Wei Wuxian took out his flute and played a section according to the score. As expected, the two sections of the melody were disconnected. The half of the score on the first page and the half of the score on the second page were not the same song at all.

There should be another page between these two pages, which was torn away carefully and without leaving any trace.

This person tore the pages very carefully, leaving no torn pages behind, making it difficult for anyone to detect. Wei WuXian flipped through the book and saw the three-character title written on the dark blue cover.

Wei WuXian asked, “The Book of Chaos? What kind of book is this? The tune of the music in the book is a bit weird.”

Lan Wangji said, "A collection of secret songs from Japan."

Wei WuXian said, “From Japan? No wonder the tone is different from ours.”

Lan Xichen had a complicated expression, and said, “…The Luanpo Collection, according to legend, was a collection of evil songs that was collected by a cultivator of the Gusu Lan Clan after he drifted overseas by boat and wandered in the land of Japan for several years. The songs in this book, if played with spiritual power, can harm people, causing them to become increasingly thin, irritable, agitated, or have their five senses malfunction…Those with strong spiritual power can take a person’s life within seven sounds.”

Wei WuXian slammed the table and said, “This is it!”

He was so happy that he almost knocked over the paper lantern on the desk. Lan Wangji quickly picked it up. Wei Wuxian asked, "Master Lan, is there a song in this book "Luan Po Chao" that can disturb people's minds, make their souls agitated, their blood boiling, and make them irritable and angry?"

Lan Xichen said: “…There should be.”

Wei WuXian added: “Jin GuangYao’s spiritual power is not good enough to kill someone within seven rings. Besides, it would be too obvious to kill someone like that. He would definitely not choose such a powerful evil song. But if he plays the Qingxinxuanqu for ChiFengZun for three months in a row under the pretext of helping him calm his mind, is it possible that this song could catalyze ChiFengZun’s attack like taking a chronic poison?”

Lan Xichen said: “…Yes.”

Wei WuXian said, “Then, the speculation is reasonable. The incomplete score that does not belong to Xi Hua came from the lost page of this Luan Po Chiao. The evil songs from Japan recorded in Luan Po Chiao are quite complicated and difficult to learn. He did not have time to copy them in the forbidden library, so he had to tear them away—no, that’s not right. Jin GuangYao has a photographic memory. He tore the page away not because he could not remember it, but to leave no evidence. To ensure that if the truth is revealed one day, or if he is caught on the spot, he will not be able to determine the source of this melody.

"He was extremely cautious in everything he did. He frankly played the complete version of "Xi Hua" in front of you. Chi Feng Zun is not a person who is obsessed with elegance. He heard you, Sect Master Lan, play "Xi Hua" and should have a general impression of the melody. Therefore, Jin Guangyao did not dare to play the evil song directly for him, but took some trouble to blend two songs with completely different styles and completely opposite effects together. He was able to blend them together without any abruptness and into one. His musical talent is really high. I guess he only used a little spiritual power in the "Xi Hua" section, and only exerted his strength in the "Luan Po Chao" section. After all, Chi Feng Zun is not proficient in this, so he naturally couldn't tell that one of the sections had been tampered by Jin Guangyao into a life-threatening evil song!"

After a long silence, Lan Xichen whispered, “…Although he often goes in and out of the Cloud Recesses, I have never told him about the forbidden library at the bottom of the library.”

Wei WuXian said, “Master Lan, forgive me for being blunt, but during the Sun Shooting Campaign, Lian Fang Zun was an undercover agent in the Never-Night City of the Wen Clan in Qishan. Moreover, he was an extremely successful undercover agent. He was able to find Wen Ruohan’s secret room and sneak in without anyone noticing. He memorized all the maps and files, and copied the information down and sent it back to Jinlintai. In front of him, the forbidden book room in the Lan Clan’s library… is really nothing.”

Lan Xichen took the paper with the incomplete score in his hand, stared at it for a while, and said, "I'll think of a way to try this incomplete score."

Lan Wangji asked, "Brother?"

Lan Xichen said, “When my eldest brother passed away, the suppression of the mass grave had already passed, and Master Wei was no longer alive. If tested, this fragment of music score can indeed confuse people’s minds, and it is not fabricated. I…”

Wei WuXian said, “Lord Zewu, testing an evil song on a living person is probably against the Gusu Lan Clan’s family motto.”

Lan Xichen said: “I will try it myself.”

As the head of the Gusu Lan Clan, he actually said such nonsense, which shows that he is very upset at the moment. Lan Wangji raised his voice slightly: "Brother!"

