TFOD Chapter 72

That wife then said, “I only hope he knows that grievances have a source and debts have a debtor. If he wants revenge, he should seek out those cultivators for revenge. Please, don’t harm ordinary families like ours.”

Her husband said, “Who can say for sure? When he killed more than three thousand people in Qishan in one go, I was very young, but I still remember that back then, not only those immortal cultivators but also ordinary people were afraid of him. He was a bloodthirsty demon who didn’t recognize his own family.”

Wei Wuxian’s smile gradually faded.

Originally, when he listened to this little couple chatting idly about their daily lives, he was quite interested. However, suddenly, his head seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, making it impossible to lift and see the expression on Lan Wangji’s face at this moment. He couldn’t hear a single word of what the couple said next.

At this moment, a terrifying roar suddenly came from outside the farmhouse. The family of three in the yard, who were originally laughing and eating, were so frightened by this sudden inhuman roar that they dropped a bowl, and the child began to cry. The young man grabbed a hoe and said, “Don’t be afraid! Don’t be afraid!”

Not only were they frightened, even Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian slightly moved. Lan Wangji intended to get up, but Wei Wuxian’s heart stirred. He grabbed his chest clothes and said, “Don’t move.”

Lan Wangji’s eyes slightly widened. The roar sounded like an extremely ferocious evil creature. If the farmer had to deal with it alone, he would surely lose his life. Wei Wuxian said again, “Don’t move.”

A scream came from the yard, followed by an even more frantic inhuman roar. It was very close, very close. That thing had already entered the door. Lan Wangji couldn’t lie still any longer. Sweep Away the Dust left its sheath like lightning. However, he heard the family of three from the farmhouse flee out the door, running away in alarm. The straw pile was split by Sweep Away the Dust, sending straw flying everywhere. In the midst of the dancing straw, a black figure stood in the courtyard, with disheveled hair and bared teeth. Some bizarre horns grew on its body. It looked both terrifying and comical. Lan Wangji had never seen such a monster before. He was slightly stunned. Wei Wuxian had already spoken, saying, “Wen Ning, after so many years of not using your voice, your yelling is getting more and more terrifying.”

The black monster spoke in a human voice, helplessly saying, “Young Master… after all, I’m a fierce corpse. Fierce corpses’ yells… are all like this.”

Wei Wuxian patted his shoulder, saying, “The momentum is mighty.”

Wen Ning glanced at Lan Wangji, probably remembering that the people of Gusu Lan Sect greatly disliked those who were unkempt. He anxiously smoothed his hair. Wei Wuxian, seeing that he had a bunch of tree branches stuck on his head and body, had a look of unbearable pity on his face. He pulled one out and said, “Why did you suddenly jump out? And why did you get yourself into this state? Did you get robbed? What did you smear on your face?”

Wen Ning said, “I smeared the dust and mud from the ground on my face… I saw you went inside and didn’t come out for a long time…”

Wei Wuxian said, “You’ve been following us all along?”

Wen Ning nodded. Wei Wuxian understood. Wen Ning was afraid to see anyone other than him, so after they left Cloud Recesses, he secretly followed them. He saw they entered the farmhouse and hadn’t moved for a long time, so he went over to eavesdrop. When he heard the couple talking about him, he felt embarrassed. He wanted to scare them away so that he and Lan Wangji could come out. He probably thought that his original appearance wasn’t intimidating enough, so he smeared a bunch of random things on his face and body.

Wei Wuxian was almost dying of laughter. Wen Ning, looking ashamed, frantically wiped the mud off. Then, Wei Wuxian suddenly discovered blood on his hands, saying, “What happened?”

Wen Ning said, “Oh, it’s nothing…”

Lan Wangji said, “Bloody.”

Wei Wuxian only then noticed that Wen Ning did have a bloody smell. His heart skipped a beat. Wen Ning quickly waved his hands, saying, “It’s not bloody! No no, it is bloody, but it’s not the blood of the living.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Not the blood of the living? Did you fight with something?”

