The Founder of Diabolism

Chapter 16 Refinement—Part Six

Chapter 16 Refinement—Part Six

In order to defend himself if ol’ fuddy-duddy and lil’ fuddy-duddy came to drag him out of his bed in the middle of the night, Wei WuXian slept while clinging on to his sword. Yet, the night went smoothly. On the second day, Nie HuaiSang came to him with an overjoyed expression, "Wei-xiong, you really struck it lucky. The old man went to our sect’s Discussion Conference last night, so we don’t have classes for a few days!"

Now that the old one is gone, the young one can be easily taken care of! Wei WuXian quickly climbed up, beaming as he put on his boots, "A lucky strike, indeed, almost as if Heaven is blessing me with its clouds."

Jiang Cheng stood on the side, carefully cleaning his sword, and threw cold water on this notion, "When he comes back, you’re still gonna get your punishment."

Wei WuXian responded, "Why would a living person worry about what happens after they die? I’ll just live freely as long as possible. Let’s go. I refuse to believe that I can’t find any pheasants on this mountain of the Lan Sect."

The three walked together, passing through the reception room of the Cloud Recesses. Suddenly, Wei WuXian stopped in his tracks and exclaimed, "There are two lil’ fuddy… Lan Zhan-s!"

A few people walked out of the room. Of the two youths at the front, both looked as if they were carved out of ice and jade, both wore the same snow-white robes, and both had sword tassels which swayed in the breeze, alongside ribbons on their clothes. The only differences were their ambiences and facial expressions. Wei WuXian could tell at once that, if the one with a stern face was Lan WangJi, the gentle one must be the other Jade of the Lan Sect—ZeWu-Jun, Lan XiChen.

As Lan WangJi saw Wei WuXian, he scrunched his brows, giving him a glare in an almost "glowering" fashion. As if he would be tainted if he looked a moment longer, he moved his gaze away and stared into the distance. On the other hand, Lan XiChen smiled, "And you are…?"

Jiang Cheng showed his respect with a salute, "Jiang WanYin of Yunmeng."

Wei WuXian followed, "Wei WuXian of Yunmeng."

Lan XiChen returned the salute. Nie HuaiSang whispered in the volume of a gnat, "Brother XiChen."

Lan XiChen turned to him, "HuaiSang, a while ago, as I returned from Qinghe, your brother asked of your studies. How is it? This year, will you be able to pass?"

Nie HuaiSang replied, "Generally speaking, yes…" He seemed like a wilted cucumber, looking at Wei WuXian in a helpless way. Wei WuXian grinned, "ZeWu-Jun, what are you two going out for?"

Lan XiChen, "To exterminate a water ghoul. We were short of hands, so I came back to find WangJi."

Lan WangJi spoke coldly, "Brother, we do not need to engage in small talk. This matter permits no delay; it is time for us to depart."

Wei WuXian hurried, "Wait, wait, wait. I know how to catch water ghouls. ZeWu-Jun, why don’t you take us along?"

Lan XiChen smiled without words. Lan WangJi declared, "It is against the rules."

Wei WuXian, "How is it against the rules? We used to catch water ghouls all the time in Yunmeng. Besides, we don’t have classes these days anyways."

Yunmeng was abundant in lakes and water, so it teemed with water ghouls. It was true that people of the Jiang Sect were adept at this, and Jiang Cheng also wanted to make up for the face which the YunmengJiang Sect lost during this stay at the Lan Sect, "That’s right. ZeWu-Jun, we’d definitely be of help."

"It is not necessary. The GusuLan Sect is also…" Before Lan WangJi finished talking, Lan XiChen spoke while smiling, "Sure, then. Many thanks for your help. Do some preparations, and we can depart together. HuaiSang, are you coming as well?"

Nie HuaiSang also wanted to join in, but he had been reminded of his older brother as he met Lan XiChen. Cringing silently, he didn’t dare to have fun, "I’ll pass and go back so that I can review…" With this act, he hoped that Lan XiChen would put in some good words for him to his brother. Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng went back to their rooms to prepare.

Lan WangJi looked at them from behind, his brows knitted with confusion, "Brother, why did you decide to bring them? Exterminating ghouls is not suited for joking around."

Lan XiChen answered, "The head disciple and only son of Sect Leader Jiang are quite well-known in Yunmeng. It is likely that they know more than joking around."

