TFOD Chapter 68

Wei Wuxian suddenly murmured, “…Lan Zhan.”

He reached out and grabbed Lan Wangji’s sleeve. Lan Wangji, who had been watching over him, immediately leaned in and said softly, “I’m here.”

But Wei Wuxian wasn’t awake; his eyes were still tightly closed, his hand holding onto him, seemingly dreaming, muttering, “…You…don’t be angry…”

Lan Wangji was slightly startled, and said gently, “I’m not angry.”

Wei Wuxian said, “…Oh.”

Hearing this, he seemed to relax, and his fingers loosened.

Lan Wangji sat beside Wei Wuxian for a while, and seeing him still motionless, prepared to get up. Who knew that Wei Wuxian’s other hand would suddenly grab him again, hugging his arm tightly, crying out, “I’ll go with you, quickly take me back to your home!”

Lan Wangji’s eyes widened.

After shouting this, Wei Wuxian seemed to have woken himself up. His long eyelashes trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes. His gaze went from a hazy blur to a clear focus. He suddenly realized that his hands were clutching at Lan Wangji as if he were a life-saving straw or a piece of driftwood in the water.

He immediately released his hold, nearly rolling away. The movement was too abrupt, and it pulled at the wound on his abdomen. He let out an “Ah” and frowned, then remembered the injury. In the midst of the stars dancing before his eyes, Jin Ling, Jiang Cheng, Jiang Yanli, Jiang Fengmian, Madam Yu… many faces whirled before his eyes in turn. Lan Wangji pressed him down, saying, “The wound on your abdomen?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Wound? It’s nothing, doesn’t hurt…”

Lan Wangji pressed him down firmly and lifted his clothes. His abdomen was already neatly bandaged, and after removing the bandages to look, the wound had actually healed. Looking at his leg, the curse mark had also disappeared.

Wei Wuxian asked, “How long was I out?”

Confirming that his injuries were indeed fine, Lan Wangji released him, saying, “Four days.”

Jin Ling’s sword had pierced him directly, the wound not shallow. For it to heal in four days without leaving a single scar, he must have been given the finest medicine from the Gusu Lan Sect. Wei Wuxian gave a thank you, then mocked himself, “I’ve become so delicate in this life, can’t even handle being stabbed once.”

Lan Wangji said calmly, “No one can handle being stabbed once.”

Wei Wuxian said, “That’s not necessarily true, if it were my body from my last life, I could hang on by half an intestine and still stuff it back in and fight another three hundred rounds.”

Seeing him start talking nonsense again after waking up, Lan Wangji shook his head and turned his face away. Wei Wuxian thought he was leaving, and hastily said, “Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan! Don’t go. I was just talking nonsense, I’m sorry, don’t ignore me.”

Lan Wangji said, “Are you still afraid of being ignored?”

Wei Wuxian said, “I am, I am.”

It had been so long since he had experienced the feeling of someone watching over him after waking up from an injury.

Lan Wangji had two swords at his waist. He took off his Suibian and handed it to him. “Your sword.”

Seeing the sword, Wei Wuxian was first stunned, and then after a moment, he said, “Thank you.”

He gripped the hilt and gently pulled it out. A pair of eyes were reflected on the bright blade. Wei Wuxian stared at these eyes for a while, then put Suibian back in its sheath, saying, “It really sealed itself automatically?”

Lan Wangji also gripped Suibian’s hilt and tried to pull it out, but it wouldn’t budge. Wei Wuxian sighed, patting the sword, thinking, “I knew Jin Guangyao wouldn’t dare make things up…it really did seal itself. This kind of rare miracle happened to me, what can I do? It’s irrefutable proof that the person who can pull it out is definitely Wei Wuxian, there’s no way to deny it.”

Looking around, he saw it was a clean, simple room, dimly lit, with only a paper lamp in the corner. Wei Wuxian asked, “Where is this?”

Lan Wangji said, “Cloud Recesses.”

Wei Wuxian said, “You brought me back to Cloud Recesses? What if your older brother finds out?”

A voice said, “I’ve already found out.”

Behind the screen, a person entered, wearing white robes and a headband, with a face like jade and a solemn expression.

Having spent four days recovering in Cloud Recesses without being captured by the Lanling Jin Clan, it seemed that Lan Xichen shouldn’t be a threat. Plus, with Lan Wangji by his side, Wei Wuxian wasn’t wary. He suddenly remembered something and asked, “What about Chifeng-Zun’s corpse?”

Lan Xichen said, “The various clans have already seen my elder brother’s corpse. It’s currently being kept by Huaisang, and I’ve sent trustworthy people to look after it.”

Wei Wuxian was somewhat relieved and asked, “What was Jin Guangyao’s reaction?”

Lan Wangji said, “Perfectly seamless.”

