Chapter 10 Picking
Chapter Summary: [The Soul-Eating Goddess rose from the ground, tall and imposing, dancing wildly with wild joy, seemingly overjoyed. Suddenly, an arrow whistled through the air and struck Shu.]
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The Soul-Eating Goddess rose from the ground, tall and strong, dancing wildly with joy, seemingly overjoyed. Suddenly, an arrow whistled through the air and struck her forehead, the arrowhead protruding from the back of her head.
Hearing the sound of the bowstring, Wei Wuxian looked in the direction of the sound and saw Jin Ling standing on a high slope not far away. He had already nocked the second arrow, drawn the string taut, and released it. It was another arrow that pierced through the skull and brain with great force, which made the Soul Eater Heavenly Maiden stagger back a few steps.
Lan Sizhui shouted, "Young Master Jin! Release the signal from your body!"
Jin Ling ignored her pleas, single-mindedly focused on capturing the monster. His face grim, he nocked three arrows at once. Despite being hit twice in the head, the Soul-Eating Celestial Maiden remained unperturbed, still smiling, and charged towards Jin Ling. Although she moved with incredible speed, she closed the distance by half in an instant. Several cultivators appeared from the side, engaging her in combat and hindering her progress. Jin Ling's arrows struck their targets relentlessly, his steps unwavering. He seemed determined to exhaust his arrows before engaging the Soul-Eating Celestial Maiden in close combat. His hand was steady, and his aim accurate, but unfortunately, all the magical artifacts of the immortal sects were useless against it!
"Rulan." Jiang Yanli glanced helplessly at Jin Ling beside her and patted his head.
Jin Ling chuckled awkwardly, thinking to himself, "How could that damned Tianying have let all these stupid things slip out? Does he even have any pride?!"
Jiang Cheng: "I told you not to be reckless! Look at the stupid thing you're doing!"
Jin Ling: ...I was just thinking it to myself, Uncle, why did you say it out loud?
Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji were waiting for news in Fojiao Town, unsure when they would notice the anomaly and arrive. Extinguishing the fire required water, and since the magical artifacts of the immortal sects wouldn't work, they would resort to unorthodox methods!
Wei Wuxian drew the sword from Lan Sizhui's waist, cut off a thin bamboo, and deftly crafted it into a flute. He brought it to his lips and took a deep breath. The sharp flute melody, like a whistling arrow, pierced the night sky and soared into the heavens.
He shouldn't have done this unless absolutely necessary. But now that things have come to this, he doesn't care what he summons, as long as the murderous aura is strong enough and the malevolent energy is powerful enough to tear this Soul-Eating Celestial Maiden to shreds!
Lan Sizhui was completely stunned, but Lan Jingyi covered his ears and said, "At a time like this, why are you still playing the flute! It sounds awful!"
"Look! As expected, he couldn't hold on any longer and resorted to evil magic. I wonder what kind of thing he'll summon."
"Exactly, and they also need to have a strong enough malevolent aura. I wonder what their intentions are."
"That's right!"
...
The group of immortals, who had been quiet for a short while, started again when they saw Wei Wuxian quickly make a broken flute.
Lan Jingyi shook his head speechlessly, having lost all interest in even arguing with them. He leaned close to Lan Sizhui's ear and said, "Are these people stupid?"
Lan Sizhui: ...
Three or four of the cultivators fighting the Soul-Eating Celestial Maiden in the arena had their souls sucked away. Jin Ling drew his sword, less than two zhang away from the Soul-Eating Celestial Maiden. His heart pounded wildly, and his blood rushed to his head: "If I can't cut off her head with this sword, I'll die here—so be it!"
Just then, a series of clanging sounds rose from the forests of Dafan Mountain.
Clang, clang, clang. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes sudden, echoing through the silent forest. Like chains clashing, ropes dragging on the ground. Closer and louder.
For some reason, the voice gave people an extremely unsettling sense of threat. Even the Soul Eater stopped dancing, raised her arms, and stared blankly into the dark depths from which the voice came.
Wei Wuxian put away his flute and stared intently at where he had come from.
Although the ominous premonition in his heart grew stronger, since he had come at his summons, he must at least be someone who was willing to listen to him.
The sound stopped abruptly, and a figure emerged from the darkness.
Upon seeing the figure and the face clearly, the faces of the cultivators twisted in disbelief.
Even when faced with the celestial maiden statue that could devour their souls at any moment, this group did not flinch, nor did they show any fear. However, the voices they uttered at this moment were filled with undisguised terror.
