Chapter 127 One Hundred and Twenty-Seven

Chapter Summary: [Wei Wuxian picked up Wen Qing and casually walked through the chaotic crowd, then led a horse...]

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Wei Wuxian picked up Wen Qing and casually walked through the commotion, took the reins of a horse, and was about to turn around when a thin prisoner said, "...Mr. Wei!"

Wei Wuxian turned around and asked, "What?"

The prisoner's voice trembled slightly as he pointed in a direction and said, "There's a house over there in the valley...that's where they...locked people up and beat them. Those who died were just dragged out and buried. The people you're looking for might still be there..."

Wei Wuxian said, "Thank you."

Following the man's directions, he indeed found what looked like a makeshift shack. Holding Wen Qing in one arm, he kicked the door open with one foot. Inside, a dozen or so people sat in a corner, all with bloodied heads and bruised faces, startled by his violent act. Seeing Wen Qing in Wei Wuxian's arms, they disregarded their own injuries and rushed over, crying, "Miss Qing!"

One of them shouted angrily, "You...who are you? What did you do to the monastery master?"

Wei Wuxian said, "Nothing much. Which of Wen Ning's cultivators are here? Enough with the nonsense, come out!"

The group exchanged bewildered glances, but Wei Wuxian had already left with Wen Qing in his arms. They had no choice but to force themselves to support each other and follow. As soon as they stepped out of the house, before they could even see what had happened in the chaotic scene in the valley, Wei Wuxian said, "Everyone find your horses, hurry!"

A middle-aged man said, "No, my young master Wen Ning..."

Just then, a head flew past him. Everyone turned their heads in unison, just in time to see Wen Ning throw a headless corpse, its limbs still twitching, to the ground and begin to pluck its internal organs with his bare hands. Wei Wuxian shouted, "Enough!"

Wen Ning let out a low growl, seemingly still unsatisfied, but Wei Wuxian whistled and said, "Get up!" Wen Ning had no choice but to stand up. Wei Wuxian said, "What are you all standing there for? Mount your horses! Do you expect me to find you flying swords?"

One of them remembered that there were elderly people here, so he quickly brought the old woman and the young child along and helped them onto the horse. Wei Wuxian himself also carried the still unconscious Wen Qing and mounted the horse. In the chaos, dozens of people could only find a dozen or so horses, so they rode two or three people at a time. The horses were very crowded, and the old woman could not ride alone and had to hold the child. Seeing this, Wei Wuxian reached out and said, "Give it to me."

The old woman shook her head repeatedly, and the child clung tightly to her neck, almost slipping off, but their eyes held undisguised terror. Wei Wuxian reached out and scooped the child up, tucking him under his arm. The old woman was terrified and cried out, "A-Yuan! A-Yuan!"

The child named A-Yuan, though very young, already knew fear. She didn't cry, but instead kept biting her fingers and secretly glancing at Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian shouted, "Let's go!" He spurred his horse and set off first. A dozen or so horses followed closely behind, galloping away in the night rain.

That night was chaotic. Those sitting on Jinling Terrace thought Wei Wuxian had let go of some sheltered remnants of a privileged life, but now that they had seen it with their own eyes, they didn't know how to react.

As the bloody scene in the sky disappeared into the rain, Lan Jingyi finally stopped gagging, but he felt that Lan Sizhui's hand, which had been patting him on the back, had stopped moving at some point.

He took a breath and turned to look at Lan Sizhui, only to see Lan Sizhui staring intently at Tianying.

The fact that Lan Sizhui was Wen Yuan's affair was not told to anyone except those who knew back then and Wen Ning.

He recalled many fragments, but only in pieces. The elders of the Lan family didn't know about Qiongqi Path and Burial Mound, and even if they did, they wouldn't tell him; Wen Ning was most likely dead, so he didn't know much either; as for Wei Wuxian, he was either nowhere to be found or on his way to find him.

Therefore, he must remember every second that is related to his experiences from back then.

That night, a huge uproar swept in.

At midnight, in the Dianjin Pavilion on Jinlin Terrace, nearly fifty clan heads, of all ranks, sat at their seats. The head of the table was Jin Guangshan; Jin Zixuan was away, and Jin Zixun lacked seniority, so only Jin Guangyao stood respectfully beside him. At the front row were clan heads and prominent figures such as Nie Mingjue, Jiang Cheng, Lan Xichen, and Lan Wangji, their expressions solemn. Behind them were the next-ranking clan heads and cultivators, all on high alert, occasionally whispering amongst themselves, "I knew it," "It was bound to happen sooner or later," and "Let's see how this ends."

Jiang Cheng, the center of everyone's attention, sat at the front, his face clouded with worry. Just like everyone else, he listened to Jin Guangyao's respectful and gentle words:

"...Four supervisors were killed this time, and about fifty Wen clan members escaped. After Wei Wuxian led them into the Burial Mound, he summoned hundreds of fierce corpses to patrol and block them at the foot of the mountain. Our people have not been able to go up a single step yet."

After listening, the Dianjin Pavilion fell silent.

After a long pause, Jiang Cheng said, "This matter was indeed outrageous. I apologize to Sect Leader Jin on his behalf. If there is any way to make amends, please feel free to ask, and I will do my best to compensate."

Jin Guangshan didn't want an apology or compensation. He said, "Sect Leader Jiang, originally, out of respect for you, my Lanling Jin Clan would never have said a word. However, these supervisors aren't all from the Jin family; there are a few from other families as well. This..."

