TFOD Chapter 73
by VolareWei Wuxian guessed immediately that these must be the mountain-suppressing stone beasts that the various clans had placed at the feng shui points of the Burial Mounds after his death. These kinds of stone beasts had the ability to suppress yin and drive away evil, and the craftsmanship required was extremely high, making them very expensive. Now, it seemed that they had all been destroyed, truly a waste of resources.
Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji walked side by side for a few steps, and when he unintentionally turned his head, he saw that Wen Ning had already appeared.
He was standing next to the stone beast, head lowered and unmoving. “Wen Ning? What are you looking at?”
Wen Ning pointed at the base of the stone beast.
This stone beast was resting on a thick, short tree stump. Beside the short stump, there were also three smaller, shorter stumps, which seemed to have been burned by fire, all blackened.
Wen Ning knelt down, his fingers digging deeply into the soil, grabbing a handful of black earth, holding it in his palm, and whispered, “…Sister.”
Wei Wuxian didn’t know what to say, walked over, and patted his shoulder hard.
In Wei Wuxian’s life, there were two extremely grueling periods, both spent in this place. He originally had no intention of revisiting this place.
And for Wen Ning, the Burial Mounds was an even more unforgettable place.
A gust of cold wind swept past, the sea of trees rustling, as if thousands of tiny voices were whispering. Wei Wuxian cocked his ear, listened intently, knelt on one knee, leaned down, and murmured something softly to the earth below. Suddenly, a patch of soil slightly arched.
Like a pale flower blooming from the black earth, a skeletal arm slowly emerged from the ground.
This small half of a skeletal arm was gently and weakly waving. Wei Wuxian extended a hand to grasp it, his body lowered further, his long hair sliding from his shoulder, covering half his face.
He brought his lips close to the skeletal hand, whispered softly, then went silent, as if listening to something. After a long while, he nodded slightly, and the hand retracted into a bud, once again disappearing into the ground.
Wei Wuxian stood up, brushed off the soil from his body, and said, “In the past few days, they’ve captured over a hundred people and brought them up here. They’re all still alive on the summit. But the people who captured them have already gone down the mountain. I don’t know what they want to do, so be careful.”
The three of them walked further up, encountering some dilapidated huts standing by the mountain path.
Most of these houses were very small, simple in structure, and even crude, obviously built hastily. Some had been burned down to just a frame, some had collapsed to one side, and even the best preserved ones had been smashed to pieces on one side. Having been exposed to wind and rain for over a decade, and with no one to care for them, each of them resembled tattered, dying ghosts, silently overlooking those who came up the mountain.
Since coming up the mountain, Wen Ning’s steps had been particularly heavy. At this moment, he stood in front of one of the huts, unable to move.
This was a house that he had built with his own hands back then. Before he left, this house was still intact. Although crude, it was a complete shelter from wind and rain, housing people he knew and cherished.
The so-called “things are still the same, but people are different,” at least there was still the “things are still the same,” but in this scene, even reminiscing was impossible.
Wei Wuxian said, “Don’t look at it.”
Wen Ning said, “…I had already expected it would be like this. I just wanted to see if there was anything left…”
Before he finished speaking, a figure suddenly stood up shakily inside the dilapidated house.
The figure staggered out of the house, and its half-rotten face was exposed to the sparse sunlight. Wei Wuxian clapped his hands, and the walking corpse, completely unaware of anything amiss, continued to walk toward them. Wei Wuxian calmly took two steps back, saying, “It’s controlled by the Yin Tiger Seal.”
The corpses that had already submitted to him would no longer be controlled by the Yin Tiger Seal. Similarly, the corpses that were already being controlled by the Yin Tiger Seal would no longer obey his commands. The rule was simple and brutal: first come, first served.
