TFOD Chapter 129

Upon hearing this, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji exchanged a glance, and Lan Sizhui’s spirits lifted.

Wei Wuxian said, “I’m all ears.”

After a moment of consideration, Young Master Qin slowly said, “There aren’t many details to be frank, and I don’t know much about this person either. When I was young, I grew up in my grandmother’s house in a remote mountain village. This person was a servant in my grandmother’s house. Because he was of similar age to me, we played together and grew up together when we were children.”

Wei Wuxian said, “That’s called a childhood friend, so how could you not know him well?”

Young Master Qin: “Because as we grew older, we gradually drifted apart.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Think about it, have you ever offended this servant in any way?”

Young Master Qin said, “There is one incident, but I don’t know how serious the offense was.”

Lan Wangji said, “Speak.”

Young Master Qin said, “This servant served my grandmother for many years, staying by her side. Because he was nimble and close in age to her grandson, my grandmother was quite fond of him and often praised him for being clever. Because of this, he developed a bit of arrogance and always followed the disciples of our clan, not understanding the difference between master and servant. Later, my grandmother even allowed him to attend classes with us.”

“One day, the teacher assigned homework that was very difficult to solve. During the discussion, someone came up with an answer, and the other classmates were praising it. But the servant suddenly said it was wrong.”

Young Master Qin continued, “At that time, this servant had only been attending classes for a month or two, but the disciples of our clan had already been studying for two or three years. It goes without saying who was right and who was wrong. Someone immediately refuted him. However, he was very stubborn, insisted that the previous person’s solution was wrong, and wanted to show us his solution. Eventually, everyone in the classroom got annoyed, and they all chased him out.”

Hearing this, Lan Sizhui couldn’t help but say, “Young Master Qin, even if he was annoying you, he didn’t do anything too excessive… why chase him away?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Young Master Qin, this story sounds like a group of your clan disciples provoked him. Did you have a special role in this? Otherwise, he wouldn’t just be looking for you alone; he should be looking for everyone in that group.”

Young Master Qin said, “I was the first one to tell him to leave, and I was just saying it. But who knew everyone was already displeased with him? It got out of control. And this person had a very bad temper. After going back, he told my grandmother that he wouldn’t go anymore and never went again.”

Wei Wuxian said, “I’ll ask two more questions, Young Master Qin, and you must answer me truthfully.”

Young Master Qin said, “Ask.”

“First question,” Wei Wuxian’s eyes were very bright, “You said earlier that ‘someone came up with the first answer.’ Was this ‘someone’ you?”

After a pause, Young Master Qin said, “Is that important?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Then, the second question—whose solution to that homework was actually correct, and whose was wrong?”

Young Master Qin’s expression turned unpleasant. He flicked his sleeve and said indifferently, “Old stories from years ago, it’s been a few years, so I can’t possibly remember everything vividly. But honestly, when young people are impulsive, haven’t we all done some inexplicable things and encountered some inexplicable people? Please don’t dwell on this. I just want to resolve this matter completely as soon as possible.”

Wei Wuxian smiled and said, “Okay. I understand, I understand.”

Lan Wangji said, “When did this person die?”

Young Master Qin said, “About two years ago, I suppose.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Two years? Okay, not an old corpse, but not exactly fresh either. How did he die? Suicide?”

“No. I heard he was drunk in the middle of the night, ran around carelessly, and fell to his death.”

“Not a suicide, that’s slightly better. Young Master Qin, is there anything else?”

“No, there isn’t.”

“Then please return for now. Later, a talisman will be sent to your residence. If you remember anything else, please remember to inform us at any time.”

Back at the Small Bamboo House, Lan Sizhui closed the door, turned around, and let out a breath, saying, “This Young Master Qin… is truly… truly…”

Lan Wangji suddenly said, “Two years.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Right, two years is a little strange.”

Lan Sizhui said, “Strange?”

Wei Wuxian pulled a blank talisman paper from his sleeve and said, “If a resentful spirit holds a deep grudge, it usually starts causing trouble on the seventh night after death. A little longer, and causing trouble within a year is also common. Since it’s already turned into a fierce corpse, why did it wait two years to come looking?”

Lan Sizhui speculated, “Could it be that he couldn’t find Young Master Qin’s address after he moved for those two years?”

He imagined the corpse knocking on other people’s doors every night, peeking inside to see if it was Young Master Qin, and felt a chill run down his spine.

