TFOD Chapter 106

Jin Ling secretly glanced at Wei Wuxian again. With no dog by his side, Wei Wuxian was finally able to gather his scattered wits. He said with a headache, “You kid… what are you doing here so late, bringing a dog with you?”

What he didn’t know was that after he, Lan Wangji, and Wen Ning left Lotus Pier by boat, Jin Ling had secretly gone looking for him, only to find him gone. He had then thrown a tantrum at his uncle, who was acting like a madman, grabbing people everywhere and forcing them to draw a broken sword. He had pointed at Jiang Cheng’s nose and yelled that it was all because of him that Wei Wuxian had run away. Jiang Cheng had slapped him to the ground. So, Jin Ling had decided to just go ahead and track down Wei Wuxian himself, leading Fairy with him. Fairy had not disappointed him, accurately tracking Wei Wuxian’s scent to the vicinity of the Guanyin Temple. But when Jin Ling knocked on the door, it had suddenly sensed the murderous intent lurking within and abruptly changed direction, barking wildly and tugging at its owner’s clothes to warn him. However, there was something strange about this Guanyin Temple. Jin Ling felt that even if Wei Wuxian wasn’t there, he had to investigate, and ultimately, he had fallen into their trap.

Jin Ling would naturally never tell the truth. He only grunted in response.

Jin Guangyao led a few people into the temple. As the main gate was about to close, he turned to ask his subordinate, “Where’s the spirit dog?”

A monk said, “That black-maned spirit dog is extremely fierce. It bites anyone it sees. Your subordinate was unable to stop it, and it escaped.”

Jin Guangyao said, “Chase it and kill it. That spirit dog is very clever. If it leads anyone here, it will be troublesome.”

“Yes!”

The monk took his sword and went out, and the gate closed. Jin Ling was shocked. He blurted out, “You’re really going to kill it? Fairy was a gift from you to me!”

Jin Guangyao did not answer. Instead, he asked, “A-Ling, what are you doing here?”

Jin Ling glanced at Wei Wuxian, hesitant to answer. Suddenly, Lan Xichen said, “Sect Leader Jin, Jin Ling is still a child.”

Jin Guangyao looked at him and said, “I know.”

Lan Xichen said, “And he’s your nephew.”

Jin Guangyao chuckled. He said, “Second Brother, what are you thinking? Of course, I know Jin Ling is a child and my nephew. Do you think I’ll do something like kill him to silence him?”

Lan Xichen remained silent. Jin Guangyao shook his head and said to Jin Ling, “A-Ling, you heard that. If you run around or shout, perhaps I’ll do something terrible to you. You decide for yourself.”

Jin Ling and his uncle had always had a good relationship. Jin Guangyao had always doted on him. Even now, he seemed to have a gentle and cheerful expression, but in this situation, it was difficult for Jin Ling to look at him as he had before. He silently walked to Wei Wuxian and Lan Xichen’s sides, appearing well-behaved.

Jin Guangyao turned around and said, “Still not done digging? Tell the people inside to hurry up!”

A monk responded, “Yes!” and rushed back into the Guanyin Hall.

Only then did Wei Wuxian notice that from the main hall in the back, there was a heavy and continuous sound of soil and rocks, as if many people were digging. He thought, “What is he digging? A tunnel? The Yin Tiger Seal? Something that’s being suppressed?”

Jin Guangyao said, “Speaking of which, I haven’t asked yet. How did Mr. Wei find out about this place? Don’t tell me you and Hanguang-Jun were just wandering around and happened to stumble upon it.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Lianfang-Zun hid a large land deed in the secret chamber of the Fragrant Chamber, placing it with my manuscripts. Don’t you remember?”

Jin Guangyao said, “Ah, that was my oversight. I should have put them separately.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Since we’re all in your control now anyway, can Lianfang-Zun tell me what exactly is being suppressed in this Guanyin Temple, just to satisfy my curiosity?”

Jin Guangyao smiled and said, “The price for satisfying curiosity isn’t cheap. Mr. Wei, are you sure you want to try?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Oh. Then I’d rather not for now.”

At this time, Lan Xichen walked to his side. Only then did Wei Wuxian notice that Lan Xichen’s sword at his waist was drawn out by an inch, but without any spiritual light flowing. He said, “Ze Wu-Jun, what’s with this?”

