Chapter 66, Sixty-Six
Chapter Summary: Suddenly, Wei Wuxian heard a voice calling him from afar. The voice was cold and deep; the first utterance was indistinct and distant, like a dream.
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Suddenly, Wei Wuxian heard a voice calling him from afar. The voice was cold and deep; the first sound was indistinct and distant, seemingly both real and unreal. The second sound was much clearer and more distinct, and a barely perceptible anxiety could be heard in the tone.
He heard the third sound clearly.
"Wei Ying!"
Upon hearing the sound, Wei Wuxian abruptly pulled himself out!
Upon hearing this, Wei Wuxian suddenly burst out laughing: "Lan Zhan, as expected, I only wake up when you call me, haha."
This time, Lan Wangji was not pleased by his teasing. Instead, he said in a low and serious voice, "Wei Ying, this method is too dangerous."
Wei Wuxian didn't say anything more. He knew what Lan Wangji was worried about, but his previous attempts at empathy were all out of necessity, and he wouldn't use them again in the future.
He was still a thin, paper-like figure, stuck to the iron helmet that sealed Nie Mingjue's head. The iron plates covering Nie Mingjue's eyes had been loosened, revealing a wide-open, bloodshot eye.
Time is running out; we must return to our physical bodies immediately!
The paper figure flicked its sleeves, and like a butterfly fluttering its wings, it flew out. But as soon as it rushed out of the curtain, it saw a person standing in the dark corner of the secret room. Jin Guangyao smiled slightly and, without a word, drew a soft sword from his waist. It was his renowned sword, "Hate Life."
Back when Jin Guangyao infiltrated Wen Ruohan's inner circle, he often concealed this soft sword at his waist and wrapped it around his wrist, using it for crucial moments. Although the blade of Hensheng appeared incredibly soft, its sword intent seemingly gentle and lingering, it was actually insidious, sharp, and relentlessly vengeful. Once entangled by its blade, if Jin Guangyao were to unleash his strange spiritual power, he would be torn to pieces by this seemingly tranquil sword; many renowned swords had been destroyed in this way, reduced to piles of scrap metal. At this moment, the sword's blade resembled a gleaming silver serpent, relentlessly pursuing and biting the paper figure. A moment's carelessness would result in being struck by this serpent's fangs!
The paper doll flapped its sleeves, dodging left and right with agility, but since it wasn't its own body, it nearly got bitten by the tip of Hensheng's sword after a few dodges. If this continued, it would surely be pierced through!
Suddenly, he noticed a longsword lying quietly on a wooden shelf in front of the wall. The sword had been untouched and unpolished for many years, and its blade and surrounding area were covered in dust.
It was none other than his old sword—Suibian!
The paper figure leaped onto the wooden frame and stomped hard on the casually placed sword hilt. With a clang, the sword sprang from its sheath in response!
Suibian flew out of its sheath and engaged in a fierce battle with Hensheng's eerie and unpredictable sword light. Upon seeing this, Jin Guangyao's expression of shock vanished in an instant. He quickly composed himself, his right wrist twisting nimbly, causing Hensheng to coil like a pretzel around Suibian's straight, snow-white blade. He then withdrew his grip, letting the two swords fight amongst themselves, while his left hand flicked a talisman towards Wei Wuxian. The talisman ignited into a raging fire in mid-air, and Wei Wuxian felt the intense heat rushing towards him. Taking advantage of the dazzling chaos of the two swords clashing in the air, he swiftly flapped his sleeves and rushed out of the secret chamber!
Wei Wuxian watched with great interest as the paper doll himself and Jin Guangyao engaged in a fierce battle, until he was forced to draw his Suibian sword. He couldn't help but sigh, "Alas, my illustrious reputation has been ruined by Suibian. I really shouldn't have chosen such a name. Lianfang-zun, it seems fate has granted you a narrow escape!"
Jin Guangyao shook his head with amusement. In fact, if Wei Wuxian hadn't drawn his sword, even if he had guessed it, he wouldn't have been able to identify him, let alone divert others' attention afterward.
