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Chapter 45 Allure—Part Three</h3>For some reason, tonight, Wei WuXian felt a bit too guilty to still dare squeezing himself onto the same bed as Lan WangJi. He spent the rest of the evening sitting on the ground and fell asleep sometime during the night, his head leaning on the wooden bed. At dawn, he vaguely felt someone lift him up with gentle movements and place him onto the bed. Struggling to open his eyes, Wei WuXian could see Lan WangJi’s still-indifferent face.He immediately felt more awake, "Lan Zhan."Lan WangJi answered with a "mnn". Wei WuXian asked, "Are you sober or still drunk?"Lan WangJi, "Sober."Wei WuXian, "Oh… So it’s five already."Lan WangJi woke up at this time every single day, which was why Wei WuXian learnt how to tell the time without looking out the windows. He held up Wei WuXian’s wrists, of which both were covered in reddish marks. He took out a small, turquoise porcelain bottle from within his sleeves and applied the contents. The areas that the smooth ointment had been spread on felt soothed at once. Wei WuXian squinted, "It hurts… HanGuang-Jun, you’re so rude when you’re drunk."Lan WangJi didn’t even look up, "You reaped what you had sown."Wei WuXian’s heart skipped a beat, "Lan Zhan, you really don’t remember what you did after you were drunk, do you?"Lan WangJi, "I do not."Wei WuXian, That’s probably true. Or else, he would’ve already killed me out of embarrassment.In his heart, he found it both good and unfortunate that Lan WangJi didn’t remember. It felt as though he’d secretly done or eaten something he shouldn’t have and was hiding alone in a corner, snickering at how nobody found out but disappointed that he couldn’t share the delight with anyone. Involuntarily, his eyes caught sight of Lan WangJi’s lips again.Although the corners never lifted, his lips looked quite soft, and did indeed feel quite soft.Wei WuXian unconsciously bit at his own lips and started to space out again, The GusuLan Sect is so strict, and Lan Zhan isn’t romantic at all, so he definitely hasn’t kissed any girls before. What do I do now? I happened to have received the grand honor. Should I tell him? Will he be so angry that he starts crying after he knows? Oh, well… He might do so when he was young, but probably not now. And it’s like he’s a monk made of wood. It’s possible that he’s never even had such thoughts before… Wait! The last time he was drunk, I asked him ‘is there anyone you like’, and he said yes. Maybe he’d already kissed her? But judging from Lan Zhan’s habit of self-restraint, he’s probably really careful about not crossing any lines. They probably never kissed, or even held hands. Speaking of it, maybe back then he didn’t even understand which type of ‘like’ I was talking about…After Lan WangJi finished applying the ointment, somebody knocked three times at the door. Lan SiZhui’s voice came through, "HanGuang-Jun, everyone is up. Will we be leaving?"Lan WangJi, "Wait downstairs."The group left the city and was parting ways before the city’s tower. Originally, the disciples weren’t as familiar with one another. They had only visited the others during discussion conferences at their respective sects. However, during these past few days, they’d been through both the cat corpse’s incidents and a thrilling day at a haunted city with the others. They’d even burnt paper money, snuck liquor, argued, and cursed other people together. In summary, they already knew one another quite well. Before the departures, all of them were reluctant to leave, taking their time in front of the city gates to discuss when to visit one’s discussion conference and when to night-hunt at another’s place. Lan WangJi didn’t hurry them, either. He let them chatter on as he himself stood silently under a tree. Under Lan WangJi’s eyes, Fairy didn’t at all dare to bark or run around. Crouching under the tree as well, it stared anxiously at Jin Ling, wagging its tail at him.Taking the chance that Fairy was being watched by Lan WangJi, Wei WuXian grabbed Jin Ling’s shoulder and walked for some time.Mo XuanYu was one of Jin GuangShan’s illegitimate sons, which made him a half brother of Jin ZiXuan and Jin GuangYao. In terms of the generations, he could be considered Jin Ling’s uncle as well. Thus, he walked as he righteously talked to Jin Ling in a patronizing tone, "When you go back, don’t keep on arguing with your uncle. Listen to him. Be careful from now on. Don’t run around trying to night-hunt alone again."Although Jin Ling was from a prominent sect, rumors didn’t let anyone off. With both of his parents gone, it was only natural for him to want to prove himself to others as soon as possible. Wei WuXian continued, "What are you? Fifteen? Most of the disciples around your age haven’t hunted any amazing beasts either, so why should you be so eager and strive for such a first?"Jin Ling sulked, "My uncles were also fifteen-or-so when they became famous."Wei WuXian commented in silence, That’s not the same! Back then, the QishanWen Sect was still on top and everyone had to watch out. If they didn’t fight and cultivate as much as possible, who knew if they’d be the next one to run out of luck? During the Sunshot Campaign, you’d be hauled to the battlefields no matter if you were fifteen or any other age. Now, since the situations is stable and the sects are at peace, of course the atmosphere isn’t as tense and people don’t cultivate like they’re crazy. There’s no need anymore.Jin Ling added, "Even when the dog Wei Ying was around fifteen when he killed the Tortoise of Slaughter. If he could even do it, why can’t I?"Hearing his name come right after the word before it, Wei WuXian blood run cold. He somehow managed to shake off the goosebumps on his back, "He was the one who killed it? Wasn’t it killed by HanGuang-Jun?"After the mention of Lan WangJi, Jin Ling looked to Wei WuXian in a strange way. He wanted to say something, but held it back, "You and HanGuang-Jun… Nevermind. It’s your own business. Anyways, I don’t care about you guys at all. Have fun being cut-sleeve. The disease is incurable."Wei WuXian grinned, "Hey, how is it a disease?"He was laughing in silence, He’s still thinking that I’m shamelessly nagging Lan Zhan?!Jin Ling continued, "I already know the meaning behind the GusuLan Sect’s forehead ribbon. Now that it’s already like this, then stay by HanGuang-Jun’s side properly. Even if you’re a cut-sleeve, you should be a modest one. Don’t go about messing with other men, especially people from our sect! Or else, don’t blame the results on me."The "our sect" that he said included both the LanlingJin and the YunmengJiang Sect. It seemed that his ability to tolerate cut-sleeves had increased, that as long as it wasn’t anyone from the two sects, he could turn a blind eye to it.Wei WuXian disagreed, "You little brat! What do you mean ‘messing with other men’? I’m not that terrible of a person. Forehead ribbon? There’s a meaning behind the GusuLan Sect’s forehead ribbon?"Jin Ling, "Come on! You know what it means. Stop getting so carried away. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Are you Wei Ying?"At the end of his reply, he suddenly tossed out the straightforward question, taking Wei WuXian by surprise. Wei WuXian responded calmly, "Do you think we’re similar?"Jin Ling was silent for a while. Then, he suddenly whistled and called out, "Fairy!"Having been called by its owner, with its tongue sticking out, Fairy sprinted over. Wei WuXian broke into a run at once, "Be nice! What are you sending out the dog for?!"Jin Ling, "Hmph! Goodbye!"After he said goodbye, he proudly marched in the direction of Lanling, probably still afraid to see Jiang Cheng in Yunmeng’s Lotus Pier. The disciples from the other sects went off in different directions as well. In the end, Wei WuXian, Lan WangJi, and the juniors of the Lan Sect were the only ones left.As they walked, the juniors couldn’t hold themselves from turning around and looking back. Although Lan JingYi didn’t say anything, the reluctance to leave was written all over his face. He asked, "Where are we going next?"Lan SiZhui, "ZeWu-Jun is currently night-hunting in the Tanzhou area. Are we going to directly return to the Cloud Recesses, or go over there to meet up with him?"Lan WangJi, "Go to Tanzhou."Wei WuXian, "Great. Maybe we can even help him. We don’t know where next to search for our dear friend’s head, anyways."The two walked in the front while the rest of the boys followed some distance behind them. After walking for a while, Lan WangJi spoke up, "Jiang Cheng knows who you are."Wei WuXian was sitting on the donkey as it slowly trotted forward, "Yeah, he knows. What can he do, though? He doesn’t have any evidence."Unlike the possession of bodies, there was no evidence to the sacrifice of bodies. Jiang Cheng only determined the fact through how he looked when facing a dog, anyway. First, Jiang Cheng had never told anyone that Wei WuXian was afraid of dogs; second, only those familiar with him would be able to judge things based on reactions and expressions, since there couldn’t be any conclusive proof. Even if Jiang Cheng finally chose to stick flyers that said the YiLing Patriarch Wei WuXian was scared of dogs everywhere he could, everyone would probably still believe that the SanDu ShengShou had finally become crazy after searching for the YiLing Patriarch for so many times and failing every attempt.Wei WuXian, "So, I’m actually really curious. Just how did you recognize me?"Lan WangJi replied in a calm voice, "I am also really curious as to why your memory is so bad."They arrived at Tanzhou within a day. Before they met up with Lan XiChen, they passed a garden along the way. Seeing how the garden was big and majestic yet had no-one to care for it, all of the disciples went inside out of curiosity. As long as it wasn’t anything against the sect rules, Lan WangJi never stopped them, which was why he let them inside. In the garden, there was a pavilion and a few fences, a table and a few stools, all made of stone, for people to enjoy the scenery. However, through years of wind and rain, one corner had fallen off the pavilion and two of the stools had toppled over. There were no plants or flowers in the garden, only brittle branches and withered leaves. This garden had been abandoned since a long time ago.After the juniors roamed eagerly around the garden for a while, Lan SiZhui spoke up, "This is the garden of the Damsel of Annual Blossoms, is it not?"Lan JingYi was confused, "The Damsel of Annual Blossoms? Who is that? Does the garden have an owner? Why does it look so worn-down? It seems like nobody has been caring for it for a long time."Annual blossoms were flowers that had short flowering periods and only bloom during certain seasons. There were many varied types and colors, which filled the entire garden with fragrance when they bloomed. Hearing the name, Wei WuXian couldn’t help but recalled something.Placing his hand over one of the pillars of the pavilion, Lan SiZhui thought for a while, "If I Lan JingYi, "So if you recited the poetry wrong she would throw a flower at your face? Hopefully the flowers did not have thorns. Or else, if I were there to try, my face would definitely start bleeding. What sort of fae was she?"Lan SiZhui, "I would not call her a fae. She was more like a spirit. The legends have it that the earliest owner of the garden was a poet. He planted these flowers himself and treated them as friends, reciting poetry here everyday. Affected by the emotions of the poetry, a spirit crystallized from the flora of the garden and became the Damsel of Annual Blossoms. When someone came, if their poetry was decent and allowed her to remember the one who planted her, she would be happy and give them a flower. If the poetry was wrong or did not sound pleasing, she would emerge from the bushes and hurl a flower onto the person’s face. The one who had been attacked would faint and realize that they had been thrown out of the garden after they woke up. Ten years ago, an endless number of people would come to this garden."Wei WuXian, "Romantic, romantic. But I know for sure that the GusuLan Sect’s Library Pavilion wouldn’t hold books that say such things. SiZhui, be honest. Tell us what book you were reading and who gave it to you."Lan SiZhui blushed and sneaked a glance at Lan WangJi, worried that he’d be punished. Lan JingYi asked, "Is the Damsel really pretty? Or else why would so many people come?"Seeing that Lan WangJi had no intentions of scolding him, Lan SiZhui secretly let out a sigh of relief. Only then did he smile and reply, "She probably was. After all, she crystallized from such pleasant things and was such a romantic spirit. But in reality, nobody had ever seen the Damsel’s face. Because of how even if someone did not know how to compose poetry, it was more than easy for them to memorize a few poems, most people had received the Damsel’s flowers. Even when there came the rare person who recited wrong, they would not get to meet her since they were knocked out immediately. However… one person was the exception."Another boy asked, "Who?"Wei WuXian let out a light cough.Lan SiZhui, "The YiLing patriarch, Wei WuXian."Wei WuXian coughed again, "Uh, why’s it him again? Can’t we talk about something else?"Nobody paid him any attention. Lan JingYi waved anxiously, "Be quiet! What did Wei WuXian do? He was such a big villain—what did he do, this time? Did he snatch the Damsel away and take her outside?"Lan SiZhui, "Well, no. But, in order to see the Damsel’s face, he went out of his way to come to Tanzhou all the way from Yunmeng. Whenever he came to the garden, he would recite the poetry wrong on purpose so that the Damsel became angered, hit him with flowers, and threw him out. When he woke up, he would crawl back inside and continue to recite incorrectly. After this repeated for more than twenty times, he finally saw the Damsel’s face. After this, he would go about everywhere praising how beautiful she looked. However, the Damsel was rather irritated as well. She did not show up for quite a while. Whenever he came, she would pound him with a rain of flowers. The scene was truly more wondrous than any wonders."The boys bursted into laughter, "Wei WuXian was such an annoying person!""Was he really that bored?"Wei WuXian touched his chin, "How was it boring? Who hasn’t done a couple of such things when they were young? Speaking of it, why do people even know about something like this? And it’s even seriously recorded in a book. That’s pretty boring as well, if you ask me."Lan