⸞ ۞ ⸟
Chapter Nighteen
Wei Wuxian’s beautiful face was sullen as he walked towards the seemingly inhabited mountain nearby. He had an inkling that something big was going to happen. But maybe he was just overthinking, reminiscing about his past and the bloody battle that had occurred in this same place. Or feeling complex for the relationship that had started to become knotty when a confused man who couldn’t express himself and an arrogant demonic cultivator who could not understand what’s good for him reunited after a long parting.
But his inkling ended up right. Even though it wasn’t still too late for him to stop the worst from happening.
“What do you think you’re doing, hmmn?” Wei Wuxian sweetly asked after he let his red clothed lady to snatch the signal flare from the suspicious man in blatant sun-and-flame robes.
They caught this Wen cultivator spying around the Jiang Sect base and fortunately stopped him before he could light up the Wen Sect’s signal flare. And it was not just him, they had already caught a few more Wen cultivators before this man.
When the man did not answer, Wei Wuxian walked towards him slowly as his pair of grey orbs akin to limpid autumn water gradually turned to crimson. “You want to tip-off?”
The voice of the beautiful woman before him was as sweet as honey but he couldn’t stop the shiver running down his spine as his eyes met hers. The Wen cultivator unstably back away. This earned a laugh from the woman. Who was she really? To suddenly show up here? Could it be…
But his thoughts were immediately cut short. Looking down, the Wen cultivator was horrified to see blood blossoming on his chest followed by the pain and hollowness in the place where his heart should have been located.
“You… you are… Zhengyu… Zhengyu Xiangu!” he murmured with dilated eyes before his soul left his body.
“Now, who’s next?” wiping his hand stained with blood, Wei Wuxian raised his head to ask the demonic beast who was currently resting on the branch of a nearby Ginkgo tree.
“Northwest,” Elder Heiying stated as though it was obvious and Wei Wuxian was so stupid to even ask him.
Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes and waited for his next target.
“Wait,” The dog’s ear suddenly pricked up, his nose sniffing intently.
Wei Wuxian lifted an elegant eyebrow and leaped to where the dog was standing. Resting his side against the trunk of the Ginkgo tree, Wei Wuxian crossed his arms over his ample bosom and smiled mirthfully.
Wei Wuxian, “Wen Rouhan is finally willing to show his trump card?”
The raid in Gusu was the first and the last time that Wen Rouhan had used his puppets. The fact that Wei Wuxian successfully stopped his pets from afflicting the city of Gusu might be the one that contributed to this decision.
Now, Wei Wuxian wanted to know what tricks Sect Leader Wen has up his sleeve.
“Let’s give them a warm welcome then,” Wei Wuxian picked up the dog with his one hand and disappeared towards the concentration of resentful energy.
As they got nearer to their target, Elder Heiying couldn’t help but frown. Even Wei Wuxian slowed down on his flight. If his sword was a spiritual one and not what he had forged along with resentful energy, it would be agitated by now from the presence of thick miasma of resentful energy.
“You should be careful brat,” Elder Heiying warned, detecting the abnormality of the untamed resentful energy surrounding the location of their target.
Spirits dancing without harmony, killing intent so thick it would cause a normal person to have a hard time breathing. This situation was akin to the disorder that their time travel had caused to the Burial Mounds. Wen Rouhan had a trick up his sleeve indeed.
“I don’t think even its creator could control this puppets,” Elder Heiying sighed.
Wei Wuxian’s mouth twitched, “Wen Rouhan would not care about such thing. The more his puppets create havoc and run rampant, the more it’s advantageous for him,”
Taking control of this corpse puppets was difficult even for Wei Wuxian, but it’s not impossible. Glancing at the place where the Chongyang base should be located, he twirled Chenqing between his fingers, and prepared himself for a bloody battle. There’s enough time to finish this battle before the people in Chongyang base would be alerted.
Wasting no time, Wei Wuxian swiftly lifted the black bamboo flute in front of his lips and took a deep breath as he began to play. The shrill timbre of the flute was like an arrow, slicing through the thick miasma of dark energy and shooting into the clouds.
