Chapter 35

Chapter Summary: [If the cat killer's goal is truly to lure these juniors to Yicheng, then he is very likely the same person who sent his good brother's left arm to Mo Family Village...]

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If the cat killer's goal was truly to lure these younger generation members to Yicheng, then he is very likely the same person who sent his good brother's left arm to Mo Family Village.

In Mo Family Manor, the younger generation of the Lan family escaped unscathed. Lan Wangji brought back the corpse hand, and the person who released it will likely continue to keep an eye on the Lan family's movements and actions. Whether or not he knew that there were the remaining bodies of his good brothers in Yicheng, if he had been monitoring them, he should know by now.

Luring a bunch of clueless young people to a dangerous and unknown location, and exposing them to the murderous remains of a vicious corpse—isn't this exactly the same tactic as the Mo Family Village incident?

If this conjecture is correct, then there's more than just a gravedigger tracking his and Lan Wangji's journey; there's also a cat killer. Perhaps there are even more undetected eyes watching—it's truly chilling to think about.

But that's not the most troublesome part.

The cat killer may not have followed them into Yicheng. But he was 80% certain that the Yin Tiger Seal was inside Yicheng.

Furthermore, the gravedigger wouldn't be the holder of the Yin Tiger Seal. The gravedigger's purpose was to hide the corpse, preventing the bodies of his "good brother" from being collected together. If he possessed the Yin Tiger Seal, he wouldn't have been afraid of a single fierce corpse in the first place, and wouldn't have gone to such lengths to dismember his "good brother" and scatter the parts across various locations, trying every means to suppress them separately and prevent him from causing trouble.

In other words, there are at least three groups of living people in this city of righteousness.

Hopefully, Lan Wangji can successfully capture the gravedigger alive; that would at least solve one of the mysteries.

Everyone: ...

What a mind-bending show! I want to go home!!

Wei Wuxian smiled slightly, concealing his merit and fame: "This old ancestor's intelligence is not to be underestimated, otherwise how could you know so clearly?"

As I was thinking about it, my legs started to tremble.

Jiang Cheng, standing to the side: ...

Knowing what he was thinking, Jiang Cheng's face immediately darkened.

What should I do if I really want to hit someone?

After the glutinous rice porridge was cooked, Wei Wuxian had Jin Ling and Lan Sizhui take it out and feed it to the poisoned teenagers who dared not move. After only one bite, Lan Jingyi spat it out: "What is this? Poison?!"

Wei Wuxian said, "What poison? This is the antidote! Glutinous rice porridge."

Lan Jingyi said, "Regardless of why glutinous rice is the antidote, I have never eaten such spicy glutinous rice porridge before."

Everyone else who had tasted it nodded, their eyes brimming with tears. Wei Wuxian stroked his chin. He grew up in Yunmeng, where people were known for their tolerance of spicy food, and Wei Wuxian's own palate was even more extreme. The spiciness of his cooking was so extreme that Jiang Cheng would smash his bowl and yell that it was awful. But he always thought, "Can you even eat something that's not spicy?" He couldn't help but add spoonful after spoonful of peppercorns to the pot, and just now he seemed to have lost control again and added some. Out of curiosity, Lan Sizhui picked up his bowl and took a bite. His face turned red, and he pursed his lips to hold back from spitting it out, thinking, "This taste is terrible... but it's strangely familiar."

Wei Wuxian said, "Every medicine has some toxicity. If it's spicy and makes you sweat, you'll recover faster."

The boys all exclaimed in disbelief, but still finished the porridge with grimaces. In an instant, their faces were flushed and they were covered in sweat, each looking as if they were suffering terribly, wishing they were dead.

Jiang Cheng: ...

Jiang Yanli: ...

Jiang Cheng looked at the group of juniors with an expression of admiration, saying, "You guys actually dare to eat what Wei Wuxian cooked."

Lan Sizhui: ...

Jin Ling: ...

Lan Jingyi: ...

The younger generation: ...

So we regret it now.

Especially Lan Sizhui and Jin Ling, why didn't they stop Wei Wuxian in the kitchen? Even if they didn't know how to cook porridge, they could have just let Senior Wei give them instructions step by step!

Just as they were feeling frustrated, Xiao Niangui suddenly reappeared, and everyone immediately felt a sense of foreboding, as they still vividly remembered the smell of the corpse poison powder.

Xiao Niangui smiled slightly, her expression much gentler than her previous coldness: "Would you all like to give it a try?"

Everyone shook their heads in unison: No, no, no, we don't want to!

The younger generation pursed their lips: "Miss Niangui, hurry up and let them taste it. We can't be the only ones suffering like this!"

Xiao Niangui ignored the cries in everyone's hearts and snapped his fingers.

