Chapter 61

Chapter 61: Feng Xie 13

"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!"

Wang Lingjiao sat up screaming from her bed. At the desk, Wen Chao slammed his hand on the table and yelled, "What are you screaming about in the middle of the night? You sound like a ghost!"

Still frightened, Wang Lingjiao gasped for breath and said, "I... I dreamt about that Wei guy again. I’ve dreamt of him again!"

Wen Chao said, "It’s been over three months since I threw him into the Burial Mounds. Why do you keep dreaming about him? How many times have you had this dream?"

Wang Lingjiao said, "I... I don’t know why, but I’ve been dreaming about him a lot lately."

Wen Chao, already irritated from reading his letters, had no time for her and no patience to comfort her like he used to. He said impatiently, "Then just stay awake!"

She got off the bed and rushed to Wen Chao's desk, saying, "Young Master Wen, I... the more I think about it, the more scared I become. I feel like... did we make a huge mistake back then? What if he wasn’t dead after being thrown into the Burial Mounds? What if he..."

Wen Chao’s temples pulsed with anger. "How could that even be possible? Our family has sent numerous batches of cultivators to clear out the Burial Mounds before. Has any of them ever come back? His body must be long gone by now."

Wang Lingjiao said, "It’s still terrifying even if he’s dead! What if he returns as a vengeful spirit, just like he threatened..."

As they spoke, both shuddered, recalling the day when Wei Ying fell. The expression on his face sent a chill down their spines.

Wen Chao immediately retorted, "Dead is dead! Anyone who dies in the Burial Mounds has their soul trapped there. Don’t scare yourself silly. Can’t you see I’m already annoyed?"

He crumpled the letter in his hand, threw it, and said hatefully, "What 'Sunshot Campaign'? That’s a load of crap. Do they really think they can shoot down the sun? Yeah, right!"

Wang Lingjiao stood up, carefully poured him a cup of tea, pondered how best to flatter him, and then purred seductively, "Young Master Wen, those families can only act arrogant for a short while. Sect Leader Wen will certainly..."

Wen Chao cursed, "Shut up! What do you know? Get out of here, don’t bother me!"

Feeling hurt and resentful, Wang Lingjiao set down the teacup, fixed her hair and robe, and left with a fake smile.

As soon as she stepped out, the smile dropped from her face. She unfolded the crumpled letter she had secretly grabbed earlier, eager to find out what had made Wen Chao so angry. Since she wasn’t very literate, she puzzled over the letter for a long time before finally guessing its contents. The letter revealed that Wen Xu, the eldest son of the Wen family head and Wen Chao’s older brother, had been beheaded by a rebel leader and his head displayed as a warning!

Wang Lingjiao was stunned.

Despite the Gusu Lan Family being burned, the Yunmeng Jiang Family wiped out, and countless others crushed, there had been resistance. However, the resistance had always been quickly crushed by the Qishan Wen Family. Therefore, three months ago, when the Jin, Nie, Lan, and Jiang families formed an alliance and launched the so-called "Sunshot Campaign," they had not taken it seriously.

Sect Leader Wen had spoken at the time. Among the four families, the Lan family of Gusu had been utterly defeated and reduced to ashes. Lan Xichen had transferred the library and returned to take up the position of family head, but he was just a young generation member who couldn’t shoulder significant responsibilities. The most laughable was the Yunmeng Jiang Family, slaughtered and scattered, with only a young boy, Jiang Cheng, who was even younger than Lan Xichen, claiming to be the family head and raising a flag in rebellion while trying to gather new disciples.

In short, eight characters summed it up: "Insignificant and overestimating themselves!"

Everyone on Wen's side had considered the Sunshot Campaign a joke. However, three months later, the situation had not developed as they had expected!

Key locations such as Hejian and Yunmeng had been lost, and now, even the eldest son of Sect Leader Wen had been beheaded.

Wang Lingjiao wandered uneasily in the corridor, her heart unsettled, and returned to her room, her eyelid twitching nonstop. She rubbed her eyelid with one hand and pressed her chest with the other, thinking about her escape route.

She had been by Wen Chao’s side for almost half a year. Half a year was the limit of Wen Chao’s patience with a woman, from affection to boredom. She had thought she was different, the one who could last, but recently, Wen Chao’s growing impatience had shown her that she was no different from the others.

Biting her lip and thinking, Wang Lingjiao crouched down and pulled out a small box from under the bed.

This small box contained the wealth and treasures she had managed to gather while staying with Wen Chao. The money could be spent, and the treasures could protect her. Although unwilling, the time had come.

She wanted to check her stash, pulled a small key from her waistband, and muttered as she unlocked the box, "Cheap man, you oil-frog demon will die sooner or later. I don’t have to serve you anymore, and I’m happy about it..."