Although Lan WangJi didn’t express his opinion, the phrase "I beg to differ" was written all over his face.

Lan XiChen spoke again, "And, also, you wish for him to go as well, do you not?"

Lan WangJi was stunned.

Lan XiChen, "I only agreed because you looked as if you wanted the head disciple of Sect Leader Jiang to come with you."

A silence fell upon them, as if the air was frozen solid.

Only after a while did Lan WangJi finally respond, speaking with great difficulty, "There was no such thing."

He wanted to defend himself further, but Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng already grabbed their swords and headed over, so Lan WangJi had to shut his mouth. The group mounted their swords[1] and set off.

The place where the water ghouls haunted was named Caiyi Town, about ten kilometers away from the Cloud Recesses.

Caiyi Town was connected with paths of water. It was either a net of rivers densely covering the town, or dwellings packed on either

Gusu was in the Jiangnan area, and all the voices one could hear were soft and gentle. As two boats crashed into each other, and a few jars of rice wine were spilled, even the arguments of the two boatmen sounded like chirps of the oriole. Although Yunmeng had many lakes, there weren’t a lot of small towns with so much water. Wei WuXian found it quite interesting. He bought two jars of rice wine and gave one to Jiang Cheng, "Gusu people talk in such a sugary way. How is this arguing? If they see how Yunmeng people argue, they might be scared to death… Why are you looking at me, Lan Zhan? It’s not that I’m too stingy to buy you any—aren’t people from your sect prohibited from drinking alcohol?"

Having only stayed for a short time, the group boarded ten-or-so narrow boats, and rowed toward where the water ghouls gathered. Gradually, the number of houses on the banks decreased, and the river path became quieter as well. Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng each had a boat, competing who could row faster while listening to events in the area that concerned water ghouls.

This water path led to a large lake ahead of them, named Biling Lake. Caiyi Town hadn’t been haunted by water ghouls ever since tens of years ago, yet, for the past few months, people had started to fall into this path and Biling Lake. Boats which carried goods also sunk without any reasons. A few days ago, Lan XiChen casted a few nets over this area. He expected to catch one or two water ghouls, but got about a dozen instead. He cleaned the corpses and carried them to a nearby part of the town, only to find that some corpses were not familiar to any of the local people, and remained unclaimed. Yesterday, he set up the net formation again, and caught quite a few again.

Wei WuXian spoke, "It doesn’t seem like that the corpses drowned somewhere else and floated here either. Water ghouls are picky about their area. Most of the time, the only place they settle on is the place they drowned at, and they usually don’t leave there."

Lan XiChen nodded, "That is correct. This was why I thought that it was no trivial matter, and asked WangJi to come along, in case something happens."

Wei WuXian asked, "ZeWu-Jun, water ghouls are really clever. If we use the boats and take our time like this, isn’t it possible that they’ll hide underwater and not come out? Won’t we have to keep on searching forever? What if we can’t find them?"

Lan WangJi replied, "We will wait until we find them. After all, we do what we must."

Wei WuXian, "Just by using nets?"

Lan XiChen, "That is right. Does the YunmengJiang Sect have other methods?"

Wei WuXian smiled but didn’t respond. Of course, the YunmengJiang Sect used nets as well. But, because he was a good swimmer, he had always jumped into the river and dragged water ghouls out. However, this method was too dangerous; he definitely couldn’t do it in front of the Lan Sect’s people. If it travelled into Lan QiRen’s ears, he would definitely face another lecture. He switched the topic, "It’d be great if there’s something that can attract the water ghouls like a fishing bait. Or something that can point out their directions, like a compass."

Jiang Cheng spoke, "Look down at the water and concentrate on finding them. You’re letting your imagination run again."

Wei WuXian, "Cultivation and riding on swords also used to be just imagination!"

As he looked down, he happened to be able to see the bottom of the boat which Lan WangJi was on. An idea flashed across his head, and he shouted, "Lan Zhan, look at me!"

At the moment, Lan WangJi was keeping a sharp lookout. As he heard the words, he looked up, only to see Wei WuXian’s bamboo paddle sweep up a splash of water and strike it toward him. With a tap of his foot, Lan WangJi lightly hopped onto another boat, dodging the spray. He was quite angered, thinking to himself that, sure enough, Wei WuXian was here to fool around, "Pathetic!"