"...'Ghost General,' it's 'Ghost General,' it's Wen Ning!"
The title "Ghost General," like that of the Yiling Patriarch, is infamous and known to all; the two usually appear together.
This word refers to only one person: Wen Ning, the number one wicked and treacherous servant of Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch, who should have been reduced to ashes long ago!
"Wen Ning?!"
"They've even summoned the Ghost General, what exactly is Wei Wuxian trying to do?!"
...
Hearing this bunch of idiots start again, Xue Yang put his hands behind his head and lazily yawned: "A bunch of morons."
As Jiang Cheng listened, he slapped Jin Ling on the back of the head: "You brat, what nonsense are you spouting! If you want to die, then die. Let's see if you're so capable!"
Jin Ling, looking aggrieved, threw herself into her mother's arms. "Mom, if Uncle keeps hitting me, I'll go crazy..."
Wen Ning lowered his head slightly, his hands hanging down, like a puppet waiting for instructions from its master.
His face was pale and handsome, even possessing a melancholic elegance. But because his eyes lacked pupils, displaying only a deathly white, coupled with the several black cracks that ran from his neck up his cheeks, this melancholy transformed into a terrifying gloom. The hem and cuffs of his robe were tattered and torn, revealing wrists that matched the deathly paleness of his face, fastened with black iron rings and chains, as were his ankles. The clanging sound was the noise he made when he pulled the chains. Once still, everything returned to deathly silence.
It's not hard to imagine why the cultivators present were terrified. Wei Wuxian was no more composed than the others; the turmoil in his heart had already surged above his head.
Wen Ning shouldn't have been here; he shouldn't have existed. He should have been reduced to ashes long before the mass grave siege!
After repeating twice that Wen Ning should have been reduced to ashes long ago, all the cultivators turned to look at Wen Qing and Wen Ning, the siblings who were now sitting behind Lan Wangji.
Wen Qing noticed everyone's gazes but didn't seem to care. She remained sitting upright, only slightly turning her body to block everyone's eyes from looking at Wen Ning.
Wen Ning only regained his senses after Wei Wuxian removed the skull nails. He didn't know what had happened then, but seeing his own terrifying appearance now, he couldn't help but shrink back and hide behind his older sister.
Everyone: ...
This is exactly what we were afraid of back then.
Only now, feeling the shock and disbelief in Wei Wuxian's heart that day, did the cultivators believe that Wei Wuxian truly did not know why Wen Ning had not been reduced to ashes.
Many people's thoughts returned to that night when the city was massacred, and the box that Jin Guangshan shattered, from which the ashes scattered made so many people cheer.
But telling them this now is a joke; Wen Ning is still 'alive' and doing just fine.
During the second siege of Burial Mound, when Wei Wuxian said that Wen Ning had not been reduced to ashes and even subtly reminded everyone to suspect Jin Guangyao, no one listened. Everyone was swayed by the hatred from thirteen years ago, or rather, many were swayed by what they believed to be their own sense of morality.
Looking back on this past as an outsider, how many people can truly understand what was right and what was wrong back then?
Upon hearing someone call out Wen Ning's name, Jin Ling involuntarily turned his sword, which had been aimed at the Soul Eater Goddess, away. Taking advantage of his distraction, the Soul Eater Goddess happily stretched out her long arm and hoisted him up.
Seeing her mouth agape and close to Jin Ling's face, Wei Wuxian, disregarding his inner turmoil, raised his bamboo flute again. His hands trembled slightly, and the tune he played trembled as well. Coupled with the flute's rough craftsmanship, the low notes were almost hoarse and unpleasant. Two mournful sounds followed, and Wen Ning moved towards the sound.
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of the Soul Eater. Wen Ning struck her with a palm, and the Soul Eater's neck cracked. Her body didn't move, but her head was twisted in a wide arc by the blow, her face now facing the direction her back had previously been, still smiling. Wen Ning then struck again with his bare hands, severing the Soul Eater's right hand that was holding Jin Ling.
She glanced down at her neatly severed wrist, and instead of turning her head back to the correct position, she spun around, presenting both her face and back to Wen Ning. Wei Wuxian dared not let his guard down, inhaling and lowering his head to control Wen Ning in preparation for battle. However, before long, he grew increasingly alarmed.
Low-level walking corpses cannot think for themselves and require his commands and guidance. Even the most lethal fierce corpses are often delirious and unconscious. Wen Ning, however, is different. He was created by Wei Wuxian and can be considered the strongest fierce corpse in the world. He is unique and can think and understand. Except for being unafraid of injury, fire, cold, poison, and everything that the living fear, he is no different from a living person.
