Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Grass and Trees Part 8

Jin Ling and the others felt their hearts pounding, afraid that Wei Wuxian might collapse while covering his eyes as he looked outside. Suddenly, Wei Wuxian let out a sharp "Ah!" and all the young nobles felt their hearts skip a beat, their hair standing on end. "What happened!"

Wei Wuxian whispered as quietly as he could, "Shh, don't speak. I'm watching it."

Jin Ling, keeping his voice even lower than Wei Wuxian's, asked, "What did you see? What's outside the door?"

Wei Wuxian didn't shift his gaze or answer directly, saying, "Hmm... hmm... amazing, amazing."

His delighted expression stirred their curiosity, and their interest quickly overshadowed their tension. Lan Sizhui couldn't help but ask, "Senior Mo, what's amazing?"

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

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

"I want to as well!"

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

"Yes!"

Wei Wuxian slowly moved aside, seemingly reluctant. Jin Ling was the first to step forward and peek through the narrow wooden slit.

By now, it was nighttime. The night air was chilly, and the demonic fog in Yi City had somewhat dissipated, allowing a vague view of the streets a few yards away. Jin Ling looked for a while but didn't see the "amazing and beautiful" thing Wei Wuxian had mentioned. Slightly disappointed, he thought, "Did I scare it away by speaking just now?"

Just as he was losing interest, a thin and shriveled figure suddenly flashed before the wooden slit.

Caught off guard and getting a full view of the figure, Jin Ling felt as if his entire scalp had been blown off. He almost screamed but somehow managed to hold it in. Stiffly maintaining his bent-over posture, waiting for the numbness on his head to pass, he couldn't help but look at Wei Wuxian. The infuriating man was leaning against the window board, standing to the side, one corner of his mouth hooked in a mischievous smile as he mocked, "Isn't it beautiful?"

Jin Ling glared at him, realizing he'd been played, and gritted his teeth, "Yeah..."

He straightened up, feigning indifference, and muttered, "It’s not much, barely worth looking at."

With Wei Wuxian and Jin Ling working together, the others' curiosity hit an all-time high. Lan Sizhui couldn't hold back and took the position. However, as soon as he put his eye to the slit, he honestly exclaimed, "Ah!" and jumped back, utterly startled. Seeing Lan Sizhui's terrified reaction, the others hesitated to step forward. They waved their hands, "No, no, we don't want to see!" Jin Ling spat, "Playing tricks at a time like this, I really don't know what you're thinking!"

Wei Wuxian said, "Didn't you trick someone too? Don't imitate your uncle's tone. Sizhui, was that thing scary?"

Lan Sizhui nodded honestly, "It was scary."

Wei Wuxian said, "Good, it's supposed to be scary. This is an excellent opportunity for your cultivation. Why do ghosts scare people? Because when people are scared, their spirit is shaken, and their vital energy is most easily siphoned away. Therefore, what ghosts fear the most are those with great courage. If you're not afraid of them, they can't do anything to you. So, as young nobles, the first priority is to build up your courage!"

Lan Jingyi, relieved that he hadn’t been curious enough to look earlier, mumbled, "Courage is something you're born with. Some people are naturally timid, what can be done?"

Wei Wuxian said, "Were you born knowing how to ride the wind and wield a sword? You learn by practicing. Similarly, you get used to being scared by experiencing it. A latrine stinks, right? But trust me, after a month in a latrine, you’d get used to eating there."

The young nobles shuddered, refusing in unison, "No way!!! We don't believe it!!"

Wei Wuxian said, "I'm just making an analogy. Okay, I admit, I've never lived in a latrine, so I don't know if I could eat there. I was just talking nonsense. But you must try looking at the thing outside. Not just look, but observe its details closely and find any weaknesses it might have. Stay calm under pressure and look for a chance to counterattack. I’ve given you a lot to think about—do you understand? Ordinary people don't get the chance to receive my guidance, so cherish it. Don't back away; come over and line up, one by one."

"...Do we really have to look?"

Wei Wuxian said, "Of course, I never joke or trick people. Let's start with Jingyi."

Lan Jingyi said, "Ah? I don’t need to, right? You said those poisoned by corpse toxins can’t move."

Wei Wuxian: "Stick out your tongue. Ah."

Lan Jingyi: "Ah."

Wei Wuxian: "Congratulations, your poison is cured. You've bravely taken the first step, come on!"

Lan Jingyi: "It's cured this fast?! Are you tricking me?"

