Chapter 10 Arrogance—Part Five
Wen Ning’s head was slightly bowed and his arms were drooping, as if he were a puppet waiting for his master’s orders.
His face was pale and delicate, and could be described as handsome in a melancholic way. However, there were no pupils in his eyes, but only flat white masses, accompanied by a number of cracked black lines that ran from his neck to his face, so that the melancholy turned into a frightening gloom. The bottom hem and sleeves of his robe were tattered and torn, revealing a pair of wrists that matched his pale face, with black handcuffs and chains around both wrists and ankles. The clinking sound was produced by him dragging the iron chains on the ground. If he stopped moving, everything would be silent again.
It wasn’t hard to guess why all the cultivators were so scared to death. Wei WuXian wasn’t any calmer than them either. In fact, the storm in his chest was already raging.
It’s not that Wen Ning shouldn’t be here , but that Wen Ning shouldn’t exist in this world. He had already turned to ashes even before the siege of Luanzang Hill.
Hearing the others call Wen Ning’s name, Jin Ling’s sword, which was originally aimed at the Soul Eater Goddess, couldn’t help but turn away. Seeing his attention diverted, the Soul Eater Goddess happily reached out and picked him up.
When Wei WuXian saw Wen Ning’s open mouth approaching Jin Ling, he didn’t have time to be surprised. He raised his wooden flute again, his hands trembling slightly, causing the notes he played to tremble. Furthermore, the flute was crudely made, so the sound it produced could be described as harsh and unpleasant. After two notes, Wen Ning began to move.
In the blink of an eye, he had already moved in front of the Soul Devouring Goddess. Wen Ning used the side of his palm and launched an attack. The Soul Devouring Goddess’s neck cracked, and although her body didn’t move, her head twisted from the force. She faced her original back, but she remained smiling. Wen Ning launched another attack, and the Soul Devouring Goddess’s right hand, which was holding Jin Ling, was cut off.
He lowered his head to look at his sharply fractured wrist. Instead of turning his head in the right direction, his entire body turned, facing Wen Ning with his face and back. Wei WuXian didn’t dare let his guard down. He took a deep breath and ordered Wen Ning to fight. However, he soon became even more shocked.
Low-level corpses were incapable of thinking for themselves and needed his command to lead them. Powerful ferocious corpses , on the other hand, were usually delirious or unconscious. However, Wen Ning’s case was different—he was created by Wei WuXian, meaning he could easily be called the strongest ferocious corpse in the world today. He was the only one capable of reason. Aside from being unafraid of wounds, fire, cold, poison, and anything else that living humans feared, he was the same as any ordinary human.
However, at that time, Wen Ning was clearly unconscious!
He was both shocked and doubtful when several panicked screams rang out from the crowd. Using both his hands and feet, Wen Ning managed to pin the Soul Devourer Goddess to the ground. He picked up a boulder lying beside him, taller than a human, and raised it above the Soul Devourer Goddess. He began smashing it down on her with incredible force. Each blow sounded as loud as thunder, continuing until the Soul Devourer Goddess’s stone body shattered into countless pieces!
Amidst the pile of white stones scattered on the ground, a marble-sized sphere rolled, emitting a halo the color of snow. The sphere was the essence that had condensed within the Soul-Eating Goddess after she had devoured the souls of ten or so living people. If brought back and handled carefully, some of those whose souls had recently been devoured could be revived. However, at that moment, no one attempted to retrieve the sphere. The swords aimed at the Soul-Eating Goddess were all deflected back.
A cultivator shouted at the top of his voice, “Get close to him!”
Some people answered hesitantly, but even more hesitated, slowly backing away. The cultivator shouted again, “Fellow cultivators, we must block him from escaping. This is Wen Ning we’re facing!”
