1 Reincarnation + Extermination
So, in this story when Mò Xuányǔ offers his body to Wèi Wúxiàn his golden core and soul are also offered to Wèi Wúxiàn. When Wèi Wúxiàn is fully back his power level or spiritual powers are reimbursed with the help of Mò Xuányǔ's soul because he was still in the sword world even with his low spiritual powers. As time goes on Wèi Wúxiàn will fully acquire his spiritual powers (like they will all be back in like a month or so). With him having a new golden core his sword will come back to him along with his flute so he can use regular magic and demonic cultivation. His soul takes over Mò Xuányǔ's soul and Mò Xuányǔ's body will morph back to Wèi Wúxiàn's but what he'd look like in thirteen year time. So people won't be able to recognize him or his voice immediately. But his features will also morph into Mò Xuányǔ's so only slightly (for exp: their hair lengths will merge and make his longer)
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Blood is the first thing Wèi Wúxiàn smells before he sees, the heavy copper smell that's thick and syrupy on his tongue, a bittersweet taste left on his tongue. He inhales and his lungs are filled with that same heavy copper tinge, the scent tickles his nose as he tries to peel open his eyes. The place that he is in is dark and supple he comes to find, his hands were sticky with crimson blood, and his? body ached. There's dust he can tell from the heavy air in the place. He crawls to his hands and knees, his eyes clear albeit and he can see the sun filtering in the small cracks of the deemed shack. His throat is dry, lungs are full of sand and grime. He coughs, hoping to relieve his poor lungs of the dryness, but to no avail, his lungs refused to allow him anything over short stuttering breaths.
During his coughing fit, the door is kicked open and the sound of yelling fills his ears as large feet kick at him. "Stop playing dead!!" 'who are you, how dare you kick me?' Another kick sends him tumbling into the wall that he could now see. Wèi Wúxiàn rolls over onto his back and stares up at the ceiling as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. Why did this person have to be the first human he'd heard speak in thirteen years, such a shrill voice. "Whose land do you think you're on? Whose rice are you eating? Whose money are you spending? What's wrong with taking a few of your belongings? Everything you own should be mine anyway!!" Ignoring the sound of the shrill voice, he hears the sound of things smashing in the background, glass shattering, and wood being broken.
His eyes clear up and he can finally make sense of his surroundings. A large male stood over him with a highly unattractive scowl on his face, Wèi Wúxiàn grimaced as the male bathed him in spittle. "How dare you tell Mother and Father? Did you really think anyone in this house was going to listen to you? You actually thought I was scared of you!!" The people who were destroying the things in the shack turn to the large male, bowing to him.
"Young Master, everything is smashed!" The young master asked, "How did you finish it this quickly?" A manservant replied, "There is nothing much inside this shack anyways..." The young master seemed quite pleased, poking Wèi Wúxiàn forcefully on the nose, "You dared tell on me, and look at you now, playing dead on the ground! For whom? As if anyone actually wants these piles of junk! Now that I've smashed everything, let's see how you are gonna tell on me in the future! Are you proud of yourself just because you've studied cultivation for a few years? Well, how does it feel when you've been kicked back home like a stray dog?" Wèi Wúxiàn thinks wearily.
'i'm not pretending to be dead at all, since I've actually been dead for a couple of years. Who is this? Where am I?' The young master let out enough anger by kicking the person and wrecking the sad excuse of a house and strutted out with his two man-servants, slamming the door with a "bang". He shouted, "Watch carefully. Don't let him outside anytime this month, or he'll make a fool of himself again!" As the group went away, silence fell upon the room. Wèi Wúxiàn thought about getting up.
Wèi Wúxiàn pushes himself up with his arms, using the wall as a support, a bronze mirror resting on the side. Wèi Wúxiàn grabbed it and looked into it, only to see a ghastly pale face, with two asymmetrical piles of red on each side of his cheek. Wèi Wúxiàn is taken back from the horrible makeup, add a blood-red tongue onto the features, and he would look like a hanged ghost. He placed the mirror back on the ground gently and wriggled his fingers, a fire talisman appears between the nimble fingers and he throws it into the air.
A burst of light shines down from the talisman and allows Wèi Wúxiàn to see. He crawls over to a pail of murky-looking water and his nose scrunches in distaste. Using a bit of magic, he lifts the pail, the water floats out, and the dirt and grime filter out. Leaving sparkling clear water. Wèi Wúxiàn tears off a piece of his sleeve and uses it as a makeshift washcloth. Dipping the piece of cloth in the water, he lightly scrubs his face, removing the white powder and red paste.
He looks back in the mirror and his eyes widen in shock, he looked almost exactly as he did thirteen years ago only albeit older. He no longer owned as many of his sharp features, his facial structure softened out just a tad.
His hair was also way longer, even the messy ponytail didn't stop it from pooling around his waist. He still had his noticeable features, his sharp nose, deep dimples, tantalizing silver eyes, and bunny teeth. His eyelashes were also longer and his lips plumped up. Wèi Wúxiàn shifts around before his leg come in contact with something, he turns around and sees a very full pouch brimming with gold and silver. It most likely belonged to that snobby young master that gave him his first human interaction in thirteen years. He picks up the bag and tucks it into his robes, he'll go shopping when he finds his way out of this accursed place. Right after he goes and gives that snob a piece of his mind.
Wèi Wúxiàn stands up and pulls the tattered ribbon out of his hair, letting the hair cascade down his back. He inhales again and something rotten enters his nose, he flinches and curls in on himself only to recoil again. Did this person never shower at a time in his life? He presses his hand against the rotting door before redrawing his hand and firmly slamming his palm against the wood. The door flies off with a clatter and he steps outside, the sun feels like heaven on his face as he stretches. His ears perk up when he hears a nearby stream, moving quickly with glee, he jumps up in the air and allows himself to fly towards the river that was connected to a waterfall.
The water looks oh so lovely as he flies towards the waterfall, as he suspected from the waterfall, it covers a cave that was made from the erosion of the water. Flying in, he sheds his clothing, taking off the layer of robes slowly. Now seeing his body, he had lean muscles and a decent build. He summons another fire talisman and throws it into the air again, lighting up the area.
Ten minutes later he had washed his body and hair with a cleansing talisman, now he was cleaning the robes he had acquired so that he would at least look decent when he went out to shop. While he washed his clothes his mind drifted back to the shack he awoke in. Before he had left he had noticed a circular array beneath him.
