TFOD Chapter 27

Lan Wangji said, “I wish to hear the details.”

The moment he sat down, this polite request had the intimidating power of a threat, and Nie Huaisang began to explain hesitantly.

He said, “Hanguang-Jun, you know, our Nie family is different from other cultivation sects. Because our family’s ancestor was a butcher, while other families cultivate swordsmanship, our family cultivates the way of the saber.”

This was common knowledge and not a secret. Even the Qinghe Nie clan’s family crest was a ferocious, dog-like, pig-like beast head. Nie Huaisang continued, “Because our cultivation method is different from other families and our family’s ancestor was a butcher, bloodshed is inevitable. The sabers of our past family heads are filled with extreme resentment and killing intent. Almost every family head went berserk and died a violent death. Their violent temperaments are also closely related to this.”

For example, Nie Huaisang’s elder brother, Nie Mingjue. This young sect leader was a sworn brother to Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao. Chifeng-Zun was decisive and dignified; Ze Wu-Jun was gentle and refined, possessing noble character; Lianfang-Zun was sophisticated and astute. The three became sworn brothers during the Sunshot Campaign, and their stories were widely circulated, and later, they were known as the Three Zun by all sects. However, Nie Mingjue died a violent death from qi deviation at an important banquet while at the height of his power. Many of the attendees were injured by his rampage. His entire life of fame ended in such a way. Nie Huaisang must have thought of his elder brother, as his expression darkened before he continued, “When those heads were alive, their sabers’ restlessness could be suppressed. But after their deaths, without anyone to control them, they turn into fierce weapons.”

Wei Wuxian raised an eyebrow, “That sounds close to the demonic path.”

Nie Huaisang hurriedly said, “It’s different! The reason the demonic path is the demonic path is because they want people’s lives. But our family’s sabers don’t want people’s lives; they want resentful ghosts, fierce spirits, and demonic beasts. They have been killing those things their whole lives. If there is nothing to kill, they will start making trouble themselves, causing unrest within the family. The saber spirit only recognizes one master, and cannot be used by anyone else. We descendants can’t melt them either. First, it would be disrespectful to our ancestors, and second, melting them might not solve the problem.”

Wei Wuxian commented, “A real handful.”

Nie Huaisang said, “Isn’t it? These sabers that have followed our ancestors through thick and thin, seeking immortality, they’re all real handfuls.”

He continued, “As the family heads’ cultivation levels improved with each generation, this problem grew worse with each generation. Until our family’s sixth generation head, who came up with a solution.”

Wei Wuxian asked, “Was it to build the Man-Eating Fortress?”

Nie Huaisang replied, “No, no, although there is a connection, they didn’t initially think of that method. This sixth generation family head did this: He made two coffins for his father’s and grandfather’s sabers and dug a tomb. Inside the tomb, there were no precious treasures, but hundreds of corpses about to turn into fierce corpses.”

Lan Wangji frowned slightly. Nie Huaisang was so frightened that he immediately said, “Hanguang-Jun, let me explain! These corpses were not killed by our family! They were painstakingly collected from various places! And many were purchased with a lot of money. The sixth generation family head said, if these saber spirits wanted to fight against evil, then let them fight against evil without end. These corpses about to turn, and the saber coffins, were buried together, and the corpses were considered as the saber spirits’ burial goods. The saber spirits would suppress the corpses from becoming fierce corpses, while the corpses would alleviate the saber spirits’ needs and frenzy, maintaining the status quo, and mutually restraining each other. This method brought peace to the later generations.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Then why was the stone fortress built later? Why were the corpses buried in the walls? And you said that it had eaten people?”

Nie Huaisang said, “These few questions are actually the same question. It has…eaten people, I suppose. But it was not intentional!!! Our family’s sixth generation head cultivated a saber tomb, which was a common tomb. Later generations all followed his example. But about fifty years ago, this tomb was dug up by a group of grave robbers.”

Wei Wuxian said “Oh,” to himself, “That was truly moving earth on the head of the god of Tai Sui.”

Nie Huaisang said, “Such a big event like building a tomb, no matter how discreet and low-key it is, word will get out. That group of grave robbers, after many inquiries, determined that there was a large tomb from the previous dynasty on Xinglu Ridge. They had already scouted the location and came prepared. Among this bunch of rabble, there were one or two capable people who could actually pinpoint the location, break the maze, and find our family’s saber tomb. They dug a grave tunnel and entered the tomb. Being in that line of work, they had seen many corpses, so they were not afraid of the dead. But while they were searching for gold and jewels, they were breathing near the corpses, and each of them was a young and robust man full of yang energy. You must know that all the corpses lying inside were about to turn into fierce corpses!

“As you can imagine, what would happen. More than ten corpses immediately turned into fierce corpses.

“But this group of grave robbers were skilled and daring, and they were well-equipped. They somehow managed to kill the transformed corpses again. After a fierce battle that left pieces of corpses everywhere, they finally realized the danger of this tomb and prepared to retreat. It was when they were retreating, that they were eaten!”