From within the forests of the mountain, sound of what seemed like heavy footsteps rapidly approached their location, answering to Wei Wuxian’s call.
Thump thump, whoosh whoosh. For others, this might give an uneasy sense of threat but for Wei Wuxian, it’s the signal of the incoming aid.
Satisfied, Wei Wuxian continued to play with his flute, changing the piece from request to control.
The ominous sound of flute continued to flow, circling like a wind, trying to bind the untamed dark energy that came along with the advancing large group of undead.
When the distance between Wei Wuxian and Wen Rouhan’s puppets was already less than two zhangs, the sound of the incoming aid suddenly stopped. Wei Wuxian didn’t have to look behind him to see that the help he needed was already here. Instead, he played a few notes to signal the start of the battle between the group of undead.
It was not hard to differentiate the two groups of corpse puppets. While both were undead, Wen Rouhan’s puppets were in the shade of blue and with bulky bodies that was unnatural even for the deceased. Wei Wuxian’s corpse puppets, even though somehow dirty, were only pale and some could even pass as a living.
At this moment, the blue corpse puppets obviously had the upper hand. But Wei Wuxian didn’t expect his corpse puppets to defeat this massive group of corpses that were modified using the power of the Yin Iron. They were just here to stop them from further advancing and accidentally disturbing those in the Chongyang base.
Wei Wuxian raised his black flute once again. These puppets that Wen Rouhan had created using the Yin Iron had too much killing intent. To stifle it, Wei Wuxian calmed his feelings and soothingly played another melody.
The melody had drifted over his mind naturally. It was relaxed and tranquil, contrasting with the demanding shrill before. Hearing the sound, all the corpses froze and slowly turned towards the direction of which the melody came from.
After a moment, they let down their arms, releasing which or whoever they were holding. Heads lowered down, they started lining up in front of Wei Wuxian like warriors answering to the call of their general.
Wei Wuxian retreated away from the direction of the Chongyang base. The melody from before not stopping as he controlled the corpse puppets to follow his lead. When suddenly, Wei Wuxian caught a chilly scent of sandalwood. An ominous feeling creeping inside him, creating a storm in his chest, and almost affecting his control over the corpse puppets.
Immediately after, his back bumped into a solid object. With an abrupt pain on his wrist, the flute melody had stopped.
Oh no! Wei Wuxian looked behind. His eyes collided with a pair of golden eyes. They were light in color, to the point of appearing physically cold. Four months had passed since he last saw the owner of this pair of eyes and the turmoil that the man can create inside him was now even stronger.
[ A small treat from your author's rusty hands]
The situation looked unpromising. Lan Wangji had caught him once again and now he had seen him using dark arts, a sinister path that Wei Wuxian didn’t want Lan Wangji to see him using.
Lan Wangji used one hand to steadily gripped Wei Wuxian by the waist, practically hugging him and pasting him against his chest.
The group of corpse puppets stood still at about one zhang away from them, slowly looking around as if they were searching for the flute melody that suddenly disappeared. From far into the forest, sound of human voices was rapidly advancing.
Wei Wuxian thought quickly and made his decision. Though Lan Wangji didn’t agree on the idea of him using this path, he did not condemn him either. As long as he could one day go back to orthodoxy, he trusted that Lan Wangji would still accept him.
Wei Wuxian decisively ignored the hand that was holding his wrist and the arm that was hugging him from behind. He pulled a powerful restriction talisman from his lapel with his two fingers, whispering a brief incantation before throwing it on the ground. The ground in front of them lit up with a crimson hue, forming a massive seal with strange symbols.
Wei Wuxian didn’t give Lan Wangji a time to react as he raised his arm to continue playing. This time, it was faster, as though it was urging and scolding. His heart was beating erratically, causing his air to be unsteady, and consequently, affecting the sound of his flute. Each note of the flute cracked at the end, sounding shrill and harsh.
Suddenly, Lan Wangji’s hand tightened, almost causing his wrist to break. Wei Wuxian’s hand loosened from the pain and the black bamboo flute dropped to the ground.
Fortunately, his orders were clear enough. The corpse puppets proceeded to walk towards the seal, standing there like they were deeply asleep.
