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Chapter 25 Malice—Part Three</h3>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."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.His entire leg was covered with the black bruise of the Curse Mark.After staring at it for a while, Lan WangJi spoke in a bitter voice, "… I only left for a few hours."Wei WuXian shrugged, "A few hours is a long time. Anything could have happened. There, there. Straighten up."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?"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.Lan WangJi stood behind him. He suddenly called out, "Wei Ying."Wei WuXian’s figure paused. A second later, he pretended as if he didn’t hear the name, and answered, "What?"Lan WangJi, "This was transferred from Jin Ling’s body, was it not."It wasn’t a question, but a statement.Wei WuXian didn’t say anything. Lan WangJi spoke again, "You met Jiang WanYin."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."Lan WangJi, "Do not go…"Wei WuXian, "If I don’t go, how am I supposed to leave? Are you gonna carry me on your back or something?""…" Lan WangJi looked at him in silence. Wei WuXian’s smile froze on his face, just as a foreboding feeling crossed his mind.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."Lan WangJi asked, "Would it look bad?"Wei WuXian replied, "Would it look good?"After a moment of silence, Lan WangJi responded, "But you have also carried me on your back before."Wei WuXian, "Did such a thing ever happen? Why don’t I remember?"Lan WangJi answered in an indifferent tone, "You never remember such things."Wei WuXian, "Everyone says that I have a bad memory. Alright, fine. Anyways, I’m not letting you carry me on your back."Lan WangJi, "Are you sure?"Wei WuXian replied in a resolute manner, "I’m sure."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.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!!!"Carrying him, Lan WangJi both walked and replied to him steadily, "You said that you didn’t want to be carried on my back."Wei WuXian, "I didn’t say that I wanted to be carried like this either."Fortunately, it was already late into the night. There 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, 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.Wei WuXian asked, "Lan Zhan, you’ve known that it was me ever since we were at Dafan Mountain, right?"Lan WangJi, "Yes."Wei WuXian wondered, "How could you tell?"Lan WangJi looked down at him, "You want to know?"Wei WuXian declared, "Yes."Lan WangJi, "You told me yourself."Wei WuXian, "Myself? Because of Jin Ling? Because I summoned Wen Ning? None of these, right?"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.He spoke in a serious tone, "Think."Wei WuXian replied, "I only asked you because I can’t think of the reason."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…"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.Carrying Wei WuXian, he kicked the door open.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…"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."It really was the "Head Shaker".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.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."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."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."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."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."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.""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."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!"Wei WuXian questioned, "Ancestral burial ground? Whose ancestral burial ground buries sabers instead of corpses?"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."Lan WangJi, "As you wish."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?"Nie HuaiSang clenched his teeth and answered obediently, "… It has."Wei WuXian, "Wow."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."<h3>Translator’s Notes

Chapter 26 Malice—Part 4</h3>Lan WangJi, "The details, please."Sitting down, his polite words were almost as powerful as a threat. Nie HuaiSang finally started his explanation.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."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."Wei WuXian raised a brow, "Now, this is getting quite close to demonic cultivation."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."Wei WuXian commented, "Quite full of themselves, aren’t they?"Nie HuaiSang, "Indeed. The sabers who fought and cultivated alongside our ancestors are indeed in a position to be full of themselves."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."Wei WuXian asked, "To build the Man-Eating Castle?"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 transform."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."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?"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."Wei WuXian made an "oh" sound. He silently exclaimed, What a case of waking the sleeping lion.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 "It wasn’t hard to figure out what happened. Ten-or-so corpses transformed immediately."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!"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."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."