Hmm!

Cough cough!

Cough cough cough cough!

Everyone covered their mouths and began to cough violently.

Especially the Lan family members, who had never eaten such spicy food since they were young, their faces turned bright red, and they still had to pay attention to their manners, which was really pitiful.

Wei Wuxian must have added every chili pepper he could find in the kitchen!

Wei Wuxian touched his chin: Hmm, it was alright. I didn't even smell any spiciness at the time, so it wasn't very spicy.

Several dozen breaths later, Xiao Niangui finally removed the smell, and the space became silent.

Xiao Niangui was in a good mood and disappeared again.

Everyone: ...

This girl is too dangerous to mess with.

Wei Wuxian couldn't help but say, "Is it really necessary? Hanguang-jun is also from Gusu, and he can eat spicy food very well. Why are you all being so unreasonable?"

Lan Sizhui shook his head and said, "Hanguang-jun has the mildest taste; he never eats spicy food."

Wei Wuxian paused for a moment, and after a long while, he said, "...Is that so?"

In his previous life, after leaving the Jiang family, he accidentally bumped into Lan Wangji, who was night-hunting near Yiling. At that time, many things had not yet happened. Although Wei Wuxian was quite criticized, he was not yet universally hated. He shamelessly asked Lan Wangji to have a meal and reminisce. Lan Wangji ordered spicy dishes with plates full of Sichuan peppercorns, so he always assumed that Lan Wangji's tastes were similar to his.

Now that he thinks about it, he can't even remember whether Lan Wangji touched any of the dishes. He even forgot that he had said he was treating before the meal, and that Lan Wangji had paid the bill. Naturally, he wouldn't remember such details.

Suddenly, Wei Wuxian desperately wanted to see Lan Wangji's face.

Wei Wuxian looked at Lan Wangji with a guilty expression: "Lan Zhan, I'm so sorry..."

Lan Wangji stopped him from speaking: "It's alright, if you like to eat it, then I like to eat it too."

Wei Wuxian: Oh, I'm so touched.

Everyone: Ugh.

"...Young Master Mo, Young Master Mo!"

“…Hmm?” Wei Wuxian finally came to his senses.

Lan Sizhui whispered, "The old lady's door... is open."

A gust of cold wind blew in from somewhere, opening the door of the small room a crack, sometimes opening, sometimes closing. The room was pitch black, and you could vaguely see a hunched figure sitting at the table.

Wei Wuxian gestured for them not to move and then walked into the room.

The light from the oil lamp and candlelight shone into the main room. The old woman had her head down, seemingly unaware that someone had entered. A piece of cloth was placed on her knees, held up with a tying, as if she were doing needlework. Her two hands were stiffly pressed together, trying to thread a needle with a thread.

Wei Wuxian also sat down at the table and said, "Why doesn't the old man light a lamp when he's threading the needle? Let me do it."

He took the needle and thread, threaded it quickly, and returned it to the old woman. Then he walked out of the house, closed the door behind him, and said, "Don't go in."

Jin Ling asked, "When you went in just now, did you see clearly whether that old hag was dead or alive?"

Wei Wuxian said, "Don't call her an old hag, it's impolite. This old lady is a living corpse."

The boys looked at each other in confusion. Lan Sizhui asked, "What is a living corpse?"

Wei Wuxian said, "It has the characteristics of a corpse from head to toe, but it is alive. That's what you call a living corpse."

Jin Ling was shocked: "You mean, she's still alive?!"

Wei Wuxian asked, "Did you look inside just now?"

"I saw it."

"What did you see? What is she doing?"

"Threading a needle..."

"How are you dressed?"

"How else can I wear it? I can't even get it in..."

"Yes, she can't fit in. A dead person's muscles are stiff, so they can't do complicated things like threading a needle. Besides, she doesn't need to eat, and those aren't age spots on her face, they're livor mortis. But she can still breathe; she's alive."

Lan Sizhui said, "But this old lady is very old. Many old ladies can't even thread a needle by themselves."

Wei Wuxian said, "So I helped her put it on. But did you notice something else? From the moment she opened the door until now, she hasn't blinked once."

"Living people blink to prevent their eyes from getting dry, but dead people don't need to. And when I took the needle and thread, did anyone notice how she looked at me?"

Jin Ling said, "She didn't move her eyes... she moved her head!"

Wei Wuxian said, "That's it. When a normal person looks in another direction, their eyes will move slightly, but a dead person won't, because they can't make such a subtle movement as moving their eyes; they can only move their head and neck. Remember that, discern from the subtle details."

Lan Jingyi asked blankly, "Shouldn't we take notes?"

Wei Wuxian said, "When we're night-hunting, there's no time for you to look through notes. Just memorize it."

Taking notes?

