Chapter 109

Chapter 109: Hidden Blade Part 22 (3)

Lan Xichen stumbled back several steps, still unclear about what had happened in that split second. Meanwhile, Lan Wangji slapped the back of the serene Guanyin statue in the temple, sending it trembling toward the coffin. Nie Mingjue, still holding the corpse with its head lolling in his hands, was struck by the heavy statue and knocked back down.

Wei Wuxian jumped onto the torso of the Guanyin statue. With the coffin lid cracked, the statue became a makeshift lid to contain the raging Nie Mingjue. From below, Nie Mingjue pounded the statue repeatedly, desperate to break free. Wei Wuxian, atop the statue, was jolted back and forth, nearly toppling. After swaying a few times, he realized drawing talismans was impossible in this state and shouted, "Lan Zhan, hurry, get up here with me! Another person will add more weight. A few more slaps, and this Guanyin statue will fall apart!"

Before he could finish, Wei Wuxian felt his body and vision lurch. Lan Wangji seized one end of the coffin and hoisted it up. With just his left hand, he lifted the heavy coffin, its two corpses, the Guanyin statue, and Wei Wuxian—all off the ground.

Wei Wuxian was completely dumbfounded. He knew Lan Wangji had incredible strength, but this... was mind-blowing!

Yet, Lan Wangji's face remained impassive. With his right hand, he whipped out a silver string. The string shot out like a shuttle, winding around the coffin and statue dozens of times, binding them tightly. Then came the second string, the third... Once sure Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao were sealed, he abruptly let go. The coffin crashed to the ground, and Wei Wuxian tilted with it. Lan Wangji stepped forward, catching him and setting him down gently. The same hands that had just wielded immense strength now cradled Wei Wuxian with gentle care.

Lan Xichen stared blankly at the coffin bound with seven strings, still dazed. Nie Huaisang waved a hand in front of him, horrified. "Xichen-ge, are you okay?"

Lan Xichen demanded, "Huaisang, did he really try to ambush me from behind?"

Nie Huaisang stammered, "I think I saw..."

Hearing his hesitation, Lan Xichen pressed, "Think hard."

Nie Huaisang said, "You asking like this makes me unsure... It just seemed like..."

Lan Xichen snapped, "No 'seemed like'! Did it happen or not?"

Nie Huaisang, flustered, replied, "I don't know, I really don't know!"

Whenever Nie Huaisang was pushed too hard, he could only repeat this one line. Lan Xichen buried his forehead in his hands, looking as if he had a splitting headache and didn't want to speak anymore.

Suddenly, Wei Wuxian called out, "Huaisang."

Nie Huaisang responded, "Huh?"

Wei Wuxian asked, "How did Su She stab you earlier?"

Nie Huaisang explained, "He was carrying Third Brother... carrying Family Head Jin, trying to escape. I was in his way, so he..."

Wei Wuxian said, "Really? I remember your position didn't seem to be blocking their escape route."

Nie Huaisang retorted, "It's not like I deliberately ran into him to get stabbed, right?"

Wei Wuxian chuckled, "I didn't say that."

Nie Huaisang asked, "Then what are you trying to say, Wei-xiong?"

Wei Wuxian replied, "I just suddenly connected some dots."

Nie Huaisang asked, "What dots?"

Wei Wuxian explained, "Jin Guangyao said someone sent him a letter, threatening to expose all his deeds to the world in seven days. Assuming he wasn't lying and was telling the truth, then this person was being unnecessarily complicated."

He continued, "If you want to expose someone's crimes, why not just expose them directly? Why go out of your way to notify the person that you have evidence of their crimes?"

Nie Huaisang said, "Third Brother... Family Head Jin said this person wanted him to commit suicide as atonement."

Wei Wuxian replied, "Wake up. Even with your heel, you'd know Jin Guangyao wouldn't choose to commit suicide. What would be the point? It seems meaningless. But someone who could dig up Jin Guangyao's old secrets—would they really make a pointless move? This unnecessary step must have a purpose, to push for something, to trigger something."

Lan Xichen said in a daze, "To provoke? What do you mean?"

Lan Wangji replied in a deep voice, "Jin Guangyao's intent to kill."

Under normal circumstances, Lord Ze Wu would have naturally considered this, but right now, he likely didn’t have the mental space to think about it.

Wei Wuxian said, "Exactly. This letter pushed Jin Guangyao's murderous intent to new heights. Didn’t it say he was to await his death in seven days? So he preemptively aimed to eliminate the main forces of the hundred families at the Burial Mounds within seven days, to see who would perish first."

Lan Xichen asked, "Are you suggesting the letter's purpose was solely to prompt him into action?"

Wei Wuxian replied, "That’s my belief."

Lan Xichen shook his head and said, "...So, what’s the letter sender’s goal? To expose Jin Guangyao or to slaughter the hundred families?"

Wei Wuxian explained, "It’s straightforward. Consider the aftermath of the failed siege. At the peak of tension at Lotus Pier, Sisi and Bicao arrived—hardly a coincidence. Thus, everything culminated in a sudden explosion."

After a pause, Wei Wuxian added, "He aims not just to tarnish Jin Guangyao’s reputation but to turn him against everyone. And it’s a decisive strike—utterly irreversible."

