TFOD Chapter 53

Wei Wuxian finally confirmed which scene he was witnessing.

Back then, Nie Mingjue had received intelligence and launched a surprise attack in Yangquan.

Chifeng-Zun had always been victorious when taking the initiative. However, whether it was due to faulty intelligence or because human calculations were no match for fate, he never anticipated that this surprise attack would directly clash with Wen Ruohan, the head of the Qishan Wen Sect.

Due to a miscalculation of strength, the Qishan Wen Sect turned the tables, capturing all the attacking cultivators and taking them as prisoners back to Nightless City.

Meng Yao knelt down beside Nie Mingjue, saying, “I truly didn’t expect that you would have such an embarrassing day.”

Nie Mingjue only said two words, “Get lost.”

Meng Yao’s laughter carried a hint of pity, “Do you still think you’re the Prince of Hejian? Take a good look, this is the Yan Yang Hall.”

A cultivator nearby spat, “What Yan Yang Hall, it’s just a nest of Wen dogs!”

Meng Yao’s expression changed, and his long sword was drawn.

A line of blood instantly spurted from the cultivator’s neck, and he fell without even a groan. His fellow disciples cried out in agony and rushed to his side. Nie Mingjue was enraged, “You!”

Another cultivator roared, “Wen dog! If you’re capable, kill me too…” Meng Yao didn’t even raise an eyebrow, and with a backhand swing, he sliced a bloody gash across the man’s throat, smiling, “Alright then.”

He stood before the pool of blood, the corpses of two white-robed cultivators lying at his feet, and said with a smile, “Is there anyone else who wants to say that word?”

Nie Mingjue said coldly, “Wen dog.”

He knew that if he fell into Wen Ruohan’s hands, he would surely die, so he wasn’t afraid at all. If Wei Wuxian were in this situation, he would also curse to his heart’s content before dying anyway. Meng Yao, however, smiled slightly, not angered, and snapped his fingers. A Wen Sect cultivator crawled over, offering a long box with both hands. Meng Yao opened the box and took something out, “Sect Leader Nie, why don’t you take a look at what this is?”

It was Nie Mingjue’s saber, Baxia!

Nie Mingjue roared, “Get away from me!”

Meng Yao had already taken out Baxia and was holding it in his hand, “Sect Leader Nie, Baxia has passed through my hands quite a few times before. You’re getting angry now, isn’t that a little too late?”

Nie Mingjue said, word by word, “Take your hand off it!”

Meng Yao seemed to want to provoke him, and he weighed the saber in his hand, making a comment, “Sect Leader Nie, this saber of yours, it can barely be considered a top-grade spiritual weapon. However, compared to your father, Old Sect Leader Nie’s saber, it’s still a little inferior. Why don’t you guess, how many slaps will it take for Wen Sect Leader to break it?”

In an instant, the blood rushed to Nie Mingjue’s head. Wei Wuxian felt his scalp tingle from this sudden burst of anger, and he thought, “Poison.”

The thing Nie Mingjue hated and could not let go of the most was his father’s death.

Back then, when Nie Mingjue was only in his teens, and his father was still the head of the Qinghe Nie Sect, someone had offered a precious saber to Wen Ruohan. Wen Ruohan was happy for a few days and asked his advisors, what do you think of this saber?

He was always capricious, his mood could change at any moment, and naturally, everyone flattered him, praising the saber as unparalleled. But among the advisors, one person, perhaps with a grudge against the old Nie Sect Leader, or wanting to say something different to grab attention, said, “Your saber is naturally unmatched, but I’m afraid there are people who don’t think so.”

Wen Ruohan was displeased and asked who it was. The advisor said, “Naturally, it’s the head of the Qinghe Nie Sect. His family has been known for sword cultivation for generations. He always says that his precious saber is invincible, unmatched in the world, and that no saber in the past few hundred years can compare. He’s extremely arrogant. Even if your saber is good, he definitely wouldn’t admit it. Even if he did, he definitely wouldn’t believe it in his heart.”