Wei Wuxian knew that Jin Guangyao would definitely put on a good show. As long as he couldn’t destroy the evidence, it was fine. However, Lan Xichen slowly said, “He said he would get to the bottom of this and give an explanation. And now that Young Master Wei has awakened, Wangji, isn’t it time for you to give me an explanation as well?”

Lan Wangji stood up, saying, “Brother.”

Lan Xichen sighed, saying, “Wangji, what should I say to you?”

Lan Wangji said, “Brother, Chifeng-Zun’s head is indeed in Jin Guangyao’s hands.”

Lan Xichen asked, “Did you see it with your own eyes?”

Lan Wangji said, “He saw it with his own eyes.”

Lan Xichen asked, “You believe him?”

Lan Wangji said, “I believe him.”

He answered without hesitation, warming Wei Wuxian’s heart. Lan Xichen said, “Then what about Jin Guangyao?”

Lan Wangji said, “He’s not to be trusted.”

Lan Xichen smiled, saying, “Wangji, how do you determine whether a person is trustworthy or not?”

He looked at Wei Wuxian, saying, “You believe Young Master Wei, but I believe Jin Guangyao. We didn’t witness my brother’s head being in his hands, we’re just relying on our own understanding of the other person and believing what they say.

“You think you understand Wei Wuxian, so you trust him; I also think I understand Jin Guangyao, so I trust him as well. You believe your own judgment, so why can’t I believe my own judgment?”

Wei Wuxian was afraid that the two brothers would start arguing, saying, “Sect Leader Lan!”

He could understand Lan Xichen. From Nie Mingjue’s perspective, he had seen Jin Guangyao’s cunning, deceit, and ambition. However, if Jin Guangyao had been pretending in front of Lan Xichen all these years, there was no reason for him to disbelieve his sworn brother and believe someone notorious for their bloody past instead.

Lan Xichen nodded, saying, “Young Master Wei, you don’t need to worry. I won’t blindly trust anyone or expose your whereabouts before the truth comes out. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have let Wangji bring you to my Cold Room and treat your injuries.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Thank you, Sect Leader Lan, for giving me this opportunity. Chifeng-Zun’s head is indeed in Jin Guangyao’s secret room, it’s absolutely true. I not only saw it, I was also infected by its resentment, and I saw some things. I don’t know if this can be considered proof?”

Lan Xichen calmly said, “Young Master Wei, perhaps you did see some things, but you can’t prove that you saw them in a secret room in the Golden Carp Tower.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Hmm. That’s true. Then let me say something else. Chifeng-Zun’s direct cause of death was indeed cultivation deviation, but don’t you think the timing is too coincidental? The effects of the sabre spirit are one reason, but haven’t you considered that there might be other underlying causes?”

Lan Xichen asked, “What do you think the underlying cause is?”

Wei Wuxian said, “The Serene Heart Tune.”

Lan Xichen said, “Young Master Wei, do you know that I personally taught him the Serene Heart Tune he played?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Then Sect Leader Lan, please listen to it and see if there’s anything strange about the piece.”

His flute was on the bedside. Wei Wuxian picked it up and thought for a moment, before starting to play. After a full piece, he said, “Sect Leader Lan, is this piece really the one you taught Jin Guangyao?”

Lan Xichen said, “It is.”

Wei Wuxian was slightly surprised but kept his composure, asking, “What’s the name of this piece?”

Lan Xichen said, “The name of the piece is ‘Washing Away the Splendor’, it has the effect of calming the mind and spirit.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Washing Away the Splendor. I’ve heard many famous melodies in the cultivation world, why don’t I have any impression of its name or melody?”

Lan Wangji said, “This piece is obscure and difficult to learn.”

Lan Xichen said, “That’s right.”

Wei Wuxian asked, “Did Jin Guangyao specifically ask to learn this piece?”

Lan Xichen said, “Yes, he did.”

Wei Wuxian asked, “Is it really that hard to learn? Then why would Jin Guangyao specifically choose this piece instead of other, easier ones?”

Lan Xichen said, “Because I told him that although ‘Washing Away the Splendor’ is hard to learn, its effects are excellent. This piece is indeed tricky, didn’t Young Master Wei also play one part wrong just now?”

Hearing this, Wei Wuxian’s heart skipped a beat, “I played wrong just now?”

Lan Wangji said, “There was a section in the middle that was wrong.”

Wei Wuxian smiled, “No, no. It’s not that I played it wrong. It’s that Jin Guangyao played it wrong! When I was being attacked by resentment, he definitely played it like that. I can guarantee that I repeated the piece exactly as he played it.”

Lan Xichen said in surprise, “Then he must have learned it wrong? That… it’s impossible.”