Wen Ning stepped forward, roaring and ripping its head off. Afterward, low roars came from all directions, and forty or fifty walking corpses slowly emerged from the black forest. These walking corpses varied in age and gender, most of them quite fresh, wearing funeral clothes, mostly the corpses that had recently gone missing from various places. Lan Wangji drew out his guqin, and with a casual pluck, the sound of the guqin rippled out in all directions, and the swarm of corpses that had just surrounded them instantly knelt in a circle. Wen Ning lifted a particularly tall male corpse with both hands and threw it several yards away, its chest pierced by a sharp branch, struggling on the branch. Wei Wuxian said, “Don’t get entangled with them, go straight up the mountain!”
No one knew how many walking corpses Jin Guangyao had frantically summoned in the past few days with the Yin Tiger Seal. Wave after wave, the three of them retreated while fighting off the corpses, and the closer they got to the summit of the Burial Mounds, the denser the corpse swarms became. Above the towering black forest, the sound of the guqin soared into the sky, and crows flew about in chaos. Almost an hour later, they finally got a break to rest.
Wei Wuxian sat on a destroyed mountain-suppressing stone beast and sighed, mocking himself, “I used to use this thing to deal with others, and today it’s finally my turn to be dealt with by it. Now I know how despicable the Yin Tiger Seal is. If it were me, I’d also want to kill the person who made this damn thing.”
Lan Wangji put away his guqin, drew a long sword from his sleeve, and handed it to him, saying, “For self-defense.”
Wei Wuxian took it and saw that it was Suibian. That day after cutting the melon, he threw the sword aside casually, and Lan Wangji had picked it up again. He drew the sword from its scabbard, stared at the snow-white blade for a while, then resolutely put it back, and smiled, “Thank you.” He casually wore it on his waist, not intending to use it. Seeing Lan Wangji staring at him, Wei Wuxian scratched his head, explaining, “It’s been too many years since I used a sword, I’m not used to it anymore.” He sighed again, “Okay, the real reason is that my current body has low spiritual power. Even if I had a top-grade sword, I wouldn’t be able to unleash its full power. So, I still have to trouble Hanguang-Jun to protect me, this delicate man.”
Lan Wangji: “…”
The delicate man sat for a while, finally using his knees to support himself to stand up. The three of them walked further up, and finally, at the end of the mountain path, they saw a pitch-black mountain cave entrance.
This cave entrance was over five yards high and wide. Even before they got close, gusts of yin wind assailed them from afar, as if they could hear faint human voices moaning.
The legendary lair of the Yiling Patriarch, where he killed people and refined corpses and did things that went against all heavenly principles—the Demon Subduing Cave.
The Demon Subduing Cave had a high and wide dome. The three of them held their breath and quietly entered the cave. No one made any sound with their footsteps, but the voices coming from the depths of the cave became louder and more chaotic.
Wei Wuxian knew the topography of the cave like the back of his hand. He walked in front, and at a certain point, gestured for them to stop.
The main cave was only one wall away from them. Through the holes in the stone wall, they could see a cave that could accommodate thousands of people. In the center, over a hundred people were sitting, their hands and feet tightly bound by immortal-binding ropes. And looking at these hundred or so people, they were all very young, and judging by their clothes and swords, they were either disciples of high status or direct descendants of aristocratic families.
Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji exchanged a look. Before they could start talking in hushed voices, suddenly a young man sitting on the ground said, “If you ask me, you shouldn’t have just stabbed him once. Why didn’t you just slit his throat?”
His voice was actually not loud, but the Demon Subduing Cave was very spacious. When he spoke, the echoes reverberated, so there was no need to eavesdrop at all, and everything was clear. When this young man spoke, Wei Wuxian thought that he looked a bit familiar and that his voice sounded a bit familiar. After a while, he finally remembered that this was the same Jin Chan who had fought with Jin Ling the other day.
Looking again, the cold-faced young man beside him was none other than Jin Ling.