She fell to the ground.

Just now, when she opened the box, she saw what was inside.

There were no treasured possessions inside, only a pale-skinned child curled up in the box!

Wang Lingjiao screamed in terror, kicking her legs and scooting backward. She had always kept this box locked, with the only key kept on her person. How could there be a child inside? She rarely opened it, maybe once a month at most. How could a child be hidden inside without her knowing? And how could the child still be alive?!

The small box was kicked over, its opening flipped, with the bottom facing her. There was no movement for a long while.

Trembling, Wang Lingjiao climbed to her feet, wanting to take another look but not daring to. Her heart raced, "Ghost, ghost!"

Her cultivation was weak; she couldn’t handle a ghost even if there was one. However, she suddenly remembered that this was a surveillance outpost. Talismans were posted outside the main door and every room. If there were a ghost, the talisman would definitely protect her. In a hurry, she rushed out, peeled off the talisman outside her room, and pressed it to her chest.

With the talisman held against her chest, it was as if she had taken a reassuring pill. She tiptoed back into the room, found a clothes rod, and used it to flip the box from a distance. Inside, her treasures were neatly arranged—there was no child at all.

Wang Lingjiao let out a sigh of relief, crouching down with the rod in hand, ready to start counting her treasures. Suddenly, she noticed two white lights under the bed.

They were eyes.

A white child was lying under the bed, staring back at her.

This was the third time tonight that Wen Chao had heard Wang Lingjiao’s screams. His anger flared even more. “Stupid bitch! Constantly screaming and yelling—can't you give me a break?!”

If it weren’t for the constant stream of annoying news lately, and his lack of time to scout for new beauties—afraid they might be female assassins sent by those trash families, unreliable and untrustworthy—he would have kicked this woman out long ago. Wen Chao shouted, “Someone! Make her shut up!”

No one responded. Wen Chao kicked a stool away, his anger rising even higher. “Where the hell have all the people gone?!”

Suddenly, the door swung open. Wen Chao said, “I told you to make that bitch shut up, not to come in…”

He stopped mid-sentence, his throat tightening. Behind him, standing at the door, was a woman.

Her face was crooked, her features seemingly shattered and haphazardly reassembled. Her eyes looked in different directions—her left eye stared upwards diagonally, while her right eye gazed downwards. Her face was grotesquely twisted, almost unrecognizable.

It took Wen Chao a great deal of effort to recognize her by the skimpy, revealing clothes she wore. It was Wang Lingjiao!

Wang Lingjiao gurgled in her throat and took a few steps toward him, reaching out. “...Help... Help me...”

Wen Chao screamed, drawing his new sword and slashing at her. “Get away! Get away!”

Wang Lingjiao screamed as the sword cut into her shoulder, her features twisting even more grotesquely. “Aaaaaaah! It hurts! It hurts!!!”

Wen Chao, too frightened to even pull out the sword, grabbed a stool and threw it at her. The stool shattered upon impact, and Wang Lingjiao wobbled, knelt down, and fell to the ground, seemingly kowtowing to someone, mumbling incoherently, “...I’m sorry... I’m sorry... forgive me, forgive me, please...”

As she kowtowed, blood began to flow from her orifices. She blocked the door, stopping Wen Chao from escaping. He had no choice but to open the window and scream with all his might, “Wen Zhuliu! Wen Zhuliu!!!”

On the ground, Wang Lingjiao had already picked up a stool leg and was shoving it into her mouth frantically, laughing as she did so. “Good, good, I’ll eat it, I’ll eat it! Haha, I’ll eat it!”

To Wen Chao’s horror, she actually managed to shove part of the stool leg inside.

Wen Chao was horrified and was about to jump out the window when he suddenly noticed a black figure standing in the courtyard, bathed in moonlight.

At the same time—

Jiang Cheng stood before a grove of trees. Sensing someone approaching, he slightly turned his head. The person coming was dressed in white, wearing a forehead ribbon, with ribbons trailing behind him in the gentle breeze. His face was as white as jade, extremely handsome and elegant. Under the moonlight, he seemed to glow softly.

Jiang Cheng said coldly, “Lan Wangji.”

Lan Wangji looked solemn and nodded. “Family Head Jiang.”

After their greetings, they had nothing more to say. They led their respective groups of cultivators and silently flew on their swords.

Two months ago, the Lan family’s twin prodigies, together with Jiang Cheng, had launched a surprise attack on Wen Chao’s “Education Department,” retrieving the confiscated immortal swords and returning them to their rightful owners. The Three Poisons and Bichen were finally back in their respective hands.

Lan Wangji's light-colored eyes swept over the other sword at Jiang Cheng's waist, then returned his gaze to its original position.

After a moment, he looked straight ahead and said, "Has Wei Ying shown up yet?"