WangJi was looking at him. Although still expressionless, an unusual glint hid beneath his eyes. He looked as though he was laughing at him. Wei WuXian thought to himself, Hey, Lan Zhan, don’t you dare make fun of me. I know at least eight—if not ten—of your embarrassing stories from when you were young. I’ll tell them to the boys sooner or later and destroy the inviolable, irreproachable reputation they have of their HanGuang-Jun.He declared, "You children are so hyper all the time. You’ve definitely been reading idle books instead of focusing on cultivation. When you get back, make sure HanGuang-Jun punishes you by making you copy the sect rules. Ten times."The boys wailed, "Ten times even when doing the handstand?!"Wei WuXian was also shocked. He turned to Lan WangJi, "Your sect makes disciples do handstands while copying? That’s awful."Lan WangJi replied calmly, "There would always be someone who did not learn their lessons by simply copying the sect rules. Handstands not only guaranteed better performance in the future but also benefited cultivation."Of course, Wei WuXian was the someone who never learnt his lessons. He pretended as though he didn’t know what Lan WangJi was talking about. Turning around, he found himself glad that he didn’t have to copy the scriptures while doing handstands.In high spirits from listening to the stories, the boys decided that they’d camp at the Garden of Annual Blossoms for the night. Camping was common during night-hunts, anyway. The group gathered a pile of dead branches and dry leaves from around them and finished making the bonfire. Lan WangJi went away to patrol the area, not only making sure that their surroundings were safe but also setting up an array in case of any night attacks. Stretching out his legs, Wei WuXian sat by the fire. Now that Lan WangJi was gone, he finally had a chance to clear up his confusion, "Right. I need to ask you guys a question. Just what is the meaning behind your sect’s forehead ribbon?"Hearing this, the boys’ expressions changed at once. They’d all started to stammer. Wei WuXian’s heart skipped a beat and then thumped faster and faster.Lan SiZhui asked in caution, "Senior, do you not know?"Wei WuXian, "If I knew would I still have asked? Do I seem like that bored of a person?"Lan JingYi mumbled, "Yes… After all, you could even do something like tricking us to line up and look at that sort of thing…"Wei WuXian poked at the fire with a stick, releasing bursts of sparks, "Wasn’t that for you to train yourselves and get out of your comfort zones? It really is effective. If you listen to what I say, you’ll definitely benefit from them in the future."Lan SiZhui seemed as though he was carefully choosing his words. He only answered after a long while of hesitation, "Okay. The forehead ribbon of the GusuLan Sect means to "regulate oneself". Senior, you know this, right?"Wei WuXian, "Yes. And?"Lan SiZhui continued, "And the founder of the GusuLan Sect, Lan An, had said that one can only let go of all regulations when they are with the one they love and cherish. So, the message that has been passed down the generations is that, uh, our sect’s forehead ribbon is a special object that is very, very personal and sensitive. One cannot easily give another permission to touch it, one cannot take it off as they please, and one absolutely cannot tie it on someone else. It is prohibited. That is, unless, unless…"He didn’t need to finish his sentence.By the bonfire, the young, innocent faces blushed many shades of red. Even Lan SiZhui couldn’t continue speaking.Wei WuXian felt almost half of the blood in his body rush to his head.The forehead ribbon, the forehead ribbon, th-th-the…The forehead ribbon was indeed quite significant!He suddenly felt that he really needed some fresh air. He sprang up and darted outside, only managing to find his balance by holding onto the bark of a wilted tree. He exclaimed in silence, … Good Heavens! What in the world have I done?!Back then, at Qishan, the Wen Sect held a grand Discussion Conference. The conference was to last for seven days. Each of the seven days’ entertainment had been planned to be different. One of those days involved an archery competition.The rules of the competition were as follow. Any disciples younger than twenty were to enter the hunting grounds. Of the more than a thousand life-sized paper mannequin targets, only one hundred were possessed by fierce spirits. If one shot the wrong target, they were out at once. One could only stay in the competition of they continuously shot correct paper mannequins that held evil spirits in them. In the end, the disciples were ranked by who shot the most, who shot with highest accuracy, and so on.In such an event, of course Wei WuXian would be participating as one of the YunmengJiang Sect’s contestants. Before the competition, since he had been listening to the sects’ debates for the entire morning, he was feeling unusually groggy. His spirits only lifted as he heaved the bow and arrows onto his back. Yawning as he walked toward the hunting grounds, he suddenly caught sight of a handsome boy with a fair face and a cold demeanor to the side of him. He wore a red round-collar robe with sleeves that had tight openings and a belt of nine golden rings. This was the uniform attire of all of the juniors who came to the Qishan Discussion Conference. On him, it looked exceptionally good. He had a dash of elegance, a few traces of vigour, but a whole lot of good looks. One couldn’t help but brighten up at the sight of such a boy.The boy was in the middle of trying out his bow, carrying a bundle of arrows with white-feathered fletchings. Brushing past the bowstring, his slender fingers made the it sound as though it were a guqin string, strong yet beautiful.To Wei WuXian, the boy felt a bit familiar. After he thought for a while, he finally remembered and greeted the boy with enthusiasm, "Hey! WangJi-xiong, it’s you!"At the time, it had already been a year since Wei WuXian studied at Gusu and was sent back to Yunmeng. After he arrived at Yunmeng, he told the people there all about what he had seen in Gusu, especially things such as how although Lan WangJi’s face looked nice he was so stiff as to do this, so boring as to do that. Not long afterward, he had forgotten all about his days at Gusu and continued to fool around in the lakes and mountains. In the past, he had only seen Lan WangJi in the plain "mourning clothes" of the GusuLan Sect’s uniform, never in such a bright, eye-catching outfit. Along with that overly-pretty face of Lan WangJi’s, now that they met again, Wei WuXian’s eyes had momentarily been blinded by his looks, failing to immediately recognize him.On the other hand, as soon as Lan WangJi finished testing his bow, he walked away at once. Awkwardly, Wei WuXian turned to Jiang Cheng, "He ignored me again. Huh."Jiang Cheng glanced at him with indifference, also deciding to ignore him. There were more than twenty entrances to the shooting range; each sect’s was different. As Lan WangJi walked toward the entrance of the GusuLan Sect, Wei WuXian sneaked over before he could. Lan WangJi shifted to the one side, and he shifted to the side as well; Lan WangJi moved to the other side, and he moved to the other side as well. In short, he simply refused to let Lan WangJi pass.In the end, standing where he was, Lan WangJi raised his chin slightly. In a serious tone, he spoke, "Excuse me."Wei WuXian, "You’re finally gonna talk to me? Were you pretending that you didn’t know me or that you didn’t hear me?"Not far away, the boys from other sects all stared at them. Some laughed, some exclaimed. Jiang Cheng clicked his tongue impatiently. With arrows on his back, he walked toward another entrance.Lan WangJi raised his eyes coldly and repeated, "Excuse me."A faint smile by his lips, Wei WuXian raised his brows and turned to the side. The arch door of the entrance was rather narrow. Lan WangJi could only brush by him as he walked in. After he entered, Wei WuXian shouted from behind him, "Lan Zhan, your forehead ribbon is crooked."All disciples from prominent sects took great care to maintain their appearances, especially those from the GusuLan Sect. Hearing this, Lan WangJi reached to adjust it without a second thought. Yet, the forehead ribbon was clearly as proper as always. Turning around, he casted an annoyed look at Wei WuXian. The latter only laughed as he turned to the YunmengJiang Sect’s entrance.After everyone had entered and the competition had officially began, one by one, disciples left due to accidentally shooting normal mannequins. With each shot, Wei WuXian brought one down. Although he was slow, he never missed once. The number of arrows in the quiver soon decreased by seventeen or eighteen. Just as he was thinking about what would happen if he shot with his other hand, suddenly, something drifted to his face.Softer than even the touch of catkin blossoms carried by the wind, the object made Wei WuXian’s cheek itch. Turning around, he saw that Lan WangJi had somehow already walked near him. With his back facing Wei WuXian and front to a paper mannequin, he was in the process of drawing his bow.The ends of his forehead ribbon danced in the breeze, gently brushing against Wei WuXian’s face.He squinted, "WangJi-xiong!"With his bow already in the shape of a full moon, Lan WangJi still responded after a short moment of hesitation, "What?"Wei WuXian, "Your forehead ribbon is crooked."This time, Lan WangJi refused to believe him again. As he released his arrow, he replied without even turning around, "Ridiculous."Wei WuXian, "It’s true this time! It really is crooked. Just watch if you don’t believe me. Let me straighten it up for you."He proceeded as he spoke, grabbing the ribbon tail that kept on fluttering in front of his eyes. Alas, however, his hands were simply too unruly. In the past, he made a habit of pulling on the Yunmeng girls’ braids. Whenever he touched a strip-like object, he’d have the urge to tug it. Thus, without a second thought, he tugged it this time as well. However, since the forehead ribbon was already slightly askew, a bit loose, now that he pulled on it, it fell from Lan WangJi’s forehead at once.The hand that Lan WangJi held the bow with immediately gave out a shiver.He only managed to turn around after quite a long while. Slowly, his eyes finally locked into Wei WuXian’s.Wei WuXian was still holding the soft ribbon in his hand, "I’m sorry. It wasn’t on purpose. Here, you can tie it up again."Lan WangJi’s expression was darker than ever.It almost seemed as if a cloud of black fog hovered over his face. As he clenched his arrow, veins climbed over the back of his hand. He appeared so angry that his body was almost shaking. Seeing that even his eyes looked bloodshot, Wei WuXian couldn’t help but squeeze the forehead ribbon, Am I sure that the thing I pulled off is a forehead ribbon and not some part of his body?Shocked that he dared to squeeze it, Lan WangJi snatched the forehead ribbon from his hands as fast as he could.Wei WuXian let go the moment he snatched it. The rest of the Lan Sect’s disciples ceased with their attacks as well, and everyone came over. Arm around his younger brother, Lan XiChen talked to the unspeaking Lan WangJi in a low voice. All of the others seemed similarly serious, as though they were facing a powerful enemy. They shook their heads as they spoke, glancing at Wei WuXian with odd, indescribable looks on their faces.Wei WuXian only heard a few vague terms, such as "accident", "calm down", "no need to worry", "a man", "the sect rules", and so on. He felt even more confused. After glowering at him one last time, Lan WangJi turned around and walked alone toward the outside of the range.Jiang Cheng came over and asked, "What did you do, this time? Didn’t I tell you not to tease him? Your day just won’t be complete unless you dig your own grave at least once, huh?"Wei WuXian shrugged, "I said that his forehead ribbon was crooked. I was tricking him the first time but the second time was real. He didn’t believe me and got mad. I didn’t pull off his forehead ribbon on purpose. Why do you think he’s so angry? He’s not even participating in the contest anymore."Jiang Cheng mocked, "Isn’t it clear? It’s because he especially hates you!"The arrows behind him were almost all gone. Seeing this, Wei WuXian got to work as well.Throughout all these years, he never really paid much attention to this incident. In the beginning, he actually did doubt that the forehead ribbon held a special meaning to the Lan Clan. After the competition, though, he forgot all about it. Now that he thought about how the other disciples of the Lan Sect looked at him…With his forehead ribbon taken off by a brat without any consent or whatsoever in front of everyone’s eyes, Lan Zhan managed to hold himself back from shooting Wei WuXian to death right then, right there—people with good manners were so scary!!! He was indeed worthy of the title HanGuang-Jun!!!And, thinking about it some more, Wei WuXian realized that he touched Lan WangJi’s forehead ribbon more than just once after the incident!!!Lan JingYi puzzled, "What is he doing, walking here and there like that? Did he eat too much?"Another boy added, "And his face is switching between red and green… Is it something that that he ate?""We did not eat anything special in particular… Is it because of the forehead ribbon’s meaning? He seems a bit too excited. It seems like he really loves HanGuang-Jun a lot. Look at how happy he is…"Wei WuXian finally managed to calm down after walking around a bush of withered flowers for about fifty times. Hearing that last sentence, he was between laughter and tears. Suddenly, he heard the noise of somebody stepping on dried leaves behind him.From the sound of the footsteps, he could tell that it wasn’t a child. Lan WangJi had probably come back. Quickly adjusting his facial expressions, Wei WuXian turned around to see a black figure standing within the shadow of a dead tree nearby.The figure was quite tall, quite straight, quite dignified.It was missing a head, though.<h3>Translator’s Notes</h3>Fae: Previously translated as yao… It just didn’t seem right to have demon, ghost, monster, and all of a sudden a pinyin.Catkin blossoms: Filling the skies with white, fluffy seeds, catkins have long been the subject of many renowned poets in China. Of course, in places like Beijing, it’s quite annoying for people with allergies.<h3>*GUYS! I know a lot of you have read the novel already and want to answer questions for those who haven’t, but PLEASE don’t post spoilers!

