Chapter 46

Chapter 46: The Wily Child, Part 10

Wei Wuxian felt like he'd been doused with a bucket of cold water, freezing the smile on his face.

The tall figure stood under the withered tree, facing in his direction. If he had a head, it would have been silently staring at Wei Wuxian.

By the bonfire, the Lan family's younger members had also seen the shadow. Their hair stood on end, and they widened their eyes, ready to draw their swords. Wei Wuxian pressed his index finger to his lips and gently shushed them.

He gave them a look that said 'don't' and shook his head. Seeing this, Lan Sizhui silently pushed back Lan Jingyi's sword, which had been half-drawn from its sheath.

The headless person extended his hand, resting it on the nearby tree trunk, stroking it for a while as if pondering something or confirming what it was.

He took a small step forward, and Wei Wuxian got a clearer view of most of his body.

The clothes on this headless person were funeral garments, slightly tattered. They were the same ones worn by the torso they had dug out from the Chang family tomb.

At the feet of this headless person, a pile of fragments lay scattered. They were the shattered remains of several Sealed Evil Bags (magical containers used to imprison evil spirits).

Wei Wuxian thought, "I should have been more careful—this guy managed to put himself back together!"

Ever since he and Lan Wangji had entered Yi City, there had been constant upheavals. They hadn't played 'Rest in Peace' (a spiritual chant used to calm restless spirits) together in over two days. In the past few days, they had done their best to suppress the situation. However, the corpse's limbs had been collected, and their mutual attraction had greatly increased. Perhaps sensing each other's lingering resentment, they eagerly sought to reunite, breaking out of the Sealed Evil Bags and automatically assembling into a corpse while Lan Wangji was out on night patrol.

Unfortunately, this corpse was still missing a part. And it was the most important part.

The headless person placed his hand on his neck, feeling the neatly cut, scarlet wound, and after a while, he still couldn't find what he was looking for. As if angered by this fact, he suddenly struck out, slamming his palm against the tree beside him!

The trunk cracked in response. Wei Wuxian thought, "What a temper!"

Lan Jingyi held his sword before him, his voice trembling, "W-what kind of monster is this!"

Wei Wuxian said, "Looks like you didn't do your homework. What is a demon? What is a monster? This is clearly a corpse, belonging to the category of ghosts. How could it be a demon or monster?"

Lan Sizhui whispered, "Senior, are you sure it's safe to be so loud?"

Wei Wuxian said, "It's fine. I just realized that no matter how loudly we speak, it doesn't matter because he has no head, no eyes, and no ears. That means he can't see or hear. Try shouting yourselves."

Lan Jingyi said curiously, "Really? I'll try."

After saying so, he indeed shouted a couple of times. As soon as he finished, the headless person suddenly turned and walked towards the younger members of the Lan family.

The group of teenagers were terrified, and Lan Jingyi screamed, "Didn't you say it was fine?!"

Wei Wuxian cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "It's really fine, look! No matter how loud I am, he's not coming over. But it's not about the noise for you guys; it's the fire! Heat! Living people, and all males! Strong yang energy! He can't see or hear, but he can head towards where it feels lively. Quick, put out the fire, scatter, scatter!"

Lan Sizhui waved his hand, and a gust of wind extinguished the flames, and the group of teenagers dispersed in the abandoned garden.

Sure enough, once the bonfire was out and the people scattered, the headless person lost his direction.

He stood still for a moment, and just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly moved again and walked accurately towards one of the teenagers!

Lan Jingyi screamed again, "Didn't you say it would be fine once we put out the fire and scattered?!"

Wei Wuxian didn't have time to answer him and instead said to the teenager, "Don't move!"

He picked up a small stone from the ground, flipped his wrist, and threw it at the headless person. The stone hit him in the back, and the headless person immediately stopped in his tracks, turned around, and, after some consideration, headed towards Wei Wuxian instead.

Wei Wuxian moved very slowly, just managing to brush past the headless person, saying, "I said scatter, not run around. Don't run too fast. This headless ghost has high cultivation. If you move too quickly and create a slight breeze, he'll sense it."

Lan Sizhui said, "He seems to be searching for something... is he looking for his... head?"

Wei Wuxian said, "Exactly, he's looking for his head. With so many heads here, he'll rip each one off and try it on, checking if it fits him. If it does, he'll keep it for a while. If not, he'll toss it aside. So, you need to move slowly and hide carefully. Don't let him catch you."