Wen Ruohan laughed and said, “Is that so? I want to see.” So he immediately summoned the old Nie Sect Leader from Qinghe, took his saber, looked at it for a while, and finally said: “Well, it’s indeed a good saber.” He patted it a few times and sent him away.

At the time, there was nothing unusual, and the old Nie Sect Leader did not know what had happened, only feeling displeased by the attitude of being summoned and dismissed so easily. Who knew that a few days later, during a night hunt, his saber suddenly broke into several pieces when it struck a demonic beast. Then, he was seriously injured by the demonic beast’s horns.

And Nie Mingjue, who was night hunting with his father, witnessed this scene.

After the old Nie Sect Leader was rescued, he could not swallow this grievance, and his injuries never healed. He lingered for half a year before finally passing away. It was unknown if he had died of anger or illness. Nie Mingjue and the entire Qinghe Nie Sect hated the Qishan Wen Sect for this reason.

And now, in front of Wen Ruohan, Meng Yao was holding his saber, reminding him of his father’s death, which was extremely cruel.

Nie Mingjue struck out with his palm, sending Meng Yao staggering back, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Seeing this, the person on the jade seat moved forward slightly, as if to make a move. Meng Yao immediately got up and kicked Nie Mingjue in the chest. Nie Mingjue had already exerted great strength to strike that palm, and he was kicked to the ground. The heat in his chest that he had been suppressing finally couldn’t hold back. And Wei Wuxian was already dumbfounded.

There were so many versions of the rumors, but he never imagined that there would be such an exciting detail as Lianfang-Zun kicking Chifeng-Zun!

Meng Yao firmly stepped on Nie Mingjue’s chest and roared, “You dare act out of line in front of Sect Leader Wen!” Saying this, he stabbed down with his sword. Nie Mingjue struck out with a palm, breaking Meng Yao’s sword into pieces. Meng Yao was also knocked back by this palm. As Nie Mingjue was about to smash his palm onto his head, his body was suddenly dragged in another direction by an abnormal suction force.

That direction was precisely Wen Ruohan’s jade seat. Nie Mingjue’s whole body was dragged across the jade floor, leaving a blood trail that stretched for three zhang, and it was still being dragged.

Nie Mingjue reached out and grabbed a kneeling Wen family disciple, throwing him toward the jade seat. With a “bang”, red blood splattered in the air, like a watermelon exploding, the pulp splattering everywhere. Wen Ruohan directly smashed the disciple’s head with a palm strike. But this bought Nie Mingjue some time. Anger made him suddenly powerful, and he leaped up, making a hand seal. Baxia flew toward him. Meng Yao said, “Sect Leader, be careful!”

A voice laughed wildly, “It doesn’t matter!”

It was a young man’s voice. Wei Wuxian was not surprised. Wen Ruohan’s cultivation was extremely high, and his body was naturally perfectly maintained. As soon as Nie Mingjue’s hand gripped Baxia’s hilt, he swung it out. Dozens of Wen family cultivators who had come to surround him were all cut in half at the waist!

Corpses were scattered all over the black jade floor. Suddenly, Wei Wuxian felt a shiver down his spine.

A figure had suddenly appeared behind him. Nie Mingjue made a powerful horizontal chop, his spiritual power shattering a long strip of ground. However, he struck empty air. He felt a heavy blow to his chest, crashing heavily into a golden pillar in the hall. He coughed up a mouthful of hot blood, and blood flowed from his forehead, making his vision increasingly blurry. Sensing that someone was approaching, he swung out another blade, but this time he was punched in the heart, causing him to sink a bit into the jade floor!

Wei Wuxian’s senses were connected to his, and while he was being beaten bloody, he was secretly shocked.

Wen Ruohan’s strength was truly overwhelmingly terrifying!

Wei Wuxian had not fought Nie Mingjue head-on, so he didn’t know how their fight would go, but according to his observation, Nie Mingjue’s cultivation could rank in the top three among those he had seen. However, even so, in front of Wen Ruohan, he had no ability to fight back! Moreover, even if it were him now, he couldn’t say that he would suffer fewer blows from Wen Ruohan than Nie Mingjue…

Wen Ruohan stepped on Nie Mingjue’s chest, Wei Wuxian’s vision turned black, and the taste of blood rushed into his throat.

