TFOD Chapter 24

At this moment, Jin Ling, who was unconscious, suddenly sat up.

In front of the two of them, he climbed up from the ground, eyes closed and staggering. Wei Wuxian wanted to see what he was going to do, so he didn’t move. He watched as Jin Ling slowly walked past him, took a step, and stepped back into the wall, standing back in the spot where he had just been buried. His hands were at his sides, and even his posture was exactly the same as before.

Wei Wuxian pulled him out of the wall again, feeling amused and strange. He was about to tell Lan Wangji that they shouldn’t stay here for long, when suddenly, a burst of furious barking from far away startled him. Since they had entered, the black-maned spirit dog had been sitting obediently at the entrance, wagging its tail, anxiously and pitifully waiting for them to bring its master out. It hadn’t barked once, but now its barking was more ferocious than ever before.

Lan Wangji said, “There’s something unusual outside the fortress.”

He reached out to help Jin Ling, but Wei Wuxian quickly picked him up on his back, saying, “Let’s go out and take a look!”

The two of them quickly returned the way they came. As they ducked out of the cave entrance, they saw the black-maned spirit dog facing away from them, growling low in its throat in one direction. Although Wei Wuxian had come over with a brave face, he couldn’t stand this kind of sound. He couldn’t help but take a few steps back. The dog turned its head, saw that he was carrying Jin Ling, and then pounced towards them with its legs flying. Wei Wuxian let out a miserable cry, and was about to throw Jin Ling when Lan Wangji moved to block him.

The black-maned spirit dog immediately stopped, tucked its tail, and didn’t stick out its tongue because it had something in its mouth. Lan Wangji stepped forward, bent down, and took a piece of cloth from its teeth. He returned and handed it to Wei Wuxian to look at. It seemed to be a piece of clothing. Someone must have been wandering or spying nearby, and they were acting suspiciously, otherwise, the black-maned spirit dog’s barking wouldn’t have been so hostile. Wei Wuxian said, “The person hasn’t gone far. Let’s chase them!”

But Lan Wangji said, “No need. I know who it is.”

Wei Wuxian said, “I know too. It’s the same group of people who spread rumors, released walking corpses, set up mazes, and built stone fortresses on Xinglu Ridge. And those sabers too. But if we don’t catch them now, it’ll be troublesome to catch them later.”

Lan Wangji said, “I’ll chase them. What about you and Jin Ling?”

Wei Wuxian said, “I’ll take him down Xinglu Ridge and settle him in Qinghe, at the same place we met that doctor. We’ll meet there.”

This conversation happened very quickly. Lan Wangji only paused for a moment, then Wei Wuxian said, “Go, if you’re any later, they’ll disappear. I’ll be there!”

Hearing “I’ll be there”, Lan Wangji looked at him deeply, then without saying more, he turned to leave. The black-maned spirit dog tried to pounce again, and Wei Wuxian cried out in alarm, “Wait, wait, wait! Take the dog with you! Take the dog!!!”

Lan Wangji had to turn back again and look down at the black-maned spirit dog. It didn’t dare disobey, and whined as it followed Lan Wangji, looking back at Jin Ling from time to time. Wei Wuxian wiped away some sweat, looked back at the white stone fortresses, and with Jin Ling on his back, walked down Xinglu Ridge.

It was nearly dusk. He was carrying an unconscious young man, and both of them were covered in mud. They were quite dishevelled, attracting the attention of passersby. Wei Wuxian returned to the street where Jin Ling had chased him with his dog during the day. He found an inn, used the money he had taken from Lan Wangji to buy two sets of new clothes, and took a room. He first pulled off Jin Ling’s mud-covered, crumpled golden star and snow wave patterned robe and then his boots. Suddenly, he stopped.

There seemed to be a shadow on Jin Ling’s calf. Wei Wuxian squatted down, rolled up his pants, and found that it wasn’t a shadow. It was a patch of dark purple. And it wasn’t a bruise from an injury, but an evil curse mark.

