However, after softly stroking the ring for a little while, Jiang Cheng then forced himself to restrain that faint trace of hostility.
Although he was very unhappy, he was still there in the capacity of the clan head. He still had a lot of things to consider. He couldn't be impulsive like this youngster, Jin Ling. Ever since the decline of Qing He Nie clan, nowadays within the three remaining aristocratic families, both the Lan Ling Jin clan and Gu Su Lan clan had become extremely close thanks to the sincere personal friends.h.i.+p of their clan masters. He stood alone with the Yun Meng Jiang clan. In the three clans it could be said that he was in an isolated state of affairs. Han Guangjun Lan w.a.n.gji was a very highly revered sect celebrity, his elder brother Ze Wujun Lan Xichen was Gu Su Lan’s clan head. Both brothers always got along well, it was impossible to tear them apart, it would be best to not start a fight.
But then again, Jiang Cheng's sword "San Du" together with Lan w.a.n.gji's sword "Bi Chen" had never formally fought before. He had no way of knowing who would emerge the victor. Although he still had his ring "Zi Dian" which was a family heirloom, Lan w.a.n.gji's qin "w.a.n.g Ji" also had an impressive reputation. What Jiang Cheng utterly couldn't tolerate was to place himself at a disadvantage. If he didn't have the certainty of grasping a complete victory, he wouldn't consider taking action against Lan w.a.n.gji.
Jiang Cheng slowly pulled back his left hand which had been caressing the ring. It looked like Lan w.a.n.gji had already decided to intervene in this matter. If he continued to act the villain it would become very inconvenient. For the time being he would remember this. Deciding to make a trade-off, Jiang Cheng turned around and seeing Jin Ling still angrily covering his mouth he said: "Han Guangjun wants to punish you, you’ll just have to bear his discipline this time. Overseeing the juniors from other clans is not easy."
His tone was mocking, but it was unclear whom he was ridiculing. Lan w.a.n.gji didn't bother arguing and paid no attention to his bitter words. Jiang Cheng’s words were barbed, again he turned: "Why are you still standing around? Are you waiting for the prey to stab itself onto your sword? If today you can't take down what's in this Dafan Mountain, hereafter you don’t need to find me again!"
Jin Ling fiercely glared at Wei Wuxian, but didn't dare to glare at the person who gave him the penalty gag, Lan w.a.n.gji. He sheathed his sword. Giving respect, he bowed towards the two elders and retreated holding his bow. Lan Sizhui spoke up: "Jiang sovereign, about the destroyed bind immortal nets, Gu Su Lan clan will naturally reimburse the damages."
Jiang Cheng sneered: "No need!" Choosing the opposite direction, he walked his way down the mountain. The visiting official silently followed behind him, a frown marring his features. In his heart he knew that there would be unavoidable punishment in his future.
While waiting for their figures to disappear, Lan Jingyi said: "How can Jiang sovereign act like this!" After having spoken only then did he remember the Lan clan’s teachings that one cannot talk about a person’s rights and wrongs behind their back. He glanced at Han Guangjun in fright, shut his mouth, and shrank away. Lan Sizhui gave Wei Wuxian a faint smile and said: "Young master Mo, so we meet again."
Wei Wuxian's mouth twitched. Lan w.a.n.gji, however, opened his mouth and gave a concise order, his phrasing not in the least bit beautiful: “Get to work.”
Several juniors only then remembered why they had come to Dafan Mountain. Immediately they put aside their thoughts and respectfully waited for further instruction. After a few moments, Lan w.a.n.gji continued: "Do your best. But don't show off."
His voice was low and magnetic, if it were any closer, it would surely elicit an electric s.h.i.+ver in the heart of the person listening. After the juniors jointly answered in the affirmative, they didn't dare to stay long and walked towards the depths of the forest. Wei Wuxian thought to himself, that Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan (1), really were two completely different people, even their orders for the younger generation were completely different. While thinking, he suddenly saw Lan w.a.n.gji turn towards him and nod briefly. He couldn't help but to be slightly surprised.
This person, Lan w.a.n.gji, from young had always been serious. Rulebound to the point that it made your teeth ache, solemn and inflexible, it was as if he'd never had a lively moment. Not allowing the least bit of sand to rub in his eyes, he did not approve of the issue of Wei Wuxian’s use of necromancy. Lan Sizhui must have informed Lan w.a.n.gji of his suspicious acts at Mo family’s village, however he still nodded to him in greeting. It could be a.s.sumed that he was thanking him for a.s.sisting the Lan clan’s younger generation with breaking the trap. Wei Wuxian at once without thinking also returned the courtesy. When he raised his head, Lan w.a.n.gji had already disappeared from view.
He paused, then turned around and walked down the mountain.
