The Founder of Diabolism

Chapter 17 Refinement—Part Seven

Chapter 17 Refinement—Part Seven

A few disciples paddled and used nets to chase after the underwater shadow. Someone shouted from the other side, "There are some here as well!"

On the other side, a mass of black shadows also whooshed past. A number of narrow boats dragged nets and went over, but they didn’t catch anything. Wei WuXian spoke, "That’s strange. The shape of this shadow doesn’t seem like a human. It’s also sometimes long and sometimes short, sometimes large and sometimes small… Lan Zhan, beside your boat!"

Instantly, the Bichen on Lan WangJi’s back unsheathed and stabbed into the water. After a moment, it flew out of the river with a sharp resonance, taking with it a crescent of water. Yet, it didn’t pierce anything.

He held the sword in his hand with a stern expression. As he was about to speak, a disciple on the other side also drew out his sword, thrusting it toward a dark shadow which swiftly swam by in the water.

However, after his sword went underwater, it never came out again. He chanted the sword incantation for a few more times, but nothing was retrieved from the water. It was as if his sword had been devoured by the lake, disappearing without a trace. The disciple looked like he was a youth of similar age as Wei WuXian and the others. Without his sword, his face grew paler and paler. An older disciple beside him spoke, "Su She, right now, we still haven’t determined what the thing inside the water is. Why did you act on your own and make your sword go underwater?"

Su She seemed like he was somewhat flustered, but his expression was relatively calm, "I saw that Second Young Master also…"

He realized, before he even finished speaking, how unsuitable this sentence was. No matter what, the Bichen sword or Lan WangJi were not comparable with others. Lan WangJi could enter his sword into water when the opponent was unknown and be just fine, but it might not be the case for others. An embarrassed shade of red seeped through his pale complexion, as if he had been disgraced. He glimpsed at Lan WangJi, but Lan WangJi didn’t look at him, and instead attentively observed the water. In an instant, Bichen was unsheathed again.

This time, the blade of the sword wasn’t inserted into water, but instead, the tip of the sword jolted, and whisked up a piece of shadow from within the water. A pile of wet, black mess fell onto the floor of the boat with a plop. Wei WuXian went on his toes to have a look. To his surprise, it was a piece of clothing.

Wei WuXian laughed so hard that he almost toppled into the river, "Lan Zhan, you’re so impressive! This is my first time seeing someone remove a water ghoul’s clothing when they’re catching water ghouls."

Lan WangJi simply examined Bichen’s tip to see if there was anything strange, seeming to have decided to not converse with him. Jiang Cheng spoke, "You should shut up. The thing that swam underwater really wasn’t a water ghoul. There was only a piece of clothing!"

Of course, Wei WuXian also saw it clearly. He just didn’t feel satisfied without teasing Lan WangJi a few times. He spoke, "So, the thing that was sneaking around was just this piece of clothing? Now that’s why the nets couldn’t catch it and swords couldn’t pierce it. Its shape was always different. However, a piece of clothing couldn’t have swallowed up a whole sword. There must be something else inside the water."

At the moment, the boats already floated toward the center of Biling Lake. The color of the lake was an extremely dark shade of green. Suddenly, Lan WangJi slightly lifted his head, "Go back immediately."

Lan XiChen asked, "Why?"

Lan WangJi answered, "The underwater beings led the boats to the center of Biling Lake on purpose."

Just as he finished his words, everyone suddenly felt their boats sinking.

Water immediately started to spread into the boats. Wei WuXian suddenly noticed that the color of Biling Lake’s water wasn’t dark green any more, but almost black. Surrounding the area close to the center, a large whirlpool had formed without anybody realizing. The ten-or-so boats circled around, following the currents of the whirlpool. They sunk as they spun, as if they were going to be sucked inside a gigantic, black mouth!

The clang-s of drawing swords chorused in the air. One after another, everyone mounted their swords and flew upward. Wei WuXian already hovered above. He looked downward, only to see that the disciple who drove his sword underwater, Su She, was already knee-deep inside the water, the board of his boat already engulfed in Biling Lake. Although his face was full of panic, he didn’t call for help, possibly frightened rigid. Without hesitation, Wei WuXian bent down and stretched his arm out, grabbing Su She’s wrist and pulling him up.