An evil curse mark was a sign that an evil entity leaves on its prey. Once it appears, it means that the person has encountered something extremely evil. It leaves a mark, and it will come back for you. Maybe it will be a long time before it comes back, maybe it will come tonight. At best, it will take away the part of the body with the mark. At worst, it will simply take your life.

Jin Ling’s entire leg had turned black, and the mark was still spreading upwards. Wei Wuxian had never seen an evil curse mark that was so dark or spreading so rapidly. The more he looked at it, the more solemn his expression became. He lowered Jin Ling’s pants, unbuttoned Jin Ling’s inner robe, and saw that his chest and abdomen were clean. The evil curse mark hadn’t spread there, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

At that moment, Jin Ling opened his eyes.

He was dazed for a while. His body was bare, and the cool air all around made him suddenly wake up. He scrambled up and, his face flushed, he roared, “Wha-wha-wha-what are you doing!”

Wei Wuxian laughed, “Oh, you’re awake.”

Jin Ling seemed to be greatly frightened. He covered himself with his robe and shrank back to the corner of the bed, saying, “What are you trying to do! Where are my clothes?! Where’s my sword?! Where’s my dog?!”

Wei Wuxian said, “I was just about to dress you.”

His expression and tone were as kind as a grandmother putting extra clothes on her grandson. Jin Ling, with his hair in a mess, pressed himself against the wall and said, “I’m not a cut-sleeve!!!”

Wei Wuxian was overjoyed and said, “What a coincidence, I am!!!”

Jin Ling grabbed his sword from the edge of the bed. He had the heroic spirit to kill Wei Wuxian if he took another step, and then kill himself to maintain his purity. Wei Wuxian finally managed to stop laughing, holding his stomach as he said, “Why are you so scared? I’m just joking! I painstakingly dug you out of the wall, and you won’t even say thank you.”

Jin Ling, in his haste, lifted his hand to smooth down his messy hair, making it look a little tidier. He said angrily, “If it weren’t for that, you, you, if you dared take off my clothes, I, I, would have already killed you ten thousand times!”

Wei Wuxian said, “Don’t. Dying once is painful enough. Okay, okay, put down your sword.”

In a daze, Jin Ling did as he was told and put down his sword.

During the spirit inquiry, although his soul had left his body, he didn’t remember everything clearly. But he vaguely knew that it was the person in front of him who had dug him out, and carried him all the way down the mountain. After being buried in the wall, he was conscious for a while. The fear and despair in his heart were beyond words, but he hadn’t expected that the one who would break through that wall, breaking through his fear and despair, would actually be this person he had disliked so much at first sight. His face was pale and then red, and he was dizzy and embarrassed. His thoughts were still drifting and he couldn’t focus. Suddenly he glanced out the window and saw that the sky was already dark with sparse stars, and he was immediately startled. Just as Wei Wuxian bent down to pick up the new clothes that were scattered on the ground, Jin Ling jumped off the bed, put on his boots, grabbed his outer robe, and rushed out of the room.

Wei Wuxian had thought that after suffering so much, he would be listless for a while. But he hadn’t expected that young people were so full of energy. In the blink of an eye, he was jumping around again. In a gust of wind, he disappeared. Thinking of the extraordinary evil curse mark on his leg, he quickly shouted, “Why are you running! Come back!”

Jin Ling ran while putting on the wrinkled, muddy robe with his family crest, shouting, “Don’t follow me!” His figure was light and his legs were long. He ran down the stairs and out of the inn in a few steps. Wei Wuxian chased him for several streets but still lost sight of him.

After looking for a while, dusk had fallen, and the pedestrians on the streets were becoming sparse. Wei Wuxian gritted his teeth and said, “This is outrageous. This kid is really outrageous!”

When he was about to give up, a young man’s angry voice came from the end of the long street, “If I say a few words to you, you run away without a trace. Are you a young lady? Your temper is getting worse and worse!”