Meng Yao’s voice gradually drew closer, “This subordinate is incompetent, and has troubled Sect Leader to act personally.”

Wen Ruohan laughed, “Useless.”

Meng Yao also laughed. Wen Ruohan said, “He’s the one who killed Wen Xu?”

Meng Yao said, “That’s right. It’s him. Sect Leader, do you want to kill your enemy now, or drag him to the Earth Fire Hall? I personally suggest that dragging him to the Earth Fire Hall is better.”

The “Earth Fire Hall” was Wen Ruohan’s playground, a place where he collected hundreds of torture instruments, specifically designed for tormenting people. This meant that Meng Yao was not willing to let Nie Mingjue have a quick death. He wanted to drag him to Wen Ruohan’s torture ground, using the instruments he made to slowly torture him to death.

Nie Mingjue heard these two discussing his fate with laughter and ease. His inner rage was immense, and the blood in his chest surged. Wen Ruohan said, “What’s the point of dragging a half-dead man?”

Meng Yao said, “You can’t say that. With Sect Leader Nie’s robust physique, he might be able to regain his power in two or three days?”

Wen Ruohan said, “Do as you see fit.”

Meng Yao said, “Yes.”

However, as he said “yes,” a very fine ray of cold light flashed out.

Wen Ruohan suddenly became silent.

Warm blood splattered onto Nie Mingjue’s face. He seemed to sense something and tried to raise his head to see what happened. However, he was too seriously injured to support himself and his head fell heavily, his eyes closed.

It was unknown how long had passed before Wei Wuxian felt a glimmer of light in front of his eyes. Nie Mingjue slowly opened his eyes.

As soon as he woke up, he realized he was being half-dragged by Meng Yao, who was carrying his arm and struggling to move forward.

Meng Yao said, “Sect Leader Nie?”

Nie Mingjue said, “Wen Ruohan is dead?”

Meng Yao seemed to slip, his voice trembling, “He should be… dead.”

He was still holding something in his hand.

Nie Mingjue said in a low voice, “Give me the saber.”

Wei Wuxian couldn’t see the expression on Meng Yao’s face, he could only hear the bitter smile in his voice, “Sect Leader Nie, at this time, you should stop thinking about using your saber to cut me…”

Nie Mingjue was silent for a moment, then gathered his strength and snatched it away. Although Meng Yao was very alert, there was no match for pure force, and he couldn’t hold on. He immediately leaped away and said, “Sect Leader Nie, you still have injuries on your body.”

With the long saber in hand, Nie Mingjue said coldly, “You killed them.”

The cultivators who had been captured with Nie Mingjue.

Meng Yao said, “Sect Leader Nie, you should know, in that situation… I had no choice.”

Nie Mingjue hated these evasive words the most. His heart was inflamed, and he slashed out with his saber, roaring, “What do you mean no choice? It’s up to you whether you do it or not, it’s up to you whether you kill them or not!”

Meng Yao dodged, arguing, “Is it really up to me? Sect Leader Nie, if our positions were switched…”

Nie Mingjue knew what he wanted to say, and interrupted, “It wouldn’t!”

Meng Yao seemed to have exhausted himself. He kept dodging, unable to keep up, nearly tripping over his feet, revealing a bit of his disheveled state. He took a few breaths, and then suddenly, as if exploding, he shouted, “Chifeng-Zun!!! Do you even understand, if I didn’t kill them, it would be you lying dead on the spot!!!”

These words were equivalent to “I’m the one who saved your life, you can’t kill me, otherwise you’re not righteous.” However, Jin Guangyao was worthy of being Jin Guangyao, he said the same thing with different words, which had a kind of subtle grievance and a reserved sorrow. Sure enough, Nie Mingjue paused, a vein popped up on his forehead, he stood frozen for a while, then he clenched the hilt of his saber, roaring, “Alright then! If I cut you down, then I’ll kill myself!”

