After some thought, Lan SiZhui silently chanted the incantations, and was finally ready to play the first sentence.
A moment later, the strings of the guqin vibrated. Two notes rumbled out, sounding as if a rock had exploded.
Lan SiZhui widened his eyes. Lan JingYi urged him, “What did he say?”
Lan SiZhui, “Song Lan!”
… Xiao XingChen’s most intimate friend of cultivation, Song Lan?!
In unison, everyone turned their heads toward Xiao XingChen, who lay unconscious on the ground. Lan SiZhui whispered, “Does he know that the one who came is Song Lan…?”
Jin Ling also lowered his voice, “Probably not. He’s blind, while Song Lan is mute, and even became a fierce corpse who lost his senses… It’s best if he doesn’t know.”
Wei WuXian, “The second question: who killed him?”
In all earnesty, Lan SiZhui played another sentence.
This time, the silence was three times longer than the one before.
Just as they were about to conclude that Song Lan’s soul wasn’t willing to answer this question, the strings of the guqin vibrated three times, their tones echoing grief.
Lan SiZhui blurted out, “That is impossible!”
Wei WuXian, “What did he say?”
Lan SiZhui replied as though he couldn’t believe what he had just heard, “He said… Xiao XingChen.”
The one who killed Song Lan was Xiao XingChen?!
They asked a mere number of two questions, yet the answers to those questions were more than shocking. Jin Ling was skeptical, “You played it wrong, right?”
Lan SiZhui, “But ‘who are you’ and ‘who killed you’ are the two easiest and most common questions of Inquiry. When someone first starts to learn Inquiry, these are the first and second sentences that they learn. One would practice them no less than a thousand times. I checked them before I played. I definitely did not play them wrong.”
Jin Ling, “Either you played Inquiry wrong, or you interpreted the qin language wrong.”
Lan SiZhui shook his head, “If playing them wrong is impossible, then interpreting them wrong is even more impossible. The name and the three characters of ‘Xiao XingChen’ are not at all common in the spirits’ answers. If he answered a different name and I interpreted it wrong, it would not have just happened to be this name.”
Lan JingYi murmured, “… Song Lan went to find the missing Xiao XingChen, yet Xiao XingChen killed him. Why would he kill a good friend? He does not seem like this sort of person.”
Wei WuXian, “Let’s not worry about this for now. SiZhui, ask the third question: who is controlling him?”
With a stern face, Lan SiZhui didn’t even dare to breathe as he played the third sentence. All pairs of eyes stared at the strings of the guqin, waiting for Song Lan’s answer.
Lan SiZhui interpreted the reply word by word, “The. One. Behind. You.”
Everyone spun around as fast as they could. Xiao XingChen, who lay collapsed on the ground a few moments ago, had already sat up, with one hand holding his chin. Giving them a smile, he raised the left hand that was covered by a black glove and snapped.
When the crisp sound travelled to Song Lan’s ears, it was as though it exploded right beside him. Song Lan suddenly threw off all of the four Nether Brawlers who had been holding him down!
He leaped up at once. Wielding his sword and whisk again, with both of his hands, he slashed twisted the paper mannequins into colorful pieces of confetti, which drifted toward the ground. His sword pressed against Wei WuXian’s neck, while his whisk threateningly pointed to the disciples.
Within the mere area of the shop, the situation had changed drastically.
Jin Ling put his hand onto his sword. Catching the movement with a sideway glance, Wei WuXian immediately stopped him, “Don’t move. Don’t add to the trouble. In terms of swordsmanship, even everybody together wouldn’t be a worthy opponent to this… Song Lan.”
His body was low in spiritual power and his sword wasn’t by his side. Moreover, there was also Xiao XingChen—it remained undetermined what he intended on doing or whether he was friend or foe.
Xiao XingChen, “Adults are going to talk to adults. The children can wait outside.”
He gestured to Song Lan, who obeyed at once and drove the disciples outside. Wei WuXian comforted them, “Go outside for now. You won’t be much help here, anyways. The corpse-poisoning powder should’ve settled already. When you go outside, don’t run around and stir up the dust again. Breathe slowly.”
Hearing “you won’t be much help here”, Jin Ling was both unconvinced and upset. He didn’t want to accept the defeat, yet he knew that he couldn’t do anything, so he stormed outside. Before Lan SiZhui left, he looked as if he wanted to say something. Wei WuXian turned to him, “SiZhui, you’re the most sensible one here. Guide them a bit, won’t you? Can you do that?”
Lan SiZhui nodded. Wei WuXian added, “Don’t be scared.”
Lan SiZhui, “I am not.”
“Really?”
“Really.” Lan SiZhui smiled, “Senior, you are so much like HanGuang-Jun.”
Wei WuXian was puzzled, “Us? How are we alike?” They were obviously like fire and ice. However, Lan SiZhui only grinned in reply, and led the rest of the group out.
He continued his thought silently, I do not know, either, but they just feel similar. It is as though if either one of the two seniors are present, I will not need to be scared or worry about anything.
Xiao XingChen took out a red elixir from somewhere and put it into his mouth, “How touching.”
After he ate it, the purplish-red hue of his face faded immediately. Wei WuXian asked, “Cure of the corpse-poisoning powder?”
Xiao XingChen, “Correct. A lot more effective than your scary bowl of congee, right? And it tastes sweet.”
Wei WuXian, “Your performance was wonderful. From courageously killing corpses, tiring out, to blocking the sword for Jin Ling, losing consciousness. They were all for our entertainment?”
Xiao XingChen raised a finger and wagged it in front of his face, “Not for ‘your’ general entertainment, but ‘your’ singular entertainment. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, the YiLing Patriarch, that is. It’s better to see for oneself rather than listening to mere tales.”
Wei WuXian didn’t react to his words and his expression remained unchanged. Xiao XingChen continued, “I’m guessing that you haven’t yet told anyone who you really are, have you? So, I didn’t expose your secret either and told them to go outside for us to shut the doors and converse in privacy. How’s that? Aren’t I thoughtful?”
Wei WuXian, “All of the walking corpses in Yi City are under your control?”
Xiao XingChen, “Of course. Just as you guys came in and your whistles started, I began to think that you were a bit weird, which was why I decided to attend to the matter personally and sound you out. As I expected, someone who could give way to such strong powers with the low-level sorcery of the Summoning of Painted Eyes could only be the founder.”
Xue Yang walked his old path. Since it was the same practice, both using improper means, Wei WuXian couldn’t fool him. Wei WuXian asked, “So, taking the group of children as hostage, what do you want me to do?”