Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Grass and Trees Part 8

The sound of the bamboo cane hitting the ground suddenly appeared and disappeared, now far, now near, making it completely impossible to determine the direction, let alone what exactly was making this abrupt and eerie noise.

Wei Wuxian said, "Everyone, come closer, stay tight, don't move randomly, and don't draw your swords."

In the thick fog, if the younger generation were to randomly unsheathe their swords, they might not hurt their enemy but instead accidentally injure their own side. After a moment, the sound ceased abruptly. After waiting quietly for a while, a young noble muttered, "It's it again… How long is it going to follow us?!"

Wei Wuxian asked, "It's been following you this whole time?"

Lan Sizhui replied, "After we entered the city, because the fog was too thick, we were worried about getting separated, so we gathered together. Suddenly, we heard this sound. At that time, it wasn't this fast; it was slower, and we could vaguely see a short shadow walking ahead in the white fog. When we chased after it, it disappeared. Since then, the sound has been following us."

Wei Wuxian asked, "How small?"

Lan Sizhui gestured around his chest, "Very short and very small."

Wei Wuxian asked, "How long have you been inside?"

Lan Sizhui replied, "Almost half an incense stick's worth of time."

"Half an incense stick?" Wei Wuxian asked, "Hanguang Jun, how long have we been inside?"

Lan Wangji's voice came from behind the mist, "Almost one incense stick."

"You see," Wei Wuxian said, "We've been in here longer than you. How could you have ended up ahead of us? That's when we ran into you."

Jin Ling couldn't help but interject, "We didn't loop back. We've been walking forward on this road the whole time."

If everyone was walking forward, did that mean the road had been tampered with and turned into a circular maze?

Wei Wuxian asked, "Have you tried flying up on your sword to take a look?"

Lan Sizhui replied, "We tried. I felt like I flew up a long way, but actually, I didn't rise very high. There were some faint black shadows flickering in the air. I was worried we couldn't handle them, so I came back down."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent for a moment. The area in eastern Shu was known for its fog. At first, they hadn't paid much attention to the white fog in Yi Cheng, but now it seemed this was likely not naturally occurring fog but truly demonic mist.

Lan Jingyi exclaimed in surprise, "What if this fog is poisonous?!"

Wei Wuxian said, "It shouldn't be poisonous. We've been in here for ages and we're still breathing."

Jin Ling said, "I should have brought Xianzi with me. It's all because of your dumb donkey."

His skin crawled at the mention of the dog's name, and then he heard Lan Jingyi say, "We haven't blamed your dog yet! It started by biting first and got kicked right in the face by Little Apple."

Wei Wuxian exclaimed, "What?! My Little Apple was bitten by a dog?!"

Jin Ling said, "How can that donkey of yours compare to my spotted donkey? Xianzi was given to me by my uncle. If anything happens to her, even ten thousand donkeys couldn't compensate!"

Wei Wuxian bluffed, "Don't use Lianfang Zun to intimidate people. My Little Apple was a mount given by Hanguang Jun. How could you have taken Little Apple down for a night hunt and let it get injured?!"

The young members of the Lan family said in unison, "Liar!" They absolutely did not believe that Hanguang Jun would have chosen such a mount to give someone, and even though Lan Wangji didn't refute it, they still refused to believe it. Lan Sizhui added, "Um… Sorry, Mr. Mo. Your Little Apple has been causing a ruckus in Cloud Recesses for a long time now, and the seniors have complained about it. They ordered us to make sure to keep it away during this night hunt, so we…"

Jin Ling still didn't believe that the donkey was a gift from Lan Wangji. "That donkey is ridiculous. Who'd name a donkey 'Little Apple'? So stupid!"

Lan Jingyi, still thinking that it might indeed be a gift from Hanguang Jun and thus shouldn't be insulted, quickly defended the donkey. "What's wrong with Little Apple? It likes to eat apples, so it's called Little Apple. The name is way more down-to-earth. It's eighteen streets better than your fat dog named Xianzi!"

Jin Ling retorted, "Xianzi isn't fat! Try finding a more agile dog…"

Suddenly, there was complete silence.

After a moment, Wei Wuxian called out, "Is anyone still here?"

A chorus of muffled "uh-huhs" and "yeahs" came from the fog, confirming that everyone was still there. Lan Wangji’s voice cut through the fog like ice. "Quiet."

In an instant, Lan Wangji had silenced everyone. Wei Wuxian rubbed his lips, feeling a surge of relief.

Suddenly, the sound of heavy, labored footsteps emerged from the fog to their left.