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!"Nie HuaiSang took out a handkerchief and a white stone the size of a garlic head from within his sleeves. He used the handkerchief to wipe away sweat and passed the white stone over, "The two of you can take a look at this."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.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…"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…"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…"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.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.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.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?"Lan WangJi, "We will remove the Curse Mark first."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."Lan WangJi turned his head away and did not answer. Wei WuXian found it quite odd, "Lan Zhan?"<h3>Translator’s Notes

Chapter 27 Malice—Part 5</h3>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.They both stood up to look. The teacups and teapot broke to pieces on the ground. A Qiankun Pouch 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.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 Rest. 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.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.Lan WangJi, "Play it properly."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, It must have been tough for him these few days, tolerating this for so long. 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!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."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 Rest, the guqin’s melody became calm once more, and gradually blended with the flute’s.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."Lan WangJi nodded and turned to him, "And, it was something on you."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.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…Wei WuXian, "Do you mean that another part of his body might be within the walls of the Nie Sect’s Saber Hall?"On the next morning, the two departed again, heading back to the Xinglu Ridge.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…"Wei WuXian waved his hands as he grinned, "Sect Leader Nie, you’re building the walls?"Nie HuaiSang wiped sweat away with his handkerchief, rubbing so many times that he almost took a layer of skin away, "Yes, yes…"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 Nie HuaiSang, "Yes, yes… What?! Wait!"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.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…"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.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.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?"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?"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, 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?!Just as he was about to laugh at his own thought, Lan WangJi spoke again, "The legs."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!"Nie HuaiSang was shocked to death, "Why would you say such a shameful thing in front of HanGuang-Jun?"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."Wei WuXian, "You’ll do it? You’re really going to do such a thing?"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."This was the worst of all the shocks Nie HuaiSang experienced today.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."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.This pair of legs was sewn on by someone!Nie HuaiSang was already shocked speechless. Wei WuXian inquired, "Who chooses the corpses that the Nie Sect uses for the Saber Hall?"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…"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.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."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.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.Following its direction, Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi made their way to Yueyang.<h3>Translator’s Notes

Chapter 28 Dew—Part One

Chapter 29 Dew—Part Two</h3>The waiter, "Take it easy. I was just about to mention that. Everyone did die. Although I said that he survived, it was only for a short while. After a few years, the clan’s head, Chang Ping, died as well. This time, the death was even more horrifying. He was killed by lingchi with a sword! I don’t need to tell you what lingchi is, do I? It’s when the flesh on someone’s body is piece by piece sliced off with a saber or a sword for three thousand and six hundred times, until all of the flesh is gone and there’s only a skeleton left…"Of course, it was impossible for Wei WuXian not to know what lingchi was. If somebody wanted a book called A Thousand Ways to Die Agonizing Deaths, he’d have been the person who was most qualified to write it. He raised a hand, "I understand. Then, do you know why the Chang Clan was wiped out?"The waiter, "I heard that it was planned by another cultivational sect. That’s for sure, right? Or else, why did a bunch of people who could cultivate fail to escape? They were definitely trapped inside by something or someone."In case the conversation wasn’t going well, the owner of the shop even brought over two side dishes of peanuts and sunflower seeds. Wei WuXian nodded