Despite his protests, Lan Jingyi steeled himself and walked to the window, glancing back and forth nervously. Wei Wuxian knocked on the wooden board and said, "What are you afraid of? I'm right here, and it won't dare come through this board to get your eyeballs."

Lan Jingyi jumped back and said, "I'm done looking!"

Then it was the next person's turn, and everyone made a hissing sound when they saw it. After everyone had taken a look, Wei Wuxian said, "Done looking? Now, each of you tell me what details you saw. Let's summarize."

Jin Ling chimed in first, "White eyes. Female. Very short and thin. Not bad-looking. Holding a bamboo pole."

Lan Sizhui thought for a moment and said, "This girl was probably about chest-high to me. Her clothes were tattered and unkempt, like the attire of a street beggar. That bamboo pole appears to be a cane, suggesting she was blind even before she died."

Wei Wuxian commented, "Jin Ling saw a lot, but Lan Sizhui saw the details."

Jin Ling pouted.

A young man said, "The girl was likely around fifteen or sixteen, with a heart-shaped face and a delicate, lively expression. She had long hair tied with a wooden hairpin, the end of which was carved with a small fox head. She was small and slender. Although she wasn't clean, she wasn't dirty either and wasn't unpleasant. With some grooming, she would definitely be a lovely beauty."

Wei Wuxian was impressed and praised him greatly, "Nice work! You're really paying attention to the details. With that kind of observation, you'll be a real romantic in no time!"

The young man blushed, turned toward the wall, covering his face, ignoring the teasing of his companions. Another young man said, "It seems the sound of the bamboo pole tapping was made as she walked. If she was already blind during her life, after becoming a ghost she would still be unable to see and must rely on that cane."

Another young man added, "But that doesn't make sense. Blind people usually move cautiously, but this ghost moves quickly—faster than any blind person I've ever seen."

Wei Wuxian smiled and said, "Good thinking. That's exactly the kind of analysis we need—don't overlook any details. Let's bring her in and figure out what's going on."

Without further ado, he immediately started removing a wooden board. Not only were the young men inside startled, but even the ghost outside was taken aback and raised her bamboo pole in defense.

Wei Wuxian first greeted the ghost and then asked, "Miss, you've been following them. Do you have something to say?"

The young girl widened her eyes. If she had been alive, she would have been incredibly charming. However, she had no eyeballs, and two streams of blood flowed from her eye sockets, making her look terrifying. There were more gasps from behind, and Wei Wuxian said, "What are you afraid of? You'll see plenty of ghosts bleeding from the seven orifices in the future. Two isn't so bad, right?"

The girl had been anxiously pacing in front of their window, tapping the ground with her bamboo pole, stomping her feet, and glaring, but now she suddenly changed her actions. She gestured wildly, trying to communicate. "Strange," Jin Ling said, "can't she speak?"

Upon hearing this, the girl's ghost paused her actions and opened her mouth at them. Blood gushed from her empty mouth. Her tongue had been completely ripped out.

The young nobles shuddered and felt a wave of sympathy. "No wonder she couldn't speak. Blind and mute—how tragic."

Wei Wuxian asked, "Is she using sign language? Does anyone understand?"

No one did. The girl became anxious and stomped her feet, writing and drawing on the ground with her bamboo pole. But she was clearly not from a scholarly family and couldn't write properly, leaving behind a mess of doodles that made it impossible to understand what she was trying to express.

At that moment, from far down the street, there came the sound of hurried footsteps and panting.

The girl's ghost suddenly disappeared, but since she would probably find her way back, Wei Wuxian wasn't worried. He quickly reinserted the wooden board and continued peeking out through the crack. The other young nobles also wanted to see what was happening outside and crowded to the door, their heads stacked from top to bottom, blocking the crack with their gazes.

The fog, which had thinned earlier, began to flow again. A disheveled figure burst through the fog, stumbling toward them.

This person was dressed in black and seemed injured, stumbling as they ran. A sword hung from their waist, also wrapped in black cloth. Lan Jingyi whispered, "Is that the fog-masked person?"

Lan Sizhui whispered in response, "It probably isn't. That fog-masked person's movements are completely different from this person's."

A group of walking corpses, which had been following him, moved extremely fast and quickly caught up. The man drew his sword to meet them in battle. The sword's brilliant light sliced through the fog, and Wei Wuxian couldn't help but admire, muttering to himself, "Now that's a fine blade!"

But as the sword swept across, that familiar "splash, splash" sound echoed again. Black-red corpse dust spewed from the severed limbs of the walking corpses. The man was surrounded, with no place to dodge. He stood there, getting a face full of the necrotic powder. Lan Sizhui watched with concern and whispered, "Senior Wei, what should we do about this person?"