After shouting, Meng Yao immediately shrank back. Seeing Baxia coming straight at him, he was scared out of his wits and ran for his life. The two of them, one cutting, one fleeing, were both covered in blood and stumbling. Wei Wuxian was in this ridiculous situation, while he was hacking at the future immortal leader, he was laughing to himself. He thought that if Nie Mingjue wasn’t seriously injured and lacking in spiritual power, Meng Yao would have been killed long ago. In the midst of the chaotic scene, a surprised voice suddenly said, “Brother Mingjue!”

A figure in a clean white robe flashed out from the forest. Meng Yao was overjoyed at the sight of this person, like seeing a god, and he scrambled behind him, “Ze Wu-Jun!!! Ze Wu-Jun!!!”

Nie Mingjue was furious, he didn’t even have time to ask why Lan Xichen was here, he roared, “Xichen, move aside!”

Baxia was approaching fiercely. Shuoyue had to be drawn, and Lan Xichen half supported and half blocked it, saying, “Brother Mingjue, calm your anger! Why do you make it so difficult for yourself?”

Nie Mingjue said, “Why don’t you ask him what he did?!”

Lan Xichen looked back at Meng Yao, who had a look of fear, murmuring as if he dared not speak. Nie Mingjue said, “Back then when you ran away from Langya, I wondered why I couldn’t find you even after digging three feet into the ground! So you became a Wen dog, helping the tyrant in Nightless City!”

Lan Xichen said, “Brother Mingjue.”

He rarely interrupted others, and Nie Mingjue was slightly stunned. Lan Xichen continued, “Do you know who gave you the battle maps of the Qishan Wen Sect before?”

Nie Mingjue said, “You.”

Lan Xichen said, “I only sent them. Do you know where the intelligence has been coming from all along?”

In this situation, the meaning of his words couldn’t be clearer. Nie Mingjue looked at Meng Yao, who was bowing his head behind him, his brows twitching uncontrollably, obviously in disbelief.

Lan Xichen said, “Don’t doubt it. Today, I also received his message, that’s why I’m here to meet you. Otherwise, why would I happen to be here?”

Nie Mingjue was speechless.

Lan Xichen continued, “After the Langya incident, A-Yao felt remorse in his heart, but he didn’t dare let you find him, so he had to find a way to get into the Qishan Wen Sect, get close to Wen Ruohan, and then secretly send me messages. At first, I didn’t know who was sending the messages, but by chance, I saw a clue and recognized him.” He turned to Meng Yao, and said in a low voice, “Didn’t you tell Brother Mingjue about this?”

“…” Meng Yao covered the wound on his arm, and said with a wry smile, “Ze Wu-Jun, you saw it too. Even if I had told Sect Leader Nie, he wouldn’t have believed me.”

Nie Mingjue remained silent. Baxia and Shuoyue were still locked together. Meng Yao glanced at the sharp blades of the swords, his gaze full of fear, and after a while, he still stood out and knelt down to Nie Mingjue.

Lan Xichen said, “Meng Yao?”

Meng Yao said in a low voice, “Sect Leader Nie, although it was to deceive Wen Ruohan and prevent him from discovering anything, I attacked you in the Yan Yang Hall, and spoke disrespectfully. Knowing that Old Sect Leader Nie was a wound in your heart, I still deliberately poked at your scar… Although it was absolutely necessary, I am very sorry.”

Nie Mingjue said, “The person you should kneel to is not me, but the cultivators who were killed by you.”

Meng Yao said, “Wen Ruohan was brutal and tyrannical. If anyone disobeyed him, he would go crazy. Since I wanted to pretend to be his confidant, how could I just sit by and watch when others insulted him? So…”

Nie Mingjue said, “Very well, it seems you have done this kind of thing quite often.”

