Chapter 34: Grass and Trees

The sound of bamboo striking the ground came and went, now near, now far, impossible to pin down—impossible to tell what was making such a sudden, eerie noise.

Wei Wuxian said, “Everyone, come here. Stay close. Don’t move around, and don’t draw your swords.”

In this fog, a bunch of juniors swinging their swords wildly wouldn’t hit the enemy—they’d just wound each other. A moment later, the sound stopped abruptly. After waiting a while, one of the young cultivators whispered, “It’s that thing again… How long is it going to follow us?”

Wei Wuxian said, “It’s been following you?”

Lan Sizhui said, “After we entered the city, the fog was so thick we were afraid we’d get separated, so we stuck together. Then suddenly we heard that sound. At first it wasn’t this fast—it was slow, one tap at a time, and we could vaguely see a short, thin shadow moving through the mist ahead. But when we chased it, it vanished. After that, the sound has been following us.”

Wei Wuxian said, “How short?”

Lan Sizhui gestured near his own chest. “Very short. Very thin.”

Wei Wuxian said, “How long have you been in here?”

Lan Sizhui said, “Almost half an incense stick.”

“Half an incense stick?” Wei Wuxian asked. “Hanguang-jun, how long have we been in here?”

Lan Wangji’s voice came from behind the hazy white mist. “Nearly a full stick.”

“See?” Wei Wuxian said. “We’ve been in here longer than you. How did you get ahead of us? You must have turned back to run into us.”

Jin Ling finally couldn’t hold back anymore. “We didn’t turn back. We’ve been walking straight ahead this whole time.”

If they were all walking straight ahead… Could it be that this road had been tampered with, turned into a looping maze?

Wei Wuxian asked, “Did you try flying up on your swords to see?”

Lan Sizhui said, “We tried. I felt like I flew up a long way, but I actually didn’t rise very high. And there were some vague black shadows drifting through the air—I didn’t know what they were, so I came back down.”

Hearing this, everyone fell silent for a moment. The Shudong region was foggy to begin with, so at first they hadn’t thought much of the white mist in Yi City. But now it seemed this wasn’t natural fog—it really was Auroral Mist.

Lan Jingyi exclaimed, “This fog isn’t poisonous, is it?!”

Wei Wuxian said, “Probably not. We’ve all been in it this long and we’re still alive.”

Jin Ling said, “I should’ve brought Fairy. It’s all your fault, that damn donkey.”

Wei Wuxian felt goosebumps rise on his back at the mention of the dog’s name, but then Lan Jingyi said, “We haven’t even blamed your dog yet! It bit first, and Little Apple kicked it square in the face. Whose fault is that? Anyway, now neither of them can move.”

Wei Wuxian said, “What?! My Little Apple was bitten by a dog?!”

Jin Ling said, “How can that donkey compare to my Spirit Hound? Fairy was a gift from my uncle. If anything happens to her, ten thousand donkeys couldn’t make up for it!”

Wei Wuxian blurted out a lie. “Don’t throw Lianfang-zun’s name around. My Little Apple was a mount gifted to me by Hanguang-jun himself. How could you bring Little Apple down the mountain on a Night Hunt? And let him get hurt?!”

The Lan juniors chorused, “Liar!” They absolutely refused to believe that Hanguang-jun, with his taste and discernment, would choose such a mount as a gift. Even if Lan Wangji didn’t refute it, they firmly rejected the idea. Lan Sizhui said, “Um… Sorry, Mo-gongzi. Your Little App… donkey was making noise every day at Cloud-Deep Unknown Place, and the elders have been complaining for a long time. They ordered us to chase him away on this Night Hunt, so we…”

Jin Ling didn’t believe the spotted donkey was a gift from Lan Wangji either. “I hate the sight of that donkey. And calling it Little Apple—so stupid!”

Lan Jingyi, still worried that it might really be from Hanguang-jun, quickly spoke up for it. “What’s wrong with Little Apple? He likes apples, so he’s called Little Apple. It’s honest. That name is a hundred times better than raising a fat dog and calling her Fairy!”

Jin Ling said, “Fairy isn’t fat! You try finding a Spirit Hound more agile than her…”

Suddenly, dead silence.

After a moment, Wei Wuxian said, “Is anyone still here?”

A chorus of “Mmph,” “Mmhm” sounded nearby, indicating they were all present. Lan Wangji’s voice was cold. “Noise.”

…He’d silenced everyone at once. Wei Wuxian couldn’t help touching his own lips, feeling rather lucky.

Right then, footsteps sounded from the white mist to the left ahead.

The footsteps were heavy and halting. Immediately after, the same sound came from straight ahead, from the right, from the sides, from behind. Though the fog was too thick to see shadows, the stench of rot and decay was already drifting over.