At that moment, another group of walking corpses closed in, completely surrounding the man and cutting off his escape. He swung his sword again, causing more of the corpse dust to burst into the air. He inhaled even more and seemed to be losing his footing. Wei Wuxian said, "This man needs to be saved."

Jin Ling replied, "How are you going to save him? We can't get near. The air is filled with corpse poison powder; getting close means getting poisoned."

After a moment of thought, Wei Wuxian left the window and stepped into the main hall. The eyes of the young nobles followed him involuntarily. In the room stood a group of paper effigies with various appearances, quietly positioned between two large funeral wreaths. Wei Wuxian slowly walked past them and stopped in front of a pair of female paper effigies.

Each paper effigy had a different appearance, but this pair seemed to be deliberately made as twin sisters. Their makeup, clothing, and facial features were identical, as if crafted from the same mold. Their eyes were curved in smiles, as if they could be heard giggling. Their hair was styled in twin buns, adorned with red bead earrings, gold bracelets softly clinking on their wrists, and delicate embroidered shoes on their feet—maids from a wealthy household through and through.

Wei Wuxian said, "These two will do."

He casually swiped across the unsheathed sword of one of the young men, pulling a wound across his thumb, then turned and painted eyes on the two paper effigies, giving them four glowing pupils.

Stepping back, he smiled and said, "Painted eyes, and they shall come."

A cold wind, seemingly from nowhere, suddenly swept through the entire shop. The young nobles instinctively gripped their swords.

The twin paper effigies shuddered as if coming to life.

In the next moment, genuine giggles emerged from their crimson-painted lips!

The Summoning by the Painted Gaze!

As if they had seen or heard something extremely amusing, the pair of paper effigies laughed wildly, their eyes—painted with the blood of living people—rolling around in their sockets. The scene was both charmingly beautiful and eerily sinister. Standing before them, Wei Wuxian gave a slight nod and bowed his head in a respectful gesture.

Returning the courtesy, the pair of paper effigies bowed back deeply.

Wei Wuxian pointed outside and said, "Bring the living person inside—annihilate everything else."

From the mouths of the paper effigies came high-pitched, shrill laughter. A cold wind rushed in, and the door flung open wide!

The two paper effigies rushed out together, into the circle of walking corpses. It was hard to believe how deadly these paper effigies could be, despite being made of mere sheets of paper. With each swing of their delicate embroidered sleeves, they sliced off an arm or half a head of a walking corpse, their sleeves turning into sharp blades. Their laughter echoed down the street, both enchanting and chilling to the bone.

In no time, fifteen or sixteen walking corpses had all been reduced to unrecognizable pieces scattered on the ground!

The two paper maids had won a great victory and, following the command, carried the exhausted fugitive inside. Afterward, they jumped back outside, and the door closed automatically. They stood guard outside the door, as quiet as guardian lions.

The young nobles inside were utterly astonished.

They had only heard descriptions of evil and unorthodox paths in books or from their elders before. At that time, they couldn't understand why so many people wanted to learn these paths or why the Yiling Patriarch had so many followers. But now, witnessing it with their own eyes, they realized the eerie allure of these unorthodox methods. And this was just the tip of the iceberg—the "Summoning by the Painted Gaze." Most of the young nobles, after coming to their senses, showed no signs of rejection. Instead, they were filled with excitement, feeling they had gained valuable knowledge to share with their fellow disciples. Only Jin Ling looked quite upset.

Lan Sizhui moved to help Wei Wuxian support the man, but Wei Wuxian said, "Don't come near. Be careful not to get any corpse poison powder on you. It might cause poisoning if it gets on your skin."

When the paper effigies brought the man inside, he was barely conscious. He had regained some awareness and, worried that coughing might spread the corpse poison to others, covered his mouth and whispered, "Who are you people?"

He didn't ask because he didn't recognize the people in the room—he couldn't see them at all.

This person was blind.

He was also quite handsome, with a straight nose and thin lips showing a faint red hue, almost handsome. He looked quite young, between youth and adulthood, which was a pity. Wei Wuxian thought to himself, "Why have I been encountering so many blind people lately? Both alive and dead."

Suddenly, Jin Ling said, "Hey, we don't know his identity yet. Friend or foe? Why did you rashly save him? What if he's a villain? Isn't it like we've brought a snake into the house?"