Wei Wuxian backhandedly grabbed Lan Wangji, trying to pry the hand that was gripping his wrist, but Lan Wangji wouldn’t let go. Wei Wuxian raised his chin. The two stood face to face, gripping each other’s arm, and staring at each other’s eyes.
At the same time, the cultivators from the Chongyang base arrived.
“Ahem!” Jiang Cheng was the first to react, holding his fist against his mouth, not sure on how to react.
His sister was escorted back from Shuchuan early this day. The two of them just got back from talking about personal matters when they heard about the commotion that was happening on the foot of the mountain. His subordinates had informed him that Lan Wangji came to deal with it. As the Sect Leader of the Jiang Sect, he decided to come here to help. But who would have thought…
Eyeing the two figures practically glued together and the suspicious number of corpses in front of them, Jiang Cheng asked in suspicion, “Mind introducing us with your companion, Hanguang-Jun?”
Wei Wuxian was still in a stalemate with Lan Wangji. Suddenly, they were the center of everyone’s attention. Before the presence of Jiang Cheng could mess with his reasons, Wei Wuxian quickly pried his body away from Lan Wangji.
Lan Wangji gave Jiang Cheng a piercing glare but Wei Wuxian was too busy to notice.
Jiang Cheng. It was Jiang Cheng and he didn’t recognize that it was him, Wei Wuxian!
“It was nice to finally meet you, Sect Leader Jiang,” Wei Wuxian managed to say.
Jiang Cheng, “And who are you?”
Wei Wuxian subconsciously looked at his side. There he saw that Lan Wangji had been staring at him this whole time. His face was still emotionless but Wei Wuxian found his courage by just looking at those golden eyes.
Wei Wuxian, “It doesn’t matter. But people like to call me Zhengye Xiangu.”
Zhengye Xiangu? The crowd was extremely surprised to hear about this. Only the man standing beside her didn’t show a reaction.
They had known that a certain Zhengye Xiangu has been helping the Wen rebels, but they didn’t expect to see her here. A heretic, a demoness. They didn’t know how to react in front of this extremely attractive woman, especially the member of the Lan Sect who witnessed their Second Young Master in a not so compromising position with the demonic cultivator. Seeing how beautiful the maiden before them was, they couldn’t blame their Second Young Master from associating himself with the evil.
“Sect Leader Jiang need not to worry. I am a friend. We have the same goal.” Wei Wuxian said in a friendly tone as her eyes arced into a crescent, letting them know that she was smiling behind those black silk veil.
“Oh?” Jiang Cheng arched the side of his sword-like eyebrow. He glanced at the group of corpses before adding knowingly, “What about this? You are friendly enough to bring these corpses in our territory?”
Wei Wuxian laughed. Jiang Cheng is as straightforward and harsh as always. No wonder Jiang Cheng couldn’t find a girl for himself with this temper.
“You might not believe me, but it was Sect Leader Wen who plotted this attack. I’m just here to intersect it. See? Those blue ones aren’t up to my taste.” Wei Wuxian pointed.
The crowd indeed noticed that there were abnormalities with the majority of these corpses.
“And the other corpses are yours?” a subordinate chimed in. Quickly, he strangely felt a chill running down his spine, causing him to immediately shut up, not knowing that this chill came from their respected Hanguang-Jun.
Wei Wuxian, “That’s right and it’s called puppets.”
Jiang Cheng scowled while Lan Wangji’s expression was still in its usual frigidness.
Wei Wuxian raised an eyebrow. “What? Afraid? Disgusted? Who cares if I’m a heretic or a demon? What could be more sinister than the damned Wens?”
Jiang Cheng didn’t have to know that there were indeed some people that could be more sinister than Wen Rouhan.
Hearing this, Jiang Cheng had to agree. He once again scanned the puppets inside the restriction seal and unexpectedly laughed maniacally. “As long as you can kill the damned Wens and not betray us.”
“I will be responsible for her,” Lan Wangji spoke without a warning, and it was a statement that left everyone aghast.
Wei Wuxian particularly was dumbstruck. He didn’t know that the great Hanguang-Jun had a power to make everyone speechless.
⸞ ۞ ⸟