Wei Wuxian naturally didn’t take a few mere walking corpses seriously. He gave a soft whistle, the tail of the note lifting with a command to retreat. The walking corpses in the mist behind them heard the whistle and indeed paused slightly.

But the next moment, they charged forward!

Wei Wuxian hadn’t expected that the command not only didn’t work—it actually provoked them. He absolutely could not have mixed up the “retreat” and “provoke” commands!

But there was no time to think about it now. Seven or eight staggering human figures emerged from the white mist. Given the density of Yi City’s fog, seeing their shapes meant they were already dangerously close!

The icy blue light of the Bichen Sword pierced the white mist, flying in a sharp circle around the group, cleanly slicing several walking corpses in half at the waist before returning to its sheath. Wei Wuxian let out a relieved breath. Lan Wangji said quietly, “Why.”

Wei Wuxian was wondering the same thing. “Why couldn’t the Soul Command drive off these walking corpses? They move slowly, they stink of decay—they’re definitely not high-level Malevolent Corpses. I should be able to scare them off with a clap of my hands. If my Soul Command suddenly stopped working… that’s impossible too. It’s not powered by spiritual energy. This has never happened before…”

Suddenly, he thought of something, and a thin layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.

No. It wasn’t that this had “never happened before.” In fact, it had happened—more than once. There was indeed one kind of Malevolent Corpse or evil spirit he couldn’t command.

And that was—Malevolent Corpses and evil spirits already under the control of the Yin Tiger Talisman!

Lan Wangji lifted the silencing spell. Lan Sizhui could speak again. “Hanguang-jun, is the situation dangerous? Should we leave the city immediately?”

“But the fog is so thick, the road doesn’t lead out, and we can’t fly out either…”

One of the young cultivators said, “I think more walking corpses are coming!”

“Where? I don’t hear footsteps.”

“I think I heard a strange breathing sound…” The boy realized how ridiculous that sounded as soon as he said it and shut up awkwardly. Another boy said, “I can’t believe you. Breathing? Walking corpses are dead. How could they breathe?”

Before he finished speaking, another thick figure crashed toward them. The Bichen Sword unsheathed again. The figure’s head separated from its body, and at the same time came a strange “splattering” sound. The young cultivators standing closest cried out in alarm. Wei Wuxian, worried they were hurt, hurriedly asked, “What happened?”

Lan Jingyi said, “That walking corpse sprayed something out. Some kind of powder. Bitter and sweet, and rank!” He’d been unlucky—he’d just been about to speak when it happened, and got a mouthful of the dust. He spat several times, forgetting all decorum. Anything sprayed from a walking corpse was no small matter. The powder was still swirling in the air; if anyone got close and inhaled it into their lungs, it’d be even worse than swallowing it. Wei Wuxian said, “All of you, stay away from that area! You, come over here, let me look.”

Lan Jingyi said, “Okay. But I can’t see you. Where are you?”

They couldn’t see their own hands in front of their faces; moving was difficult. Wei Wuxian remembered that every time the Bichen Sword unsheathed, its light cut through the white mist. He turned to Lan Wangji beside him. “Hanguang-jun, draw your sword. Let him walk toward the light.”

Lan Wangji stood right beside him, but didn’t answer. Didn’t move.

Suddenly, about seven paces away, a clear, icy blue sword light lit up.

…Lan Wangji was over there?

Then who was this person standing silently to his left?!

Suddenly, Wei Wuxian’s vision went dark. A black face pressed close from ahead.

It was black because the face was covered in a thick layer of black mist!

This mist-faced person reached for the Evil-Sealing Qiankun Pouch hanging at his waist, grabbed it—but the pouch suddenly swelled, its ties snapped, and three snarling, Malevolent Qi-ridden evil spirits burst out, attacking him head-on!

Wei Wuxian laughed. “Trying to steal the Evil-Sealing Qiankun Pouch? Your eyesight’s not great—why’d you grab my Soul-locking Satchel?”

Ever since they’d taken the freshly dug-up torso from the grave robber at the Liuyang Chang Clan cemetery last time and sent him away empty-handed, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had been on guard. They guessed he wouldn’t give up, would wait for an opportunity, and could appear at any moment to try to steal it. Sure enough, once they entered Yi City, this grave robber had tried to take advantage of the heavy fog and the noisy crowd to make his move. And he had succeeded—except Wei Wuxian had long since swapped the Evil-Sealing Qiankun Pouch containing the left arm with the Soul-locking Satchel.

