Chapter 21, Part Twenty-One
Chapter Summary: [Needless to say, Jin Ling must have forcefully broken through this stone fortress, but unexpected events occurred after he entered.]
Dust-repelling mechanism automatically extends half an inch from its sheath...
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Needless to say, Jin Ling must have forcefully broken through this stone fortress, but something unexpected happened after he went inside.
Bichen automatically unsheathed half an inch, its blade emitting a cold, pale blue glow that illuminated the dark path ahead. Lan Wangji bent down and entered first. Wei Wuxian, driven nearly mad by the dog, rushed in after him, almost colliding with him. Lan Wangji took his hand, shaking his head, whether in reproach or helplessness, it was unclear.
The black-maned spirit dog clearly wanted to follow, and tried to rush inside, but it seemed to be blocked by some force. No matter what it did, it couldn't break through the barrier, so it could only sit down at the entrance of the cave, its tail wagging even more wildly. Wei Wuxian was so happy that he almost knelt down to it. He withdrew his hand, took a few steps inside, and the cold blue sword light was made cold white by the dark surroundings.
The trees on Xinglu Ridge were tall and dense, providing ample shade, but the interior of this stone fortress was even more chilling. Wei Wuxian, dressed lightly, felt a cold wind whistling through his sleeves and vest; the cold sweat he had just broken out from being frightened by the black-maned spirit dog had dried. The light at the entrance had long since vanished like a candle flame; the further he went in, the wider and darker it became.
The stone fortress had a circular top. Wei Wuxian kicked a pebble at his feet and could hear a slight echo.
He finally couldn't help but stop, pressing his right hand to his temple and frowning slightly.
Lan Wangji turned around and asked, "How is it?"
Wei Wuxian said, "...It's so noisy."
Inside the stone fortress, there was a deathly silence, as still as a tomb. And indeed, it did resemble a tomb.
But to Wei Wuxian, they were now surrounded by a cacophony of noise.
Everyone: ...
Young Master Mo, do you still remember that you need to conceal your identity?
Why did you answer so readily when Lan Wangji asked?
At this moment, Lan Wangji frowned and glanced at the place where Xiao Niangui was hiding.
Didn't you say you empathized with Wei Ying? Why don't you feel the same cacophony of voices as him right now?
It should be noted that after Wei Wuxian cultivated the demonic path, unlike the Lan family who could understand the words of spirits through spirit summoning, he could hear the words of the ghosts and monsters around him at any time.
Because of this, Wei Wuxian was constantly disturbed by these sounds, whether high or low, sharp or deep, so he could not sleep peacefully every night. He would only feel better after Lan Wangji's zither music soothed and calmed him down.
While everyone remained silent, Xiao Niangui's figure suddenly appeared before the water curtain, but he did not speak.
Just as they were wondering if there were still people who hadn't come out, Xiao Niangui raised his hand, and a flash of spiritual light appeared at his fingertips. Everyone felt as if a switch had suddenly been turned on in their minds, and all sorts of sounds rushed into their minds all at once.
"Ugh...it's so noisy!"
"Get out! Get out! Stop making noise!"
...
In an instant, everyone clutched their heads, their heads throbbing, but they couldn't shake off the noises; the noises seemed to have taken root in their minds.
Jiang Cheng, Lan Xichen, and the others also endured the pain in their minds, gripping their longswords, their veins bulging, and soon beads of cold sweat appeared on their foreheads.
Xue Yang also tightened his grip on the calamity, his half-lying position suddenly arching upwards. Although he also cultivated the demonic path, he was not like Wei Wuxian, who was connected to the demonic realm, so he naturally could not hear these sounds on ordinary days.
Wei Wuxian held Lan Wangji's hand with one hand and Jiang Yanli's hand with the other, looking left and right but unable to help in any way.
Lan Wangji grasped his hand in return, his brows furrowed slightly, but his voice remained completely calm: "It's nothing."
Listening closely, there seemed to be a hint of joy and heartache.
Wei Wuxian ignored him and looked up at Xiao Niangui, saying, "Miss Niangui, please remove the voice empathy. They are not people of the demonic path, so why add unnecessary trouble?"