With time running out, Wei Wuxian could no longer care about his disguise and rushed back to the guest house. Just then, Lan Wangji opened the door, and Wei Wuxian lunged forward, landing squarely on Lan Wangji's face.
The paper doll was pressed tightly against half of Lan Wangji's face, seemingly trembling. Lan Wangji's eyes were covered by the doll's wide sleeves, and after letting it tremble against his face for a while, he gently picked it off.
A moment later, having successfully returned to his place, Wei Wuxian immediately took a deep breath, tilted his head back, opened his eyes, and stood up abruptly. However, before his body could adjust, he felt dizzy and lurched forward. Seeing this, Lan Wangji immediately caught him. Unexpectedly, Wei Wuxian suddenly looked up again, his head bumping into Lan Wangji's chin with a thud, both letting out a muffled groan. Wei Wuxian touched his own head with one hand and Lan Wangji's chin with the other, saying, "Oops! I'm sorry. Lan Zhan, are you alright?"
After being touched twice, Lan Wangji gently brushed his hand away and shook his head. Wei Wuxian pulled him, saying, "Let's go!"
Everyone: ...
What I'm saying is, at crucial moments, why do these two always seem to be having an ambiguous relationship?!
Lan Wangji didn't ask any more questions. He got up and walked with him first, and then asked, "Where are we going?"
Wei Wuxian said, "Fangfei Palace! The bronze mirror inside Fangfei Palace is the entrance to a secret chamber. His wife stumbled upon some secret of his and was dragged inside. She should still be inside! Chifeng-zun's head is also inside!"
Jin Guangyao would immediately reinforce the seal on Nie Mingjue's head and relocate it. However, while he could move a head, he couldn't move his wife, Qin Su! After all, she was the wife of the leader of Jinlintai, and she had recently attended a banquet. If such a person of high status suddenly disappeared, no one would not be suspicious. Seize this opportunity to rush in, cut the Gordian knot, and give Jin Guangyao no time to fabricate lies or cover his tracks!
The two men moved with overwhelming force, kicking and punching anyone in their way. Jin Guangyao had trained his disciples, who were stationed near Fangfei Palace, to be extremely vigilant. Even if they couldn't stop someone from intruding, they were expected to shout warnings to alert the master inside. However, at this moment, their cleverness backfired. The louder their warnings, the more disadvantageous the situation became for Jin Guangyao. Because countless powerful sects and families had gathered there today, the warnings would not only alert Jin Guangyao inside the palace but also attract them!
Jin Ling was the first to arrive. He had already drawn his sword and was holding it in his hand. He asked suspiciously, "What are you doing here?"
As they spoke, Lan Wangji had already stepped onto the third tier of the Ruyi Steps and drawn his Bichen sword. Jin Ling said warily, "This is my uncle's bedroom. You've come to the wrong place, haven't you? No, you've broken in. What do you want?"
The aristocratic clan leaders and cultivators gathered at Jinlintai also arrived one after another, all asking in surprise, "What's going on?" "Why is there such a commotion here?" "This is Fangfei Palace, is it not a good idea to come here..." "We just heard a loud alarm..."
Some were uneasy, others frowned and remained silent. There was no sound from inside the bedchamber. Wei Wuxian casually knocked on the door and said, "Sect Leader Jin? Immortal Supervisor Jin?"
Jin Ling angrily said, "What exactly do you want? You've already lured everyone here! This is my uncle's bedroom, you know what a bedroom is! Didn't I tell you not to..."
Lan Xichen walked up, and Lan Wangji looked at him. Their eyes met, and Lan Xichen's expression froze for a moment, then became complicated, as if he still couldn't believe it. It seemed he understood now.
Nie Mingjue's head is inside this Fangfei Palace.
Just then, a smiling voice rang out: "What's going on? Perhaps I failed to entertain you properly during the day? Would you all like to host a banquet here tonight?"
Jin Guangyao walked out from behind the crowd with an air of nonchalance. Wei Wuxian said, "Lianfang-zun, you've arrived just in time. If you had come any later, you wouldn't have been able to see what's in the secret chamber of your Fangfei Palace."