No matter what kind of prey lay within Dafan mountain, he now could no longer pursue the issue. Wei Wuxian would fight against whomever, but he wouldn’t compete with Jin Ling.
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be Jin Ling.
From among the many disciples in Lan Ling Jin clan, he really didn't expect he would end up encountering Jin Ling. If he had known, how could he have ridiculed Jin Ling with "Truly you had a mother who birthed you but did not raise you"? If someone else had spoken these words towards Jin Ling, Wei Wuxian would have taught this person the meaning of loose lips. But this condemnation had actually been his own words.
Standing still for a moment, Wei Wuxian raised his hand and slapped his own face.
This slap was a resounding and forceful strike. His right cheek throbbed painfully. Suddenly the bushes at the side began to rustle. Wei Wuxian lowered his hand after he glanced over to see the head of the flower donkey. However, that donkey on his own initiative, slowly walked over. Wei Wuxian pulled at its long ears and laughed bitterly: "You wanted to be a hero saving the beauty, yet left me to be the Samaritan."
While the donkey snorted and grumbled, from the end of the hillside came a wave of cultivators. After the 400+ bind immortal nets were destroyed by Lan w.a.n.gji's flying sword, those suppressed cultivators in Fujiao who had originally hesitated in town all once more rushed back up the mountain. These people were all considered to be Jin Ling's rivals. Wei Wuxian thought for a moment whether or not he should crush their intentions, but after thinking he decided to quietly step aside.
This group of juniors wearing garments representing the colors of multiple families walked as they complained: "This young master Jin, the Jin clan and the Jiang clan have both spoiled him like this. At such a young age he's already this overbearing and domineering. In the future if they let him take over Lan Ling Jin clan he will not be satisfied until he overturns the heavens.We’ll have no way to live!”
Wei Wuxian slowed his steps.
A soft-hearted female cultivator sighed: "How could he not be indulged and pampered? He lost both parents at such a young age."
"Junior sister apprentice, you can’t say that. So what if he’s an orphan. In this world there are many orphans, if their conduct was like his then where would we be!”
"As for Wei Wuxian, he also had a hand in this. Jin Ling’s mother was Jiang Cheng’s elder sister ah, the senior sister apprentice who single-handedly brought him up."
"Jiang Yanli also was wronged, raising up such a white-eyed wolf (2). Jin Zixuan was even more wretched. He suffered such a fate just because of a little conflict with Wei Wuxian."
"Why would Wei Wuxian have clashed everyone…."
"That's just the way he was. Other than that pack of mad dogs that he raised, who else have you heard of had a good relations.h.i.+p with him? Enemies all over the land, inciting the wrath of G.o.d and resentment of the people, even Han Guangjun looked at him with some disgust, they were as incompatible as fire and water."
“Speaking of which, thanks to Han Guangjun arriving today…”
After walking for a while, suddenly Wei Wuxian began to hear the sound of running water.
This was the first time he’d heard the sound since he’d arrived. Wei Wuxian then realized, he had gone the wrong way down the mountain, and had taken the wrong fork in the road.
Leading the donkey, he came to the edge of a creek. The moon had begun to rise and the creek bank was empty, not having a single branch or leaf to give shelter. The creek's surface was cracked with white frost. Inverted in the water, Wei Wuxian at last saw his face rippling with the flow of the creek.
He roughly splashed the water with a hand, dispersing that ridiculous image. Raising his dripping palm, using the creek water, with a few strokes he erased the powder.
Reflected in the water, was an extremely refined, outstanding young man. Clean, as if refined by moonlight, his brows stretched over bright eyes. The corner of his mouth was slightly curved. As he gazed down at himself with head bowed, like tears, drops of water continuously collected on his eyelashes and dripped down.
This is a young and unfamiliar face, not the Ancestor Yi Ling Wei Wuxian who once had overturned the sky and the earth, releasing b.l.o.o.d.y rain and foul-smelling winds.
Staring at this face for a long time, Wei Wuxian wiped his face a few times again. Rubbing his eyes he sat heavily at the side of the creek.
It was not about being unable to bear other people’s verbal criticism, after all originally he had been very clear when he made his choice. What he would face, what kind of road he would walk from then on, in his heart he had already warned himself: 'Remember the teachings of the Yun Meng Jiang clan — “Be aware of what you shouldn’t do, but do it anyway.”
He had thought that his heart was like stone, but in the end the feelings were still there.
The little flower donkey seemed to realize he was in a bad mood, for once it did not impatiently call out. Quiet for a moment, it flicked its tail and left. Wei Wuxian sat at the creek side with no reaction at all. It looked back and pawed its hoof, Wei Wuxian still continued to pay it no attention. The flower donkey resentfully returned, using its teeth to bite Wei Wuxian's lapel, it tugged at him.
