Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps approached, and the door was pounded on loudly. Jin Ling shouted from outside, “Uncle!”
Jiang Cheng raised his voice, “Didn’t I tell you to stay where you were? Why did you come here?”
Jin Ling, “Uncle, I have something really important to tell you.”
Jiang Cheng, “If there’s something important, why didn’t you decide to speak up when I was scolding you?”
“I didn’t want to say it exactly because you kept on scolding me! Are you gonna listen or not? If not, I’m just not gonna say it!” Jin Ling replied in an angry voice.
Jiang Cheng opened the door with a fuming look on his face, “Tell me, then get out!”
As soon as the wooden door opened, Jin Ling stepped inside. He had already changed into a new set of the white uniform. “I really did encounter something troublesome today. I think I might have ran into Wen Ning!”
Jiang Cheng’s brow twitched. With a hostile expression, he placed his hand on his sword at once, “Where? When?!”
Jin Ling told him, “It was this afternoon. There’s a worn-down house about a dozen miles south of here. I went because I heard that something strange had happened there, but who could have guessed that there was a fierce corpse hiding inside.”
Jing Ling’s word sounded quite believable. However, in Wei WuXian’s ears, all those sentences were nonsense. He knew precisely where Jin Ling was this afternoon. Moreover, if Wen Ning hid himself, unless he summoned him on purpose, there’d be no way that a junior would find him so easily.
Jiang Cheng, “Why didn’t you say so earlier?!”
Jin Ling, “I wasn’t certain. The corpse moved at a really fast speed and ran away as soon as I entered. I only saw a blurry figure. But I heard the chain noises he made on Dafan Mountain, which was why I suspected that it might have been him. If you didn’t scold me like that, I would have told you right after I came back. If he ran away and you can’t catch him, it’d be because of your bad temper, not me.” He still wanted to peek inside, but Jiang Cheng was so angered that he slammed the door right in front of his face. Through the closed door, Jiang Cheng shouted, “I’ll deal with you later. Get lost!”
Jin Ling replied with an “oh,” and his footsteps faded into the distance. Seeing Jiang Cheng turn around, Wei WuXian immediately pulled a mixed expression of “I’m so shocked,” “my secret has been disclosed,” and “what do I do now that Wen Ning had been found.” Jin Ling was actually quite clever. Knowing that Jiang Cheng hated Wen Ning more than anything, he made up such a smooth lie with the previous knowledge he had. Jiang Cheng knew that the YiLing Patriarch and the Ghost General often appeared together, so he already suspected that Wen Ning was in the area. Having heard Jin Ling’s words, he was already mostly convinced, and Wei WuXian’s expression convinced him even further. On top of that, he burst into fury whenever he heard the mention of Wen Ning’s name. With his eyes blinded by wrath, how could he still have doubted? The hostility that built in his chest was almost making him explode. He flicked his whip, hitting the ground beside Wei WuXian, and spoke through clenched teeth, “You really take this obeying dog of yours everywhere, don’t you?!”
Wei WuXian spoke, “He’s been dead since a long time ago, and I’ve died once as well. What else do you want?!”
Jiang Cheng pointed the whip at him, “So what? My hatred would persist, even if he dies thousands of times! He didn’t perish back then. Very well! I shall destroy him today, with my own hands. I’m going to burn him right now, and scatter his ashes right in front of your face!”
He slammed the door shut behind him and walked toward the main hall, ordering Jin Ling, “You keep a close eye on him. Don’t believe or listen to anything he says! Don’t let him make any sound. If he dares to whistle or play his flute, block his mouth first. If it doesn’t work, just slice off his hand or cut off his tongue!”
Wei WuXian knew that Jiang Cheng spoke these words especially for him to hear, threatening him against doing anything. The reason why Jiang Cheng didn’t bring him along was so that he didn’t use the opportunity to control Wen Ning. Jin Ling replied in a nonchalant tone, “I know. Of course I’ll be able to watch him. Uncle, why did you shut yourself inside along with that damn cut-sleeve? What did he do this time?”
Jiang Cheng answered, “This isn’t a question you should ask. Remember to watch him properly. If I return to see that he disappeared, I’ll break your leg for sure!” After a few more questions about the exact location, he left with half of the disciples and went to chase the nonexistent Wen Ning.
After some time of waiting, Jin Ling’s arrogant voice travelled through, “You go stand over there. You, go wait on the side. All of you go stand in front of the main entrance. I’m gonna go inside and meet him.”
None of the disciples dared to disobey. In a short while, the door had been opened again and Jin Ling stuck his head in, eyes darting around the room. Wei WuXian sat up straight. Jin Ling put a finger in front of his lips, walked in quietly, put his hand on Zidian, then whispered something.
Zidian could only work if it recognized its owner. Jiang Cheng had probably allowed it to recognize Jin Ling. The electric currents went out at once, and it transformed into a silver ring embedded with a purple crystal, lying on top of Jin Ling’s fair-colored palms.
Jin Ling said in a quiet voice, “Let’s go.”
After the senseless orders, the YunmengJiang Sect’s disciples had been scattered all over the place. The two stealthily flipped over the window and the walls. Having left the shop, they sprinted without making any noise. As they entered a forest, Wei WuXian heard something strange coming from behind him. Turning around, he was almost scared to death, “Why is it coming along as well?! Tell it to go away!”
Jin Ling whistled twice, and the dog rolled out its long tongue. Whimpering softly, its pointy ears twitched, and it ran away disheartenedly. Jin Ling sneered in contempt, “Such a loser. Fairy never bites. It just looks scary. It’s a spiritual dog trained to only bite evil beings. Did you really think that it’s just a regular dog?”
Wei WuXian, “Hold on. What did you call it?”
Jin Ling, “Fairy. Its name.”
Wei WuXian, “You named a dog something like this?!”
Jing Ling replied assuredly, “What’s wrong with this name? When it was younger, it was called Little Fairy. Now that it grew up, I can’t keep on calling it that.”
Wei WuXian refused, “No. No. No. The point isn’t whether it’s little or not! … Who in the world taught you such a way of naming?!” Without doubt, it must have been his uncle. In the past, Jiang Cheng also had a few puppies. The names he chose were things like ‘Jasmine’, ‘Princess’, ‘Love’, and so on, which sounded like the names of expensive girls in brothels. Jin Ling continued, “True men don’t care for such trifles. Why are you stressing over such details? Okay! Stop. Now that you offended my uncle, you’re already half dead. Now, I’m letting you go. We’re even.”
Wei WuXian asked, “Do you know why your uncle wants me?”