Wen Ning led them a short distance to a wild forest. There were twenty or thirty new graves in the forest. There was also a pit that had been dug halfway, with a pile of corpses beside it. It was said to be a pile rather than corpses because these corpses were all scattered. Wei Wuxian stepped forward to investigate. Some arms and severed limbs were still opening and closing their fingers, and some skulls were still opening and closing their jaws, making a grinding sound. They had already turned into fierce corpses.

Wei Wuxian said, “You’ve beaten them quite thoroughly.”

Wen Ning said, “If I didn’t beat them so thoroughly, they would still try to bite people. There’s no way to stop them. There were fierce corpses like this all along the way…”

Wei Wuxian said, “All along the way? You were ahead of us all along, dealing with these things?”

Wen Ning nodded hesitantly. His ability to identify his own kind was stronger and broader than that of the living. If this was the case, then no wonder they had been so peaceful all the way here. Wei Wuxian had been wondering why they hadn’t encountered even one fierce corpse since it was said that large numbers of them were gathering towards Yiling. It turned out that Wen Ning had cleared the obstacles ahead of time. Wei Wuxian said, “When did you start following us?”

Lan Wangji said, “Golden Carp Tower.”

Wei Wuxian looked at Wen Ning. Lan Wangji said, “That day, when the cultivators of all clans blocked and fought each other, he lent a helping hand.”

Wei Wuxian sighed, saying, “I told you to find a place to hide and not care about anything first.”

Wen Ning said with a wry smile, “But Young Master… where can I hide?”

In the past, he had a place he could return to and other people he could follow. But now, in this world, except for Wei Wuxian, everyone was completely unfamiliar to him.

After a moment of silence, Wei Wuxian stood up, patted the dust off his hem, and said, “Bury them.”

Wen Ning quickly nodded and continued to dig the pit that was halfway done. Lan Wangji drew Sweep Away the Dust. With one wave of sword energy, dirt flew and the ground was split open. Wei Wuxian said, “Hanguang-Jun, are you digging graves too?”

Lan Wangji turned around. He was about to speak when he saw Wen Ning standing behind him, trying his best to lift his stiff lips to squeeze out a smile, saying, “…Lan Gongzi, do you need help? I’m done digging over here.”

Lan Wangji looked behind him at a row of black pits and neat piles of soil. Wen Ning maintained his “smile” and added, “I often do this sort of thing. I have experience. Quickly.”

As for who made him “often do this sort of thing,” it was self-explanatory.

After a moment of silence, Lan Wangji said, “No need. You go help…”

Before he could finish, he suddenly noticed that Wei Wuxian hadn’t moved at all. He was still squatting beside them, observing. When he left the farmhouse, he had casually picked up a melon. Now, he seemed to be considering how to cut it open. Seeing Lan Wangji’s scrutinizing gaze, he said, “Hanguang-Jun, don’t look at me like that. Isn’t it because I don’t have anything in my hands and my spiritual power is low? There are specialists for different tasks. This is true. He is the fastest at digging graves. Why don’t we discuss how to eat this melon? Sweep Away the Dust shouldn’t be used for the time being after digging soil. Does anyone have any extra knives or swords?”

Wen Ning shook his head, “I’m sorry, I didn’t bring any.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Hanguang-Jun, that thing, it just happens to be on your person, doesn’t it?”

Lan Wangji: “…”

In the end, he still pulled out ‘subiani’ from his Qiankun sleeve. Wei Wuxian picked up the melon in one hand and the sword in the other, twirled the sword, and with a few quick strokes, cut the small watermelon into eight pieces. After cutting it, he squatted on the ground, eating the melon while watching them diligently dig the graves.

Over there, within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Wen Ning dug a row of perfectly identical pits. While placing the corpses he had scattered into them, he said, “Everyone, I’m very sorry. I can’t distinguish your corpses. If I buried you wrong, I hope you won’t mind…”

After finishing the melon and burying the remaining corpses, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji continued their journey.

A few days later, the two arrived in Yiling.