The array was crimson in color and crooked in shape, appearing to be drawn by hand, using blood as the medium, still damp, and was the cause of the heavy copper smell that filled his mouth. The array was filled with warped scribbles of incantations, which were somewhat smudged by his body, but came out as gruesome nonetheless. After all, Wèi Wúxiàn was known as the Supreme Leader and Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, so he was most certainly accustomed to vile-looking arrays such as this one. It turned out that, in fact, he did not seize the body of another but he was offered one.
It was an ancient, forbidden technique opposite to stealing another's body-offering one's body. Because of the grave sacrifices, only a few people were brave enough to put it into effect.
After all, there were hardly any wishes strong enough for a living person to willingly sacrifice everything that they own. Over a thousand years, only three or four examples have been proven true and recorded by history. Without exception, the three or four people's wishes were the same, to take revenge. Wèi Wúxiàn refused to accept this. Why would he of all people be put in the category of "extremely villainous ghouls" Although his reputation wasn't great and he died in a horrifying way, he neither haunts the living nor seeks vengeance? He could swear that one can't find another wandering ghost as harmless as him. Luckily for him, he didn't consent to this offering and was pulled back to the land of living without his permission so he had a choice to complete it or not.
Wèi Wúxiàn sighs as he raises his hands to find that, unsurprisingly, both of his wrists were crisscrossed with multiple cuts. He looked down and saw his chest and stomach areas were also covered with what seemed to be lacerations from a sharp, ragged tool. Although the bleeding stopped, Wèi Wúxiàn knew that these weren't normal wounds. If he didn't fulfill the wish of the body's owner, the wounds would not be able to heal. He could also see the sun-shaped brand mark on his chest, now scabbed over and no longer the angry red color. Wèi Wúxiàn confirmed his situation several times, repeating "how can this happen to me?" In his heart even more times, he had come to find out that he was in the Mo village and the owner of the body was named Mò Xuányǔ.
His grandfather was from a rich family in the area. His family was few in number, and, although he tried at it, he only had two daughters. Their names were not mentioned, but the elder one was the daughter of his principal wife, looking for a husband to marry into the family, while the younger one was a servant. The Mo family originally wanted to hastily give her to someone, but an adventure awaited her. When she was sixteen, the leader of a well-known cultivation family was passing by the area and fell in love with her at first sight.
Everyone admires cultivators. Cultivation families, in the eyes of common folk, are like people favored by God, mysterious yet noble. In the beginning, the people of Mo village regarded the topic with contempt, but because Sect Leader often helped out, the Mo family received plenty of advantages. And so, the direction of the discussions changed, and the Mo family took pride in the matter, while everyone else envied the opportunity. The second lady of Mo bore one son for the leader Mò Xuányǔ. But, not for long, since the Sect leader was only involved with her to experience something new, he grew tired of it in a few years. After Mò Xuányǔ turned four, his father never came back again. Gradually, the people of the Mo village's changed again.
The original contempt and scorn returned, alongside with disdainful pity. The second lady Mo did not want to accept this; she firmly believed that the Sect Leader would not turn a deaf ear to his own son. Sure enough, when Mò Xuányǔ turned fourteen, the Sect Leader took him back.
The second lady stuck her nose up in the air again and told everyone that her son would most certainly become an Immortal as fast as he could, and bring glory on his ancestors. However, before Mò Xuányǔ could achieve success in cultivation and inherit his father's position, he was driven back. On top of that, he was driven back shamefully. Mò Xuányǔ was homosexual and had enough nerve to harass the other disciples. The scandal was revealed to the public and, as he had few achievements in terms of cultivation, there were no reasons for him to stay in the clan. Like adding frost to snow, aside from the event itself, when Mò Xuányǔ returned, he often behaved in a crazy manner, almost as if his life was scared out of him. The story was almost too complex to put into words. Wèi Wúxiàn's eyebrows twitched. Not only a lunatic, a homosexual lunatic as well, not that Wèi Wúxiàn could talk, he too preferred the other side of the spectrum, but he wouldn't dare to harass other people just because of his preferences.
That explained why there was enough rogue and powder on his face to make him look like a hanged ghost, and also why nobody was surprised nobody was surprised at the large, bloody array on the ground granted they most likely had no idea what it was. Even if Mò Xuányǔ painted the whole room red with blood, from the tiles on the ground to the walls to the ceiling, the others wouldn't be overly surprised. After all, everyone knew that his head had a screw loose! Goodness, how fucked up was this person's life?! Wèi Wúxiàn sighs again as he sits up and grabs the clothes he was drying by the fire. He pulls on the robes before sitting back down in the lotus position, he pours the bag of gold and silver onto the ground and begins to count them. He should honestly be grateful for that bumbling fool that came in and assaulted him because during his fit of anger he dropped his pouch.
Now that he sees how much is in the pouch he realizes he can buy expensive lotus silk robes, high-quality makeup, and food for his eventual travels and still have much left.
He should also be happy that Mò Xuányǔ was so openly homosexual or well outed as homosexual because no one will question him when he wears feminine clothing. Well, at least makeup and a few other things. When he was younger he couldn't in fear of bringing down his clan's reputation. Now he can do as he pleases with only a few snarky remarks. Wèi Wúxiàn grimaces, if he is going to travel, he'd have to have a weapon now that he has his golden core back, now he's less likely to be exposed of his true identity, but people will question if he was truly a lunatic. Well, he wanted to diminish the rumors of him being a lunatic because he won't be able to get anywhere with people harassing him.
Wèi Wúxiàn wonders, if he focuses his energy enough, will his sword come back to him, he had something he wanted to try.
Wèi Wúxiàn closes his eyes and begins to meditate, focusing on calling out to his beloved sword, trying to reconnect their bond once more. He feels a tug before his sword's energy calls back out to him, desperate to return to his master. A smile graces Wèi Wúxiàn's face as he instructs it to come back. Wèi Wúxiàn's eyes open as he feels the bond tugging sharply on his golden core, then the waterfall parts and two blurs fly in. Wèi Wúxiàn jumps up and catches the objects. It's his sword and the flute he used for demonic cultivation, his eyes widen, he didn't expect to see the flute ever again.