Meng Yao sighed, “When in Qishan…”

Lan Xichen did not retreat, and sighed, “Brother Mingjue, he was lurking in Qishan, and sometimes doing some things… was inevitable. When he did those things, his heart was also…”

Wei Wuxian shook his head in his heart, “Ze Wu-Jun is still…too kind.” But on second thought, it was because he already knew of Jin Guangyao’s various suspicions that he could be so wary, but in Meng Yao’s eyes in front of Lan Xichen, he was an undercover agent bearing humiliation, not yielding to his fate, and venturing into danger alone. Since they had different perspectives, how could their feelings be the same?

After a long while, Nie Mingjue suddenly raised his saber, and Lan Xichen said, “Brother Mingjue!”

Meng Yao closed his eyes, and Lan Xichen also tightened his grip on Shuoyue, saying, “Excuse me…”

Before his voice fell, the silver light of the blade slashed down heavily, striking a stubborn stone nearby.

Meng Yao’s shoulders slightly shrank from the sound of the stone cracking. He turned his head to look, and saw that the huge stone had been split in two from top to bottom.

In the end, this blow could not be made. Baxia returned to its sheath, and Nie Mingjue turned around and left without looking back.

With that, Wen Ruohan was dead. Although there were remnants of the Qishan Wen Sect, they were no longer a threat. The defeat was certain.

And Meng Yao, the dead soldier who had been lurking in Nightless City for several years, became famous in one battle.

Wei Wuxian had also been curious. Since Meng Yao betrayed the Qinghe Nie Sect, Nie Mingjue’s relationship with him was not as good as before, so why did they become sworn brothers later? According to his observation, in addition to Lan Xichen always hoping that the two would reconcile, and taking the initiative to suggest it, the most important reason was probably because of this life-saving grace, and because he had received this information. Counting it, many of his past battles had relied on the information Meng Yao had passed on through Lan Xichen. He still felt that Jin Guangyao was a rare talent and wanted to lead him back to the right path. And Jin Guangyao was no longer his subordinate. Only after becoming sworn brothers did he have the identity and position to supervise him, just like how he supervised and disciplined his younger brother, Nie Huaisang.

After the Sunshot Campaign ended, the Lanling Jin Sect held a flower banquet that lasted for several days, inviting countless cultivators and countless families to the banquet, a celebration for the entire world.

On Golden Carp Tower, people came and went. In Nie Mingjue’s wide field of vision, the crowd kept parting, and both sides bowed to him, saying “Chifeng-Zun”. Wei Wuxian thought, “This display is going to soar. These people are both afraid and respectful of Nie Mingjue. There are many who fear me, but not many who respect me.”

Jin Guangyao was standing beside the Sumeru seat. After becoming sworn brothers with Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen, and being recognized by his clan, at this time, his eyebrows had been marked with vermilion cinnabar, he was wearing a white robe with gold trim and the Jin star and snow wave pattern, and he was wearing a black hat. The whole person looked refreshed and handsome. He was still clever, but his demeanor was calm and collected, far different from before.

Beside him, Wei Wuxian actually saw a familiar figure.

Xue Yang.

At this time, Xue Yang was very young, his face was still childish, but he was already very tall. He was also wearing a Jin star and snow wave robe, and he stood with Jin Guangyao, like a willow in the spring breeze, a picture of young elegance. They seemed to be talking about something interesting. Jin Guangyao smiled, made a hand gesture, and the two exchanged glances. Xue Yang laughed loudly, and casually glanced at the cultivators walking around, his eyes full of contempt, as if these were just walking trash. When he saw Nie Mingjue, he did not show any fear, but instead, he bared his fangs at him. Jin Guangyao saw that Nie Mingjue’s expression was not good, so he quickly restrained his smile and said something in a low voice to Xue Yang. Xue Yang waved his hand and swayed to the other side.

Jin Guangyao came over and said respectfully, “Big brother.”

Nie Mingjue said, “Who is that person?”

After hesitating for a moment, Jin Guangyao carefully replied, “Xue Yang.”

Nie Mingjue frowned, “Xue Yang of Kuizhou?”

Jin Guangyao nodded. Xue Yang had been infamous since he was young, and Wei Wuxian clearly felt that Nie Mingjue’s frown had deepened. He said, “What are you doing mixing with such people?”