Having added another person, the sword under his feet dipped abruptly, but it continued to ascend. However, not long after, a strong force suddenly came from from Su She, almost pulling Wei WuXian off of his sword.

The lower part of Su She’s body was already submerged inside the black whirlpool in the lake. The whirlpool spun faster and faster, and his body also sunk deeper and deeper. There seemed to be something hiding underwater, holding onto his legs and pulling them down. Jiang Cheng originally stood on his Sandu and calmly ascended to about seventy meters above the surface of the lake. As he looked down, he dashed toward them with an annoyed expression, "What are you doing, now?!"

The sucking force of the lake became stronger and stronger. Wei WuXian’s sword was superior in terms of agility, but inferior in terms of strength. He was almost weighed down to the point of hovering right above the surface of the lake. He steadied himself while using both hands to haul Su She, and shouted, "Can somebody come here to help?! If I still can’t pull him up, I’m gonna let go!"

Suddenly, Wei WuXian felt his collar tighten, and he was lifted into the air. He turned around to see Lan WangJi holding the back of his collar with one hand. Although Lan WangJi merely looked into another direction with an indifferent look, he and his sword carried the weight of three people,

At this point, Wei WuXian spoke, "Lan Zhan, your sword is quite strong, isn’t it? Thank you, thank you. But why did you pull my collar? Can’t you hold on to me? I don’t feel comfortable if you do this. Why don’t I stretch my hand to you and you can grab it?"

Lan WangJi replied with a cold voice, "I do not have physical contact with others."

Wei WuXian, "We’re already this familiar with each other, so how am I ‘others’?"

Lan WangJi, "We are not."

Wei WuXian pretended to be hurt, "You can’t do this…"

Jiang Cheng really couldn’t hold it any more. He scolded, "You can’t do this!!! Can’t you speak a few sentences less while you’re held in mid-air by your collar?!"

The group travelled on their swords and evacuated Biling Lake as fast as they could. When they landed, Lan WangJi let go of Wei WuXian’s back collar and calmly turned to Lan XiChen, "It is a waterborne abyss."

Lan XiChen shook his head, "Then, this is going to be difficult."

As they heard the name "waterborne abyss", Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng understood immediately. The scariest part about Biling Lake wasn’t water ghouls, but the water which flowed in it.

Because of reasons such as terrain or currents, some rivers or lakes often encountered sinking ships and drowning people. As time went on, the area of water would develop a personality. It was like a spoiled young mistress who couldn’t tolerate a shortage of the luxurious lifestyle. If no boats of goods or living humans sunk into the water as sacrifices, it would stir up trouble and obtain them on its own.

The people of the Caiyi Town area were all familiar with water, so sunken boats and drowning deaths rarely happened. It was impossible for a waterborne abyss to grow out of here. Now that one had appeared here, there was only one possibility—that it had been chased here from somewhere else.

Once a waterborne abyss emerged, it meant that the whole body of water was turned into a monster. It was extremely hard to get rid of, impossible to remove unless every single drop of water was taken out, all of the people and goods which sunk were fished up, and riverbed was exposed to strong sunlight for a few years. Nevertheless, there was a method that could solve the immediate problem at the expensive of others—to chase it to another river or pond and let it wreck somewhere else.

Lan WangJi asked, "Recently, has there been any place which suffered from a waterborne abyss?"

Lan XiChen pointed at the sky.

He was pointing at nothing else but the sun. Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng looked at each other, understanding it perfectly, It’s the QishanWen Sect.

Among the cultivation world, there was a countless number of sects and clans, exceeding even the number of stars in the sky. And, among these, there was a titan which stood above the others without a doubt—the QishanWen Sect.

The Wen Clan used the sun as the motif of their clan, signifying that they could "compete with the sun for radiance, match the sun in longevity". Its sect residence was quite large, almost comparable to a city. It was named the Nightless Sky, also called the Nightless Celestial City, because it was said that there was no nightfall in the city. It could be described as a titan for the fact that no matter in terms of the number of disciples, power, land, or magical tools, there were no other families which could compare to it. A great deal of cultivators took being a foreign disciple to the Wen Sect as a supreme honour. Based on the Wen Sect’s style of doing things, it was highly possible that the waterborne abyss in Caiyi Town was chased here by them.

Although they knew where the waterborne abyss came from, everyone grew silent.

