One day, the Yueyang Clanâs leader went out night-hunting with a few family members for about half a month. In the middle of the night, without any warning, they received the bad news and immediately hurried back. After the mourning, they only found out that someone purposely destroyed their protective array and let in a group of powerful evil spirits. Other than that, they knew nothing.
In most cases, only few people knew about the tragedies that happened in smaller clans, but the circumstances back then were different. The Sunshot Campaign finished long ago, while the siege at Luanzang Hill only just ended. On the surface, the situation seemed rather stable. With the sudden disclosure of this event, the entire cultivation world was bubbling with discussion, some even exaggerating that it was the revenge of the revived YiLing Patriarch, Wei WuXian. However, there wasnât any evidence, so it had been impossible to find the killer. Of course, Xiao XingChen didnât sit back and do nothing. He volunteered to be responsible for the matter and find out the truth for Chang Ping. After a month, the murderer was finally discovered.
The murdererâs name was Xue Yang.
Xue Yang was even younger than Xiao XingChen, nothing more than just a boy. Despite this, he definitely didnât tone down on his cruelty just because he was young. Ever since the age of fifteen, he had been a delinquent in the area of Kuizhou, known far and wide for his radiant smile, inhumane means, and merciless personality. Everyoneâs expressions changed whenever he was brought up in a conversation. When he was a child dwelling in the streets, it was said that he developed a hatred that lasted for years toward Chang Pingâs father. He committed this crime in vengeance and for some other reasons.
After Xiao XingChen found out the truth, he went across three provinces and Xue Yang was still happily picking fights with others. Taking advantage of the Discussion Conference that was happening at the Jinling Tower of the LanlingJin Sectâs residence, when the most prominent sects met up and discussed cultivation methods, Xiao XingChen brought him over, explained the situation, and demanded severe punishment.
With his straightforward list of evidence, most sects didnât have any objections, except for oneâthe LanlingJin Sect.
Wei WuXian, âObjecting in such a situation would be placing itself against the entire world. Could it be that Xue Yang was a favorite with Jin GuangShan?â
Lan WangJi, âA guest disciple.â
Wei WuXian, âHe was a foreign disciple? Back then, the LanlingJin Sect was already one of the four most prominent sects, right? Why would they have invited a delinquent to be a guest disciple?â
Lan WangJi, âThis is the second connection.â
He stared into Wei WuXianâs eyes, âBecause of the Stygian Tiger Seal.â
Wei WuXianâs heart immediately skipped a beat.
The phrase was definitely not a stranger to him. On the contrary, nobody was more familiar to those three words than him.
Among all of the spiritual weapons he had forged when he was still alive, this was the scariest and most famous one.
When Wei WuXian first created it, he didnât think too much about it. Single-handedly controlling corpses and spirits, of course heâd occasionally grow tired. Remembering a rare piece of iron ore he happened to have seen in a beastâs stomach, he used it to cast a Tiger Seal.
But, after the Tiger Seal had been created, Wei WuXian only used it once before finding out that it did more harm than good.
The Stygian Tiger Sealâs powers were considerably greater than what he had imagined. He originally wanted to use it to assist him, but its powers were almost exceeding him, its creator. Moreover, it didnât settle on one single master. This meant that if someone got hold of it, no matter who they were, whether they were good or bad, friend or foe, they were able to use it.
After the seal had been forged, it wasnât that Wei WuXian never thought about destroying it, but since the seal was created with much difficulty, it wouldâve been extremely hard to destroy, costing him both time and energy. And, back then, he had already vaguely understood that he wasnât in a good situation and would be hated by everyone sooner or later. With a weapon as appalling as the Stygian Tiger Seal, others didnât dare to act rashly, so he temporarily kept it. He separated the seal into two halves, making it so that they could only be of use when they were put together, and never used without careful consideration.
He had only used it two times before, and both times caused great bloodshed. The first time was during the Sunshot Campaign. After using it for the second time, he finally decided to destroy one half of the seal. Before he could completely destroy the other half, the siege at Luanzang Hill happened, and it had since then been beyond his capabilities.