But Wei Wuxian said, “No. This fierce corpse had a past with Young Master Qin; it wouldn’t be hard to find him by following his aura. Besides, if it was as you said, it would have knocked on the wrong doors a few times while searching for Young Master Qin. There should be more than one incident of a similar fierce corpse pounding on doors. Lan Zhan, you’ve seen more files than I have and remember them better, have you seen any similar records in the last two years?”

He entered the study, and Lan Wangji said, “There are none.”

Wei Wuxian said, “That’s the thing… Lan Zhan, I can’t find the cinnabar.” He took out a pen and said, “I used it last night! Did either of you see the cinnabar?”

Lan Wangji also entered the study, found the cinnabar, and Wei Wuxian dipped his pen into the small, delicate cup twice. He then poured himself a cup of tea, sat at the table, and drank tea with his left hand while holding the pen with his right. He didn’t even look as he wildly drew on the talisman paper. He said to Lan Wangji, “If you don’t remember it, then it definitely didn’t happen. So, there must be another reason why it didn’t bother Young Master Qin for two years. Okay, I’m done drawing.”

He picked up the talisman, where the cinnabar was not yet completely dry, and handed it to Lan Sizhui, saying, “Send this to him.”

Lan Sizhui took it and looked at it carefully. He couldn’t understand it at all. He had never seen such a crazy, unrestrained, and unconventional talisman design in any book, and he couldn’t help but ask, “Senior Wei, this… you didn’t just draw it randomly, did you?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Of course I did.”

“…”

“I never look when I draw talismans.”

“…”

Wei Wuxian laughed and said, “Don’t worry, it’s definitely going to work. Speaking of which, Sizhui, do you not like this Young Master Qin very much?”

Lan Sizhui thought for a moment and said, “I don’t know.” He truthfully said, “He didn’t do anything particularly evil, but I probably find it difficult to get along with people like him. I don’t really like his tone when he mentions ‘servant’…”

He paused there. Wei Wuxian was completely oblivious and said, “Common, common. Most people in this world look down on servants. Sometimes, even the servants themselves look down on themselves… why are you looking at me like that?”

Halfway through his sentence, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he said, “Stop, what are you misunderstanding? Can this even be compared? Lotus Pier isn’t an ordinary household, when I was a kid, I beat Jiang Cheng more times than he beat me!”

Lan Wangji didn’t speak, but silently hugged him. Wei Wuxian couldn’t help but chuckle, returned the embrace, and patted his back a few times. Lan Sizhui coughed once, and seeing that Wei Wuxian’s expression was calm, and he was indeed not sensitive at all about the word “servant”, he felt relieved.

Wei Wuxian continued, “However, he’s probably going to come again.”

Lan Sizhui was startled and said, “Can’t it be resolved today?”

Lan Wangji said, “He did not speak fully.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Yes. It’s not the first time, anyway. There’s nothing to be done about people like that. You have to squeeze the words out of them bit by bit. Let’s see if he’ll tell us everything tomorrow after he gets through tonight.”

As expected, the next morning, when Lan Sizhui was practicing his sword in the courtyard of the Small Bamboo House, Young Master Qin came again.

As soon as he arrived, he said, “I don’t care!”

Lan Sizhui quickly said, “Young Master Qin, please wait! My two seniors are sleeping… are cultivating! They’re at a crucial point in their cultivation and cannot be disturbed!”

Hearing this, Young Master Qin did not force his way into the courtyard, but poured all of his resentment onto Lan Sizhui. “I don’t want to hear about temporary solutions or permanent solutions! I want this thing to never come looking for me again!!!”

That second night, Young Master Qin couldn’t sleep as usual, and he was reading under the lamp in the main hall. Before long, that fierce corpse—that servant—came as usual.

It still couldn’t enter the house, jumping around outside the door, occasionally banging on the door. But the wooden window and the paper covering did not shatter. Soon after, the commotion moved away. Young Master Qin, who hadn’t slept properly for several days, finally couldn’t hold on anymore. Without realizing it, fatigue overwhelmed him, and he slumped over and fell into a deep sleep.

In a daze, he didn’t know how long it had been before he suddenly heard three crisp knocks on the door. His whole body tensed up. He straightened his back and woke up with a start.

A woman outside the door said, “Husband.”

Young Master Qin was so confused that he didn’t even recognize his own father. Upon hearing Madam Qin’s voice, he stood up to open the door. But after taking just a few steps, he suddenly remembered that Madam Qin had been crying and arguing with him these past few days, saying that she couldn’t live like this anymore. Just yesterday, she packed her things and returned to her parents’ house. Since she went home because she was afraid, how would she have the courage to come back alone in the middle of the night?