in acknowledgement, and continued while eating sunflower seeds, "Did anyone find out what exactly the something or someone was?"The waiter laughed, "Young Master, now you’re just joking. How could we ordinary people who are just trying to get through life know anything about those who fly around in the skies? Logically, you guys should know more than me since you all cultivate. I’ve only heard some vague talk of of how they offended someone whom they shouldn’t have! Anyways, after that, nobody was left in charge of the evil beings around Yueyang."Wei WuXian pondered, "Somebody whom they shouldn’t have offended?""That’s right." The waiter ate two peanuts, "These sects or whatever indeed hold grudges against the others. I’m thinking that the Chang Clan must have been targeted by the other cultivators. Isn’t killing people for the sake of treasures common or something? Those books all said so. Tales and legends as well. Although I don’t know who exactly did it, it was apparently related to a very famous villain."Wei WuXian smiled as he lifted the liquor bowl to his lips, glancing sideways at him, "Let me guess. You’re gonna say that you don’t know who the villain was?"The waiter cracked up, "Guess again. I definitely know this one. He was called something along the lines of ‘peculiar’… Right, ‘patriarch’. The YiLing Patriarch!"Wei WuXian choked, letting out a series of bubbles into the liquor bowl with a splash, "What?"Him again?!The waiter confirmed, "Yep, that’s right! His surname was Wei. He’s called Wei WuQian, I think. People sound both hateful and scared when they mention him.""…"Wei WuXian thought over it and determined two things—One: He had never been to Yueyang before, and two: Among all of the people he had killed, none of them died by lingchi. He felt that this was a bit absurd and looked over at Lan WangJi, as if he wanted an explanation. Lan WangJi had been waiting for this look since quite a while ago. He replied, "We are leaving."Wei WuXian immediately understood. Lan WangJi had something to say to him and it couldn’t be said in the liquor shop, under everyone’s noses. He stood up, "Then let’s leave. How much… Right, it’s been paid already. I’m leaving the liquor here for now. I’ll continue drinking after we finish." He added, half-jokingly, "Make sure it’s still here when I get back."Having already finished more than half of the plate of peanuts, the waiter responded, "Of course! Our shop is honest to everyone, from the old to the young. Leave ‘em here and don’t worry. We’ll wait until you come back to close our shop. Hey, Young Masters, are you going to the Chang Residence right now? Whoa, now that’s pretty cool—I’m from the area and I haven’t even been there! I’ve only dared to sneak a few looks at it from far away. Are you two going inside? What are you going to do?"Wei WuXian, "We’re also just gonna sneak a few looks, from far away."The young waiter had an outgoing personality, getting friendly with strangers a bit too quickly. Although they only chatted for a short while, he was already treating Wei WuXian as if they were friends. He came over to put his arm around Wei WuXian’s shoulder, "Is the work that you two do hard? Do you earn lots of money? Probably a ton, right? What a respectable job. Let me ask you something—is it difficult to get started? I…"As he babbled, he suddenly shut his mouth, nervously looking to the side. He whispered, "Young Master, why is the one beside you… staring at me?"Wei WuXian followed his gaze just to see Lan WangJi turn around, stand up, and walk outside the liquor shop, "Oh, him. This friend of mine was brought up strictly. He absolutely hates it when other people are being too comfortable with each other in front of him. Isn’t that strange?"The waiter awkwardly took away his arm, replying in a hushed voice, "Strange indeed. The way he looked over, you’d think that I was putting my arm around his wife…"With Lan WangJi’s hearing ability, it was impossible The waiter, "I’m sorry?"Wei WuXian pointed at himself, "I’m standing."Finally recalling the "if you can still stand after you finish this, I’ll adopt your surname" that he said earlier, he blurted out, "Oh… Ohhh! Uhm… Wow! I’m not kidding, but this is my first time seeing someone who can still stand and speak properly after downing a jar. Young Master, what’s your surname?"Wei WuXian, "My surname…" Suddenly remembering the "Wei WuQian" that the waiter mentioned, the corners of his lips twitched. He smoothly transitioned, "Is Lan."The waiter was also someone with a thick face, announcing without any change of expression, "Yes. From today on, my surname will be Lan!"Under the bright-red banners of the liquor shop, it seemed as if, for one second, Lan WangJi’s figure stumbled ever so slightly. With a mischievous smile on his face, Wei WuXian walked over with his hands behind his back and patted his shoulder, "HanGuang-Jun, to thank you for paying the bill, I made him adopt your surname."After they left the city, the two walked in the direction of where the waiter pointed at. The number of people gradually decreased, while the number of trees increased. Wei WuXian asked, "Back then, why did you not let me continue asking him?"Lan WangJi, "I suddenly remembered hearing about what happened in Yueyang. There was no need to continue asking."Wei WuXian, "Before you tell me, let me ask you something. Confirm