Lan Xichen propped his forehead with his hand, as if enduring something, and said in a deep voice: “Wangji, the Jin Guangyao I know, the Jin Guangyao you know, and the Jin Guangyao in the eyes of the world are completely different people! Over the years, in my eyes, he has always been...a man who endures humiliation, cares about all living beings, respects the superiors and pities the inferiors. I have always believed that the world's criticism of him is out of misunderstanding, and what I know is the most real. You want me to believe right now that everything this person said to me was fake, that he designed to kill one of his sworn brothers, and I was also part of his plan, and I even helped him... Can you allow me to be more cautious before making a judgment?”

Lan Xichen originally thought of the grudges between Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao, and wanted them to reconcile, so he taught Jin Guangyao to practice Qingxin Xuanqu, asking him to calm Nie Mingjue's mind on his behalf. Who knew that his kindness would make Jin Guangyao more vicious? How can people deal with this?

The three of them remained silent until they left the library. Lan Wangji then said, "I'm going to see my uncle."

Lan Xichen, who had been silent for a long time, also said, "I will take Master Wei back. You can come back later."

He led Wei Wuxian along the white stone path in the Cloud Recesses for a while, and then returned to the secluded little building full of dragons in the Cloud Recesses. Standing in front of the door, Wei Wuxian said, "Mr. Lan, do you know Han Guangjun..."

Lan Xichen said, “My uncle woke up not long ago, and I told everyone not to say anything more to him.”

If Lan Qiren knew what Lan Wangji had done with him at Jinling Terrace, he would have fainted from anger as soon as he woke up. Wei Wuxian said, “Thank you for your hard work, Senior Lan.”

Lan Xichen said, “Uncle has indeed worked hard.”

Suddenly, he said, "Master Wei, do you know where this house is?"

Wei WuXian asked, “Why did ZeWu-Jun think I would know?”

Lan Xichen glanced at him and said, “This is where my mother lived in the Cloud Recesses.”

Lan Xichen's mother is also Lan Wangji's mother. Wei Wuxian found it strange. The residence of the Gusu Lan Clan's successive heads was called "Hanshi", which was definitely not this small house hidden in the corner of the Cloud Recesses. Could it be that Lan Wangji's parents were also like Jiang Fengmian and Madam Yu, who had different personalities and were forced to marry, and thus lived separately?

The separation of the head of the family and his wife could not have any happy reasons. Moreover, the wife of the previous head of the Gusu Lan family, Qing Hengjun, was said to be weak and weak, and had been recovering from illness for many years, so she was not suitable to see people. Others knew very little about it. The families privately speculated whether this "illness" was a "disease" that was difficult to show in public, such as disfigurement or disability. Therefore, Wei Wuxian did not ask more questions and remained silent, waiting for Lan Xichen to tell himself.

Lan Xichen said, “Master Wei, you should know that my father has been in seclusion for many years and has not been concerned with worldly affairs. Over the years, the Gusu Lan Clan has been almost entirely managed by my uncle.”

Wei WuXian said, “I know this.”

Lan Xichen lowered his hand, holding Lie Bing’s hand, and hid it in his white sleeves. He said slowly: “My father has been in seclusion for many years because of my mother. This place is not a residence... but it is better to say that it is a place of house arrest.”

Wei WuXian was stunned.

Zewu Jun and Hanguang Jun's father, Qingheng Jun, was also a famous scholar in his time. He became famous at a young age and enjoyed great success. However, he suddenly retired at the age of twenty, announced his marriage, and stopped caring about worldly affairs. He was said to be in seclusion, but in fact it was more like retirement. Others have speculated on many reasons, but none of them has been confirmed.

Lan Xichen leaned over the gentian bush, gently caressing the delicate petals, and said, “When my father was young, he met my mother outside Gusu City on his way back from a night hunt.” He smiled slightly and said, “It is said that they fell in love at first sight.”

Wei Wuxian also smiled and said, "Young and sentimental."

Lan Xichen said, “But this woman was not in love with him, and she killed one of my father’s mentors.”

This was truly beyond imagination. Wei WuXian knew that it was rude to ask, but when he thought that these were Lan WangJi’s parents, he felt that he had to ask, “Why?!”

Lan Xichen said: “I don’t know, but I think it’s nothing more than ‘grudges, right and wrong’.”

Wei WuXian was not in a position to delve into the matter further, so he pressed the issue and asked, “Then… what next?”

“Then,” Lan Xichen said, “my father was naturally very painful when he learned the truth. But after struggling again and again, he still secretly brought the woman back. Despite the opposition of the clan, he silently worshipped heaven and earth with her and told everyone in the clan that this was his wife for life, and whoever wanted to touch her had to get through him first.”

Wei Wuxian opened his eyes wide.

Lan Xichen continued, “After the ceremony, my father found a house and locked my mother up in it. He also found another house and locked himself up in it. It was called seclusion, but in fact it was for reflection.”

After a pause, he said, "Master Wei, can you understand why he did this?"

