TFOD Chapter 29

Entering the city, the two walked side by side among the bustling crowd. Suddenly, Lan Wangji asked, “How is the evil curse mark?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Jin Ling buried himself too close to his ‘good brother’ at the time, absorbing a lot of resentment, it’s faded a little, but not completely gone. Generally, you’d have to find the whole body, or at least the head, to completely eliminate it. It’s not a problem.”

The “good brother” was the unfortunate fellow who had been torn apart by five horses. Because his identity was unknown, Wei Wuxian suggested using “good brother” as a substitute. After hearing this, Lan Wangji remained silent, but he did not object, which was considered tacit approval of this term. Of course, he himself would never use such a word.

Lan Wangji said, “How much is a little?”

Wei Wuxian gestured with his fingers, saying, “A little is just a little. What do you think, want me to take it off for you to see?”

Lan Wangji’s eyebrows twitched slightly. It seemed he was genuinely worried that he might strip on the street, and he said in a low voice, “Take it off when we get back.”

Wei Wuxian laughed heartily, turned around, and walked backwards a few steps. Before, to get away as soon as possible, he had done his best to make people dislike him, doing many things like acting crazy, playing the fool, and losing face. Now that his identity had been exposed, if someone else were to think back on all those past events, they would definitely be so ashamed they would want to crawl into a hole. Only a person like Wei Wuxian, whose skin had always been exceptionally thick, would still act like nothing had happened. Speaking of which, if it were anyone else with a bit of shame, they would never be able to do things like climbing into someone’s bed in the middle of the night, insisting on squeezing into a bathtub with someone, or asking if they looked beautiful after applying makeup. He pretended to remember nothing, and naturally, Lan Wangji would not actively bring it up. They both acted as if nothing had happened. Today was the first time they had joked like this again since then. After laughing, Wei Wuxian’s expression immediately turned serious, “Hanguang-Jun, do you think, the ones who threw ‘good brother’s’ hand into Mo Village to attack your juniors, and the ones who sewed his legs onto another corpse and buried them in the wall, are they the same group of people?”

Although both in the past and now, in his heart, he directly called Lan Wangji by his name, he had been calling him by his honorific title every day for the past few days, and it had become a habit. Moreover, the way he said the title carried a deliberate seriousness, a strangely humorous tone. So when they were outside, he continued to call him that, half serious and half joking.

Lan Wangji said, “Two groups.”

Wei Wuxian said, “That’s what I thought too. Going to great lengths to sew the legs onto another corpse and hide it in the wall, that’s clearly because they didn’t want the limbs to be discovered. If that’s the case, they wouldn’t deliberately throw out the left hand to attack the people of Gusu Lan Sect, because that would definitely attract attention and an investigation. One painstakingly hid it, while the other acted rashly, as if afraid of not being discovered. It shouldn’t be the same group of people.”

He had said everything, and Lan Wangji seemed to have nothing more to say, but he still gave a soft “Mhm.”

Wei Wuxian turned back around, walking as he said, “The people who hid the legs knew the Qinghe Nie Sect had a tradition of offering sacrifices in the sword hall, and the people who threw the left hand knew the movements of Gusu Lan Sect. It seems they didn’t come from ordinary places. The secrets are getting more and more numerous.”

Lan Wangji said, “Let’s take it one step at a time.”

Wei Wuxian asked, “How did you recognize me?”

Lan Wangji replied, “Think about it yourself.”

They went back and forth with their questions and answers, not stopping for a moment. Wei Wuxian originally wanted to catch Lan Wangji off guard and make him blurt out the answer to that last question, but he failed again. Not discouraged, he quickly switched topics, “I’ve never been to Liyang before. Before, I was the one who asked people for information, but this time, I’ll be lazy and trouble you to ask around. I wonder if Hanguang-Jun minds?”

Lan Wangji turned to leave, and Wei Wuxian immediately said, “Wait. Hanguang-Jun, may I ask where you are going?”

Lan Wangji turned his head and said, “To find the cultivation sect stationed here.”

Wei Wuxian tugged at his sword tassel, pulling him back, “What are you going to them for? This is their territory, even if they know, they won’t tell you. Either they can’t solve it and are embarrassed to say so, or they’ll stubbornly refuse to let outsiders interfere. Your esteemed Hanguang-Jun, not to smear you, but when it comes to handling matters, you really can’t do it without me. If you can find out anything by asking like that, that would be a miracle.”

These words were a bit blunt, but Lan Wangji’s eyes were gentle, and he still softly replied, “Mhm.”

Wei Wuxian smiled, “Mhm, mhm, what’s with all the ‘mhms’?” In his heart, he was grumbling happily, “He only knows how to say ‘mhm’, he really is so quiet!”

Lan Wangji asked, “Then how should we find out?”

Wei Wuxian pointed to one side, “Of course we go there.”

He was pointing towards a wide, long street. The street was lined with eye-catching signboards and bright red cloths hanging on both sides. Every shop had its doors wide open, with round, dark jars displayed both inside and outside. There were also shop assistants holding trays of small wine bowls, enthusiastically recommending their wares to the passersby.

The strong smell of liquor filled the entire street. No wonder Wei Wuxian had been slowing down as they walked. He had completely stopped at the entrance of the street and had even held Lan Wangji back.

Wei Wuxian said seriously, “The shop assistants in these places are usually young and quick-witted, with nimble hands and feet. Moreover, they have a lot of customers every day, and with so many people talking, they’re sure to know about any strange things happening nearby.”

Lan Wangji didn’t object with a “mhm,” but his face already expressed, “You clearly just want to drink.”