These words convinced the crowd. What was a soul-eating monster compared to a Ghost General? Although the reason for its appearance was unknown, it was clear that killing a thousand soul-eating spirits was no match for capturing a single Wen Ning. After all, this was the most obedient mad dog under the YiLing Patriarch, who bit people silently. If captured, they would definitely become famous in the cultivation world and quickly achieve success! Their original purpose for attending the night hunt on Dafan Mountain was to fight against fairies , beasts, and evil spirits to gain experience. With all the shouting, there were bound to be quite a few people interested. However, the older cultivators who had seen with their own eyes how wild Wen Ning was when he appeared were still cautious about making a move. Therefore, the person shouted once more, “What are you afraid of? The YiLing Patriarch isn’t here right now.”
After thinking about it again, the words made sense to them. What was there to be afraid of? Their master had already been smashed to pieces!
Upon hearing these words, the circle of swords surrounding Wen Ning suddenly shrank. Wen Ning waved his hand, and the black iron chain shot out powerfully, striking the swords, causing their blades to tilt to the side. He then stepped forward and grabbed the neck of the person closest to him. With a light tug, he lifted him off the ground. Seeing this, Wei WuXian knew that the flute tune was too fast and sudden, making him develop a killing intent. To calm it down, Wei WuXian calmed his emotions and confidently played another melody.
The melody naturally floated into his mind. It felt relaxing and serene, a stark contrast to the strange, ear-piercing melody from before. Hearing the sound, Wen Ning froze and slowly turned toward the melody’s source. Wei WuXian stood there, staring into Wen Ning’s pupil-less eyes.
A moment later, Wen Ning released his hand, threw the cultivator to the ground. He lowered his hand and slowly walked towards Wei WuXian.
Her head was bowed and she was dragging a large number of iron chains, even appearing to be in a melancholy mood. Wei WuXian retreated while playing the flute, leading her to follow him. After walking like this for a while, they entered the forest, when suddenly, Wei WuXian caught a whiff of the cool scent of sandalwood.
A moment later, his back bumped into someone. A sudden pain shot through his wrist, and the flute melody stopped. Wei WuXian thought, Oh no , and turned around. His gaze met Lan WangJi’s. They were so bright they seemed cold.
The situation didn’t look promising. Lan WangJi had seen her use the flute to control corpses with his own eyes.
Lan WangJi held Wei WuXian with one hand, holding him tightly. Wen Ning stood still about two zhang away from them, slowly looking around as if searching for the flute melody that had suddenly disappeared. From deep within the forest, firelight and human voices drifted over. Wei WuXian thought quickly and immediately came to a decision—so what, if Lan WangJi had seen him do this before? There were tens of thousands of people who knew how to play the flute, and the number of people who imitated the YiLing Ancestor’s method of controlling corpses could form their own sect. He wouldn’t admit it no matter what!
He resolutely ignored the hand gripping his and raised his arm to continue playing. This time, his tempo was faster, as if urging or scolding. His tone was unstable, and each note cracked at the end, sounding shrill and harsh. Suddenly, Lan WangJi’s hand tightened, nearly breaking his wrist. Wei WuXian’s fingers loosened from the pain, and the wooden flute fell to the ground.
Fortunately, his command was clear enough. Wen Ning retreated quickly, disappearing into the dark, gloomy forest without a sound. Wei WuXian was afraid that Lan WangJi would chase after Wen Ning, so he pulled him with his right hand instead. However, to his surprise, Lan WangJi didn’t look at Wen Ning at all, but instead kept his gaze fixed on Wei WuXian. The two stood face to face, holding hands, and staring at each other.
At the same time, Jiang Cheng arrived.
He remained patient and waited for the results at the Buddha’s Feet, but before he could even finish his cup of tea, a disciple ran down the mountain in a hurry and told him how terrible and cruel Mount Dafan was. Hearing this, his heart beat fast and he rushed back there. He shouted, “A-Ling!”
Jin Ling’s soul was almost taken away just a moment ago, but now he was fine and standing straight on the ground, “Uncle!”
Seeing that Jin Ling was safe, Jiang Cheng finally calmed down. Shortly after, he angrily scolded, “Didn’t you bring a signal light? Don’t you know how to use it in a situation like this? Why are you pretending to be strong? Get lost!”
