Chapter 5 : Aggression
Part 3
The children standing by were all young and inexperienced. However, although they all appeared nervous, they actually stuck to their positions and protected the Mo family home, attaching talismans to the walls. The servant named A-Tong had already entered the hall. Lan SiZhui felt her pulse with his left hand and supported Madame Mo’s back with his right. He couldn’t save both of them at once, and in a dire state, A-Tong crawled up from the ground.
A-Ding exclaimed, “A-Tong, you’re awake!”
Before his face could light up, A-Tong raised his left hand and grabbed his own neck.
Seeing this, Lan SiZhui tapped several of his acupoints three times. Wei WuXian knew that, despite their gentle appearance, the Lan clan possessed arm strength that was the opposite of gentle. With this kind of strength, it would be difficult for anyone to move. However, A-Tong didn’t seem to feel anything, and his left hand gripped him even tighter, his expression becoming more painful and twisted. Lan JingYi continued to grab his left hand, but it felt like he was letting go of a piece of metal, having no effect at all. After a while, a crack appeared on his neck, and A-Tong’s head drooped. His neck had been broken.
He actually strangled himself in front of everyone’s eyes!
Seeing the situation, A-Ding’s voice wavered, “…a ghost! There’s an invisible ghost here. It’s making A-Tong choke himself!”
Her tone was sharp and her voice was shrill, making everyone’s blood run cold, and that’s why they easily believed her. Wei WuXian’s judgment happened to be the opposite—it wasn’t a vicious ghost.
He had examined the talismans the boy had chosen; they were all spirit-fending , and the East Hall was completely covered in them. If it were truly a ferocious ghost, the moment it entered the East Hall, the talismans would have burst into green flames. However, nothing happened at this moment.
It wasn’t the children’s fault for reacting too slowly, but the creature was indeed vicious. The cultivation world had a strict definition for the category of “vicious ghost”—they had to kill at least one person per month and continue the behavior for at least three months. That criterion was set by Wei WuXian himself, and it was probably still in use. He was the best at dealing with this kind of thing. To him, killing one person in seven days would be considered a vicious ghost that killed frequently. This thing killed three people at once, and in such a short time. It would be difficult for even a capable cultivator to immediately think of a solution, let alone these juniors who were just starting out in their careers.
As he thought, the candlelight flickered. A sinister wind blew, and all the lanterns and candles in the courtyard and East Hall went out.
As soon as the lights went out, screams came from everywhere. Everyone pushed and pulled, trying to escape as quickly as possible, tripping and falling in the process. Lan JingYi shouted, “Stay where you are and don’t run! I’ll catch anyone who runs!”
He wasn’t just saying this to warn people. In fact, evil beings loved to stir up trouble in the dark and profit from it. The more intense the cries and chaos, the greater the chance of unknowingly attracting danger. At a time like this, being isolated or becoming nervous was extremely unsafe. However, everyone was terrified to death, so how could they listen to such words? After a while, the East Hall quieted down, with only light breathing and faint sobs heard. It was likely that only a few people remained.
In the midst of the darkness, a fire suddenly ignited. Lan SiZhui lit the Flame Talisman.
The flame from the Flame Talisman wouldn’t be extinguished by strong winds. He used the talisman to relight the candle, and the other children went to comfort each other. Under the light, Wei WuXian casually looked at his wrist. My other wounds have healed too.
After looking, he suddenly realized that there was something wrong with the number of pieces.
Originally, he had two wounds on each wrist. One healed when Mo ZiYuan died, and the other healed when Mo ZiYuan’s father died. The death of the servant, A-Tong, healed another wound. Adding them together, only three wounds were supposed to heal, with the last cut being the deepest and most hated.
But, now, there was no scar left on his wrist.
Wei WuXian knew that Madame Mo was truly one of Mo XuanYu’s targets for revenge. The longest and deepest cut was probably reserved for her. However, it was gone.
Had Mo XuanYu suddenly reached a point of enlightenment and let go of his hatred? That was impossible. His soul had already been sacrificed as the price for summoning Wei WuXian. Only Madame Mo’s death could heal that wound.
His gaze slowly moved towards the pale-faced Madame Mo, who had just woken up and was surrounded by everyone.
Except, he’s dead.
Wei WuXian was certain that something had possessed Madame Mo’s body. If it wasn’t a spirit, then what was it?
Suddenly, A-Ding cried, “Hand… hand! A-Tong’s hand!”
Lan SiZhui moved the Flame Talisman over A-Tong’s body. Sure enough, his left hand disappeared as well.
Left hand!
