TFOD Chapter 110

Jiang Sect Leader’s words always carried a three-point sarcasm, but this time, the sarcasm wasn’t directed at anyone else, but at himself.

Suddenly, he said, “I’m sorry.”

Wei Wuxian was stunned for a moment, then said, “…You don’t need to say sorry.”

At this point, it was impossible to calculate who owed whom.

Wei Wuxian added, “Just consider it as me returning it to the Jiang family.”

Jiang Cheng raised his face, his eyes bloodshot, looking at him with red-rimmed eyes, and said in a hoarse voice, “…Return my father, my mother, my sister to me?”

Wei Wuxian pressed his temples, saying, “Forget it. It’s all in the past. Let’s not mention it anymore.”

This wasn’t something he liked to constantly relive. He didn’t want to be forced to recall the feeling of having his golden core removed when he was conscious, nor did he want to be forced to repeatedly emphasize and remind himself what kind of sacrifice it was, and how great the cost was.

If he had been exposed in his previous life, he would most likely have laughed and comforted Jiang Cheng in return: “Actually, it’s no big deal, look, I’ve gotten by just fine all these years without that golden core. Who to hit, who to kill, who to die.” But now, he really didn’t have the strength to pretend to be so carefree and unrestrained.

Objectively speaking, he really wasn’t that unrestrained.

Was this kind of thing so easy to see through?

Impossible.

The seventeen or eighteen-year-old Wei Wuxian was actually no less proud than Jiang Cheng. He had once possessed strong spiritual power and exceptional talent. He spent his days goofing off, hunting birds, climbing walls at night, and playing pranks on others, yet he was still far ahead, leaving his fellow disciples far behind.

However, whenever he tossed and turned at night, unable to sleep, and thought about how he would never again be able to reach the peak through orthodox means, or ever unleash that astonishing sword strike that made others gasp, he would think, if Jiang Fengmian hadn’t brought him back to Lotus Pier, he might have had no chance to walk on the path of cultivation, and would never have known that there was such a mystical and beautiful road in the world, he would only have been a small gang leader wandering the streets, fleeing from dogs, or a shepherd in the countryside stealing vegetables, playing his flute, and living a mediocre life, with no chance to cultivate, let alone form a golden core, and he would feel much better.

Just consider it as repayment, or atonement. Just consider that he had never obtained that golden core.

After guiding himself in this way so many times, he really seemed to be as unrestrained and uninhibited as he appeared on the surface, and he could even half-heartedly praise his own enlightenment in his heart.

But, that was already a matter of his past life.

Wei Wuxian said, “Uh, you… don’t always remember it either. Although I know that, with your personality, you will definitely keep it in mind, but, how should I put it…”

He tightened his grip on Lan Wangji’s hand, and said to Jiang Cheng, “Now I really feel… it’s all in the past. It’s been too long, there’s no need to dwell on it.”

Jiang Cheng fiercely wiped his face, smearing away the tears, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes.

At this moment, Nie Huaisang, who was covered with Lan Xichen’s outer robe, slowly woke up. He called out a few small “ay yo” sounds, struggled to get up, and said dazedly, “Where am I?”

Who knew, as soon as he got up he saw Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji on the opposite side sitting tightly together on a prayer mat, it was as if Yi Ling Patriarch was about to sit on Hanguang-Jun’s lap. He let out a miserable scream, as if about to faint again. At the same time, from behind the main hall of the Guanyin Temple came a series of strange hissing sounds, as if something was being sprayed out. A moment later, the group of digging cultivators also screamed in unison.

The expressions of the several people in the hall changed drastically. In an instant, a faint, pungent odor drifted out. While covering his face with his sleeve, Lan Xichen’s eyes showed a trace of worry. Immediately after, two figures stumbled out.

Su She supported Jin Guangyao, both of them had pale faces, and the wailing sounds from behind the hall continued. Su She said, “Sect Leader, how are you?!”

Jin Guangyao’s forehead was lightly beaded with cold sweat, he said, “I’m fine. Thank you for earlier.”

His left hand hung down, unable to lift it. His entire arm was trembling, as if he was enduring intense pain. His right hand reached into his robes and took out a medicine bottle, trying to open it, but it was difficult with one hand. Seeing this, Su She quickly took the medicine bottle, poured out the pills, and placed them in his palm. Jin Guangyao lowered his head, swallowed the pills, and his brow quickly relaxed.

Lan Xichen hesitated for a moment, then asked, “What happened to you?”

Jin Guangyao paused for a moment, a trace of color finally returning to his face. He forced a smile and said, “A moment of carelessness.”

He took out some medicine powder and sprinkled it on his hand. The back of his left hand to his wrist was covered with a patch of red. Upon closer inspection, the skin looked like cooked meat that had been fried, the texture was rotten. Jin Guangyao then tore off a piece of white fabric from his clothes, his fingers trembled slightly, and said, “Min Shan, wrap my wrist tightly.”

Su She asked, “Poisonous?”

Jin Guangyao said, “The poison is still flowing upwards. It’s nothing, I can force it out after a moment of meditation.”

After Su She treated his wound, Jin Guangyao was about to go to the back of the hall to investigate. Su She hurriedly said, “Sect Leader, let me go!”