Jiang Cheng glanced at him, seemingly puzzled as to why he was suddenly asking about Wei Ying, and replied, "No."

He looked at the Suibian at his waist and said, "None of my people have found any trace of him yet, but if he comes back, he will definitely look for me. When he appears, I'll return the sword to him."

Not long after, the two led a group of cultivators to the surveillance hut where Wen Chao was hiding, preparing for a night raid. Before they could enter, Lan Wangji's eyes narrowed, and Jiang Cheng furrowed his brow.

Dark energy was overwhelming, and the air was thick with resentment.

However, the talismans on both sides of the door were intact. Jiang Cheng made a gesture, and the cultivators he brought spread out, lying under the walls. He wielded the Three Poisons, sending out a sword qi that knocked open the door.

Before entering, Lan Wangji's gaze swept over the talismans on both sides of the door.

The scene inside the surveillance lodge was gruesome.

The courtyard was filled with corpses. And not just the courtyard, but even the flower beds, corridors, wooden railings, and even the rooftops were stacked with bodies.

All these corpses wore fiery robes, the uniform of the Wen family disciples. Jiang Cheng used the Three Poisons to flip a corpse over and saw a bloodless face marked with haphazard blood stains. He said, "Blood oozing from every orifice."

Lan Wangji stood on the other side and said, "This one is not."

Jiang Cheng walked over and found that this corpse had its eyes rolled up, its face unrecognizable, with yellow bile flowing from its mouth. It had been scared to death.

A disciple under him said, "Family head, after examining them, all are dead, and each corpse died in a different manner."

Hanged, burned, drowned, poisoned, frozen, throat slit, sharp weapon through the head... After listening, Jiang Cheng said grimly, "It seems that something else helped us complete the task tonight."

Lan Wangji remained silent and entered the house first.

Wen Chao's room had its door wide open, with only a female corpse left inside. The female corpse, scantily clad, had half a stool leg shoved into her mouth and had actually stabbed herself to death trying to swallow the stool leg.

Jiang Cheng twisted the distorted face of the female corpse and stared at it for a while before sneering and grabbing the stool leg, forcefully stuffing the remaining half into her mouth.

With red eyes, he stood up, about to speak, when he saw Lan Wangji standing by the door, deep in thought. He walked over and followed Lan Wangji's gaze to see a yellow-background red-character talisman posted on the door.

At first glance, there was nothing wrong with this talisman, but upon closer inspection, some subtle details made one extremely uncomfortable.

Lan Wangji said, "Something’s off."

Jiang Cheng's brows sharpened, and he said, "Indeed."

By their mid-teens, they had memorized how to draw this kind of protective talisman. However, this talisman had a few extra strokes in its vermillion ink. These extra strokes changed the entire pattern of the spell. Now, the talisman on the door looked like a grinning human face, eerily so.

They didn’t find Wen Chao or Wen Zhuliu’s bodies inside the surveillance hut. Jiang Cheng speculated that they must have fled in the direction of Qishan and immediately led his people to withdraw from the abandoned surveillance hut to pursue them by sword. Lan Wangji, however, first returned to Gusu.

The next day, Lan Wangji caught up with Jiang Cheng and took out the previous talisman, saying, "This talisman was reversed."

Jiang Cheng said, "Reversed? What does that mean?"

Lan Wangji said, "Ordinary talismans ward off evil. This talisman summons it."

Jiang Cheng was shocked, "A talisman—can summon evil? Unheard of."

Lan Wangji said, "Indeed unheard of, but upon testing, it indeed has the ability to summon and gather malevolent forces."

Jiang Cheng took the talisman and examined it carefully, saying, "Just a few extra strokes completely changed the spell’s function? Was this intentional?"

Lan Wangji said, "A total of four strokes have been added, drawn with human blood. The entire surveillance compound's warding talisman has been altered. The style of the strokes points to the same person."

Jiang Cheng said, "Who could this person possibly be? Among the renowned figures of the clans, I've never heard of anyone capable of doing such a thing." He then added, "But no matter who they are, as long as their goal aligns with ours—wiping out those Wen dogs—that's enough."

Following the intelligence, the two headed north. Everywhere they passed, they heard about bizarre corpses found locally. These corpses, all wearing fiery robes and of high rank with considerable cultivation, were gruesomely killed in various ways and left exposed in crowded places. Jiang Cheng said, "Do you think that person also killed these people?"

Lan Wangji said, "There's heavy evil energy. It should be the work of one person."

Jiang Cheng snorted, "Evil? In this world, could there be anything more evil than the Wen dogs?!"

On the fourth night of the pursuit, the two finally caught sight of Wen Zhuliu near a post station in a remote mountain town.