Jin Guangyao paused for a moment, then asked, "A secret chamber?"
Everyone was suspicious, wondering what was going on. Jin Guangyao looked slightly bewildered and said, "What's wrong? Secret rooms aren't unusual, are they? Everyone has a few hidden treasure rooms, right?
Lan Wangji was about to speak when Lan Xichen spoke first.
He said, "Ayao, may I open the door and take a look inside the secret room?"
Jin Guangyao seemed puzzled and somewhat embarrassed, saying, "Second Brother, since it's called a treasure room, the things inside must be hidden. Asking me to open it all of a sudden..."
In such a short time, it's impossible for Jin Guangyao to transport Qin Su to another location without her noticing. Teleportation talismans can only transport the caster, and given Qin Su's current condition, she definitely doesn't have enough spiritual power, nor does she have the will to use a teleportation talisman. Therefore, at this very moment, Qin Su must still be inside.
They were either alive or dead. And whether alive or dead, it would be fatal for Jin Guangyao.
It must be said that Jin Guangyao was indeed very clever. In a short period of time, he had already come up with all the countermeasures. Everything that followed was just part of his performance.
Seeing this, Jiang Cheng reached out and gave Jin Ling a hard tap on the forehead: "Look at you, not only can you not help, but you're making things worse!"
Jin Ling rubbed her forehead, looking aggrieved.
Uncle, all you do is criticize me. You didn't help at all, and it seems you even got tricked later.
But he dared not say those words aloud...
Despite his desperate struggle, Jin Guangyao remained calm, pushing the door away. Unfortunately, the more he refused, the more resolute Lan Xichen's tone became: "Open it."
Jin Guangyao stared at him intently, then suddenly smiled brightly and said, "Since Second Brother has said so, then I have no choice but to open it and let everyone see it."
He stood at the door, waved his hand, and the bedchamber opened wide. From the crowd, a man suddenly said coldly, "It is said that the Gusu Lan Clan values etiquette the most. It seems that the rumors are nothing but rumors. To force one's way into the bedchamber of the head of a clan is indeed a great honor."
Just now in the plaza, Wei Wuxian heard the Jin family disciples respectfully address this person as "Sect Leader Su," who was none other than Su She, the head of the Moling Su Clan, who had been rising in prominence in recent years. Su She was dressed in white, with long, narrow eyes, thin eyebrows, and thin lips; he was handsome, but also quite arrogant. His appearance and temperament were undeniably good. It was just a pity that, while good, he wasn't particularly outstanding.
Jin Guangyao said, "Never mind, there's nothing shameful about it."
His tone was perfectly controlled, making him seem very good-natured, yet with a subtle hint of awkwardness. Jin Ling followed behind him, feeling indignant that his uncle had been inexplicably forced into the room, and glared fiercely at Wei Wuxian several times.
Jin Guangyao then asked, "You want to see the treasure room, right?"
He placed his hand on the bronze mirror, drew an invisible incantation on its surface, and passed through it first. Wei Wuxian followed closely behind, entering the secret chamber and seeing the curtain covered with incantations on the display cabinet, and the iron table used for dismembering corpses.
I also saw Qin Su.
Qin Su stood with her back to them beside the iron table. Lan Xichen was slightly taken aback: "What is Madam Jin doing here?"
Jin Guangyao said, "We share everything, and A Su often comes in to take a look."
When Wei Wuxian saw Qin Su, he was slightly surprised: "Jin Guangyao didn't move her or kill her? Isn't he afraid of what Qin Su might say?"
Still uneasy, he moved to Qin Su's side and carefully observed her profile. Qin Su was still alive, and perfectly fine, showing no signs of distress. Although her expression was blank, Wei Wuxian was certain that she hadn't been affected by any evil magic or poison, and was fully conscious.
The more lucid she became, the stranger the situation seemed. He had witnessed firsthand how intense Qin Su's emotions had been and how much she had resisted Jin Guangyao. How could Jin Guangyao have reached an agreement with her and silenced her in such a short time?