Xiao Niangui glanced at Wei Wuxian with a complicated expression, sighed softly, and the spiritual light at his fingertips gradually dissipated as his figure disappeared.
As everyone's minds gradually cleared, they became as if they had been pulled out of the water.
It was at this moment that everyone felt a sense of gratitude towards Wei Wuxian.
The noise came from all directions.
All around, above and below, it was like a vast ocean of whispers, rustling and giggling. There were men and women, old and young, big and small. Wei Wuxian could even make out some scattered words, but they were fleeting, leaving him unable to grasp the exact words.
It's so noisy.
Wei Wuxian continued pressing his temples with one hand, while taking out a Wind Evil Disc, just large enough to fit in his palm, from his Qiankun bag with the other. The pointer of the Wind Evil Disc trembled and circled twice, then faster and faster, and soon began to spin wildly!
Last time, the Fengxie compass on Mount Dafan failed to indicate the direction, which was already strange. But this time, it actually started spinning on its own, without stopping for a moment, which is even more inexplicable than the compass needle remaining completely still.
A growing sense of foreboding crept into Wei Wuxian's heart, and he called out, "Jin Ling!"
The two had been walking around the stone fortress for a while without seeing any living people. Wei Wuxian called out a few times, but there was no response. The first few stone chambers were empty, but as they walked deeper into the fortress, a pitch-black coffin suddenly appeared in the center of one of the chambers.
The coffin stood out conspicuously in the room. But the coffin was entirely black and its shape was beautifully crafted. Wei Wuxian found it particularly endearing and couldn't help but pat it. The solid wood made a resounding sound, and he exclaimed, "A fine coffin."
Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian stood on either side of it, exchanged a glance, and simultaneously reached out to open the coffin lid.
The moment the coffin lid was opened, the surrounding noise suddenly surged, overwhelming Wei Wuxian's hearing like a tidal wave. It was as if they had been spied on by countless eyes, whose owners had been secretly monitoring and discussing their every word and action, and who suddenly became agitated upon seeing them about to open the coffin. Wei Wuxian had considered dozens of possibilities, preparing himself for the stench of decay, the sudden outstretched claws of demons, the spray of poisonous water, the dispersal of toxic smoke, and the onslaught of vengeful spirits. Of course, what he hoped for most was to see Jin Ling. However, nothing happened; nothing at all.
It turned out to be an empty coffin.
Wei Wuxian was slightly surprised and somewhat disappointed that Jin Ling wasn't trapped there. Lan Wangji moved closer, and Bichen automatically unsheathed itself a few inches, its cold light illuminating the bottom of the coffin. He then realized that the coffin wasn't empty. However, the contents were much smaller than he had expected, like a corpse, hidden deep within the bottom of the coffin.
A long knife lay inside the coffin.
The knife had no sheath, and the hilt seemed to be cast in gold, making it look heavy and substantial. The blade was long and slender, with a bright, white edge. It was placed on a layer of red cloth at the bottom of the coffin, reflecting a blood-like color, exuding a chilling aura of killing intent.
The coffin contained no corpse, but rather a knife. This stone fortress on Xinglu Ridge was truly bizarre in every way, exuding an eeriness at every turn.
An empty coffin? A knife?
Lan Xichen frowned slightly.
Jiang Cheng's anger faltered, and before he could reprimand Jin Ling, he seemed to be deep in thought.
Nowadays, most aristocratic families, regardless of size, are based on sword repair. Only the Nie family of Qinghe, whose ancestors were butchers, are based on knife repair.
Moreover, judging from both the construction of this stone fortress and its location, only the Nie family of Qinghe could have gone to such great lengths.
But why would the Nie family erect coffins and build tombs for these ancestors' knives?
The two closed the coffin lid and continued walking inside. They found similar coffins in several other stone chambers, each made of different types of wood and of varying ages. Inside each coffin was a long sword. Even in the last chamber, Jin Ling was nowhere to be found. Wei Wuxian closed the coffin lid, a slight unease creeping into his heart.