However, Wei WuXian kicked the side of the boat which he was standing on, and tipped it over using the bamboo paddle. On the bottom of the boat, there were three water ghouls with swelling faces and ashen skin, tightly clinging onto the wooden boards!

A disciple who stood nearby immediately suppressed the three. Lan XiChen smiled, "Young Master Wei, how did you know that they were below the boats?"

Wei WuXian knocked on the side of the boat, "Simple! The displacement of water was wrong. He was the only person who stood on the boat, yet the displacement was greater than those of boats that carried two people. There must have been something on the bottom."

Lan XiChen praised him, "You are experienced indeed."

Wei WuXian’s paddle lightly glided through the water, and the boat’s speed quickened, so that he was right next to Lan WangJi’s boat. He spoke, "Lan Zhan, I didn’t splash water on you on purpose. Water ghouls are really clever. If I said it out loud, they would’ve heard it and got away. Hey, don’t ignore me. Why don’t you look at me, Second Young Master Lan?"

Lan WangJi finally condescended and gave him a glance, "Why did you come?"

Wei WuXian spoke with sincerity, "I’m here to apologize to you. Last night was my fault. I was wrong."

Lan WangJi’s countenance was slightly dark, most likely because he still didn’t forget how Wei WuXian "apologized" to him. Wei WuXian asked although he knew the answer, "Why do you look so gloomy? Don’t worry. Today, I’m really here to help."

Jiang Cheng couldn’t watch the scene any longer, "If you want to help, then stop chattering and come here!"

A disciple shouted, "The net moved!"

Sure enough, the ropes of the net started to wobble. Wei WuXian beamed, "It’s here, it’s here!"

Thick, long hair formed veils of black satin, surging and swelling around the boats. Amid them, pairs of ghastly hands gripped onto the sides. Lan WangJi backhandedly drew his sword, Bichen, and severed ten-or-so wrists on the left of the boat, leaving only palms with fingers digging deep into the wood. As he was about to cut the ones on the right, a red light flashed past, and Wei WuXian’s sword was already back in its sheath.

The strange shifts of the water had ceased, and the net also became still once more. Although, a few moments ago, Wei WuXian’s sword attacked at an extremely fast speed, Lan WangJi could already tell that the sword he carried was of very high quality. He asked with a serious face, "What is the name of this sword?"

Wei WuXian answered, "Suibian[2]."

Lan WangJi stared at him. Wei WuXian thought that he didn’t hear properly, so he repeated it again, "Suibian."

Lan WangJi frowned and refused, "This sword has a spirit. Calling it as one pleases is disrespectful."

Wei WuXian let out a sigh, "Think outside the box, won’t you? I wasn’t asking you to call it whatever you wanted to, but the name of my sword just happens to be ‘Suibian’. Here, look." As he spoke, he passed the sword over for Lan WangJi to see the characters on the sword. Surrounded by lines and patterns, two ancient characters were carved onto the sheath. It was "Suibian", indeed.

For a few moments, Lan WangJi was at a loss for words.

Wei WuXian showed his consideration, "You don’t need to talk. I know that you definitely want to ask me why it’s called this name. Everyone asks if it has some special meaning to it. Actually, there’s no special meaning at all. It was just that, when Uncle Jiang gave me the sword and asked me what I wanted to call it, I came up with more than twenty names, but wasn’t satisfied with any of them. I thought that I could let Uncle Jiang give it a name, so I answered, ‘Whatever!’ But, who knew that, after the sword had been forged and taken out, these two characters were on it. Uncle Jiang said, ‘If this is the case, then why not let this sword be named Suibian?’ To be honest, this name isn’t bad either, right?"

Finally, Lan WangJi spoke through his gritted teeth, "… Ridiculous!"

Wei WuXian carried his sword on his shoulder, "You’re such a boring person. Don’t you see how fun this name is? It’s especially good at tricking serious ones like you, and it works every single time. Haha!"

At the same time, from within the virid lake, a long shadow darted around the small boat. After Jiang Cheng finished the water ghouls on his side, he was still watching out for any that they had missed. Seeing the shadow, he immediately yelled, "It’s coming again!"