He drags his fingers along the scabbard of the sword the dark material feels oh so familiar against his soft, sensitive fingertips. Then, he pushes his spiritual energy into the sword, the dark color drains from the sword's scabbard and the color is replaced with a lilac color the hilt of the sword is colored black with white clouds scattered around. Just like Lan Clan forehead ribbons. The colors remind him of the Jiang Clan colors and the Lan clan colors. Wèi Wúxiàn's heart thumps away in his chest as he stares at the sword's new colors. With a huff, he tucks away the now white flute and sword into his robe.
He stands up, putting out the fire talisman, and flying through the waterfall, he goes back to the shack he came from and set the inside on fire with a fire purify, burning away all the evils that the array brought with it. He didn't want anything left of Mò Xuányǔ's studies inside of the shack. When the fire died down, the array was gone, the inside was clean of any blood and all of the demonic cultivation papers were burnt away. Now it was clean and organized in the small house, with a huff, Wèi Wúxiàn floats to the ground, he had to find a marketplace.
Thirty minutes later he had found the marketplace and bought the necessary items to make him look not like a homeless person. He had bought black robes, a lilac sash, high-quality makeup and flower petals, a fan, a veil that would only cover his mouth, bandages, nail paint, a gold headdress that would hang over his forehead, and a pretty hairpiece to hold up his engorged hair. He headed back to the shack and took the bronze mirror from early that morning before flying back to the waterfall to get dressed. He put on the clothes and accessories needed for his outfit before sitting down in front of the mirror and applying his makeup.
He remembered the step his senior sister would do when she applied her own makeup, he was just about finished when he put on the sakura-colored lip paste. It gave his lips a delicate color that feigned innocence that he almost didn't recognize himself in the mirror. He smiled at his appearance, he had applied rose-colored dust to his eyes. (basically a smokey eye) He then painted his nails the same sakura pink color and now he was done dressing.
He secures the veil over his mouth, the translucent fabric hiding his painted lips. H gets up once again and flies back to the waterfall after burning the old robes and gathering his things into a bottomless pouch.
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Wèi Wúxiàn walks down a path, admiring the scenery as he approaches a circle of buildings when he hears a commotion from an open door in the East Hall. Just as Wèi Wúxiàn stepped into the courtyard, a woman spoke in a voice a few pitches above the others', "A member from the younger generations of our family used to be a cultivator as well.." It must have been Madam Mo trying to make connections with the cultivation family again. Wèi Wúxiàn slips into the courtroom silently, slipping into his old training of silent footsteps. He stepped further into the courtroom, concealing his spiritual energy as he got a good look at whom she was talking to.
There were boys who wore robes with drifting sleeves as his own and flowing belts, appearing to be ikeman and doubtlessly a treat to the eyes. Looking at the uniform, it was obvious they were from the Gusu Lan Clan. They must have also been younger generations of blood-relationship to the Lan family, as they all wore white forehead ribbons around a finger's width, with cloud patterns sewn into them.
The motto of the Gusu Lan Clan was "righteousness". The forehead ribbon implied to "conduct oneself well", and the cloud pattern was the official pattern of the Lan family, of which other cultivators who came from other families did not have the right to wear. Wèi Wúxiàn often got toothaches whenever he saw anybody from the Lan Clan. In his past life, he had always thought of his clan's uniform as "mourning clothes", which never let him mistake it. Wèi Wúxiàn scoffs lightly before he cracks his fan open loudly, interrupting the old woman.
Madam Mo and the Gusu Lan disciples jolt, turning their heads to look at him. Lady Mo hadn't seen this nephew of hers in a while and only got over her dismay after a long time when she realized who the mysterious individual was. She was furious, but she didn't want to lose her temper and discompose herself, so she lowered her voice at her husband, "Who let him out? Get him back there!" Her husband promptly smiled to calm her down and walked over with an irksome look, ready to pull him out of here. However, as soon as he came in the proximity of three feet of Wèi Wúxiàn, the younger male swiftly dodged him and walked away.
As Lady Mo's face darkened bit by bit, her husband was also sweating from his attempts to grab Wèi Wúxiàn. He scolded, "...You... Damn madman! If you don't go back now, wait and see how I punish you!" Although everyone in the Mo Village knew that the Mo family had a young master who lost his marbles, Mò Xuányǔ had already hidden in that dark room for a couple of years, scared to come outside. After seeing how both his face and his actions were like those of a monster's, the people whispered among themselves, looking forward to a good show to watch. Wèi Wúxiàn spoke, "I could go back if you wanted me to," He pointed at Mò Ziyuān, "But please tell him to kindly return the items he so brutishly stole from me first, then I will take my leave" Wèi Wúxiàn smiles behind the fan he held in front of his face.
Mò Ziyuān did not expect that the good-for-nothing lunatic had the guts to cause trouble here, even after his disciplining yesterday. His face grew pale, "That's nonsense! When did I ever steal your things? Why would I ever need to steal anything from you?" "Mh hm, you're right, you and your good-for-nothing goons robbed me last night when I was slumbering peacefully" Wèi Wúxiàn harrumphs as he lifts his nose in the air at the younger male's scratchy voice. Madam Mo didn't say anything yet, but Mò Ziyuān was furious, raising his foot to kick him. However, a white-robed boy carrying a sword moved his finger slightly, and Mò Ziyuān's feet slipped, falling to the ground with his foot only scraping him.
Before this, Madam Mo ignored him, as she didn't bother to argue with a sick person. She ordered the others to take him out. Now, she knew, Mò Xuányǔ had definitely come prepared. His head was completely clear and deliberately disgraced them. She felt both shock and hatred, "You made a big scene on purpose didn't you, didn't you?" Wèi Wúxiàn replied blankly, "He stole my belongings, and I'm here to retrieve them. Does that sound like making a big scene?" With so many pairs of eyes staring, Madam Mo could neither hit him nor throw him out.
Anger welled up deep inside of her, and she could only forcefully compromise the two sides, "Stealing? Robbing? That's a bit disrespectful if you ask me. We are all family, and he only wanted to look at them. A-Yuan is your younger brother, so what's wrong with taking a few of your things? As an older brother, you shouldn't be so reluctant to lend one or two playthings, shouldn't you?" It's not as if he won't return them" The boys from the Lan clan stared speechlessly at one another. These young boys grew up in a cultivation clan exposed to splendor and that only.
They'd probably never seen a farce like this or even heard of this kind of logic.