Jin Ling was also angry because he couldn’t catch the soul-eating goddess, “Didn’t you say I had to catch her? And, if I didn’t catch her, I wouldn’t be allowed to see you?”
Jiang Cheng really wanted to slap that stinking brat so hard he’d return to his mother’s belly. However, he had said so himself, and he shouldn’t have proven himself wrong. He could only turn to the cultivators lying on the ground and say sarcastically, “What the hell is this, beating you all up in such a dignified manner?”
Among the cultivators dressed in colorful attire was a group of disguised YunmengJiang Sect disciples, ordered by Jiang Cheng to secretly assist Jin Ling in case he couldn’t overcome the challenge. He was a rather responsible elder, and had put in tremendous effort. One cultivator still couldn’t get over his shock, “Sect Leader, Sect Leader, this… This is Wen Ning…”
Jiang Cheng thought he had heard wrong, “What did you say?”
The person replied, “Wen Ning is back!”
In an instant, shock, disgust, anger, and disbelief all flashed across Jiang Cheng’s face.
After a long time had passed, he finally spoke bitterly, “That thing had been shattered into dust in front of everyone long ago, so how could it return?”
The disciple said, “It really is Wen Ning! It can’t be wrong! My eyes can’t be seeing things!” He suddenly pointed to the side, “… It was him who called him!”
Wei WuXian was still confused by Lan WangJi. Instantly, they became the center of everyone’s attention. Jiang Cheng’s lightning-like gaze also landed on where he stood.
A moment later, the corners of Jiang Cheng’s lips curled into a lopsided smile. His left hand unconsciously began stroking the ring again. He said softly, “…Alright, alright. So you’re back?”
He released his left hand, and a long whip dangled from it.
The whip was extremely slender. As its name suggested, it was a sizzling bolt of purple lightning, as if it had just been plucked from a stormy sky. It was held by one side. When brandished, the whip seemed to release a lightning bolt!
Before Wei WuXian could move, Lan WangJi had already placed his zither in front of him. With a steady strike, it was as if a stone had created thousands of waves in the water. The sound of the zither created countless ripples in the air, colliding with the Zidian. The latter ripples faded, and the former ripples expanded.
Jiang Cheng’s considerations of “not being reckless” and “not displeasing the Lan Clan” were like being eaten by dogs. The night sky above the Dafan Mountain forest sometimes shimmered with purple light, and sometimes it was as bright as day; sometimes there was the deafening rumble of thunder, and sometimes the melodious tune of a zither. The other cultivators hurriedly retreated to a safe distance from the scene, standing to the side and watching. They were both scared witless and stared in awe. After all, it was rare to have the opportunity to witness two renowned cultivators from prominent families fighting face-to-face, which was why everyone hoped for a fiercer and more intense fight. Among these thoughts, there was also some unspoken hope that the relationship between the Lan Clan and the Jiang Clan would be ruined, creating an interesting scenario. On the other hand, Wei WuXian waited for his opportunity, and suddenly dashed forward.
The crowd was shocked. He hadn’t been whipped yet, only because Lan Wangji had acted as a barrier in front of him. To him, running away like this was tantamount to seeking his own death!
Sure enough, as if there were eyes watching his back, Jiang Cheng realized he had escaped Lan WangJi’s protection, and was determined to seize the opportunity. With a slant of his whip, Zidian slashed out like a poisonous dragon, landing squarely in the center of his back!
Wei WuXian was nearly thrown from the whip. If it weren’t for the donkey blocking his path, he would have crashed into a tree. However, after the whip, Lan WangJi and Jiang Cheng stopped, looking completely shocked.
Wei WuXian massaged his backside, then crawled up with the donkey’s help. He hid behind it and shouted angrily, “Amazing! You really can do anything if you come from a powerful clan, huh? You can even beat up anyone you want! Tsk tsk tsk !”
Lan WangJi, “…”
Jiang Cheng, “…”
He was shocked and angry, “What happened?”