Translator’s Notes

Cultivators have the ability to use their swords to hover in the air as a way to travel. It usually uses spiritual energy and is one of the things a cultivator learns in their earlier stages. They just stand on the sword (as if it’s a skateboard).

The word suibian in Chinese means "whatever".

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Chapter 25 Malice—Part Three</h3><p>However, having taken only one step back, his ankle twisted, and he seemed as if he almost collapsed on the ground. With a change in expression, Lan WangJi hurried over and tightly gripped his wrist like what he did last time, back in Dafan Mountain. After Wei WuXian had been steadied, Lan WangJi knelt down on one knee to examine his leg. Wei WuXian was rather shocked, "N-n-no, HanGuang-Jun. You don’t have to do this."</p><p>Lan WangJi raised his head slightly, the pair of light-colored eyes boring into him, then looked down again and continued to roll up the leg of his trousers. Still under his grip, Wei WuXian could do nothing except to look up at the sky.</p><p>His entire leg was covered with the black bruise of the Curse Mark.</p><p>After staring at it for a while, Lan WangJi spoke in a bitter voice, "… I only left for a few hours."</p><p>Wei WuXian shrugged, "A few hours is a long time. Anything could have happened. There, there. Straighten up."</p><p>He backhandedly pulled Lan WangJi up, "It’s only the average Curse Mark. We can just kill it when it comes to find me. HanGuang-Jun, you’ll need to help me. If you don’t, I won’t be able to handle it. Have you caught the person? Is it him? Where is he now?"</p><p>Lan WangJi looked in the direction of a signboard that stood in front of a shop far down the street. Wei WuXian continued, "Let’s deal with the stone castle issue first." He then walked toward the shop. He didn’t notice before, but his leg felt a bit numb, probably from Zidian. It was a good thing that Jiang Cheng controlled Zidian’s force so that he wasn’t made into a scorched corpse that had been struck by lightning.</p><p>Lan WangJi stood behind him. He suddenly called out, "<strong><b>Wei Ying</b></strong>."</p><p>Wei WuXian’s figure paused. A second later, he pretended as if he didn’t hear the name, and answered, "What?"</p><p>Lan WangJi, "This was transferred from Jin Ling’s body, was it not."</p><p>It wasn’t a question, but a statement.</p><p>Wei WuXian didn’t say anything. Lan WangJi spoke again, "You met Jiang WanYin."</p><p>It wasn’t hard to figure out due to the mark that Zidian left on top of the Curse Mark. Wei WuXian turned around, "As long as both of us are alive in this world, we’d meet for sure, sooner or later."</p><p>Lan WangJi, "Do not go…"</p><p>Wei WuXian, "If I don’t go, how am I supposed to leave? Are you gonna carry me on your back or something?"</p><p>"…" Lan WangJi looked at him in silence. Wei WuXian’s smile froze on his face, just as a foreboding feeling crossed his mind.</p><p>If it were the Lan Zhan from back then, he would definitely be shocked speechless by these words, and either leave with a cold face or completely ignore him. However, it’d be hard to say how the Lan Zhan now would respond. As he had expected, hearing these words, Lan WangJi walked in front of him, as if he really was going to bend down, kneel, and carry Wei WuXian on his back, despite his honorable status. Shock came upon Wei WuXian once more, "Stop, stop. I wasn’t being serious. It’s only numb because I got hit by Zidian a few times, not that it broke. It’d look bad for a full-grown man like me to be carried on somebody else’s back."</p><p>Lan WangJi asked, "Would it look bad?"</p><p>Wei WuXian replied, "Would it look good?"</p><p>After a moment of silence, Lan WangJi responded, "But you have also carried me on your back before."</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Did such a thing ever happen? Why don’t I remember?"</p><p>Lan WangJi answered in an indifferent tone, "You never remember such things."</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Everyone says that I have a bad memory. Alright, fine. Anyways, I’m not letting you carry me on your back."</p><p>Lan WangJi, "Are you sure?"</p><p>Wei WuXian replied in a resolute manner, "I’m sure."</p><p>The two stayed silent for a while. Suddenly, one of Lan WangJi’s arms wrapped around his back and, as Lan WangJi bent down slightly, another went toward the back of his knees.</p><p>Wei WuXian was both shorter and lighter than him. Therefore, he was picked up easily, his body was embraced in a pair of firm arms. Wei WuXian didn’t expect his answer to lead to this at all. Both in his past and current lives, it was the first time that he had been treated like this by anyone. He was horrified, "Lan Zhan!!!"