for me that the, uh, wiping out of the Chang Clan wasn’t done by me, was it?"Other than how he died ten years ago and his soul had been fairly stable, it was impossible that he killed an entire clan and didn’t remember anything!Lan WangJi, "No."Wei WuXian, "Oh."It was as if he returned to those days, before he died, of being even worse than a sewer rat, despised by everyone. He played a role in everything; he was to be blamed for everything. Even if one’s neighbor’s grandson didn’t eat properly and lost five pounds, it was because the child was frightened by stories of the YiLing Patriarch commanding the Ghost General to murder people.However, Lan WangJi spoke again, "The killing was not done by you, but it was related to you."Wei WuXian, "What’s the relationship?"Lan WangJi, "There are two relationships. First, one of the people who were connected to it shared a past with your mother."Wei WuXian stopped in his tracks.He didn’t know what he was feeling at the moment or how his face looked. Pausing for a moment, he spoke, "… My mother?"Wei WuXian was the son of Wei ChangZe, a servant of the YunmengJiang Sect, and ZangSe SanRen, a rogue cultivator. Both Jiang FengMian and his wife, Yu ZiYuan, were quite familiar with Wei WuXian’s parents. Despite this, Jiang FengMian never reminisced about his old friend in front of Wei WuXian and, moreover, Yu ZiYuan never spoke properly to Wei WuXian at all. It was lucky for him if she didn’t give him a few whips and send him to kneel in the ancestral hall so that he’d keep his distance from Jiang Cheng. Other people told him most of the things he knew about his parents. He really didn’t know much more than what everyone else knew.Lan WangJi also halted, turning around to look at him, "Have you heard of the name ‘Xiao XingChen’?"Wei WuXian searched through his memories, "No."Lan WangJi, "‘No’ is correct. He was well-known when he left the mountain twelve years ago. Now, nobody mentions him."Twelve years ago just happened to be one year after the siege at YiLing’s LuanZang Hill, which meant that he only just missed it. Wei WuXian asked, "What’s the mountain? Who taught him?"Lan WangJi, "I do not know which mountain it was. His was taught by a cultivator. Xiao XingChen was a pupil of BaoShan SanRen."Wei WuXian finally understood why Lan WangJi said that this person shared a past with his mother, "So, that mean’s Xiao XingChen is my shishu."ZangSe SanRen was also a pupil of BaoShan SanRen.BaoShan SanRen was a cultivator who lived secluded from the rest of the world, rumored to be of the same generation as Wen Mao and Lan An. Most of the heroes from that generation had already returned to dust, yet BaoShan SanRen was said to have still remained unfallen. If it really was so, then she must be hundreds of years old and have quite a high level of cultivation. Back then, with the lead of Wen Mao, the cultivation world focused on the rise of clans instead of sects, and cultivational forces connected by blood ties rose as if they were bamboo shoots after a spring rain. Without exception, every cultivator who was slightly famous chose to found a sect. Yet, this cultivator decided to retire into solitude, living in a mountain under the cultivational name of BaoShanSanRen. Nobody knows, though, which mountain she was embracing. Speaking of it, it was only called retiring into solitude because nobody knew. If after one retired into solitude, they could still be found easily, it wouldn’t be called retiring into solitude anymore.She lived in an unknown celestial mountain and would often secretly take abandoned children up the mountain to be her pupils. However, all of the pupils had to vow that they would devote their whole lives to cultivation, never leaving the mountain or entering human society. Or else, no matter what the reason was, they were never to go back again. They’d need to depend on themselves to survive in the mortal world, cutting all ties with their teacher.Everyone spoke highly of BaoShan SanRen for her foresight in setting this rule. This was because, during the few hundreds of years, only three of her pupils left the mountain—YanLing DaoRen, ZangSe SanRen, and Xiao XingChen. Of these three pupils, none died a peaceful death.Wei WuXian knew about the fates of the first and second pupils ever since he was young, so no further explanations were needed. Thus, Lan WangJi told him the stories of the last pupil, his shishu.When Xiao XingChen left the mountain, he was only seventeen. Lan WangJi had never met him in person, but he had heard about Xiao XingChen’s talent from others.At that time, the Sunshot Campaign only finished a few years ago and the siege at Yiling’s Luanzang Hill had just ended. All of the prominent sects were recruiting qualified cultivators from all around to be part of them. Xiao XingChen left the mountain in hopes of saving the world. With his excellent talent and capable teacher, during his first night-hunt, he held a horsetail whisk in one hand and a long sword in the other, entering the mountain alone and claiming first place—he became famous overnight.As the sects saw such a bright, gifted cultivator at such a young age, they all invited him to their sects. Yet, Xiao XingChen turned down all of the offers. He said that he didn’t want to depend on any sects, but he wanted to build a new sect with a close friend that didn’t value a bloodline.He had a soft personality but a solid heart, gentle on the outside but determined on the inside. Whenever someone had a difficult matter at hand, the first thing they thought of was to find him for help. As a person of moral integrity, he never refused either, which was why people often spoke of him with appraisal.That was around when the wiping out of the Yueyang Clan happened.<h3>Translator’s Notes