Wei Wuxian said, “It is indeed impossible, Lianfang-Zun is so intelligent, with a phenomenal memory, how could he remember the melody wrong? It’s more likely deliberate. Let me play it again, Sect Leader Lan, Hanguang-Jun, please listen carefully to the part I ‘played wrong’ this time.”

He indeed played it once more. When he got to the second section near the end, Lan Wangji said, “Stop.”

Lan Xichen said, “It was this part just now.”

Wei Wuxian lowered the flute from his lips and said, “Is it really this part? But I feel like this part doesn’t sound out of place.”

Lan Xichen said, “It does not sound out of place. However, it’s definitely not part of ‘Washing Away the Splendor’.”

If it were a normal mistake, it wouldn’t blend so well with the other parts of the piece, this section must have been deliberately altered and inserted. This section didn’t belong to “Washing Away the Splendor”, but this foreign melody was mixed into “Washing Away the Splendor”, which was very likely the key to Nie Mingjue’s death.

After thinking for a moment, Lan Xichen said, “Come with me.”

Leaving the room, Wei Wuxian paused slightly.

It was a secluded cottage, hidden in an unknown part of Cloud Recesses. The Lan Clan’s Immortal Residence was located deep in the mountains, where pine and other trees formed a canopy, mostly consisting of verdant trees and orchids. There were flowers, but most were elegant and refreshing varieties such as magnolia, gardenia, and white chrysanthemum, and they were only used as a sparse decoration. In front of this room, however, there were purple gentians planted all over. The flowers were small, their color rich and vibrant, quite lovely, and in the night, they seemed to emit a faint glow, beautiful as a dream.

Wei Wuxian thought that there must be something unusual about this place, but he only had time for a quick glance and had no time to examine it further. Past the time of Hai (9-11 pm), most people in Cloud Recesses had already gone to bed, it was completely quiet, no one could be seen along the way. Lan Xichen led them straight to the library.

Cloud Recesses had been burned down in a great fire, the library was no longer the library of the past, but after rebuilding it, it was the same as the original, even the magnolia tree outside the library was replanted. The three entered the library, and Wei Wuxian said in suspicion, “Sect Leader Lan, can we find the source of this melody here?”

Lan Xichen said, “Not here.”

He went to a row of bookshelves, squatted down, lifted the mat that was spread there, and opened the wooden panel underneath, saying, “Here we can.”

Under the wooden panel was a hidden door.

Lan Wangji said, “The forbidden book room.”

Below the hidden door was a dark staircase of more than fifty steps. The three of them went down the staircase in order. What appeared before Wei Wuxian was a dry, wide, underground stone room. Footsteps echoed in the underground room. In the forbidden book room, there were rows of bookshelves, with books sparsely placed and categorized, covered in dust, it seemed that no one had touched them for many years.

Lan Xichen led them to a row of bookshelves and said, “This shelf is filled with different music scores.”

There was a desk in the forbidden book room, with only one paper lamp on it. Lan Wangji took paper and a brush that had not been touched for many years from the shelf and transcribed three copies of the melody. The three of them sat around the desk, dividing the work. Each was responsible for dozens of books, looking through them page by page, comparing the music scores in the books to the transcribed melody to find any matches.

However, after two hours, none of the three had found a music score that matched that melody. That is to say, they hadn’t found its origin.

While Wei Wuxian was quickly skimming through the music scores, he thought, “Could it be that the forbidden book room of the Lan family’s library doesn’t have this piece recorded either? Impossible. If even the Lan family doesn’t have it, there’s no way other places could have it. Is it possible Jin Guangyao created a divine melody himself? If that’s the case, it’s troublesome. To prove this melody is malicious, unless I find someone to listen to it for a few months to test it. Although he’s clever, he’s still a half-way cultivator, not so clever that he could compose…”

Wei Wuxian had been looking at the dense small characters for a long time, and his eyes were getting tired. There were only a few books left, and he planned to put them aside and look at them later. Lan Wangji had finished reading his stack, and silently picked up the few books that Wei Wuxian had put aside, and continued to search. Lan Xichen slowly looked up, saw this scene, and wanted to say something but hesitated.

Just then, Lan Wangji said, “This one.”

He passed the book over. Wei Wuxian instantly perked up, but after carefully looking at the two pages that had been opened and comparing them with the score he had in hand, he said, “They’re completely different?”

Lan Wangji got up and sat beside him, pointing for him to look. “Look at the two pages before and after.”

Their heads were close together, and Lan Wangji’s voice was low and magnetic in his ear. Wei Wuxian’s hand trembled slightly, and the book almost fell. It was only with great effort that he steadied himself and forced his eyes away from Lan Wangji’s long, slender white fingers and focused, carefully distinguishing the notes, “Ah, the pages before and after.”

At first glance, the score seemed fine, but if one was familiar with music, after taking a closer look, they would notice that the melody on the page before was not connected to the melody on the page after.