The Burial Mounds were less than ten li in front of this small town. Although they didn’t know what exactly was waiting for them there, Wei Wuxian had a premonition that it definitely wouldn’t be anything good.

However, Lan Wangji was right beside him, his steps steady, his eyes calm. Wei Wuxian originally didn’t have much of a sense of crisis, but looking at such a person, he couldn’t feel nervous no matter what. He walked through the town of Yiling, his ears filled with familiar local accents, feeling refreshed and incredibly friendly. Even though he wasn’t buying anything, he couldn’t help but use the local language to chat with the vendors on the street. When he had had his fill of that, he turned around and said, “Hanguang-Jun, you remember this town, right?”

Lan Wangji nodded lightly and said, “I remember.”

Wei Wuxian smiled and said, “I knew your memory would be better than mine. It was in this town that we met once before. It just so happened that you came to Yiling for a night-hunt. I said I’d treat you to a meal, do you remember that?”

Lan Wangji said, “I remember.”

Wei Wuxian said, “But I’m ashamed that you ended up paying the bill, haha!”

He sat cross-legged on the donkey, swaying back and forth, and said seemingly casually, “Speaking of which, Hanguang-Jun, do you have any plans to go into seclusion?”

Lan Wangji paused slightly, as if pondering for a moment. Wei Wuxian pressed on, saying, “Have you thought about what you would do after going into seclusion?”

Lan Wangji looked at him and said, “I haven’t thought about it yet.”

Wei Wuxian thought, “Perfect that you haven’t thought about it! I’ve thought it through for you.” He wanted to find a secluded place with beautiful mountains and clear waters, build a big house, and could also build a house next door for Lan Wangji. Every day, two dishes and a soup. Of course, it would be best if Lan Wangji cooked, otherwise, he would have to eat his cooking. It would also be best to leave the finances to Lan Wangji. He even envisioned Lan Wangji wearing rough cloth clothes, with patches on his chest and knees, sitting expressionlessly at a handmade wooden table, counting money one by one. After finishing, he would carry a hoe to go out and work, while he would… he would… what would he do?

Wei Wuxian seriously considered what he should do. People say firewood, rice, oil, and salt, weaving and farming. The land had someone to till it, so that only left weaving. Thinking of himself with his legs crossed, sitting at a loom, his leg shaking, made him cringe. He should be the one to carry the hoe; it was more suitable for Lan Wangji to weave. During the day, they would fish and farm, and in the evening, they would take their swords out to night-hunt and slay demons. If they got bored of that, they could pretend they never went into seclusion and re-enter the world again. But sure enough, they were still missing a little one…

Lan Wangji suddenly said, “A little what?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Huh?”

He then realized he had spoken the last sentence aloud again and immediately straightened up, saying, “I said, Little Apple is missing a little partner.”

Little Apple turned its head and forcefully spat. Wei Wuxian slapped its donkey head, pulled its long ears, and laughed twice, but then he suddenly couldn’t laugh anymore.

Not because of anything else, but because he remembered. Back then, he did have a child with him. If he had lived well until now, he would be about a dozen years old.

The Burial Mounds were located deep in the mountains of Yiling.

It is said that the Burial Mounds were a mountain of corpses. Everywhere you dug with a shovel, you would find a dead body. This was no exaggeration. The Burial Mounds were originally an ancient battlefield. Over the years, people also got into the habit of throwing nameless corpses there, causing Yin energy and resentment to linger for many years and eventually turning it into a nightmare for all the people in the Yiling area.

As if deeply stained by resentment, the trees on this hill had dark, black leaves. A wall that was over ten feet high was built from the foot of the mountain. The wall was covered in dense incantations to prevent humans or non-humans from entering or exiting. This wall that surrounded the entire Burial Mounds was originally built by the third generation head of the Qishan Wen clan. Unable to purify the overwhelming resentment of this place, they had to settle for the second best option of choosing a method of containment and isolation. This wall had been knocked down once by Wei Wuxian. This new one was rebuilt and reinforced by the Lanling Jin Clan.

However, when they arrived, they found that a long section of the high wall had once again been pushed over.