But at this moment, Wen Ning clearly had no consciousness of his own!
Just as everyone was filled with astonishment and uncertainty, gasps of surprise erupted from the arena. It turned out that Wen Ning, through a combination of kicking and punching, had firmly pinned the Soul-Eating Goddess to the ground. He then picked up a massive rock, taller than a person, lifted it above the Soul-Eating Goddess, and slammed it heavily onto her. The thunderous blows fell one after another until the Soul-Eating Goddess's stone body was smashed to pieces!
Amidst the white, scattered rocks, a bead radiating a snow-white glow rolled out. This was the essence of the Soul-Eating Celestial Maiden, condensed after devouring the souls of over a dozen living people. If it were carefully retrieved, the souls of those who had just been drained could be restored. However, at this moment, no one bothered to pick up the bead; all the sword tips that had been aimed at the Soul-Eating Celestial Maiden were turned away.
A monk shouted at the top of his lungs, "Surround him!"
Seeing this, Nie Mingjue slammed the Baxia sword in his hand onto the ground, startling Nie Huaisang. Before he could even look down to see if the ground in front of his elder brother had been shattered, he heard his elder brother say coldly:
"Hmph, this is the attitude of all the schools of Taoism!"
Lan Qiren and Qinghengjun also sighed helplessly. Putting aside the fact that this was a life-saving grace, even if it were an ordinary favor, they would never repay kindness with enmity.
Wen Qing's face grew increasingly gloomy. She looked at her younger brother beside her with a look of disappointment and poked him with a finger: "You... don't save people like this next time."
Wen Ning looked completely innocent.
Sister, have you forgotten that I was unconscious at that time? You should have told Young Master Wei.
Wen Qing seemed to understand Wen Ning's gaze, snorted coldly and glared at him: "When Wei Wuxian comes out later, I'll say the same thing. What kind of trash are you all saving all day long?"
Jiang Cheng: ...
Miss Wen, it seems you stole my lines...
And have you forgotten that you were also one of the 'things' Wei Wuxian rescued...?
Some responded hesitantly, while many more hesitated and slowly retreated. The cultivator shouted again, "Fellow Daoists, stop him! Don't let him escape! This is Wen Ning!"
This statement jolted everyone awake. How could the Ghost General be compared to a mere Soul-Eating Monster? Although they didn't know why he had appeared, killing a thousand Soul-Eating Fiends was nothing compared to capturing Wen Ning. After all, he was the most obedient, silent mad dog under the Yiling Patriarch's command. From now on, he would surely become famous throughout the land and soar to great heights! Originally, they had gone to Dafan Mountain for a night hunt to compete for demonic beasts and increase their seniority. Such a shout inevitably tempted some. However, those older cultivators who had personally witnessed Wen Ning's berserk state in the past still dared not act rashly. So, the man shouted again, "What are you afraid of? The Yiling Patriarch isn't here!"
Thinking about it again, it makes sense. Right, what's there to be afraid of? His master has already been torn to pieces!
After a few words, the circle of swords swirling around Wen Ning suddenly shrank. Wen Ning swung his arm, and the heavy black iron chain swept across, deflecting all the flying swords. He then took a step forward, grabbed the neck of the person closest to him, and lifted him lightly off the ground. Wei Wuxian knew that the flute music had been too urgent and intense, causing him to become aggressive; he needed to suppress his anger, calm himself, and then confidently played another tune.
The melody arose naturally in his mind, gentle and serene, quite different from the eerie and jarring flute music from before. Wen Ning froze upon hearing the sound, slowly turning towards the source of the flute music. Wei Wuxian stood there, meeting his gaze with eyes devoid of pupils.
A moment later, Wen Ning released his grip, throwing the cultivator to the ground. He then lowered his arms and walked step by step toward Wei Wuxian.
He hung his head, dragging a chain, looking rather dejected. Wei Wuxian blew on the wind as he retreated, leading him over. After walking for a while, they retreated into the forest, where they suddenly smelled a cool, refreshing sandalwood scent.
He bumped into someone from behind, felt a sudden pain in his wrist, and the flute music stopped abruptly. Wei Wuxian knew something was wrong, turned around, and was met with Lan Wangji's pale, icy eyes.
This is bad. Lan Wangji witnessed him playing the flute to control corpses back then.