Jin Guangyao said, “The Lanling Jin Sect recruited him.”

He didn’t dare to explain too much, so he made an excuse to receive guests and hurriedly escaped to the other side. Nie Mingjue shook his head and turned around. As he turned around, Wei Wuxian’s eyes lit up, and he felt as if frost and snow had descended and the moonlight was filling the hall. Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji walked up side by side.

The Lan brothers stood together, one wearing a flute, one carrying a guqin, one gentle and refined, one cold and aloof. Yet, both had equally beautiful appearances and elegant demeanors. It was truly a display of two different styles with one color. No wonder they attracted the repeated attention of others, who sighed in amazement.

At this time, Lan Wangji’s features still had a hint of youthfulness, but he still had that cold expression that kept people at a distance. Wei Wuxian’s gaze was immediately glued to his face, and he couldn’t take it off no matter what. Regardless of whether he could hear him or not, Wei Wuxian happily shouted, “Lan Zhan! I missed you so much! Hahahaha!”

Suddenly, a voice said, “Sect Leader Nie, Sect Leader Lan.”

Hearing this familiar voice, Wei Wuxian’s heart jumped. Nie Mingjue turned around again, and Jiang Cheng came forward with his sword in hand, dressed in purple robes.

And the person standing next to Jiang Cheng was Wei Wuxian himself.

He saw himself, dressed in black, standing with his hands behind his back, with a black flute hanging from his waist with a red tassel. He didn’t carry a sword, and stood side by side with Jiang Cheng, nodding in greeting with an arrogant posture, looking very profound and aloof. When Wei Wuxian saw his younger self’s posturing, his teeth ached and he thought he was being pretentious, wishing he could rush over and beat him up.

Lan Wangji also saw Wei Wuxian standing next to Jiang Cheng, his eyebrows twitched, and his light-colored eyes soon turned back, looking straight ahead, still with a very dignified look. Jiang Cheng and Nie Mingjue nodded at each other with blank faces, without any extra words to say. After a brief greeting, they separated. Wei Wuxian saw that the black-clad version of himself was looking left and right. He glanced at Lan Wangji over here, as if he was about to speak, but Jiang Cheng had already walked over and stood next to him. The two lowered their heads, and said one word each with serious faces. Wei Wuxian laughed, and walked alongside Jiang Cheng to the other side. The people around them automatically made a large space for them.

Wei Wuxian thought carefully, what did they say? Originally, he couldn’t remember, but from Nie Mingjue’s perspective, he saw their lip movements, and he remembered. At that time, he said: “Jiang Cheng, Chifeng-Zun is so much taller than you, haha.”

And Jiang Cheng said, “Get lost. You want to die.”

Nie Mingjue’s gaze returned, and he said, “Why doesn’t Wei Ying carry a sword?”

Carrying a sword was just like it should be. Lan Wangji said quietly, “He probably forgot.”

Nie Mingjue raised his eyebrows, “He can forget that too?”

Lan Wangji said, “Not surprising.”

Wei Wuxian thought, “Good, talking bad about me behind my back, I caught you.”

Lan Xichen laughed, “This Young Master Wei said that he doesn’t want to pay attention to any formalities at all. Let alone not wearing a sword, even if he doesn’t wear clothes, what can anyone do to him? He’s really young.”

Hearing his own arrogant remarks being said by others, the feeling was indescribable. Wei Wuxian felt somewhat embarrassed, but helpless. At this time, he only heard Lan Wangji say in a low voice, “Frivolous.”

He spoke very softly, as if he was only saying it to himself. These two words struck Wei Wuxian’s ears, causing his heart to skip two beats inexplicably.

Lan Xichen looked at him and said, “Huh. Why are you still here?”

Lan Wangji was slightly confused and said seriously, “Since my brother is here, I am naturally here too.”

Lan Xichen said, “Why haven’t you gone over to talk to him? They’re going to walk away.”

Wei Wuxian was very strange, “Why is Ze Wu-Jun saying this? Could it be that Lan Zhan has something to say to me at this time?”