Chapter 46 Guile—Part One

Chapter 47 Guile—Part Two</h3><h3>Hey guys! Sorry for taking so long on this chapter. Life has been pretty busy for me and this also happens to be the longest GDC chapter you’ll ever read. Even though spring break has finally come, it’ll be rather difficult for me to translate as much as I want to, since I’ll be busy going around the States doing university visits and all that junior year havoc. The most important finals in high school are also right around the corner. So, since I’m assuming all of you want to eat up these chapters as soon as possible, here are some advice…</h3><h3>Good ways to help produce the chapters: being nice in the comments, reading the info and FAQ pages before asking any questions, waiting patiently, PM-ing me if I’m really really taking too long.</h3><h3>Bad ways to help produce the chapters: writing spoilers in the comments, asking questions that the ExR website can easily answer, spamming comments.</h3><h3>And that’s it! Even though I’ll be busy, I’ll still try my hardest to finish this (and maybe even pick up the author’s fourth novel). Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the 9500 word chapter!

Chapter 48 Guile—Part Three

Chapter 51 Courage—Part One</h3>Yunmeng was abundant in lakes. The YunmengJiang Sect’s "Lotus Pier", the residence of the greatest sect here, was built near a lake as well.Starting from the end of Lotus Pier, after just a while of paddling, one would see a large lotus lake, more than a hundred miles in length. The wide, verdant leaves and the smooth, pink blossoms brushed shoulders against one another. As a breeze blew over, the petals and the leaves swayed as if they nodded their heads. Amid the purity and grace, one could also feel a naive sense of clumsiness.Lotus Pier wasn’t as other-worldly as the other sects’ residences, shutting their doors and refusing to let commoners come within a boundary miles away. The docks right in front of Lotus Pier’s entrance often bustled with vendors selling seed pods, water chestnuts and all kinds of pastries. Runny-nosed children from households nearby could also sneak into Lotus Pier’s fields to watch the cultivators practice their swords. They wouldn’t be scolded even if they got caught, either. They could sometimes even play around with the Jiang Sect’s disciples.When Wei WuXian was young, he often shot kites at the bank of Lotus Lake.Jiang Cheng stared fixedly at his own kite, glancing at Wei WuXian’s once in a while. Wei WuXian’s kite had already flown high up in the sky, but he still had no intention of drawing his bow. With his right hand at his brows, he grinned as he looked up, as though he still felt that it wasn’t far enough.Seeing that the kite had almost drifted out of the area where he was certain he’d succeed in shooting it down, Jiang Cheng clenched his teeth. He positioned his arrow and drew the bow. The white-feathered arrow shot out. The kite painted like a one-eyed monster was pierced right through the eye and fell downward. Jiang Cheng’s brows lifted, "It hit!"Right after, he asked, "Yours has flown so far already. You sure you can hit it?"Wei WuXian, "Wanna guess?"He finally pulled out an arrow and aimed. As the bow was drawn to the utmost, he swiftly let go.A hit!Jiang Cheng’s brows scrunched up again. A humph came through his nose. All of the boys put away their bows and went to pick up their kites so that they could rank the distances. The closest kite would receive the lowest ranking. Every time, the last one was the shidi who was the sixth eldest. As usual, they’d spend some time laughing at him. His face was quite thick, though, so he didn’t care at all. Wei WuXian’s was the farthest. The closest one to him, the one ranked second, was Jiang Cheng’s kite. Both Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng felt too lazy to go fetch the kites. The boys rushed into the winding hallway built over the water’s surface. They were playing around, jumping up and down, as two young, slender women appeared before them.Both of them were dressed as armed maids, carrying with them short swords. The taller maid, holding a kite and an arrow, blocked their path. She asked coldly, "Whose are these?"All of the boys silently cursed their luck as they saw the two women. Wei WuXian touched his chin and stepped forward, "They’re mine."The other maid snorted, "You’re an honest one, aren’t you?"They parted and revealed between them a purple-clothed woman, also carrying a sword.The woman had creamy skin and was rather beautiful, though her delicate features displayed some fierceness. The corners of her lips lay between a frown and a smile—she was a natural at sneering, just like Jiang Cheng. Her flowing purple robes wrapped around her thin waist. Both her face and her right hand, which rested on the hilt of her sword, were as cold as jade stone. A ring embellished with amethyst was worn on the index finger of her right hand.Jiang Cheng smiled as he saw her, "Mom!"Meanwhile, the rest of the boys greeted her with respect, "Madam Yu."Madam Yu was Jiang Cheng’s mother, Yu ZiYuan. Of course, she was Jiang FengMian’s wife, and used to cultivate with him as well. Naturally, she should be called Madam Jiang. But, for some reason, everyone had always called her Madam Yu. Some people guessed that it was because she didn’t want to take on her husband’s surname due to her assertive personality. On this matter, neither the husband nor the wife in question had ever argued either.Madam Yu came from the prominent MeishanYu Sect. She was ranked third in her clan, so was also called Third Lady Yu. In the cultivation world, she went by the name "Violet Spider". Just bringing up the name could scare quite a few away. Ever since she was young, she’d had a cold personality and never came off as likeable when conversing with others. Even after she married Jiang FengMian, she had always been out on night-hunts, not overly fond of staying at the Jiang Sect’s Lotus Pier. On top of that, where she lived at Lotus Pier was different from where Jiang FengMian did. She had her own area, where only she and a few of the family members she’d brought from the Yu Sect lived. The two young women, JinZhu and YinZhu, were both her trusted maids. They never left her side.Madam Yu gave Jiang Cheng a sideways glance, "Fiddling about again? Come, let me see you."Jiang Cheng went to her side. Madam Yu squeezed his arm with her slender fingers, then slapped his shoulder loudly, scolding, "There’s isn’t any improvement in your cultivation at all. You’re seventeen already, yet you’re still like an ignorant child, fooling around with others all the time. Are you the same as others? Who knows which sewers other people will be splashing in, but you’re going to be the leader of the Jiang Sect!"Jiang Cheng stumbled from the slap, head lowered, not daring to protest. Wei WuXian understood—it went without saying that she was scolding him again, whether obvious or not. On the side, one of his shidi secretly stuck out his tongue toward him. Wei WuXian raised a brow at the shidi. Madam Yu, "Wei Ying, what trouble are you stirring up this time?"Wei WuXian stood forward, accustomed to it. Madam Yu scolded, "You’re like this again! If you yourself don’t seek progress, then don’t drag Jiang Cheng along to fool around with you. You’re going to be a bad influence to him."Wei WuXian looked startled, "I don’t seek progress? Why, am I not the one with the most progress in the entire Lotus Pier?"Young people were never too patient. They wouldn’t feel satisfied unless they talked back. Hearing this, an air of hostility appeared over Madam Yu’s forehead. Jiang Cheng hastened, "Wei WuXian, shut up!"He turned to Madam Yu, "It’s not that we want to shoot kites in Lotus Pier but, right now, isn’t it that none of us are allowed to leave? The Wen Sect assigned all of the night-hunt areas to itself. Even if I wanted to night-hunt, there isn’t anywhere for me to go. To stay at home and not go outside to provoke or fight for prey with the Wen Sect—isn’t this what you yourself made clear to Father?"Madam Yu smirked bitterly, "I’m afraid that this time, even if you don’t want to leave, you’ll have to anyway."Jiang Cheng didn’t understand. Madam Yu didn’t pay them any more attention and walked through the hallway, holding her chin high. The two maids behind her shot Wei WuXian fierce glares, and followed their mistress away.When evening came, they finally understood what had been meant by ‘even if you don’t want to leave, you’ll have to anyway.’It turned out that the QishanWen Sect had ordered for envoys to pass out messages. For the reason that other sects taught badly and wasted talent, the Wen Sect demanded all of the sects to each dispatch at least twenty disciples to Qishan within three days, so that they could let experts teach them.Jiang Cheng was shocked, "The Wen Sect’s people really said this? They know no shame, do they?"Wei WuXian, "Well, they think they’re the sun shining above all sects. It’s not the first time that the Wen Sect is so shameless. Taking advantage of their large sect and strong influence, it had been prohibiting the other sects from night-hunting ever since last year. Just how much prey, how much land has it stolen?"Jiang FengMian was sitting at the foremost seat, "Watch your words and eat."There were only five people within the large hall. In front of everyone was a small, square table, on top of which were a few dishes of food. Head lowered, Wei WuXian only had a few mouthfuls as somebody tugged at the corner of his sleeve. Turning around, he saw Jiang YanLi pass over a small dish. Inside the dish was a dozen peeled lotus seeds, soft and white, fresh and succulent.Wei WuXian’s voice was soft, "Shijie, thank you."Jiang YanLi smiled. Those somewhat mild features immediately lit up with color. Yu ZiYuan spoke coldly, "Eat? A few days after this, when they’re at This demand of the QishanWen Sect was one that they couldn’t turn down. Countless precedents could prove that if any sect dared defy their orders, it would be accused of strange things such as being ‘rebellious’ or ‘destructive.’ And, with these as reasons, they would wipe it out fair and square.Jiang FengMian replied in a lukewarm voice, "Why fret over it? No matter what comes in the future, today’s meal should still be eaten."Madam Yu was out of patience. She slammed the table, "I’m fretting? Of course I’m fretting! How can you still be so indifferent? Did you not hear what the person from the Wen Sect said? A mere maidservant dares to hold up her head before me! The twenty disciples that are sent must include a disciple from the clan. What does that mean? It means that between A-Cheng and A-Li, one of them must be included! Sent there to do what? To be taught? How each sect teaches their own disciples—since when is it the Wen Sect’s turn to meddle?! This is sending people for them to play with, for them to hold against us!"Jiang Cheng, "Mom, don’t be so angry. I’ll just go."Madam Yu scolded, "Of course you’ll go! Or else would your sister go? Look at her, still happily peeling lotus seeds. A-Li, stop peeling them. Who are you peeling them for? You’re the mistress, not somebody’s servant!"Hearing the word ‘servant’, Wei WuXian didn’t mind much. He had finished all of the lotus seeds in the dish all at once, chewing as the soft, refreshing sweetness filled his mouth. Jiang FengMian, on the other hand, raised his head slightly, "My lady."Madam Yu, "What, something I said? Servant? You don’t want to hear the word? Jiang FengMian, let me ask you—this time, do you intend to let him go?"Jiang FengMian, "It’s up to himself. He can go if he wants to."Wei WuXian raised his hand, "I want to go."Madam Yu laughed harshly, "How wonderful. He can go if he wants to. If he doesn’t want to, it’s definitely possible for him to stay. Why is it that A-Cheng has to go no matter what? Raising someone else’s child with such passion, Sect Leader Jiang, you really are a very nice person!"There was resentment within her heart. She simply wanted to let out the rage, even if it made no sense. All the rest were quiet as they endured her temper. Jiang FengMian, "My lady, you’re tired. Why don’t you go back and rest?"Jiang Cheng sat still as he looked up at her, "Mom."Madam Yu stood up and mocked, "What do you want me to do? Like your father, you want me to hold my tongue? You really are an idiot. I’ve told you long ago that you’ll never in your whole life be able to surpass the one sitting beside you. Not over cultivation, not over night-hunting, even over shooting kites, you can’t surpass him! It can’t be helped. Who could change the fact that your mom is worse than another’s? Worse it is, then. Your mom feels injustice for you, tells you countless times not to fool around with him, yet you’re still defending him. Just how did I give birth to a son like you?!"She walked out, alone, leaving Jiang Cheng sitting there, his complexion switching between purple and pale. Jiang YanLi quietly put a dish of already-peeled lotus seeds on his table.Having sat for a while, Jiang FengMian spoke up, "Tonight, I’ll count eighteen more people. You’ll depart together next day."Jiang Cheng nodded, hesitant on whether or not he should say anything else. He never knew how to converse with his father, while Wei WuXian was proficient. Finishing his soup, he replied, "Uncle Jiang, don’t you have anything to give us?"Jiang FengMian smiled, "I’ve given them long ago. Your swords are by your side, and the adage is in your hearts."Wei WuXian, "Oh! To ‘attempt the impossible’, right?"Jiang Cheng immediately warned, "This doesn’t mean that you should stir up trouble even though you know that you’ll make a mess!"The air among them finally lifted.The next day, before departure, Jiang FengMian only spoke one sentence after he informed them of the necessities, "The disciples of the YumengJiang Sect aren’t as weak as to crack under just one of the outside world’s waves."Jiang YanLi saw them off, staying with them road after road. She filled everyone’s arms with all sorts of snacks, afraid that they’d starve at the