If it was done by people of the Wen Sect, then there would be no result no matter how hard they accused or criticized. First of all, the sect wouldn’t admit it, and second, there wouldn’t be any compensation either.

One disciple complained, "Caiyi Town will be seriously harmed with that sect having chased the waterborne abyss over. If the waterborne abyss grows larger and expands onto the river paths in the town, all those people’s lives would be up to the monster. This is so…"

If it became responsible for the problem passed to them by someone else, the GusuLan Sect would definitely face countless troubles. Lan XiChen sighed, "Let it down. Let it down. Let us go back to the town."

They boarded new boats at the crossing point and paddled toward an area of town where a lot of people gathered.

After passing the arch bridge and entering the river paths, Wei WuXian started to go at it again.

Abandoning his paddle, he put one foot on the side of his boat and looked into his reflection in the water, examining if his hair was messed up. As if he didn’t just catch tons of water ghouls and escaped from the mouth of the waterborne abyss, Wei WuXian assuredly threw a series of charming winks at both sides of the path, "Sisters, how much for half a kilogram of loquats?"

His age was young, and his appearance was handsome. With such high spirits, it really was a scene of frivolous peach blossoms pursuing the running stream. One woman lifted her bamboo hat, smiling with her head raised, "Young beau, you needn’t pay. How ’bout I can give you one for free?"

The Wu dialect was soft, sounding refreshing and sweet. The speaker’s lips moved melodiously, and the listener’s ears would be enveloped in fragrance. Wei WuXian cupped his hands together, "If it’s given to me by Sister, then I definitely want it!"

The woman put her hand into the basket, and threw him a round, golden loquat, "You needn’t be such polite. It’s for how handsome you look!"

The boats moved at a fast speed. As the two boats met, they immediately passed each other. Wei WuXian turned around, perfectly catching it, and grinned, "Sister looks even prettier!"

As he showed off and flirted on the side, Lan WangJi was staring straight ahead, appearing quite virtuous. Wei WuXian smugly tossed the toquat in his hand, and suddenly pointed at him, "Sisters, do you think that he looks handsome?"

Lan WangJi didn’t expect Wei WuXian to suddenly talk about him at all. Just as he was unsure of how to respond, the women on the river spoke in harmony, "Even more handsome!" Amid this, there seemed to be the laughter of a few men.

Wei WuXian spoke, "Then, does anyone want to give him one? If you only give me and not him, I’m afraid he might be jealous when we go back!"

Chirp-like laughter echoed through the whole river. Another woman came from in front of them, standing on her boat, "Okay, okay, you get two. Heads up, young beau, catch!"

After the second one also landed in his hand, Wei WuXian shouted, "Sister, you’re not only pretty, but you’re nice as well. The next time I come here, I’m gonna buy a whole basket!"

The woman’s voice was vibrant, and she was more daring than the other. She pointed at Lan WangJi, "Get him to come as well. You all can come here and get them!"

Wei WuXian held the loquat in front of Lan WangJi’s eyes. Lan WangJi didn’t move his gaze, "Move."

And, so, Wei WuXian moved it away, "I knew that you definitely wouldn’t accept it, so I never intended to give it to you. Jiang Cheng, catch!"

Just then, the boat which Jiang Cheng was on whirred past. He caught the loquat with one hand, a slight smile appearing on his face, but immediately snorted, "You’re being all flirty again?"

Wei WuXian smirked, proud of his success, "Get lost!" Then, he turned around and asked, "Lan Zhan, you’re from Gusu, so you know how to speak in this dialect, right? Teach me. How do you swear in the Gusu dialect?"

Lan WangJi threw a "pathetic" at him, and got on another boat. Wei WuXian didn’t expect him to really answer. He just wanted to tease him, after hearing the amusingly soft Gusu dialect and thinking that Lan WangJi undoubtedly also spoke this dialect when he was young. After raising his head to swallow another gulp of the rice wine, he carried the plump, jet-black jar in one hand, picked up the paddle, and charged over to beat up Jiang Cheng.

On the other hand, Lan WangJi stood side by side to Lan XiChen. This time, even their expressions were similar. Both looked as if they were preoccupied by troubles as they thought about things such as how to deal with the waterborne abyss and what to say to the mayor of Caiyi Town.