With lightning speed, Wei WuXian’s thoughts became clear, with the creature wreaking havoc and the missing left hand finally completing the puzzle. He immediately burst out laughing. Lan Jingyi snapped, “You idiot! How can you still laugh in a situation like this?” But, on second thought, he knew that he was an idiot, so what was the point of bargaining with him?
Wei WuXian tugged at his sleeve, “No, no!”
Lan JingYi was annoyed, pulling his sleeve back, “What’s ‘no’? You’re not an idiot. Stop messing around! No one has time to pay attention to you.”
Wei WuXian pointed at the bodies of Mo ZiYuan’s father and A-Tong, who were lying on the ground, and spoke, “These aren’t them.”
Lan SiZhui stopped the annoyed Lan JingYi and asked, “What do you mean by ‘it’s not them’?”
Wei WuXian said solemnly, “This is not Mo ZiYuan’s father, and this is not A-Tong either.”
With her face covered in makeup, the more serious she looked, the more she looked like a true madman. However, surrounded by the dim candlelight, her words shook everyone’s hearts. Lan SiZhui stared for a moment, and then asked in spite of himself, “Why?”
Wei WuXian exclaimed proudly, “Their hands. None of them are left-handed. I’m sure of this, because they always hit me with their right hands.”
Lan JingYi spat, running out of patience, “What are you bragging about? Look how satisfied you are!”
However, Lan SiZhui broke out in a sweat. Thinking back, A-Tong had used her left hand to strangle herself, and Madame Mo’s husband had also used his left hand to push his wife.
But, during the day, when Mo XuanYu caused trouble in the East Hall, the two of them rushed to get him out of there, both using their right hands. There was no way they would suddenly switch to being left-handed before they died.
Although he didn’t know why, to find out about the creature, they had to think in the direction of the “left hand.” After Lan SiZhui realized this, he felt surprised and looked at Wei WuXian. He couldn’t help but think, suddenly saying this… It didn’t seem like a coincidence.
Wei WuXian only smiled. He knew that the gesture was too deliberate, but he couldn’t possibly help it. The good thing was that Lan SiZhui didn’t think much of it either, thinking, after all, if Young Master Mo was willing to remind me of it, perhaps he didn’t mean any harm. His eyes moved away from him, past A-Ding, who had fainted from crying too much, and landed on Madame Mo.
His gaze shifted from her face to her hands. Her arms hung down, mostly hidden by her sleeves, with only half a finger showing. Her right hand had beautiful, slender fingers, undoubtedly the hand of a woman who lived comfortably and never worked.
However, the fingers on his left hand were much longer than those on his right. They were also thicker. The knuckles were bent, full of strength.
That hand doesn’t belong to a woman – it’s a man’s hand!
Lan SiZhui ordered, “Hold him!”
Several boys grabbed Madame Mo. Lan SiZhui said “excuse me” and prepared to slap the talisman when Madame Mo’s left hand suddenly twisted in an absurd manner, aiming for his throat.
Unless someone’s bones were broken, it was impossible for a living person to twist their arm like this. He attacked quickly, and was very close to grabbing his neck. At the same time, Lan JingYi shouted “hey” and threw himself in front of Lan SiZhui, blocking the hand for him.
A flash of lightning flashed, and as soon as his arm grabbed Lan JingYi’s shoulder, a green flame ignited on his arm, causing him to loosen his grip. Lan SiZhui narrowly escaped death, and was about to thank Lan JingYi for it, when he saw that half of the latter’s uniform had been burned to ashes, looking extremely awkward. Lan JingYi took off the other half of his uniform and scolded, muttering angrily, “Why did you kick me, you madman? Do you want to kill me?”
Wei WuXian scurried away like a frightened mouse, “It wasn’t me!”
It was indeed him. Inside the Lan clan uniform jacket, there was a compact coat sewn with thin thread of the same color, intended for protection. However, against a strong opponent like this, it could only be used once before it became useless. In an emergency, he could only kick Lan JingYi away and use his body to shield Lan SiZhui’s neck. Lan JingYi wanted to scold him again, but Madam Mo had fallen to the ground, all the flesh and blood on her face drained until only a thin layer of skin remained on her skull. The male arm that didn’t belong to him had fallen from his shoulder. His fingers bent freely, as if stretching or exercising, and the pulsing of his veins was clearly visible.
This is something evil that is attracted by the Phantom Attraction Flag.
Being reduced to pieces was a classic example of a miserable death. It was only slightly more dignified than Wei WuXian’s death. Unlike being crushed to powder, the limbs and body parts would be tainted with some of the deceased’s resentment, and he would want to reunite the other parts and die with the corpse intact. Therefore, a strategy would emerge to find the other body parts. If they were found, they might be satisfied and rest in peace, or they might cause more trouble. If they weren’t found, the body parts would have to be settled for the second best option.