Toward his own creation, Wei WuXian was confident to say that even if the sect that got hold of it, made a temple for it, and offered it incense every single day, the remaining half of the Tiger Seal was just a piece of scrap iron. However, Lan WangJi told him something shockingâit appeared that Xue Yang could rebuild the other half of the seal!
Although Xue Yang was young, he was also quite clever, a bizarre eccentric. The LanlingJin Sect discovered that he could use the remaining half of the seal to roughly piece together the other half. Even though the recreated version wasnât as powerful and couldnât be used for as long, it could already result in terrible catastrophes.
Wei WuXian understood, âThe LanlingJin needed to keep Xue Yang so that he could continue to restore the Stygian Tiger Seal, so they had to protect him.â
Perhaps, Xue Yang destroying the Chang Clan wasnât entirely to avenge what they did to him when he was young. He might have been testing on this clan of live humans what exactly was the extent of the restored Stygian Tiger Sealâs powers!
No wonder the rumors connected the case to him. Wei WuXian could almost imagine those cultivators clenching their teeth, âThat Wei WuXian! If he didnât make this, our world wouldnât have encountered so many disasters!!!â
Returning to the original thread of conversation, they continued about what happened at the Jinling Tower.
Although the LanlingJin Sect was determined on protecting Xue Yang, Xiao XingChen didnât waver either. As the stalemate continued, they finally startled ChiFeng-Zun, Nie MingJue, who didnât intend on participating in the Discussion Conference. He hurried over to Jinling Tower from far away.
In spite of Nie MingJue being a junior to Jin GuangShan, he conducted himself in a strict manner and refused to tolerate Xue Yang no matter what. With an angry lecture, Jin GuangShan was left with no words and a great deal of embarrassment. Nie MingJue, as the irritable person he was, unsheathed his saber on the spot with the intention of killing Xue Yang. Even when his sworn younger brother LianFang-Zun, Jin GuangYao, attempted to ease the situation, he ordered him to leave. After a harsh scolding, Jin GuangYao hid behind Lan XiChen, not daring to say anything else. In the end, the LanlingJin Sect could only give in.
Ever since Xue Yang was brought to Jinling Tower by Xiao XingChen, he hadnât been scared at all. Even when Nie MingJueâs saber was pressed against his neck, he still had a grin on his face. Before he was taken away, he spoke affectionately to Xiao XingChen, âDaozhang, you wouldnât forget me, would you? Letâs wait and see.â
At this point, Wei WuXian knew that the âwait and seeâ would make Xiao XingChen pay an agonizing price.
The LanlingJin Sect was indeed the sect with the thickest face. Although, on Jinling Tower, it promised in front of all of the sects that Xue Yang would be executed, when it left Nie MingJueâs sight, it immediately shut Xue Yang into the dungeons and changed the original decision to a life sentence. Hearing about the matter, Nie MingJue was enraged and pressed on them again. The LanlingJin Sect rambled about, refusing to give him Xue Yang no matter how hard he tried. All of the other sects watched them from the sidelines, but, shortly afterward, Nie MingJue passed away from Qi deviation.
He cultivated at a faster speed than any other past leader of the Nie Sect, and also died sooner than any of them.
Now that the person who was most difficult to deal with was gone, the LanlingJin Sect became more and more reckless and started to think of worse ideas. Jin GuangShan started to try as hard as he could to get Xue Yang out of the dungeons so that he could continue to restore and examine the Stygian Tiger Seal.
However, this wasnât exactly something to be proud of. It was impossible for him to save the murderer of an entire clan from the dungeons without a valid reason.
So, they turned their attention to Chang Ping.
From coercion to harassment, in the end, the LanlingJin Sect finally pressured Chang Ping into correcting his words, invalidating all of his past speeches. He announced that the wiping out of the Chang Clan had nothing to do with Xue Yang.
