Chapter 77: Night Flight

It used to be other people asking him what to do. Now he was asking someone else what he should do. And no one could give him an answer.

Suddenly, Wei Wuxian felt a slight sting on the side of his neck, like he’d been pricked by an extremely fine needle. His whole body went numb. He’d been lost in thought, his guard down, and by the time he registered that something was wrong, it was too late—he was already slumping helplessly onto the stone bed. At first he could still lift his arm, but soon even his arm fell to the bed, and his entire body went rigid.

Wen Xu, her eyes rimmed red, slowly withdrew her right hand. “...I’m sorry.”

Normally, she’d never have been fast enough to hit him, but Wei Wuxian hadn’t been on guard at all. The needle was deep, and the shock of it cleared his head a little. His Adam’s apple bobbed once. “What are you doing?”

Wen Xu and Wen Clan exchanged a look, then stood together in front of him and bowed formally.

Seeing this, a wild, restless dread rose in Wei Wuxian’s chest. “What are you doing? What the hell are you planning?”

Wen Xu said, “We were just discussing it when you woke up. We’ve pretty much decided.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Decided what? Stop wasting time, pull the needle out, let me go!”

Wen Clan slowly stood up from the floor, still hanging his head. “My sister and I have decided. We’re going to Jinlin Pavilion. To plead guilty.”

“Plead guilty?” Wei Wuxian said, stunned. “What guilty? Like ‘bearing brambles’ guilty? Turning yourselves in?”

Wen Xu rubbed her eyes, her expression deceptively calm. “Yeah, something like that. While you were lying here these past few days, the Lanling Jin Sect sent people to shout demands at the foot of Wasteland Cemetery.”

Wei Wuxian said, “What demands? Don’t parcel it out one sentence at a time, just say it all clearly! Finish it!”

Wen Xu said, “The Lanling Jin Sect wants you to give them an answer. That answer is to hand over the two ringleaders of the Wen Clan remnants. Especially the Ghost General.”

“...” Wei Wuxian said, “I’m warning you both, pull this damn needle out right now.”

Wen Xu went on as if she hadn’t heard. “The ringleaders of the Wen Clan remnants—that’s us. From what they said, if you just hand us over, they’ll let this matter rest for now. So, you’ll have to lie here a few more days. The needle’s effect will wear off in three days. I’ve already told Uncle Four and the others; they’ll take good care of you. If anything urgent happens during these three days, they’ll let you out.”

Wei Wuxian snarled, “Shut the fuck up! Things are messy enough already! Don’t you two make it worse. What fucking ‘pleading guilty’? Did I tell you to do that? Pull it out!”

Wen Xu and Wen Clan stood with their hands at their sides, their silence identical. Wei Wuxian’s body was powerless; his struggles were useless, and no one was listening to him. His heart suddenly felt powerless too.

He couldn’t shout, couldn’t move. His voice came out hoarse. “What are you going to Jinlin Pavilion for? That Thousand Wounds Curse wasn’t cast by me…”

Wen Xu said, “But they’ve already decided it was you.”

Wei Wuxian racked his brain for a solution, and a sudden idea flashed. “Then we find the real caster! Jin Zixun must have consulted curse masters. The usual way to deal with a malicious curse like that is to bounce it back onto the caster. Even if you can’t bounce all of it, you can bounce some. We just need to find whoever has the same Malicious Curse Mark on them!”

Wen Xu said, “It’s useless.”

Wei Wuxian said, “How is it useless?”

Wen Xu said, “The world is vast. Where would you even look? Set up checkpoints on every road in every city and make everyone strip for inspection?”

Wei Wuxian said wildly, “Why not??”

Wen Xu said, “Who would help you set up those checkpoints? And how long would it take? Maybe eight or ten years, but are they willing to wait?”

Wei Wuxian said, “But I don’t have any rebound mark on me!”

Wen Xu said, “Did they ask you that during the ambush today?”

Wei Wuxian said, “No.”

Wen Xu said, “Exactly. They didn’t ask. They just tried to kill you. Get it? They don’t need any proof, and they don’t need you to find the truth. Whether you have a Malicious Curse Mark or not doesn’t matter. You’re the Yiling Patriarch, the king of the Ghost Divine Art, you’re an expert in wicked arts—it wouldn’t be strange if you didn’t have a rebound mark. And you don’t have to do it yourself, you could have your Wen Dog lackeys do it for you. It’s you either way. You can’t deny it.”