With a *zheng*, the other person leaped backward, drew his sword, and immediately came the resentful, venomous shrieks of the evil spirits—seems he’d slashed them into chaotic dispersal with one stroke. Wei Wuxian thought, “So his cultivation is high.” Then he shouted, “Hanguang-jun, the grave digger’s here!”

No need for the reminder. Lan Wangji could tell something was wrong just by listening. He didn’t answer aloud; the Bichen Sword, flying like a shuttle and carrying a fierce sword energy, gave the reply.

The situation wasn’t looking good. The grave robber’s sword was covered in a layer of black mist, its light unable to shine through, hiding it well even in the white fog. But the light of Lan Wangji’s Bichen Sword couldn’t be blocked. He was in the light, the enemy in the dark. The opponent’s cultivation wasn’t low, and he was familiar with the Gusu Lan Sect’s sword techniques. Plus, fighting blind in the mist, the other could be reckless, but Lan Wangji had to be careful not to wound his own side. It was a serious disadvantage. Wei Wuxian heard the clashing of blades a few times, his heart tightening. He blurted out, “Lan Zhan? Are you hurt?!”

From a distance came a soft grunt, as if someone had been wounded in a vital spot—but it clearly wasn’t Lan Wangji’s voice.

Lan Wangji said, “Impossible.”

Wei Wuxian laughed. “Right!”

The other seemed to give a cold laugh, then raised his sword to fight again. The glow of the Bichen Sword and the sound of immortal blades clashing grew farther away. Wei Wuxian knew Lan Wangji was deliberately leading the battle away to deal with this grave robber, unwilling to risk hurting them. The rest was up to him. He turned. “How are the ones who inhaled the powder?”

Lan Sizhui said, “They’re having trouble standing!”

Wei Wuxian said, “Gather in the middle. Sound off.”

Fortunately, after dealing with one wave of walking corpses and drawing off one grave robber, nothing else came to harass them. The bamboo-tapping sound didn’t show up to cause trouble either. The remaining young cultivators gathered together and counted off—not a single one missing. Wei Wuxian took Lan Jingyi, felt his forehead—a bit feverish. He checked the other boys who’d inhaled the dust sprayed by the walking corpses—same. He lifted Lan Jingyi’s eyelid. “Stick out your tongue, let’s see. Say ‘ah.’”

Lan Jingyi said, “Ah.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Hmm. Congratulations. You’ve got Corpse Toxin.”

Jin Ling said, “What’s there to congratulate?!”

Wei Wuxian said, “It’s a life experience. Something to talk about when you’re old.”

Corpse Toxin usually came from being scratched or bitten by someone undergoing Corpse Mutation, or from a wound contaminated with a Corpse Mutation victim’s necrotic blood. Cultivators rarely let walking corpses get close enough to scratch or bite, and nobody carried Corpse Toxin antidotes around all the time. Lan Sizhui asked worriedly, “Mo-gongzi, will they be all right?”

Wei Wuxian said, “They’re fine for now. Wait till it gets into their blood, spreads through their whole body, reaches their heart—then there’s no saving them.”

Lan Sizhui said, “What… what will happen?”

Wei Wuxian said, “What happens to a corpse will happen to you. Best case, you rot and stink. Worst case, you turn into a hairy zombie and can only hop around from now on.”

The poisoned young cultivators all sucked in a sharp breath.

Wei Wuxian said, “Want to be cured?”

They all nodded vigorously. Wei Wuxian said, “If you want to be cured, listen up. From now on, everyone obeys me. Every single one of you.”

Though many of these boys didn’t know him, seeing that he could address Hanguang-jun as a peer, was close to him, and could even call him by his personal name—plus being in this Auroral Mist-shrouded, ghostly Yi City, now poisoned and feverish, feeling uneasy and instinctively wanting someone to rely on, and Wei Wuxian always speaking with a kind of inexplicable confidence as if nothing worried him—they were helplessly led by the nose. They chorused, “Okay!”

Wei Wuxian pushed his luck. “Do whatever I say, no disobedience. Understood?”

“Understood!”

Wei Wuxian clapped his hands. “Everyone up. Those not poisoned, carry the poisoned ones. Preferably carry them on your shoulders. If you’re lifting them, remember to keep their heads and hearts upward.”

Lan Jingyi said, “I can walk. Why carry me?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Brother, if you’re bouncing around, your blood will flow fast and lively, and it’ll reach your heart faster too. So move as little as possible. Best not to move at all.”

The poisoned boys immediately stiffened into planks, letting their companions hoist them up. One boy, carried on his fellow disciple’s back, muttered, “That walking corpse that sprayed the Corpse Toxin Powder really was breathing.”

The boy carrying him complained breathlessly, “I told you, if it’s breathing, it’s a living person.”