</p><p>Carrying him, Lan WangJi both walked and replied to him steadily, "You said that you didn’t want to be carried on my back."</p><p>Wei WuXian, "I didn’t say that I wanted to be carried like this either."</p><p>Fortunately, it was already late into the night. There </p><p>The cold scent of sandalwood enveloped him. Without paying him attention, Lan WangJi looked straight forward and made no reaction, maintaining the righteous, serious expression. Seeing that nothing could affect him, Wei WuXian thought to himself as he continued to play with Lan WangJi’s clothes, <em><i>It seems that Lan Zhan’s heart for revenge is actually quite strong. He’s going to make me pay for however many times I‘ve teased him in the past and take the fun away. This is such an improvement. Not only has his level of cultivation improved, his face also improved.</i></em></p><p>Wei WuXian asked, "Lan Zhan, you’ve known that it was me ever since we were at Dafan Mountain, right?"</p><p>Lan WangJi, "Yes."</p><p>Wei WuXian wondered, "How could you tell?"</p><p>Lan WangJi looked down at him, "You want to know?"</p><p>Wei WuXian declared, "Yes."</p><p>Lan WangJi, "You told me yourself."</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Myself? Because of Jin Ling? Because I summoned Wen Ning? None of these, right?"</p><p>It seemed as if something had sent ripples through Lan WangJi’s eyes. Yet, the slight waves faded immediately, and his eyes were a still pool of water again.</p><p>He spoke in a serious tone, "Think."</p><p>Wei WuXian replied, "I only asked you because I can’t think of the reason."</p><p>This time, no matter how he asked, Lan WangJi refused to answer. With Wei WuXian in his arms, he stepped into an inn. Aside from the front desk clerk who choked on some water, none of the bystanders acted strangely. As they arrived at the door of the room, Wei WuXian spoke, "Okay. We’re here. It’s time for you to let me down. You don’t have a third hand to open the door…"</p><p>Before he finished his words, Lan WangJi did something that was extremely impolite. It was possibly the first time in his whole life that he had ever done such a rude act.</p><p>Carrying Wei WuXian, he kicked the door open.</p><p>The two doors sprang open, and the person who sat nervously inside instantly wailed, "HanGuang-Jun, I don’t know, I don’t know, I…"</p><p>After he realized in what posture the two of them came inside, he stared blankly at them, barely managing to finish the last sentence, "… I really don’t know."</p><p>It really was the "Head Shaker".</p><p>Acting as if he didn’t see anything, Lan WangJi carried Wei WuXian inside and put him on the bamboo mat. Nie HuaiSang’s seemed as if he couldn’t bear to look at the scene, and immediately opened his fan, covering his face with it. Wei WuXian walked around the fan to examine him. Even after so many years, his past classmate didn’t bear many changes. He looked the same as he did back then. Although he was born with an elegant, attractive face, his expression made him seem as if one could do anything to him. His stylish outfit showed a fine taste in clothing, which meant that he definitely put plenty of thought into it. Compared to the leader of a sect, he further resembled a wealthy idler. Even if he wore an imperial robe, he wouldn’t seem like a prince; even if he held a saber, he wouldn’t seem like a cultivator.</p><p>He denied it no matter what, so Lan WangJi put the piece of fabric that the spiritual dog had bitten off onto the table. Nie HuaiSang felt for his sleeve that lacked a certain scrap, then replied miserably, "I just happened to pass by. I really don’t know anything."</p><p>Wei WuXian, "If you don’t know, I’ll talk. As you listen to me, maybe you’ll figure that you do know some things after all."</p><p>Nie HuaiSang opened and closed his mouth a few times, unable to provide a response. Wei WuXian proceeded, "In the area of Qinghe’s Xinglu Ridge, there have been rumors of the ‘Man-Eating Ridge’ and ‘Man-Eating Castle’, but there haven’t been any actual victims, which is why it’s mere hearsay. The hearsay would make it so that normal people avoid the Xinglu Ridge. Thus, its real function is to act as a defense line—the first one, in fact.</p><p>"If there’s a first, there must be a second. The second defense line is the walking corpses on the Xinglu Ridge. Even if someone who’s not scared of the Man-Eating Castle rumors either purposely or accidentally went inside the ridge, after they see the walking dead, they will definitely flee. However, these walking corpses are small in number and weak in terms of power, so they won’t cause any real harm.