Hearing the news, Xiao XingChen visited him to inquire upon the matter. Chang Ping responded helplessly, âWhat can I do aside from this? If I donât tolerate it, the rest of our clanâs people wouldnât be safe for long. Iâm really grateful, Daozhang, but⊠please donât help me anymore. Now, helping me would be harming me. I donât want the YueyangChang Sect to end yet.â
And thus, the tiger had been set free back to the mountains.
Wei WuXian stayed silent.
If he were Chang Ping, he wouldnât have cared how prominent or powerful the LanlingJin Sect was, or how much glory the road ahead offered him, and he wouldnât have let the matter go. Instead, he wouldâve went to the dungeons on his own, cut Xue Yang up so that he was nothing more than a puddle of flesh on the ground, and summoned his soul back to repeat the process to the point that he regretted ever being born in this world.
But, not everyone was like him, preferring to perish together with his enemy. Some of the Chang Clanâs people were still alive. Chang Ping was also still young, single, and childless, having just took his first few steps on the path of cultivation. No matter if he was threatened with the lives of his remaining family members or his own future and cultivation, he had to think carefully.
Of course, he wasnât Chang Ping himself. He couldnât be angered or worried in place of Chang Ping, and he couldnât bear Chang Pingâs share of mental and physical torment.
After Xue Yang had been released, he started to take revenge again. However, this time, the revenge wasnât on Xiao XingChen himself.
Xiao XingChen left the mountain alone and had no family. He only had a friend that he met afterward, named Song Lan. Song Lan was also a cultivator of the time. He was a righteous, determined person and had a fair amount of appraisal. Both of them wanted to build a sect that valued common ideals instead of blood ties, which made them the closest and most like-minded of friends. The people of the time described them as suchâXiao XingChen the bright moon and gentle breeze; Song ZiChen the distant snow and cold frost.
Xue Yang put his hands to this side. Repeating his past technique, he wiped out the Baixue Temple where Song Lan grew up and studied at, and used poison to blind Song Lanâs eyes.
This time, with his experience of wiping out a sect, he made sure to not leave any evidence. Although everybody knew that he was the one who did it, what would be the use of that? There wasnât any evidence. And, with Jin GuangShanâs deliberate protection and the death of the violent ChiFeng-Zun, nobody could do anything about him.
Wei WuXian found this a bit strange. Although Lan WangJi looked as if he didnât care about anything, from Wei WuXianâs past experiences with him, he absolutely couldnât stand wrongdoings, possibly even more than Nie HuaiSangâs brother. Back then, the LanlingJin Sect had some dishonest ways of doing things, and Lan WangJi never bothered to be subtle about them. Even until now, he always refused to go to their sectâs Discussion Conferences. If two cruel massacres happened, the news wouldâve probably spread over the entire cultivational world and Lan WangJi definitely wouldnât have turned a blind eye to them. Why did he not go and give Xue Yang what he deserved?
Just as he was about to ask, he remembered the scars that the discipline whip gave him.
One lash of the discipline whip would already be quite severe. If Lan WangJi made some sort of a grave mistake and received so many lashes, he had probably been grounded for a few years. It was likely that he was either going through his punishment or waiting for his wounds to heal during the years when the incidents happened. No wonder he said had only âheardâ about what happened.
For some reason, in his heart, Wei WuXian cared quite a lot about those scars. However, it was inconvenient for him to ask directly, so he had to hold his thoughts for now, âThen, what happened to the Daozhang Xiao XingChen afterwards?â
What happened afterward was certainly a tragic ending. When he left the mountain and his teacher, Xiao XingChen vowed that he would never go back again. He was a man of his words, but since Song Lan was not only blind but also badly injured, he broke his vow and carried Song Lan back to BaoShan SanRenâs residence, asking her to save his friend.
For the sake that they were once teacher and pupil, BaoShan SanRen agreed. Thus, Xiao XingChen left the mountain once more, and he was never seen again.
