian was adept at it. He finished his soup and said, "Uncle Jiang, don't you have anything for us?"

Jiang Fengmian smiled slightly and said, "I have already given you what I wanted to give you. The sword is at my side, and the teachings are in my heart."

Wei WuXian said, “Oh! ‘Knowing it’s impossible but still doing it’, right?”

Jiang Cheng immediately warned: "This doesn't mean that you should go ahead and do something bad even though you know you're going to get into trouble!"

The atmosphere at the table became lively.

The next day, before leaving, Jiang Fengmian explained the necessary matters and said only one more sentence, "The children of the Yunmeng Jiang family are not so fragile that they cannot withstand any disturbance from the outside world."

Jiang Yanli escorted them one section after another, stuffing each person's arms with all kinds of dry food, fearing that they would not have enough to eat in Qishan. Twenty young men, dragging heavy food, set out from the Lotus Pier and arrived at the designated Education Department in Qishan before the date set by the Wen Clan.

Many young men from various families, big and small, came here one after another. They were all young people. Among the hundreds of people, many were acquaintances or familiar faces. Some were in groups of three or five, some were in groups of seven or eight, talking in low voices, and their expressions were not very good. It seemed that they were summoned in a less polite way. After looking around, Wei Wuxian said, "Sure enough, people from Gusu have also come."

For some reason, the young men sent by Gusu Lan Clan all looked quite haggard. Lan Wangji's face was particularly pale, but he still had that cold and distant look, with the Bichen Sword on his back, standing alone, surrounded by a deserted scene. Wei Wuxian wanted to go up and greet him, but Jiang Cheng warned him, "Don't cause trouble!" He had to give up.

Suddenly, someone in front of them shouted orders, ordering all the disciples to form a formation in front of a high platform. Several disciples of the Wen family came over and shouted, "Be quiet! No talking!"

The man on the stage was not much older than them, about eighteen or nineteen years old, arrogant, and barely handsome. But like his hair, it looked inexplicably greasy. This man was the youngest son of the head of the Qishan Wen family, Wen Chao.

Wen Chao loved to show off in public, and he would show off in front of everyone on many occasions, so his appearance was familiar to everyone. Behind him stood two people, one on the left and one on the right. The one on the left was a bright and beautiful girl with a graceful figure, willow-shaped eyebrows, big eyes, and fiery red lips. The only flaw was that there was a black mole above her lips, which was born in the wrong place and always made people want to pick it off. The one on the right was a man who looked to be in his twenties or thirties, tall and broad-shouldered, with an indifferent expression and a cold and gloomy aura.

Wen Chao stood on the high ground on the slope, looking down at the crowd, seeming to be very proud. He waved his hand and said, "From now on, everyone, surrender your swords!"

The crowd was in an uproar. Someone protested, "A cultivator always carries a sword with him, why do you want us to hand over our swords?"

Wen Chao said: "Who was speaking just now? Whose family are you from? Stand up yourself!"

The man who had spoken just now dared not speak again. The audience quieted down again, and Wen Chao was satisfied. He said, "It is because there are still people like you who don't know etiquette, don't know how to obey, and don't know how to respect and humble, and you are corrupt, that I am determined to educate you. You are so ignorant and fearless now. If I don't correct your attitude as soon as possible, in the future, there will be people who will dare to challenge the authority and climb over the head of the Wen family!"

They knew that he had bad intentions in asking for the sword, but the Wen family in Qishan was now at its peak and every family was walking on thin ice. They dared not resist in the slightest, for fear that if they displeased him, they would be charged with some crime and the whole family would be implicated. So they had no choice but to swallow their anger.

Jiang Cheng held Wei Wuxian down, and Wei Wuxian whispered, "Why are you holding me down?"

Jiang Cheng snorted, "I'm afraid you'll mess around."

Wei WuXian said, “You think too much. Even though this guy is greasy and disgusting, even if I want to beat him up, I won’t choose this time to cause trouble for our family. Don’t worry.”

Jiang Cheng said, "You want to hit him with a sack again? I'm afraid that won't work. Did you see the man next to Wen Chao?"

Wei WuXian said, “I see. His cultivation is high, but his appearance is not well maintained. It seems that he is a late bloomer.”

Jiang Cheng said, "That man's name is Wen Zhuliu, and his nickname is 'The Hand of Transformation'. He is Wen Chao's attendant, and is specifically responsible for protecting him. Don't mess with him."