The slender figure of a woman was projected onto the paper window. It did look like his wife. But Young Master Qin didn’t dare to be careless, so he quietly drew his sword and asked, “Madam, why did you come back? Are you not angry anymore?”

The woman outside the door said in a flat tone, “I’m back, I’m not angry, open the door.”

Young Master Qin didn’t dare to open the door rashly. He pointed his sword at the door and said, “Madam, it’s safer for you to go back to your father’s house. What if it hasn’t left yet and is still wandering around this house? What would we do?”

There was silence outside the door for a moment.

Young Master Qin’s hand gripping the sword was clammy with sweat.

Suddenly, the woman raised her voice and shrieked, “Aren’t you going to open the door! A ghost is coming! Let me in quickly!”

The one outside the door, who was pretending to be Madam Qin, was clinging to the paper window and screaming. Young Master Qin felt his scalp crawl. He clutched the talisman that Wei Wuxian had given him. Suddenly, a surge of blood rose to his head, and he charged out the door with his sword—

Young Master Qin said, “Then a pile of things came flying at me and knocked me unconscious.”

Wei Wuxian said, “What things knocked you unconscious?”

Young Master Qin pointed to the table. Wei Wuxian took a look and said, unable to contain his laughter, “Why is it fruit?”

Young Master Qin said angrily, “How would I know!”

Wei Wuxian said, “Of course you know, no one else knows but you. Evil spirits are very vengeful; did you throw fruit at him before too?”

Young Master Qin’s face darkened, and he remained silent. Wei Wuxian knew from his expression that he had guessed correctly, but he would definitely not admit it, so he did not pursue it. When Young Master Qin spoke again, he indeed changed the subject, “I sent someone to ask my father-in-law’s house this morning, and my wife never left their house last night.”

Wei Wuxian said, “That’s something that specifically breaks the protective barrier of a yang residence, rarely seen in the notes and ancient books of past generations. In itself, it does not harm people, but it can mimic the voices and appearances of those close to the owner of the house. It often works together with evil spirits that cannot enter the house, helping the evil spirits and tricking you into opening the door yourself. That fierce corpse really found a good helper.”

Young Master Qin said, “No matter what it is, knowing won’t help me. Young Master, the second door has already been broken. This thing has entered my main hall. Are you going to tell me again that there’s nothing to be done?”

“Young Master Qin,” Wei Wuxian said, “let’s be reasonable, you opened that second door yourself. If it weren’t for my talisman, I wouldn’t dare to say what shape you’d be in right now.”

Young Master Qin was choked up and said, “If this continues, next time I wake up, will I see that thing standing at my bedside!”

Wei Wuxian said, “If you really want to sleep soundly, Young Master Qin, you’d better hurry and think if there’s anything else you’ve forgotten to mention. This time, please don’t hold anything back. You must know that tonight, hahaha, I’m not trying to scare you, but it’ll be at your bedroom door.”

Left with no choice, Young Master Qin had to reveal one more thing.

“The last time I saw this person was two years ago when I returned to my hometown to pay respects to my parents and ancestors. At that time, I returned to the old family house for the ancestral sacrifices, and I was wearing a jade pendant.”

Young Master Qin said, “He recognized it as something my grandmother had while she was still alive, and asked me to borrow it to have a look. I thought he probably wanted to remember my grandmother, so I gave it to him. Who knew that he hadn’t looked at it for long before the jade pendant was lost.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Lost as in? Did he misplace it, or did he take it to sell it?”

Young Master Qin hesitated for a moment and said, “I don’t know. I originally thought that he had taken it to sell it and lied about losing it when he came back. But…”

He stopped talking, and Wei Wuxian said patiently, “But what?”

Lan Wangji’s expression was cold as always, and he said, “But please speak freely.”

Young Master Qin said, “But, now that I think about it, he wouldn’t have taken my grandmother’s things to sell.”

“Later, I heard that this person liked to drink, so he probably lost it after drinking too much at night, or it was stolen. Anyway, at the time, I was angry and scolded him.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Wait a minute. Young Master Qin, this is a matter of life and death; you can’t be ambiguous about it. The term ‘scolded’ can be interpreted as light or heavy, the difference can be significant. How exactly did you ‘scold’ him?”

Young Master Qin’s eyebrow twitched, and he added, “I remember I also beat him a little.”

Wei Wuxian blinked and said, “This… could it be that you broke his lame leg by beating him?”