QishanWen Sect. Clothes brimming with food, the twenty boys set off from Lotus Pier. Within the time that the Wen Sect had set, they arrived at the appointed sector of indoctrination located at Qishan.A number of disciples came from each sect, whether large or small. All of them were juniors. Among the hundreds of people, quite a few of the boys knew one another. In groups of threes or sevens, everyone conversed quietly, none of their faces agreeable. It seemed that they were all gathered here using not the most pleasant of means. Glancing around, Wei WuXian remarked, "As expected, people came from Gusu as well."He didn’t know why, but all of the boys sent from the GusuLan Sect looked somewhat pallid. Lan WangJi’s face was especially pale, but his expression was still as frosted as usual, distancing him from everyone else. The sword Bichen on his back, he stood alone, with nobody around him. Wei WuXian had wanted to go up to him and say hello, but Jiang Cheng warned him, "Don’t cause any trouble!"And so he could only forget about it.Suddenly, a person shouted commands from in front of them, ordering all of the disciples to gather into formation before a tall platform. A few of the Wen Sect’s disciples came and chided, "Silence, all of you! Don’t talk!"The person on the platform wasn’t too much older than them, appearing about eighteen or nineteen. Chest puffed out, he had features that only barely crossed paths with the word "handsome". But, like his hair, they felt a bit greasy, for some reason. This was the youngest child of the QishanWen Sect, Wen Chao.Wen Chao really enjoyed showing his face. He had flaunted himself before the other sects in quite a number of events, which was why people weren’t strangers to how he looked. Behind him stood two people, one on the left and the other on the right. On the left was a glamorous girl, her stature slim. With long brows, large eyes, and lips of fiery red, the only blemish was the black mole above her upper lip. It sat on an awkward spot, as though it was always inviting others to dig it out. On the right was a tall, broad-shouldered man, appearing to be in his twenties. His face showed only indifference, surrounded by an air of coldness.Standing on the taller half of the hill, Wen Chao looked down at everyone. Looking quite pleased with himself, he waved his hand, "From now on, one by one, hand over your swords!"A commotion began among the crowd. Someone protested, "Swords should always accompany those who cultivate. Why do you want us to hand over our swords?"Wen Chao, "Who was the one that spoke? From which sect? Stand forward on your own!"The person who spoke was immediately too afraid to speak. The crowd below the platform finally quieted, and Wen Chao was finally satisfied, "It’s exactly because there are still disciples like you, who know nothing of conduct, of compliance, of humility, that I’m here to indoctrinate you so that your cores don’t rot away. You’re already so ignorantly audacious. If your customs aren’t straightened up now, in the future, there’d naturally be those who attempt to challenge the authority and climb above the Wen Sect’s head!"Although everyone knew that he asked for their swords with ill intentions in mind, with the QishanWen Sect like the sun at high noon, all of the sects were treading on thin ice, daring not to defy it in the slightest way. Everyone was afraid that if they caused him any displeasure, they’d be given some accusation along with their sect, and so they could only submit to him.Jiang Cheng held Wei WuXian firmly. Wei WuXian asked with a lowered voice, "What are you holding me down for?"Jiang Cheng snorted, "Don’t do unnecessary things."Wei WuXian, "You’re thinking too much. Even if this one is so greasy that it’s gross, no matter how much I want to beat him up, I won’t pick such a time and cause our sect trouble. Don’t worry."Jiang Cheng, "You want to stuff him into a bag and beat him up again? I’m afraid that wouldn’t work. You see that guy beside Wen Chao?"Wei WuXian, "Yes. His cultivation is high, but his youth isn’t maintained well enough. Looks like he was a late bloomer."Jiang Cheng, "His name is Wen ZhuLiu, also known as the ‘Core-melting Hand’. He’s servant kept by Wen Chao’s side, specially to protect him. Don’t provoke him."Wei WuXian, "The ‘Core-melting Hand’?"Jiang Cheng, "That’s right. His pair of palms is quite scary. And he’s an aid to the tyrant. Before, he helped Wen…"The two looked straight ahead as they whispered. Seeing one of the Wen Sect’s servants approach to take away their swords, they were silent at once. With confidence, Wei WuXian unstrapped his sword and handed it over. At the same time, he couldn’t help but glance across at the GusuLan Sect’s side. He originally thought that Lan WangJi would definitely refuse to hand it over. Unexpectedly, even though Lan WangJi’s face was frighteningly cold, he unstrapped his sword anyway.The mockery of Madam Yu had become a prophecy. Receiving the "indoctrination" in Qishan, the meals everyday really were bland. All of the snacks that Jiang YanLi had hung around their bodies were taken away long ago. On top of that, among the young disciples, none had practiced inedia yet. One couldn’t say that it wasn’t difficult.The so-called "indoctrination" of the QishanWen Sect included only handing out copies of "Quintessence of the Wen Sect", booklets full of the stories and quotes of the Wen Sect’s past leaders and best cultivators. Everyone had one. They were demanded to memorize them well and keep them in mind at all times. Wen Chao, on the other hand, stood above them every single day. He’d give a speech to everyone and request that they cheer for him, make him the role model to every word, every action. During night-hunts, he would bring the disciples with him and make them run at the very front. They’d scout the path, distract the demons and beasts, and battle with all their effort, while he’d appear at the last moment and easily knock down the prey that had already been beaten to a pulp by others. After he cut off its head, he’d go around boasting that it came from the victory he had achieved alone. If there were anyone whom he found especially displeasing, he’d pull them out and scold them in front of everyone, as though said person was lower than even swine.Last year, attending the Discussion Conference of the QishanWen Sect, Wen Chao also entered the grounds along with Wei WuXian and the others, on the day of the archery competition. He was completely sure that he’d win the first place, thinking that it was only natural for other people to yield to him. As consequence, of the first three shots, the first was a hit, the second missed, and the third shot down the wrong paper mannequin. He should’ve exited the grounds immediately, but he refused to, and the others were hesitant of calling him out. In the end, after the calculations, the four with the best results were Wei WuXian, Lan XiChen, Jin ZiXuan, and Lan WangJi. If it weren’t for having to leave early, Lan WangJi could’ve done even better. Wen Chao felt greatly humiliated, and so he resented these four the most. Lan XiChen couldn’t come this time, so he was fixated on the other three, scolding them everyday, exhibiting his power.The one who suffered the most was Jin ZiXuan. He grew up having been cupped within the palms of his parents. He had never undergone such humiliation before. If not for how the other disciples of the LanlingJin Sect stopped him and the fact that Wen ZhuLiu wasn’t easy to deal with, he would have willingly killed himself along with Wen Chao on the first day. On the other hand, Lan WangJi seemed to be in a state of inner peace and absolute indifference, as though his soul had already risen out of his body. And, Wei WuXian had been through years of Madam Yu’s diverse methods of scolding when he was at Lotus Pier. He began to laugh whenever he stepped off the platform, hardly blinking an eye to such moments.Today, as usual, the group was hustled awake by the Wen Sect’s disciples again. Like a group of livestock, they were driven toward the next destination of their night-hunts.The place that they were going this time was called Dusk-Creek Mountain.The deeper they went into the forest, the thicker the branches over their heads became, and the larger the shadows below them grew. Aside from the sounds of leaves and footsteps, they couldn’t hear anything else. The calls of birds, beasts and beetles were unusually perceivable amid the silence.After a while, the group met with a creek. Scattered throughout the gurgling water were maple leaves that floated along. The harmony of the sound and the sight imperceptibly diluted the atmosphere of desolation. Bouts of giggling laughter could even be heard from in front of them.Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng walked while muttering insults at the Wen-dogs in every way possible. Inadvertently, he turned around, glanced, and saw a figured clothed in white. Lan WangJi was not far away from him.Due to his slow pace, Lan WangJi was toward the back of the line. Within these past few days, there were many times when Wei WuXian wanted to approach him and catch up on what had been happening. However, Lan WangJi turned away whenever he saw him and Jiang Cheng had also beat it into him not to mess around. Now that they were closer, he couldn’t help but pay more attention. Wei WuXian suddenly realized that, although Lan WangJi tried to walk as normally as possible, one could still see that his right leg contacted the ground lighter than his left, as though he couldn’t put any pressure on it.Seeing this, Wei WuXian slowed down so that he was beside Lan WangJi. Walking shoulder to shoulder with him, he asked, "What happened to your leg?"<h3>Translator’s Notes

Chapter 52 Courage—Part Two</h3>Lan WangJi stared straight at the front, "Nothing."Wei WuXian, "We’re already familiar with each other, aren’t we? How cold—you don’t even bother giving me a single look. Your leg really is fine?"Lan WangJi, "We are not familiar."Wei WuXian turned around and walked facing the back, determined on making Lan WangJi look at his face, "Don’t force yourself if it’s not fine. Is your leg hurt or broken? When did it happen?"Just as he was about to say, ‘do you want me to carry you’, a fragrant breeze suddenly wafted around his nose. Wei WuXian turned around and looked to the side. His eyes immediately lit up.Seeing that he had stopped talking abruptly, Lan WangJi followed his gaze. He saw about half a dozen girls walking together. The one in the center wore a layer of chiffon over her coat of pale scarlet. As wind blew across, the chiffon swayed. Her figure looked exceptionally good from the back.This figure was what Wei WuXian had been looking at.One of the girls laughed, "MianMian, your perfume sachet truly is something special. After I wore it, bugs really did stop coming over. The scent is nice too. I seem to feel much more awake after I smell it."The voice of the girl called MianMian was indeed soft and sweet, "Inside of the sachet is filled with minced medicinal plants. It can be useful in quite a lot of ways. I’ve still got a few here. Do any of you want one?"Wei WuXian swept over like a foreboding gust of wind, "MianMian, save me one too."The girl was surprised. She didn’t expect to hear a stranger’s voice barge in so suddenly. Turning around, she revealed a fair face, which frowned slightly as she asked, "Who are you? Why do you call me MianMian as well?"Wei WuXian grinned, "I heard all of them call you MianMian, so I thought that it’s your name. What, it’s not?"Lan WangJi watched them coldly. Seeing that he was at it again, Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes with emphasis.MianMian’s cheeks flushed, "You can’t call me that!"Wei WuXian, "Why not? How about this: if you tell me your name, I won’t call you MianMian anymore. What do you think?"MianMian, "Why do I have to tell you just because you asked? Before you ask for somebody else’s name, you should tell them your name first, shouldn’t you?"Wei WuXian, "Sure, if you want my name. Remember, my name is ‘YuanDao’."MianMian silently pronounced the name ‘YuanDao’ a few times. She couldn’t remember if the young master of any sect had such a name. But, judging from the boy’s air and appearance, she didn’t think he was the average disciple. Looking at the teasing smile at the corners of Wei WuXian’s lips, she didn’t know what was going on.Suddenly, Lan WangJi’s low voice came from beside them, "A play on words."She realized at once that it had been taken from the poetry line ‘its ceaseless bounds yearn for miles and miles on’ and he was making fun of her. She stomped her feet in spite, "Who’s yearning for you? You have no face!"The girls collapsed into a laughing mess, chirping, "Wei WuXian, you really have no face!""I’ve never seen someone as annoying as you!""Let me tell you, she’s called…"MianMian dragged them away and turned to leave, "Let’s go, let’s go! You can’t tell it to him."Wei WuXian shouted from behind, "You can go, but give me a sachet, won’t you?! You’re ignoring me? You don’t want to? If you don’t, I’ll find other people and ask for your name. There must be someone out there who’s willing to tell me…"Before he finished, a perfume sachet flew over from in front of him. It landed right in the middle of his chest. With an ‘ouch’, Wei WuXian pretended as though his heart hurt, spinning the sachet around his hand with its ribbons around his finger. Even as he walked back to Lan WangJi, he was still spinning the sachet around, grinning. Watching Lan WangJi’s expression grow colder, he asked, "What? You’re looking at me like that again. Right, where were we again? Let’s continue. How about I carry you on my back?"Lan WangJi looked at him quietly, "Do you behave in such a frivolous way towards everyone?"Wei WuXian thought for a second, "I think so?"Lan WangJi looked at the ground. He only replied a moment later, "How impudent!"He spoke the two words through clenched teeth, along with some strange hatred. He didn’t even deem it worthy to give Wei WuXian another glare. Lan