Chapter 30 Dew—Part Three</h3>One day, the Yueyang Clan’s 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 wasn’t any evidence, so it had been impossible to find the killer. Of course, Xiao XingChen didn’t 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 murderer’s name was Xue Yang.Xue Yang was even younger than Xiao XingChen, nothing more than just a boy. Despite this, he definitely didn’t 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. Everyone’s 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 Ping’s 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 Sect’s 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 didn’t have any objections, except for one—the LanlingJin Sect.Wei WuXian, "Objecting in such a situation would be placing itself against the entire world. Could it be that Xue Yang was a favorite with Jin GuangShan?"Lan WangJi, "A guest disciple."Wei WuXian, "He 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?"Lan WangJi, "This is the second connection."He stared into Wei WuXian’s eyes, "Because of the Stygian Tiger Seal."Wei WuXian’s 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 didn’t think too much about it. Single-handedly controlling corpses and spirits, of course he’d occasionally grow tired. Remembering a rare piece of iron ore he happened to have seen in a beast’s 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 Seal’s 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 didn’t 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 wasn’t that Wei WuXian never thought about destroying it, but since the seal was created with much difficulty, it would’ve been extremely hard to destroy, costing him both time and energy. And, back then, he had already vaguely understood that he wasn’t in a good situation and would be hated by everyone sooner or later. With a weapon as appalling as the Stygian Tiger Seal, others didn’t 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 shocking—it 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 wasn’t as powerful and couldn’t be used for as long, it could already result in terrible catastrophes.Wei WuXian understood, "The LanlingJin needed to keep Xue Yang so that he could continue to restore the Stygian Tiger Seal, so they had to protect him."Perhaps, Xue Yang destroying the Chang Clan wasn’t 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 Seal’s powers!No wonder the rumors connected the case to him. Wei WuXian could almost imagine those cultivators clenching their teeth, "That Wei WuXian! If he didn’t make this, our world wouldn’t have encountered so many disasters!!!"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 didn’t waver either. As the stalemate continued, they finally startled ChiFeng-Zun, Nie MingJue, who didn’t 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 hadn’t been scared at all. Even when Nie MingJue’s 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, "Daozhang, you wouldn’t forget me, would you? Let’s wait and see."At this point, Wei WuXian knew that the "wait and see" 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 MingJue’s 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 wasn’t 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, "What can I do aside from this? If I don’t tolerate it, the rest of our clan’s people wouldn’t be safe for long. I’m really grateful, Daozhang, but… please don’t help me anymore. Now, helping me would be harming me. I don’t want the YueyangChang Sect to end yet."And thus, the tiger had been set free back to the mountains.Wei WuXian stayed silent.If he were Chang Ping, he wouldn’t have cared how prominent or powerful the LanlingJin Sect was, or how much glory the road ahead offered him, and he wouldn’t have let the matter go. Instead, he would’ve 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 Clan’s 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 wasn’t Chang Ping himself. He couldn’t be angered or worried in place of Chang Ping, and he couldn’t bear Chang Ping’s share of mental and physical torment.After Xue Yang had been released, he started to take revenge again. However, this time, the revenge wasn’t 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 such—Xiao 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 Lan’s 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 wasn’t any evidence. And, with Jin GuangShan’s 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 didn’t care about anything, from Wei WuXian’s past experiences with him, he absolutely couldn’t stand wrongdoings, possibly even more than Nie HuaiSang’s 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 sect’s Discussion Conferences. If two cruel massacres happened, the news would’ve probably spread over the entire cultivational world and Lan WangJi definitely wouldn’t 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 "heard" 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, "Then, what happened to the Daozhang Xiao XingChen afterwards?"