Jin Ling didn’t even look at him, and remained silent. Next to him, a young man’s stomach growled loudly, and he said, “They’ve been gone for several days. What exactly do they want? If they want to kill us, then just do it quickly. I’d rather be bitten to death by a monster during a night hunt than be starved to death here!”
This young man was talking incessantly. It was none other than Lan Jingyi. Jin Chan said, “What else could they want? It’s definitely the same as what they did to the Wen dogs during the Sunshot Campaign. They’ll refine us into corpse puppets and then…then use us to fight against our families so that they wouldn’t be able to strike us, making the enemy kill each other.” He gritted his teeth, saying, “Despicable Wei dog, inhuman!”
Suddenly, Jin Ling said coldly, “Shut your mouth.”
Jin Chan was taken aback, “You want me to shut up? What do you mean?”
Jin Ling said, “What do I mean? Are you deaf or stupid? Can’t you understand human language? Shut up, that means stop being noisy!”
Having been tied up for so long, Jin Chan was already very irritable, and angrily said, “Why do you want me to shut up?!”
Jin Ling said, “What’s the point of you talking nonsense here? Can a few more words break these ropes? It’s annoying to hear.”
“You!!!”
Another young voice said, “We are stuck here now, and there are so many walking corpses on the mountain. We don’t know when they’ll rush in. Are you still going to quarrel at a time like this?”
This calmest voice was Lan Sizhui. Jin Chan said, “He was the one who started to go crazy first! What? You can curse others, but others are not allowed to curse you?! Jin Ling, hey, who do you think you are? Do you think that since Lianfang-Zun is the Immortal Overseer, you will be one too in the future? I won’t shut up. I’d like to see you…”
With a “thud,” Jin Ling’s head suddenly slammed over, and Jin Chan yelled out in pain, “If you want to fight, then I’m game! I’m already pissed off. You ungrateful bastard!”
Hearing this, Jin Ling was even more enraged. Since he was tied up and couldn’t use his hands, he used his elbows and knees to hit his opponent, causing him to cry out repeatedly. However, he was alone, while Jin Chan usually had people around him at his beck and call. As soon as the other teenagers saw that he was at a disadvantage, they immediately shouted, “I’ll help you!” They surrounded him all at once. Lan Sizhui, who was sitting nearby, was unintentionally dragged into the melee. At first, he was still able to barely persuade them, “Calm down, calm down,” but after accidentally getting hit by a few elbows, he was in so much pain that he frowned repeatedly. His face grew darker and darker, and he finally yelled out and joined the fight.
The three on the outside couldn’t bear to watch it anymore. Wei Wuxian was the first to jump onto the stone steps in front of the Demon Subduing Cave and shouted, “Hey! Everyone, look here!”
His roar reverberated in the Demon Subduing Cave, almost deafening. The young men who were tangled up in a fight looked up. Lan Sizhui saw a familiar figure next to him and happily exclaimed, “Hanguang-Jun!”
Lan Jingyi yelled even louder, “Hanguang-Jun! Ahhhhhhhh!”
Jin Chan said in horror, “Why are you all happy? They… they’re all in the same gang!”
Wei Wuxian stepped into the Demon Subduing Cave and drew out Suibian. With a casual throw, a figure flashed out and caught the sword. It was Wen Ning. This group of aristocratic disciples then shouted in horror, “Ghost…Ghost General!”
Wen Ning raised Suibian and slashed down at Jin Ling. Jin Ling gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, but felt his body loosen. The immortal-binding rope had been cut by Suibian’s sharp blade. Next, Wen Ning walked around the hall, cutting the immortal-binding ropes. The aristocratic disciples who were released were unable to flee nor stay. With the Yiling Patriarch, the Ghost General, and the traitor to the righteous path Hanguang-Jun inside, and countless hungry walking corpses outside, they were in a dilemma. They had no choice but to shrink into a corner of the cave, their eyes fixed on the expressionless Wen Ning as he walked back and forth. On the other hand, Lan Sizhui was filled with hope, and said, “Mo… Senior Wei. Did you come to save us? You didn’t send people to capture us, did you?”