Lan Wangji gripped Wei Wuxian tightly with one hand, while Wen Ning stood blankly less than two zhang away, slowly glancing around as if searching for the suddenly vanished flute music. In the distance, firelight and voices could be heard spreading through the forest. Wei Wuxian's mind raced, and he made a snap decision: So what if I saw it? There are countless people who can play the flute, and even more who have learned from the Yiling Patriarch to use flute music to control corpses—enough to form their own school. I'd rather die than admit it!
He decisively ignored the hand gripping his and raised his arm to continue playing the flute. This time, he played even more urgently, as if urging and shouting, his breath unsteady, the final note broken, shrill and piercing. Suddenly, he felt Lan Wangji tighten his grip, his wrist almost snapping. Wei Wuxian couldn't bear the pain, his fingers loosened, and the bamboo flute fell to the ground.
Fortunately, his instructions were clear enough. Wen Ning quickly retreated, silently disappearing into the dark forest. Wei Wuxian, fearing Lan Wangji would intercept Wen Ning, grabbed him. However, Lan Wangji didn't spare a single glance for Wen Ning, his eyes fixed intently on Wei Wuxian. The two of them remained locked in this position, face to face, glaring at each other.
Lan Xichen looked at this passage, smiled, and turned to ask, "Wangji, you already recognized Wuxian back then?"
Lan Wangji nodded slightly: "Mm."
In that instant, everyone's thought process suddenly aligned with Wei Wuxian's—how did he recognize him?
Everyone could only sigh that the Yiling Patriarch and Hanguang-jun were of one mind, but judging from Wei Wuxian's inner monologue now, this understanding was probably one-sided.
Just then, Jiang Cheng arrived.
He patiently waited for the results in Fojiao Town, before he could even finish a cup of tea. A disciple rushed down the mountain in a panic, describing how powerful and ferocious the creatures in Dafan Mountain were. Upon hearing this, he was greatly shocked and rushed back up, shouting, "A-Ling!"
Jin Ling had almost had his soul sucked away, but he was now unharmed and stood properly on the ground, saying, "Uncle!"
Seeing that Jin Ling was unharmed, Jiang Cheng felt a huge weight lifted from his heart, and then angrily scolded, "Didn't you have a signal with you? You didn't even know to use it when you encountered something like this? What are you trying to prove? Get over here!"
Jin Ling, furious at failing to capture the Soul Eater, yelled, "Didn't you tell me I absolutely had to take it down?! Don't come back to see me if you don't!"
Jiang Cheng really wanted to slap this brat back into his mother's womb, but he had indeed said those words, so he couldn't contradict himself. He could only turn to the cultivators lying on the ground and mock them, "What exactly is it that killed you all so gracefully?"
Among these cultivators dressed in different colors, several were actually disciples of the Yunmeng Jiang Clan in disguise, secretly assisting Jin Ling on Jiang Cheng's orders, fearing he might not be able to overcome this challenge. This elder had certainly gone to great lengths. One cultivator, still staring blankly, stammered, "Sect...Sect Master, it's...it's Wen Ning..."
Jiang Cheng wondered if he had misheard: "What did you say?"
The man said, "Wen Ning is back!"
In an instant, shock, disgust, anger, and disbelief flashed across Jiang Cheng's face.
Hearing his son being tormented by Jiang Cheng like this, Jin Zixuan immediately looked displeased and said, "Jiang Wanyin, do you have a problem with my son?" He even slapped his mother's belly, which made me lose my temper.
Jiang Cheng didn't give him a friendly look either, and threw out a straight line: "Have you ever disciplined your son?" He'd been helping to discipline Jin Ling for over ten years, and now he can't even get a few words of reprimand?
Jiang Yanli, holding Jin Zixuan's hand with one hand and Jiang Cheng's hand with the other, stopped the two three-year-olds from continuing their argument, and said gently with a smile, "A-Cheng is still very devoted to Rulan, and..."
She paused, then said, "A-Cheng, you still want A-Xian to come back, don't you?"
Jiang Cheng had just retorted to Jin Zixuan and was in a good mood, but Jiang Yanli's words struck a nerve with the feelings he was desperately trying to hide.
On the day his family was massacred, his parents died, and his older sister was stabbed through the throat at Nightless City. Apart from Jin Ling, Wei Wuxian was the only family he had in the world. How could he not long for his return?
Even though Wei Wuxian was terrified and possessed by countless ghosts in front of him, he, like Lan Wangji, never thought that Wei Wuxian would die, nor did he ever think of letting him die.
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