Seeing him frown and remain silent, Lan Wangji pondered for a moment, then placed the guqin horizontally on the coffin, raised his hand, and a series of strings flowed from his fingertips.
He played only a short passage before withdrawing his right hand from the top of the instrument and gazing intently at the still-vibrating strings.
Suddenly, the strings vibrated and spontaneously produced a note.
Wei Wuxian asked, "The Inquiry of Spirits?"
"Inquiry into the Spirits" is a famous piece composed by the ancestors of the Lan Clan of Gusu. Unlike "Summoning the Soul," it is often used in situations where the identity of the deceased is unknown and there is no medium. The player uses the music to ask questions of the deceased, and the deceased's echo is transformed into melodies by "Inquiry into the Spirits" and reflected on the strings.
The strings of the zither moved spontaneously, indicating that Lan Wangji had summoned one of the spirits from the stone fortress. Next, the two would engage in a question-and-answer exchange using the language of the zither.
The language of the zither is a unique skill of the Gusu Lan Clan. Although Wei Wuxian has extensive knowledge of it, there are still aspects he cannot master and cannot decipher the language of the zither. He said softly, "Hanguang-jun, please ask it for me what this place is, what it is used for, and who built it."
Lan Wangji was proficient in the language of the Spirit Inquiry Qin. Without hesitation, he played two or three clear, resonant notes. A moment later, the strings plucked twice more automatically. Wei Wuxian hurriedly asked, "What did it say?"
Lan Wangji: "I don't know."
Wei Wuxian: "Huh?"
Lan Wangji said slowly and deliberately, "It said, 'I don't know.'"
"..." Wei Wuxian looked at him, suddenly recalling a conversation from many years ago related to "whatever," touched his nose, feeling utterly bored, and thought, "Lan Zhan is too accomplished, he's even learned to shut me up."
Seeing Wei Wuxian's embarrassed and speechless expression in the sky, Jiang Cheng, who had just been pondering the Blade Fortress, chuckled and inwardly gave Lan Wangji a thumbs up for the first time.
Hmph, serves you right for flirting with her.
Unable to get an answer with his first question, Lan Wangji played another note. The strings responded again, producing the same two clear, resonant notes. Wei Wuxian recognized the answer as "I don't know" and asked, "What did you ask it this time?"
Lan Wangji asked, "What caused your death?"
Wei Wuxian said, "If someone is accidentally murdered, it is indeed possible that they will not know why they died. Why don't you ask it if it knows who killed it?"
Lan Wangji raised his hand and plucked the string. However, the echo remained the same, two sharp clangs—"I don't know."
A soul imprisoned here knows nothing of its place, how it died, or who killed it. This is the first time Wei Wuxian has encountered a dead person who knows nothing about any of these things. He quickly thought of another one and said, "Then let's try another one. Ask it if it's male or female. Surely it knows that too."
Lan Wangji played as instructed. After withdrawing his hand, he plucked another string with a powerful clang, and Lan Wangji translated, "Male."
Wei Wuxian said, "Finally, I know something. Now, did a boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old enter this place?"
The answer was: "Yes."
Wei Wuxian then asked, "Where is he now?"
The strings paused for a moment before responding. Wei Wuxian quickly asked, "What did he say?"
Lan Wangji said solemnly, "He said, 'Right here.'"
Wei Wuxian fell silent.
"Here" must refer to this stone fortress, but they searched it thoroughly and didn't find Jin Ling. Wei Wuxian said, "He can't be lying, can he?"
Lan Wangji said, "I am here, I cannot."
Indeed, the one asking the questions was Hanguang-jun, and Lai Ling, under his suppression, naturally couldn't lie and could only answer truthfully. Wei Wuxian then searched the stone chamber thoroughly, looking for any secret passages or mechanisms he might have missed. Lan Wangji pondered for a moment and then asked two more questions. After receiving the answers, his expression changed slightly. Seeing this, Wei Wuxian quickly asked, "What did you ask this time?"
Lan Wangji asked, "How old are you, and where do you come from?"
Both questions were attempts to probe Lai Ling's identity and background. Wei Wuxian knew he must have received unusual answers: "How?"