What’s the second best option? It would have to be done with a living human body.
It’s like this left hand – it eats the left hand of a living person and replaces it. After draining a person of all their blood and energy, it leaves the body and finds another host for parasitism, eventually collecting all the other parts of the corpse.
Once his arm possessed someone, they would die immediately. However, before all the flesh was eaten, they could still walk around, under his control, as if the person were still alive. After being drawn in, the first container he found was Mo ZiYuan. The second was Mo ZiYuan’s father. When Madame Mo told her husband to leave, he acted out of the norm and pushed her away. Wei WuXian initially thought that it was because he was grieving for his son’s death and also tired of his wife’s arrogance. Now that he thought about it, it wasn’t like a father who had just lost a child. It wasn’t the indifference of despair. It was a deathly calm—a calm that came from the dead.
The third vessel was A-Tong, and the fourth was Madame Mo. During the chaos surrounding the sudden lights outage, the ghost’s hand had been transferred to her body. When Madame Mo died, the final wound on Wei WuXian’s wrist also disappeared.
The boys of the Lan clan saw that, although the talisman didn’t work, the clothes did, and all took off their coats to cover their left hands. The layers of clothing looked like a white cocoon. A moment later, the ball of white clothing ignited with a *whoosh*, creating an abnormally green inferno. Although it would take a while, after a while, when the uniform was completely burned, a hand would emerge from the ashes. While no one was watching, Wei WuXian ran toward the West Courtyard.
The ten or so walking corpses that the boy had feared stood silently in the courtyard, sealed by a spell drawn on the ground. Wei WuXian kicked one of the symbols, destroying the entire formation. He clapped twice. Suddenly, with a jolt, the whites of the walking corpses’ eyes shot upward, as if awakened by thunder.
Wei WuXian spoke, “Get up. It’s time for work!”
He usually didn’t need complicated incantations to control these corpse puppets—a direct command would do just as well. The walking corpses in front of him took a few shaky steps. But as they approached Wei WuXian, their legs grew weak and they collapsed to the ground, as if they were real humans.
Wei WuXian found it both funny and annoying. He clapped again, this time more lightly. However, these walking corpses were probably born in Mo Village and died there as well, lacking the full experience of life. They instinctively followed the summoner’s commands, but were also terrified of the summoner, lying on the ground, afraid to get up.
The more vicious the walking corpses, the better Wei WuXian could control them. These walking corpses hadn’t been trained by him and couldn’t withstand his direct manipulation. He didn’t have any materials on him, which meant he couldn’t immediately create a tool to facilitate the walking corpses. He couldn’t even mess around and put together the pieces. The green flames surging in the East Courtyard gradually dimmed. Suddenly, Wei WuXian found a solution.
Why did he have to come outside and find a dead person with a strong grudge and a cruel personality?
There is not just one, but many corpses in the East Hall!
He ran back to the East Courtyard. As Lan SiZhui’s first solution failed, he found a second. The disciples drew their swords and stuck them into the ground, forming a sword fence. The ghost hands slammed into the fence, and they used all their energy to suppress their bluff so it wouldn’t break, paying no attention to who was entering and leaving. Wei WuXian stepped into the East Hall and grabbed the bodies of Madame Mo and Mo ZiYuan, one in each hand, and spoke in a low voice, “Wake up!”
In a split second, Madame Mo and Mo ZiYuan’s white eyes appeared, and they began to emit the hoarse and loud screams that ferocious ghosts make after coming back to life.
Amidst the screams, another corpse trembled and crawled up, making the lowest and faintest scream. It was Madame Mo’s husband.
The shout was quite loud and the resentment was quite strong. Wei WuXian smiled, feeling quite satisfied, “Do you recognize the hand outside?”
He ordered, “Tear it to pieces.”
The three members of the Mo family whipped out like three black clouds of wind.
The left arm broke one of the swords, and was just about to escape, when three cruel corpses without left arms approached him.
Besides being unable to disobey Wei WuXian’s orders, the family also hated the creature that killed them, and vented their anger on the ghost hand. The main attacker was undoubtedly Madame Mo. Because female corpses were often extremely vicious after being modified, her hair fell out and her eyes were bloodshot. With her nails doubled over, foam gathering at the corners of her mouth, and screams enough to lift the ceiling, she looked utterly deranged. Behind her followed Mo ZiYuan, who cooperated with her, using both his teeth and his hands. His father, in the end, covered the gap between the attacks of the other two corpses. The struggling boy felt stupid with astonishment.
