Once upon a lifetime

Caution - Part two

Revised 04/02/24

Hi all, this is the chapter where things start completely diverging from the first draft. Me and my sister looked over it, and we thought that deleting unnecessary chapters and adding new plots would greatly improve the rewrite. Also, we've been busy planning instead of rewriting, so apologies for the long wait!

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Though the successful acquisition of a second shard of the Yin Iron did not fully guarantee a blood-shed free war, it still resulted in Wen Ruohan being half as powerful as he was before, and Wei Wuxian could safely say his threat would not be as apparent.

Therefore, both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were drunk on the effects of success, and wanted to push their limits more. After quickly stopping by an inn in Caiyi Town to rest overnight, they had the time to discuss their next moves, and both seemed to agree on one thing: it was more effective to thwart the Wen Clan’s plans before they rise to the top of the jianghu, rather than trying to fight against a force too great to guarantee them victory.

However, despite them having both Yin Irons, Wen Qing's branch of the Wen Clan were still at risk of the Heavenly Maiden Statue. Therefore, they immediately headed out to Dafan Mountain the next morning, and were pleasantly surprised to find the village quite lively in spirit, though it was still run-down.

After ascending the mountain and reaching its summit, it appeared the Wens in the village finally started to notice them. They all seemed nervous and on-edge, with the taller and stronger of the group all lingering near the entrance, as though ready to attack should they pose as threats.

Wei Wuxian's eyes sped around them all and they lit up at the sight of a frail, grey-haired old lady staggering to the village entrance where they were standing.

“Young Masters, what brings you here?” she said, and her voice was just so, so familiar and soft and Wei Wuxian didn't know what to say. “This is but a humble small village, we have nothing worth visiting for.”

Lan Wangji glanced at him, and he seemed to realise that Wei Wuxian wasn't in the right state of mind for conversation, so he cupped his hands and bowed low.

“My name is Lan Wangji from the GusuLan Clan. This Young Master with me is Wei Wuxian of the YunmengJiang Clan,” he said. “We are here because we've heard from the villagers in Fojiao Town about a temple inhabiting a statue of a Heavenly Maiden. We were hoping you could tell us about it.”

Wei Wuxian looked up at Lan Wangji in surprise. He knew of his dislike for conversation, especially when it was with strangers, so the fact Lan Wangji was talking so much just because Wei Wuxian himself didn’t want to…

…It was really thoughtful.

“Those villagers should have directed you up the path of the mountain,” said Granny Wen, furrowing her eyebrows. “Why did they send you here, to our village, which is certainly quite a large detour?”

Wei Wuxian cleared his throat, and Granny Wen looked back at him curiously. “Actually, they also said that if we wanted to know anything about the QishanWen Clan, we could come here.”

Granny Wen’s eyes shot open and her warm demeanour suddenly became extremely defensive. The other villagers, who were also listening in, broke into murmurs of outrage instantaneously.

“Sorry, Young Masters, you have come to the wrong place, I am afraid,” she said curtly. “We may be affiliated with the Wen Clan, but we are not part of any internal affairs and cannot help you.”

Her tone held a hint of finality, and she looked as though she was about to walk away. Before she could turn, however, Wei Wuxian blurted out, “Wen Ning mentioned his family lived here! We don’t intend to sow any discord, we just… He told us about the accident he had as a child with the statue, and we realised it could be a potential threat and want to ensure the Heavenly Maiden Statue can’t hurt anyone else! I swear I’m not lying!”