WangJi strained to speed up and walk faster. Seeing that he was forcing himself again, Wei WuXian hurried, "Fine. You don’t have to walk this fast. I’ll just go."Combining three strides into two, he quickly caught up to Jiang Cheng.Yet, Jiang Cheng didn’t give him any good looks either. He spoke menacingly, "You’re so ridiculous!"Wei WuXian, "It’s not like you’re Lan Zhan or anything, so why do you say ridiculous like he does? His face today is worse than how it used to be. What’s wrong with his leg?"Jiang Cheng spoke in a sour voice, "You still have the time to pay attention to him? Why don’t you pay attention to yourself!? I don’t know what tricks that idiot Wen Chao is planning this time, making us search for some cave entrance here in Dusk-Creek Mountain. Hopefully it’s not like last time when he made us circle up and be shields of flesh."One of the disciples beside them whispered, "Of course his face isn’t so great. Last month, the Cloud Recesses was burnt down. You didn’t know yet, did you?"Hearing this, Wei WuXian jolted, "Burnt down?!"In the past few days, Jiang Cheng had heard too many of these stories, so he wasn’t as surprised as Wei WuXian was, "By the Wen Sect’s people?"The disciple, "You can say that. You can also say… that the Lan Sect itself burnt everything down. The eldest son of the Wen Sect, Wen Xu, went to Gusu. He accused the Lan Sect’s leader of something and forced the Lan Sect’s people to burn down their own residence! It was given pretty names like cleaning up the place so that it’s reborn from the firelight. Most of the Cloud Recesses and its surrounding forest has been burnt down. Just like that, the hundreds of years old paradise had been destroyed. The leader of the Lan Sect was heavily injured. We don’t even know if he’s still alive. Well, well…"Wei WuXian, "Is Lan Zhan’s leg related to this?"The disciple, "Of course. The first place that Wen Xu ordered them to burn down was the Library Pavilion. He declared that he’ll teach anyone who wasn’t willing to do it a lesson. Lan WangJi refused. He was attacked by Wen Xu’s people and they broke one of his legs. It hadn’t even been healed yet, and he was dragged out here again. Who knows what they’re trying to do?!"Wei WuXian thought carefully. Within these days, aside from being scolded by Wen Chao, Lan WangJi really didn’t walk around much. He had always been either standing or sitting, saying nothing at all. He was someone who valued proper conduct beyond anything, so naturally he didn’t let anyone see that his leg had been injured.Seeing that he seemed like he wanted to go over to Lan WangJi again, Jiang Cheng pulled Wei WuXian away, "What’s wrong with you, now?! You still dare provoke him? You really are digging your own grave!"Wei WuXian, "I’m not going to provoke him. Look at his leg. He’s been on the go for so many days—the state of his injury must’ve worsened. It became noticeable probably only because he really couldn’t hide it any longer. If he walks on like this, it’s likely that he won’t ever be able to use his leg again. I’m gonna carry him."Jiang Cheng pulled him even closer, "It’s not as if you’re familiar with him! Don’t you see how much he hates you? You’re going to carry him? He probably doesn’t even want you a step closer to him."Wei WuXian, "It’s alright if he hates me—I don’t hate him. I’ll get him onto my back the second I get hold of him. Could he possibly choke me to death while on my back?"Jiang Cheng warned, "We aren’t even able to care for ourselves; how do we have the time to care about the trivialities of others?"Wei WuXian, "First, this isn’t a triviality. Second, things like this, somebody will have to care about them, sooner or later!"As the two argued with lowered voices, one of the Wen Sect’s servants came over and scolded, "Don’t talk amongst yourselves. Watch what you do!"After the servant came and went, a dainty girl approached them. Her name was Wang LingJiao. She was one of the servants that Wen Chao kept by his side. Exactly how she served him, though, everyone knew without the need of explaining. She used to be a maid of Wen Chao’s principal wife. Since she had quite the look, she got into his bed after exchanging a few looks with her mistress. As one’s position elevates, those around them receive blessings as well. In the world of cultivation, a certain ‘YingchuanWang Sect’ had also appeared.Since her spiritual power was weak, she couldn’t use upper-level swords, which was why she held a long branding iron in her hand. All of the Wen Sect’s servants had one of these branding irons. Without the need to be heated, it gave a painful brand to whomever it touched.Holding it in her hand, Wang LingJiao scolded pompously, "Young Master Wen told you to search for the entrance, so what are you doing, whispering to each other?"At such a time, even a mere Suddenly, somebody shouted from the side, "Found it!"Wang LingJiao didn’t have the time to pay them any more attention. Having rushed over, she took a look at it, then beamed, "Young Master Wen! They found it! The entrance!"It was a hole in the ground, hidden quite well beneath an old banyan tree with a trunk as large as the hug of three men. The first reason as to why they couldn’t find it was that entrance was rather small, not even five feet in width, and the second that the thick, tangled roots and vines weaved a firm web, blocking the entrance. Above it, there was also a layer of leaves and branches, mud and stone, and thus it was almost unnoticeable.Pushing aside the rotten leaves and mud, cutting away the roots, and the dark, eerie hole had been revealed.The entrance led to deep underground. The cold air plunged into everyone’s face, sending chills down their back. Nothing was heard of the pebble that had been tossed inside. It was as though it had sunk into the sea.Wen Chao was ecstatic, "This must be it! Quick, everyone, get down there!"Jin ZiXuan couldn’t hold it any longer. He spoke coldly, "You brought us here, saying that we’ll be hunting a beast. Then, if I may ask, what sort of a beast is it? Informing us beforehand would allow us to cooperate with more efficiency so that we wouldn’t be as confused as last time."Wen Chao, "Inform you?"He stood up, first pointing at Jin ZiXuan and then at himself, "Just how many times do I have to make myself clear for you to remember? Don’t get it wrong. You are only the cultivators who serve me. I’m the one who gives the orders. I don’t need others to tell me their suggestions. I am the only one who directs the battle and commands the troops. I am also the only one who can conquer the beast!"He spoke the words ‘only one’ with great emphasis. The lofty voice and arrogant tone evoked both laughter and hatred within the ones who listened. Wang LingJiao scolded, "Didn’t you hear what Young Master Wen said? Get down there, quick!"Jin ZiXuan was standing at the very front. Holding back his anger, he lifted the hem of his robe, grabbed one of the thickest vines, and jumped without any hesitation into the endless hole.This time, Wei WuXian could relate to his feelings on a profound level. No matter what creatures haunted this cave, facing them would be much more comfortable than facing Wen Chao and the others. If he let this hell of a pair damage his eyes any longer, he was afraid that he really might choose to perish alongside them!The people following Jin ZiXuan entered the hole one by one.Since the group of forcibly gathered disciples had their swords taken away, they could only crawl down slowly. The vines grew along the wall of the hole. The were quite sturdy, thick as the wrists of young children. Clinging to it, Wei WuXian silently calculated how deep they were going as he lowered himself at a leisurely pace.His feet finally touched the ground after sliding down for almost thirty feet.Wen Chao shouted a few things from above ground. Having ensured that it was safe underground, he flew easily down, sword under his feet, Wang LingJiao in his arms. A while after, the disciples and servants also landed one by one.Jiang Cheng whispered, "Hopefully the prey he wants to hunt this time won’t be anything too difficult. I don’t know if there are any other exits here. If the ghoul or beast flips out inside of here, such a long vine might break in half and it’d be hard for us to even run away."The rest of the group was thinking the same thing. They couldn’t help but look up at the small, white spot that was the entrance. Everyone was worried.Wen Chao leaped off his sword, "What are you doing just standing there? Do you need me to teach you what to do? Go!"The group of the boys were chased into the depths of the cave.Since they needed to scout the path at the front, Wen Chao ordered his servants to provide them with a few torches. The ceiling of the cave was both high and broad, unreachable by the light of the torches. Wei WuXian paid attention to the echoes. He felt that the deeper they went, the more spacious the echoes sounded. It was likely that they were already more than a hundred feet below ground.The people at the front maintained high alert. They didn’t know how long had passed when they had finally arrived before a deep pool of water.Even if the pool was above ground, it’d be considered a vast lake. The water was eerily black. Stone islets of all sizes were also protruding from the surface.And there was no other path before them.But, even though the path was at an end, they still hadn’t found the prey of their night-hunt. They didn’t even know what exactly it was. Everyone’s heart was filled with uncertainty, still stiffly maintaining their vigilance.As he hadn’t seen the beast that he was expecting, Wen Chao also felt irritated. After cursing a few words, he suddenly had an ‘idea’, "Find somebody, hang them up, and let out some blood to lure the thing out."Beasts usually craved blood more than anything. It’d definitely be lured out by the scent of the blood and the immobile human being hanging mid-air!Wang LingJie answered and immediately pointed to a girl. She ordered, "How about her?"The girl was the one who gave out perfume sachets on their way here, ‘MianMian’. Suddenly having been chosen, her mind went completely blank. Although this choice of Wang LingJiao’s appeared random, she’d actually been planning it for a long time. Most of the people that the sects sent here were boys. Thus, toward the few girls, Wen Chao couldn’t help but pay more attention, especially MianMian. She looked fair and had been harrassed a few times by Wen Chao, though could only suffer in silence. Yet, Wang LingJiao had seen and loathed everything.MianMian realized that she really was the one who had been chosen. With a face brimming with fear, she staggered a few steps back. Seeing that this girl was the one Wang LingJiao chose, Wen Chao remembered that he never had the chance to have her yet and felt that it’d be a pity, "This one? How about someone else?"Wang LingJiao looked as though she’d been wronged, "Why someone else? I choose this one. Don’t tell me that you’ll miss her?"She let loose her coquetry, and Wen Chao was over the moon with delight, half of his heart having already melted. Then, turning to look at the way MianMian dressed, he was certain that she wasn’t part of the sect’s clan. She was at most a disciple, so she’d surely be the perfect bait, as even if she was gone the sect wouldn’t come pester him, "Nonsense. Why would you think that I’ll miss her? Do whatever you want. Everything is up to JiaoJiao!"MianMian knew that if she was hung up, she probably wouldn’t be able to come back down alive. She tried to run away, but wherever she fled, the people dispersed around her. Just as Wei WuXian twitched, Jiang Cheng held him firmly down. MianMian suddenly noticed that two people remained still. She hid behind their backs at once, shivering.The two were Jin ZiXuan and Lan WangJi.As the Wen Sect’s servants that were about to tie MianMian up saw that the two didn’t intend on moving, they shouted, "Move to the side!"Lan WangJi was silent with indifference.Seeing that the situation wasn’t good, Wen Chao warned, "Why are you standing there? You can’t understand human speech? Or do you want to save the damsel in distress?"Jin ZiXuan lifted his brows, "Is that enough? It wasn’t enough for people to be flesh shields for you, and now you want live humans to bleed for you to use as bait?!"Wei WuXian found this somewhat surprising, So Jin ZiXuan really does have some nerve.Wen Chao pointed at them, "Are you rebelling against me? Let me warn you, I’ve been tolerating you for a very long time. Right now, hang the brat up with your own hands! Or else none of the people from your sects can expect to return!"Jin ZiXuan sneered and refused to budge. Lan WangJi also looked as though he had heard nothing, so motionless that he seemed to be meditating.However, one of the GusuLan Sect’s disciples on the side had been trembling as he listened to Wen Chao’s threatening words. He finally couldn’t hold it any longer as he rushed over, grabbing MianMian, and prepared to tie her up. Lan WangJi’s brows stiffened. He immediately struck the disciple to the side.Although he didn’t say anything, the way he looked at the disciple was more than imposing. What such a look meant was clear to everyone—it truly is a shame that the GusuLan Sect has taught a disciple like you!The disciple’s shoulders quivered as he backed off slowly, unable to face the others’ eyes. Wei WuXian whispered to Jiang Cheng, "Uh-oh. Judging from Lan Zhan’s personality, this won’t go well."Jiang Cheng clenched his fists as well.In such a situation, it was almost impossible to care for oneself only and hope that no blood would be lost!Wen Chao was enraged, shouting, "How dare you! Kill them!"A few of the Wen Sect’s disciples unsheathed their swords, rushing toward Lan WangJi and Jin ZiXuan. The ‘Core-melting Hand’, Wen ZhuLiu, stood behind Wen Chao with his hands folded behind him. He never attacked, as though he thought that he didn’t need to do so. He was right, seeing that the two boys were at a loss in terms of both weaponry and sheer numbers. Even more, after the past days