Before he could see how Lan Wangji reacted, suddenly, there was a commotion from the other side of the Sumeru seat. Wei Wuxian heard his own angry shout coming from that side: “Jin Zixuan! Don’t forget what you said and what you did. What’s the meaning of this now?!”

Wei Wuxian remembered. It was this time!

Over there, Jin Zixuan also roared, “I was asking Sect Leader Jiang, not you! The person I’m asking is also Miss Jiang, what does it have to do with you!”

Wei Wuxian said, “That’s right! What does my sister have to do with you? Who was the one who was so arrogant back then?”

Jin Zixuan said, “Sect Leader Jiang-This is my family’s flower banquet, and this is your family’s person! Are you even going to do anything about this!”

Lan Xichen said, “Why are they arguing again?”

Lan Wangji’s gaze turned to that side, but his feet were glued to the ground. After a while, as if he had made up his mind, he took a step, and was just about to walk over when Jiang Cheng’s voice came over, “Wei Wuxian, shut your mouth. Young Master Jin, I’m sorry. My sister is fine, thank you for your concern. We can talk about this next time.”

Wei Wuxian sneered, “Next time? There is no next time! She is fine and she doesn’t need him to worry about it! Who does he think he is?”

After saying that, he turned around and walked away. Jiang Cheng roared, “Come back! Where are you going?”

Wei Wuxian waved his hand and said, “Anywhere is fine! Just don’t let me see his face. I didn’t even want to come here, you can deal with it yourself.”

Jiang Cheng was left behind, his face gradually darkening. Jin Guangyao was originally busy in the venue, smiling at everyone, and taking care of matters. Seeing that there was trouble here, he emerged again, saying, “Young Master Wei, please wait!”

Wei Wuxian walked very fast, with his hands behind his back. His face was somber, and no one noticed. Lan Wangji took a step toward him, but before he could say anything, the two brushed past each other.

Jin Guangyao couldn’t catch up with Wei Wuxian, and stamped his foot saying, “Sigh, the person is gone. Sect Leader Jiang, this…what should we do?”

Jiang Cheng concealed the dark clouds on his face and said, “There is no need to pay attention to him. He is used to being wild at home, so he is undisciplined.” Then he started to talk with Jin Zixuan.

Looking at these two people, Wei Wuxian sighed in his heart. Fortunately, Nie Mingjue was not interested in what was happening there, and he quickly shifted his gaze, no longer looking at them.

Qinghe Nie Clan Immortal Mansion, Unclean Realm.

Nie Mingjue was sitting on the mat, with a guqin placed horizontally in front of Lan Xichen. He plucked and pressed the strings, and at the end of the piece, Jin Guangyao said with a smile, “Okay, after hearing the second brother’s guqin, I’ll go back and smash mine.”

Lan Xichen said, “Third brother’s guqin is very good even outside of Gusu. Was it taught by your mother?”

Jin Guangyao said, “No. I learned it by watching myself. She never taught me these things, she only taught me to read and write, and bought some very expensive sword manuals and cultivation techniques for me to practice.”

Lan Xichen was surprised, “Sword manuals and cultivation techniques?”

Jin Guangyao said, “Second brother, you haven’t seen them, have you? Those small booklets that are sold in the market. They have some messy drawings of people, and they have a bunch of mysterious words written all over them.” Lan Xichen smiled and shook his head. Jin Guangyao also followed with a shake of his head, “They are all scams, specifically to deceive women like my mother and ignorant children. Practicing them wouldn’t be harmful, but there would be no benefit either.”

He said with emotion, “But how would my mother know about these things? When she saw them, no matter how expensive they were, she would buy them. She said that when the day comes when she sees my father again, she must have learned something. She cannot fall behind others. All the money was spent on this.”

Lan Xichen plucked the strings of the guqin a couple of times and said, “Just by watching, you’ve reached this level, you have a lot of talent. If you get guidance from a renowned master, your progress will be rapid.”

Jin Guangyao laughed, “A renowned master is right in front of me, I wouldn’t dare to trouble you.”