The Lan family kids must have been taught to be stupid, thinking about taking notes at this point.

Lan Xichen: ……

Lan Qiren: ...

Wei Wuxian added fuel to the fire: "Brother Xichen, I think it's a bit useless to check the notes after a night hunt. You'll know everything and remember it vividly after going out to scare people a few times. What do you think?"

Lan Xichen: ...Thank you.

The group of juniors who went to Yicheng inexplicably recalled a certain scene and shuddered in unison: Senior Wei, shut up! We don't want to be scared! We'd rather hand in our notes!

Seeing that everyone was ignoring the living corpse he had created, Xue Yang snorted coldly and turned his head away.

Jin Ling said, "Walking corpses are enough, why would there be such a thing as living corpses?"

Wei Wuxian said, "It's very difficult for a living corpse to form naturally, but this one was made by someone."

"It's done?! Why did you do it?!"

Wei Wuxian said, "The dead have many disadvantages: stiff muscles, slow movement, and so on. But the dead also have many advantages: they are not afraid of pain, cannot think, and are easily controlled. Some people think that the advantages of both can be combined to create the perfect corpse puppet. That's how the living corpse came about."

Although the youths didn't blurt it out, their faces clearly said, "This person must be Wei Wuxian!"

Wei Wuxian was both amused and exasperated, thinking to himself, "I've never made anything like this before!"

Although it certainly sounds like his style!

Wei Wuxian glanced at Xue Yang: "You little rascal, you'd better count how many times I've taken the blame for you."

Xue Yang said with a hint of pride, "That means the zombies I created are enough to cause misunderstandings!"

Wei Wuxian: ...

Everyone: ...

So you two actually think this is something to be proud of?

He said, “Ahem. Okay, Wei Wuxian did it first, but he successfully created Wen Ning, who is also known as the Ghost General. Actually, I’ve always wanted to ask, who came up with this nickname? It’s so stupid. Also, some people, who couldn’t imitate it properly, took a crooked path and started to exploit living people, creating things like living corpses.”

He summarized it as: "A failed imitation."

Upon hearing Wei Wuxian's name, Jin Ling's expression turned cold, and he said, "Wei Ying himself is a heretic."

Wei Wuxian said, "Well, those who make living corpses are the most wicked of all the evil paths."

Lan Sizhui asked, "Young Master Mo, what should we do now?"

Wei Wuxian said, "Some living corpses may not know that they are already dead, so let's not disturb them for now."

Just then, a crisp sound of bamboo poles hitting the ground suddenly rang out.

The sound came from right next to a window, which was boarded up with black wooden planks. The faces of all the scions of noble families inside the main hall changed; they had been constantly bothered by this sound since entering the city, and were already alarmed by it.

Wei Wuxian gestured for them to be quiet, and they all held their breath, watching Wei Wuxian stand by the window, find a very thin crack in the door, and look out.

As Wei Wuxian approached the crack in the wood, he saw a patch of white, initially thinking it was due to the thick fog outside. Suddenly, the white patch receded.

He saw a pair of menacing white eyes staring viciously at the crack in the door. The white he had just seen wasn't mist, but rather those pupil-less eyes.

A-Qing: ...

She immediately covered her face and hid behind Xiao Xingchen.

Why am I presented like this?! I'm devastated!

Miss Niangui, how could you do this?!

Xiao Niangui spread her hands, indicating her helplessness: There's nothing she can do about it.

Jin Ling and the others' hearts pounded, fearing that he might suddenly encounter some misfortune while peeking outside, and collapse while covering his eyes.

Wei Wuxian let out a cry of "Ah!" and all the young men jumped up in unison, their hair standing on end: "What happened?"

Wei Wuxian whispered, "Shh, don't talk. I'm watching it."

Jin Ling lowered her voice even more than he did: "So what did you see? What's outside the door?"

Wei Wuxian didn't look away or answer directly, but said, "Mmm...mmm...so amazing, so amazing."

His profile was filled with joy, his praise and amazement seemingly genuine, quickly overshadowing the nervousness in the hearts of the assembled aristocratic youths with curiosity. Lan Sizhui couldn't help but ask, "...Young Master Mo, what's so amazing?"

Wei Wuxian said, "Oh my! It's so beautiful. Keep your voices down, don't scare it away. I haven't seen enough yet."

Jin Ling said, "Move aside, I want to see."

"I want one too!"

Wei Wuxian asked, "Do you really want to see it?"

"Um!"

Wei Wuxian slowly stepped aside, seemingly reluctant. Jin Ling was the first to approach, peering through the narrow crack in the wood.

Everyone: ...

Is this how you tease a child?

Jin Zixuan glanced at Jin Ling and expressed his deepest sympathy for his son's suffering over the past ten years, first at the hands of Jiang Cheng and then at Wei Wuxian.