Lan Wangji said, "Fifteen years old, from Lanling."
Wei Wuxian's expression also changed abruptly.
The spirit summoned by "Inquiry" was actually Jin Ling?!
"Ah Ling?!"
Several voices rang out at the same time, and several pairs of eyes instantly fell on Jin Ling, who was now sitting in the center.
There are elders like Jin Zixuan, Jiang Yanli, and Yu Ziyuan, as well as companions like Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi.
Jin Ling felt a little uneasy under Jiang Yanli's gaze, but sensing that her grip on his hand was tightening unconsciously, he quickly moved closer and reassured her, "Mother, I'm fine. I'm perfectly fine here. Besides, with Uncle Wei and Hanguang-jun here, what could possibly happen to me?"
When Wei Wuxian heard Jin Ling indirectly call him "Uncle," he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Hmm, it feels pretty good.
However, Jin Ling's words eased Jiang Yanli's slightly pale face, which had been tense. She took a breath, composed herself, and continued reading.
He listened intently, and amidst the overwhelming noise, he could faintly hear Jin Ling's few shouts, but he couldn't make them out clearly.
Lan Wangji continued to ask questions, and Wei Wuxian knew he was asking about the specific location. He stared intently at the strings, waiting for Jin Ling's answer.
This time the response was longer. After listening, Lan Wangji said to Wei Wuxian, "Stand still, facing southwest, and listen to the strings. For each note, take a step forward. When the music stops, you will be right in front of you."
Wei Wuxian remained silent and turned southwest. Seven strings sounded behind him, and he took seven steps forward. However, there was nothing in front of him.
The music continued, but the intervals grew longer, and he walked slower and slower. One more step, two more steps, three more steps…
After walking six steps, the music finally fell silent and stopped playing.
In front of him was only a wall.
The wall was constructed of grayish-white stone bricks, each piece fitting together seamlessly. Wei Wuxian turned around and said, "...He's inside the wall?!"
Bichen was drawn, and four blue lights flashed past, cutting a neat grid pattern in the wall. The two stepped forward and began to dismantle the bricks. After removing several bricks, a large patch of black soil was exposed.
It turned out that the walls of this stone fortress were made in two layers, with mud filling the space between the two solid stone bricks. Wei Wuxian dug off a large clod of earth with his bare hands, and from the dark mud, he dug out a human face with its eyes closed.
It was the missing Jin Ling!
Jin Ling's face, which hadn't been buried in the soil, suddenly emerged, and the sudden rush of air caused him to cough violently and gasp for breath. Seeing that he was still alive, Wei Wuxian finally felt relieved. Jin Ling had truly been on the verge of death; otherwise, the "Spirit Inquiry" wouldn't have detected his departing soul. Fortunately, he hadn't been buried in the wall for long; otherwise, another moment would have suffocated him to death.
The two were busy digging him out of the wall, but as they pulled out the radish, they also pulled out the mud. The moment Jin Ling's upper body emerged from the ground, the long sword on his back hooked out something else.
A bare, white-boned arm!
Lan Wangji laid Jin Ling flat on the ground and began to examine his pulse and treat him. Wei Wuxian picked up Bichen's sword sheath and skillfully poked and dug along the skeletal arm in the soil. Before long, a complete skeleton appeared before them.
Like Jin Ling's skeleton earlier, this one was buried standing up in the wall, the stark contrast between the pale bones and the black soil stark and jarring. Wei Wuxian rummaged through the soil, removed a few bricks, and stirred it up, eventually discovering a second skeleton nearby.
This one wasn't completely decomposed; flesh and skin still clung to the bones, and long, tangled black hair covered the skull. The tattered clothes were a pale reddish-brown, clearly indicating it was a woman's. She wasn't standing; her skeleton was bent over. The reason for the bend was that there was a third skeleton beside her, squatting.
Wei Wuxian stopped digging.
He stepped back a few paces, the noise in his ears surging and unrestrained like a tidal wave.
He was almost certain. The entire thick wall of the stone fortress was filled with human bones.