Lan Xichen said, “Why wouldn’t you dare? Please sit, young master.”

Jin Guangyao sat opposite him, straightened up, pretending to listen humbly, “What will Master Lan teach?”

Lan Xichen said, “How about the Serene Heart Tune?”

Jin Guangyao’s eyes lit up, but before he could speak, Nie Mingjue raised his head and said, “Second brother, the Serene Heart Tune is one of the Gusu Lan Clan’s secret techniques, do not reveal it to others.”

Lan Xichen did not take it to heart and laughed, “The Serene Heart Tune is different from the Barrier Breaking Sound. Its effect is to calm the mind and stabilize the spirit. This kind of healing skill, why should we keep it to ourselves? Moreover, teaching it to the third brother, how could that be considered revealing it to others?”

Since he knew what he was doing, Nie Mingjue said no more.

One day, he returned to the Unclean Realm. When he entered the main hall, he saw Nie Huaisang with a dozen unfolded gilded folding fans lined up in front of him. He was lovingly caressing them one by one, comparing the calligraphy on each fan. Nie Mingjue’s veins instantly bulged on his forehead and he said, “Nie Huaisang!”

Nie Huaisang immediately knelt down.

He really knelt down out of fear, and only after kneeling did he tremble and stand up, saying, “B-b-big brother.”

Nie Mingjue said, “Where is your saber?”

Nie Huaisang stammered, “It’s… in my room. No, it’s in the training ground. No, I… I’ll think…”

Wei Wuxian could feel that Nie Mingjue wanted to chop him into pieces, “You carry a dozen fans, but you don’t know where your saber is?!”

Nie Huaisang hurriedly said, “I’ll go find it right now!”

Nie Mingjue said, “There’s no need! Even if you find it, you won’t be able to train with it. Burn all of these things!”

Nie Huaisang was shocked, and hurriedly grabbed the fans towards his chest, saying, “Don’t ah big brother! These were all gifts to me!”

Nie Mingjue smashed a table with a palm strike and said, “Whoever gave them to you, tell them to get the hell out of here!”

A person said, “I gave them.”

Jin Guangyao stepped into the hall, and Nie Huaisang rejoiced, “Third brother, you’re here!”

Actually, it wasn’t that Jin Guangyao could stop Nie Mingjue from getting angry, but when Jin Guangyao arrived, Nie Mingjue would usually only get angry at him and wouldn’t bother to scold the others. Therefore, it was not an exaggeration to say that he was Nie Huaisang’s savior. Nie Huaisang happily called out to his third brother, and hurriedly grabbed the fans on the table into his arms. Seeing his younger brother like this, Nie Mingjue’s anger had cooled down, and instead, he felt it was funny. He said to Jin Guangyao, “Stop giving him those messy things!”

Nie Huaisang was flustered and dropped two fans on the ground. Jin Guangyao helped him pick them up and put them back in his arms, saying, “Huaisang likes elegance, and he is devoted to calligraphy and painting, and he doesn’t have any bad habits, how can you say it’s messy?”

Nie Huaisang nodded repeatedly, “Yes, third brother is right!”

Nie Mingjue said, “You won’t need those things as the head of a clan.”

Nie Huaisang said, “I’m not going to be the head of the clan, you can be the big brother, I won’t do it!” When his older brother glared at him, he immediately shut his mouth. Nie Mingjue turned to Jin Guangyao, “What are you doing here?”

Jin Guangyao said, “Second brother said that he gave you a guqin.”

The guqin was a gift brought by Lan Xichen earlier when he had come to help Nie Mingjue calm his mind and qi with the Serene Heart Tune. Jin Guangyao continued, “Recently, the Gusu Lan Clan is at a crucial point in rebuilding Cloud Recesses, and since big brother won’t let him come, second brother taught me the Serene Heart Tune. I think that even if I can’t compare to second brother’s exquisite guqin skills, I can still help big brother a little and help him calm down.”

Nie Mingjue said, “Just focus on doing your own things.”

Nie Huaisang was very interested and said, “Third brother, what song