Wei Wuxian cursed.

Wen Xu waited quietly until he was done, then said, “So, you see. It’s useless. And at this point, who cast the Thousand Wounds Curse doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is that the three hundred-some people at Qiongqi Path, and… Jin Zixuan, were indeed killed by A-Ning.”

Wei Wuxian said, “...But, but…”

But what? He couldn’t even think of a ‘but.’ Couldn’t think of any reason to refuse, any excuse to shift the blame.

He said, “...But if anyone should go, it should be me. I’m the one who controlled the corpse to kill. Why should the knife go, and not the murderer?”

Wen Xu said, “Isn’t that better?”

Wei Wuxian said, “Better how?!”

Wen Xu said softly, “Wei Ying, we all know. Wen Clan is a knife. A knife they’re afraid of, but also a knife they use as an excuse to attack you. If we go, you’ll be without that knife, and they… will be without that excuse. This whole thing might just be over.”

Wei Wuxian stared at her blankly, then let out a meaningless roar of fury.

He finally understood why Jiang Cheng was always so furious about some of the things he did, why he always cursed him for having a ‘hero complex,’ why he always wanted to beat some sense into him. Because watching someone insist on taking all the blame on themselves, on bearing the terrible consequences, refusing to be talked out of it—that feeling was utterly hateful, utterly infuriating!

Wei Wuxian said, “Do you even understand? If you go to Jinlin Pavilion to ‘plead guilty,’ what’ll happen to you two? Especially Wen Clan? Don’t you care about your brother more than anything?”

Wen Xu said, “Whatever happens, it’s what he deserves.”

No. It wasn’t what Wen Clan deserved at all. It was what he deserved.

Wen Xu said, “Anyway, by rights we should’ve died a long time ago. These past months, we’ve been living on borrowed time.”

Wen Clan nodded.

He was always like this. Nodding at whatever anyone said, agreeing, never opposing. Wei Wuxian had never hated this gesture, this obedience, so much.

Wen Xu crouched down beside the bed, looked at his face, and suddenly reached out to flick Wei Wuxian’s forehead.

She flicked him hard, making Wei Wuxian wince. Seeing this, Wen Xu seemed to feel a little better. “That’s all I have to say. It’s all explained, and we’ve said our goodbyes. So… goodbye.”

Wei Wuxian said, “Don’t…” Wen Xu cut him off. “I haven’t said this to you many times, but today, some things just have to be said. There really won’t be another chance.”

Wei Wuxian murmured, “...Shut up… let me go…”

Wen Xu said, “I’m sorry. And thank you.”

Wei Wuxian lay there for three full days.

Wen Xu’s calculation was spot on. Exactly three days, not a moment more, not a moment less. Once they were up, he could move again.

First his fingers, then his limbs, his neck… Once the blood that had nearly frozen stiff started flowing again, Wei Wuxian leapt up from the stone steps and charged out of Fumo Cave.

The Wen Clan people hadn’t seemed to sleep these three days either. They sat silently in the big shed, gathered around a table. Wei Wuxian didn’t even glance at them. He ran all the way, charging down Wasteland Cemetery.

He raced down the mountain in one breath, then stood panting in the wilderness, bent over with his hands on his knees. It took him a while to straighten up. But looking at the overgrown mountain paths branching off in several directions, he didn’t know which way to go.

Wasteland Cemetery—he’d just come down from there.

Lotus Pavilion—he hadn’t been back in a year.

Jinlin Pavilion?

Three days had passed. If he went now, what he’d probably see was Wen Xu’s corpse and Wen Clan’s ashes.

He stood there dumbly, suddenly feeling that the world was vast, and there was nowhere he could go.

And he didn’t know what to do, either.

Abruptly, a terrible thought rose from the depths of his heart.

This thought, over the past three days, he’d rejected it over and over. But it kept coming back, lingering.

Wen Xu and Wen Clan had left on their own. Maybe… maybe, deep down, he was actually relieved.

Because this way, he didn’t have to struggle with what choice to make. Because they’d already taken the choice out of his hands, solved this trouble for him.

Wei Wuxian slapped himself across the face and hissed at himself, “What are you thinking?!”

His cheek stung, finally suppressing that awful thought. Instead, he thought, no matter what, he had to at least retrieve the bodies and ashes of the Wen siblings.

So, in the end, he still ran toward Jinlin Pavilion.