</p><p>"The third defense line is the maze array by the stone castle. The first two are to defend against normal people; only this one is to defend against cultivators. But, nevertheless, it only works against average cultivators. If a cultivator who holds a spiritual weapon or dog and specializes in maze arrays comes, or a cultivator as powerful as HanGuang-Jun, this defense line will have to be broken.</p><p>"The three defense measures exist in order for the stone castle on the Xinglu Ridge to remain hidden from the public. The identity of the people who built the stone castle is quite clear. This is the Nie Sect’s area. Aside from the Nie Sect, nobody else is capable of easily setting up these three obstacles in Qinghe. And, moreover, you happened to appear near the stone castle and leave evidence."</p><p>"What exactly is the QingheNie Sect’s goal of building the Man-Eating Castle on the Xinglu Ridge? Where did the corpses in the wall come from? Were they eaten? Sect Leader Nie, if you don’t give us a proper explanation here, I’m afraid that, after the secret is exposed, all of the sects and clans come here to interrogate you. When the time comes, even if you want to explain things, there won’t be anyone to listen to or believe in you."</p><p>Nie HuaiSang replied desperately, as if he had given up, "… It isn’t a Man-Eating Castle at all. It’s… It’s just my sect’s ancestral burial ground!"</p><p>Wei WuXian questioned, "Ancestral burial ground? Whose ancestral burial ground buries sabers instead of corpses?"</p><p>Nie HuaiSang responded with a sullen face, "HanGuang-Jun, before I explain things, can you promise me something? Seeing that our two sects have known each other for long and that our older brothers have sworn, no matter what I say after this, you… and the one beside you, must not tell anyone. If the secret is exposed in the future, I’d greatly appreciate it if the two of you can say a few good things as witnesses. You’ve always been true to your words. If you promise, I’ll believe you."</p><p>Lan WangJi, "As you wish."</p><p>Wei WuXian asked, "You said that it’s not a Man-Eating Castle after all, so does it mean that it hasn’t eaten anyone?"</p><p>Nie HuaiSang clenched his teeth and answered obediently, "… It has."</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Wow."</p><p>Nie HuaiSang immediately added, "But it was only once! And the one at fault wasn’t our sect, and it was dozens of years ago! The rumors of the Man-Eating Castle on the Xinglu Ridge also started since then. I… I only fanned the flames and magnified the rumors."</p><h3>Translator’s Notes
Chapter 26 Malice—Part 4</h3><p>Lan WangJi, "The details, please."</p><p>Sitting down, his polite words were almost as powerful as a threat. Nie HuaiSang finally started his explanation.</p><p>He began, "HanGuang-Jun, you know that we, the Nie Sect, are different from the other sects. Because our sect’s founder was a butcher, the other sects cultivate using swords, while our sect, on the other hand, cultivates using sabers."</p><p>This was known by everyone and was by no means a secret. Even the sect motif of the QingheNie Sect was the vicious head of a beast that resembled a dog or a pig. Nie HuaiSang continued, "Because our cultivation method was different from those of the other sects’ and our founder was originally a butcher, it was only natural for blood to be shed. The sabers of our past sect leaders were all heavy with hostile energy and killing intent. Almost every single sect leader met a sudden death from a qi deviation explosion. Their irritable tempers also had a lot to do with this."</p><p>Wei WuXian raised a brow, "Now, this is getting quite close to demonic cultivation."</p><p>Nie HuaiSang quickly defended, "It’s different! Demonic cultivation is only demonic cultivation because it uses human lives. But, instead of human lives, our sect’s sabers use the lives of those evil spirits and beasts. Throughout their whole lives, they’ve been killing such things, so if they aren’t able to kill them any longer, they’d cause trouble and disrupt the sect. A saber spirit only deems one person as its master, allowing nobody else to use it. It’s not like we later generations can melt the sabers. First, it’d be disrespectful to the ancestors; second, it’s possible that even melting them won’t solve the problem."</p><p>Wei WuXian commented, "Quite full of themselves, aren’t they?"</p><p>Nie HuaiSang, "Indeed. The sabers who fought and cultivated alongside our ancestors are indeed in a position to be full of themselves."</p><p>He continued, "As the generations went on, the sect leaders had higher levels of cultivation, and the problem also worsened. That is, until the sixth sect leader came up with a solution."</p><p>Wei WuXian asked, "To build the Man-Eating Castle?"