Chapter 80

Chapter 80: Dan Xin Part 19 (2)

After the previously buzzing Burial Mounds fell silent again, Lan Wangji turned to Wei Wuxian and said, "You continue."

Su She's eyes burned with rage, but his lips were sealed shut, and his throat felt parched. More than the frustration of being silenced, what truly enraged him was the humiliation of being subdued by Lan Wangji. He repeatedly scratched his throat with his fingers, trying to break the curse, but to no avail. He had no choice but to look at Lan Qiren. However, Lan Qiren's expression was cold and unmoving, not even glancing at him. Lan Qiren could have lifted the curse originally, and if a senior from the Lan family had done so, out of respect, Lan Wangji would not have cast the spell on him again. But due to the many unpleasantries between the Suling Su family and the Gusu Lan Family, Lan Qiren had no intention of helping him at this moment.

Everyone understood that as long as someone tried to argue with Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji would silence them, and for a moment, they were as quiet as cicadas in winter. However, there's always someone bold enough to step forward at such times, mocking, "Wei Wuxian, you really are the Yiling Patriarch! So domineering, now you want to silence everyone?"

Wei Wuxian said, "How strange."

Lan Sizhui asked, "Senior Wei, what's strange?"

Wei Wuxian replied, "This Su family head has been acting oddly since earlier. When the corpses closed in, he urged those who had lost their spiritual power not to seek survival but to die quickly. Now he's blocking my mouth, preventing me from questioning. Moreover, he keeps trying to provoke me, as if he's afraid you all might survive a moment longer. What kind of logic is this? Is this how allies behave?"

With Wei Wuxian's mention, many people began to feel suspicious: this Su family head's words today indeed seemed excessive. However, since others did not express their opinions, they also chose to remain silent cautiously. Another part of the crowd began to secretly ponder what they had done before or during their ascent up the mountain. Wei Wuxian looked at the disciples of the Suling Su family, standing far from those of the Gusu Lan Family, with the latter not even sparing a glance at the former. The more he observed, the more he sensed something was amiss, and he whispered to Lan Wangji, "Hanguang Jun, let me ask you something. Both the Gusu Lan Family and the Suling Su family are music-based cultivators, and Gusu and Suling are both in the Jiangnan region, not far apart. Generally speaking, shouldn't their relationship be quite good? Why does it feel like the relationship between the two families is very bad?"

Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi squeezed over, and upon hearing this, Lan Jingyi loudly said, "Of course, the relationship is bad!"

Lan Wangji said, "The Suling Su family is a branch that broke away from the Gusu Lan Family."

Wei Wuxian exclaimed, "What?"

Lan Sizhui covered Lan Jingyi's mouth and whispered, "Senior Wei, you might not know this. The Suling Su family was established by an outsider disciple who left the Gusu Lan Family. Unable to escape the shadow of the main family, their secret techniques closely resemble those of the Gusu Lan Family, excelling in music, and even the family head Su Minshan's top-grade spiritual artifact is a seven-stringed zither akin to Hanguang Jun's."

Wei Wuxian glanced back at the gloomy-faced Su She, feeling utterly speechless. Lan Jingyi broke free from Lan Sizhui and said angrily, "Not only that, but there's even more absurdity! This Su family head... alright, I know I should speak softly! This Su family head not only imitates everything but is also particularly sensitive about anyone saying he imitates our Hanguang Jun, or else he immediately gets angry. How can there be such a person in the world!" Hearing him speak louder and louder, Lan Sizhui helplessly said, "Jingyi!"

Su She had heard everything clearly, his face ashen, eyes filled with rage, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, finally forcefully breaking the silencing spell. But when he opened his mouth, his voice was as hoarse as if he had aged ten years, saying, "What a fine Gusu Lan Family, renowned for its elegance and righteousness, filled with esteemed scholars, the pinnacle of mystical sects! Is this how you instruct your disciples?"

Family Head Ouyang said, "Family Head Su, with a great enemy before us, let's not harm our own harmony." Su She sneered, "Our own? Look at the Gusu Lan Family, all tangled up with Wei Wuxian, what kind of 'our own' is that?"

Hearing this, the others from the Gusu Lan Family were not pleased. Lan Qiren glanced at him but said nothing, while an elderly high-ranking guest showed a hint of anger on his face: "Su Minshan, even if you are no longer part of the Gusu Lan Family, you should still choose your words carefully!"

Immediately, a disciple from the Suling Su family stepped forward: "Our family head has long since left your Gusu Lan Family, by what right do you speak to him like this?"

Lan Jingyi, already full of grievances towards the Suling Su family, loudly retorted, "Your family head has his current status because of the teachings he received from our Gusu Lan Family, how can he bite the hand that fed him and we can't say anything?"