If Wei Wuxian wanted to slip into a place unnoticed, it wasn’t hard. Jinlin Pavilion was eerily quiet, without the heavy guard he’d imagined. He searched all around for a long time but found nothing suspicious.

He drifted through the halls of Jinlin Pavilion like a ghost, hiding when he saw people, moving when no one was around. He didn’t even know what he was looking for, or how to look. But when the sound of a baby crying reached him, his steps froze, and an inner voice urged his body toward the source.

The crying was coming from a pitch-dark hall.

Wei Wuxian slipped silently to the door and peered through the cracks of an ornately carved wooden window.

Inside the hall stood a somber black coffin. In front of the coffin, two women in white robes knelt.

The woman on the left had a frail silhouette. He’d never mistake that back—he’d been carried on it countless times since he was a child.

It was Jiang Anli.

Jiang Anli knelt on a cushion, staring blankly at the gleaming black coffin before her. The baby was in her arms, still letting out soft cries.

The woman on the right said softly, “...A-Li, don’t sit here anymore. Go rest.”

Jiang Anli shook her head. Madam Jin sighed.

She was a woman quite similar in temperament to her friend Madam Yu—strong-willed, her tone always sharp and high. But the words she’d just spoken were low and hoarse, sounding terribly aged.

Madam Jin said, “I’ll keep watch here. Don’t sit any longer, you won’t be able to bear it.”

Jiang Anli said gently, “Mother, I’m fine. I want to sit a little longer.”

After a long pause, Madam Jin slowly stood up. “This isn’t good for you. I’ll go get you something to eat.”

She must have been kneeling there a long time too; her legs were numb. She swayed slightly when she stood but steadied herself immediately. When she turned, it was indeed that face with its somewhat stern contours.

In Wei Wuxian’s memory, Madam Jin was decisive, haughty, dripping with noble airs and glittering gold. Her complexion was impeccably maintained, looking so young you’d believe she was in her twenties. But now, what Wei Wuxian saw was an ordinary middle-aged woman in plain mourning robes, her temples touched with Frosty Splendor. No makeup, her face ashen, her lips chapped with dead skin.

She walked over to push the door open. Wei Wuxian immediately ducked aside, his feet light as he leapt up to the corridor’s roof beam. Madam Jin stepped out, closed the door behind her, took a deep breath with a cold expression, and adjusted her facial muscles as if trying to assume her usual authoritative look.

But before she could finish that breath, her eyes reddened.

In front of Jiang Anli, she hadn’t shown a hint of grief. But once outside, her mouth trembled, her features crumpled, and her whole body began to shake.

This was the second time Wei Wuxian had seen such an ugly, utterly heartbroken expression on a woman’s face.

He really never wanted to see that look again.

Wei Wuxian clenched his fist unconsciously, and his knuckles happened to let out a sharp crack. Hearing it, Madam Jin’s brows shot up. “Who’s there!”

She looked up and saw Wei Wuxian hiding beside the roof beam. Madam Jin had sharp eyes; she clearly saw the face hidden in the shadows. Her own face twisted violently, and she shrieked, “Guards! All guards to me! Wei Ying—he’s here! He’s infiltrated Jinlin Pavilion!”

Wei Wuxian jumped down from the corridor. Hearing hurried footsteps—someone rushing out from the hall—he fled in panic.

At that moment, he didn’t dare to look at Jiang Anli’s expression, let alone hear her say a single word to him!

After fleeing Jinlin Pavilion and leaving Lanling City, Wei Wuxian lost his direction again. He began wandering aimlessly, his mind foggy, walking nonstop. He didn’t know how many towns he passed through when he suddenly saw a crowd gathered before a city wall, talking animatedly, the atmosphere heated, emotions running high.

Wei Wuxian had been ignoring these people, but as he passed, he suddenly heard the low words “Ghost General” from the crowd. He stopped dead and listened intently.

“The Ghost General really is vicious… Said he was there to plead guilty, then suddenly went berserk and slaughtered people right on Jinlin Pavilion!”

“Thank goodness I wasn’t there that day!”

“Just like a dog taught by Wei Wuxian—bites anyone it sees.”

“This Wei Ying, really. If you can’t control it, don’t mess with dark arts. You raise a mad dog and don’t even chain it up—sooner or later it’ll turn on you. At this rate, I’d say that day isn’t far off.”

Wei Wuxian listened quietly, the muscles in his fingers and face twitching slightly.

“The Lanling Jin Sect is so unlucky.”