Wèi Wúxiàn snorts in his mind and extended his hand, "then, return them, kindly" Of course, it was impossible for Mò Ziyuān to return anything, having either thrown them out or disassembled them. Even if he was able to return them, his pride wouldn't have allowed it. His face turned purple with anger and he shouted, "...Mom!" His glare raged, are you really allowing him to treat me like this? Lady Mo glowered at him, signaling for him to not worsen the situation.
However, Wèi Wúxiàn spoke again, "Not only shouldn't he has stolen my belongings, but he also shouldn't have stolen them in the middle of the night. Everyone knows that i'm into men. If he doesn't cease his actions, people will talk and gossip" Wèi Wúxiàn cracks open his fan again, glaring at Mò Ziyuān with distaste.
Lady Mo gasped and shouted, "What are you talking about, in front of the villagers? How shameless, A-Yuan is your cousin!" To be fair, in terms of running wild, Wèi Wúxiàn was definitely the master.
In the past, if he wanted to run wild, he would have to keep his status in mind, but now, he wasn't tied to a sect to be kept in check. Which meant he could do whatever he wanted to, whichever way he wanted to. Wèi Wúxiàn huffed, snapping his fan shut once more and stepping forward. "Even though he knew I was his cousin, he chose to not stay away, something like that would really start rumors, he was the one who acted shamelessly" Mò Ziyuān let out a loud scream and started to swing a chair at him.
Wèi Wúxiàn dodged the first swing of the chair, jumping up and landing on the chair the brute of a male was swinging around.
Wèi Wúxiàn lands a kick on Mò Ziyuān's face, sending him down to the ground. Wèi Wúxiàn leapt off of the chair before it came crashing down on the ground. Mò Ziyuān howled in anger, getting up and chased after him, closing in on him and readying himself to pounce on the smaller man. The leader of the Lan boys hurriedly stopped him, "Please calm down. Words are stronger than weapons" Madam Mo saw that the boy was deliberately protecting the lunatic, and pulled a smile warily,
"This is my younger sister's son. He's not so bright here; everyone from the Mo village knows that he's a lunatic, and often speaks strange words that shouldn't be taken seriously. Cultivator, please..." Before Madam Mo finished her sentence, Wèi Wúxiàn scoffed, loudly from behind the young teenager that had jumped in between him and the brute and glared at the old woman.
"Who said that my words shouldn't be taken seriously? Any one of you who tries stealing my things then lying about it will have their tongue cut out and their hands chopped off" Mò Ziyuān who was originally being held down by his father, but, after hearing this was close to losing his temper again. Wèi Wúxiàn pats the teen that was still standing in front of him on the head before strolling outside wordlessly. The boy blocked the entrance after him at once, switching to another topic with a serious tone, "Then, we will borrow the west courtyard for the night. Please remember the things I've talked about- after nightfall, close all of the windows, don't come outside or worse, walk toward the courtyard" Madam Mo was shaking from anger,
"Yes, yes, please..." Mò Ziyuān found it beyond belief, "Mom, the lunatic insulted me in front of so many people, and that's it? You told me before; you told me that he was only a..." Madam Mo commanded, "Be quiet. Can't you wait until we get back?" Mò Ziyuānhad never been at such a disadvantage or been disgraced like this before, with his mother's scolding making the situation worse. He was so full of hatred, and thought, this lunatic is going down tonight!
After Wèi Wúxiàn finished his little performance he had taken perch on a tree and pulled an apple out of his bottomless pouch. The disciples of the Lan clan were standing on top of the roofs and walls, discussing with a solemn look. Although the Gusu Lan Clan contributed greatly to the siege on him, at that time, these juniors were either not yet born or still young children. He shouldn't direct his hate towards them, so Wèi Wúxiàn decided to linger around and observe what they were going to do. After a while, he felt something was wrong.
Why did the fluttering black flags on top of the roofs and walls look so familiar to him. This type of flag was called the "Phantom Attraction Flag". If it was set on a living person, it would attract all of the spirits, wronged ghosts, moving corpses, or evil beings within a certain area, so that they would only attack that person.
Because the flag-bearing person would be turned into a living target, it was also called the "Target Flag" It could also be set on a house, but the house must have living humans inside of it. Then the attack range would expand to include everyone inside of the house. Because of how there would always be sinister energy that surrounded the area in which the flag was set in as if there was a swirling black wind, they were also called "Black Wind Flags".
Arranging the flag formation in the West Courtyard and not allowing anyone to approach them must have meant that they wanted to lead the Walking Corpses here and capture them in one go. As for why they look familiar... How could they have not come across as familiar? The creator was no other than the Yiling Patriarch! It seemed like that, although the cultivation world hated him on the surface, they still use the inventions that he came up with. A disciple standing on the roof saw him lingering around and spoke.
"Please go back. This isn't where a person like you should come" Although he was being driven away, it was out of kindness, and the tone was also different from those of the servants in the Mo family. Wèi Wúxiàn caught him off guard by jumping out of the tree and landing on his sword, flying a few feet above the disciples. "Aiya, you Lan Clan disciples are so polite, but I am alright" Wèi Wúxiàn commands his sword to have his level with the young leader of the Lan Clan disciples.
The young boy bows his head slightly after recovering from the shock, he smiles. "Childe Mo, you're a cultivator?" Wèi Wúxiàn nods before glancing up at the sky. "What's your name little Lan CLan disciple" Wèi Wúxiàn shifts his attention back to the young male. He smiles before bowing his head again, "My name is Lán Sīzhuī, young master Mo" Wèi Wúxiàn nods, his eyes becoming misty before he flys backward. "The sky is growing dark, the corpses should be coming out soon, call out if you seek help Lán Sīzhuī" Wèi Wúxiàn looks him over. He's fair and refined, with a dignified appearance and smiling faintly. Wèi Wúxiàn silently approved of him.
The flag formation was set in an organized way, and his mannerisms were also respectful, making him a disciple with astonishing potential. He didn't know that, at a conservative clan such as the Lan Clan, who on earth brought up such a junior.
Wèi Wúxiàn lowers himself to the ground, putting his sword back in the scabbard, he walks over to a semi-clean corner and sits down in the lotus position. Relaxing his mind, he enters a meditation headspace. However, before daylight, he was rudely pulled out of meditation by noise. A series of chaotic footsteps quickly approached, along with cries and screams. Wèi Wúxiàn heard a few phrases being repeated, "...Barge in and drag him out!" "Notify the officers!" "What do you mean 'notify the officers' Beat him to death!" He opened his eyes to see a few servants were already rushing towards him. The whole courtyard was alight with fire. Someone cried out,
"Drag out the insane murderer to the main hall and make him pay with his life!"
