The corpse’s body was already half-rotten. It dragged a rusting sword in his hand as it slowly approached Jiang YanLi.
Watching the scene of terror unfold, Wei WuXian’s voice was harsh, “Get lost! Get lost right now! Don’t touch her!”
Jiang Cheng roared as well, “Make it go away!”
He tossed out Sandu. Purple light flew toward the corpse, but in midway, the glare was obstructed by other cultivators’ swords, deviating from its original direction. The more Wei WuXian panicked, the less control he had. The corpse ignored his command and instead lifted the sword in its hand, slashing it down at Jiang YanLi!
Wei WuXian had lost it, dashing as he shouted, “Stop it, stop it, right now, stop it!”
Everyone was busy with dealing with the corpses around them. Nobody had the spare time to see if another’s life was in danger. The sword in the corpse’s hand swung down and slashed open Jiang YanLi’s back!
Jiang YanLi fell to the ground.
Standing behind her back, the corpse raised its sword again. Suddenly, a sword glare sliced off half of its body!
Lan WangJi landed amid the plaza, catching Bichen which he summoned back. Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng could finally hurry over. They couldn’t even manage to thank Lan WangJi. Jiang Cheng first picked up Jiang YanLi, while Lan WangJi stopped Wei WuXian.
Seizing his collar, he dragged Wei WuXian in front of him, his voice hard, “Wei Ying! Stop the corpses!”
At the moment, Wei WuXian couldn’t care about anything else. Reflected in his eyes wasn’t Lan WangJi’s face, much less the veins of blood within Lan WangJi’s eyes or the redness that surrounded his eyes. He only wanted to see if Jiang YanLi was fine. With red eyes, he pushed him away and rushed to the ground. With the push, Lan WangJi staggered a bit, and gazed at him after he steadied himself. Before he could do anything else, he suddenly heard another scream of help in the distance. He suppressed whatever was in his eyes and went to provide assistance.
Jiang YanLi’s back was dyed in blood. Her eyes were closed, but fortunately she was still breathing. Trembling, Jiang Cheng took back the hand that he used to feel for her pulse, letting out a breath of relief. He threw a sudden punch toward Wei WuXian’s face, shouting, “What happened?! Didn’t you say you could control it?! Didn’t you say it’d be fine?!”
Wei WuXian sat collapsed on the ground, his face blank, “… I don’t know either.” In despair, he continued, “… I can’t control it, I just can’t control it…”
Suddenly, Jiang YanLi moved. Holding her tightly, Jiang Cheng hurried, however incoherent, “Sister! It’s fine! It’s fine, how are you feeling? It’s not that bad, just a single gash, not that bad. I’ll take you down right now…”
As he spoke, he was about to pick up Jiang YanLi when she spoke up, “… A-Xian.”
Wei WuXian felt shivers go down his spine, “Shijie, I… I’m here.”
Slowly, Jiang YanLi opened her dark eyes. Wei WuXian felt fear rumble within him.
Jiang YanLi managed, “… A-Xian. Before… why did you run away so fast… I didn’t even get the chance to look at you, or say something to you…”
Hearing this, Wei WuXian’s heart beat fast.
He still didn’t dare look at Jiang YanLi’s face. Right then, the face was the same as Jin ZiXuan’s back then, covered in dust and blood. He was even more scared to hear the words she was about to say.
Jiang YanLi, “I’m… I’m here to tell you…”
To tell him what?
That it’s fine?
That I don’t hate you?
That everything is fine?
That I don’t blame you for have killed Jin ZiXuan?
It was impossible.
But she couldn’t say anything that was the opposite either. And so, she didn’t know what else she could say to Wei Wei WuXian, under such circumstances. It was just that she felt like she had to see this brother of hers once more.
Jiang YanLi sighed, “A-Xian, you… you should stop first. Don’t, don’t…”
Wei WuXian hurried, “Yes, I’ll stop.”
He took up Chenqing, placed it by his lips, and began to play. He only managed to steady his mind with great effort. This time, the corpses finally stopped ignoring his commands. One after another, strange gurgles echoed in their throats as if they were complaining. Slowly, they bent down.
Lan WangJi paused slightly, looking over from afar. Immediately after, he continued to attack, helping those who were still in the fight, whether they be from his own sect or not.
Suddenly, Jiang YanLi’s eyes opened wide. Her hands conjured up an explosive current of strength from nowhere and pushed Wei WuXian hard!
Wei WuXian was pushed onto the ground again by the force. The next time he looked up, he saw the gleaming blade of a sword pierce through her throat.
The boy holding the sword was the young cultivator who cried over the disciple who had shot the arrow. He was still crying, eyes covered in tears, “You thief! This is for my brother!”
Sitting on the dirty ground, Wei WuXian stared with disbelief at Jiang YanLi, whose head had already dipped, blood trickling ceaselessly from her neck.
He was still waiting for her to speak, to to give him his final judgement.
Jiang Cheng was at a loss as well, arms still wrapped around his sister’s body. He hadn’t completely realized what happened yet.
A moment later, finally, Wei WuXian let out a bitter scream.
Lan WangJi finished his attack before he spun around.
The boy finally realized that he killed the wrong person. He pulled out the sword, along with a series of bloody spurts. With fright, he staggered back, mumbling, “… I-It wasn’t me, it wasn’t… I was going to kill Wei WuXian, I was going to avenge my brother… She was the one who threw herself over on her own!”
Wei WuXian shot toward him and clenched his neck. Sect Leader Yao waved his sword, “Demon, let him go!”
Lan WangJi couldn’t care about appearance or mannerisms any longer.
One after another, he pushed those who blocked his path to the side, sprinting toward Wei WuXian. But before he was even halfway there, under everyone’s eyes, Wei WuXian snapped the boy’s neck with his bare hands.
A white-haired sect leader raged, “You! Back then… you caused the deaths of Jiang FengMian and his wife, and now you caused the death of your shijie. You suffered from your own actions, and yet you dared vent your anger on another! Instead of turning around, you took yet another life. Wei WuXian, your crimes—shall never be forgiven!”
Yet, no matter the criticism, the blame, Wei WuXian could no longer hear any of them. As if governed by another soul, he reached out and took two objects from within his sleeves. Before everyone’s eyes, he put them together. One half on top and the other below, the two objects snapped into one, letting out a resonating clang.
Wei WuXian placed it on his palm and raised it high into the air.
It was the Stygian Tiger Seal!
Chapter 79: Loyalty—Part One
Translated by K of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
The bloodbath of Nightless City, legendarily, was a bloody battle in which the YiLing Patriarch, Wei WuXian, slaughtered over three thousand people during the night of the pledge conference on his own.