of being constantly on the move, they were in quite a bad state, not to mention that Lan WangJi had been injured. They definitely wouldn’t be able to last long. Watching his subordinates fight with the two, Wen Chao looked as if his mood was much better. He spat, "Talking back to me—what did you think you are? People like you really do deserve to be killed."A grinning voice came from the side, "That’s right. All those who oppress others and do evil relying on the power of their clan should be killed. Not only that, they should be beheaded for tens of thousands to revile so that those to come would beware."Hearing this, Wen Chao spun around, "What did you say?"Wei WuXian pretended to be surprised, "Do you need me to repeat it? Sure. All those who oppress others and do evil relying on the power of their clan should be killed. Not only that, they should be beheaded for tens of thousands to revile so that those to come would beware. You heard it this time?"Hearing this, Wen ZhuLiu seemed to ponder as he glanced at Wei WuXian. Wen Chao erupted, "How dare you say such absurd, outrageous, and pretentious words!"Wei WuXian first lifted the corners of his mouth with a ‘pfft’, then immediately burst into unbridled laughter.Under everyone’s shocked eyes, he laughed so hard that he was out of breath, clutching Jiang Cheng’s shoulder as he spoke, "Absurd? Outrageous? I’d say you’re the one who’s all of those! Wen Chao, do you know who was the one that said those words? I’m sure you don’t, do you? Let me tell you. This was said by the most, most, most famous cultivator of your sect, the one who founded the entire thing, Wen Mao. You dared say that one of your ancestor’s remarks are absurd and outrageous? Well said, very well said! Ahahahahaha…"Within the Quintessence of the Wen Sect that had been given out, even the most ordinary of smalltalk comments could be analyzed over and over, their deep meanings boasted with exceptional extravagance. Let alone memorizing it well, Wei WuXian felt disgusted after just flipping through its pages. However, he found this quote of Wen Mao’s quite ironic, which was why he could recall it with ease.Wen Chao’s complexion switched between red and white. Wei WuXian added, "Right, what was the accusation given to those who insult famous cultivators of the Wen Sect again? How should they be punished? I remember that it was execution, right? Yes, very well, you can go die now."Wen Chao couldn’t hold himself back any longer, unsheathing his sword and lunging at Wei WuXian. With that, he lunged out of Wen ZhuLiu’s range of protection.Wen ZhuLiu had always been used to defending against the attacks of others. He had never expected Wen Chao to leave by his own will. Facing the sudden difficulty, he somehow couldn’t react in time. On the other hand, as Wei WuXian provoked Wen Chao, he was precisely waiting for the moment of uncontrollable rage. The smile by his lips didn’t falter at all as he attacked with the speed of lightning. In a split second, he had snatched the sword and reversed the situation, subduing Wen Chao with just one move!One hand gripping Wen Chao, he leaped a few times and landed on one of the islets above the pool, keeping his distance from Wen ZhuLiu. With his other hand he pressed the sword onto Wen Chao’s neck, warning, "Nobody move. If you’re not careful, I might just decide to let some blood out of your Young Master Wen!"Wen Chao screeched, "Stop moving! Stop moving!"The disciples surrounding Lan WangJi and Jin ZiXuan finally ceased their attacks. Wei WuXian shouted, "Core-melting Hand, you’re not moving either! You know how the temper of the Wen Sect’s leader is. Your master is in my hand. If he loses just one drop of blood, then not one of the people here should hope to live on, including you!"Wen ZhuLiu put his arms down as Wei WuXian had expected. Seeing that the situation was under control, Wei WuXian was about to speak when he suddenly felt that the entire ground below him had trembled.He was on guard at once, "Jiang Cheng! Is it an earthquake?"They were currently inside of an underground cave. If an earthquake or a landslide happened, it’d be extremely terrifying whether their entrance was blocked or they were buried alive. Yet, Jiang Cheng replied, "No!"But Wei WuXian felt that the shaking of the ground had intensified. The blade almost touched Wen Chao’s throat quite a couple of times, making him scream. Jiang Cheng immediately shouted, "It’s not an earthquake—what’s moving is the thing under your feet!!!"Wei WuXian had noticed as well. It wasn’t that the ground was trembling, but that the islet that he landed on. Not only was it trembling, it was also rising and rising. The area above the surface of the water grew larger and larger.He had finally realized. This wasn’t an islet, but a large creature that had been hidden within the depths of the pool—right now, he was standing on the shell behind the back the beast!<h3>Translator’s Notes

Chapter 53 Courage—Part Three</h3>The ‘islet’ moved quickly toward the shore.The approach of the foreign beast brought upon them formless tension. Aside from a few—Lan WangJi, Jin ZiXuan, Jiang Cheng, and Wen ZhuLiu—everyone else kept on staggering backward. Just as everyone thought that the underwater creature would flip out any moment, it halted.The dormant beast had been awakened because Wei WuXian jumped onto its back. Now, Wei WuXian didn’t dare move rashly. He remained where he was and waited.Above the dark water that surrounded the ‘islet’ were a few maple leaves of an unusually bright shade of red, slowly floating by.Below the leaves, within the depths of the pool, was something that looked like a pair of glowing bronze mirrors.The bronze mirrors grew larger and larger, nearer and nearer. Wei WuXian exclaimed under his breath. Dragging Wen Chao, he stepped back just as the surface below his foot shook and suddenly began to rise. The ‘islet’ rose into the air. The large, coal-black head of a beast, atop it the couple of maple leaves, soared out of the water!Under the screams varying in pitch, the beast slowly turned its head around, staring with its massive eyes the two humans on its back.The round head of the beast appeared rather strange, similar to both a turtle’s and a snake’s. Simply looking at its head, it’d be more like a gigantic snake, but looking at its body, which had largely risen out of the water already, it seemed more like a…Wei WuXian, "… What a large… tortoise…"This wasn’t the average tortoise.If the tortoise were to crash onto the Lotus Pier’s training ground, its shell alone could fill up the entire martial arts field. Even three burly men wouldn’t be able to put their arms around its dark crown. Much less, the average tortoise couldn’t extend out of its shell a snake’s long, winding head, within it a full mouth of yellow, criss-crossed fangs, let alone grow four sharp claws that seemed quite agile.Wei WuXian met the pair of large, golden eyes. Its pupil was just a slit, its thickness shifting, as though its eyes were switching in and out of focus, not completely able to tell what exactly was on its back.It seemed like that the beast had the eyesight of a snake as well—not too good. As long as they didn’t move, maybe it wouldn’t be able to notice.Suddenly, two streams of water vapor shot out of its hole-like nostrils.The maple leaves that had been floating in the water just happened to be near its nose. It spurted out the air likely because they were itching it. Wei WuXian was still motionless, standing as if he was a statue. However, the slight movement scared the life out of Wen Chao.Wen Chao knew that the beast craved slaughter more than anything. Seeing that it suddenly shot vapor from its nose, he thought that it was about to go into a rage. Disregarding the sword by his neck, he screamed toward Wen ZhuLiu, who was at the shore, "Why aren’t you helping me yet?! Help me now! What are you waiting for?!"Jiang Cheng cursed through clenched teeth, "That idiot!"Among the two strange things before its eyes, one suddenly started twitching like a worm and let out ear-piercing sounds. The beast was provoked at once. Its snake-like head pulled back quickly before immediately springing up. Its yellow and black fangs parted wide as it lunged for its back!Wei WuXian flicked his arm. Wen Chao’s sword flew with the speed of an arrow toward where the heart of the beast should be.However, as it was covered in black scales, the head of the beast was as hard as armor. As though it had hit a piece of iron, the blade of the sword sent off a trail of sparks with a clang before it plummeted into the water. The beast seemed to hesitate. Its large eyeballs turned down to look at the slender object that glowed even when it was underwater. Grabbing the opportunity, Wei WuXian pushed down with his legs and lept into the air along with Wen Chao, onto one of the other islets, thinking to himself, Please don’t tell me that this one is a huge tortoise as well!Suddenly, he heard Jiang Cheng call out, "Watch your back! The Core-melting Hand is coming!"Wei WuXian spun around only to see a pair of large hands loom over him without a sound. Involuntarily, he struck out to fend against Wen ZhuLiu’s attack. He could feel a power come from Wen ZhuLiu, unusually forceful and dark, as though something was about to be sucked out of his arm. Wei WuXian instinctively took his hand back, while Wen ZhuLiu used the chance to snatch Wen Chao away, landing back on the shore. Wei WuXian cursed under his breath and followed them to the shore. All of the Wen Sect’s disciples took down the bows that had been on their backs and retreated as they aimed at the beast. Arrows shot through the air as though they were rain, clinking as they hit the beast’s scales and its shell. Sparks flew everywhere. Although the battle appeared to be quite intense, in reality, there was no use. Not a single arrow had proven a fatal hit. They did nothing more than scratch the beast’s itches. The large head waved left and right. The skin outside of its shells seemed to be black rocks, filled with lumps. Even if arrows hit, they couldn’t go any deeper.Wei WuXian watched one of the Wen Sect’s disciples pant as he set an arrow onto his bow. Struggling to draw the bow, he just couldn’t pull it all the way back. Finally unable to tolerate it, Wei WuXian grabbed the bow and kicked the disciple to the side. Three arrows were left in the quiver. He set them onto the bow all at once, drew the string to the fullest, and aimed. The string of the bow squeaked by his ear. Just as he was about to let go, a cry suddenly came from behind him.The cry was full of fear. Turning around, Wei WuXian saw Wang LingJiao give orders to three servants. Two of them brutishly held MianMian in place, clenching her face, while the other raised the branding iron in his hand and thrusted it toward her face!The tip of the iron was so heated that it sizzled and shone with red light. Wei WuXian was some distance away from them. Seeing what was happening, he immediately shifted the direction of the arrows and let go of the string.The three arrows shot out at once and hit each of the three people. Without making a noise, they fell backward onto the ground. Yet, before the bowstring even ceased to vibrate, Wang LingJiao suddenly grabbed the iron that had fallen as well. Gripping MianMian’s hair, she again shoved it toward her face!Even though Wang LingJiao’s level of cultivation was extremely low, her move was both swift and cruel. If she really did it, even if MianMian could keep her eye, her face would be completely ruined. A woman like her, even under such dangerous circumstances where people were prepared to flee at a moment’s notice, still kept her persistent thoughts of harming others!All of the other disciples were setting up their arrows, handling the beast with all of their attention. Nobody was near these two. There were no more arrows on Wei WuXian and there wasn’t enough time to grab someone else’s. Under the urgency of these circumstances, he rushed over, one hand striking away the arm that Wang LingJiao grabbed MianMian’s hair with and the other landing forcefully at her chest.Having undertaken the strike, Wang LingJiao heaved up a mouthful of blood and flew backward.However, the tip of the iron had already pressed onto Wei WuXian’s chest.Wei WuXian caught the odor of clothing and skin being scorched, along with the horrifying scent of cooked meat. Below his collarbone, near his heart, came a pain that drowned out everything else.He gritted his teeth, but still couldn’t hold back the aching roar, finally letting it out of his throat.His strike wasn’t in the least soft. Wang LingJiao flew out, blood spurting everywhere, and wailed as soon as she hit the ground. Jiang Cheng’s palm went toward the crown of her head. Wen Chao screeched, "JiaoJiao! JiaoJiao! Quick, get JiaoJiao back here!"Wen ZhuLiu frowned slightly. He didn’t say anything as he hurried over, fended off Jiang Cheng, and carried Wang LingJiao back, tossing her at Wen Chao’s feet. Wang LingJiao threw herself into his arms, still retching blood as she bawled her eyes out. Jiang Cheng chased over to fight Wen ZhuLiu. Wen Chao saw that his eyes were bloodshot and had Those who served him had been holding it up with much effort, waiting for him to give orders of retreat since a long time ago. Hearing those words, they hopped onto their swords and flew away at once. Wen Chao’s sword was thrown by Wei WuXian into the water, so he grabbed someone else’s and leapt onto the sword with Wang LingJiao in his arms. With a whoosh, they disappeared within the blink of an eye. All of the disciples and servants followed closely behind him. Jin ZiXuan shouted, "Stop fighting! Let’s go!"The disciples had never intended to continue the fight anyway, especially against the beast that was like a mountain of boulders. But, dashing along, as they arrived at where the hole was, they found the vine that they had used to climb down in a pile on the ground like a dead snake.Jin ZiXuan fumed, "Those dog-thieves! They cut off the vine!"Without the vine, they had now way