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Wèi Wúxiàn's first thought was that something had gone wrong with the flag formation that the boys set up. His inventions needed to be used extremely carefully, or else disasters could happen. This was also why he went to check if there were anything wrong with the motifs that were drawn. Wèi Wúxiàn slapped away the hands that reached out for him with a scowl, he stood up, kicking the people away from him.
"If you wouldn't mind, I have perfectly working legs" Wèi Wúxiàn chuffs and follows the people who so rudely ruined his meditation. The east hall was bustling with people, almost more crowded than when the villagers of the Mo village gathered here. All of the servants and relatives were present. Some were still in their undergarments and didn't yet have time to brush their hair, but everyone looked terrified. Madam Mo was collapsed in her seat as if she had just woken up from a swoon. The streaks of tears could still be seen on her cheeks, and tears still lingered in her eyes.
But, as Wèi Wúxiàn entered, 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. Lán Sīzhuī and the other boys wore heavy expressions, bending down to check the situation and talking in soft voices.. The conversation leaked into Wèi Wúxiàn's ears.
"...Less than three minutes since the body was discovered?"
"After subduing the walking corpse, we hurried from the West Courtyard to the East Courtyard and found the corpse by the hallway". The human-shaped thing was, apparently, Mò Ziyuān. Wèi Wúxiàn took one glance at it, and couldn't help but look again. The corpse looked like Mò Ziyuān in some ways, but unlike him in other ways. Although the features were clearly that of his petty cousin's, the cheekbones were deeply sunken, eyes bulging, and skin wrinkled. Compared to the youthful Mò Ziyuān before this, it was as if he aged twenty years. It also seemed as if his blood and flesh were sucked out of him, turning him into a skeleton with only a thin layer of skin on the outside.
If, before this, Mò Ziyuān was just ugly, now, his corpse was both old and ugly. As Wèi Wúxiàn was scrutinizing the corpse, Madam Mo suddenly rushed towards him, with a gleaming dagger in her hand. Being light on his feet, Lán Sīzhuī quickly knocked the dagger off. Before he had a chance to talk, Madam Mo shrieked at him, "My son died a tragic death, so I am only avenging him! What are you stopping me for?" Lán Sīzhuī stood in front of Wèi Wúxiàn, shielding him from the woman, Wèi Wúxiàn snorts before speaking.
"How does your son's oh so tragic death concern me?" During the day Lán Sīzhuī saw Wèi Wúxiàn make a scene in the East Hall, and, afterward, he also heard a lot of exaggerated rumors from the other people. He felt extremely sympathetic towards the invalid, and couldn't help but take his side, "Madam Mo, seeing your son's condition, his flesh and essence have been drawn out of him, which means he was killed by evil beings, not him" Madam Mo's chest heaved, "You know nothing! That lunatic's father was a cultivator. He must have learned a lot of demonic spells from him!" Lán Sīzhuī turned around to look at the non-interested expression that sat on Wèi Wúxiàn's face and spoke again.
"Uhm, Madam Mo, there is a lack of evidence, so..." "The evidence is on my son!" Madam Mo pointed at the corpse on the ground, "Look for yourselves! A-Yuan's remains already told me who murdered him!" Not needing other people to do it, Wèi Wúxiàn lifted the white cloth by himself, from the head down to the feet. There was something missing on Mò Xuányǔ's body.
His left arm, severed from below his shoulder, had disappeared! Madam Mo spoke.
"Do you see this? Everyone who were here heard what the lunatic said, right? He said that it A-Yuan... Although he didn't do anything to him at all, he was not only framed, but also killed as well... The lunatic is out of his mind..." Out of his mind! It had been a few years since he last heard the phrase being used to describe him, so it was cordial. Wèi Wúxiàn giggles before stepping from behind Lán Sīzhuī staring Madam Mo in the eyes. He didn't know if he was the ill one or if it was Madam Mo.
When he was younger, he talked quite a lot about exterminating entire families and clans, killing millions of people, creating rivers of blood, and other cruel actions. But, most of the time, they were empty words. If he could do the things he said, he would have long been dominating the cultivation world. Madam Mo's true intention wasn't to avenge for him, but to find someone to let her resentment out on.
Wèi Wúxiàn lowered himself down back to the shriveled up bag of bones, he didn't want to have to deal with her. He searches the body with his eyes, then he notices that on the chest of the corpse, there was a deformed square shape under his robes. He slides his hand inside the opening of the robe, his hand hits something soft and velvety, he tugs at the object, pulling it out. Surprisingly, it was a Phantom Attraction Flag.
Instantly, he realized what was going on, and chortled before standing back up and muttered under his breath, he had it coming. When Lán Sīzhuī and the others saw what was taken out of Mò Ziyuān's robes, they also understood the situation. Associating this with the farce that happened today, the cause was easy to guess. During the day, Mò Ziyuān lost face because of Mò Xuányǔ's crazy behavior and loathed him, still wanting to square up with him. However, Mò Xuányǔ wandered outside for a long while, so Mò Ziyuān 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 Phantom Attraction Flags on the walls. Although he was repeatedly told to not go outside or near the West Courtyard at night, and especially to stay away from these black flags, Mò Ziyuān thought that he was told not to do so because they were scared of people stealing the valuable weapons.
The flag formation utilized six flags, of which five were set in the West Courtyard, with the boys from the Lan family as baits. However, they were carrying countless magic tools on them, and, although Mò Ziyuān only took a single flag, he didn't have any tools for protection on him. It was common sense to pick on the weak, so evil beings would naturally be attracted to him. If there were only walking corpses, then it wouldn't matter too much. Even if he was bitten, he wouldn't die immediately and could still be saved. Unfortunately, the Phantom Attraction Flag accidentally attracted something worse than a walking corpse.
The unknown being was what killed Mò Ziyuān and took his arm!
Wèi Wúxiàn raised his wrist. Sure enough, one of the cuts on his right hand healed. The male snorts before dropping his arm, tucking it back into his sleeve. Madam Mo was well aware of her son's foibles, but she wasn't willing to admit that Mò Ziyuān caused his own death. Due to impatience and rage, she grabbed a teacup and threw it in the direction of Wèi Wúxiàn's head, "If you didn't frame him in front of so many people yesterday, would he go out in the middle of the night? It's all your fault, you son of a bitch!" But the younger male saw the action before it happened and snatched the cup out of the air before it could reach him.