</p><p>Nie HuaiSang, "No, no. Although they are connected, this solution only appeared later. The sixth sect leader did this: he built two coffins for his father’s and his grandfather’s sabers, then dug a tomb. Inside the tomb, instead of any valuable treasures, he put hundreds of corpses that were about to <strong><b>transform</b></strong>."</p><p>Lan WangJi frowned slightly. Nie HuaiSang immediately blurted, "HanGuang-Jun, I can explain! They weren’t killed by our sect’s people! We had to gather them from place to place! We also bought a bunch of them at high prices. The sixth sect leader said that, if the saber spirits wanted to fight with evil beings, then give them evil beings for them to fight forever. The pre-transformation corpses were buried along with the sword-containing coffins, like they were burial goods for the saber spirits. The saber spirits would suppress the transformation of the corpses and, at the same time, the corpses would calm the sword spirits’ desire and fury. The situation would go on as they were, with the two sides keeping each other in check. Only by this method did the future generations attain peace."</p><p>Wei WuXian asked again, "Then why was a stone castle built afterward? Why were the corpses buried inside the walls? And, didn’t you say that it did eat a few people?"</p><p>Nie HuaiSang answered, "These questions are actually the same question. I guess… you can say that it did eat people. But it wasn’t on purpose!!! Our sixth sect leader constructed the saber tomb in such a way that it looked like the average tomb, and the future generations followed how he did it. But, about fifty years ago, the tomb was dug up by some grave robbers."</p><p>Wei WuXian made an "oh" sound. He silently exclaimed, <em><i>What a case of waking the sleeping lion.</i></em></p><p>Nie HuaiSang, "For an event as big as building a tomb, no matter how cautious and discreet one can be, it’s impossible for everything to stay hidden. The grave robbers pried into the matter and firmly believed that there was a huge tomb from past dynasties in the Xinglu Ridge. They planned this out a long time ago and came prepared. Among the unruly group of people, there were actually one or two who had true skills, allowing the mob to locate the orientation, pass the maze array, and find our saber tomb. They’ve seen enough dead people in their lives, so, after digging a hole and entering the </p><p>"It wasn’t hard to figure out what happened. Ten-or-so corpses transformed immediately.</p><p>"However, these grave robbers weren’t average people. With a complete set of tools, they actually managed to somehow kill the walking corpses once more. After the fight, there was flesh and blood all over the ground. They finally realized that the tomb was dangerous and got ready to leave. But, just as they were leaving, they were eaten!</p><p>"The number of corpses put in the tomb was strictly controlled. It was neither more, neither less, just enough to be at a balance with the saber spirits. It would’ve been fine if the grave robbers caused just the transformation, since, after they left, the saber spirits would’ve suppressed the transformation again. But, with the chaos they caused, the corpses were all cut to pieces, and so there were suddenly a few less corpses than it began with. For the saber tomb to ensure that there were enough fierce corpses and sword spirits to suppress each other, it… it could only… close itself off and trap them inside the tomb for the group to make up for the shortage they had caused.</p><p>"Since the saber tomb was destroyed, the sect leader at that time began to think of different methods. He chose another spot on the Xinglu Ridge and built a saber hall instead of a saber tomb. In case grave robbers came again, he hid the corpses inside the walls in disguise.</p><p>"The sword hall was the rumored ‘Man-Eating Castle’. When the grave robbers came to Qinghe, they pretended to be hunters. They never returned after going into the Xinglu Ridge and left no corpses behind, so people started to say that they were devoured by a monster in the ridge. Then, after the stone castles were built, before the new maze array was set up, a passerby accidentally came upon it again. Luckily, no doors were built on the castles, so he couldn’t venture inside. But, after leaving the ridge, he told everyone that there were a group of strange, white castles in the Xinglu Ridge and that the man-eating monster must have dwelled there. We thought that it’d be beneficial for the rumors to spread so that nobody dared to go near the area, so we exaggerated a bit and created the legend of the ‘Man-Eating Castle’. But it really can eat humans!"