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 SanRen’s 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 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 sect’s reputation, suppressing the rumors. Song Lan went to search for his past friend’s 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 wouldn’t 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 would’ve done something? What could I have done? If I was still alive back then, perhaps the YueyangChang Sect’s case didn’t 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, it’s likely that he’d 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 "Chang" on the pailou and asked, "Then, why did Chang Ping die afterward? Who killed the remaining members of his clan?"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 wasn’t. 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 death—they madly slammed on the doors, but there wasn’t anyone to let them out.This was the slamming on coffins in the Chang Clan’s cemetery that the liquor shop’s 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 should’ve 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 man’s 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 gravedigger’s reaction was extremely quick. Seeing the attack of Bichen’s 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 WangJi’s sword moves!Lan WangJi said nothing. Bichen’s 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 wouldn’t be able to win against Lan WangJi and, if they continued to fight, he’d 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 wasn’t powerful enough wouldn’t 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 gravedigger’s legs!The gravedigger seemed as if he didn’t 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 gravedigger’s 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 "what a petty trick", 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 couldn’t even win solo against Lan WangJi, let alone the mischief of another person, he didn’t 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 didn’t have any regrets. He walked over to Lan WangJi, "Let’s see who he dug out."As he glanced at it, he was somewhat surprised. The head of the corpse had already been split open. From within the cut, there wasn’t any blood or brains leaking out, but wads of blackened cotton.Wei WuXian easily jerked the corpse’s head off. With the delicately-crafted dummy head, he sope, "What is this supposed to mean? There’s a fake corpse made of cotton and rags buried in the Chang Clan’s cemetery?"Having had weighed the corpse in his hands when he took it, Lan WangJi knew what was wrong, "Not all of it is fake."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 "deceive" the torso, so that it still thought it was attached to its owner’s 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, "It looks like that the person who hid the corpse already noticed that we’re investigating the issue and came to transfer the torso somewhere else in case we find it. To come early isn’t as good as to come in time. We just happened to bump into him, haha. But," with a change of tone, he continued, "Why was the mist-faced gravedigger so familiar with your sect’s sword style?"It was obvious that Lan WangJi was also thinking about this matter, the coldness on his face yet to fade. Wei WuXian spoke again, "His cultivation is quite high, enough to support the energy used for one Transportation Talisman. He casted spells on both his face and sword. It’s understandable that he casted a spell on his face—after all, he wouldn’t have wanted to be seen. But most lesser-known cultivators wouldn’t 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. He’d 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."Wei WuXian asked suggestively, "HanGuang-Jun, from your fight before, do you think that he’s someone you know really well?"It’d be inconvenient for him to be more specific, such as Lan XiChen or Lan QiRen.Lan WangJi answered assuredly, "No."Wei WuXian was quite confident in Lan WangJi’s answer. To him, Lan WangJi wasn’t the kind of person who’d hide or run away from the truth. If he denied it, that meant it must have been wrong. He didn’t like to lie, either. In Wei WuXian’s opinion, if someone asked Lan WangJi to lie, he’d 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, "You’re back! We kept our word, didn’t we? Did you two see anything?"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, "Right, what were we talking about? Suddenly interrupted by the gravedigger, I still don’t know how Chang Ping died."