Wèi Wúxiàn whistled at the woman's words, amusement clinging to his face as he waved the teacup at the woman. Madam Mo turned to Lán Sīzhuī and screeched, "And you! You bunch of fools! You cultivate and ward off evil spirits, but you can't even protect him! A-Yuan was a child!" The boys were still young. They hadn't been outside 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.
Nonetheless. after Madam Mo's scolding, they all looked blue in the face. After all, they grew up in a prominent family, so nobody dared to treat them like this. The Gusu Lan Clan was extremely strict to its disciples, forbidding violence against the powerless every man, not even allowing disrespect. Therefore, even if they felt displeased, they had to keep everything down with dark expressions. However, Wèi Wúxiàn couldn't stand the insufferable woman any longer, he stood up from the ground with a harsh snarl and spoke.
"Whom do you think you're taking out your anger on? Did you really see them as your servants? They traveled far and wide to come here and exorcise evil spirits for you without taking a penny from you. 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 repeatedly instruct him to not touch anything in the formation and not approach the West Courtyard? Your son snuck outside on his own. Is it my fault? Or is it his?" Lán Jǐngyí and the others let out a breath of air, faces not so dark anymore.
Madam Mo was both extremely mournful and resentful, and all she could think about was the word 'death'. Not her own death so that she could be with her son, but the deaths of everyone in the world, especially the ones in front of her right now. She had a habit of ordering her husband to do everything, and so she knocked him, "Call everyone! Call everyone inside!" Even so, her husband was in a trance.; Possibly because of the trauma from his only child passing away, he went as far as to backhandedly push her.
It caught Madam Mo by surprise, and she fell to the ground. In the past, Madam Mo didn't even need to push him. If she just raised her voice, he would comply immediately. How could he dare strike back today? The servants were all scared out of their wits from her expression. A-Ding helped her up while quivering. Madam Mo clutched her chest and spoke in a trembling voice, "You... You... You, get out of here as well!" Her husband seemed like he didn't hear anything. A-Ding gave a few looks to A-Tong and A-Tong hurriedly helped his master walk outside. The East hall was in chaos.
As Wèi Wúxiàn saw that the family had finally silenced, he intended to examine the corpse again. However, before he took another look at it, another high-pitched scream pierced through the air. It was from the courtyard. The people in the hall rushed outside.
On the ground of the East Courtyard, there were two twitching bodies. The first was that of A-Tong's, still alive, collapsed on the ground. The other body fallen was wrinkled and withered, as if all of the blood and the flesh had been emptied out. The left arm was already gone, but no blood came out of the wound. The condition of the corpse was the same as Mò Ziyuān's.
Madam Mo brushed off A-Ding's hand a second ago, but as she saw the corpse on the ground, her eye's widened, and she was finally out of energy to throw another fit. As she fainted, Wèi Wúxiàn happened to be next to her, and gave her a hand, passing her to A-Ding, who came running. He looked at his right hand to see that another one of the cuts was also gone. It was merely a few seconds before they walked over the threshold of the hall, not even past the East Courtyard yet, and saw Madam Mo's husband die distressingly.
Lán Sīzhuī, Lán Jǐngyí, and the others also grew pale in the face. Lán Sīzhuī was first to calm down and asked A-Tong, who lay on the ground, "Did you see what it was?" A-Tong was scared to death, unable to move his mouth. Even after a few minutes of asking, A-Tong still couldn't answer, and only shook his head repeatedly.
Lán Sīzhuī was burning with anxiety. He asked another disciple to take him back inside, and turned to Lán Jǐngyí, "Did you send the signal?" Lán Jǐngyí answered, "I did, but if there a no seniors who can assist us in the area, it would take at least an hour for our people to come here. What should we do now? We don't even know what it was." Of course, it would be impossible for them to leave.
If the disciples of a clan only cared about their own well-being when facing evil spirits, it would not only bring disgrace upon the clan, they themselves would also be ashamed to face others. The frightened people of the Mo family couldn't go either, because it was likely that the evil being was among them, so nothing would be gained from going away. Lán Sīzhuī gritted his teeth, "Wait here, for reinforcements!" Now that the signal for help had been sent, other cultivators would come to aid them within a short period of time.
To prevent things from getting out of hand, Wèi Wúxiàn would have to withdraw, but thanks to his body changing, he wouldn't be so easily recognized. However, even though he had a choice to complete the wish or not, the curse still lingered and he wouldn't be able to leave Mo village anytime soon. In addition, the being that was attracted here had taken the lives of two people within such a short period of time.
If Wèi Wúxiàn left now, when the helpers came, the streets of the Mo Village might be packed with corpses who lost their left arms, including a few disciples of blood relations to the Gusu Lan Clan as well. After pondering for a moment, Wèi Wúxiàn told himself, finish it quickly.
The boys on the side were all young and inexperienced. However, although they all looked nervous, they strictly stuck to their positions and protected the Mo family's house, fixing talismans onto the walls. The servant named A-Tong was already carried into the hall. Lán Sīzhuī felt his pulse with his left hand and supported Madam Mo's back with his right. He couldn't save both of them at once and was in a terrible fix when A-Tong crawled up from the ground. A-Ding exclaimed, "A-Tong, you're awake!" Before her face had time to light up, A-Tong raised his left hand and clutched his own neck.
Seeing this, Lán Sīzhuī tapped on a few of his acupoints three times. Wèi Wúxiàn knew that, although they looked gentle, the people from the Lan Clan had arm strength that was opposite from gentle. With a force like this, it would be hard for anyone to move. However, A-Tong seemed like he didn't feel anything, and his left hand's grip tightened, his expression looking more painful and twisted. Lán Jǐngyí proceeded to grab his left hand, but it was like breaking off a chunk of iron, having no effect at all. After a moment, a crack came from his neck, and A-Tong's head dropped down... His neck was already broken. Wèi Wúxiàn sucked in a breath at the sight, cringing slightly.
He actually strangled himself in front of everyone's eyes.
Seeing the situation, A-Ding's voice wavered, "... A ghost! There's an invisible ghost here. It made A-Tong strangle himself!" Her tone was sharp and her voice was shrill, making everyone's blood run cold, and so they believed it effortlessly. Wèi Wúxiàn's judgment happened to be the opposite, it wasn't a ferocious ghost. He examined the talismans that the boys chose; all of them were spirit-fending ones, and the East Hall was literally covered with them.