An extremely heavy boat came from in front of them, filled with buckets of large, golden loquats. Lan WangJi took one glance at it, and continued to look straight ahead.

Yet, Lan XiChen spoke to him, "If you want to eat loquats, should we buy one basket?"

"…"

Lan WangJi went off with a flick of his sleeves, "I do not!"

He went to stand on another boat.

Translator’s Notes

Sword incantation: These are what one says to command or summon one’s sword.

Sisters: In China, it is respect to refer to someone older than you as Sister or Brother, and Younger Sister or Younger Brother if the person is younger than you.

Frivolous peach blossoms pursuing the running stream: Again, this phrase comes from a poem by the famous poet Du Fu. This scene of blossoms and the stream implies that Wei WuXian is the "frivolous peach blossom" in this case, and flirts with the women in the river without caring about his conduct.

Bamboo hat: As Caiyi Town is a "water town", much of the residents there wear bamboo hats which form a conic shape, resembling the famous Vietnamese hats. It is also called a conic hat or a rice hat.

Wu dialect: This is one of the many dialects of Chinese.

Translator and Editor note:

*** The next chapter involves 9000 Chinese characters, which would result in around 7000-8000 words in English. Most chapters so far are 2900-5000 characters, so do not be surprised this takes longer than usual to get translated. It will more than likely be at least five days before the next chapter is out due to this length.

Novel Free is automatically aggregated from the Internet and does not hold copyright and is responsible for content on this website.



