Nie HuaiSang, “Don’t tell me that whoever pulls out the sword must be the YiLing Patriarch. Brother, HanGuang-Jun, I’m guessing that there’s some sort of a misunderstanding between the two sides, right?”
Jin GuangYao, “There are no misunderstandings. He’s Wei WuXian for sure.”
Jin Ling suddenly shouted, “Wait! Uncle, wait! D-didn’t my uncle hit him with Zidian back at Dafan Mountain? His soul didn’t get whipped out, so it must mean that he didn’t possess this body, right? And so he can’t be Wei WuXian right?!”
Jiang Cheng’s face looked very dark. He didn’t speak as his hand pressed onto the hilt of his sword, as though he was thinking about what to do. Jin GuangYao, “Dafan Mountain? That’s right. A-Ling, now that you reminded me, I’ve also remembered just what had appeared on Dafan Mountain. Wasn’t he the one who summoned Wen Ning as well?”
Seeing that he not only couldn’t prove anything but was also refuted, Jin Ling’s complexion paled. Jin GuangYao continued, “I’m sure that none of you know this, but back when XuanYu was still at Koi Tower, he had seen a copy of the YiLing Patriarch’s manuscript at my place. The manuscript recorded a dark technique that ‘sacrificed’ one’s body. With the price being the soul and the body, one could summon a powerful spirit to seek revenge in place of themself. Sect Leader Jiang wouldn’t be able to test it even if he hit him with a hundred more strikes. It’s because the person who used the technique sacrificed their body willingly. It doesn’t count as a possession at all!”
The explanation was fair and reasonable. Hatred grew in Mo XuanYu after he was thrown out of Koi Tower. Recalling the technique that he had seen, he asked for a ferocious ghost to befall and summoned the YiLing Patriarch. Everything that Wei WuXian did was to seek revenge for Mo XuanYu, so the dismembering of ChiFeng-Zun’s corpse must’ve been due to Wei WuXian as well. In any case, before the truth could be determined, the biggest possibility was that it was all part of the YiLing Patriarch’s sinister plot!
But some people still doubted, “Since the technique of sacrifice can’t be proven, then according to your judgement, LianFang-Zun, we aren’t able to conclude anything, are we?”
Jin GuangYao, “It is true that body sacrifice cannot be proven, but whether or not he is the YiLing Patriarch can. Ever since the YiLing Patriarch had received the cultivation backlash and been torn to dust by his ghouls on the top of the Burial Mounds, his sword was collected by the LanlingJin Sect. But, not long afterwards, the sword sealed itself.”
Wei WuXian was surprised, Sealed itself?
A foreboding sense of worry stirred up within him. Jin GuangYao, “I believe that I don’t need to go into great depths to explain how a sword seals itself. This sword is spiritual. It refuses to let anyone apart from Wei WuXian use it, which was why it sealed. Aside from the YiLing Patriarch himself, nobody can pull it out. But just a second ago, ‘Mo XuanYu’ here pulled out, in front of everyone’s eyes, the sword that had been sealed for thirteen years!”
Before he even finished talking, dozens of sword glares shot toward Wei WuXian.
Lan WangJi blocked off all of the attacks. Bichen threw some people to the side to make out an unobstructed path for them. Lan XiChen, “WangJi!”
A few of the sect leaders who had keeled over from Bichen’s cold energy were fuming, “HanGuang-Jun! You…”
Wei WuXian didn’t even say one unnecessary word. Pressing his right hand on the window lattice, his body lightly flipped outside. As soon as he landed, he began to sprint, thinking, When Jin GuangYao saw the strange paperman and saw Suibian being unsheathed, he must’ve guessed who I was right there. And so he quickly made up a series of lies, causing Qin Su to take her own life, and then purposely force me to the cabinet with Suibian inside so that I could unsheath my sword and reveal my identity. Scary, scary. Who could’ve known that his reaction was so fast and his lies so flawless?
Suddenly, somebody came from behind him. It was Lan WangJi, who had followed him without speaking a word. Wei WuXian’s reputation had always been terrible, so it wasn’t his first time in such a situation. This life, his mindset was different from when he was in his past life. He could already face these situations calmly. He should get away first. There might be a chance of a counterattack in the days to come. He wouldn’t push it even if no such chance came. If he stayed, all that would come out of it were more than hundreds of slashes from the swords. Saying that he was actually innocent was even more of a joke. Everyone believed with utmost certainty that he’d return to seek revenge sometime in the future. Having destroyed countless sects, nobody would listen to his explanation, especially when Jin GuangYao would be there fanning the flames. Lan WangJi, though, was different from him. He wouldn’t even have to explain, and people would explain for him, such as how HanGuang-Jun had been deceived by the YiLing Patriarch.
Wei WuXian, “HanGuang-Jun, you don’t have to follow me!”
Lan WangJi looked straight in front of him, saying nothing in reply. The two left behind them a crowd of cultivators shouting to kill. Amid the chaos, Wei WuXian spoke again, “You really want to go with me? Think carefully. After you walk out this door, your reputation will be destroyed!”
The two had already dashed down the steps of Koi Tower. Lan WangJi grabbed his wrist, as though he was about to speak. Yet, suddenly, a white light flashed before their eyes. Jin Ling stopped them in their tracks.
Seeing that it was Jin Ling, Wei WuXian let out a sigh of relief. Just as the two were about to go around him, Jin Ling slashed his sword and blocked their way again, asking, “You’re Wei Ying?!”
His expression was a in a disarray. There was anger, there was hatred, there was doubt, there was hesitation, there was distress. He shouted again, “You really are Wei Ying, Wei WuXian?”
Seeing how he looked, the pain in his voice infinitely greater than the hatred, Wei WuXian felt his heart shake. But only a few seconds needed to pass before the crowd behind him would catch up. He couldn’t pay attention to him any longer. Clenching his teeth, he could only try for the third time to go around him. All of a sudden, a coldness passed through his stomach. As he looked down, Jin Ling had already pulled the white blade—now red with blood—out of him.
He didn’t expect that Jin Ling really would come at him.
The thought in Wei WuXian’s mind was, He could be like anyone, yet he just so happened to have taken over his uncle Jiang Cheng. They even like to stab the same places.
He couldn’t quite clearly remember what had happened next. He felt that he tried to attack. Everything around them seemed frenzied. Not only noisy, their escape seemed to bump and jolt as well. He didn’t know how long had passed, but when he hazily opened his eyes again, Lan WangJi flew on Bichen, while he was carried on Lan WangJi’s back. Blood had spilled onto half of his snow colored cheeks.
In truth, the wound at his stomach didn’t hurt too much. But it was a hole in his body, after all. In the beginning, he had managed for a while, as though nothing happened. It was likely, though, that the body hadn’t received many injuries before. As the wound bled, he couldn’t help but feel light-headed, and this wasn’t something that he could control.