In the Burial Mounds, the two groups began to glare at each other, exchanging taunts, and someone from the Suling Su family shouted, "The Gusu Lan Family has so many disciples, can each of them establish their own family? Isn't that too arrogant!"

Someone from the Gusu Lan Family immediately countered, "Who's being arrogant? I wonder whose demon-subduing music is full of mistakes and yet remains completely unaware!"

At this statement, Wei Wuxian suddenly had a moment of clarity!

He said, "It's not the food, nor the feng shui!"

Everyone was stunned, and Wei Wuxian continued, "You've all forgotten, after coming up the mountain, there's one thing you all did."

Lan Sizhui asked, "What is it?"

Wei Wuxian said, "Killing walking corpses."

Ouyang Zizhen blurted out, "Ah, could it be like in Yi Cheng, where the walking corpses had corpse poison powder inside them?! Dad, when you killed those walking corpses and fierce corpses, did any strange-colored powder spray out from their bodies?"

Family Head Ouyang said, "No powder, none!"

Ouyang Zizhen, unwilling to give up, asked, "Then... then liquid?"

Jiang Cheng coldly said, "Enough. If there were any strange powder or liquid spraying out after killing the walking corpses, we wouldn't have failed to notice anything unusual."

Ouyang Zizhen, thinking he had caught onto something mysterious, blushed and scratched his head in embarrassment, while his father quickly pulled his overly excited son down to sit properly. Wei Wuxian said, "It is indeed related to killing walking corpses. However, the problem isn't with the walking corpses themselves, but with the people who killed them."

He turned to Lan Qiren and said, "Old Master Lan, may I ask you something?"

Lan Qiren glanced at Lan Wangji and replied indifferently, "If you have a question, why don't you ask him instead of coming to me?"

Although Lan Qiren was pedantic, he was not a fool and had already sensed something amiss. He had patiently listened for so long, but his expression remained grim. However, Wei Wuxian, who had been on the receiving end of Lan Qiren's cold looks since childhood and had faced countless others' disdain, was unfazed. Considering that Lan Qiren was the uncle who had raised Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian felt no need to be upset. He stroked his chin with a sly smile and said, "I was just afraid that asking him too many questions in front of you might upset you. But since you've told me to ask him, I will. Lan Zhan?"

Lan Wangji responded, "Hmm."

Wei Wuxian continued, "The Suling Su family is a branch that separated from the Gusu Lan Family, right?"

Lan Wangji replied, "Hmm."

Wei Wuxian asked, "Even after separating, the Suling Su family's techniques were adapted from the Gusu Lan Family, right?"

Lan Wangji answered, "Yes."

Wei Wuxian said, "One of the Gusu Lan Family's secret techniques, the 'Breaking Barriers Sound,' has the effect of dispelling evil and repelling demons. Among these, the guqin is the most profound and advanced, so it's no surprise that most cultivators specialize in it. The Suling Su family, following suit, also has the most guqin cultivators, correct?"

Lan Wangji confirmed, "Correct."

Wei Wuxian continued, "Although the Suling Su family's head left the Gusu Lan Family with his skills and established his own sect, his own guqin skills are not particularly outstanding. The disciples he teaches often make mistakes, don't they?"

Lan Wangji replied frankly, "Yes."

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji exchanged questions and answers as if no one else was present. More and more people began to realize that they were not merely mocking Su She but were unraveling the truth layer by layer, so they listened more attentively. Wei Wuxian then slowly said, "...So, even if there was a part of the battle melody played by the Suling Su family during the fight against the walking corpses that sounded off, the Gusu Lan Family would simply assume it was due to their poor skills or a misremembered score, and wouldn't pay attention to whether it was a mistake or intentional, right?"

At this final question, Su She's pupils contracted, and his hand clenched the sword hilt, veins popping as the blade silently inched out of its sheath. At the same time, Lan Wangji raised his eyes, and both he and Wei Wuxian saw a glimmer of understanding in each other's eyes.

Lan Wangji said word by word, "Exactly so."

Su She abruptly drew his sword, but Wei Wuxian used two fingers to push the blade aside, smiling, "What are you doing? Don't forget, you've lost your spiritual power. Is threatening me useful now?"

Su She held his sword, unsure whether to strike or sheathe it, and gritted his teeth, "What are you hinting at with all this back and forth?"

Wei Wuxian replied, "Was I too subtle, so you thought I was insinuating something? Then let me make it clearer. Everyone here lost their spiritual power because they all did the same thing. What was it? Killing walking corpses. While killing the walking corpses, this Su She of the Suling Su family was with you all the way. He pretended to be using the guqin to repel demons, but in reality, he had subtly altered part of the battle melody into a tune that temporarily drains spiritual power. While you were fighting bloody battles, he appeared to be fighting alongside you, but in secret, he was sabotaging you..."

Su She shouted, "You're outright slandering me!"