A year later, Song Lan also left the mountain. To everyoneâs surprise, his eyes, which were completely blinded, saw light again. However, it wasnât that BaoShan SanRenâs medical skills created a miracle, but that Xiao XingChen⊠dug his own eyes out and gave them to Song Lan, who was only involved in this because of him.
Song Lan originally wanted to seek revenge on Xue Yang. At this time, Jin GuangShan had already passed away. Jin GuangYao took over the LanlingJin Sect and the position of Sect Leader. To show that things were going to be different, the first thing he did after he came to power was to get rid of Xue Yang. Aside from never mentioning the Stygian Tiger Seal again, he also made amends to restore the sectâs reputation, suppressing the rumors. Song Lan went to search for his past friendâs whereabouts. At first, people still heard talk about where he traveled to. After some time, he also disappeared. Moreover, the YueyangChang Sect was a small clan that was generally unheard of. And thus, a lot of things gradually faded away.
Having finished listening to the long story, Wei WuXian sighed softly. A feeling of regret sprouted inside him, Meeting such an end because of something not related to him at all, it really was⊠If Xiao XingChen was born a few years earlier or if I died a few years later, things wouldnât have had to be like this. If I was alive, how would I have not taken part in the matter? How would I have not made friends with such a person?
Immediately afterward, he laughed at himself bitterly, I wouldâve done something? What could I have done? If I was still alive back then, perhaps the YueyangChang Sectâs case didnât even need to be investigated before everyone decided that I did it. If the Daozhang Xiao XingChen bumped into me on the streets and I chatted with him, invite him to drink together, itâs likely that heâd hit me with his horsetail whisk, haha.
They had already walked past the Chang Residence, toward a cemetery nearby. Wei WuXian saw the dark-red character of âChangâ on the pailou and asked, âThen, why did Chang Ping die afterward? Who killed the remaining members of his clan?â
Before Lan WangJi could answer, a series of bangs came from amid the blue-tinted dusk.
The noise sounded a lot like slamming on doors, but it wasnât. The bangs were carried out with force and at a fast pace, without a moment of rest. They sounded somewhat muffled, as if there was something separating them from the outside world.
Their faces immediately changed.
The fifty-or-so people of the YueyangChang Sect were currently lying in their coffins, slamming on their coffin lids from the inside. It was at night they were frightened to deathâthey madly slammed on the doors, but there wasnât anyone to let them out.
This was the slamming on coffins in the Chang Clanâs cemetery that the liquor shopâs waiter talked about!
However, the waiter said that the haunting was ten years ago and stopped long before now. Why would the slamming happen to start again when they came?
Without passing any words between them, Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi both softened their breathing, stealthily moving without making a sound.
Propping themselves against the pillars of the pailou, they both saw that, in the center of the cemetery, there was a hole amid the tombstones.
It was a deep, recently-created hole with piles of dirt surrounding it. Faint noises came from within the hole.
Someone was digging out a grave.
The two of them held their breaths, attentively waiting for the person in the hole to come out on their own.
Before an hour passed, two people hopped up from inside the opened grave.
Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi could tell that these were two people only because they had good vision. These two appeared as if they were conjoined twins. One carrying the other on their back, they were tightly connected together. With both of them wearing entirely black clothes, it was extremely hard to tell the two apart.
The person that hopped up had long legs and long arms, standing with his back toward them. The one that he carried seemed lifeless, their head and limbs hanging down. This was only natural. Since the person was dug out from a grave, then it must have been dead. Lifeless was what shouldâve been expected of it.
As he thought, the gravedigger suddenly spun around and saw them.
There was a mass of thick, black mist over the manâs face, making it so that nobody could see how their face and features looked!
Wei WuXian knew that he must have casted some sort of strange spell to block his face. Lan WangJi had already unsheathed Bichen, darted into the cemetery, and started the fight. The gravediggerâs reaction was extremely quick. Seeing the attack of Bichenâs blue sword glare, he made a hand seal and also summoned a sword glare. The sword glare was the same as his face, surrounded by dense mist, and made it so that it was impossible to see what its color and style was. With a corpse on his back, the gravedigger fought in a strange way. The two sword glares clashed a few times. Lan WangJi summoned Bichen back and held it in his hand, a layer of frost climbing over his face.