Lan Xichen said, “I am ashamed. I was deceived, fell into a trap, and lost all my spiritual power. Even with Shuoyue and Liebing on my person, they can’t help.”

Wei Wuxian said, “There’s no need to be ashamed. After all, deceiving people is Lianfang-Zun’s specialty.”

Recalling the scene he had seen in the empathy, where Meng Yao had pretended to commit suicide to plot against Nie Mingjue, and considering the news of “Lianfang-Zun being severely injured,” it wasn’t hard to deduce how Lan Xichen had lost his spiritual power.

Jin Guangyao instructed a few monks, “Set up an array. When Hanguang-Jun arrives, it will serve as one line of defense.”

Wei Wuxian said, “How are you so sure Hanguang-Jun will definitely come?”

His mind was racing, thinking about whether he should lie to make Jin Guangyao lower his guard. Unexpectedly, Jin Guangyao seemed to see through his thoughts. He smiled slightly and said, “Of course, he will come. Since Mr. Wei, you’ve set your sights on this Guanyin Temple, Hanguang-Jun naturally knows that there’s something fishy about this place. Does Mr. Wei think I’d believe you if you said he wasn’t by your side?”

Wei Wuxian said, “You’re smart.”

Lan Xichen said, “Mr. Wei, since Wangji is nearby, why isn’t he with you?”

Wei Wuxian said, “We separated to act alone.”

Lan Xichen, however, paused and said, “I heard that you came down from the Burial Mounds and were recently injured. Why would he separate from you at this time?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Who did you hear that from?”

Jin Guangyao said, “I did.”

Wei Wuxian glanced at him and said to Lan Xichen, “It’s like this. Tonight I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a walk outside the inn and by chance, stumbled upon this place. Hanguang-Jun is in another room. He doesn’t know I came out.”

Jin Guangyao was puzzled. “You’re staying in separate rooms?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Who told you we had to stay in the same room?”

Jin Guangyao only smiled without speaking. Wei Wuxian said, “Oh, I see.” Lan Xichen had said it.

Wei Wuxian said, “You guys really do say everything.”

Lan Xichen, however, did not mean to joke around. He said, “Mr. Wei, have you two run into some trouble?”

His face had lost its gentle smile, becoming serious, making him look more like Lan Wangji. But Wei Wuxian did not understand why he had such a big reaction. He was already feeling guilty, so he said, “Sect Leader Lan, what trouble could we have? Right now, we should focus on dealing with this one.”

He gestured with his eyes at Jin Guangyao. After his reminder, Lan Xichen said, “I was too anxious. I apologize.”

Jin Guangyao, however, laughed and said, “It seems like there really is trouble. And it’s not small.”

Wei Wuxian sneered. “Now that all the sects are going to come after you, Lianfang-Zun, you still have the leisure to be concerned about others? You talk too much, don’t you?”

Jin Guangyao said, “I wouldn’t dare. I’m just sighing. Hanguang-Jun has been suffering for so many years, and yet, he still hasn’t achieved a positive outcome. It’s not only Sect Leader Lan who has reason to be anxious, but even outsiders can’t help but feel sorry for him.”

Wei Wuxian looked at him sharply. “What suffering? What positive outcome?”

Upon hearing this, both Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen were surprised. One by one, they looked at him carefully, as if checking to see if he was deliberately pretending to be ignorant. Wei Wuxian’s heart suddenly began to race. It felt like something that had been dead for half the night was gradually coming back to life in his chest. He tried hard to stay calm and said, “What do you mean?”

Jin Guangyao said, “What do I mean, Mr. Wei? Are you truly ignorant or pretending to be? Whether it’s the former or the latter, if Hanguang-Jun heard this, it might be a bit hurtful.”

Wei Wuxian said, “I really don’t understand. Just say it directly!”

Lan Xichen said in shock, “Mr. Wei, don’t tell me that you’ve been with Wangji for so long and yet are completely unaware of his feelings?”