They had only seen fierce battles between numerous corpses in books and rumors, and they were all stunned when they saw the blood-splattered scene for the first time, unable to avert their gazes. They all thought it was… Absolutely thrilling!
The three corpses and the hand were in the midst of a fierce battle when Mo ZiYuan suddenly stepped aside. His abdomen was struck by the hand, causing several pieces of his intestines to spill out. When Madame Mo saw this, she screamed incessantly and shielded her son behind herself. Her attacks became even more violent, the strength of her fingers almost as strong as steel and iron weapons. But Wei WuXian knew that he was gradually being surpassed.
Even three cruel corpses who had just died could not subdue this single arm!
Wei WuXian was watching the battle intently. His tongue curled slightly, pressing a sharp whistle against his lips, ready to be unleashed. The whistle would be able to stir even more deadly hostility in the cruel corpse, potentially changing the tide. However, it would be difficult to guarantee that no one would discover it was his doing. In the blink of an eye, his hand moved like lightning, mercilessly and completely snapping Madame Mo’s neck.
Seeing the Mo family getting closer to defeat, Wei WuXian prepared to blow the whistle he had pressed under his tongue. At the same time, the echo of two sticks on a stringed instrument came from afar.
The sound seemed to be played by a human. The timbre was smooth and clear, carrying the cold rustle of wind-whipped pine trees.* The creatures fighting in the courtyard all tensed up when they heard the sound.
*The cold rustle of the wind-blown cypress trees: Here, the author makes reference to a poem by Liu ChangQing.
Instantly, the children of the GusuLan clan began to beam, as if they were reborn. Lan SiZhui wiped the blood from his face and raised his head, happily exclaiming, “ HanGuang-Jun* !”
* HanGuang-Jun: HanGuang-Jun is a seme or hao “alternative name.” An alternative name is usually a title given to oneself or another person. In this case, the suffix “-Jun” directly translates to “gentleman” or “a man of noble character.” The Japanese suffix “-kun” is derived from this, although the two are often used differently.
As soon as he heard two distant strums of the zhiter , Wei WuXian turned around and started to leave.
* Zither: Here, the zhiter refers to the Chinese zhiter.
Another strumming sound came. This time, the tone was higher, piercing the sky with a certain degree of bitterness. The three cruel corpses retreated and covered one ear with their right hand. However, it was impossible to block the GusuLan clan’s Eradication Tone in this way. They had only taken a few steps back, and a slight explosion sound rang out from their skulls.
* literally means a sound that can remove obstacles. It is usually used for attacks.
Because the arm had just experienced a difficult battle, upon hearing the sound of the strings again, it immediately fell to the ground. Although its fingers were still writhing, the arm was unable to move.
After a moment of silence, the boys couldn’t help but cheer loudly, celebrating their survival. They had fought through an exhilarating night, and reinforcements from their clan had finally arrived. Even if they were punished for reasons like “being rude and making noise is harmful to the clan’s reputation,” they didn’t care.
After waving at the moon, Lan SiZhui suddenly realized that someone had disappeared. He tugged at Lan JingYi, “Where is he?”
Lan JingYi was absorbed in the act of rejoicing, “Who? Which one?”
Lan SiZhui replied, “Young Master Mo.”
Lan JingYi said, “Hmm? Why are you looking for that crazy person? Who knows where he went? He might be afraid of my threat to beat him.”
“…” Lan SiZhui knew that Lan JingYi was always reckless and straightforward, not thinking twice about anything or suspecting anyone. He thought, I’ll wait for HanGuang-Jun to come, and then tell him everything.
Mo Village was still asleep, but it was hard to tell whether it was a deep sleep or a fake one. Although the corpse fight was a mass of blood and gore, the villagers didn’t wake up early to keep watch. After all, even observers had to choose which events to watch. One that involved a lot of screaming was definitely not the safest type.
Wei WuXian removed all evidence of the sacrificial formation in Mo XuanYu’s room as quickly as possible, and ran out the door.
Unfortunately, the person who came happened to be from the Lan clan, but what was even more unfortunate was that he happened to be Lan WangJi!
He was one of the people he had fought with, so he had to retreat quickly. He was hastily searching for a mount when he passed a courtyard and saw a large stone building inside. A donkey was tied to its handle, chewing on its food. Seeing it run so recklessly, it seemed to startle him, and he stared at it sideways as if it were a real person. Wei WuXian made eye contact with it for a second, and was immediately touched by the slight disdain in its eyes.
He tried to grab the rope and pull it out, but the donkey complained and made several loud noises. Therefore, Wei WuXian had to use his words and strength to trick the donkey and get it onto the road. As dawn broke, they headed out onto the main road.