Wei Wuxian said, "There are quite a few guqin cultivators from the Gusu Lan Family here, right? When you were coming up the mountain, didn't the Suling Su family's battle melody have mistakes?"

The guqin cultivators from the Gusu Lan Family, being the most qualified to speak on this, immediately responded in unison, "Exactly so!"

Wei Wuxian continued, "Su She knew that many in the Gusu Lan Family looked down on him and the Suling Su family, so he used that disdain. Although the evil melody can harm people, it also requires the performer's spiritual power. You alone couldn't possibly produce the effect of draining the spiritual power of nearly a thousand people, so you brought all the guqin cultivators from the Suling Su family to play with you! Among all the sects present, only the Gusu Lan Family might notice something wrong, but they disdain to pay attention to you. Even if they noticed you playing the battle melody incorrectly, they would simply assume it was due to your poor skills and that you had taught your disciples wrong!"

Nie Huaisang exclaimed in shock, "Is there really such an evil melody in the world that can make people lose their spiritual power just by listening to it?"

Wei Wuxian replied, "Why not? If the sound of the guqin can repel demons, why can't it summon evil? There is a collection of secret melodies from the East called 'Luan Po Chao,' which records evil melodies passed down in the East, including melodies that can kill. Why wouldn't it be possible to have a melody that temporarily drains spiritual power? Elder Lan Qiren is here. Ask him if the forbidden book room in the Gusu Lan Family's library has this book."

Su She, regaining his composure, sneered, "Even if such a melody exists, when I was studying in the Gusu Lan Family, I couldn't enter the forbidden book room and never had the chance to see it. Later, I never set foot in the Cloud Recesses again and have never heard of this book! On the other hand, you, who are so familiar with the 'Luan Po Chao' and are unusually close to Hanguang Jun, aren't you more likely to have access to this book than I am?"

Wei Wuxian smiled, "Who said you had to be the one to enter the forbidden book room? Isn't it enough that your master could come and go freely? The method of altering the melody was probably taught to you by him, right?"

The high-ranking figure who could come and go freely in the Cloud Recesses, Su She's master, need not be named—everyone knew it was none other than Lianfang Zun!

Wei Wuxian continued, "You had a clever plan. You captured disciples from various families, lured so many people to the Burial Mounds, and played the role of the mantis stalking the cicada, with the oriole waiting behind. He feigned injury to avoid suspicion, working with you from the inside. One used an evil melody to drain spiritual power, while the other used the Yin Tiger Tally to command the fierce corpses and encircle the mountain. In the end, with thousands of people wiped out on my territory, who wouldn't believe it was my doing? You weren't afraid of running into me, since Wei Wuxian is infamous. With old and new grudges boiling over, the crowd would be too enraged to listen to my defense, and perhaps I would be driven to a killing spree, saving you the trouble."

Su She retorted, "Ridiculous. Lianfang Zun is already the Supervisor of Cultivators, ruling over hundreds of families. He has no need to fight for power or dominance. What benefit would he gain from sending so many people to their deaths? Accusing me is bad enough, but to accuse Lianfang Zun is outrageous!"

Wei Wuxian said, "Since you are so adamant that I am slandering you, then do you dare, right here in front of everyone, to play that battle melody?"

All the qin practitioners of the Gusu Lan Family are here. If Su She plays something different from what he played earlier, he will be immediately exposed!

The people in the Burial Mounds quietly distanced themselves more and more from the Moling Su family, unknowingly creating a wide gap, isolating them in the middle. Wei Wuxian seized the opportunity and said, "Not willing? Alright, no big deal. Why don’t you take a look at this?"

He took out two yellowed pieces of paper from his chest, shook them slightly, allowing people to vaguely see that they were musical scores: "Did you really think we returned empty-handed from Jin Lingtai earlier? In the secret room behind the bronze mirror in Fangfei Hall, we found two torn pages from the *Luan Po Chao*, a forbidden musical text, that Jin Guangyao had hidden. Once we show these to Senior Lan Qiren and have him identify whether the melodies you just played are in there, the truth will be revealed immediately!"

Su She sneered, "You're bluffing. How do I know if this isn’t just some random score you wrote to frame me?"

Wei Wuxian said, "Do I just carry around two random scores all day, ready to pull them out at any moment? Whether I'm lying or not, Senior Lan Qiren will see through it immediately."

Su She was initially suspicious of a trick, but seeing Wei Wuxian's sly smile and confident tone, and Lan Qiren taking the papers with a furrowed brow, he grew uneasy and said, "Senior Lan, watch out, it might be a trap!" As he spoke, he reached out to snatch the two pieces of paper.

At that moment, the icy blue glow of Bichen's blade shot toward him. Su She unsheathed his sword to parry, but upon blocking, he suddenly realized: he had been tricked!

Su She's sword, named "Nanping," clashed with Bichen, and the sword light flowed—clearly, his spiritual energy was at its peak!