Although it was a question, his face was full of complete trust and joy. Wei Wuxian felt a warmth in his heart, squatted down, and ruffled his head, messing up his hair that was still meticulously neat despite his hardships. He said, “Me? How poor do you think I am? You’re telling me I have money to hire people?”
Lan Sizhui nodded repeatedly, saying, “Yes. I knew it! I know that Senior is really poor!”
“…”
Wei Wuxian said, “Good. How many people are there on the other side? Are there any ambushes nearby?”
Lan Jingyi shook off the rope on his body and scrambled to say, “There are many people on the other side! Their faces are covered by black mist so that we can’t see what they look like. They tied us up and threw us here and then just ignored us. It seems like they want us to fend for ourselves. Oh, oh, oh, there are many walking corpses outside! They are constantly yelling!”
Bichen unsheathed with a resounding clang, cutting the immortal-binding ropes that bound them. Lan Wangji sheathed his sword and said to Lan Sizhui, “Well done.”
He meant that Lan Sizhui had been able to remain calm and still trusted them, and that he had done a good job. Lan Sizhui hurriedly stood up straight in front of Lan Wangji. Before he could smile, Wei Wuxian playfully said, “Yes, you did really well. Sizhui, you can even fight now.”
Lan Sizhui’s face flushed instantly, saying, “Th-that was…just impulsive for a moment…”
Suddenly, Wei Wuxian sensed someone approaching and turned his head, only to see Jin Ling standing stiffly behind them.
Lan Wangji immediately stepped in front of Wei Wuxian, and Lan Sizhui stepped in front of Lan Wangji, cautiously saying, “Young Master Jin.”
Wei Wuxian stepped out from behind the two of them and said, “What are you all doing? You’re like a stack of arhats.”
Jin Ling’s expression was very strange, his fists clenched and then relaxed, then clenched again. It seemed as though he wanted to say something, but he couldn’t open his mouth. He only stared at the place on Wei Wuxian’s abdomen where he had stabbed him with his sword. Lan Jingyi exclaimed in alarm, “You, you, you! You wouldn’t want to stab him again, would you!”
Jin Ling’s expression stiffened, and Lan Sizhui hurriedly said, “Jingyi!”
Wei Wuxian put his arms around both Lan Jingyi and Lan Sizhui, saying, “Alright, hurry up and get out of here.”
Lan Sizhui said, “Yes!”
The other young men who were still huddled in a corner didn’t dare to move. Lan Jingyi said, “Let’s go? Do you still want to stay here?”
A young man said stubbornly, “There are so many walking corpses outside. You want us to go out…to our deaths!”
Wen Ning said, “Young Master, I’ll go out and drive them away.”
Wei Wuxian nodded. Wen Ning immediately rushed out like a gust of wind. Lan Sizhui said, “The immortal-binding ropes have been untied. At worst, we can join forces and fight our way out. If you don’t leave, and if the corpse swarm rushes in after we leave, wouldn’t we be like turtles in a jar, given this cave’s layout?”
After saying that, he pulled Lan Jingyi, and the two of them and a few Lan disciples were the first to follow behind Wen Ning and walk out. The group of young men looked at each other.
After a short while, one person said, “Brother Sizhui, wait for me!” and followed behind them, joining the group.
This young man was the “sentimental seed” who had burned paper money and shed hot tears for A-Qing in Yi City. Others called him Zizhen, and he was apparently the only son of the Ba Ouyang clan. Then, one by one, a few people followed, many of them being familiar faces from Yi City. The remaining young men were initially hesitant, but when they saw that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were staring at them, they were all intimidated by both of them. They had no choice but to brace themselves and awkwardly walk past them. Surprisingly, Jin Ling was the last to leave.