After a moment of silence, Wei WuXian said, “He could neither forgive the murderer who killed his mentor nor watch the woman he loved die. He had no choice but to marry her to protect her life, and forced himself not to see her.”

Lan Xichen asked, “Do you think this is the right thing to do?”

Wei WuXian said, “I don’t know.”

Lan Xichen looked slightly bewildered, and asked, "Then what do you think is the right thing to do?"

Wei WuXian said, “I don’t know.”

After a long while, Lan Xichen whispered, “My father did this out of desperation. The elders in the clan were all very angry, but they had watched him grow up, and they could do nothing about it. They had to keep the secret and hinted to the outside world that the wife of the head of the Gusu Lan clan had a hidden illness and was not suitable to see anyone. When Wangji and I were born, they immediately took us out to be taken care of by others, and when we were a little older, they handed us over to my uncle for instruction.

"My uncle... originally had a straight-forward character. Because of my mother's incident, my father destroyed his life, and he particularly hated people with bad behavior. Therefore, he taught Wangji and me with great care and strictness. We can only see our mother once a month, in this small building."

The two young children had to face only a stern uncle, strict teaching, and piles of books all day long. No matter how tired they were, they had to straighten their young backs and become the best children in the family and role models in the eyes of others. They were not allowed to meet their closest relatives for years, and could not roll around in their father's arms or cuddle up to their mother.

But it's clear they did nothing wrong.

Lan Xichen said, “Every time Wangji and I went to see her, she never complained about how depressed she was being locked up here, nor did she ask about our homework. She especially liked to tease Wangji, but the more you tease him, the less he wants to talk, and the more unhappy he becomes. He has been like this since he was a child. However,” he smiled, “Although Wangji never said it, I know that he waits for the day to meet his mother every month. He is like this, and so am I.”

Wei Wuxian imagined the young Lan Wangji being held in his mother’s arms, his snow-white face flushed pink, and laughed too. But before he could even smile, Lan Xichen said, “But one day, our uncle suddenly told us that we didn’t need to go anymore.

"Mother is gone."

Wei WuXian asked softly, “How old was Lan Zhan at that time?”

Lan Xichen said, “Six years old.”

He said: "At that time, he was too young to understand what 'gone' meant. No matter how others tried to comfort him or how his uncle scolded him, he continued to come here every month, sitting on the porch, waiting for someone to open the door for him. When he was a little older and realized that his mother would not come back and no one would open the door for him, he would still come."

Lan Xichen stood up, his dark eyes meeting Wei Wuxian’s, and said, “Wangji has been very stubborn since he was a child.”

The leaves rustled, and the clusters of gentian flowers in front of the house swayed gracefully in the wind. Wei Wuxian's eyes fell on the wooden corridor of the small building, as if he saw a little child, with a headband, sitting upright in front of the house, silently waiting for the door to open.

He said, "Mrs. Lan must be a very gentle woman."

Lan Xichen said: “The mother in my memory is indeed like this. I don’t know why she did that back then, and in fact, I also…”

He took a deep breath and confessed, "I don't want to know."

After a long silence, Lan Xichen lowered his eyes and took out the cracked ice. Suddenly, a gust of night wind brought a faint sound of a flute, the sound of the flute was low, like a sigh.

Wei Wuxian had heard Lan Xichen play the Ice-Splitting Flute before, and the sound of the flute was just like Zewu-Jun himself, gentle and warm like the spring breeze. But at this moment, the sound of the flute was still exquisite, but it was not pleasant to listen to.

The night breeze blew gently, and Lan Xichen's black hair and headband were slightly messy. However, the head of the Gusu Lan family, who always attached great importance to his manners, paid no attention to it at all. He put down the cracked ice until the end of the song and said, "Music is not allowed late at night in the Cloud Recesses. I have repeatedly stepped out of line today, and made Master Wei laugh."

Wei WuXian said, “What’s the big deal? Lord Zewu, have you forgotten that the person standing in front of you is the one who has violated the most taboos…”

Lan Xichen smiled and said, “The Gusu Lan Sect has never revealed the life story of Wangji and I to the outside world, so I shouldn’t have told you. Tonight, I suddenly wanted to confide in someone, on impulse.”

Wei WuXian said, “I am not a talkative person, so you can rest assured, ZeWu-Jun.”

Lan Xichen said: “But I don’t think Wangji would hide anything from you.”

Wei Wuxian said: "If he doesn't want to talk, I won't ask."

Lan Xichen said, “But given Wangji’s personality, how can he tell you if you don’t ask him? There are some things he won’t tell you even if you ask him.”

Wei Wuxian was about to reply when he heard footsteps behind him. Turning back, he saw Lan Wangji walking towards him in the moonlight. In his right hand, he held two round wine jars with bright red seals. Wei Wuxian's eyes lit up and he said, "Hanguang-jun, you are so thoughtful!"