The footsteps were slow and uneven, as if dragged by something heavy. Immediately after, similar sounds came from the front right, the front, the sides, and behind. Although the fog was too thick to make out any shadows, the putrid stench of decay had already drifted over.

Wei Wuxian wasn’t fazed by a few walking corpses. He let out a sharp whistle, its trailing note carrying a clear command to back off. The walking corpses behind the fog indeed paused when they heard the whistle.

But instead of retreating, they suddenly lunged forward!

Wei Wuxian hadn’t anticipated that the command would not only fail but also enrage them. He was absolutely certain he hadn’t confused the commands to "dismiss" and "provoke"!

But there was no time to think. Seven to eight wobbly figures appeared in the white fog. Given the density of the fog in Yi City, being able to see them meant they were already extremely close!

The icy blue sword light of Bichen cut through the white fog, encircling everyone and drawing a sharp circle in the air, slicing several walking corpses at the waist before returning to its sheath. Wei Wuxian breathed a sigh of relief, and Lan Wangji whispered, "Why."

Wei Wuxian was wondering why too. "Why didn’t the whistle work on these walking corpses? They’re slow and reek of decay; they’re definitely not high-level corpse monsters. I should be able to scare them off with a clap of my hands. My whistle doesn’t rely on spiritual energy, so it shouldn’t have failed."

Suddenly, a chilling realization hit him, and a cold sweat broke out on his back.

No, it wasn’t that it had "never happened before." In fact, it had happened more than once. There was one type of corpse or spirit he couldn’t control—those already under the influence of the Yin Tiger Tally!

Lan Wangji lifted the silence, and Lan Sizhui could speak again. "Hanguang Jun, is the situation very dangerous? Should we leave the city immediately?"

"But the fog is so thick, the road is impassable, and we can’t fly out..."

A young noble said, "It seems more walking corpses are coming!"

"Where? I don’t hear any footsteps."

"I think I heard some strange breathing sounds..." The young man realized how ridiculous his words sounded and fell silent in embarrassment. Another young man said, "I’m really impressed with you. Dead people don’t breathe, remember?"

Before he finished speaking, another bulky figure charged over. Bichen was out again, and the figure’s head was separated from its body, emitting a strange "splashing" noise. The nearby young nobles screamed in succession. Wei Wuxian, worried they might get hurt, hurriedly asked, "What’s wrong?"

Lan Jingyi said, "That walking corpse sprayed something out, some kind of powder. It’s bitter, sweet, and pungent!" He was quite unlucky; just as he was about to speak, a lot of the powder got into his mouth, and he couldn’t care less about his manners, spitting several times. The powder sprayed by the walking corpse was no small matter; it lingered in the air, and if one rashly approached and inhaled it, it would be more troublesome than swallowing it. Wei Wuxian said, "Everyone, stand farther away from that area! Come over here quickly, let me take a look."

Lan Jingyi said, "Oh. But I can’t see you, where are you?"

In the pitch-black darkness, where it was hard to even take a step, Wei Wuxian remembered that every time Bichen was unsheathed, its sword light could penetrate the white fog. He turned to Lan Wangji beside him and said, "Hanguang Jun, can you draw your sword so he can walk over."

Lan Wangji was standing next to him but did not respond or make a move.

Suddenly, seven paces away, a sharp, icy blue light pierced the fog. Wait, where was Lan Wangji?

Then who was the silent person standing on his left?!

Suddenly, Wei Wuxian’s vision darkened, and a black face loomed toward him.

It was black because a thick layer of dark fog covered this face!

This fog-faced person reached for the Sealed Evil Bag hanging at Wei Wuxian’s waist. As soon as he grabbed it, the bag suddenly swelled, the knot broke, and three entangled evil spirits full of resentment burst out, attacking him!

Wei Wuxian laughed. "You want to steal the Sealed Evil Bag? Well, your eyesight must be terrible if you grabbed my Soul-Locking Pouch instead!"

Ever since they took the torso freshly dug out by the grave digger at the Chang family graveyard in Liyang and forced him to retreat, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had been on guard, expecting that he would not give up and would seize an opportunity to strike again. Sure enough, as soon as they entered Yi Cheng, the grave digger made his move, taking advantage of the thick fog and the chaos of many people. He did succeed in his attempt, but Wei Wuxian had already swapped the Sealed Evil Bag containing the left arm with the Soul-Locking Pouch.