Night had fallen. The night was rather cold, and the demonic fog in Yicheng had dissipated considerably, allowing one to barely see the streets a few feet away. Jin Ling stared for a while, but didn't see the "amazing, beautiful thing," and was a little disappointed, thinking, "Did I scare it away when I spoke?"

Just as I was feeling listless, suddenly, a thin, withered figure blocked the gap in the wood.

Caught off guard by the sudden, full view of the thing, Jin Ling felt as if his scalp had been blown off. He almost screamed, but somehow, a surge of energy welled up in his chest, holding it back. He stiffly maintained his bent-over posture, waiting for the tingling sensation in his head to subside, before finally looking at Wei Wuxian. There stood that despicable man, leaning against the windowsill, a smirk playing on his lips. He raised an eyebrow at Jin Ling and smirked, "Isn't it beautiful?"

Jin Ling glared at him fiercely, knowing he was deliberately teasing her, and gritted her teeth, saying, "...barely..."

He quickly changed his mind, straightened up, and said nonchalantly, "It's nothing special, barely passable!"

After speaking, they stepped back and stood aside, waiting for the next person to fall for their trick. Having been fooled by these two, the curiosity of the remaining people was piqued to its peak. Lan Sizhui couldn't resist and also stood in that spot, bending down.

Jin Zixuan was speechless: "Wei Wuxian! Look what you've done to my son!!"

Wei Wuxian picked at his ear: "Don't shout. I didn't force Jin Ling to play pranks on anyone. Besides, what's wrong with letting them gain some experience?"

Everyone: ?

Experience? Experience what?

They'll find out soon enough.

As soon as he leaned closer, he honestly cried out "Ah!" and jumped back, his face full of startled bewilderment. He searched around in a daze for a couple of minutes before finally finding Wei Wuxian and complaining, "Young Master Mo, there's... there's..."

Wei Wuxian said knowingly, "There is one, right? There's no need to say it out loud, otherwise there will be no surprise. Let everyone see for themselves."

Seeing Lan Sizhui so frightened, no one else dared to approach. What surprise? More like a shock! They waved their hands repeatedly, saying, "We're not watching! We're not watching!" Jin Ling spat, "Trying to fool people at a time like this? I really don't know what you're thinking!"

Wei Wuxian said, "Didn't you lie too? Don't talk like your uncle. Sizhui, was that thing scary?"

Lan Sizhui nodded and honestly said, "It's scary."

Wei Wuxian said, "Scaring people is the right thing to do. This is a great opportunity for your cultivation. Why do ghosts scare people? Because when people are frightened, their minds are damaged and their primordial spirit is agitated. At this time, they are most easily drained of their yang energy and life force. Therefore, ghosts are most afraid of bold people. Because bold people are not afraid of them, they have no way to harm them and no opportunity to take advantage of them. Therefore, as scions of noble families, the first priority is to make yourselves bolder!"

While thanking himself for not being able to move and for not curiously peering over earlier, Lan Jingyi muttered, "Courage is something you're born with. Some people are just timid, what can you do about it?"

Wei Wuxian said, "You were born knowing how to fly and fly on a sword? You didn't learn it by practicing. Similarly, you'll get used to it after being scared a few times. The outhouse smells bad, right? Disgusting, right? But believe me, if you lived in the outhouse for a month, you could even eat your meals in there."

The teenagers were horrified and exclaimed in unison, "No!!! We don't believe it!!!"

Wei Wuxian said, "It was just an example. Okay, I admit, I've never lived here before, so I don't know if I could actually eat it. I'm just making things up. But you all absolutely must try this one outside. Not only do you have to look at it, but you have to look carefully, pay attention to its details, and dig out any hidden weaknesses it might have in the shortest amount of time. Stay calm in the face of danger and look for an opportunity to counterattack. Okay, I've said so much, do you all understand? Ordinary people don't have the chance to hear my guidance, so cherish it. Don't back out, all of you come and line up, and look at them one by one."

Tianying used Lan Sizhui's eyes to vividly depict A-Qing's miserable state.

"Oh my god!!" The cowardly Nie Huaisang is back online.

However, he quickly realized what he had done and gave Ah-Qing an apologetic smile...

Huh? Where's A-Ching?

Xiao Xingchen looked helplessly at the girl behind him, who was blushing and huddled up in a ball.

A-Qing: Taoist priest, don't look at me, I have my pride too.

Wei Wuxian raised an eyebrow at Jin Zixuan: "How was it? Not bad, right? I don't think you've ever seen a soul like this before."

Jin Zixuan: ...

The group, quite frightened, exclaimed: "No, we don't want this kind of ordeal!"