Between walking and not, Wei Wuxian was fine either way, but since the donkey was pulling him along, Wei Wuxian chose to walk. The flower donkey led him to a few trees encircling a patch of gra.s.s. Within the still underbrush lay a single yin yang pouch. Hanging suspended above was a single broken gold net. It seemed it had dropped from an unlucky cultivator during his struggle to get free. Wei Wuxian picked up the bag and opened it. Inside was an a.s.sortment of many objects, a medicine wine gourd, talisman seals, a small demon illuminating mirror, and so on.
Fis.h.i.+ng about for a moment, he happened to pull out a talisman which suddenly flared up into a ball of fire.
The item burning up was a single yin igniting talisman. As the name implied, yin energy served as fuel. When encountering yin energy it automatically catches fire, the stronger the yin energy, the more vigorously it burns. Currently it was burning very fiercely. Since it began to burn as soon as it was taken out, it indicated to Wei Wuxian that the source of the yin spirit was close by.
Seeing the flame, Wei Wuxian guarded himself with close attention. Holding up the talisman he attempted to sound out a direction.Turning to the east the intensity of the flame died down, turning to the west the flame suddenly leapt up. Taking a few steps towards that direction, he saw a white stooped silhouette appear beneath a tree.
The talisman having been completely burned, the embers then fell from his fingertips. An old man, his back towards him, made muttering noises.
Wei Wuxian approached slowly, the muttered words from the old man’s mouth becoming clearer.
"It hurts, it hurts."
Wei Wuxian asked: "Where does it hurt?"
The old man replied: "Head ah, head. My head."
Wei Wuxian said: "Let me take a look."
A few steps brought him to one side, turning towards the old man’s body he leaned over and finally saw a large b.l.o.o.d.y hole in his forehead. This was merely a dead soul, most likely someone had murdered him with a blow to the head using some sort of weapon. He was wearing burial clothes, the material and workmans.h.i.+p were excellent, indicating that he had been carefully buried. He was not a living being but a lost soul.
But, this type of spirit definitely should not appear on Dafan mountain.
Wei Wuxian, unable to figure out this irrational place, and feeling uneasy, jumped onto the donkey’s back. Swatting it with his palm, he shouted out, spurring it towards Jin Ling and the rest heading in the direction of the mountain.
Near the ma.s.s of ancient burial mounds lingered many cultivators who intended to hang around and see if any opportunities came their way. Someone boldly held up a zhao yin flag, however it only summoned a crowd of wailing and s.n.a.t.c.hing yin spirits. Wei Wuxian reined back on the rope, ran his eyes over the surroundings, and with a bright voice asked: “Excuse me, if I could put a word in. Do you know where the young masters of the Jin and Lan clans have gone?”
Once you wash your face sure enough people will pay attention. A single cultivator answered: “They left here and went to the Tian Nu shrine.”
Wei Wuxian echoed: "Tian Nu shrine?"
That same rural family from before, after hearing that all the bind immortal nets had been destroyed, had later quietly slipped away and had come back up by mingling within the ranks of those others also on night patrol.The middle aged man looked at this person’s clothes and that donkey baring its teeth. Seeing that they resembled the ones who had recently saved them he concluded that this person really was that lunatic. It was rather awkward so he pretended not to notice. However the round faced girl gave Wei Wuxian directions: “Over there. It’s a rock cave on the mountain.”
Wei Wuxian questioned further: “What kind of immortal spirit is wors.h.i.+pped within the shrine?”
The round-faced girl replied: It, it seems like it's a natural Tian Nu (3) stone idol.”
Wei Wuxian nodded his head and said: "Many thanks."
Immediately he urgently rushed in the direction of the Tian Nu shrine.
The sluggard got married, the lightning struck the coffin, the ravenous wolf killed the fiancé, one after the other the father and daughter lost their souls, gorgeous burial clothes… like beads, joining together to form a complete line. It was no wonder that the fengxie board couldn’t point to a direction and the zhao yin flag didn’t work. They all underestimated this thing within Dafan mountain.
It wasn't at all what they thought it was!
(1) No I don’t know why a different name is being used. I’m guessing it may be another name for Lan w.a.n.gji
(2) ungrateful person
(3) celestial maiden, think Ayas.h.i.+ no Ceres if you’re familiar with the j.a.panese manga
Thank you Vivi for your a.s.sistance in translating this chapter.
I know that sites that act as translation aggregators are around doing their s.h.i.+fty work profiting off of translations like this however I have deliberately chosen to turn a blind eye. Others have chosen to stop translating and that is their prerogative although as a reader it makes my heart bleed to think that I might not ever be able to finish the story I’m so invested in (there’s this one BL one… aargh). However I myself am doing something slightly s.h.i.+fty just by doing this even though I’m doing it for personal interest not profit, and if I ever get to the VIP chapters I’ll be using the Chinese aggregators too. So… that’s that I guess.