Nie Huaisang remarked, "It seems this individual has been scheming for quite some time."

Wei Wuxian looked at him and suddenly said, "Incidentally, isn’t the Crimson Frost Duke’s body under Lord Nie’s care?"

Nie Huaisang replied, "Initially, I was in charge of it. But tonight, I learned that my elder brother’s body in Qinghe has vanished. Otherwise, why would I dash to Qinghe only to be intercepted by Su She halfway..."

Wei Wuxian continued, "Lord Nie, isn’t it true that you frequently visit the Gusu Lan Family and the Jin family of Lanling?"

Nie Huaisang said, "Yes."

Wei Wuxian pressed, "So, you genuinely don’t know Mo Xuan Yu?"

Nie Huaisang blinked, "Huh?"

Wei Wuxian elaborated, "I recall our first meeting post-Xianshe; you appeared clueless about me, even inquiring Hanguang Jun about my identity. Mo Xuan Yu had bothered Jin Guangyao and accessed his manuscripts, while you frequently vented to Family Head Jin. Even if you weren’t close to Mo Xuan Yu, surely you’ve seen him at least once?"

Nie Huaisang scratched his head and said, "Brother Wei, Jin Lingtai is vast; I couldn’t possibly know everyone, and even if I did, I wouldn’t remember them all. And..." He hesitated, "Given Mo Xuan Yu’s status, the Jin family of Lanling kept him under wraps, so it’s no surprise I haven’t seen him. Even Brother Xichen might not have encountered him."

Wei Wuxian nodded, "Oh, indeed. Lord Ze Wu is also unfamiliar with Mo Xuan Yu."

Nie Huaisang agreed, "Exactly! And I’m puzzled—even if I had seen Mo Xuan Yu, why feign ignorance? What purpose would that serve?"

Wei Wuxian smiled and said, "Nothing, just found it odd, so I inquired casually."

But inwardly, he mused, *Naturally, it’s to ascertain if this 'Mo Xuan Yu' is indeed the real one.*

A timid and cowardly Mo Xuan Yu as described by others—where did he get the courage to commit suicide and perform Xianshe?

Why was Crimson Frost Duke’s left hand thrown out? Could it be that Jin Guangyao accidentally let it out due to negligence?

And why did it just appear at the Mo family estate where he performed Xianshe, allowing the newly reborn Wei Wuxian to encounter it, instead of appearing elsewhere?

Crimson Frost Duke’s body was buried by the Nie family of Qinghe. Nie Huaisang, who always respected his elder brother, really didn’t notice that the body had been swapped over the years?

Wei Wuxian was more inclined to believe in such a situation.

Perhaps before Nie Mingjue’s death, Nie Huaisang truly knew nothing. But after Nie Mingjue’s death, he knew everything. Including the fact that Nie Mingjue’s body had been swapped, and the true face of the third brother he had trusted in the past.

He tried to find his elder brother’s body, but after years of hard work, he only found a left hand.

He was stuck at this step, unable to get further guidance. And this left hand was extremely fierce, difficult to subdue, and keeping it by his side would only continuously cause bloodshed. So, he thought of a person, someone who is most adept at dealing with such things and solving such problems.

The Yiling Patriarch.

But the Yiling Patriarch had already been torn to pieces—what could be done?

Then, he thought of Mo Xuan Yu, who had been driven off Jin Lingtai.

Perhaps to get information out of Mo Xuan Yu, Nie Huaisang had once talked with him, learning from the troubled Mo Xuan Yu that he had seen a forbidden tome of Jin Guangyao, which recorded an ancient evil technique. He then encouraged the bullied Mo Xuan Yu to use the Xianshe forbidden technique for revenge.

Which fierce ghost should he summon?

Naturally, it was still the Yiling Patriarch.

Mo Xuan Yu, unable to endure such days any longer, finally activated the blood array, and Nie Huaisang took the opportunity to throw out the hot potato he could hardly hold onto: the left hand of the Crimson Frost Duke.

From then on, the plan was set in motion, and he no longer needed to exhaust himself searching for the remaining limbs of Nie Mingjue, leaving all the dangerous and troublesome tasks to Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. He only needed to keep a close eye on their movements.

When Jin Ling, Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi, and other members of the younger generation encountered the cat-killing incident along the way, it was clearly someone deliberately creating anomalies, along with the non-existent "hunter" who guided them in the nearby village. Undoubtedly, the goal was to lure these inexperienced young nobles into Yi Cheng. Imagine if Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had slipped up and failed to protect them, any mishap that befell these young nobles in Yi Cheng would likely be blamed on Jin Guangyao today.

In short, the more evidence to pin on Jin Guangyao, the better; the more mistakes and handles this cautious villain could be induced to make, the better; the more miserable his death, the better.

Lan Wangji used the tip of Bichen to flip the black box beside the coffin, glanced at the incantations carved on it, and said to Wei Wuxian, "The head."

This box was originally supposed to contain Nie Mingjue's head. After Jin Guangyao moved the head from Jin Lingtai, he probably buried it here.

Wei Wuxian nodded and asked, "Lord Nie, do you know what was originally in this coffin?"

Nie Huaisang said, "How would I know? But, looking at Third Brother... ah, no, Family Head Jin's expression, it must be something very important to him."