Next chapters

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
Chapter 27 Malice—Part 5</h3><p>Only then did Lan WangJi turn to the front again, gaze still slightly off to the side. Seeing this, Wei WuXian blinked his eyes, wanting to make fun of him for some reason. Just as he was about to tease Lan WangJi, a shattering sound suddenly came from by the desk.</p><p>They both stood up to look. The teacups and teapot broke to pieces on the ground. A <strong><b>Qiankun Pouch</b></strong> lay amid the white shards of porcelain and the tea that spilled out. The surface of the bag went up and down, as if something was trapped inside, eager to come out.</p><p>Although the Qiankun Pouch was only the size of a fist, it was specially made to store things. Complex incantations were also sewn on both the inside and the outside, adding a few more sealing layers. Lan WangJi originally sealed the arm inside the pouch and put it under a teacup on the table. Now, seeing its agitation, they finally remembered that it was time to perform <em>Rest</em>. If not for the short nightly duets they perform to calm it, no matter how strong the Qiankun Pouch’s power of suppression was, it couldn’t trap the ghost hand alone.</p><p>Wei WuXian felt for the bamboo flute that had been by his waist, but he found nothing. Turning around, he saw that Lan WangJi already had the flute in his hands. Lan WangJi’s head tilted slightly downward. He only handed the flute back after carving on it for a while, in a dedicated manner. Taking the flute back, Wei WuXian noticed that, after it had been adjusted, even rough details such as the finger holes were much finer.</p><p>Lan WangJi, "Play it properly."</p><p>Remembering the horrible duet they played in the Mingshi that angered Lan QiRen to the point of waking up from a coma and fainting again, Wei WuXian laughed so hard that he almost fell on the ground, thinking to himself, <em><i>It must have been tough for him these few days, tolerating this for so long.</i></em> He stopped himself from fooling around any longer and, with a serious expression, raised the flute to his lips. However, having only played a few notes, the Qiankun Pouch suddenly multiplied in size and stood upright on the ground!</p><p>A note cracked with a "tut". Wei WuXian commented, "Has it gotten too used to the bad playing? I’m playing properly for once, and it doesn’t even like it."</p><p>As if replying him, the Qiankun Pouch flung itself at Wei WuXian. Lan WangJi’s melody took a sharp turn. With one smooth gesture, the seven strings vibrated at once, emitting a noise so strong that it almost seemed like an avalanche. After the sound, the Qiankun Pouch fell backward to the ground again. As if nothing had happened, Wei WuXian continued playing. Lan WangJi’s wrist softened. Following the tune of <em><i>Rest</i></em>, the guqin’s melody became calm once more, and gradually blended with the flute’s.</p><p>The song finished, and the Qiankun Pouch finally shrunk to the size it had been, remaining motionless. Wei WuXian stuck the flute back by his waist, "In these few days, it’s never looked as impatient as this before. It seems as if it was provoked by something."</p><p>Lan WangJi nodded and turned to him, "And, it was something on you."</p><p>Wei WuXian immediately looked downward at himself. Today, there was only one thing on him that was different—the Curse Mark that had been transferred to him from Jin Ling.</p><p>Jin Ling’s Curse Mark was left on him when he was at the stone castles of the Xinglu Ridge. Seeing how strongly the ghost hand reacted to the Curse Mark, did it mean that…</p><p>Wei WuXian, "Do you mean that another part of his body might be within the walls of the Nie Sect’s Saber Hall?"</p><p>On the next morning, the two departed again, heading back to the Xinglu Ridge.</p><p>Yesterday, Nie HuaiSang had been caught and confessed everything. Over the night, he called for all of the sect’s reliable disciples to clean up the mess that the intruders created. When Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi walked over, the piece of wall that Wei WuXian dug Jin Ling out of had just been filled and a new corpse was already put inside. Watching the white bricks stack up neatly, he wiped some sweat off his brows. However, as he turned around, his legs almost gave out. He pulled a cringing smile onto his face, "HanGuang-Jun…and you…"</p><p>Wei WuXian waved his hands as he grinned, "Sect Leader Nie, you’re building the walls?"</p><p>Nie HuaiSang wiped sweat away with his handkerchief, rubbing so many times that he almost took a layer of skin away, "Yes, yes…"</p><p>Wei WuXian said in a voice filled with much empathy and a dash of timidity, "My apologies. I’m really sorry for the inconvenience, but you might need to </p><p>Nie HuaiSang, "Yes, yes… What?! Wait!"</p><p>Before he could finish his sentence, Bichen unsheathed. Nie HuaiSang gaped as he watched the brick wall, which he repaired mere moment ago, crack open again.</p><p>Destruction was always easier than restoration. Wei WuXian’s speed at taking bricks down was countless times faster than their speed at stacking bricks. Nie HuaiSang trembled as he tightly gripped his fan, feeling so wronged that he was on the verge of bursting into tears. Yet, since HanGuang-Jun stood on the side and commented nothing, he didn’t dare to say anything either. After Lan WangJi explained the situation to him in a concise manner, he immediately swore to the Heavens and Earth, "Nonsense! That’s utter nonsense! The corpses that our Saber Hall uses are all complete with each limb attached. It’s impossible for there to be some armless male corpse. If you don’t believe me, I’ll take apart the wall with you and prove my innocence. But afterwards you must put them back as soon as possible, without any delay. After all, this is our ancestral burial ground…"</p><p>A few disciples of the Nie Sect also joined them. Now that there were other people doing the work, Wei WuXian backed off and stood on the side, waiting for results. After an hour, the stone bricks on the wall that Jin Ling had been buried in were mostly taken off. Some disciples put on face masks while others swallowed special red-colored pills, so that the breathing and human energy didn’t cause corpse transformations. Among the black dirt, an ashen hand or a vein-laced foot sometimes poked out, in addition to the tangled, grimey hair plastered everywhere. Each and every male corpse was hastily cleaned and set row-by-row on the ground.