One of the unique powers of “Zidian” is that if it strikes someone possessing another’s body, their soul and physical form will instantly separate. Without exception, the person’s soul will be flung from their body. However, Wei WuXian still moved normally and ran away after being hit. The only explanation was that he wasn’t possessing this body.
Wei WuXian thought, Of course Zidian can’t take my soul. I didn’t steal anyone’s body, but I was given it by force!
Confusion flashed across Jiang Cheng’s face as he prepared to whip again, when Lan JingYi suddenly shouted, “Sect Leader Jiang, this should be enough, right? That’s Zidian !”
It was impossible for a high-grade magic weapon like Zidian to fail or succeed on the first strike, let alone the second. If nothing was used, nothing was used; if it wasn’t a body grab, it wasn’t a body grab. In fact, that shout rendered Jiang Cheng, who valued his reputation more than anything else, unable to move.
However, if not Wei WuXian, who else could summon and control Wen Ning?
Even after thinking it over and over again, Jiang Cheng still couldn’t accept the reality. He pointed at Wei WuXian and frowned, “Who are you, really?”
Finally, a nosy bystander intervened. He coughed, “Sect Leader Jiang, perhaps you haven’t been paying attention to these things and so don’t know about this. Mo XuanYu is… Ahem , he used to be an outer disciple of the Jin Sect of the LanlingJin Sect. However, because his spiritual power was low and he didn’t study hard, and also … He molested a colleague and was expelled from the LanlingJin Sect. I also heard that he lost his mind? I think he was probably upset about not being able to cultivate the correct method, and he wandered down the wrong path. It might not be… the YiLing Patriarch who seized this body.”
Jiang Cheng asked, “ That ? Which one?”
“That… Like that …”
Someone couldn’t help but comment, “ The sleeve trend !”
Jiang Cheng’s brow twitched. His gaze on Wei WuXian seemed even more disgusted than before. There were many more comments about this matter, but no one dared to say them in front of Jiang Cheng.
Despite his fame, people had to admit that, before the YiLing Patriarch Wei WuXian betrayed the YunmengJiang Sect, he was known as a handsome young man and a refined cultivator skilled in the six arts . He was ranked fourth among all the young masters in the cultivation world, described as lively and cheerful. On the other hand, the hot-tempered Sect Leader Jiang was ranked fifth, surpassed by him, so most people didn’t dare mention the matter. Wei Ying was a frivolous and indecent person who loved to have tangled relationships with beautiful girls. No one knew how many female cultivators he had disturbed with his charms, but it had never been heard that he was interested in men either. Even if he wanted to steal bodies and take revenge… according to Wei Ying’s taste, he definitely wouldn’t choose a madman who rode a donkey while eating fruits and painted his face to resemble a hanged ghost!
Another person muttered, “From any point of view, it’s not him… The flute is also played very badly… This is clearly a case of blind imitation, hearing how bad the flute sounds.”
During the “ Sunshot Campaign ,” the YiLing Patriarch stood on the battlefield and played his flute all night, controlling the ghost soldiers as if they were a living army. He swept away all obstacles—whether humans or gods stood before him, he defeated them all. The sound of his flute was as if played by an immortal, completely incomparable to the horrifying groans uttered by the Jin Clan’s abandoned son. No matter how bad Wei WuXian’s character was, it was too insulting to compare them like this.
Wei WuXian felt a little offended, …How about you try playing a few notes after ten years of not practicing, on that crappy flute made with just a few cuts and pieces? If it sounds good, I’ll kneel before you!
Just a moment ago, Jiang Cheng was certain that this person was Wei WuXian, and his entire body was boiling with blood. However, now, Zidian had clearly told him that he wasn’t Wei WuXian. Zidian definitely wouldn’t deceive him or make a mistake, so he immediately calmed down and thought, This doesn’t mean anything. I have to find an excuse to bring him back and use every possible means to get information from him. It’s impossible for him to not confess anything or spill the beans. I’ve done something like this before . After thinking it over, he gestured. The disciples understood his intentions and came over.