Wei Wuxian grabbed him, almost to the point of kneeling to beg him to explain. “Sect Leader Lan, Sect Leader Lan, you, you’re saying Lan Zhan’s feelings, what feelings?! Is it, is it…”

Lan Xichen abruptly pulled his hand back, his face in disbelief. “It seems that you really are completely unaware. Have you forgotten how he got those discipline whip scars? Haven’t you seen the brand on his chest?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Discipline whip scars?!” He grabbed Lan Xichen again and said, “Sect Leader Lan, I really don’t know. Please tell me, how did he get those injuries? Are they related to me?!”

Lan Xichen’s face showed anger. “If it’s not related to you, did he inflict those on himself for no reason!”

Ze Wu-Jun was usually very cultured, but at this moment, when it involved Lan Wangji, he became truly agitated. After carefully looking at Wei Wuxian’s expression, his anger subsided slightly, and he tentatively asked, “You… do you have memory loss?”

Wei Wuxian said, “My memory?” He immediately tried desperately to recall anything he might have forgotten. “I don’t remember having…having any memory…”

He did indeed have a period of hazy memory.

The bloodbath at Nightless City!

That night, he had thought that Wen Qing and Wen Ning had been reduced to ashes. Witnessing the passionate battle formations of the major sects, and more than that, seeing Jiang Yanli die before his very eyes, he had finally gone berserk. He had combined the Yin Tiger Seal, letting it go on a rampage. Those killed by the dead that were controlled by the Yin Tiger Seal became new fierce corpses, creating an endless stream of slaughter, thus creating a blood-soaked hell.

After that, although Wei Wuxian was barely able to stay on his feet, he vaguely felt that he had left the ruined city that resembled a slaughterhouse. However, he had lost consciousness for quite a while. When he regained his consciousness, he had already been sitting at the Burial Mounds in Yiling for a long time.

Lan Xichen said, “Did you remember?”

Wei Wuxian mumbled, “That time at Nightless City? I…I always thought I had walked back there in a daze. Could it be…”

Lan Xichen was so angry he nearly laughed. “Mr. Wei! That night at Nightless City, how many people were your enemies? Three thousand! Even if you were an unparalleled genius, how could you have retreated unscathed under those circumstances? How is that possible!”

Wei Wuxian said, “Lan Zhan…What did Lan Zhan do?”

Lan Xichen said, “What Wangji did, if you yourself don’t remember, I’m afraid he’ll never tell you on his own initiative, and you wouldn’t ask. Fine, let me tell you.”

He said, “Mr. Wei, that night, you offered up the two halves of the Yin Tiger Seal, combining them into one. After killing to your heart’s content, you were already at your limit. Wangji was injured by you when you went berserk. His condition wasn’t much better than yours. He was barely able to hold on, using Bichen to stay on his feet. Even so, the moment he saw you leave unsteadily, he immediately followed.

“At that time, there were few people there who were still conscious, and I was barely able to move. I could only watch as Wangji, his spiritual power clearly almost exhausted, followed after you with a limp. He grabbed you, put you on Bichen, and flew away.

“Two hours later, I recovered my spiritual power and returned to Gusu Lan Sect seeking help. I was worried that if the other families found you two first, Wangji would be seen as your accomplice. The lightest result would be leaving a permanent blemish on his reputation, and the heaviest, he would be killed without explanation. So, I, along with my uncle, gathered thirty-three senior cultivators who had been fond of Wangji in the past and secretly flew to search for two days. Only then did we find traces of you in Yiling. Wangji had hidden you in a cave. When we arrived, you were sitting blankly on a stone inside the cave, while Wangji was holding your hand, giving you spiritual energy, and speaking to you in a low voice.

“From beginning to end, you kept repeating the same word to him.

“‘Get lost!’”

Wei Wuxian’s throat was dry, and his eyes were red. He could not say a single word. Lan Xichen said, “My uncle suddenly appeared before him and reprimanded him, asking him to explain. He seemed to have anticipated that we would find him, but he said there was nothing to explain, that’s how it was. From childhood to adulthood, he had never contradicted my uncle or me. Yet, for you, Wangji not only contradicted him but also drew swords against the Gusu Lan Sect’s fellow disciples, severely injuring all thirty-three seniors we had brought…”

Wei Wuxian buried his hands in his hair and said, “…I, I don’t know…I really…”

