Wei Wuxians first thought was that something was up with the flag formation that the boys set up.
His inventions needed to be used extremely carefully. This was also why he went to check if they were drawn correctly.
As a few pairs of big hands came to drag him outside, Wei Wuxian straightened his body and allowed them to do so without difficulty, so he wouldnt have to walk by himself. The East Hall was bustling with people, almost more crowded than when the villagers of Mo Village gathered here. All of the servants and relatives were present. Some were still in their undergarments and didnt yet have time to brush their hair, but everyone looked terrified. Madam Mo was collapsed in her seat, as if she just woke up from a swoon. The streaks of tears could be seen on her cheeks and tears still lingered in her eyes. But, as Wei Wuxian was dragged inside, her sorrowful gaze immediately became hateful.
A human-shaped object lay on the ground, with its body covered by a white cloth and only the head being revealed. Lan SiZhui and the other boys wore heavy expressions, bending down to check the situation and talking in soft voices.
The human-shaped thing was, apparently, Mo ZiYuan. Wei Wuxian took one glance at it and couldnt help but look again.
The corpse looked like Mo ZiYuan in some ways but unlike him in others. Although the face was very much so Mo ZiYuan, his cheekbones were deeply sunken, eyes bulging and skin wrinkled. Compared to the youthful Mo ZiYuan before this, it was as if he aged twenty years.
As Wei Wuxian was scrutinizing the corpse, Madam Mo suddenly rushed towards him, with a gleaming dagger in hand. Being light on his feet, Lan SiZhui quickly knocked the dagger off. Madam Mo shrieked, "My son died a tragic death, so i am only avenging him! Why do you stop me?!"
Wei Wuxian hid behind Lan SiZhui's back, "How does your sons death concern me?"
Lan SiZhui spoke up in his defense, "Madam Mo, seeing from your sons condition, his flesh and essence have been drawn out of him, which means he was killed by evil beings, not Mo XuanYu."
Madam Mo's chest heaved, "You know nothing! The lunatic's father was a cultivator. He must have learned a lot of demonic spells from him!"
"Uhm, Madam Mo, there is a lack of evidence so.."
"The evidence is my son!", Madam Mo pointed at the corpse, "Look for yourselves! A-Yuan's remains already told me who murdered him!"
Wei Wuxian lifted the white cloth himself, from head to toe. There was something missing from the corpse.
His left arm had been severed.
Madam Mo spoke, "You see? Everyone heard what that lunatic said! He said that, if A-Yuan touched his belongings again, he would cut off his hand!"
After the burst of emotions, she covered her face and sobbed.
Wei Wuxian didnt want to bother with her. He thought for a moment and stuck his hand into Mo ZiYuan's arms. He fished around for a moment before pulling something out. Surprisingly, it was a Phantom Attraction Flag.
When the boys from Lan Clan saw what he pulled out, they understood immediately. Associating this with the farce that happened today, the cause was easy to guess. During the day, Mo ZiYuan lost face because of Mo XuanYus behavior and loathed him, still wanting to square up with him. However, Mo XuanYu wandered outside for a long while, so Mo ZiYuan planned to sneak up on him at night, when he would be returning. When night had fallen, he secretly went outside and was passing the west courtyard when he saw the flags on the walls. Although he was told not to go outside or near the west courtyard at night and especially to stay away from the flags, Mo ZiYuan thought he was told so because they were afraid of people stealing valuable weapons.
He had no idea what the flags did or were for. He got addicted to stealing his cousins talismans and magic tools, and he would always itch to take odd items like this. Therefor, when the owners of the flags were busy, he quietly took one.
Wei Wuxian raised his wrist and sure enough, one of the cuts on his right arm had healed.
Madam Mo turned to the Lan Clan boys and screeched, "And you! You bunch of useless fools! You cultivate and ward of evil spirits, but you cant even protect him! A-Yuan is still a child!"
The Lan Clan boys were still young. They hadnt been outside Gusu much and were too inexperienced to find anything wrong with the area, which was why they felt sorry for not detecting an evil being as fierce as this one. They held their tongues, as was the rules of Cloud Recesses. The Gusu Lan Clan was extremely strict to its disciples, forbidding violence against the powerless man, not even allowing disrespect. Therefore, even if they were displeased, they had to keep everything down.
However, Wei Wuxian couldnt stand it no longer. He spat and spoke loudly, "Who do you think youre taking your anger out on? Do you really see them as your servants? They traveled far to come here and exorcise evil spirits for you without taking a penny. Do they owe you anything? How old is your son? He should be at least seventeen, and so, how is he still a child? How young of a child does he have to be to not understand basic human language? Did they or did they not tell him to not touch anything in the flag formation and not approach the West Courtyard? Your son snuck outside at night on his own. Is it my fault? Or is it his?"
The boys let out a breath of air, faces not so dark anymore.
Madam Mo was beyond reason at this point. She had a habit of ordering her husband around and so she knocked him, "Call everyone! Call everyone inside!"
Even so, her husband was in a trance. Possibly because he just lost his son, he went as far as to push her away. It caught Madam Mo by surprise and she fell stumbled back.
She never even had to hit him before. He usually did whatever she said without hesitation. Madam Mo clutched her chest and spoke in a trembling voice, "You...you...you get out of here as well!"
Two servants escorted their master outside. The East Hall was in chaos.
Yiling
Wei Ziyou pulled out the other talisman hooked to Wei Wuxian's life force, a talisman that would lead him to his brother. He heard that the Lan Clan disciple were in Mo Village so he'd head there and hopefully run into Huangaung-Jun.