If it really was a ferocious ghost, then, as it went into the East Hall, the talismans would have incinerated green flames. Yet nothing was happening right now. It was not the group of kids' fault for reacting too slow, but the creature was indeed cruel. The cultivation world had a strict definition for the category of "ferocious ghosts", they had to kill at least one person a month and continue the behavior for at least three months. The criterion was set by Wèi Wúxiàn himself, and it was probably still being used. He was the best at dealing with this kind.
To him, killing one person in seven days would be considered as a ferocious ghost who killed frequently. This thing killed three people at once and within such a short period of time. It would be hard for even a capable cultivator to think of a solution immediately, let alone these juniors who had just started their careers. As he was thinking, the candlelight flickered. A sinister wind passed, and all of the lanterns and candles in the courtyard and the East Hall died out. The moment the lights were extinguished, screams came from everywhere.
Everyone pushed and pulled, wanting to escape as fast as they could, stumbling and falling in the process. Lán Jǐngyí shouted, "Stay where you are and don't run! I'm going to catch whoever runs!" He wasn't merely saying this to alarm people. In fact, evil beings loved to cause trouble in the dark and make profits in times of trouble. The worse the crying and chaos, the more likely it was to unknowingly attract danger. Wèi Wúxiàn sighs at the chaos and summoned a light talisman, he ignites it and throws it into the air, lighting the entire room in the process.
After a while, the Hall grew quiet, with only a few light breaths and sobs. Lán Sīzhuī and a few other boys went to comfort the others. Under the light, Wèi Wúxiàn casually looked at his wrist. Another cut had healed. After looking, he suddenly realized that something was wrong about the number of cuts. Originally, he had two cuts on each of his wrists. One healed when Mò Ziyuān died, and another healed when Mò Ziyuān's father had died.
The death of the servant, A-Tong, healed one more of the cuts. Adding it up, only three cuts should be healed, with the last cut being the deepest and most hate-filled one. But right now, no cuts remain on his wrists. Wèi Wúxiàn knew that Madam Mo was definitely one of Mò Xuányǔ's targets of vengeance. The longest and deepest cut was probably saved for her. Yet, it had disappeared. Only the death of Madam Mo could heal the wound.
His gaze slowly moved towards the pale-faced Madam Mo, who recently woke up and was surrounded by everyone. Unless she was already dead. Wèi Wúxiàn was sure that something was already possessing Madam Mo's body. If it wasn't a spirit, then what was it? Suddenly, A-Ding cried, "Hand... His hand! A-Tong's hand!" Wèi Wúxiàn moved the light talisman over to above A-Tong's body. Sure enough, his left hand had disappeared as well.
Left hand! With lightning speed, Wèi Wúxiàn's mind became clearer, with the being that was wreaking havoc and the missing left arms finally completing the puzzle. He promptly burst into a fit of giggles. Lán Jǐngyí snapped, "You idiot! How can you still laugh in a situation like this?" Lán Jǐngyí is shut up by Lán Sīzhuī smacking him on the back of his head. Wèi Wúxiàn snorts, his giggles dying down. "Quiet brat, I don't find the situation funny" Wèi Wúxiàn points down to the bodies of Mò Ziyuān's father and A-Tong.
"These two are not the same person" Lán Sīzhuī stops fuming at Lán Jǐngyí and asked, "What do you mean 'these two are not the same person" Wèi Wúxiàn stated solemnly, "This is not Mò Ziyuān's father, and this is not A-Tong either" With his face covering, they could only see his eyes and the more solemn he looked, the more he looked like a maiden in distress. Yet, surrounded by the dim light, his words sent chills up everyone's backs.
Lán Sīzhuī stared for a second and asked in spite of himself. "Why?"
Wèi Wúxiàn huffs before pointing at his own left arm, "Their hands. None of them were left-handed. I'm sure of this because when A-Tong had dragged away Madam Mo's husband, he reached out with his right, his dominant hand and when Master Mo held back Mò Ziyuān, he used his right hand also" Lán Sīzhuī broke into a cold sweat. Thinking back, A-Tong had used his left hand to strangle himself, and Madam Mo's husband also used his left hand to push his wife.
But, during the day, when Mò Xuányǔ was causing trouble in the East Hall, the two were rushing to get him out of there, both using their right hands. It was impossible for both of them to suddenly turn left-handed before they died. Although he didn't know why, in order to figure out what the creature was, they had to think in the direction of "left hands" After Lán Sīzhuī realized this, he felt surprised and looked at Wèi Wúxiàn. He couldn't help but to think, suddenly saying this... It doesn't seem like a coincidence. Wèi Wúxiàn and nodded at him, a faint smile being seen behind the see-through veil. He knew that the hint was too deliberate, but he couldn't have helped it. It was a good thing that Lán Sīzhuī didn't think too much about it either, and thought, anyways, if young master Mo was willing to remind me of it, he probably didn't mean any harm.
His eyes moved away from him, passing A-Ding, who fainted from crying too much and landed on Madam Mo. His gaze traveled from her face down to her hands. Her arms were dangling down and were mostly hidden inside her sleeves, with only half of the fingers showing. Her right hand had fair, thin fingers, undoubtedly those of a woman who lived comfortably and never worked. However, the fingers on her left hand were much longer than the ones on her right. They were also thicker.
The knuckles bent, full of power. That hand isn't that of a woman's, it was a man's hand! Lán Sīzhuī commanded, "Take hold of her!" A few boys grabbed Madam Mo. Lán Sīzhuī said "excuse me" and was prepared to slap down a talisman when Madam Mo's left hand suddenly twisted in an absurd way, aiming for his throat. Unless one's bones had been broken, it was impossible for a living person to twist their arm like this. She attacked quickly and was extremely close to grabbing onto his neck, when at the same time Wèi Wúxiàn yanks Lán Sīzhuī back, the clawed hand grabbing onto the young leader's robe, green flames ignited where the hand grabbed.