Wei WuXian knew why his face suddenly turned cold. It was because, during the fight, even an outsider like him could tell that the gravedigger was extremely familiar with Lan WangJiâs sword moves!
Lan WangJi said nothing. Bichenâs attacks were deeper and deeper, attacking with tremendous force. The gravedigger fell back a few times. As if he knew that, with a dead person on his back, he wouldnât be able to win against Lan WangJi and, if they continued to fight, heâd be captured alive, he suddenly fished out a dark-blue talisman from his waist.
A Transportation Talisman!
This type of talisman could instantly transport someone to hundreds of miles away, but it also expended a great amount of spiritual energy. It would take a long time for the user to regain their energy. Those with spiritual energy that wasnât powerful enough wouldnât be able to use them. Thus, although they were of very high quality, it was rare for anybody to use them. Seeing that he was about to escape, Wei WuXian hurriedly clapped twice, got down on one knee, and slammed his fist on the ground.
The strength of his punch passed through layers of dirt, reached the depths of the soil, and penetrated the thick coffin lids, provoking the corpses trapped inside. With crackling noises, four bloodied arms shot up from the ground, grabbing both of the gravediggerâs legs!
The gravedigger seemed as if he didnât care at all. He poured his spiritual energy toward the bottom of his legs, blasting the four corpse hands away. Wei WuXian pulled out his bamboo flute. A shrill, piercing melody ripped open the curtain of darkness that had fallen. Two human heads emerged from the ground along with their bodies, climbing upward from the gravediggerâs legs and winding around his body as if they were snakes. Opening their mouths, they prepared to bite down at his neck and arms.
The gravedigger snorted with disdain, as if he was saying âwhat a petty trickâ, and sent spiritual energy throughout his body. Yet, this time, only after he released his energy did he realize that he had been fooled.
He sent the corpse that he carried on his back flying off as well!
Wei WuXian laughed uncontrollably as he smacked the tombstone, while Lan WangJi caught the flaccid corpse with one hand and attacked with Bichen using the other. Seeing that what he had just dug out had been snatched away, that he couldnât even win solo against Lan WangJi, let alone the mischief of another person, he didnât dare to stay any longer. He hurling the Transportation Talisman on the ground. After a loud noise, blue flames surged up toward his sky. His figure disappeared into the fire.
Wei WuXian knew that the gravedigger had a Transportation Talisman on him, which meant that, even if they caught him, he could find an opportunity to escape. The corpse that he dug out was already a clue, so he didnât have any regrets. He walked over to Lan WangJi, âLetâs see who he dug out.â
As he glanced at it, he was somewhat surprised. The head of the corpse had already been split open. From within the cut, there wasnât any blood or brains leaking out, but wads of blackened cotton.
Wei WuXian easily jerked the corpseâs head off. With the delicately-crafted dummy head, he sope, âWhat is this supposed to mean? Thereâs a fake corpse made of cotton and rags buried in the Chang Clanâs cemetery?â
Having had weighed the corpse in his hands when he took it, Lan WangJi knew what was wrong, âNot all of it is fake.â
Wei WuXian felt the corpse from head to toe and discovered that, aside from its drooping limbs, only its chest and abdomen felt firm and real. After he tore off the clothes, as he expected, he found that only the torso was real. All of the other body parts were fake.
The head and limbs made from cotton were to âdeceiveâ the torso, so that it still thought it was attached to its ownerâs body. Seeing from the skin tone and the part where the left shoulder cut off, this must be the torso of the dear friend. The gravedigger was here for this.