The pungent odor gradually dissipated. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji also stood up together. They saw a high mound of earth next to a deep pit. A rather exquisite and elegant coffin was placed diagonally to the side, with a black box on top of it. Both the coffin and the box had been opened, and faint white smoke was slowly drifting out of them. The pungent odor came from this white smoke, which was surely a deadly poison. Scattered around the coffin lay a pile of corpses, the cultivators who had been digging earlier. They had already turned into a pile of rotten, decaying bodies, even the golden star snow wave robes and monk’s robes they wore had been corroded into charred fragments, showing how potent the poison was.

He took the lead, using his sword aura to disperse the remaining poisonous smoke, and flicked the tip of his sword on the black box. The iron box fell to the ground, empty.

Jin Guangyao could no longer hold back, and stumbled towards the edge of the coffin, the blood that had just returned to his face instantly drained away. Seeing his expression, it was clear that the coffin was also empty.

Lan Xichen came over and saw the tragic scene behind the hall, shocked, he said, “What exactly did you bury here? How could it be like this??”

Nie Huaisang only glanced at it, and was already so scared that he was kneeling on the ground, retching non-stop. Jin Guangyao’s lips trembled, and he couldn’t speak. A flash of lightning struck down, illuminating his face, making it look ghastly white. His expression was so terrible that Nie Huaisang shivered, not even daring to vomit loudly, covering his mouth and shrinking behind Lan Xichen, trembling, unsure whether it was from the cold or from fear. Lan Xichen turned his head to comfort him, while Jin Guangyao didn’t even have the strength to act kind and gentle like he had before.

Wei Wuxian said, “Ze Wu-Jun, you’ve wronged Sect Leader Jin. The things here weren’t buried by him at all. Even if they were originally buried by him, they should have already been swapped out by someone else long ago.”

Su She raised his sword and pointed at him, saying in a cold voice, “Wei Wuxian! Did you do something?!”

Wei Wuxian said, “It’s not that I’m being immodest. If I had done it, your Sect Leader would probably have more than just an arm injured. Sect Leader Jin, do you remember that letter that Qin Su brought you at Golden Carp Tower?”

Jin Guangyao’s gaze slowly shifted towards him.

Wei Wuxian said, “The one who told Qin Su about all the bad things you did was Qin Madam’s former maid, Bi Cao, but do you really believe that there wasn’t someone pushing things from behind for Bi Cao to suddenly decide to reveal everything? And also, that Miss Sisi you locked up, who saved her, who taught her to go to the Yunmeng Jiang Sect with Bi Cao and reveal your secrets to everyone? Since he can investigate your hidden past so thoroughly, and can get here first and replace what you wanted to dig up with poisonous smoke booby traps, waiting for you to come and give it to you, what’s so impossible about that?”

At this moment, a monk said, “Sect Leader, there are signs of digging in the soil here. Someone dug in from the other side!”

Sure enough, someone had gotten there first. Jin Guangyao turned and punched the empty coffin, others couldn’t see his expression, they could only see his shoulders trembling slightly.

Wei Wuxian laughed and said, “Sect Leader Jin, have you ever considered that tonight you are the praying mantis, but there is a oriole behind you? That person who has been staring at you, at this very moment, may be watching your every move from the shadows. No, maybe it’s not a person…”

The thunder rumbled, and the rain poured down. Hearing the words “not a person,” a look that could almost be described as fear flashed across Jin Guangyao’s face for an instant.

Su She sneered, “Wei Wuxian, stop making those kinds of bluffing threats…”

Jin Guangyao raised his right hand to stop him. That trace of fear vanished in an instant, and all kinds of emotions were quickly brought under control. He said, “Don’t waste time on pointless arguments. Treat the wounds on your body, and after I have dispersed the poison, immediately gather the remaining people and set off.”

Su She said, “Sect Leader, what about the things that were dug up?”

Jin Guangyao’s lips were slightly pale, and said, “Since they have already been dug up, then there’s no way to get them back. It’s not safe to stay here long.”

Su She said, “Yes!”

Earlier, Su She had fought with Fairy, and was scratched in many places by Fairy’s claws. His arms and chest had torn clothing, especially his chest, where the scratch marks penetrated the flesh, and many blood stains appeared on his white clothes. If they weren’t treated, it would be inconvenient to deal with any possible emergencies. Jin Guangyao took out a medicine pack from his robes and handed it to him. Su She accepted it with both hands, saying, “Yes.” Sure enough, he stopped talking with Wei Wuxian, turned around, and took off his clothes to treat the wounds on his body. Jin Guangyao’s left hand, which had been burned by the poisonous smoke, was still unresponsive, so he had to sit on the ground to concentrate on his breathing to expel the poison. The remaining cultivators were walking back and forth in the Guanyin Temple with their swords, supervising and patrolling. Nie Huaisang’s eyes were wide with fear when he saw the gleaming swords. With no guards by his side, he dared not even breathe, shrinking in a corner behind Lan Xichen, and sneezed several times.

Wei Wuxian thought, “This Su She is sarcastic and strange to others, and he has deep resentment towards Lan Zhan, but he’s extremely respectful to Jin Guangyao.”

Thinking this, he couldn’t help but look at Lan Wangji. Who knew, he happened to see a flash of coldness in his eyes.

Lan Wangji said coldly to Su She, “Turn around.”

Su She was lowering his head, applying medicine to the claw marks on his chest, and was turned to the side. Suddenly, hearing Lan Wangji’s unyielding tone, he unexpectedly turned around involuntarily.

As soon as he turned around, Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling both widened their eyes. The smile on Wei Wuxian’s face also instantly disappeared.

He said in disbelief, “…It’s actually you!”