The voice sounded extremely tired. He asked the question not only because he didn’t know who the people in the room were, but also because he couldn’t see anything.
A thick layer of white bandages wrapped around the man’s eyes. He was probably blind.
And, not to mention, he was both blind and relatively good-looking. With a high nose bridge and thin lips that had the hue of a soft red, he could almost be described as handsome. He looked quite young as well, somewhere between a boy and a man, naturally gaining the sympathy of anyone who came across him. Wei WuXian wondered to himself, Why have I been meeting so many blind people in the past few days? Both heard and seen; both alive and dead.
Suddenly, Jin Ling called out, “Hey. We still don’t know who he is, whether he’s friend or foe. Why should we save him without taking any considerations? If he’s a bad guy, then wouldn’t we be letting a snake in?”
Although this was indeed the case, it sounded rather awkward when spoken in such a frank tone right in front of the person himself. Strangely, the person wasn’t angered and didn’t appear to be worried that he’d be thrown out at all. He smiled, revealing the small tips of two canine teeth, “Young Master, you’re very right. It would be best if I leave.”
Not expecting this sort of reaction at all, Jin Ling paused for a second. With no idea what to say, he hastily snorted. Lan SiZhui hurried to mediate between the two, “But it is also possible that he is not a bad person. No matter what, not helping a dying person is against our sect’s rules.”
Jin Ling stubbornly continued, “Fine. You’re the good guys. If someone dies, it’s not my fault.”
Lan JingYi fumed, “You…” Before he could finish his sentence, it was as if the cat got his tongue.
It was because he saw the sword that the man propped up against the table. The black cloth wrapped around it had somewhat fallen off, and the body of the sword could be seen.
The sword was forged with unequaled skill. The sheath was in the color of bronze, with intricate patterns of frost hollowed out. Through the patterns, the body of the sword shone through as if it was made of silver stars, glistening with snowflake-shaped flecks of luminescence. There was a pure yet bright sense of beauty to it.
Lan JingYi widened his eyes, as if he was about to blurt something out. Even though Wei WuXian didn’t know what he wanted to say, since the man covered his sword with black cloth, he clearly didn’t want it to be seen. Instinctively not wanting to alert the stranger, he covered Lan JingYi’s mouth with one hand and put the index finger of his other hand to his lips, signalling for the similarly astonished boys to make no sounds.
Jin Ling mouthed two characters at him, then used his hand to write the two characters on the dust-covered table:
“Shuanghua”
… The Shuanghua sword?
Wei WuXian mouthed his question, Xiao XingChen’s sword—Shuanghua?
Jin Ling and the rest nodded in confirmation.
The boys had never seen Xiao XingChen himself, but “Shuanghua” was both rare and well-known. It was not only strong in spiritual power, but also looked stunningly intricate. It had been illustrated as part of countless versions of sword catalogues, which was why everyone knew of it. Wei WuXian pondered, If the sword is Shuanghua, and the person is blind…
One of the boys thought of this as well. He couldn’t help but reach out toward the bandages wrapped around person’s eyes, in hope of taking them off so that he could see if his eyes were still there or not. Yet, just as his hand touched the bandages, a pained expression appeared on the person’s face. He inched backward slightly, as though he was scared of his eyes being touched.
Noticing his own rudeness, the boy immediately took his hand away, “Sorry, sorry… It wasn’t on purpose.
The person raised his left hand, which wore a thin, black glove. He wanted to cover his eyes, but was afraid to do so. It was probably that even a light touch brought about unbearable pain—a thin layer of sweat had already appeared on his forehead. He managed with difficulty, “It’s fine…”
His voice, though, trembled faintly.
With such behavior, one could almost ascertain that this person was Xiao XingChen, who had disappeared after the case of the YueyangChang Clan.
Xiao XingChen didn’t know that his identity had been exposed yet. After the pain had passed, he felt around for Shuanghua. Wei WuXian quickly pulled the black cloth that had fallen off back on. With Shuanghua in his hand, Xiao XingChen nodded, “Thanks for the help. I’ll take my leave.”
Wei WuXian, “Stay here for now. You’re under corpse poisoning.”
Xiao XingChen, “Is it severe?”
Wei WuXian, “Quite so.”
Xiao XingChen, “If it’s severe, then what is the point of staying? It’s long past hope, anyways. Why not kill a few more corpses before I become one as well?”
Hearing how he didn’t care for his own life, the boys felt their blood burn with indignation. Lan JingYi bursted out, “Who said that you are long past hope? Stay here! He will cure you!”
Wei WuXian, “Me? Sorry, but were you talking about me?” He really couldn’t speak the truth—Xiao XingChen had already breathed in too much of the corpse-poisoning powder. With a dark red hue to his complexion, he was most likely too ill for rice congee to work.
Xiao XingChen, “I have already killed a number of corpses in this city. They kept on following me and new ones would join shortly after old ones died. If I stay, you’ll be drowned in an ocean of corpses, either sooner or later.”
Wei WuXian, “Do you know why Yi City became this way?”
Xiao XingChen shook his head, “No. I’m only a roaming cul… roaming around the area. I heard about the strange events here and decided to night-hunt in the city. You haven’t seen how many, how powerful the living and walking corpses here are. Some move too quickly to take precautions against. Others, when killed, release corpse-poisoning powder that poisons people upon touch. However, if you don’t kill them, they would pounce on you and attack. Both result in poisoning, which makes it truly difficult to deal with. Judging from your voices, there are quite a few young masters in your group, right? It’s best if you leave as soon as possible.”
Just as he finished his sentence, the sinister giggles of the mannequin sisters came from outside the door. This time, the laughter was sharper than ever.
Chapter 37 Grasses—Part Five
Lan JingYi looked out through the door slit, then immediately blocked it with his body, “Th-th-there are so many of them!”
Wei WuXian, “Walking corpses? How many is so many?”
Lan JingYi, “I do not know! They fill the entire street—possibly hundreds! And more are coming! I do not think the mannequins can hold them off any longer!”
If the mannequins outside failed to guard the doors, all of the corpses on the street would rush into the shop. If they were killed, one would be under corpse poisoning and, when struggling to fight, the poison would circulate quickly; if they were not killed, one would be ripped and bitten to death. Holding his sword, Xiao XingChen got ready to leave, most likely in the hopes of doing as best as he could with all that was left of his strength. However, his face suddenly flushed purple, and he stumbled to the ground.