</p><p>The corpses came in all shapes and sizes—some were already skeletons, some were in the process of rotting, some were still quite fresh. However, every single one of them had a complete body. They didn’t find any male corpse that was missing a left arm.</p><p>Nie HuaiSang spoke warily, "Taking apart this one wall is enough, isn’t it? Does any more need to be taken down? Probably not, right?"</p><p>It was indeed enough. The Curse Mark on Jin Ling’s body was extremely dark in color, so the being that created it was most likely buried nearby him and the range would definitely not exceed this wall. Wei WuXian squatted down by a row of corpses. After pondering for a few moments, he turned to Lan WangJi, "Should we get the Qiankun Pouch?"</p><p>Taking the left hand out of the Qiankun Pouch for it to identify the body on its own wouldn’t be a bad idea. However, if it was too close to the other limbs of the corpse, it’d be hard not to agitate it and trigger worse situations. And, due to the abundance of dark energy in this special location, the level of danger multiplied. This was why they carefully chose to come during daytime. Wei WuXian shook his head and thought to himself, <em><i>This doesn’t mean that the arm doesn’t belong to a man, does it? No, that’d be impossible. I can tell whether a hand belongs to a man or a woman at first sight… Then, would it mean that the owner has three arms?!</i></em></p><p>Just as he was about to laugh at his own thought, Lan WangJi spoke again, "The legs."</p><p>With his reminder, Wei WuXian finally remembered. He overlooked the fact that the Curse Mark didn’t spread any further than his legs. He quickly called, "Take off the pants! Take off the pants!"</p><p>Nie HuaiSang was shocked to death, "Why would you say such a shameful thing in front of HanGuang-Jun?"</p><p>Wei WuXian responded, "How was it shameful? We’re all men, anyways. Help me take off all of the corpses’ pants. Only the male corpses! This has nothing to do with the female ones." As he spoke, he started reaching out toward the belt sashes of the corpses on the ground. It really was unfortunate for Nie HuaiSang. He didn’t expect at all that, after confessing everything yesterday, today, he needed to take off the corpses’ pants right inside the Saber Hall of his ancestors. Moreover, they were male corpses. With a face full of tears, he thought that, for sure, after he died, he would be slapped once on the face by every ancestor in the QingheNie Sect and end up injured so badly that he’d be handicapped even after he reincarnated. Luckily, Wei WuXian’s act was stopped by Lan WangJi. Just as Nie HuaiSang was about to praise how worthy of his title HanGuang-Jun was, he heard him speak, "I will do it."</p><p>Wei WuXian, "You’ll do it? You’re really going to do such a thing?"</p><p>The corners of Lan WangJi’s brows seemed to be twitching slightly, as if he was holding something back. He repeated, "Do not move. I will do it."</p><p>This was the worst of all the shocks Nie HuaiSang experienced today.</p><p>Of course, Lan WangJi wouldn’t actually use his hands to pull on the corpses’ pants. He simply used Bichen and lightly sliced open the clothing on the corpses, revealing the skin inside. This wasn’t needed for some of the corpses, as the clothes were already quite ragged. A few moments later, he spoke up, "I found it."</p><p>Everyone immediately looked toward the ground. On both thighs of the corpse beside Lan WangJi’s white boots, there were two light, circular marks. The stitches of the flesh-colored threads were tightly sewn around. There was a faint difference between the colors of the skin above and below the stitches. Clearly, the legs and upper body of the corpse didn’t belong to the same person.</p><p>This pair of legs was sewn on by someone!</p><p>Nie HuaiSang was already shocked speechless. Wei WuXian inquired, "Who chooses the corpses that the Nie Sect uses for the Saber Hall?"</p><p>Nie HuaiSang replied with a glazed expression, "Usually, the past sect leaders chose and stored them when they were still alive. My brother passed away at an earlier age. He didn’t have enough, so I also helped him choose some… I kept whichever corpses that were complete with all limbs. I don’t know about anything other than this…"</p><p>It’d be impossible to get anything out of him as to who exactly sneaked the corpse inside. From the people who provided the corpses to the disciples of the Nie Sect, there were countless suspects. It was likely that the truth would be revealed only if they found all body parts and pieced the corpse and soul together.</p><p>Finally having managed to separate the pair of legs and the other half of the male corpse, Wei WuXian put them inside a new Qiankun Pouch as he spoke to Lan WangJi, "Looks like our dear friend here was cut to pieces. And, not only that, the parts were scattered all over the place—one piece here, one piece there. Just how much hatred did the murderer hold for him? We can only hope that the pieces aren’t too tiny."</p><p>Although Nie HuaiSang still said "see you" when they set off, judging from his frightened face, he most likely didn’t want to see them ever again for the rest of his life. The two left the Xinglu Ridge and returned to the inn. Upon arriving at the relatively safe place, they took out the three limbs and started to examine them. As they had expected, the pair of legs were of the same color as the severed arm. And, if they were put close together, they would react strongly, vibrating nonstop as if they wanted to join together. But the efforts were useless, as there was still one part of the body between them that was missing. It was certain that they belonged to the same person.</p><p>Aside from the fact that this was a man with a tall physique, long limbs, a muscular body, and a high level of cultivation, they knew nothing else about the mysterious corpse. Fortunately, the ghost hand soon pointed at where the next step would take place—the Southwest.</p><p>Following its direction, Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi made their way to Yueyang.</p><h3>Translator’s Notes

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