Imagining their heads being torn off and bloodily attached to the neck of this headless fierce corpse, the group of young cultivators felt a chill and instinctively raised their hands to protect their necks. They began to slowly "flee" around the garden, as if playing a terrifying game of hide-and-seek with the headless ghost, where anyone caught would have to surrender their head. Whenever the headless man spotted one of the young cultivators, Wei Wuxian would toss a stone to divert his attention, luring him toward himself.

With his hands behind his back, Wei Wuxian moved slowly, observing the headless corpse's actions as he thought, "There's something strange about this guy's posture. He keeps swinging his arms with his fists loosely held. This movement..."

Before he could finish his thought, Lan Jingyi could no longer stand it and said, "Are we seriously just going to keep walking like this? How long do you think this will take?!"

Wei Wuxian thought for a moment and replied, "Of course not."

With that, he shouted loudly, "Hanguang Jun! Hanguang Jun! Are you back? Help!"

Seeing this, the others joined in, shouting even louder. Since the headless corpse couldn't hear, they felt emboldened, their voices growing more desperate. After a short while, a mournful flute melody echoed through the night, followed by the sharp, clear notes of a guqin.

Hearing the flute and guqin, the younger cultivators nearly wept with relief. "Hanguang Jun! Lord Ze Wu!"

Two tall figures appeared at the broken gate of the garden, both graceful and dressed in icy colors. One held a flute, the other a guqin, walking side by side. Upon seeing the headless figure, both were slightly startled. Lan Xichen's expression, in particular, was one of obvious shock.

In an instant, the icy cold Bichen sword was unsheathed. The headless man sensed the formidable and freezing sword energy and raised his arm to block. Wei Wuxian thought, "That movement again!"

Agile and quick, the headless man leaped to avoid the edge of Bichen and, incredibly, grabbed the sword's hilt! Holding the Bichen sword high, he seemed to be examining what he had grabbed, but lacking eyes, he could not see. When the group of young cultivators saw the headless man stop Hanguang Jun's Bichen with his bare hands, their faces turned pale, but Lan Wangji remained expressionless. He flipped out his guqin, plucked a string, and the sound transformed into an invisible sharp arrow, whistling toward the fierce corpse. The headless man swung his sword and shattered the sound, but Lan Wangji plucked all seven strings, sending out a high-pitched note. At the same time, Wei Wuxian drew his bamboo flute and played a sharp tune in harmony, creating a scene like a storm of swords and arrows raining down.

The headless corpse swung his sword again, but by then, Lan Xichen had recovered and brought the flute to his lips. As the elegant and peaceful flute sound filled the air, the headless corpse froze, seemingly listening intently. He turned, as if trying to locate the source of the music, but lacking a head and eyes, he could not see. Overwhelmed by the combined forces of the flute, guqin, and flute, he wobbled and collapsed.

Instead of falling down, he disintegrated, his limbs and torso scattering across the leaf-covered ground.

Lan Wangji put away his guqin and sheathed his sword. Together with Wei Wuxian, he walked over to the scattered remains and, taking out five new Sealed Evil Bags, prepared to seal the corpse again. The group of younger cultivators, still shaken, gathered around. After paying their respects to Lan Xichen, and before they could start chattering, Lan Wangji said, "Rest."

Lan Jingyi looked puzzled. "Wait, but it's not even the hour of the pig yet."

Lan Sizhui pulled him back and respectfully said, "Yes," without further questions. He led the other younger cultivators to relight a fire and rest in another part of the garden.

Only three people were left beside the pile of corpses. Wei Wuxian nodded to Lan Xichen and crouched down, preparing to seal the body. As he stuffed the left arm into the Qiankun Bag, Lan Xichen said, "Please, wait."

Wei Wuxian had already sensed something was amiss from Lan Xichen's expression. Sure enough, Lan Xichen's face was pale as he repeated, "Please... wait. I need to examine this corpse."

Wei Wuxian stopped and asked, "Lord Ze Wu, do you know this person's identity?"

Before Lan Xichen could answer, seemingly uncertain, Lan Wangji slowly nodded.

Wei Wuxian said, "Alright, I know who it is now."

Lowering his voice, he said, "Lord of the Red Cliffs, correct?"

During the game of hide-and-seek, the headless corpse had kept repeating a specific movement: swinging his arms with loosely clenched fists, slashing both horizontally and vertically. It looked as if he was wielding some kind of weapon.