“The number of corpses placed in the tomb was strictly controlled. One more or one less; just enough to maintain the balance with the saber spirits. But this group of grave robbers came in and wreaked havoc. If they had only triggered the corpse transformation, it would have been fine. After they had retreated, the saber spirits would have taken over, and suppressed the corpse transformation. But they turned the corpses into pieces, and suddenly, there were over ten fewer corpses. To maintain a sufficient number of fierce corpses to restrain the saber spirits, the saber tomb had to… automatically seal itself, trapping those people alive in the tomb, making them fill the gaps they created…”

“After the saber tomb was destroyed, the current family head began thinking of other solutions. He reselected a location on Xinglu Ridge, no longer built a tomb, but built a saber hall to replace it. To prevent grave robbers from coming again, he hid the corpses in the walls to cover their eyes.

“This saber hall is the rumored ‘Man-Eating Fortress.’ The group of grave robbers came to Qinghe, disguised as hunters. After entering Xinglu Ridge, they never came out, and no bodies were found, so some people spread rumors that they were swallowed by monsters in the ridge. Later, when the stone fortress was built, before the new maze was established, someone accidentally passed by and saw it. Luckily, all the fortresses were built without doors, and he couldn’t get in. But after leaving the ridge, he told everyone that there was a strange white fortress on the mountain of Xinglu Ridge, and monsters that ate people must live inside. Our family thought it was good to spread the rumors a bit, so people wouldn’t dare to get close to that area. So, we embellished the story and created the legend of the ‘Man-Eating Fortress.’ But it does indeed eat people!”

Nie Huaisang took out a handkerchief and a white stone the size of a garlic clove from his sleeve. He used the handkerchief to wipe his sweat, and then handed over the white stone, “You two can take a look at this.”

Wei Wuxian took the white stone. Upon closer inspection, he noticed white things emerging from the stone powder, which looked like…human finger bones.

His mind instantly cleared. Nie Huaisang finished wiping his sweat and said, “That…Young Master Jin…somehow managed to blast a hole in the wall. He was able to blast through such thick walls, he must have had many magical items on him. No, that’s not the point…I mean, the area he blasted was the earliest saber hall our family built on Xinglu Ridge. At that time, they didn’t think to line both sides with stone bricks, and separate them with mud in the middle to isolate the yang energy and prevent easy corpse transformation, but directly poured the corpses into the mud. So, Young Master Jin blasted a hole, but he didn’t notice that he had actually shattered a skeleton buried in the wall. Not long after he entered, he was sucked into the walls of the fortress, replacing the corpse he had destroyed…I go to Xinglu Ridge regularly to check it. When I went there today, I saw this. Just when I picked up the stone, a dog came to bite me, sigh…The saber hall is about the same as our family’s ancestral grave, I really…”

Nie Huaisang became increasingly distressed as he spoke, “Normal cultivators would not hunt at night in the Qinghe area, knowing that this is our family’s territory. Who knew…”

Who knew he would be so unlucky, first, there was Jin Ling who never followed the rules and targeted Xinglu Ridge, then there were Lan and Wei, who came searching for ghosts based on their compass. He said, “Hanguang-Jun, and this one…I’ve told you everything, you absolutely can’t tell anyone else. Otherwise…”

Otherwise, the Qinghe Nie clan, which was already half-dead, would be completely finished. Nie Huaisang would become a sinner for the ages, and he would be ashamed to face his ancestors in the underworld. No wonder he would rather be a laughingstock among the sects than work hard at cultivation and be reluctant to sharpen his saber. If he succeeded in cultivation, his temper would become increasingly violent, and he would end up like his elder brother and ancestors, going berserk and dying a violent death. After his death, his saber would continue to cause trouble in the world, and bring unrest to the entire family. It would be better to remain incompetent.

It was a dead end. The Nie family had been like this since the first generation of ancestors. How could they have descendants deny the path and foundation paved by their ancestors? Every cultivation sect had its own strengths. Just like the Gusu Lan clan was skilled in music, the Qinghe Nie clan’s saber spirits’ ferocity and killing power were the reason why it could stand out. If they abandoned their ancestors’ teachings and started over, seeking a new path, they didn’t know how many years it would take, and they might not even succeed. Furthermore, Nie Huaisang dared not betray the Nie family and change his cultivation path. Therefore, he could only be a useless pushover.

If he were not the sect leader, and could spend his days painting fans, catching fish, and teasing birds by the lake like he did in Cloud Recesses, he would be much more carefree than he was now. But since his elder brother had already passed away, no matter how inadequate he felt, he could only carry the burden of the family and continue on.

After Nie Huaisang had repeatedly begged and left with a thousand worries, Wei Wuxian spaced out for a moment. He suddenly noticed that Lan Wangji had come over again, kneeling in front of him on one knee, seriously rolling up his trouser leg. Wei Wuxian hurriedly said, “Wait, are you doing this again?”

Lan Wangji said, “First, remove the evil curse.”

Hanguang-Jun had knelt in front of him in this posture three times in one day. Although he was very serious, Wei Wuxian really couldn’t stand seeing this scene. Wei Wuxian said, “I’ll do it myself.” He quickly rolled up his trouser leg. Cursed marks covered his entire lower leg, climbed over his knee and up his thigh. Wei Wuxian looked at it and casually said, “It’s up to my thigh.”

Lan Wangji turned his head away without answering. Wei Wuxian asked strangely, “Lan Zhan?”