Top of head, bottom of feet, southeast, northwest; standing, sitting, lying down, squatting...
What exactly is this place?!
A stone fortress filled with white bones?!
Suddenly, the way people looked at the Nie family changed.
Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang were speechless: How are we supposed to explain this?
Just then, Jin Ling, who was unconscious, suddenly sat up.
In front of the two of them, he staggered to his feet with his eyes closed. Wei Wuxian, wanting to see what he was going to do, didn't move. He watched as the man slowly walked around him, stepped out with one leg, and stepped back into the wall, standing where he had just been buried. His hands were placed flat at his sides, his posture exactly the same as before.
Wei Wuxian pulled him out of the wall again, finding it both amusing and strange. He was about to tell Lan Wangji that they shouldn't linger there when he was suddenly startled by a furious bark coming from afar. The black-maned spirit dog had been sitting obediently at the cave entrance wagging its tail since they went in, anxiously and pitifully waiting for them to bring its master out, without barking once more. But now, it was barking more fiercely than ever before.
Lan Wangji said, "There's something strange outside the fortress."
He reached out to help Jin Ling, but Wei Wuxian picked him up first and said, "Let's go out and see!"
The two quickly retraced their steps. As soon as they emerged from the cave, they saw the black-maned spirit dog with its back to them, facing one direction and emitting low growls. Wei Wuxian, though he had forced himself to come forward, couldn't stand that sound and involuntarily took several steps back. Just then, the dog turned its head, saw him carrying Jin Ling, and pounced on him. Wei Wuxian screamed, and just as it was about to throw Jin Ling away, Lan Wangji stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
The black-maned spirit dog stopped abruptly, tucking its tail between its legs. It wasn't panting because it was carrying something in its mouth. Lan Wangji stepped forward, bent down, and removed a piece of cloth from between its teeth. He returned and showed it to Wei Wuxian; it appeared to be a piece of clothing. At least one person must have been loitering or spying around here, and acting suspiciously, otherwise the black-maned spirit dog's barks wouldn't have been so hostile. Wei Wuxian said, "They haven't gone far. Chase them!"
Lan Wangji replied, "No need. I know who it is."
Wei Wuxian said, "I know. The same group of people must have spread rumors, released the corpses, set up the maze, and built the stone fortress at Xinglu Ridge. And those knives too. But if we don't catch them in the act now, it will be troublesome to catch them later."
Lan Wangji said, "I'll go after them. You and Jin Ling?"
Wei Wuxian said, "I will take him down the mountain ridge and back to Qinghe to find a place to settle down, the place where we met that doctor before. We will meet there."
The conversation proceeded very quickly. Lan Wangji paused only briefly before Wei Wuxian said again, "Go on, or they'll be gone. I'll be there!"
Hearing the words "I will come," Lan Wangji gave him a deep look, said nothing more, and turned to leave. The black-maned spirit dog hurriedly tried to pounce again, but Wei Wuxian cried out in alarm, "Wait! Wait! Take the dog away! Take the dog away!!!"
Lan Wangji had no choice but to turn back, glancing down at the black-maned spirit dog. It dared not disobey, whimpering and following behind Lan Wangji, occasionally glancing back at Jin Ling. Wei Wuxian wiped his sweat, glanced back at the group of white stone fortresses, picked up Jin Ling again, and headed down Xinglu Ridge.
Jin Ling raised his hand to his forehead speechlessly: Why did I do such a stupid thing?
When Wei Wuxian saw the look in Lan Wangji's eyes when he heard "I'm back," he felt a pang of pain in his heart. What was Lan Zhan's feeling when he saw him being such a jerk?
Tsk, the more I think about it, the more I feel like a jerk.
Just as Wei Wuxian was lost in his thoughts, Jin Guangyao's voice, tinged with a soft laugh, rang out from the side: "That must be Huaisang."
"Hehe." Nie Huaisang gave an awkward laugh, turning slightly to avoid the increasingly tangible gaze of his elder brother beside him.
"Lianfangzun is indeed very perceptive."
Wei Wuxian snapped out of his daze and smiled calmly.
Jin Guangyao turned his gaze back once more.
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