Wei Wuxian had a bad feeling and realized that things weren't going as smoothly as he had imagined. He walked up to the display cabinet and suddenly lifted the curtain.
Behind the curtain, there was no helmet, no head, only a dagger.
The dagger gleamed with a chilling light and exuded a murderous aura. Lan Xichen had also been staring at the curtain, but hesitated to lift it. Seeing that it wasn't what he expected, he seemed relieved and asked, "What is this?"
“This?” Jin Guangyao walked up, picked up the dagger and examined it, saying, “It’s a rare item. This dagger was an assassin’s weapon, used to kill countless people, and it’s incredibly sharp. Look closely at the blade; you’ll find that the figure inside isn’t yourself. Sometimes it’s a man, sometimes a woman, sometimes an old man. Each figure is a ghost that died at the hands of an assassin. It has a very strong yin energy, so I added a curtain to seal it off.”
Lan Xichen frowned and said, "Could this be...?"
Jin Guangyao calmly replied, "That's right. It's Wen Ruohan's stuff."
Jin Guangyao was indeed clever. He had long anticipated that this secret chamber might one day be discovered, so besides Nie Mingjue's head, he had also placed many other magical treasures inside, such as swords, talismans, fragments of ancient steles, and spiritual artifacts—many of them rare items. This secret chamber did indeed appear to be just an ordinary treasure room. The dagger, as he had said, was indeed imbued with heavy yin energy and was a rare object. Many immortal sects and families had a penchant for collecting such weapons, especially trophies obtained from killing the head of the Qishan Wen clan.
Everything seemed perfectly normal.
Qin Su stood beside Jin Guangyao, watching him admire the dagger in his hand, when suddenly she reached out and snatched it away!
Her facial features twitched and trembled slightly, an expression that others couldn't decipher, but Wei Wuxian, who had secretly witnessed her argument with Jin Guangyao, could understand it.
Pain, anger, shame!
Jin Guangyao's smile froze, and he said, "A-Su?"
Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian both reached out to snatch the dagger, but Qin Su dodged, and the dagger's edge was already embedded in her abdomen.
Jin Guangyao cried out in despair, "A-Su!"
He rushed forward and caught Qin Su's limp body. Lan Xichen immediately fetched medicine to save her. However, the dagger was extremely sharp and filled with resentment and yin energy. In an instant, Qin Su was dead!
Everyone present was completely taken aback by this unexpected turn of events and was stunned. Jin Guangyao called out his wife's name several times in a sorrowful voice, cupping her face in his hands, his eyes wide open, tears streaming down her cheeks. Lan Xichen said, "A-Yao, Madam Jin... please accept my condolences."
Jin Guangyao looked up and asked, "Second Brother, what's going on? Why did A-Su suddenly commit suicide? Also, why are you all gathered in front of Fangfei Palace, wanting me to open the treasure room? Is there something you haven't told me?"
Those who witnessed Qin Su's suicide back then didn't know what had happened, and even thought that Wei Wuxian had cursed Qin Su.
But now it seems that Qin Su's death is inextricably linked to that letter and Jin Guangyao.
However, the true cause of the pain, anger, and humiliation that Wei Wuxian perceived will likely only be revealed to everyone at the Guanyin Temple at the end.
Jiang Cheng, who arrived later, said coldly, "Zewu-jun, please explain yourself. We are all completely confused."
Everyone echoed his sentiments, and Lan Xichen could only say, "Some time ago, several members of my Gusu Lan Clan were night-hunting when they passed through Mo Family Village and were attacked by a dismembered left hand. This left hand was filled with resentment and killing intent. Wangji was guided by it and followed the trail. However, after collecting all the bodies that had been torn apart by five horses, we discovered that this fierce corpse was... my elder brother."
An uproar erupted both inside and outside the treasure chamber!
Jin Guangyao was utterly astonished: "Big brother? Wasn't big brother buried? You and I saw it with our own eyes!"
Nie Huaisang thought he had misheard and stammered, "Big brother? Brother Xichen? You mean my big brother? And your big brother too???"