Wei Wuxian pretended not to see his face. He just held onto his sword tassel, his eyes gleaming, and stepped into the street lined with liquor shops. Immediately, five or six shop assistants from different shops surrounded them, their enthusiasm rising higher than the last, “Want to try some? The famous He family brew!”

“Young master, try this one. It’s free, if you enjoy it, come patronize our shop.”

“This liquor doesn’t smell strong, but it has a kick to it!”

“If you can still stand after drinking it, I’ll change my surname!”

Hearing that, Wei Wuxian said, “Okay!” He took the wine bowl from the shop assistant, tipped his head back and drank it all, smiling and showing him the empty bowl, “Change your surname?”

The shop assistant was not intimidated, raising his head with even more gusto, “I said if you can still stand after drinking a whole jar!”

Wei Wuxian said, “Then give me—three jars.”

The shop assistant was overjoyed and rushed back into the shop. Wei Wuxian said to Lan Wangji, “When doing business, first do business, then talk about other things. Once the business is done, it’s easier to open their mouths.”

Lan Wangji paid the bill.

The two entered the shop. Inside, there were wooden tables and chairs for customers to rest and chat. Another shop assistant, upon seeing Lan Wangji’s clothing and demeanor, was shocked by his divine beauty and didn’t dare to be careless. He vigorously wiped the tables and chairs for a good while before daring to direct them to a seat. Wei Wuxian placed two jars by his feet, held one in his hands, and became friendly with the shop assistant in a few words. Then, he cut to the chase, asking about strange happenings in the area. The shop assistant was also a talkative person, rubbing his hands and asking, “What kind of strange things?”

“Haunted houses, desolate tombs, dismemberment, things like that.”

The shop assistant’s eyes rolled around, “Oh…what do you two do? You and him.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Haven’t you already guessed?”

The shop assistant said knowingly, “I guessed right. It’s easy. You two must be those flying, cloud-riding sect people, especially you beside him. I’ve never seen anyone this…this…”

Wei Wuxian laughed, “This handsome.”

The shop assistant chuckled, “You said it, this young master might not be happy. Strange things, right, there are some. But not recently, it was ten years ago. If you go that way, out of the city, and walk two or three li, you can see a nicely built mansion. I don’t know if their sign is still there, but that place is the Chang residence.”

Wei Wuxian asked, “What happened to that mansion?”

“A family annihilation tragedy!” The shop assistant said, “If you ask about strange things, I’ll of course pick the strangest. The whole family died, and it’s said they were all scared to death!”

Hearing this, Lan Wangji seemed to be in thought, as if he had remembered something. Wei Wuxian, however, didn’t notice, and asked, “Are there any cultivation sects stationed in this area?” To be able to scare a family to death, that was an extremely cruel and terrifying evil spirit. Not every family was like the Qinghe Nie Sect, with their own unavoidable hidden reasons, ordinary cultivation sects wouldn’t allow such a thing to appear in their territory. The shop assistant replied, “Of course there are. Why wouldn’t there be?”

Wei Wuxian asked, “Then how did they deal with it at the time?”

“Deal with it?” The shop assistant tossed his rag over his shoulder, sat down as well, and solemnly shook out the burden he had been holding back, “Young master, you know, what was the name of the cultivation sect that was stationed in Liyang before? They were surnamed Chang. The family that died, that was their family! Everyone is dead, who is there to deal with it?”

The Chang family that was annihilated, was the very cultivation sect stationed here?!

Although Wei Wuxian had never heard of any Liyang Chang Sect, it definitely wasn’t any famous or prominent sect, but a family annihilation was absolutely a very important and terrifying event. He immediately followed up, “How was the Chang family annihilated?”

The shop assistant replied, “I’ve only heard about it, okay? That Chang family, one night, suddenly, a sound of knocking on the door came from their direction.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Knocking?”

“Yes! The knocking on the door was earth-shattering. There was shouting and crying from inside, as if everyone was trapped inside and couldn’t get out. Isn’t that strange? The door bolt was locked from the inside. If the people inside wanted to get out, they could just open it, why knock on the door? Even if you knock on the door, there’s nothing the people outside can do. Also, if you can’t get out through the door, you can’t climb over the wall?

“The people outside were scratching their heads. Everyone around here knew that the Chang family was a distinguished family, cultivators. Their family head, I think his name was Chang Ping, he had a sword that could fly, he could stand on it and fly! If something really happened inside, and even his family couldn’t handle it, if ordinary people went to meddle, they’d be courting death. So no one put up a ladder or climbed over the wall to look inside. It was like that all night, and the wailing inside grew quieter and quieter. The next day, as soon as the sun came up, the Chang family’s gate opened on its own.

“The entire house, a dozen or so masters, men and women, and over fifty servants, they were all sitting, lying down, vomiting bile, all scared to death alive.”

The liquor shop owner turned around and scolded, “You want to die! Not doing your work, talking about old things about death, death, death.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Another five jars.”

Lan Wangji paid for ten jars, and the owner immediately turned around with a happy smile, instructing the shop assistant, “Keep our guests happy, don’t run around!”

Wei Wuxian said, “Continue what you were saying.”

The shop assistant, no longer having any worries, exerted all his energy, speaking with dramatic tones, “Since then, for a long time, if people walked near the Chang residence at night, they could hear the sound of knocking from inside!

“Think about it, those people who fly on clouds, cultivate immortality, and fight demons, they’ve seen so many ghosts and monsters, and yet they were all scared to death alive, that’s how frightening it must be. You know, if you walk at night a lot, you’ll always meet ghosts. Even after they were buried, you could still hear knocking from the coffins! It’s said their family head, Chang Ping, was away on business and didn’t come back, he escaped that disaster…”

Wei Wuxian asked, “Didn’t you say the entire family died?”