Thinking of weapons, Wei Wuxian thought of swords. As a swordsman himself, he had fought many famous swordsmen, but he had never seen anyone use a sword in such a manner. A sword, being the "gentleman of weapons," required a certain elegance or grace from its wielder. Even an assassin's sword had a certain lethality and agility. In swordsmanship, actions like "stabbing" and "picking" were more common, while "chopping" and "slashing" were less so. The headless man's sword movements were too heavy, filled with killing intent and violence. There was no elegance or grace.

But if he was wielding a heavy, deadly blade instead of a sword, then it all made sense.

Swords and blades had completely different temperaments and styles of use. The headless man's preferred weapon in life must have been a blade. His blade technique was fierce, focused on overwhelming power rather than elegance. As he searched for his head, he was also searching for his weapon. That's why he kept repeating the slashing movements, even grabbing Bichen and treating the sword as if it were his blade.

Before the limbs and torso were temporarily reassembled by the lingering resentment, forming a functional corpse, there were no distinguishing marks like birthmarks to identify the body. It had been cut into pieces, making identification impossible. Even Nie Huaisang, who was present in the Hall of Sacrificed Weapons, wouldn't have been able to recognize the body. Wei Wuxian himself couldn't be sure he'd recognize his own leg if it were cut off and thrown around. It was only after the limbs and torso were temporarily held together by resentment, forming a functioning corpse, that both Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji recognized him.

Wei Wuxian said, "Lord Ze Wu, Hanguang Jun must have told you about everything we encountered on our journey—the Mo family estate, the grave digger, Yi Cheng, and so on."

Lan Xichen nodded. Wei Wuxian continued, "And Hanguang Jun must have also mentioned the masked man who used the Gusu Lan family's sword techniques to seize the corpse at the Chang family tomb. There are only two possibilities: either he is a member of the Lan family, trained in the Gusu Lan family's sword techniques from a young age, or he is not from the Lan family but has become extremely familiar with our techniques—either through frequent sparring with Lan family members or by having an exceptional memory that allows him to recall every move and sword path after seeing them just once."

Lan Xichen remained silent. Wei Wuxian then said, "He seized the corpse because he didn't want anyone to discover that Nie Mingjue had been dismembered. Once Nie Mingjue's body is pieced together, the situation will turn against him. This is someone who knows the secrets of the Nie family's sacrificial blade hall, someone who might be very close to the Gusu Lan family, and someone who has a... significant history with Nie Mingjue."

Who this person might be doesn't need to be said; it's clear to everyone.

Though Lan Xichen's expression was grave, he immediately said, "He would not do this."

Wei Wuxian asked, "Lord Ze Wu?"

Lan Xichen replied, "This month, while you were investigating the dismemberment case and encountering the grave digger, he has been staying up late, having long discussions with me by candlelight. Just a few days ago, we were still planning next month's grand summit for the Jin family of Lanling. He's been too busy for that; the grave digger cannot be him."

Wei Wuxian asked, "What if he used a teleportation talisman?"

Lan Xichen shook his head, his tone gentle but firm. "Using a teleportation talisman requires mastering teleportation arts, which is extremely difficult. He has never shown any signs of having learned it. Moreover, using this technique consumes a great deal of energy. Just recently, we went night hunting together, and he performed exceptionally well. I’m sure he hasn’t used a teleportation talisman."

Lan Wangji said, "He doesn't need to go in person."

Lan Xichen still slowly shook his head. Wei Wuxian said, "Lan Patriarch, you know who the prime suspect is; you just don’t want to admit it."

The campfire cast flickering shadows on the three men's faces, unpredictable. In the desolate, abandoned garden, there was complete silence.

After a moment of silence, Lan Xichen said, "I understand that, because of certain misunderstandings, the world has largely misjudged him. But... I only believe what I have seen with my own eyes over the years. I believe he is not that kind of person."

It was not difficult to understand why Lan Xichen would defend this person. To be honest, Wei Wuxian himself didn't have a bad impression of their suspect either. Perhaps due to his upbringing, he was very humble and approachable, the kind of person who always made others feel comfortable and at ease. After all, Lord Ze Wu had known him for years and had always seen him as a good friend.

When Nie Mingjue was alive, the Nie family of Qinghe was at its zenith under his leadership, its influence rivaling that of the Jin family of Lanling. Who benefited the most from Nie Mingjue’s death?

To die in public, driven mad by uncontrolled spiritual energy—seemingly an impeccable, unavoidable tragedy. But was the truth really so simple?