Wei WuXian straightened up, âIt looks like that the person who hid the corpse already noticed that weâre investigating the issue and came to transfer the torso somewhere else in case we find it. To come early isnât as good as to come in time. We just happened to bump into him, haha. But,â with a change of tone, he continued, âWhy was the mist-faced gravedigger so familiar with your sectâs sword style?â
It was obvious that Lan WangJi was also thinking about this matter, the coldness on his face yet to fade. Wei WuXian spoke again, âHis cultivation is quite high, enough to support the energy used for one Transportation Talisman. He casted spells on both his face and sword. Itâs understandable that he casted a spell on his faceâafter all, he wouldnât have wanted to be seen. But most lesser-known cultivators wouldnât have needed to cast a spell on their sword to cover it, unless, of course, it was either somewhat or very famous in the cultivation world. Heâd then have had to cover it, because if everyone could recognize his sword glare, his identity would be revealed as soon as his sword was revealed.â
Wei WuXian asked suggestively, âHanGuang-Jun, from your fight before, do you think that heâs someone you know really well?â
Itâd be inconvenient for him to be more specific, such as Lan XiChen or Lan QiRen.
Lan WangJi answered assuredly, âNo.â
Wei WuXian was quite confident in Lan WangJiâs answer. To him, Lan WangJi wasnât the kind of person whoâd hide or run away from the truth. If he denied it, that meant it must have been wrong. He didnât like to lie, either. In Wei WuXianâs opinion, if someone asked Lan WangJi to lie, heâd rather silence himself and not talk at all. Thus, Wei WuXian immediately excluded the possibility of the gravedigger being these two.
Lan WangJi put the torso into another double-layered Qiankun Pouch and put it away properly. The two walked around for a while and wandered back to the street of the liquor shop.
The young waiter was true to his words. Most of the other liquor shops on this street had closed already, but their banner was still up and their lights were still on. The waiter was outside, eating from a large bowl. Seeing them, he beamed, âYouâre back! We kept our word, didnât we? Did you two see anything?â
Wei WuXian laughed as he answered. With Lan WangJi, he walked back to the table they sat during the day.
With liquor jars crowding on the table and by his feet, he spoke, âRight, what were we talking about? Suddenly interrupted by the gravedigger, I still donât know how Chang Ping died.â
Lan WangJi continued the explanation with simple, direct words.
Xue Yang, Xiao XingChen, and Song Lan left one by one. Some disappearing, some passing away. Quite a few years after the incident passed, one day, Chang Ping and the remainder of his clanâs members died overnight due to lingchi. Moreover, Chang Pingâs eyes were dug out.
This time, nobody could find out who the murderer was. After all, everyone apart of it had vanished. However, there was one thing that could be determined.
From the wounds, it could be verified that the sword that was used to lingchi them had been Xiao XingChenâs sword, Shuanghua.
The bowl of liquor that Wei WuXian was holding stopped in front of his mouth. He was shocked by this turn of events, âHe was lingchi-ed by Xiao XingChenâs sword? Then was he the one who did it?â
Lan WangJi, âXiao XingChen had disappeared. There were no conclusive evidence.â
Wei WuXian, âIf he couldnât be found alive, then has anyone tried soul-summoning?â
Lan WangJi, âYes. Nothing was found.â
Nothing was found. He either didnât die, or his soul had dissolved. As a someone who specialized in the area, Wei WuXian had to comment on the matter, âThings like soul-summoning, you canât rely on them too much. Time, place, and person all play a part in it, so of course itâd sometimes go wrong. Iâm guessing that a lot of people think that it was Xiao XingChenâs revenge? HanGuang-Jun, what about you? What do you think?