</p><p>Nie HuaiSang took out a handkerchief and a white stone the size of a garlic head from within his <strong><b>sleeves</b></strong>. He used the handkerchief to wipe away sweat and passed the white stone over, "The two of you can take a look at this."</p><p>Wei WuXian took the stone. After having a better look at it, he found something white that protruded from the stone. It looked like… the bone of a human’s finger.</p><p>He immediately realized what was going on. Nie HuaiSang finished wiping his sweat and continued, "That… Young Master Jin… somehow made an explosion that created a hole in the wall. To be able to break such a thick wall must have meant that he also carried a lot of spiritual tools on him—but wait, that’s not the point… What I’m saying is that the area he blew up just happened to be the earliest saber hall we built in the Xinglu Ridge. Back then, we didn’t think of using stone bricks on the both sides and filling the center with soil to prevent yang energy from going in, so that they can’t easily transform. We simply put the corpses inside. So, when Young Master Jin made the opening, he didn’t realize that he also destroyed a skeleton that was buried inside. Before long, he was sucked into the walls of the castle, in place of the corpse that he blew up… Every so often, I go to the Xinglu Ridge to check things out. Today, when I went, I found this. Just as I picked up the stone, a dog came after me. Ah… The sword hall is pretty much our ancestral tomb. I really…"</p><p>The more Nie HuaiSang talked, the more miserable he felt, "Most cultivators know that this is our area, so they’d never night-hunt around Qinghe. Who knew that…"</p><p>Who knew that he had such bad luck. First, the disobedient Jin Ling had his mind set on the Xinglu Ridge, and then the two in search of where the ghost hand pointed, Lan WangJi and Wei WuXian, came as well. He spoke again, "HanGuang-Jun and you… I already said that you mustn’t tell anyone else about this. Or else…"</p><p>Or else, seeing from the QingheNie Sect’s half-dead situation right now, if this was released to the public, Nie HuaiSang would become a sinner, a disgrace to his ancestors even if he died. It was only natural that he’d rather be the secret laughingstock of all the sects instead of focusing on cultivation or daring to sharpen his saber’s blade. If his cultivation reached a certain level, he would gradually become more irritable and, in the end, die with anger the same way that his brother and ancestors died. Even after his death, his sword would haunt the living and disrupt the peace of the whole sect. If so, being a worthless person even seemed better.</p><p>It was quite an unsolvable problem. Ever since the founder of the Nie Sect, this had been the same. Surely it didn’t mean that the future generations would have to deny the path and basis that the founder forged? All of the cultivation sects were skilled in different areas. Similar to how the GusuLan Sect was skilled at music, the violence and power of the QingheNie Sect’s saber spirits were how it outshone the other sects. If it abandoned its founder’s ideal and started anew in search of a different path, who knew how many years it’d take, or if it’d even succeed or not. Moreover, Nie HuaiSang would never dare to betray the Nie Sect and cultivate a different path. Because of this, his only choice was to be a good-for-nothing.</p><p>If he weren’t a sect leader and spent his whole life the same way as he did back in the Cloud Recesses, fooling around for entire days, he’d certainly be in a more comfortable position than he was now. But, since his brother had passed away already, no matter how hard it was for him, he’d still have to take the responsibility on his shoulders and stumble forward.</p><p>Nie HuaiSang left after telling them again and again not to say anything, and Wei WuXian blanked out for a while. Suddenly, he felt Lan WangJi walk over. Lan WangJi kneeled with a single leg in front of him, then proceeded to roll up his trousers with an earnest face. He hurriedly spoke, "Wait, again?"</p><p>Lan WangJi, "We will remove the Curse Mark first."</p><p>Within one day, HanGuang-Jun had kneeled in such a way so many times in front of him. Although Lan WangJi looked quite serious, he really couldn’t bear to look at the scene. Wei WuXian spoke, "I’ll do it myself." Quickly rolling up the trouser legs, he could see that the Curse Mark covered the entire lower half of his leg, passed his knees, and climbed onto the upper half. Wei WuXian took a glance at it, "It’s already passed my thighs."</p><p>Lan WangJi turned his head away and did not answer. Wei WuXian found it quite odd, "Lan Zhan?"</p><h3>Translator’s Notes

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