of climbing up the steep dirt wall. The hole was a little more than thirty feet above their heads, its white light hurting the eye. Not long afterward, half of the light had withered, as though the tiangouhad taken a bite out of the moon.Somebody cried, "They’re blocking up the entrance!"Just as he had finished speaking, the rest of the white light had been blocked up as well.Deep underground, all that was left was a couple of burning torches, igniting the young, hesitant faces. Nobody could say anything.A while later, Jin ZiXuan’s cursing broke the dead silence, "That hell of a couple can really do such things, can’t they?"One of the boys murmured, "It’s alright even if we can’t get out… My father and mother will come find me. If they hear of this, they’ll definitely search for me here."A few of the people agreed. Immediately after, somebody replied in a quivering voice, "They must think that we’re still undergoing indoctrination at Qishan. How could they possibly search for us… Besides, after the Wen Sect’s people ran away, they definitely won’t tell the truth. They’ll definitely make up some excuse… And we can only stay down here…""We can only wait down here in the cave… without any food… along with a beast…"As Jiang Cheng slowly walked over, propping Wei WuXian up, they happened to hear the ‘without any food’ part of the conversation. Wei WuXian, "Jiang Cheng, there’s a piece of cooked meat here. You want to eat it?"Jiang Cheng, "Get lost! You really haven’t learned your lesson, have you? Just what situation do you think we’re in? You don’t know how much I want to sew your lips together."Lan WangJi’s light-colored eyes landed on them. Immediately after, they landed on MianMian, who followed behind them, at a loss as to what to do. Tears stained her face as she continued to sob, hands clenching her robe as she said ‘I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry’ over and over again. Wei WuXian plugged his ears, "Hey, stop crying, alright? I’m the one who was burned, not you. Don’t tell me that you want me to cheer you up? How about you cheer me up? Okay, enough, Jiang Cheng, stop carrying me. It’s not like my leg is broken."The girls circled around MianMian and began to sniffle together.Lan WangJi’s gaze returned as he turned around to leave.Jiang Cheng, "Young Master Lan, where are you going? The beast is still waiting in the pool."Lan WangJi, "Return to the pool. There is a way to leave."After the boys had heard that there was a way to leave, even the crying stopped. Wei WuXian, "What is it?"Lan WangJi, "There are leaves within the pool."Although the sentence sounded rather strange, Wei WuXian understood at once.Atop the dark pool that the beast dwelled in, there were indeed a few leaves. But, inside of the cave, there were neither maple trees nor the trace of any human activity and, near the entrance, there was only a banyan tree. The maple leaves, however, were as red as fire, flaunting how fresh they were. When they came up the mountain, they had also seen the sight of leaves drifting along water in a creek.Jiang Cheng had realized as well, "At the bottom of the pool, it’s likely that there’s a hole connected with water from the outside. That would’ve brought in the maple leaves in the forest creek."Someone spoke in a timid voice, "But… How do we know if the hole is large enough to let people through? What if it’s really small and it’s only a slit?"Jin ZiXuan frowned, "And the beast is still watching stubbornly over the pool."Wei WuXian lifted the lapel of his robe, one of his hands fanning at the wound under his clothes, "If there’s hope, then let’s move. No matter what, it’s better than waiting for our parents here and doing nothing. So what if it’s watching over the pool? We can just lure it out."After some negotiation, a while later, the group of boys again went off the same way they had come.Hiding in a hole within the cave, they quietly peeped at the beast.Most of its body was still soaked in the pool. The long body of a snake extended from its turtle shell. It approached the shore, opened its jaw, and softly clenched the corpse between its teeth before it shrunk back, dragging the corpse back into its dark, castle-like shell. It was as though it wanted to savor it in there.Wei WuXian tossed out a torch. It crashed into one corner of the cave.The sound was especially exaggerated within the dead silence of the underground. The head of the beast slid out of its shell at once. Its thin pupils reflected the eagerly burning torch. Instinctively attracted to things that gave light and heat, it slowly extended its neck out.Behind it, Jiang Cheng noiselessly dove into the water.The YunmengJiang Sect settled near water. The swimming abilities of its disciples were all exceptional. The moment that Jiang Cheng had dived, the ripples disappeared immediately. The surface of the water didn’t even do so much as to crease. Everyone stared at the water, glancing at the beast at times. Seeing that the large, black head had always been hesitantly circling around the torch, debating between approaching or not, everyone’s hearts tightened.Suddenly, as though having finally decided to get a taste of what this really was, it moved its nose close. Yet, it was slightly scorched by the searing flames.The neck of the beast shrunk away at once. Two streams of water vapour shot out with rage from its nostrils, putting the torch out.At this point in time, Jiang Cheng just happened to have swum out of the water and took in a deep breath. Sensing that its territory had been intruded, it shook its head and plunged toward Jiang Cheng.Noticing the situation at hand, Wei WuXian bit his finger and drew something illegible on his palm. Rushing out of the hole they hid in, he slapped his palm onto the ground. As his he removed his hand, a fire as tall a person sprouted from the ground!Surprised, the beast turned around and looked over. Jiang Cheng used the opportunity to climb ashore, shouting, "There’s a hole at the bottom, not too small!"Wei WuXian, "How small is not too small?"Jiang Cheng, "About half a dozen can pass at a time!"Wei WuXian shouted, "Everyone, listen up. Follow Jiang Cheng and swim into the underwater hole. Those who aren’t injured watch out for those who are, those who can swim watch out for those who can’t. Half a dozen can pass at a time, so nobody rush. Now, go!"As soon as he finished speaking, the flame that had sprouted slowly died down. He backed off ten-or-so steps into another direction, then hit the ground with his palm again, letting out another bout of fire. The beast’s golden eyes appeared reddish through the light of the flames. Burning mad, it waved its limbs and climbed toward the fire, dragging above it its mountain of a body.Jiang Cheng raged, "What are you doing?!"Wei WuXian, "What are you doing?! Get them down there!"He had already successfully lured the beast out of the water and onto the shore. If they didn’t leave now, what were they waiting for? Jiang Cheng clenched his teeth, "Everyone, come here. Those who can swim alone, stand on the left; those who can’t, stand on the right!"Wei WuXian was inspecting the area of the cave as he backed away with the fires. Suddenly, pain burst through his arm. Looking down, he saw that he had been shot by an arrow. It turned out that the Lan Sect disciple that Lan WangJi had glared at picked up one of the bows the Wen Sect had left and shot at the beast. However, perhaps realizing how fearsomely agile it was, his hand had slipped and the arrow had lost its aim, landing on Wei WuXian instead. Wei WuXian had no time to pull it out, hitting the ground with his palm again. He only cursed after the flame had appeared, "Back off!! Don’t cause me any trouble!"The disciple had originally wanted to hit the beast’s vital spot with just one shot, so that he could save some of the face that he had lost. However, he never expected it to turn out like this. Face paler than ever, he threw himself into the water and fled as fast as he could. Jiang Cheng hurried Wei WuXian, "Get over here!"Wei WuXian, "I will!"Jiang Cheng still had three disciples who couldn’t swim beside him. This could be considered the last batch. He knew that they weren’t able to wait and had to dive into the water without Wei WuXian. Wei WuXian only realized after he had pulled the arrow out of his arm, Oh no!The scent of blood had provoked the beast. Its neck suddenly grew in length faster than ever and its fangs had opened wide!Before Wei WuXian could think of what to do next, his body tilted as somebody shoved him to the side.Lan WangJi had pushed him out of the way.With this opportunity, the jaws of the beast had closed, biting down on his leg.Wei WuXian’s right leg hurt from simply watching the scene. Lan WangJi’s face was still expressionless. He had only frowned slightly. Afterward, he was immediately dragged away!Judging from the size and the bite strength of the beast, it could easily be able to sever a person from the waist into two pieces. Fortunately, it seemed that it didn’t like to eat broken ones. After it had bitten someone, it would shrink into its shell, no matter if the person was dead or alive, so that it could savor it slowly. Or else, if its jaw had just used some strength, Lan WangJi’s leg would’ve been broken already. Its shell was extremely hard, impenetrable by any blade. If it dragged Lan WangJi inside, then he’d most likely never come out again!Wei WuXian broke into a sprint. Just as the head was about to shrink inside, he threw himself over, clinging to one of the teeth on its upper jaw.His strength could never have been able to compete with such a monster’s. Yet, under the life-or-death situation, superhuman strength had exploded within him. His feet were propped up against the shell of the beast while his hands clung onto the fang no matter what. Like a prick of some kind, he used his body to block its path, preventing it from shrinking inside, from getting the chance to enjoy the delicacy.Lan WangJi didn’t expect that he could catch up even under such circumstances. He was utterly shocked.Wei WuXian was afraid that the beast might break out, either eating them alive or biting off Lan WangJi’s leg. His right hand continued to grab onto the upper fang while his left hand clenched onto a lower fang. His hands pushing in opposite directions at the same time, he forced strength into his arms as though his life depended on it, the vein at his forehead protruding so much that it seemed to be on the verge of bursting. His face was blood-red.The two rows of fangs were already deep into Lan WangJi’s blood and bones. Yet, its jaws really were being slowly forced open!Its jaws ceased to be able to clench its prey. Lan WangJi fell into the pool. Seeing that he was safe now, the almost deity-like strength of Wei WuXian disappeared at once. Unable to hold the beast’s jaws in place any longer, he suddenly let go. The jutting fangs from both rows bit down on each other, creating an echo as loud as the fissure of a boulder!Wei WuXian had fallen into the water as well, landing beside Lan WangJi. With just a flip, he had positioned himself and, holding Lan WangJi in one hand, he swam with the other. In an instance, he had travelled a few feet forward, creating a long, sweeping wave within the pool. Rolling onto the shore, he threw Lan WangJi onto his back and began to run at once.Lan WangJi blurted out, "You?"Wei WuXian, "It’s me! You’re pleasantly surprised?"Hovering on his back, Lan WangJi’s voice possessed the rare emotional fluctuation, "How could this be pleasant?! Let me down!"Wei WuXian’s mouth refused to rest even as he was running for his life, "If I let you down just because you say so, doesn’t that really make me lose face?"The roar of the beast that had come from behind them vibrated within their ears and their chests. Both felt blood rush up their throats. Wei WuXian hurried to shut his mouth so that he could focus on running away. In prevention of the beast catching up with fury, he purposely chose to duck into thin holes that the turtle shell couldn’t pass through. Without having any rest, he didn’t even know how long he had run. He had finally slowed, after unable to hear anymore sounds.His guard lowering, as soon as his speed decreased, Wei WuXian could smell the scent of blood. Feeling behind him backhandedly, his right hand was covered in a wet crimson.Wei WuXian, Oh no, Lan Zhan’s injury will worsen again.<h3>Translator’s Notes