Jin Ling's words made sense, but it was a bit awkward to say it so bluntly to his face. However, the man didn't seem angry and wasn't worried about being thrown out. He smiled slightly, revealing a pair of small tiger teeth, and said, "This young man is quite right. It would be best if I left."

Jin Ling didn't expect this response and was momentarily at a loss for words, muttering incoherently. Lan Sizhui quickly stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "But there's also a chance he's not a villain. Either way, it would go against our family's teachings to ignore someone in need."

Jin Ling stubbornly said, "Alright. You're all good people. Don't say I didn't warn you if someone gets hurt."

Lan Jingyi said angrily, "You..." But before he could finish, he was speechless.

Because he saw the sword leaning against the table. The black cloth wrapped around the sword had slipped halfway, revealing the blade.

The craftsmanship of the sword was exquisite. The scabbard, a deep bronze color, was intricately carved with hollow frost patterns. Through these patterns, the exposed blade shimmered like a silver star, its surface reflecting a snowflake-like brilliance, a beauty that was both pure and dazzling.

Lan Jingyi's eyes widened, as if he was about to blurt something out. Although Wei Wuxian didn't know what he was going to say, since the person had covered the sword with black cloth, he obviously didn't want it to be seen. Instinctively not wanting to stir up trouble, Wei Wuxian reached out and covered Lan Jingyi's mouth, placing his index finger in front of his lips to signal the other surprised boys to stay silent.

Jin Ling mouthed two words to him and then wrote two characters on the dusty table:

"Frostmist."

...Frostmist sword?

Wei Wuxian silently mouthed: Xiao Xingchen's—Frostmist sword?

Jin Ling and the others nodded in confirmation.

Although these boys had never met Xiao Xingchen in person, "Frostmist" was a renowned sword, not only powerful in magical energy but also beautifully distinctive in appearance, having been depicted in countless versions of the Famous Swords Catalogue, making it unforgettable to those who saw it. Wei Wuxian thought: If the sword is Frostmist, and the person is blind...

One of the boys couldn't help but reach out to touch the bandage covering the person's eyes, wanting to remove it to see if the eyes were still there. But as soon as his hand touched the bandage, the person's face showed an expression of extreme pain, subtly stepping back as if terribly afraid of being touched on the eyes.

The boy realized his mistake and quickly withdrew his hand, saying, "Sorry, I didn't mean to."

The person raised his left hand, wearing a thin black glove, wanting to cover his eyes but not daring to touch them, as if even a light touch would cause unbearable pain. Beads of sweat had appeared on his forehead, and he forced a smile, saying, "It's... nothing."

But his voice trembled slightly.

This behavior almost confirmed that this person was Xiao Xingchen, who had gone missing after the Liyang Chang family incident.

Xiao Xingchen, unaware that his identity had been discovered, endured the pain and reached for his Frostmist sword. Wei Wuxian quickly pulled the slipped cloth back up. Xiao Xingchen touched Frostmist, nodded, and said, "Thank you for your help. I'll be on my way."

Wei Wuxian said, "Don't go just yet. You're poisoned with corpse toxin."

Xiao Xingchen asked, "Is it serious?"

Wei Wuxian replied, "Very serious."

Xiao Xingchen said, "Since it's serious, why stay? It's already too late for a cure, so I might as well kill a few more living corpses before I turn."

Hearing him speak so calmly about life and death, the young cultivators felt a surge of determination. Lan Jingyi couldn't help but blurt out, "Who says there's no cure? Stay! He can heal you!"

Wei Wuxian said, "Me? I'm afraid you're mistaken. There's not much I can do." He felt embarrassed to admit that Xiao Xingchen had inhaled too much corpse poison powder, his face showing signs of blackish-red, indicating deep poisoning. At this point, even rice porridge wouldn't be effective.

Xiao Xingchen said, "I've already killed many living corpses in this city, and they've been following me. More will come soon. If I stay, you'll all be overwhelmed by the horde sooner or later."

Wei Wuxian asked, "Do you know why this Yi Cheng city became like this?"

Xiao Xingchen shook his head and said, "I don't know. I was just a wandering cultivator who learned of the strange events here and entered the city for night hunting. The number and strength of the living corpses and walking corpses in this city are beyond what you've experienced. Some are fast and hard to defend against. Some, when killed, burst into corpse poison powder. If you don't kill them, they'll pounce and bite, also leading to poisoning. They're difficult to deal with. Judging by your voices, there are several young men here. I advise you to leave as soon as possible."

Just then, the eerie giggles of the paper sisters echoed from outside the door. This time, the laughter was sharper and more unnerving than ever before.