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 clan’s members died overnight due to lingchi. Moreover, Chang Ping’s 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 XingChen’s 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, "He was lingchi-ed by Xiao XingChen’s sword? Then was he the one who did it?"Lan WangJi, "Xiao XingChen had disappeared. There were no conclusive evidence."Wei WuXian, "If he couldn’t be found alive, then has anyone tried soul-summoning?"Lan WangJi, "Yes. Nothing was found."Nothing was found. He either didn’t die, or his soul had dissolved. As a someone who specialized in the area, Wei WuXian had to comment on the matter, "Things like soul-summoning, you can’t rely on them too much. Time, place, and person all play a part in it, so of course it’d sometimes go wrong. I’m guessing that a lot of people think that it was Xiao XingChen’s revenge? HanGuang-Jun, what about you? What do you think?Lan WangJi slowly shook his head, "One should not comment without understanding the whole picture."Wei WuXian admired his attitude and principles a lot. Grinning as he drank another gulp of liquor, he heard Lan WangJi speak again, "What about you?"Wei WuXian, "Lingchi is a type of torture. Its meaning involves "punishment", anyways. Digging out the eyes also makes it quite hard not to associate it with Xiao XingChen, who also dug out his eyes. Thus, there’s nothing wrong with these people guessing that it was Xiao XingChen’s revenge. However," he thought about how to phrase it, "I think that, in the beginning, Xiao XingChen never asked for Chang Ping’s gratitude when he first stepped in. I…"Before he finished thinking of what should follow the "I", the waiter eagerly brought over two dishes of peanuts. Having been interrupted, Wei WuXian didn’t need to continue anymore. He looked up at Lan WangJi and smiled, "HanGuang-Jun, why are you looking at me like this? I’m not saying anything. Just like you, I don’t understand the whole picture, so I’m not going to comment either. You’re 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 I’m afraid I won’t be able to finish all of them by myself. How about if you drink with me? This isn’t the Cloud Recesses, so it doesn’t violate anything, right?"He had already prepared himself to be bluntly rejected, but who knew that Lan WangJi replied, "I will drink."Wei WuXian clicked his tongue, "HanGuang-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, you’re hiding jars of Emperor’s Smile in your room and secretly drinking."Fixing his collars, he answered in a calm voice, "I did not touch any jar of Emperor’s Smile."Wei WuXian, "Why did you hide them if you’re not drinking anything? Saving them for me? Fine, fine. You didn’t touch them. I’ll believe you, okay? Let’s 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."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 WangJi’s face color or expression changed, staring at him calmly with light-colored eyes. There wasn’t 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?!"Drunken" 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 didn’t expect this sort of situation to happen at all. Thinking as he shook his legs, he put Lan WangJi’s 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 didn’t have any alone time, so he couldn’t summon Wen Ning. Aside from hiding his identity in the beginning, there was another reason.Wen Ning had killed the GusuLan Sect’s people before. Even if Lan WangJi treated Wei WuXian well, he couldn’t summon Wen Ning right in front of him. Or, perhaps, it was because Lan WangJi treated him well that he didn’t have the face to summon Wen Ning in front of him. No matter how thick his face was, this wasn’t the time to have a thick face.Before he knew it, the eerie jingling noises sounded again.With his head lowered, Wen Ning’s 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, "Stand properly."He complied and stopped moving. It seemed as if his delicate features appeared even more dejected.Wei WuXian, "Hand."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 wasn’t an ordinary chain. When Wen Ning flipped out, he became extremely violent, capable of twisting iron into sludge, so he wouldn’t 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 Ning’s side. After considering for a moment, he started to press his fingers into Wen Ning’s hair.The person who kept and restrained Wen Ning must have prevented him from thinking on his own. To make him listen to other people’s orders, Wen Ning’s sanity must have been destroyed, which meant that they must’ve 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 Ning’s 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 Ning’s 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 Ning’s features quivered faintly. A layer of black lines that resembled strands of blood climbed across the whites of Wen Ning’s 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 "pain".Judging from the intricate, complex lines carved onto the nails, it must have came from a unique source. Their creator was fairly skilled. It’d take quite some time for Wen Ning to heal completely. Putting them away, Wei WuXian looked down at the chains on Wen Ning’s wrists and ankles, thinking to himself that it’d be a bit inconvenient for them to hang around and make noise. He’d need to use a cultivational sword to cut them off.The first that he thought of was, of course, Lan WangJi’s Bichen. Although it somewhat unbefitting to use the sword of someone from the Lan Sect to cut off Wen Ning’s chains, it was the best cultivational sword that he could get his hands on. He really couldn’t let Wen Ning drag so many burdensome things behind him.Wei WuXian thought to himself, Okay. I’ll go back to the inn first. If Lan Zhan is awake, then I won’t do anything. If Lan Zhan is still asleep, I’ll quickly borrow Bichen for a while.Having made his decision, he turned around. However, what he didn’t expect was that Lan WangJi was standing right behind him.<h3>Translator’s Notes

The Founder of Diabolism

Chapter 20 Contentment—Part 2

Chapter 20 Contentment—Part 2

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