Chapter 54 Courage—Part Four</h3>Feeling that they were probably far enough away for their location to be safe, Wei Wuxian spun around and laid Lan WangJi gently onto the ground.His leg injury wasn’t completely healed to begin with, and now that it had been bitten by the beast’s fangs and soaked in water. Lan WangJi’s white clothes were dyed red by smears of blood everywhere. It could be seen with the physical eye, the rows and rows of punctures from the fangs. He couldn’t stand at all, falling to the ground as soon as he was let go of.Wei WuXian bent down for a moment to inspect the wounds. Standing up again, he circled the cave a few times. A couple of shrubs could be found growing underground. Having finally found a few thicker, straighter branches, he rubbed the grime off the surface using a corner of his clothes and squatted before Lan WangJi, "You have a rope or a ribbon? Hey, your forehead ribbon might do the trick. Come on, take it off."Before Lan WangJi could respond, Wei WuXian quickly reached out and took off his forehead ribbon. With a flick of his wrist, he used the forehead ribbon as a bandage, straightened up Lan WangJi’s leg, and fixed it firmly onto the branch.Suddenly robbed of his forehead ribbon, Lan WangJi opened his eyes wide, "You…!"With nimble hands, Wei WuXian had already finished tying the knot. Patting his shoulder, he consoled, "What do you mean ‘me’? Let’s not worry about it, given our current situation. No matter how much you like the forehead ribbon, it can’t be more important than your leg, can it?"Lan WangJi leaned back, either too tired to sit up or simply angered speechless by his words. Suddenly, Wei WuXian caught a faint, herbal scent. Reaching into his lapel, he fished out a small sachet of perfume.The wet sachet hung from its tassels, delicate yet somewhat pitiful. Recalling how MianMian said that it was filled with medicinal plants, he opened it up at once and found that there were indeed herbs, along with a few small flowers, half-dried and quite chopped up. He urged, "Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, stop sleeping. Sit up for one second. There’s a perfume sachet here. See if there are any herbs that we can use."Dragging and tugging and refusing to give up, he eventually made Lan WangJi sit up, however exhausted he was. After looking through the herbs, they really did find a few that could stop blood or remove poison.Wei WuXian spoke as he picked them out, "I can’t believe that the girl’s perfume sachet ended up so useful. I’ll have to thank her properly when we go back."Lan WangJi responded coldly, "Are you sure you do not mean to harass her properly?"Wei WuXian, "What are you talking about? It doesn’t count as harassing if I’m the one doing it. It only counts if the one doing it looks as greasy as Wen Chao. Go on, strip."Lan WangJi frowned slightly, "What?"Wei WuXian, "What do you think? Strip your clothes!"He did exactly what he said. Hands grabbing each of Lan WangJi’s lapels, he peeled them to the side, revealing a chest and shoulders the color of snow.Lan WangJi had suddenly been pushed onto the ground, shirt forcibly stripped. His face was almost green, "Wei Ying! What do you want to do?!"Wei WuXian took off all of his clothes and tore them to shreds, "What do I want to do? Right now, we two are the only ones here. I’m already making it so obvious—what do you think I want to do?"As he finished, he stood up and drew away his belt sash. As though reciprocating out of courtesy, he revealed his own chest as well.With deep-set collarbones, the lines of his torso flowed smoothly. Although it almost flaunted its adolescence, it was full of youthful energy and strength.Watching his movements, Lan WangJi’s complexion switched between pale, dark, and flustered. His blood seemed to boil to the point of having to burst out from between his lips. Wei WuXian smiled and walked one step closer. Right in front of Lan WangJi’s face, he took off his own drenched coat. He raised it up with one hand before releasing his grip, letting it fall to the ground.Wei WuXian shrugged, palms facing out, "Now that the shirts are gone, it’s time for the trousers."Lan WangJi wanted to get up, but his leg was injured. Due to the fight that they had gone through and the fury within him, the more anxious he was, the more he couldn’t do it. His entire body felt worn out. With an intense rage, he really did cough up a mouthful of blood.Seeing this, Wei WuXian immediately squatted down and tapped a few of the acupoints on his chest, "Alright, the bad blood is out. No need to thank me!"After the mouthful of blackish blood had been spat out, Lan WangJi immediately felt the pain and irritation within his chest lift away. Looking back on what Wei WuXian did, he finally realized.As they climbed up Dusk-creek Mountain, Wei WuXian found that Lan WangJi looked worse than usual. It must’ve been that an energy of gloom had collected within his chest, so he purposely tried to scare and provoke him, so that he could let out the blood that he had been holding in.Although he knew that it was out of good will, Lan WangJi still seemed a bit annoyed, "… Can you not make this kind of joke again?!"Wei WuXian protested, "It’s very unhealthy for blood like this to be held in. It gets out with just a scare, though. Don’t worry—I don’t like men, I won’t take advantage of the opportunity and do anything to you."Lan WangJi, "Ridiculous!"Wei WuXian found out long ago that Lan WangJi’s temper was especially bad today. He didn’t protest any further and waved his hand, "Okay, okay. Ridiculous it is. I’m ridiculous. I’m the most ridiculous there is."As he spoke, the cold, underground air climbed up his spine, causing him to shudder. He immediately stood up, gathered a pile of dead leaves and branches, and drew the fire talisman on his palm again.The leaves and branches crunched into flames, letting off a few sparks once in a while. Wei WuXian ground up the herbs that he had picked out. Ripping the trouser leg open, he sprinkled them evenly over the three hideous holes that had just barely ceased to bleed.Suddenly, Lan WangJi raised his arm and stopped him. Wei WuXian asked, "What’s wrong?"Without speaking a word, Lan Wei WuXian’s entire body trembled as he exclaimed, "Ah!"He had forgotten that there was a fresh wound on himself as well, created by the iron. It was also still bleeding and had also been soaked in water.Lan WangJi took his hand away. Wei WuXian hissed a few times, then peeled away, bit by bit, the herbs that had been pressed onto his chest, tossing them onto Lan WangJi’s leg again, "Don’t mind me. I get hurt a lot, and I play in Lotus Lake as usual even when I’m hurt. I got used to it a long time ago. How many herbs can there be inside a small perfume sachet? There isn’t enough to begin with. I think that those three holes of yours need them more… Ah!"Lan WangJi’s face was dark. A moment later, he replied, "If you know that it hurts, do not be so rash next time."Wei WuXian, "It’s not like I had any other choice, right? Do you think I enjoy being burned? Who would’ve known that Wang LingJiao is so heartless. She almost pressed the iron into the eye. MianMian is a girl, and quite a pretty girl, at that. If she was blind in an eye or such a thing gets onto her face, it wouldn’t be able to come off for the rest of her life. How bad would that be?"Lan WangJi spoke in a thin voice, "The thing on your body right now will not be able to come off for the rest of your life either."Wei WuXian, "That’s different. It’s not on the face. And I’m a man—what am I scared of? In a man’s life, how can he not get a few wounds and earn a few scars?"His upper body bare, he was squatting on the ground as he picked up a branch and poked at the flames for it to burn brighter, "And, if you think from another perspective, even though this won’t be able to come off, it represents the fact that I protected a maiden. And the maiden will definitely remember me after this. She won’t be able to forget me for the rest of her life. Now that I think about it, it’s actually quite…"Suddenly, Lan WangJi shoved him hard, raging, "So you also know that she will not be able to forget you for the rest of her life!!!"Collapsed on the ground, he broke into a cold sweat from the pain, moaning with his neck stretched forward, "… Lan Zhan, you… Have I done something to you?! … This would be enough revenge to pay for killing your father!"Hearing this, Lan WangJi clenched his fists.A moment later, he relaxed, seeming as if he wanted to help Wei WuXian up. However, Wei WuXian sat up on his own and shrunk backward a couple of times, "Fine, fine! I know you don’t like me. Then I’ll sit farther away. Don’t come here! Don’t push me again. It’s so painful."The wound was on his left side, so it began to hurt whenever he raised his left arm. Wei WuXian shrunk to the side. Picking up the white clothes that had been torn into strips, he tossed them toward Lan WangJi using his right hand, "You can bind it yourself. I’m not gonna go over."Then, he moved the clothes that he had taken off to the fire for them to dry up.A while had passed, and neither had spoken. Wei WuXian began again, "Lan Zhan, you really are so strange today. You’re so rude. And you aren’t talking like yourself either."Lan WangJi, "If you do not have those intentions, then do not flirt with others. You are doing as you please, yet others will be in turmoil."Wei WuXian, "It’s not like you’re the one whom I’m flirting with, so it wouldn’t be you who’s in turmoil either, unless…"Lan WangJi asked harshly, "Unless what?"Wei WuXian, "Unless, Lan Zhan, you like MianMian!"A moment later, Lan WangJi replied in a cold voice, "Please do not speak nonsense."Wei WuXian, "Alright, then, I’ll speak one-sense."Lan WangJi, "Is it amusing, trifling with empty words?"Wei WuXian, "It’s very amusing. But, believe me, my words are as much a trifle as my moves are, which means not at all.""…" Lan WangJi muttered to himself, "Why am I sitting here having such a useless conversation with you?"Somehow, Wei WuXian had moved beside him again and sat down, speaking without a care for the consequences, "Because there’s no other choice. We’re the only two unfortunate souls left here, aren’t we? If you don’t have useless conversations with me, then who will you have them with?"Lan WangJi glanced at him, who seemed to forget all past pain as soon as the wounds had healed. Just as Wei WuXian was about to give him a large grin, he suddenly saw Lan WangJi lower his head.Wei WuXian wailed, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh stop!!! Stop stop stop!!!!!!"Lan WangJi was buried into the crescent of his elbow, biting firmly into his arm. Hearing Wei WuXian, not only did he not stop, his teeth sunk deeper inside.Wei WuXian, "Are you gonna stop?!?! I’ll kick you if you don’t! Don’t think that I won’t kick you just because you’re injured!!!!!!"Wei WuXian, "Stop biting! Stop biting! I’ll go away! I’ll go away!!! I’ll go away, I’ll go away if you stop, I’ll go away!!!!!!"Wei WuXian, "Lan Zhan you’re mad today!!!!!! You’re a dog!!! You’re a dog!!!!!!!! Stop biting!!!!"When Lan WangJi had finally finished his fit and felt satisfied, Wei WuXian sprang up and scrambled to the other side of the cave, "Don’t come over!"Lan WangJi straightened his back slowly. Fixing his hair and his clothes, he spoke nothing, eyes looking down calmly. It was as if the certain someone who shoved and shouted and sunk his teeth into other people’s flesh had nothing to do with him. Wei WuXian glanced at the bite marks on his arm and squatted down, still shaken. Curled up in the corner, he continued to poke at the flames, not at all comprehending the situation, How could Lan Zhan do this? Even though he saved me, you can say that I saved him as well, didn’t I? It’s not that I want him to thank me or anything, but why is it that we still can’t be friends, even after so much has happened? Don’t tell me that… that I’m really as annoying as Jiang Cheng makes it to be?!Just as he was doubting himself, Lan WangJi spoke up, "Thanks."Wei WuXian thought that he heard wrong. He looked at Lan WangJi, who was also looking at him. In all seriousness, he repeated himself, "Thanks."Seeing how he lowered his head slightly, Wei WuXian was scared that he might worship him by kneeling. He quickly darted to the side, "There’s no need, there’s no need. There’s a problem with me that I’m unable to stand it when others thank me, especially when people like you thank me so seriously. It’s so creepy that I’m even getting goosebumps. Kneeling worship, of course, is even more so unnecessary."Lan WangJi replied with indifference, "You are thinking too much. Even if I wanted to worship you, I would not be able to move."It seemed that he was finally back to normal, and he even thanked Wei WuXian two times. Wei WuXian was so delighted that he couldn’t help but want to move over again. He was the type of person who loved to be shoulder-to-shoulder with others, but the slight pain from the bite marks on his arm reminded him that Lan Zhan had just thrown a fit a moment ago, and maybe he’d be at it again just a moment later.He gained control over himself at once and stared at the black ceiling of the cave, speaking in a straight voice, "Now that Jiang Cheng and the others escaped, it’d take them one or two days to go down the mountain. After they get down, they’d definitely return to wherever they live instead of reporting to the Wen Sect. But since their swords were taken, I don’t know how long it’d take for them to find help. I’d say that we’ll probably have to stay here underground for quite a while. We’d need to search for ways to solve a few issues."After a pause, he continued, "The good thing is that the monster stays in the pool and doesn’t chase after us. But the bad thing is also that it doesn’t come out. With it guarding the hole under the pool, we won’t be able to get out either."Lan WangJi, "It is perhaps not a monster. What does it look like, to you?"Wei WuXian, "A tortoise!"Lan WangJi, "There is one divine creature that takes on such a form."Wei WuXian, "The divine beast Xuanwu?"The Xuanwu, also called the Nether Xuanwu, was a combination of turtle and snake. It was a water deity that dwelled in the North Sea. Since the Nether was also in the North, the creature was known as the God of the Northern Sky.Lan WangJi nodded. Wei WuXian flashed his teeth, "How can a divine beast look like thiiis? It’s got a mouthful of fangs and eats human flesh. It seems a bit too different from the legends."Lan WangJi, "Of course it is not a the proper Divine Xuanwu. Rather, it is a semi-completed result of failing to rise to divinity and being transformed into a yao. In other words, it is a deformed Divine Xuanwu."Wei WuXian, "Deformed?"Lan WangJi, "I have read of it in an ancient text. Four hundred years ago, a ‘fake Xuanwu’ appeared and rampaged amid Qishan. It was large in size and consumed live humans. One cultivator named it the ‘Xuanwu of Slaughter’."Wei WuXian, "The creature that Wen Chao led us to hunt is a four-hundred-years-old beast—the Xuanwu of Slaughter?"Lan WangJi, "Its size appears larger than what is recorded in the text, but it should be the one."Wei WuXian, "It’s been four hundred years already, so of course it has grown. Hadn’t the Xuanwu of Slaughter been killed back then?"Lan WangJi, "No. A few cultivators had joined alliance and prepared to kill it, but on one winter day that year, there happened to be heavy snowfall, and the weather was unusually cold. Then, the Xuanwu of Slaughter disappeared and was never seen again."Wei WuXian, "It was hibernating."<h3>Translator’s Notes

The Founder of Diabolism

Chapter 44 Allure—Part Two

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