Lán Sīzhuī stumbles, his back colliding with Wèi Wúxiàn's chest, a strong arm crosses over his chest, pulling him away from Madam Mo's left hand. Lán Sīzhuī lifts his head to look up at the older male, he wasn't looking his way, his eyes focused on Madam Mo. Her body fell to the ground with all of the blood and flesh on her face being drained until only a thin layer of skin was left on the skull. The male arm that didn't belong to her had fallen off her shoulder. Its fingers bent freely as if it was stretching or exercising, and the throbs of the veins were clearly visible. This was the evil being that the Phantom Attraction Flag had attracted.
Being dismembered was a classic example of a distressing death. It was only somewhat more dignified than the way Wèi Wúxiàn died. Unlike the situation of being crushed to powder, the limbs and parts of the corpse would be tainted with some of the resentment of the person who died, and it would want to reunite with the other parts and die with a whole corpse. Therefore, it would come up with strategies to find the other parts of the body. If it found it, it might be satisfied and rest in peace, or it might stir up more trouble. If it couldn't find it, the body part would have to put up with the second-best option.
What would the second-best option be? It would have to make do with the bodies of living humans. It was like this left hand, eat the hand of a living person, and replace it. After draining all of the person's blood and energy, it would abandon the body and find another to parasitism, until it finally collected all of the parts of its corpse. As soon as the arm had possessed a person, they would die immediately. But, before all of the flesh had been eaten, they would still be able to walk around, under its control, as if the person was still alive.
After it was attracted, the first container that it found was Mò Ziyuān. The second one was Mò Ziyuān's father. When Madam Mo told her husband to go away, he acted out of the norm and pushed her. Wèi Wúxiàn originally thought that it was because he was grieving his son's death and also tired of his wife's arrogance. Now that he thought about it again, it wasn't what a father who had just lost his son should look like. It wasn't indifference from feeling hopeless. It was a deadly tranquillity, the tranquillity coming from an already deceased person.
The third container was A-Tong, and the fourth one was Madam Mo. During the chaos from when the lights went out, the ghost hand had transferred onto her body. When Madam Mo died, the last cut on Wèi Wúxiàn's wrist also disappeared. The boys from the Lan clan saw that, although talismans didn't work, clothing did, and all took it off their coats to cover the left hand. The layers of clothing looked like a white cocoon. After a second, the ball of white clothes ignited with a whoosh, creating a green, abnormal inferno.
Although it would take care of the moment, after a while, when the uniforms were completely burnt, the hand would emerge within the ashes. While nobody was looking, Wèi Wúxiàn slipped away to the West Courtyard. His spiritual power was still too low, matching those of the disciples of the Lan Clan, so he would need to use demonic cultivation. The walking corpses the boys sealed wouldn't be strong enough so he ignored them. The crueler the being, the better Wèi Wúxiàn could control it.
These walking corpses hadn't been trained by him and couldn't withstand direct manipulations from him. The soaring green flames in the East Courtyard gradually grew dimmer. Suddenly, Wèi Wúxiàn found a solution, he walked briskly back to the East Courtyard.
As Lán Sīzhuī's first solution failed, he found a second one. The disciples pulled out their swords and stuck them in the ground, making a sword fence. The ghost hand crashed into the fence, and they spent all their energy compressing their hilts so that it didn't break out, paying no attention to who was entering and leaving. Wèi Wúxiàn glided into the East Hall and grabbed Madam Mo and Mò Ziyuān's corpses, one in each hand, and spoke in a low voice, "Wake up!" In a split second, Madam Mo and Mò Ziyuān's eye whites turned up and started making the shrill and powerful shrieks that ferocious ghosts made after they came back to life.
Amidst the shrieks, another corpse trembled and crawled up, making the lowest and faintest shriek. It was Madam Mo's husband. The shrieks were loud enough and the resentment was strong enough. Wèi Wúxiàn smiled, feeling quite satisfied, "Do recognize the hand outside?" He commanded, "Tear it apart" The three members of the Mo family whipped out like three clouds of black wind. The left arm fractured one of the swords and was about to break out when three cruel corpses without left arms came at it.
Aside from being unable to defy Wèi Wúxiàn's command, the family also loathed the creature that killed them, and let out their anger on the ghost hand. The main attacker was undoubtedly Madam Mo. Because female corpses were often especially fierce after they were modified, her hair was loose and her eyes were bloodshot. With nails that multiplied in length, foam gathering at the corners of her mouth, and shrieks that were enough to lift the ceiling, she looked extremely insane.
Behind her followed Mò Ziyuān, who cooperated with her and used both his teeth and his hands. His father was at the end, covering for the gaps between the attacks of the other two corpses. The struggling boys were stricken dumb with amazement. They had only seen these battles between fierce corpses in books and hearsay, and they all gaped as they saw the gore-splattered scene for the first time, unable to avert their gazes. They all thought that it was... Absolutely thrilling! The three corpses and the hand were in the middle of a tough battle when Mò Ziyuān abruptly moved out of the way.
His abdomen was attacked by the hand, causing a few chunks of his intestines to spill out. When Madam Mo saw this, she screamed incessantly and shielded her son behind herself. Her attacks were more violent, the strength of her fingers almost comparable to that of steel and iron weapons. But, Wèi Wúxiàn knew that she was gradually being overpowered.
Even three cruel corpses who recently died couldn't subdue this single arm! Wèi Wúxiàn was watching the battle attentively. His tongue was slightly curled, suppressing a sharp whistle inside of his lips, preparing it to be let out. The whistle would be able to evoke even more hostility in the cruel corpses, which might turn the tables. Then, however, it would be more difficult to ensure that nobody knew that it was his doing. In a blink of an eye, the hand moved like lightning, ruthlessly and precisely breaking Madam Mo's neck.
Watching as the Mo family grew closer to defeat, Wèi Wúxiàn prepared to blow the whistle that he suppressed under his tongue. At the same time, the echoes of two strums on a stringed instrument came from far away. The sound seemed to have been played by a human. The timbre was ethereal and clear, carrying the bleak chills of windswept pines. The creatures battling in the courtyard all stiffened as they heard the sound. Instantaneously, the boys from the Gusu Lan Clan started beaming, as if they were born again.
Lán Sīzhuī wiped the blood off his face and raised his head, happily exclaiming, "HanGuang-Jun!" As soon as he heard the faraway strums from the zither, Wèi Wúxiàn turned around and began to leave. He would have to play around later.
Because Mò Xuányǔ summoned Wèi Wúxiàn without his consent Wèi Wúxiàn doesn't actually have to complete Mò Xuányǔ's wish and he's free to roam around however he pleases.