"Clang!" The other man leaped backward, drawing his sword. The blade sliced through the air, and the screams of the vengeful spirits, filled with malice, seemed to scatter in all directions. Wei Wuxian thought to himself, "He’s definitely a high-level cultivator." Then he shouted, "Hanguang Jun, the grave digger is here!"

There was no need for a reminder; Lan Wangji could tell from the sound alone that something was amiss. Silent and unmoving, he responded with the Bichen sword, its sharp qi weaving through the air like a shuttle.

The situation was not looking good. The grave digger's sword was covered in a layer of black fog, and its light could not penetrate through. It was well-hidden in the white fog. However, the light of Lan Wangji's Bichen sword could not be blocked. He was out in the open, while the enemy was concealed, a formidable opponent who was familiar with the sword techniques of the Gusu Lan Family. Additionally, they were both fighting blindly in the fog, and while the enemy could attack without restraint, Lan Wangji had to be careful not to injure their own side. This put him at a significant disadvantage. Wei Wuxian heard a few clashing sounds of blades and felt a tightness in his chest. Blurting out, he asked, "Lan Zhan? Did you get hurt?!"

From afar, a soft groan echoed, as if the enemy had been injured in a vital spot, but it was clearly not Lan Wangji's voice.

Lan Wangji said, "How could I?"

Wei Wuxian laughed. "Of course, who else could it be?"

The man seemed to sneer coldly and charged again with his sword. The clashing sounds of Bichen and the grave digger’s sword grew fainter and fainter. Wei Wuxian understood that Lan Wangji was deliberately leading the battle away to deal with the grave digger, not wanting to accidentally hurt them. The rest was naturally left to Wei Wuxian. He turned around and asked, "How are those who inhaled the powder?"

Lan Sizhui said, "They’re barely able to stand!"

Wei Wuxian said, "Gather in the middle and call out the numbers."

Fortunately, they had dealt with the wave of walking corpses and drawn the grave digger away. For now, nothing else came to disturb them. The sound of a bamboo pole tapping on the ground didn't emerge to cause trouble either. The remaining young nobles gathered together, counted their numbers, and found that everyone was still there. Wei Wuxian took Lan Jingyi and felt his forehead, which was slightly feverish. He checked the other boys who had inhaled the powder from the walking corpse, and they were also feverish. He lifted Lan Jingyi's eyelid and said, "Stick out your tongue."

Lan Jingyi said, "Ah."

Wei Wuxian said, "Hmm. Congratulations, you’ve been poisoned by corpse toxin."

Jin Ling said, "What’s so great about that?!"

Wei Wuxian said, "It’s a life experience, something to talk about when you're old."

Corpse poisoning typically happened when you were scratched or bitten by a corpse, or if your wounds came into contact with its necrotic blood. Cultivators rarely allowed walking corpses to get close enough to scratch or bite them, and no one carried antidotes for corpse poison around all the time. Lan Sizhui asked worriedly, "Mr. Mo, will they be alright?"

Wei Wuxian said, "They're fine for now, but once it flows into the blood and spreads throughout the body to the heart, there will be no saving them."

Lan Sizhui asked, "What... will happen?"

Wei Wuxian said, "You’ll become like the corpses. In the best case, you’ll rot and stink; in the worst case, you’ll turn into a hairy corpse and have to hop around from now on."

The poisoned young nobles all sucked in a breath of cold air.

Wei Wuxian said, "Want the cure?"

They nodded eagerly. "If you want the cure, listen up and follow my instructions. Everyone, obey me."

Although some of the younger ones didn't know him, seeing that he was on equal terms with Hanguang Jun, was close to him, and even called him by his name, combined with the fact that they were in the eerie, fog-covered Yi Cheng and now poisoned and feverish, they instinctively looked for someone to lead them. Wei Wuxian's carefree confidence made them follow him naturally, and they responded in unison, "Yes!"

Wei Wuxian pushed his advantage. "Do exactly as I say. Understood?"

"Understood!"

Wei Wuxian clapped his hands and said, "Everyone, get up. Those who aren’t poisoned, carry those who are, and it’s best to carry them on your back. If you have to lift them, make sure their heads and hearts are facing upwards."

Lan Jingyi said, "I can walk, why do I need to be carried?"

Wei Wuxian said, "Hey, if you keep moving, your blood will rush to your heart faster."

The boys immediately stood stiff as a board, and their companions carried them. One boy, carried on his fellow disciple's back, muttered, "That walking corpse that sprayed the poison powder was actually breathing."

The young man carrying him panted and complained, "I told you, if it breathes, it’s a living person."