Lan Sizhui said, “Mo-gongzi, we’ve carried them. Where do we go now?”

Lan Sizhui was the most obedient, the most well-behaved, the least trouble. Wei Wuxian said, “We definitely can’t leave the city for now. Go knock on doors.”

Jin Ling said, “Knock on what doors?”

Wei Wuxian thought about it. “Aside from houses, what else has doors?”

Jin Ling said, “You want us to go into these houses? It’s already this dangerous outside. Who knows what’s hiding inside, watching us.”

As soon as he said it, everyone immediately felt that indeed many pairs of eyes were hiding behind the thick fog and the houses, watching their every move, every word. They couldn’t help but shudder. Wei Wuxian said, “Right. It’s hard to say whether it’s more dangerous outside or inside. But since it’s already like this outside, inside can’t be much worse. Let’s go. No time to waste—we need to cure this toxin.”

Everyone had to comply. Following Wei Wuxian’s instructions, each person held the sword sheath of the person in front to avoid getting separated in the heavy fog, and they started knocking on doors, one house after another. Jin Ling knocked hard for a long time, got no response from inside, and said, “Seems like nobody’s in this house. Let’s go in.”

Wei Wuxian’s voice floated over from a distance. “Who said you could go in if there’s nobody? Keep knocking. We’re looking for a house with people.”

Jin Ling said, “You want to find one with people?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Yes. Knock nicely. You knocked too hard just now. Very rude.”

Jin Ling was so angry he nearly kicked the wooden door down. In the end… he just stomped his foot hard on the ground.

Every house, every shop along this long street had its door shut tight, unmoving no matter how they knocked. Jin Ling grew more and more irritable as he knocked, though the force he used had lessened considerably. Lan Sizhui, however, remained calm. Knocking on the thirteenth shop, he repeated the phrase he’d said many times already: “Excuse me, is anyone home?”

Suddenly, the door panel moved. A thin black crack opened.

It was dark inside, impossible to see what was behind the crack. The person who opened the door didn’t speak. The boys standing closest involuntarily took a small step back.

Lan Sizhui steadied himself. “Are you the shopkeeper?”

After a moment, a strange, aged voice leaked out from the crack. “Yes.”

Wei Wuxian walked over, patted Lan Sizhui’s shoulder to signal him to step back too, and said, “Shopkeeper, we’re new here. The fog is too thick, we’ve lost our way. We’ve been walking a long time and we’re tired. Could we trouble you to let us rest in your shop?”

The strange voice said, “My shop isn’t for resting.”

Wei Wuxian acted as if nothing was wrong at all, his expression normal. “But there’s no one else in any other shop here. Shopkeeper, won’t you do us this favor? We’ll reward you handsomely.”

Jin Ling couldn’t help saying, “Where do you get the money for a handsome reward? Let’s be clear, I’m not lending you any.”

Wei Wuxian waved a delicate little money pouch in front of his eyes. “Look, what’s this?” Lan Jingyi exclaimed, “You’ve got some nerve! That’s Hanguang-jun’s!”

While they were arguing, the door crack opened a little wider. Though they still couldn’t see the furnishings inside, they could now see that standing behind the door was an old woman with gray-white hair and an expressionless face.

Though this old woman was hunched over and looked very old at first glance, she actually didn’t have many wrinkles or age spots. You could call her an auntie. She opened the door and stepped aside, apparently willing to let them in.

Jin Ling was greatly surprised. He whispered, “She’s really letting people in?”

Wei Wuxian whispered back, “Of course. My foot’s stuck in the door crack. She can’t close it. If she didn’t let me in, I’d just kick the door down.”

Jin Ling: “…”

This Yi City was already eerie and sinister; the people living here were definitely not ordinary folk. This old woman was so suspicious, the group of young cultivators felt uneasy. Though they were a thousand, ten thousand times unwilling to enter the house, with no way forward or back, they had to treat this as a last resort. Helpless, they picked up their poisoned, stiffened companions and filed inside one by one. The old woman watched coldly from the side. Once they were in, she immediately closed the door. The room was plunged back into pitch-black darkness. Wei Wuxian said, “Shopkeeper, why not light a lamp?”

The old woman said, “Lamp’s on the table. Light it yourself.”

Lan Sizhui happened to be standing next to a table. He slowly felt around, found an oil lamp, and got a handful of years-old dust. He pulled out a Fire Talisman, blew on it to ignite it, and was just bringing it close to the wick when he accidentally glanced up. In that instant, a chill shot from his feet to the top of his head, and his scalp went numb.

The main room of this shop was packed, shoulder to shoulder, crammed full of people. Every single one of them had their eyes wide open, staring unblinkingly at them!