“The Gusu Lan Sect is the unlucky one! Most of the thirty-some people killed were theirs, and they were only there to help mediate!”

“Well, at least they finally burned the Ghost General to ashes. Just thinking about something like that roaming around outside, going crazy now and then, I wouldn’t sleep easy.”

Someone spat, “Wen Dogs deserve exactly that fate!”

“The Ghost General’s been reduced to dust. Wei Wuxian should know better now, right? I heard a lot of the clan leaders planning to attend this Oath-taking Assembly have already made statements. Serves him right!”

The more Wei Wuxian listened, the colder his expression grew.

He should’ve understood this long ago. No matter what he did, these people would never have a single good word for him. When he was triumphant, they feared him; when he was down, they rejoiced.

Since he was a wicked heretic either way, what had all his persistence been for? What had he been trying to achieve?

Only, the colder the ice in his eyes grew, the fiercer the raging fire of fury burned in his heart.

One man spoke smugly, as if he’d played a major role in all this. “Yeah, serves him right! If he stays holed up on that broken hill from now on, keeping his tail tucked, fine. But if he dares show his face again? Hah, the moment he comes out, just…”

“Just what?”

The people chattering excitedly paused, turning around in unison.

A pale young man in black robes, dark circles under his eyes, stood behind them, speaking coldly. “The moment he comes out, just what?”

Sharp-eyed people saw the flute with its bright red tassel at his waist and were instantly terrified. They blurted out, “Chenqing. It’s Chenqing!”

The Yiling Patriarch, Wei Wuxian, had really come out!

In an instant, the crowd cleared a wide circle around Wei Wuxian, scattering in all directions. Wei Wuxian blew a sharp, piercing whistle. The people suddenly felt their bodies grow heavy, and they all fell flat on the ground. Trembling, they looked back and saw that everyone—including themselves—had several dark spirits of varying shapes, mouths dripping blood, pressing down heavily on their backs!

Wei Wuxian walked unhurriedly through the crowd sprawled on the ground, unable to move. As he walked, he said, “Huh? What’s wrong with you all? Weren’t you so bold talking about me behind my back? How come when I’m right in front of you, you’re groveling with a whole different face?”

He walked to the man who’d spoken the most venomously, suddenly stomped on his face, and laughed. “Say it! Why aren’t you saying it now?—Hero, what exactly were you going to do to me?!”

The man’s nose bone shattered under the kick, blood gushing as he screamed. Several cultivators watched from atop the city wall, wanting to help but not daring to approach. They shouted from a distance, “Wei… Wei Ying! If you’re really so capable, why don’t you go after the big clans and clan leaders at the Oath-taking Assembly? Bullying us low-level cultivators who can’t fight back—what kind of skill is that?”

Wei Wuxian blew another short whistle. The cultivator who’d shouted suddenly felt a hand yank him hard, and he fell from the top of the wall, breaking both legs. He let out a long, agonized scream.

Amid the screams, Wei Wuxian said expressionlessly, “Low-level cultivators? Because you’re low-level, I have to tolerate you? If you dare say it, you dare bear the consequences. If you know you’re insignificant, worthless trash, why don’t you learn to keep your mouths shut!”

Everyone’s faces were deathly pale, silent as cicadas in winter. After a long pause, Wei Wuxian didn’t hear another idle word. Satisfied, he said, “That’s right. Just like that.”

Then he kicked again, knocking out half the teeth of the man who’d been gossiping most vigorously!

Blood splattered everywhere. Everyone trembled, their faces changing color. The man had long since passed out from the pain. Wei Wuxian lowered his head and ground the blood on his boot sole into the dirt, leaving a few bloody footprints. He studied them for a moment, then said flatly, “But you trash did get one thing right. Wasting time with people like you is pointless. Want me to go after the big clans? Fine. I’ll go. Settle accounts with them.”

He looked up and saw the huge notice posted on the city wall. This was what the crowd had been gathered around discussing.

At the top of the notice were the words “Oath-taking Assembly.” The content stated that the four great clans—led by the Lanling Jin Sect, Qinghe Nie Sect, Yunmeng Jiang Clan, and Gusu Lan Sect—would gather on the ruins of the Qishan Wen Sect’s abandoned stronghold, Evernight Heaven City, to scatter the ashes of the Wen Clan remnants and swear an oath of absolute opposition to the Yiling Patriarch occupying Wasteland Cemetery.

Evernight Heaven City. Oath-taking Assembly.