Jiang Cheng!

Wei Wuxian quickly slipped into an alley. Then, Jin Ling’s voice rang out, “I’m back and fine now, aren’t I? Stop nagging!”

So Jin Ling hadn’t come to Qinghe alone. No wonder, Jiang Cheng had come to help him at Dafan Mountain last time. How could he not come this time? But it seemed that the two of them, uncle and nephew, had had an argument in Qinghe Town, and Jin Ling had gone alone to Xinglu Ridge. He must have been running so fast because Jiang Cheng had threatened him that if he didn’t return before dark, he would make him suffer.

Jiang Cheng said, “Fine? You look like you’ve rolled around in a muddy ditch, you call that fine? Wearing your family uniform, aren’t you embarrassed? Go back and change your clothes right now! Tell me, what happened today?”

Jin Ling said impatiently, “I told you, I didn’t run into anything. I fell, it was a wasted trip. Ow!” He yelled, “Don’t pull me like that! I’m not three years old!”

Jiang Cheng said sternly, “I can’t control you! I’m telling you, even if you’re thirty years old, I can still pull you. If you dare to run around on your own without saying a word again, I’ll use the whip!”

Jin Ling said, “I just went by myself because I didn’t want anyone’s help or control.”

Wei Wuxian thought, “Putting aside everything else, Jiang Cheng’s calling him a young lady with a temper is spot on.”

Jiang Cheng said, “So what now? Did you catch anything? Where’s your black-maned spirit dog that your little uncle gave you?”

Lan Wangji probably chased it away to some unknown corner. Just as Wei Wuxian was thinking this, two familiar barks came from the other end of the alley.

Wei Wuxian’s expression changed drastically, and his legs moved on their own. He shot out like a poisonous arrow. The black-maned spirit dog ran from the other end of the alley, passed Wei Wuxian, and pounced at Jin Ling’s legs, happily wagging its tail.

Since this dog had appeared here, it meant that Lan Wangji had most likely caught the spy near the fortress and had gone to the place they agreed to meet. But at the moment, Wei Wuxian didn’t have time to think about that.

His rush had brought him face-to-face with Jiang Cheng, Jin Ling, and a large group of Jiang’s disciples.

After a moment of stalemate, Wei Wuxian silently turned to run.

He had only taken a few steps when he heard a sizzling sound of electricity. A purple current, like a poisonous snake, wrapped around his calf. A numb, itchy pain flowed from the bottom up through his whole body, and he was pulled backward, immediately falling to the ground. Then, his chest tightened, and someone lifted him up by the back of his shirt. Wei Wuxian reacted quickly and reached for his soul locking pouch, but it was snatched away first.

Jiang Cheng lifted him up, took a few steps, and kicked open the half-closed door of the nearest shop.

The shopkeeper was about to close when suddenly, he saw a handsome young man, dressed in noble attire with an unpleasant expression, kick open his door. He was carrying a person as if he was about to dismember them in the shop, which scared him into silence. One of Jiang’s disciples came forward, whispered a few instructions to him, and gave him some silver. He quickly hid in the back room and didn’t come out again. Without needing to be told, several Jiang’s disciples scattered quickly and surrounded the shop tightly from the inside and out.

Jin Ling stood to the side, his eyes filled with a mix of hesitation and suspicion. Jiang Cheng said fiercely to him, “I’ll deal with you later. Stay here for now!”

Since he could remember, Jin Ling had never seen this kind of expression on Jiang Cheng’s face. His uncle, who at a young age was in charge of the influential Yunmeng Jiang Clan, was always cold and stern. His words were neither forgiving nor kind. But now, although he was trying his best to suppress his emotions, his eyes were terribly bright.

That face that was always full of arrogance and mockery, with a face full of shadows, seemed to become clear and sharp in every part. It was actually hard to tell whether it was gritted teeth, a deep-seated hatred, or ecstatic joy.