Apart from repeating that he really didn’t know, he couldn’t say anything else. Lan Xichen endured for a long moment, then said, “Thirty-three discipline whip scars! All at once, one strike each. You should know how painful it is when those land on the body and how long you would need to lie down! He stubbornly sent you back to the Burial Mounds, then returned despondently to receive his punishment. He knelt before the rules stone for how long! When I went to see him, I said to him, ‘Mr. Wei has made a great mistake. Why are you adding to that mistake?’ He said…he couldn’t say whether what you had done was right or wrong, but regardless, he was willing to bear all the consequences with you. Those years were called facing the wall in reflection, but he was in reality severely injured and unable to travel. Even like that, after learning of your death, he still dragged that body of his, no matter what, to take one last look at the Burial Mounds…

“When he rescued you and hid you in the cave, the way he spoke to you and the way he looked at you, even if you were deaf and blind, you couldn’t possibly not understand what he felt. That’s why my uncle was so furious. When Wangji was young, he was the model disciple. When he grew up, he was a prominent member of the cultivation world. His whole life was refined and proper, untainted by worldly matters. The only mistake he has ever made in his life is you! And you’re saying… you’re saying you don’t know. Mr. Wei, after you were brought back through the sacrifice of the body, how much did you profess your feelings to him and how much did you entangle with him? Every night… every night you had to… And yet you say you don’t know? If you don’t know, then why did you do all those things?”

Wei Wuxian really wanted to go back to those moments and kill himself. It was precisely because he didn’t know that he dared to act in such a way!

He suddenly felt very afraid. If Lan Wangji didn’t know that he didn’t remember anything about the days after the bloodbath at Nightless City, if he thought that he had always known his feelings, then what kind of things had he done after returning?

At first, he had acted shamelessly with such an exaggerated attitude, just to make Lan Wangji quickly disgusted by him and throw him out of the Cloud Recesses. Then they would not have to see each other and would go their separate ways. Lan Wangji could not have failed to see what his real attitude was like. But even so, he still… stubbornly protected him, not allowing Jiang Cheng a chance to approach him and make things difficult for him. He answered every question, fulfilled every request, indulged him in every possible way, and was infinitely tolerant. Faced with Wei Wuxian’s ever-changing and even awful teasing and flirting, he was still able to control himself, staying polite and never crossing the line.

Then, just now at the inn, when he had suddenly pushed him away, was it also because he… thought that this was just one of his even more unrestrained whims?

Wei Wuxian really couldn’t think about it anymore. He suddenly rushed towards the outside of the Guanyin Temple. Several cultivators immediately blocked him, and Jin Guangyao said, “Mr. Wei, I can understand your excited mood…”

At this moment, Wei Wuxian only wanted to rush back to the inn, to Lan Wangji’s side, to tell him his feelings in a jumbled mess. He slapped down two monks who were trying to restrain him and roared, “You can understand my ass!”

With this slap, seven or eight people pounced at him. Wei Wuxian’s vision momentarily went black, and Jin Guangyao, while holding his attention, finished his sentence: “…I just wanted to tell you that there’s no need to run so fast. Your Hanguang-Jun, he’s already arrived.”

An icy blue sword light descended from the sky, whistling as it forced all the figures surrounding Wei Wuxian to retreat, before returning to the hand of one person. Lan Wangji landed silently in front of the Guanyin Temple. He looked at Wei Wuxian, his expression no different than usual. But Wei Wuxian felt a wave of tension, and the words he wanted to say had suddenly crumpled up into a ball and shrunk into his stomach. He could only mumble, “…Lan Zhan.”

Jin Ling had been stunned by Lan Xichen’s words. At a glance, he was overjoyed to see Lan Wangji had arrived, but then, looking at the way he and Wei Wuxian were staring at each other, his expression turned strange again. Jin Guangyao sighed. “See? I told you. Mr. Wei is here, so Hanguang-Jun will definitely come.”

Lan Wangji flipped the wrist holding Bichen, about to move. But Jin Guangyao laughed and said, “Hanguang-Jun, you’d best step back five steps.”

Wei Wuxian suddenly felt a slight sharp pain on his neck. Lan Xichen whispered to him, “Be careful. Don’t move!”

Lan Wangji’s eyes were fixed on Wei Wuxian’s neck, his face turning pale.

A thin, almost imperceptible pale gold guqin string was tied around Wei Wuxian’s throat.