Lan WangJi slowly shook his head, âOne should not comment without understanding the whole picture.â
Wei WuXian admired his attitude and principles a lot. Grinning as he drank another gulp of liquor, he heard Lan WangJi speak again, âWhat about you?â
Wei WuXian, âLingchi is a type of torture. Its meaning involves âpunishmentâ, anyways. Digging out the eyes also makes it quite hard not to associate it with Xiao XingChen, who also dug out his eyes. Thus, thereâs nothing wrong with these people guessing that it was Xiao XingChenâs revenge. However,â he thought about how to phrase it, âI think that, in the beginning, Xiao XingChen never asked for Chang Pingâs gratitude when he first stepped in. IâŠâ
Before he finished thinking of what should follow the âIâ, the waiter eagerly brought over two dishes of peanuts. Having been interrupted, Wei WuXian didnât need to continue anymore. He looked up at Lan WangJi and smiled, âHanGuang-Jun, why are you looking at me like this? Iâm not saying anything. Just like you, I donât understand the whole picture, so Iâm not going to comment either. Youâre right. Before knowing all of the turns and twists, causes and effects, nobody should presume anything about anything. I only ordered five jars, but you bought five more jars for me, so Iâm afraid I wonât be able to finish all of them by myself. How about if you drink with me? This isnât the Cloud Recesses, so it doesnât violate anything, right?â
He had already prepared himself to be bluntly rejected, but who knew that Lan WangJi replied, âI will drink.â
Wei WuXian clicked his tongue, âHanGuang-Jun, you really have changed. Before, I drank a tiny jar in front of you, and you got so mad. You even threw me off the wall and hit me. Now, though, youâre hiding jars of Emperorâs Smile in your room and secretly drinking.â
Fixing his collars, he answered in a calm voice, âI did not touch any jar of Emperorâs Smile.â
Wei WuXian, âWhy did you hide them if youâre not drinking anything? Saving them for me? Fine, fine. You didnât touch them. Iâll believe you, okay? Letâs talk about something else. Come. I really need to see just how many cups would it take to make an abstinent disciple of the GusuLan Sect drunk.â
He poured a bowl for Lan WangJi. Without any thought, Lan WangJi took it over and drank up. Wei WuXian was unusually excited, staring at his face to see when it would turn red. Yet, even after he stared for a while, neither Lan WangJiâs face color or expression changed, staring at him calmly with light-colored eyes. There wasnât any change at all!
Wei WuXian was extremely disappointed. As he was about to urge him for another jar, suddenly, Lan WangJi frowned and lightly rubbed at between his brows. After a few moments, with a hand supporting his forehead, he closed his eyes.
⊠He fell asleep?
⊠He fell asleep!
After most people drank so much liquor, they should become drunk first, and then sleep. How could Lan WangJi skip the step of getting drunk and go to sleep immediately?!
âDrunkenâ was the part that he wanted to see!
Wei WuXian waved at Lan WangJi, whose face remained serious even after he was asleep, then clapped beside his ears. There was no reaction.
Lan WangJi was surprisingly the type who collapses after just one bowl.
Wei WuXian didnât expect this sort of situation to happen at all. Thinking as he shook his legs, he put Lan WangJiâs right arm around his arm, and dragged him out of the liquor shop.
He had already familiarized himself with the action of fishing things from Lan WangJi. After taking out the pouch containing money, he found an inn and asked for two rooms. He carried Lan WangJi to one of the rooms, took off his boots, tucked him in, and slipped into the night.
Stopping at a desolated area, Wei WuXian took out his flute by his waist, placed it by his lips, and played a melody. After this, he waited silently.
In these past few days, Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi spent their days and nights together. He didnât have any alone time, so he couldnât summon Wen Ning. Aside from hiding his identity in the beginning, there was another reason.
Wen Ning had killed the GusuLan Sectâs people before. Even if Lan WangJi treated Wei WuXian well, he couldnât summon Wen Ning right in front of him. Or, perhaps, it was because Lan WangJi treated him well that he didnât have the face to summon Wen Ning in front of him. No matter how thick his face was, this wasnât the time to have a thick face.
Before he knew it, the eerie jingling noises sounded again.
With his head lowered, Wen Ningâs figure appeared from the shadows of the city wall ahead.
He wore all black, melting into the darkness surrounding him. Only his pupil-less eyes were a glaring, hideous white.
Wei WuXian put his hands behind him and slowly paced around Wen Ning.
Wen Ning shifted, as if wanting to follow his steps and walk in circles as well. Wei WuXian commanded, âStand properly.â
He complied and stopped moving. It seemed as if his delicate features appeared even more dejected.