Just when the large group was dragging its feet and approaching the cave entrance, suddenly, a figure was thrown in, smashing a deep human-shaped crater in the cave wall.
Gray stones fell in a shower, and exclamations of alarm came from the front, from the younger disciples, “Ghost General!”
Wei Wuxian said, “Wen Ning? What happened!”
Wen Ning forced out the words, “…It’s nothing.”
He fell from the pit, stood up and silently reattached his broken arm in a rough manner. Wei Wuxian took a closer look, only to see a purple-clad youth standing in front of the Demon Subduing Cave, the Purple Lightning Whip crackling with spiritual power in his hands. Just now, Wen Ning had been thrown into the hall by this whip.
Jiang Cheng.
No wonder Wen Ning had not had any intention of retaliating.
Jin Ling said, “Uncle!”
Jiang Cheng said coldly, “Jin Ling, come over here.”
From within the black forest behind him, cultivators from various clans slowly emerged, wearing different attire. More and more of them gathered, and there were roughly one or two thousand people. A dark mass of people completely surrounded the Demon Subduing Cave. These cultivators, including Jiang Cheng, were all covered in blood, looking tired. The group of aristocratic teenagers rushed out of the Demon Subduing Cave, calling out, “Father!” “Mother!” “Brother!” as they plunged into the crowd.
Jin Ling looked left and right, still hesitating and unable to make up his mind. Jiang Cheng said sternly, “Jin Ling, what are you dawdling for? Get over here! Do you want to die?!”
Lan Qiren stood in front of the crowd, looking much older, with streaks of white showing on his temples. He said, “Wangji.”
Lan Wangji said softly, “Uncle.”
But he still did not return to his side.
Lan Qiren understood perfectly well that this was Lan Wangji’s unwavering answer. He shook his head in extreme disappointment and did not attempt to persuade him again.
A woman in white robes stepped forward, tears in her eyes, and said, “Hanguang-Jun, what in the world has happened to you? You… you’re no longer yourself. You were clearly irreconcilable with him before, like fire and water. What method did the Yiling Patriarch use to bewitch you, making you stand against us?”
Lan Wangji ignored her. Not receiving an answer, this woman said with regret, “If that’s the case, you don’t deserve your reputation!”
Wei Wuxian said, “You’re here again.”
Jiang Cheng said coldly, “Of course, we have to be here.”
Su She, with his seven-string guqin on his back, also stood in front of the crowd and said leisurely, “If the Yiling Patriarch hadn’t come back and acted as though he was afraid the world wouldn’t know about it, digging up corpses and catching people with great fanfare, then we probably wouldn’t have come to visit your lair so soon.”
Wei Wuxian said, “I was clearly saving these aristocratic disciples. Why aren’t you all thanking me, and instead accusing me?”
Many people scoffed and muttered, “Thief crying ‘stop thief.'” Wei Wuxian knew that arguing would be useless, and also was not in a hurry, he gave a slight smile, “However, the forces you’ve gathered this time seems a bit weak, two big shots are missing. May I ask, how come Lianfang-Zun and Zewu-Jun aren’t here for such a grand occasion?”
Su She sneered, “Hmph, the other day, Lianfang-Zun was assassinated at the Golden Carp Tower by an unknown assailant and was severely injured. Zewu-Jun is still doing his best to save him. Why are you asking what you already know?”
Hearing that Jin Guangyao was “severely injured”, Wei Wuxian immediately recalled his heroic self-sacrificing act when he ambushed Nie Mingjue, and couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Su She’s brow furrowed slightly, and he said, “What are you laughing at?”
Wei Wuxian said, “Nothing. I just think that Lianfang-Zun is injured very often.”
At that moment, a small voice suddenly said, “Father, I think, maybe it really wasn’t him who did it. Last time in Yi City, he saved us. This time, he also seems to be here to save us…”
He followed the voice and saw that the one speaking was Ouyang Zizhen again. However, his father immediately rebuked his son, “Don’t talk nonsense, child! Do you know what kind of situation this is? Do you know who that person is?!”