Wei WuXian asked, “‘Danhua Hand’?”

Jiang Cheng said: "Yes. His hands are very scary, and he helped the evil. Before, he helped Wen..."

The two looked straight ahead and spoke in low voices. When they saw the servant of the Wen family approaching with his sword put away, they immediately fell silent. Wei Wuxian untied his sword and handed it over, and at the same time, he couldn't help but glance at the Gusu Lan family. He thought Lan Wangji would definitely refuse to hand it over, but unexpectedly, although Lan Wangji's face was frighteningly cold, he still untied the sword.

Madam Yu's ridicule had come true. They had been "educated" in Qishan, and indeed they had only plain food every day. The food that Jiang Yanli had given them had long been taken away, and none of these young noble family children had practiced fasting, so it was hard to endure.

The so-called "education" of the Wen Clan in Qishan was to distribute a copy of the "Wen Clan Essence Record", which was densely filled with the glorious deeds and famous sayings of the Wen Clan's past masters and celebrities. Everyone was required to read and recite it and keep it in mind at all times. Wen Chao stood tall every day and gave a speech in front of everyone, requiring them to cheer for him in unison and regard him as a model in everything they said and did. When hunting at night, he would bring the children of the families and drive them to run in front, explore the way, attract the attention of monsters and demons, and fight hard. Then he would come out at the last moment, easily knock down the monsters that were almost beaten by others, cut off their heads, and then go out to brag that this was his own victory. If there was someone he particularly disliked, he would pull that person out and scold him in public, scolding the other person as worse than pigs and dogs.

Two years ago, Wen Chao attended the Qishan Wen Clan's Hundred Schools of Thought Conference. On the day of the archery competition, he entered the venue with Wei Wuxian and others. He was fully confident that he would win the first prize, and naturally thought that others would give way to him. As a result, of the first three arrows, one arrow hit the target, one arrow missed, and one arrow hit the wrong paper figure. He should have left the field immediately, but he refused to do so, and others were too embarrassed to say anything to him. In the end, the top four with the best results were calculated to be Wei Wuxian, Lan Xichen, Jin Zixuan, and Lan Wangji. If Lan Wangji had not left the field early, his results would have been even better. Wen Chao felt very embarrassed, so he hated these four people especially. Since Lan Xichen failed to come, he grabbed the other three and scolded them in public every day, which was very impressive.

The most aggrieved person was Jin Zixuan. He had been raised in the palm of his parents' hands since he was a child. He had never been insulted like this. If the other children of the Lanling Jin family had not stopped him, and Wen Zhuliu was not a good person, he would have rushed up and died together with Wen Chao on the first day. Lan Wangji, on the other hand, was calm and indifferent to everything, as if his soul had left his body. And Wei Wuxian had been scolded by Madam Yu in the Lotus Pier for several years, and he laughed when he stepped down, not taking his little bit of skill seriously at all.

On this day, everyone was woken up early in the morning by the Wen family servants and driven towards a new night hunting spot like a group of poultry.

The place for this night hunting is called Muxi Mountain.

The deeper you go into the forest, the denser the branches and leaves above your head become, and the more shadowy the ground beneath your feet becomes. Apart from the sound of the sea of ​​trees and footsteps, no other sounds can be heard, and the chirping of birds, animals and insects is particularly abrupt in the midst of the forest.

After a long time, a group of people met a stream. The stream was gurgling, and maple leaves were floating in the water. The sound of the stream and the color of the maple leaves invisibly diluted the depressing atmosphere a little, and there was even a slight giggle coming from the front.

Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng were walking while muttering and cursing Wen Gou in various ways. Inadvertently, he turned his head and saw a person in white clothes. Lan Wangji was not far behind him.

Because he was walking slowly, Lan Wangji fell behind the team. Wei Wuxian had tried to get close to him and reminisce about the past several times in the past few days, but Lan Wangji turned away every time he saw him, and Jiang Cheng repeatedly warned him not to flirt with him. Now that they were close, he couldn't help but pay more attention. Wei Wuxian suddenly realized that although Lan Wangji tried his best to walk without any abnormality, he could still see that his right leg landed lighter than his left leg, as if he couldn't use enough strength.

Seeing this, Wei Wuxian slowed down, landed next to Lan Wangji, walked side by side with him, and asked, "What's wrong with your leg?"