Lan Xichen nodded heavily. Nie Huaisang's eyes rolled back, and with a thud, he fell backward. A group of people hurriedly shouted, "Sect Leader Nie! Sect Leader Nie!" "Physician, come quickly!" Jin Guangyao's eyes were still filled with tears, but he seemed to be so angry that his eyes were red. He clenched his fists and said in grief and indignation, "Torn apart by five horses... torn apart by five horses! Who would dare to do such a heinous thing?!"
Lan Xichen shook his head and said, "I don't know. The clues went cold when we found the head."
Jin Guangyao paused for a moment, then suddenly realized: "The clues have gone cold... so you've come here to look for me?"
Lan Xichen remained silent. Jin Guangyao, seemingly incredulous, asked again, "Just now you asked me to open the treasure room because you suspected... that my brother's head was with me?"
Lan Xichen looked even more ashamed.
Jin Guangyao lowered his head, holding Qin Su's body. After a long while, he said, "...Never mind. Let's not talk about it. But Second Brother, how did Hanguang-jun know that there was a treasure room in my palace? And how could he be so sure that Brother's head was in my secret room? Jinlintai is heavily guarded. If I really did this, would I have let Brother's head be discovered by others so easily?"
Hearing his question, Lan Xichen was momentarily speechless. Not only was he speechless, but even Wei Wuxian was speechless. Who could have imagined that in such a short time, Jin Guangyao could not only transfer the head, but also, through some unknown method and words, induce Qin Su to commit suicide in public to silence her!
As his thoughts raced, Jin Guangyao sighed and said, "Xuanyu, is this what you said to my second brother and the others? What's the point of telling such an obvious lie?"
One of the family heads asked in confusion, "Lord Lianfang, who are you talking about?"
One person said coldly, "Who are you talking about? It's the one standing next to Hanguang-jun."
All eyes turned to him. The one who had spoken was Su She. He said, "Those who are not from the Lanling Jin Clan may not know who this is. This person is named Mo Xuanyu, an outcast from the Lanling Jin Clan. He was expelled for his improper conduct and for harassing Lianfang Zun. But according to recent rumors, he somehow caught the eye of Hanguang Jun and is now serving by his side. Why would Hanguang Jun, who is known for his elegance and uprightness, keep such a person by his side? It is truly puzzling."
Hearing him speak, Jin Ling's face turned extremely ugly. Amidst the whispers of the crowd, Jin Guangyao put down Qin Su's body, slowly stood up, placed his hand on the hilt of the Hensheng sword, took a step closer to him, and said, "I won't mention the past, but please tell me the truth. Qin Su committed suicide inexplicably. Did you do anything to help her?"
When Jin Guangyao lied, he was truly impeccably honest and full of arrogance! Hearing this, others naturally assumed that Mo Xuanyu harbored resentment towards Lianfang Zun, hence his slanderous words and that he had sabotaged Jin's suicide. Even Wei Wuxian couldn't think of a rebuttal. What could he say? How did he see Nie Mingjue's head? How did he sneak into the secret chamber? What about the person Qin Su, who was dead and unable to testify, had seen? What about the strange letter that could easily be dismissed as fabricated? Such explanations would only make things worse! As he frantically searched for a solution, Hensheng was drawn, but Lan Wangji stepped in front of him, and Bichen blocked the attack.
Seeing this, the other cultivators drew their swords. Two swords came from the side. Wei Wuxian had no weapon in his hand and could not block them. He looked back and saw that Suiyi was lying on the wooden frame. He immediately grabbed it and drew his sword!
Jin Guangyao's gaze sharpened, and he exclaimed, "The Yiling Patriarch!"
"Lianfangzun's actions are truly meticulous and watertight."
Seeing this, even Jiang Cheng, who was unaware of the situation that day, understood how things had come to this point.
Jin Guangyao had calculated that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji would rush to investigate the secret room on impulse within a short period of time. Unless Qin Su's testimony and Nie Mingjue's head were used as evidence, everything else would be considered nonsense by everyone.
So he made the right move, despite the risk.
The title "Yiling Patriarch" is enough to make people forget what they originally came here for.
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