The post station was a two-story building, with a stable nearby. When Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng arrived, they saw a tall figure rush into the building and lock the door from the inside. Wary of Wen Zhuliu's Alchemy Hand, the two decided not to alert him and climbed onto the roof instead. Jiang Cheng, clenching his teeth, barely holding back his seething hatred, peered down through the cracks in the roof tiles.

Wen Zhuliu, looking dusty from travel, carried a figure into the second floor, dragging his feet. He placed the person by the table, then rushed to the window to draw all the curtains, ensuring the room was completely sealed off from the outside. Only then did he return to the table and light an oil lamp.

The weak light illuminated his face, still pale and cold, with two thick dark circles under his eyes. The other person at the table was wrapped up tightly, even their face covered by a cloak, like a fragile cocoon, shivering and gasping for breath. Suddenly, they said, "Don't light the lamp! What if he discovers us?!"

Lan Wangji looked up and exchanged a glance with Jiang Cheng. Both were equally puzzled.

This person must be Wen Chao. But why did Wen Chao's voice sound like this, so high-pitched and unrecognizable?

Wen Zhuliu rummaged through things in his sleeve and said, "As if not lighting the lamp would prevent him from discovering us."

Wen Chao panted, "We've... we've run so far, for so long, he... he should... not be able to catch us anymore, right?!"

Wen Zhuliu said emotionlessly, "Maybe."

Wen Chao angrily said, "What do you mean maybe? If you haven't escaped, shouldn't you be running?"

Wen Zhuliu said, "You need medicine. Otherwise, you'll die."

With that, he pulled open Wen Chao's cloak. The sight above the roof made both men freeze in shock.

Under the cloak was not Wen Chao's arrogant, slick-looking face, but a head completely wrapped in bandages. Wen Zhuliu peeled the bandages off layer by layer, revealing burns and scars on the person's skin, making him look grotesque and hideous, completely unrecognizable.

Wen Zhuliu took out a bottle of medicine, gave him a few pills to swallow, then applied ointment to his burns. Wen Chao whimpered in pain, but Wen Zhuliu said, "Don't cry. Tears will make the wounds fester and hurt even more."

Wen Chao had to hold back his tears, unable to even cry. Beside the flickering light, a badly burned bald man bared his teeth, making unintelligible sounds. The light flickered weakly, casting a sickly yellow glow. The scene was unparalleled in its terror.

Suddenly, Wen Chao screamed, "The flute! Is it a flute?! I hear him playing the flute again!"

Wen Zhuliu said, "No, it's just the wind."

But Wen Chao had already fallen to the ground, screaming in terror. Wen Zhuliu picked him up again. It seemed Wen Chao's legs were unable to move on their own.

After finishing applying the medicine, Wen Zhuliu took out a few buns and handed them to Wen Chao. Jiang Cheng, seeing this pathetic sight, was reminded of the day he and Wei Wuxian fled, starving and desperate. Karma had come full circle.

Jiang Cheng felt a surge of joy, his lips curling into a silent, mocking smile.

Suddenly, Wen Chao bit into something and made a horrified expression, throwing the bun away and screaming, "I don't eat meat! I can't eat meat! No way!"

Wen Zhuliu handed him another one, saying, "This one is not meat."

Wen Chao said, "No! Take it away! Get away! I want to find my father. When can I go back to him?!"

Wen Zhuliu said, "At this pace, there are still two more days."

He spoke with brutal honesty, never sugarcoating or fabricating anything. This brutal honesty left Wen Chao in agony as he rasped, "Two days? Two days?! Just look at me! What do you see? If we wait two more days, what will be left of me?!"

Wen Zhuliu suddenly stood up, and Wen Chao flinched, terrified that he might abandon him and flee. All the guards had been brutally killed right before his eyes, leaving Wen Zhuliu as his last hope. He hurriedly corrected himself, "No, no, Wen Zhuliu, Brother Wen! Please don’t leave me behind! If you get me back to my father, I’ll make sure he makes you the top-ranking guest officer! No, no, you’re my brother!"

Wen Zhuliu gazed in the direction of the staircase and said, "No need."

Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng heard it too, not just him. Footsteps slowly ascending the inn’s staircase, one step at a time.

Someone was steadily climbing the stairs.

Wen Chao’s scarred face drained of its remaining color, and he trembled as he reached out his hands from under his cloak to cover his face, as if hiding his eyes would somehow shield him from the horror. And yet, those hands were completely bare—no fingers at all!

The figure slowly climbed the stairs, dressed in black, tall and slender, with a flute at their waist and hands clasped behind their back.

Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng, on the rooftop, both placed their hands on their sword hilts.

However, when the person leisurely reached the top of the stairs and turned their head with a smile, Lan Wangji, upon seeing that handsome face, widened his eyes in disbelief.