Withdrawing his gaze, Wei Wuxian calmly said, “Understood.”
He understood from the beginning that no matter what he said, no one would believe him. What he denied could be fabricated; what he admitted could be twisted.
In the past, Lan Wangji’s words carried a lot of weight, but after getting involved with him, it was likely that he had also become a target for everyone. He thought that there was at least Lan Xichen on the aristocratic side who could mediate things, but who knew that Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao weren’t here either.
During the first encirclement of the Burial Mounds, Jin Guangshan led the Lanling Jin Sect, and Jiang Cheng led the Yunmeng Jiang Sect. Lan Qiren led the Gusu Lan Sect, and Nie Mingjue led the Qinghe Nie Sect. The first two were the main forces, and the last two were dispensable. Now the head of the Lanling Jin Sect had not arrived, only sending manpower to accept command from the Lan family; the Gusu Lan Sect was still under the command of Lan Qiren; Nie Huaisang had taken his elder brother’s place, shrinking into the crowd, his face still showing “I don’t know anything,” “I don’t want to do anything,” and “I’m just here to make up the numbers.”
Only Jiang Cheng remained, still filled with hostility, with a gloomy face, staring fixedly at him.
However.
Wei Wuxian slightly turned his head, and saw Lan Wangji standing beside him, without any hesitation or intention of retreat.
However, this time, he was no longer alone.
Amongst the thousands of cultivators staring at them like tigers, one middle-aged man couldn’t restrain himself and jumped out, shouting, “Wei Wuxian! Do you remember me?”
Wei Wuxian honestly answered, “I don’t remember.”
This middle-aged cultivator sneered, “If you don’t remember, then my leg remembers!”
He suddenly lifted the hem of his robe, revealing a wooden prosthetic leg, “This leg of mine was crippled by you that night in Nightless City. I’m letting you see it to let you know that I, Yi Weichun, also have a part in the encirclement of you today. The heavens have a cycle, and retribution is inevitable!”
It seemed as though he had been inspired by him, and another young cultivator also stepped forward. He said loudly, “Wei Wuxian, I won’t ask if you remember me. Both of my parents died at your hands. You owe so much blood debt that you must not even remember them. However, I, Fang Mengchen, will not forget! And I will not forgive you!”
Then, a third person stepped forward, a middle-aged scholar with a thin and tall figure, piercing eyes, who seemed to be pure and righteous. This time, Wei Wuxian acted first and asked, “Did I cripple you?”
This man shook his head. Wei Wuxian asked again, “Did I kill your parents, or wipe out your whole family?”
This man shook his head again. Wei Wuxian asked in surprise, “Then, may I ask, what are you doing here?”
This man said, “I have no enmity with you. I’m here to participate in this battle just so that you will understand that those who defy the world and deserve to be punished by everyone, no matter what underhanded methods they use, no matter how many times they climb out of their graves, we will send you back again. It is not for anything else, but for the sake of the word ‘justice’!”
Hearing this, everyone cheered, and the sound of approval was thunderous, “Sect Leader Yao is right!”
Sect Leader Yao stepped back with a smile, and others were inspired, one after another standing forward and declaring war loudly.
“My son died after his throat was cut by your lackey Wen Ning in the ambush at Qiongqi Path!”
“My senior brother died from a poisonous curse, his body covered in sores!”
“It is not for anything else, but to prove that there is still justice in the world, and that evil will not be tolerated!”
“There is still justice in the world, and evil will not be tolerated!”
Every face was filled with boiling passion, every word was filled with righteousness, every person was noble and righteous, filled with righteous indignation, with heroic ambitions.
No one doubted, what they were doing at this moment was a glorious feat, a great righteous act.
A battle worthy of being passed down for generations, praised by ten thousand people, the “righteous” campaign against “evil”!