Mo Manor
Just as Wei Ziyou got to the village, the group from the Lan Clan were leaving, along with Haunguang-Jun. Wei Ziyou's face lit up and he rushed over. "Lan Wangji!", he called, pulling out the talisman that glowed. He waved it in front of him. "Its him!", he panted. He had all but ran to the village, in hopes of finding Lan Wangji. The white and blue clad cultivator stared at the talisman before asking, "Are you sure?" Wei Ziyou nodded, confirming, "It has to be him. Nobody else is tied to the talisman."
Lan Wangji nodded and gestured for Wei Lin to follow, which he gladly did, a smile on his face the whole time.
Wei Wuxian slid two fingers into his spirit-locking bag, about to take something out, when suddenly, the blue glare of a sword slashed out like lightning. It collided with Jin Ling's sword, breaking the powerful sword's golden rays in an instant.
In the cultivation world, this sword was one of the most famous ones. Wei Wuxian had experienced its powers countless times, on both sides of battle. The hilt was forged from pure silver that had been refined with secret techniques. The blade of the sword was extremely thin, almost transparent, sending forth the cold breaths of ice and snow.
Its name was "Bichen."
The blade turned, and the clank of the sword being inserted back into the scabbard sounded from above Wei Wuxian. At the same time, Jiang Cheng's voice came from afar. "And i was wondering who it was. So its you, Second Young Master Lan."
A pair of white boots passed Wei Wuxian calmly and a pair of hands helped him up. He looked up at to see a pair of light blue eyes. Eyes very familiar to him. Familiar smell, (with something else added), familiar hair, familiar hands. Fair skin, almost feminine build, soft eyes. It was his twin, Wei Ziyou.
He snapped his eyes away, making sure not to linger too much. Yet Wei Lin already knew. The talisman in his pocket was scalding hot.
The attention turned back to Lan Wangji. He had an aura of smooth moonlight. The seven stringed zither that he carried on his back was narrower than most. Its body was black, made using wood of soft color. The man wore a forehead ribbon with cloud patterns. His skin was fair, features both refined and elegant, as if he were a piece of polished jade. The color of his eyes was especially light, they were made of colored glass, causing his gaze to be overly distant. His expression held the traces of frost and snow, stern to a degree of being stiff, unwavering even as he saw Wei Wuxians ridiculous face.
There wasnt a spec of dust or wrinkled spot on him, from head to toe. It was impossible to find any fault with his appearance. Even so, two words jumped into Wei Wuxians mind.
Mourning clothes!
Mourning clothes, indeed. Although all clans in the cultivation world used extravagant words to describe the GusuLan Sects uniform as the best looking uniform and Lan Wangji as an incomparable beauty who only appeared once in a blue moon, nothing could help the bitter facial expression that made him look as though his wide had passed away.
Lan Wangji was silent, staring straight ahead, standing motionlessly in front of Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng raised one brow and spoke, "Hanguang-Jun, sure live up to your reputation of 'being wherever the chaos is.' So, you had time to come to this remote area today?"
Colorful robes among the white caught his attention and he scoffed, "I never expected you'd bring one of the most famous whores in the world. Has the Lan Clan rules been changed so much?"
Wei Wuxian almost lunged at the violet clad man. How dare he!
But Wei Lin only faked a yawned and teased, "Sounds like someone's jealous. Even if you offered the highest amount possible, i'd still turn you away and you know it, Chen-chen~"
Jiang Cheng looked disgusted, "You-", he went to speak but kept his temper, "Not worth arguing with a common whore." Wei Lin only shrugged and leaned on Lan SiZhui's shoulder, earning a small glance but neither bothered to move.
Instead, he addressed Jin Ling, "Young Master Jin, night hunts have always been fair competitions amongst the different clans and sects. However, to set up nets all over Dafan Mountain is clearly hindering the cultivators, causing them to fall into the traps. Is this or is this not against the rules of night hunting?"
Jin Ling's grim expression was exactly the same as his uncle's, "What can i do? It was their own fault for stepping into the traps. I'll solve everything after i finish capturing the prey. "
Lan Wangji frowned. Jin Ling was about to speak again, but suddenly realized that, shockingly, he could neither open his mouth nor make any sounds. Seeing that Jin's upper and lower lips became inseparable as if they were glued together, anger appeared on Jiang Cheng;s face. The sloppy manners that he upheld before were all gotten rid of. "You, with the Lan Surname. What do you mean by this? It's not your place to discipline Jin Ling, so release the spell, now!"
The silence spell was used by the Lan Sect to reprimand its disciples. Wei Wuxian had suffered a ton from this little trick. Although it wasnt anything to complex or obscure, only people of the Lan Clan could release the spell. If one were to forcibly speak, it would result in injury. The only solution was the stay silent and reflect.
Lan SiZhui assured, "Sect Leader Jiang, there is no need for anger. As long as he does not break the spell forcefully, it would release on its own, after half an hour."
Before Jiang Cheng could speak, a purple clothed man in the Jiang Sect's uniform ran toward them from within the forest. He shouted, "Sect Leader!" Seeing Lan Wangji's presence however, he hesitated. Jiang Cheng spoke, "Speak! Is there more bad news?'
"Not long ago, a blue sword flew over and destroyed the spirit-catching nets that you set up."
Jiang Cheng glanced at Lan Wangji harshly while Wei Lin held back his amusement, not very well. Jiang Cheng asked, "How many?"
"...All of them."
There were over four hundred!
Jiang Cheng seethed with anger. He narrowed his eyes, his left hand casually stroking the ring on his right hands index finger.
This was a dangerous sign and Wei Lin stepped back to join the boys.
Everyone knew that the ring was a menacing, strong weapon. Whenever Clan Leader Jiang started touching it, it meant he had violent intent.