Wei WuXian hurriedly jumped behind Lan WangJi with his donkey, and cried out while clutching his chest, “ Ah ! What are you going to do to me?”
Lan WangJi stared at him, restraining himself from his extremely impolite, noisy, and excessive behavior.
Seeing that he had no way to move, Jiang Cheng said, “Second Young Master Lan, are you deliberately making things difficult for me?”
Everyone in the cultivation world knew that the young leader of the Jiang Clan was watching Wei WuXian with an almost manic demeanor. He would rather catch the wrong person than let any opportunity pass, and would take anyone who seemed to harbor Wei WuXian’s soul to the YunmengJiang Sect, torturing his victims cruelly. If he wanted to take someone back, the other party would surely lose half their lives. Lan SiZhui said, “Sect Leader Jiang. The evidence is clear—Mo XuanYu’s body wasn’t taken. If that’s the case, why would you bother an insignificant person like him?”
Jiang Cheng replied coldly, “Then, why is Second Young Master Lan trying so hard to protect an unimportant person like him?”
Suddenly, Wei WuXian let out a few muffled laughter.
He said, “Sect Leader Jiang, umm , I will feel very annoyed if you keep bothering me like this.”
Jiang Cheng’s brow twitched again. His instincts told him that this person definitely wouldn’t say anything that would please him.
Wei WuXian said, “Thank you for your enthusiasm. However, your thinking is a bit off. Even though I’m attracted to men, I don’t like just any man, let alone follow anyone who waves at me. For example, I’m not interested in a man like you.”
Wei WuXian deliberately disgusted him. Jiang Cheng had always hated being compared to others, no matter how pointless the comparison was. If anyone said he wasn’t as good as someone else, he would get angry and think nothing of it until he defeated that person. As expected, Jiang Cheng’s face darkened. “Oh, really? Then, may I ask which type you’re interested in?”
Wei WuXian replied, “Which type? Well, I’m very attracted to people like HanGuang-Jun.”
Lan WangJi couldn’t stand this kind of frivolous and foolish joke at all. If he felt disgusted, he would definitely draw a line between them and keep their distance. Disgusting two people at once—this was like killing two birds with one stone!
However, when Lan WangJi heard this, he turned around.
His face was expressionless, “Mark your words.”
Wei WuXian, “Hmm?”
Lan WangJi turned around, speaking politely but firmly, “I will bring this person back to the Lan Sect.”
Wei WuXian, “…”
Wei WuXian, “…Hah?”
Translator’s Notes
Violent corpse : From now on, the term violent corpse will describe a certain type of moving/living corpse, not a strong corpse (where vicious becomes part of the noun, not the adjective for corpse ).
Fairy : This does not refer to the Western fairies who fly around flapping their tiny wings. These fairies will be explained further in a few chapters, but for a better understanding of this story, fairies are formed when living beings gain consciousness. Fairy is sometimes translated as spirit , such as the kitsune spirits in Japanese and Chinese folklore, but the term fairy will be used here to distinguish them from the evil spirits that also frequently appear.
Cut Sleeve : Another term for homosexuality (specifically for men), it comes from an ancient story about a homosexual emperor. One day, when the emperor woke up, his lover was still asleep, with his sleeve underneath. Therefore, he cut off his sleeve when leaving the bed to prevent his lover from waking up. This term is left as it is because the term “homosexuality” sounds too scientific, while the term “gay” lacks romantic or poetic overtones, and the other term is somewhat offensive. This term will be used as both a noun and an adjective.
Six Arts : Traditionally, the six arts include ritual, music, archery, chariot art, calligraphy, and mathematics (“Wikipedia”). However, it’s okay to take this a little more literally and assume that he was skilled in many areas, in general.
Sunshot Campaign : This has nothing to do with the “Sunshot” trademark. Literally, it means “campaign to shoot down the sun,” but it has been simplified. The nature of this campaign will be explained later in the story.