Jiang Cheng frowned, rubbing the throbbing veins at his temples. He took a silent breath and said, "...I apologize to all the sect leaders. You may not know this, but the Wen cultivator Wei Wuxian wanted to save is named Wen Ning. He and his sister Wen Qing were kind to us during the Sunshot Campaign. Therefore..."

Nie Mingjue asked, "What do you mean by 'kindness'? Aren't the Wen clan of Qishan the murderers of the Jiang clan of Yunmeng?"

For the past few years, Jiang Cheng has been working late into the night every day. He was just about to rest early today when he was shocked by this bombshell news and rushed to Jinlintai overnight. He was already irritable due to exhaustion, and his strong personality, coupled with the fact that he was forced to apologize to others in public, made him even more agitated. When Nie Mingjue mentioned the massacre of his clan again, a surge of hatred welled up in his heart.

This hatred was directed not only indiscriminately at everyone present, but also at Wei Wuxian.

Anyone with eyes could see that Jiang Cheng's face in the present space was just as gloomy as it was in the Heavenly Shadow, so gloomy it could drip water.

"Acheng, it's a fact that the Wen siblings saved you, why didn't you just tell them?"

Jiang Yanli probably knew what Jiang Cheng was thinking back then, and knew that her younger brother had gotten stuck in a rut again, but she insisted on pointing this out, not only to Jiang Cheng, but also to everyone in the space.

"Sister, I..."

Jiang Cheng was speechless for a moment; he couldn't even recall what his state of mind was back then.

Lotus Pier has just been rebuilt, and I need to personally oversee everything. Jiang Yanli can't help much, and Wei Wuxian is elusive and often can't be found. Now he's even protecting the elderly, weak, women and children of the Wen clan and hiding them in the Burial Mound.

All the pressure was on him alone, and he also had to deal with these people who only knew how to talk and were scheming to pin crimes on people.

At that time, all he knew was that Wen Ning had rescued him and Wen Qing had treated his external injuries. Beyond that, he knew nothing about the exchange of cores or the life-saving grace, nor did he want to know. The matter of the extermination of his clan remained the deepest thorn in his heart. How could such small favors erase everything the Wen clan had done for the Jiang clan?

The Wen family is still a family of Wen, and regardless of whether they have done evil, they should be despised and humiliated just because of this name. Wei Wuxian actually took the lead and saved these people. Isn't this putting the Yunmeng Jiang Clan on the fire?

Lan Xichen pondered, “I know a little about this Wen Qing, but I don’t recall ever hearing that she was involved in any of the murders during the Sunshot Campaign.”

Nie Mingjue said, "But she never stopped me."

Lan Xichen said, "Wen Qing is one of Wen Ruohan's confidantes, how can we stop her?"

Nie Mingjue said coldly, "Since you remained silent and did not oppose the Wen family's evil deeds, it is tantamount to standing by and watching. You can't expect to enjoy preferential treatment only when the Wen family is causing trouble, and then refuse to bear the bitter consequences and pay the price when the Wen family is destroyed."

Lan Xichen knew that because of family feuds, he hated Nie Mingjue of the Wen clan the most, and he was completely intolerant of any dissent, so he remained silent. One of the clan leaders said, "Sect Leader Nie is right. Besides, since Wen Qing is Wen Ruohan's confidante, to say she wasn't involved? I don't believe it. Which of the Wen clan doesn't have a few lives on their hands? Perhaps we just haven't discovered it yet!"

The mere mention of the atrocities committed by the Wen clan of Qishan in the past ignited a clamor and agitation among the crowd.

Hearing the various echoes from behind her, Wen Qing rolled her eyes, too lazy to explain to these people anymore, and just snorted coldly.

Jiang Yanli frowned as she listened, exchanged a glance with Jiang Fengmian, and when her father nodded in agreement, she reached out and took Wenqing's hand.

"Miss Wen, thank you so much. I believe in your compassionate heart as a doctor; if you didn't do it, you didn't do it."

Jiang Yanli exchanged a smile with Wen Qing, then turned back and continued:

"What Sect Leader Nie said in the Heavenly Shadow just now implies that because the Wen Clan benefited the Wen Qing lineage while they were still alive, they should also bear the consequences of all the Wen Clan's evil deeds. I think this is inappropriate. There is an ancient saying: 'The sins of the parents should not extend to the wife and children.' The Wen Clan, like us, governs the land of Qishan. Wen Ruohan, as the Immortal Supervisor, has the responsibility of monitoring all the immortal sects. If this is the case, wouldn't everyone here be people benefited by the Wen Clan? Furthermore, back then, the Wen Clan ostensibly 'educated' but in reality, they held hostages. Do any of the various families have any information on this?" Resisting for this? In the end, you still sent your own direct descendants to the Wen clan; if Wen Ruohan hadn't led his men in committing massacres, arson, and other brutal acts against various clans back then, would you all have united to launch the Sunshot Campaign? How is this any different from Wen Qing's lineage? They were all old, weak, women, and children, too afraid and powerless to resist, yet you use this as leverage to demand they pay the price. What about yourselves? Leaving aside the fact that Miss Wen Qing saved the Jiang family, even without that favor, A-Xian's act of saving people was entirely without fault.

After Jiang Yanli finished speaking, she stood up and bowed to apologize for her offense.

The space fell silent for a moment; the previous echoes had vanished without a trace.

Jiang Fengmian, Lan Xichen, Qinghengjun, and others all agreed with what she said. Nie Mingjue frowned slightly, but he couldn't deny that Jiang Yanli's words were not wrong. It was just that because of his temperament, since Wen Qing and the others had not contributed to the destruction of the Wen family, they shouldn't expect anyone to do them a favor.