Lan Sizhui said, "Mr. Mo, we’ve got them on our backs. Now where do we go?"

The most obedient and sensible one was definitely Lan Sizhui. Wei Wuxian said, "We can’t leave the city for now, so let’s start knocking on doors.

Jin Ling said, "Knock on what doors?"

Wei Wuxian thought for a moment and said, "Besides houses, what else has doors?"

Jin Ling said, "You want us to go into these houses? It’s already dangerous enough out here. Who knows what might be hiding inside, watching us."

As soon as he said that, everyone immediately felt as though many pairs of eyes were indeed hiding behind the thick fog and the houses, closely observing their every move and word. A shiver ran down their spines. Wei Wuxian said, "Exactly. It’s hard to say whether outside is more dangerous or if it’s worse inside the houses. But since outside is already like this, it can’t be much worse inside. Let’s go. We need to get the poison out of them quickly."

They had no choice but to follow Wei Wuxian’s instructions. Each person held onto the hilt of the person in front of them to avoid getting lost in the fog, and they went from door to door, knocking loudly. Jin Ling knocked hard for a long time but heard no response from inside the house. He said, "There’s no one in here. Should we go in?"

Wei Wuxian’s voice drifted over from afar, "Who said you could just barge in if no one answers? Keep knocking. We’re looking for houses with people inside."

Jin Ling said, "You want to find a house with people inside?"

Wei Wuxian said, "Yes. You were way too rough earlier. That’s not polite at all."

Jin Ling was so angry he almost kicked the wooden door down, but in the end, he just stomped hard on the ground.

Every house on this long street had its doors tightly shut. No matter how much they knocked, the doors remained unmoved. Jin Ling became more and more irritated the more he knocked, though he was using much less force now. Lan Sizhui, however, remained calm and composed, knocking on the thirteenth shop and repeating the phrase he’d said many times before, "Is anyone inside?"

Suddenly, the door panel moved a little. A thin black gap opened.

It was very dark inside, and it was impossible to see what was beyond the gap. The person opening the door didn’t say anything either. The young men standing nearby instinctively took a small step back.

Lan Sizhui steadied his nerves and said, "Is this the shop owner?"

After a moment, a hoarse and strange old voice came through the gap, "Yes."

Wei Wuxian walked over, patted Lan Sizhui on the shoulder, and told him to step back as well. He then said, "Shop owner, we’ve just arrived in your town and got lost in the thick fog. We’ve been walking for a long time and are quite tired. May we borrow your shop to rest for a while?"

The strange voice said, "My shop is not for resting."

Wei Wuxian didn’t seem to find anything unusual about this at all. His expression remained normal as he said, "But there doesn’t seem to be anyone else in the other shops. Are you really unwilling to help us? There will be a generous reward."

Jin Ling said, "I’m not lending you any money, by the way."

Wei Wuxian shook a delicate little coin pouch in front of him and said, "See this?" Lan Jingyi exclaimed in shock, "You’re so bold! That’s Hanguang Jun’s!"

As they were arguing, the gap in the door opened a little more. Although it was still impossible to see the interior, it was now clear that a gray-haired, expressionless old woman was standing behind the door.

Though she was hunched and looked old at first, she didn’t have many wrinkles or age spots—more like a middle-aged woman than an elderly one. She stepped aside, opening the door wide, and seemed willing to let them in.

Jin Ling was greatly surprised and whispered, "She’s actually letting us in?"

Wei Wuxian also whispered, "Of course. I’ve got my foot stuck in the door. She can’t close it even if she wanted to. If she doesn’t let us in, I’ll kick the door down."

Jin Ling said, "..."

Yi Cheng was already eerie and sinister, and its residents were clearly no ordinary people. The old woman was highly suspicious, and the group of young nobles felt uneasy. Although they were extremely reluctant to enter the house, they had no other choice. With no other choice, they reluctantly carried their poisoned and frozen companions inside. The old woman watched coldly as they entered, and as soon as they were all inside, she closed the door immediately. The room fell back into complete darkness. Wei Wuxian said, "Shop owner, why don’t you light the lamp?"

The old woman said, "The lamp is on the table. Light it yourself."

Lan Sizhui happened to be standing next to a table. He groped around and found an oil lamp, getting a handful of old dust in the process. He took out a fire talisman, blew on it to ignite it, and just as he was about to bring it close to the wick, he happened to glance up. A chill shot up his spine, and his scalp went numb.

The main room of the shop was densely packed with people standing shoulder to shoulder, filling the entire room. Every single one of them had wide, unblinking eyes, staring straight at them!