One of the medics, “… I’m afraid… at least four hours.”
Jiang Cheng’s face was terrifyingly dark, “Four hours?!”
Everyone looked up, glancing at the crowd of fierce corpses surrounding the Cave so tightly that not even a drop of water could pass through. The number wasn’t any less than the living people who came today. Every one of them stared straight at the inside of the Cave, where human heads bobbed up and down and yang energy churned. They weren’t even willing to step half a foot away, squirming back and forth, shoulder to shoulder outside, as though they’d come in at any moment. The odor of rotting flesh was more than overwhelming.
Their spiritual powers would only be able to recover in at least four hours? They didn’t even know if the fragmented array on the ground, unused for years and temporarily patched up, could last for four hours!
Besides, the YiLing Patriarch was in the same space as they were right now. Although they didn’t know why he hadn’t made a move yet, maybe he was going to annihilate them like a cat catching mice, after he was done scaring them and toying with them. Despite this, nobody knew if Wei WuXian would suddenly flip out.
Their gazes landed on Wei WuXian once again. Wei WuXian, “I said already that there’s no need for you to look at me. Inside of this cave, there are only two groups of people whose spiritual powers remain. HanGuang-Jun and I form one group; the children who’ve been brought up the mountain a few days ago form the other. It’s not inaccurate if I described the rest of the people as absolutely powerless, is it? If I wanted to do anything to you, would the children be able to stop me?”
Su She snorted, “Stop with the nonsense. If you want to kill us, so be it. Anyone who makes a single noise doesn’t deserve to be called hero. Don’t expect that anyone would beg for your pity either.”
With his words, many of the people began to hesitate. Among the thousand people, only around twenty were here for vengeance. The rest only participated thoughtlessly when they heard that there’d be a siege. One could say that they were only bystanders of justice, only here because of their own sense of morality. These only wanted to go along the flow of the main groups in the lead. To be able to kill a few of Wei WuXian’s corpse-dogs would be quite a prestigious act. But if they were really asked to pay the price, not many people would want to join.
Wei WuXian glanced at him, “I’m sorry, but I have to ask—who are you?”
He called Su She’s name back when they were outside the cave, yet now he was asking again. It was clearly on purpose. The veins popped slightly from Su She’s forehead. He was about to speak when Lan JingYi chirped in, his voice loud, “And so? It is not poison, and so?”
Wei WuXian immediately forgot about Su She, “And so, people wouldn’t lose their spiritual powers with no reason, after all. There had to be a method and a particular moment. Before you went up Burial Mound or on your way here, there must’ve been either something that all of you made contact with or something that all of you did. The children were brought here a few days back, so the timing is off, while HanGuang-Jun and I didn’t use the same mountain path as you did, so the location is off. Would anyone like to think about what you all did?”
Amid the deafening silence, someone responded helplessly, “What we all did? When we went up Burial Mound, we all drank water, didn’t we? I can’t remember, I don’t know.”
Who would respond to Wei WuXian at such an untimely manner, do whatever he said and think whatever said? The only one would be that ‘head-shaker’, Nie HuaiSang. Somebody couldn’t help but comment, “Nobody drank anything on our way up the mountain! Who’d dare drink the water on a mountain of corpses?!”
Nie HuaiSang took another guess, “Then have we all inhaled the fog in the mountains?”
If there really was anything strange about the fog, it’d be a plausible explanation. Somebody immediately agreed, “That’s possible!”
Yet, Jin Ling immediately replied, “It’s impossible. Fog is thicker at the top of mountains, but we’ve already been tied up at the top for two entire days. Our spiritual powers are still here, aren’t they?”
Su She seemed as if he really couldn’t take it any longer, “Enough, isn’t it? So you’ve really started to talk with him. Is it fun, getting so carried away by him? He…”
Suddenly, his expression changed drastically. His words stopped mid-sentence. Wei WuXian, “Go on. Why don’t you continue?”
All of the MolingSu Sect’s disciples stood up, “Sect Leader!”
“Sect Leader, what’s wrong?!”
Su She threw off the disciple who came to help him. He raised his arm. First, he pointed at Wei WuXian, and then straight at Lan WangJi. The disciple closest to him fumed, “Wei WuXian, what hex did you perform this time?!”
Lan SiZhui, “It is not a hex! It is… It is…”
Lan WangJi, who sat all prim and proper on the side, lay the fingers of his right hand over the guqin, halting the vibrations of the seven strings. The disciples chattering with excitement all suddenly turned into ducks whose necks had been gripped, their noises coming to an abrupt stop.
All of the Lan Sect’s people who were present commented in silence—this was the silencing spell of the GusuLan Sect…
Chapter 80: Loyalty—Part Two
Translated by K of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
When the cave that was vibrating with noise had finally calmed down, Lan WangJi turned to Wei WuXian, “You can continue.”
Flames of rage surged within Su She’s eyes, but his lips were sealed tightly shut. His throat felt dry as well. Compared to the anxiousness of being unable to open his mouth and attack Wei WuXian, what bothered him more was the shame of having been subdued by Lan WangJi. He repeatedly scratched his throat with his finger, trying to lift the spell, but it was to no use. He could only look across at Lan QiRen. However, with a cold expression on his face, Lan QiRen didn’t move at all. Originally, Lan QiRen was entirely able to lift the spell, and if a Lan Sect senior was the one who lifted the spell, out of respect, Lan WangJi definitely wouldn’t put the spell on him again. Unfortunately, many conflicts had passed between the MolingSu Sect and the GusuLan Sect, and thus as of the moment Lan QiRen didn’t seem like he was going to lift the spell for him at all.
The people finally realized what was going on. It seemed that whenever someone tried to argue with Wei WuXian, Lan WangJi would seal their lips. The crowd became as quiet as winter cicadas. That being said, at such times, there would always be warriors unscared of death who’d speak up, mocking, “Wei WuXian, you really are the YiLing Patriarch, aren’t you? How assertive of you. So you’re trying to stop people from saying anything?”
Wei WuXian, “How strange.”
Lan SiZhui, “Senior Wei, what is strange?”
Wei WuXian, “Sect Leader Su, he’s been acting strange ever since quite a while ago. Back when the corpses surrounded us, he encouraged those who lost their spiritual powers to not seek shelter and instead hurry to their deaths, and now he’s stopping me from asking him anything. On top of those, he’s been trying to irritate me, as if he’s scared that you’ll live a moment longer. What does this mean? Is this the way to be a good ally?”