Wei WuXian, “Well, then I also know who he is.”
He lowered his voice, “He’s ChiFeng-Zun, right?”
When they were “playing hide-and-seek”, the headless corpse kept on repeating the same movement—with a loosely-closed fist, he waved his arm and slashed the air. It looked as though he was brandishing a type of weapon.
At the first idea of a weapon, Wei WuXian thought of a sword. But as someone who used the sword himself and had dueled other swordsmen, he had never seen any sword expert use their sword in such a way. The sword was the “gentleman of all weapons”. Anyone who used the sword would pay attention to an air of grace or dignity. Even the sword of an assassin would need to have some agility amid the cruelty. In the art of swordplay, there were more of “lunge” and “stab”, and less of “hack” and “slice”. However, the headless man’s movements were too heavy. There was an abundance in malice and the slashes of the arm lacked elegance.
But, if he wasn’t holding a sword, but a saber—and a hefty saber with a strong killing intent—then everything would make sense.
The sword and the saber were different in both usage and temperament. The weapon that the man had used before he died was probably a saber. As fierce as the saber was, it valued power instead of style. When he was searching for his head, he was searching for his weapon as well. This was why he kept on repeating the moves of wielding a saber and even grabbed Bichen, using it as though it were his weapon.
Moreover, this corpse didn’t have any special markings such as a birthmark. And now after he had been cut into pieces, it was impossible find out who he was. It was only natural that Nie HuaiSang couldn’t recognize it in the Saber Hall. In fact, even Wei WuXian couldn’t guarantee that if he cut off his own leg and threw it everywhere, he’d be able to recognize whose leg it was. It wasn’t until the torso and the limbs were temporarily pieced into a corpse capable of movement by the resentful energy that Lan XiChen and Lan WangJi finally recognized him.
Wei WuXian, “ZeWu-Jun, HanGuang-Jun told you about what we saw during the journey, right? Mo Village, the grave digger, Yi City and all that.”
Lan XiChen nodded. Wei WuXian continued, “Then HanGuang-Jun probably told you this already. The mist-faced man who tried to take the corpse away in the Chang Clan’s cemetery knew the Lan Sect’s sword moves like the back of his hand. There can only be two possibilities. One, he’s from the Lan Sect and has been practicing the Lan Sect’s moves since a young age; two, he’s not from the Lan Sect, but he’s really familiar with your sect’s moves. He either often dueled with the Lan Sect’s people or he’s so intelligent that he can remember the moves as long as he has seen them.”
Lan XiChen remained silent. Wei WuXian added, “He fought for the corpse because he didn’t want others to realize that ChiFeng-Zun had been cut up. If ChiFeng-Zun’s corpse is pieced back together, the situation would be really difficult for him. This is someone who knows of the secrets behind the Nie Sect’s Saber Hall. Someone who’s quite close with the GusuLan Sect. Someone who has a rather complicated history… with ChiFeng-Zun.”
Without having to say who this person most likely was, everyone had understood.
Although Lan XiChen’s expression was solemn, he still replied quickly, “He will not have done such a thing.”
Wei WuXian, “ZeWu-Jun?”
Lan XiChen, “Your incidents of investigating the corpse parts and encountering the gravedigger all happened within the present month. During this month, he has been discussing matters with me every single night. We were planning the Discussion Conference occurring next month at the LanlingJin Sect just a few days ago. He could not have been to anywhere else. The gravedigger could not have been him.”
Wei WuXian, “What if he used a transportation talisman?”
Lan XiChen shook his head. His tone was gentle yet resolute, “One must cultivate the transportation technique in order to use the transportation talisman. It is rather difficult to cultivate. He has never shown signs of cultivating it. Likewise, one must expend large quantities of spiritual powers to use this technique, but we night-hunted together just a few days ago. His performance was excellent. I am certain that he has never used the transportation talisman.”
Lan WangJi, “He did not have to go himself.”
Lan XiChen still shook his head. Wei WuXian continued, “Sect Leader Lan, you know who is the most suspicious person. You’re just refusing to admit it.”
The light of the bonfire casted everchanging shadows over the three faces. All was still in the abandoned garden.
After a while of silence, Lan XiChen replied, “I understand that because of certain reasons, the world holds quite a few misconceptions about him. But… I trust what I have seen throughout all these years. I trust that he is not this sort of person.”
It wasn’t difficult to understand why Lan XiChen defended this person. To be honest, even Wei WuXian himself didn’t have a terrible opinion of the person they were suspicious of. Perhaps because of his background, he had always treated others with kindness and humility. He was the type of person who never offended anyone, the type who could make everyone around him feel comfortable talking to him, let alone ZeWu-Jun, who had been friends with him for years?
The time before Nie MingJue’s death was precisely the peak of the QingheNie Sect’s advances toward the LanlingJin Sect. Who would’ve Nie MingJue’s death benefited the most?
Death by a qi deviation under the public’s eyes… It looked like such a reasonable, unavoidable regret, but was the truth really so simple?
Translator’s Notes
Ghoul: This was previously referred to as ghost. It has been changed due to the fact that ghosts do not have physical form while ghouls sometimes do.
Liebing: Literally translated to “cracked ice”.
Chapter 47 Guile—Part Two
Hey guys! Sorry for taking so long on this chapter. Life has been pretty busy for me and this also happens to be the longest GDC chapter you’ll ever read. Even though spring break has finally come, it’ll be rather difficult for me to translate as much as I want to, since I’ll be busy going around the States doing university visits and all that junior year havoc. The most important finals in high school are also right around the corner. So, since I’m assuming all of you want to eat up these chapters as soon as possible, here are some advice…
Good ways to help produce the chapters: being nice in the comments, reading the info and FAQ pages before asking any questions, waiting patiently, PM-ing me if I’m really really taking too long.
Bad ways to help produce the chapters: writing spoilers in the comments, asking questions that the ExR website can easily answer, spamming comments.
And that’s it! Even though I’ll be busy, I’ll still try my hardest to finish this (and maybe even pick up the author’s fourth novel). Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the 9500 word chapter!
The time of the Discussion Conference at Carp Tower came within the blink of an eye.
Most of the prominent sects’ residences were built in areas of beautiful scenery, but the LanlingJin Sect’s Carp Tower sat in the most flourishing part of Lanling City. The main road used to visit the tower was a carriage path more than half a mile in length. It only opened for important events such as banquets or the Discussion Conferences. According to the LanlingJin Sect’s rules, one must not walk at a fast pace here. Both sides of the path were covered in murals and reliefs, telling stories of the Jin Clan’s leaders and other distinguished cultivators. During the journey, disciples of the LanlingJin Sect would act as guides as they drove the carriages.