Wei WuXian, âHand.â
Wen Ning extended his right arm. Wei WuXian grabbed his wrist and lifted it up, closely examining the iron cuff and chain locked onto it.
This wasnât an ordinary chain. When Wen Ning flipped out, he became extremely violent, capable of twisting iron into sludge, so he wouldnât have let it drag around like this. It was likely that this was a set of chains created especially to restrain Wen Ning.
Turned to ashes?
Trying as hard as they could to restore a damaged piece of Stygian Tiger Seal, of course some sects salivated at the Ghost General as well. How would they have been willing to turn him to ashes?
With a bitter laugh, he stood by Wen Ningâs side. After considering for a moment, he started to press his fingers into Wen Ningâs hair.
The person who kept and restrained Wen Ning must have prevented him from thinking on his own. To make him listen to other peopleâs orders, Wen Ningâs sanity must have been destroyed, which meant that they mustâve planted something inside his head. As he had expected, after pushing around a few times, Wei WuXian found a hard nib on an acupoint of the right side of his head. He put his other hand on the left side of Wen Ningâs head and found the same thing, resembling the end of a needle.
Wei WuXian pinched both needle ends at the same time and gradually pulled two black, long nails from within Wen Ningâs skull.
The two nails buried deep inside of Wen Ning were around an inch long and as thick as the red strings used for jade pendants. As soon as the nails left his head, Wen Ningâs features quivered faintly. A layer of black lines that resembled strands of blood climbed across the whites of Wen Ningâs eyes. It seemed as if he was trying hard to endure the pain.
How strange was it that, although he had died, he could still experience feelings of âpainâ.
Judging from the intricate, complex lines carved onto the nails, it must have came from a unique source. Their creator was fairly skilled. Itâd take quite some time for Wen Ning to heal completely. Putting them away, Wei WuXian looked down at the chains on Wen Ningâs wrists and ankles, thinking to himself that itâd be a bit inconvenient for them to hang around and make noise. Heâd need to use a cultivational sword to cut them off.
The first that he thought of was, of course, Lan WangJiâs Bichen. Although it somewhat unbefitting to use the sword of someone from the Lan Sect to cut off Wen Ningâs chains, it was the best cultivational sword that he could get his hands on. He really couldnât let Wen Ning drag so many burdensome things behind him.
Wei WuXian thought to himself, Okay. Iâll go back to the inn first. If Lan Zhan is awake, then I wonât do anything. If Lan Zhan is still asleep, Iâll quickly borrow Bichen for a while.
Having made his decision, he turned around. However, what he didnât expect was that Lan WangJi was standing right behind him.
Translatorâs Notes
Tiger Seal: A tiger seal is a seal shaped like a tiger, traditionally used when commanding troops, with one half in the emperorâs hands and the other in the generalâs. Only when both of them are put together can the general command the troops.
Daozhang: This is an honorific used to address Daoist priests or simply cultivators in general. The character dao means âpathâ, the same character from the word Daoist, while zhang means âleaderâ. Interesting fact: Daozhang sounds best when the seme is younger than the uke, in which case, Xue Yang just so happens to be. This was one of the first reasons why a lot of people started to ship the two.
ZiChen: Song Lan is his birth name (which was what Xiao XingChen called him byâthey were close), while Song ZiChen is his common name. Donât worry. I know that youâre all thinking âit canât possibly get any more complicatedâ, but it does. Luckily, thereâs a character and sect guide to prevent memory loss! As the evil person I am, I refuse to provide the link because I think you should exercise your brains in preparation for what happens later in the story. Angry/sad because itâs inconvenient? You should exercise your hearts too, since Iâm not sure if you can handle whatâs about to come.
Pailou: A pailou is simply Chinese-style archway. Since âlinks donât workâ, search it up on Google ? Donât worry, I believe in you.
Hand seal: Yes. Pretty much those things in Naruto (wait, you thought they were from Japan?). The hand seal, in this case, is used to command the gravediggerâs sword.